Chapter 202: Unexpected Visitor
After successfully clearing the Emerald Star instance, Lu Yuan returned to Li Star as quickly as possible aboard a warp transport.
He still had things on his mind at home.
He specifically asked the pilot to make a loop in orbit so he could personally see the warships currently under construction.
Both Qinling-class Patrol Frigates had begun to close their structural sections, with various cabin structures stacking up like building blocks.
One of them had already reached 90% of its designed volume, while the other was at 40% completion.
According to Moto, the shipbuilding expert, once all sections were closed, it meant that about sixty to seventy percent of the entire construction work was complete.
At this point, the appearance of the first warship under construction was already very close to the rendered images seen in the conference room earlier.
To enhance its radar stealth capabilities, its hull was a slightly flattened arrowhead shape, with distinct angles and a steep incline, further reinforcing its sense of power and oppression.
However, Lu Yuan also noticed that the exteriors of these two warships were not perfect; large sections of armor plating were missing from their backs and bellies, revealing empty spaces inside at a glance.
After boarding the industrial ship, he found Moto, the overall person in charge of the shipbuilding effort, and specifically asked him about this.
“Oh, that,” Moto replied, “is because the engine, Zero Element Furnace, and electromagnetic main cannons haven’t been installed yet, so we left openings. We’ll seal the outer shell and armor after the equipment is installed later.”
“Then why aren’t they installed in a timely manner?”
“Because the scientific research data sent back from Emerald Star was so astonishing that it completely overturned the initial design! After the Scholar obtained the data, he worked day and night for several days, coming up with a completely new principle, and then, based on his achievements, with the assistance of the Butler AI, we abandoned the old plan and drew up corresponding engineering blueprints!”
“Oh, not bad, not bad…”
In fact, this was closer to standard Scholar-Engineer cooperation; the former didn’t understand drafting, and the latter couldn’t handle complex mathematical modeling, so reasonable division of labor was necessary to get things done.
And Jubian, that guy, could handle both sides, making him the rarest type of all-rounder.
His addition to the team after his revival would definitely make the research and development process smoother!
The golden scientific research team was beginning to take shape.
“Then please call both the Scholar and Jubian over. I want to understand clearly how much combat power the Qinling-class will have according to the latest plan.”
Fifteen minutes later, in the industrial ship’s conference room, Jubian, who had just been revived, and the Scholar gave a brief report to the Executive Officer.
“First, I suggest adopting the Star Alliance’s warship combat power evaluation standard. Xian Yu found out about this standard. Although it’s not entirely rigorous, it’s easy to understand and suitable for discussions.”
Jubian said, projecting a document.
According to this document, the Star Alliance defines a 1 GW energy projection as “100 points of attack power.”
Among them, laser cannons inflict damage through continuous irradiation, emphasizing damage per second, or DPS.
For Star Alliance Tier 1 standard destroyers of similar size to the Qinling-class, the DPS of a single laser cannon generally Ran Ges from 20 to 80, meaning an output of 200 to 800 megawatts of energy per second.
“This is fatal to armor!”
Jubian warned.
“And according to Star Alliance public intelligence collected by Xian Yu, in actual combat, each warship will be equipped with a dozen or even dozens of laser turrets, and they will use multiple laser cannons to irradiate a single point simultaneously to increase their lethality.”
In contrast, Cangyuan’s laser technology was roughly 24th-century level, not advanced, and the DPS of its laser weapons was lower than that of Star Alliance Tier 1 warships, only about 1 to 3.
This power could be used for anti-air defense, but as a main cannon, it was completely insufficient.
As for electromagnetic cannons, since the energy is released instantaneously when the warhead contacts the target, single-attack damage, or DPH, is more valued, and this number is usually regarded as combat power.
After recovering the superconducting technology data from Emerald Star from around 2750, the players on the industrial ship were able to greatly improve the magnetic rail acceleration and energy storage components of electromagnetic cannons, allowing the attack power of this weapon to reach up to 1500.
If they could integrate the electromagnetic technology from the Radiant Dragon later, it was estimated that it could even double!
This intensity, compared to laser weapons, had a very obvious advantage.
It was precisely because of this that, at least in the current version, Cangyuan warships would definitely follow the kinetic solid projectile route, using electromagnetic cannons rather than laser arrays as their main weapons, firing intelligent guided shells, and engaging in long-Ran Ge lobbing.
“How is the research and development progress of special equipment?” Lu Yuan looked at the Scholar.
“The kinetic shield is already ready for practical use!”
The Scholar was in a very pleasant mood.
“The zero element field control technology from the SCV blueprint has further strengthened its ability to resist physical kinetic attacks. Now we can concentrate most of the shield energy on a certain part of the warship to specifically enhance its defense!”
As one of the few players who knew that “Star Sea” was not a game, he was now very certain that he was the pioneer of zero element physics on Earth!
“The infrared engine based on the Entropy Zero Element Furnace will probably be slower, perhaps another seven or eight weeks. The main reason is that I still can’t fully understand the negative entropy effect in principle.”
“You’re not doing well enough. Can’t you be faster?” Jubian urged, “If it’s really not possible, I’ll help you! Don’t worry about the principle for now, just get the usable products out quickly!”
“Why are you in such a hurry? Only by understanding the principle can we develop the next generation of more advanced weapons! Otherwise, will scientific research really rely on archaeology? What would be the difference from other forces then?”
As a theoretical physicist, this was both a mission and a matter of dignity for the Scholar. “Because we don’t have seven or eight weeks. I estimate you haven’t checked the community today, have you?”
Jubian projected a post Xian Yu had made not long ago, the main content of which was the “bad news” heard in New Hope.
Upon seeing that the Qinling-class Patrol Frigate would likely have to fight one against four, or even one against five, the Scholar obediently shut his mouth.
“I understand. Then let’s not delve into the principle for now. 20 days, give me 20 days, and I will definitely produce at least two finished products. The next 10 days will be for installation and debugging!”
“Very good, then work hard.”
After seeing the projection Jubian showed, Lu Yuan’s expression remained unchanged,
because he had actually already seen the Galan “Victory Speech” video posted by Xian Yu on his way here, and knew that Galan’s Third Fleet’s 8 warp warships, plus Apollo’s unknown number of warships, were all rushing towards Li Star together…
Frankly, this matter did not exceed his expectations.
Putting himself in the Apollo boss’s shoes, after inexplicably losing an entire corporate branch, his first reaction would certainly not be to act like a benevolent elder; he would definitely try to gather more people.
The reason he had been so eager to send players to New Hope before was precisely to verify and confront this issue early on.
Lu Yuan took a deep breath, reminding himself not to be too nervous.
Apollo was a colonial company that dealt in both legal and illegal activities, not a universal darling, and certainly not an interstellar saint. Since it had friends, it definitely had enemies as well.
Currently, Ran Ge posted that he was on his way to “Purgatory,” where the female boss was known as “Queen Anya,” a significant figure in New Hope, who might have some mercenary reinforcements at her disposal.
Moreover, it was rumored that she disliked Galan people.
Just as Lu Yuan was about to say something more, his electronic wristband suddenly emitted a pre-set alarm sound.
Everyone else also received the same alarm, their expressions changing.
This alarm was very special; it came from the Apollo space station they had previously captured.
“Warning: Unidentified communication request detected.”
“Source: Wormhole jump point, likely from some kind of spacecraft in the opposite star system.”
“Executive Officer!” Chang Kong’s voice communication immediately came through, “I’m leading a team to explore planets in the star system, and we’re less than two hours from the wormhole station. Request permission to go and see what’s happening.”
“How many fighter jets do you have?” Lu Yuan asked.
“3, and another 4 are gathering now.”
“Good, then you go first. Remember, if the signal is still there when you arrive, be cautious and do not open fire first.”
“Understood!”
A strong intuition told Lu Yuan that the signal sender likely had no ill intent.
There was a time difference of over 6 hours between the wormhole station and Li Star. If Chang Kong went over and the other party was still waiting on the other side, not having passed through the wormhole to this side, it at least indicated a willingness to wait at the “door” for the owner’s response.
Punishment fleets, or other invaders, would likely have no need to do so.
