Chapter 138: To Dominate the Star Sea, You Must First Have a Navy
Evening, Red Iron Town.
Townsfolk, including the Town Head, who had received the news in advance, left their homes. Some gathered in the square in front of the Town Hall, some climbed onto their rooftops, and others ascended the mining mountain.
They waited with anticipation for today’s “special program.” Many families had even prepared luxurious snacks in advance, ready to eat and watch, creating an atmosphere more festive than a holiday.
New players also ended their instances early and drove to the landing point, stopping as close as possible.
Most of them had been playing for less than half a month and had never been to space. They had only heard veteran players in the community boast about how magnificent the industrial ship was and how important a role it played in the previous two battles.
Now, they could finally see it with their own eyes.
“Town Head, the cordon has been set up!”
City Guards, now fully equipped with air-conditioned combat suits, ran over from a distance to report to the Town Head, their voices as joyful as children's.
Soon, their equipment would receive another update.
Cangyuan had already signed the third phase agreement with Red Iron Town. This time, it would acquire 10 times the previous amount of metal ore and sell a series of goods and services, including exoskeletons and livestock cultivation pods. It would also continue to supply the town with Miner Robots to meet the increased production demands.
“Good, make sure to maintain order.”
The Town Head nodded at him, his face beaming.
“Over there, look!”
Soon, a sharp-eyed youth spotted the target and shouted loudly. Everyone looked up to the north, only to see half the sky dyed red, its brightness quickly surpassing the evening glow in the west.
Within the red light, a red-hot speck of light appeared, trailing a long, bright tail. It grew larger and larger, while also becoming dimmer and colder.
About two minutes later, the industrial ship entered the stratosphere. Its surface temperature dropped below 200 degrees Celsius, and the spectators on the ground could already discern its sharp, angular outline, though they still lacked a full understanding of the colossal ship's size.
“Initiate landing procedures, prepare landing engines,” Jubian ordered the power room from the bridge. “Three, two, one, activate.”
The procedure was fully automatic; the countdown was only to alert personnel at various stations.
And, to show off!
Boom!
Within just a few days, the residents of Red Iron Town witnessed a high-altitude nuclear explosion for the first time in their lives, and now they observed the peaceful use of nuclear energy.
Four Jubian direct-injection engines operated at full power, extending bright blue plasma jets nearly two kilometers directly downwards. While unleashing astonishing power, they were also surprisingly stable, unlike the jumping and shaking jets of chemical rockets. They resembled an oversized blowtorch or a pillar of light, turbulent yet serene.
Due to its extreme brightness, people on the ground had to raise their hands to shield their eyes; even combat suit visors couldn't completely diminish this level of light.
Crack!
As the industrial ship decelerated, its jet flames thoroughly heated the atmosphere, causing the surrounding air to ionize and, in turn, creating lightning out of thin air—a phenomenon the natives had never witnessed in their lives.
A fierce wind raged, dust and stones flew, and the entire world was enveloped in a blue hue.
Both natives and players felt their heartbeats accelerate violently at this moment.
From today onwards, “the greatness of human civilization” was no longer an abstract concept or an empty slogan, but a tangible, visible thing.
When the industrial ship's altitude dropped below 1000 meters, people finally gained a correct understanding of its size. From the ground, it even felt larger than the entire town, pressing down like a mountain. Many involuntarily stepped back, nearly falling off their rooftops.
But the industrial ship did not crash into the town.
In the final stage of landing, controlled by numerous attitude adjustment thrusters, it displayed an agility unbefitting its size, gently descending onto the field.
As the engines shut down, players cheered with raised arms.
“This cinematic performance is absolutely amazing!”
“It’s more worth it than the ticket I bought at Wenchang Launch Center—”
“When they first said it was several times the size of an aircraft carrier, I didn’t think much of it, but now, it’s so magnificent.”
“That’s because you’ve never seen an aircraft carrier before. I visited one in Hong Kong, and it was terrifyingly huge.”
The natives, especially the young ones, felt a different emotion. Most of them had initially been sitting on the ground, but now they all stood up, an indescribable feeling stirring in their chests.
“You mean—those people who went for internships before, are they really on it? And they even helped Cangyuan produce planes?”
They dealt with heavy machinery day and night, but unless they saw it with their own eyes at this moment, they would never have dared to dream that humans could build such a massive ship.
It was too shocking—
The setting sun had not yet fully dipped below the horizon, and the entire town was enveloped in the shadow of the industrial ship.
The seed of conquering space had already germinated in their hearts.
And today’s program was not yet over.
The industrial ship released several drones, which quickly scanned the surrounding terrain.
“Hull inclination 1.2 degrees, within correction range.”
“Surrounding ground ruggedness 8%, firmness 53%, no water, no underground cavities.”
The Engineers continuously sent data to the bridge.
“Good! Everyone, don’t move around yet. Fasten your seatbelts and stay in your seats.”
After confirming everything was in order, Jubian lifted the glass cover on the Captain’s seat and activated the “Deploy” knob inside, initiating a one-button transformation.
Amidst a rumbling sound, the main body of the industrial ship began to lengthen. Then, the six giant drawer-like structures on either side of the hull slowly cantilevered outwards and expanded.
The carbon fiber roof and walls, originally stacked inside the main body, unfolded layer by layer like scales. The internal decks and production equipment also continuously flipped, moved, and rearranged.
Finally, below the expanded areas, hydraulic support legs, as thick as bridge piers, lowered, supporting the structure above and adjusting the entire colossal ship to be perfectly level.
In less than five minutes, the industrial ship transformed into a ground-based super factory, ready to devour vast amounts of raw materials and process them into rows of brand-new, beautiful weapons and civilian goods.
The natives who witnessed the entire process were dumbfounded, with only one thought in their minds.
I want to work there too! I’ll sign up tomorrow!
Ten minutes later, when Lu Yuan arrived at Red Iron Town aboard the “hummingbird,” the surrounding townsfolk were still reluctant to leave, completely engrossed.
“Over there, Cangyuan’s plane! It must be the Executive Officer!”
Someone shouted, and Lu Yuan immediately became the center of attention, making it impossible for him to be low-key.
The Engineers who landed with the ship were already waiting for him outside, their faces more jubilant than the last.
They knew that from today onwards, Cangyuan would grow into a true industrial behemoth; the small Li Star was almost unable to contain it anymore.
“Well done.” Lu Yuan walked over, wasting no words. “Any plans after landing?”
“Yes.” Moto squeezed forward. “I suggest immediately increasing the production of Miner Robots and heavy transport trucks. Otherwise, the speed at which we feed this big guy ore won’t even keep up with its production speed!”
“That—”
Black Smoke, of course, wouldn't let this guy hog all the limelight and also squeezed forward.
“I think we can first help Red Iron Town with an industrial upgrade, assisting them in establishing titanium alloy and metal-ceramic production lines. While the initial capacity growth curve might be flatter, the long-term potential will be much stronger.”
Good, very good.
It seems you all haven't been idle these past few days on the industrial ship.
“Agreed.” Lu Yuan said, “I’ll have the Butler calculate the specific capacity allocation. In addition, you need to prepare and lay oil pipelines to Oasis City in advance. Ideally, crude oil can be directly transported here the day after Oasis City is captured.”
Everyone was puzzled.
Why the rush?
“Apollo has a punitive fleet that is likely on its way. Omar probably called them from headquarters before he left for Li Star,” Lu Yuan explained.
“Therefore, we urgently need large space vessels with considerable endurance and self-sufficiency, at least medium-sized ones.”
Oh!
For the Engineers, this was enough to understand.
Building battleship keels, decks, and internal compartments all require large quantities of carbon-based materials; even composite armor contains carbon.
A rough calculation shows that a ship with a dry weight of 30,000 tons would have at least 15,000 tons of carbon, requiring over 20,000 tons of crude oil. Vehicle transport is clearly not as convenient as pipeline transport.
Of course, it’s not impossible to use titanium alloy and aerospace aluminum for the main structure, but if the strength requirements remain unchanged, it would inevitably require a greater total mass of metal.
Moreover, such battleships, once built, would have significantly lower maximum speeds and maneuverability compared to carbon-structure ships with the same power configuration.
“When you have free time, you can also think more about battleship design proposals.”
Lu Yuan reminded them at last.
Whether in the game or at work!