Chapter 67: Chapter 67, The Real or Fake Phoenix?
100 points of grace, for one seed.
It’s really expensive.
And the seed that comes with 100 points of grace can’t be equated with a Starfighter.
How much is a young, strong, determined, and highly gifted person worth?
How much is it worth after they’ve undergone the implant surgery, survived the transformation, and trained the long and extremely harsh way of the Starfighter?
And how much is that specially designed power armor for Starfighters, which can neuraly connect with them, worth?
Gu Hang still preferred using the grace point system to calculate value.
He had now leveled up twice, to LV3, and his total approximate value was about 70 grace points. Activating at 10 points, 10 points to level up to 2, and 50 points to level up to 3. But when it came to leveling up to 4, it would cost 200 grace points.
He wasn’t a match for any Starfighter right now; he estimated that he would have to wait until level 4 to be on equal footing with an ordinary Starfighter. For veterans like the Phoenix Battle Group, probably level 5 was required for him to stand a chance. And individuals like Matins, Priest Rizzo, and a bald warrior he observed seemed stronger than the other four veterans.
With that in mind, one could say that a Starfighter’s value was roughly around 300 grace points, and a veteran’s value was about 800 points.
If Gu Hang wanted to use the system to create a Starfighter from scratch, he would probably have to exchange 100 points for a seed first and then perform the implant surgery. If it failed, 100 points would go down the drain, and only if they survived could they proceed to the next step.
A rookie who made it would have the hardware but not the experience or skill. Gu Hang would have to spend at least 111 grace points to train them up to T1-level soldiers, and then figure out a way to acquire a set of power armor. With that, he would be close to having a standard tin can.
Completing this entire process would cost at least over 200 grace points, and assuming the power armor is worth a hundred, it would indeed be close to the 300 points for a tin can he had estimated based on his own combat power.
That’s why Gu Hang sighed, “This is really f*cking expensive!”
I’ve been mixing for a few months now, and I don’t even know if I’ve racked up 300 grace points in total!
However, what stopped Gu Hang, and what gave him a chill when he looked at the repeatable branch event “Phoenix on the Brink of Death” where he could exchange for a genetic seed, was the grave danger he realized this feature entailed.
If he exchanged for a seed and then presented it to Matins saying, “This is my support for you,” Matins would absolutely not feel the slightest bit of gratitude. Instead, he would undoubtedly pull out a bomb gun, demand to know how he acquired the genetic seed, and then send him to the Tribunal.
There was no use arguing; this seed was even specifically marked as belonging to the Phoenix Battle Group.
Each Battle Group’s genetic seed would be slightly different. It might not be easy to tell for outsiders, but for them, it would be obvious at a glance.
What could Gu Hang say then?
He couldn’t explain it at all.
This was a feature he dared not use.
But soon, a bold idea came to Gu Hang:
“Could I possibly… take over their nests?”
When I’m better off, exchange for a bunch of genetic seeds, secretly find people, ensure their loyalty, brainwash them with Spiritual Energy, secretly implant the seeds, and covertly train them. I can also secretly purchase their armor from some forging worlds.
When I’ve amassed enough power, a grand ambush, signal by smashing a cup, with seven true Phoenix members surrounded by seventy fake ones trained by me, Gu Hang. After killing them off, the true Phoenix will belong to me, Mr. Gu!
“Population replacement plan? Er… that’s really not right…”
Gu Hang shook his head and put the thought aside.
Sabotaging allies, am I, Mr. Gu, that kind of person?
Moreover, it’s easy to talk about it now, but it would be quite troublesome to actually do it—there are countless details to take care of.
Let’s talk about it later.
After all, they can’t afford such high-end units now.
…
The Governor’s Government of Rage Owl Star and the Phoenix Battle Group henceforth became informal allies.
It was informal because they had not signed any specific agreements, nor put anything in writing. It was simply that the Phoenix Battle Group had agreed to accept task invitations from Mr. Gu whenever he encountered any trouble. They would then decide based on the situation whether to accept and execute the tasks as requested.
Besides the Governor’s task invitation, their operations were essentially free, provided that they gave Mr. Gu a heads-up out of respect for his sovereignty over the entire planet.
Mr. Gu was likewise obliged to provide them with a base on the planet, supply them with provisions, and pay for the necessary aid for the battle group’s rebuilding efforts within the boundaries of what he could afford.
In fact, this assistance in rebuilding had already begun.
First of all was ammunition supply.
Wu Jiarong received a request from the Governor; she had to initiate the production of bomb-gun bullets.
This was difficult; the industrial base of Rage Owl Star was completely inadequate for production.
Diamond warheads, secondary propulsion, mass reaction fuzes, and characteristics of secondary explosions…
Being both armor-penetrating and explosive, these items had high requirements for technology.
It wasn’t impossible to make them, but it would rely on Wu Jiarong to craft each bullet by hand—her mechanically modified arms were capable of this work. Her few junior technicians could probably manage a workbench well enough to help.
The output would be quite touching.
And asking her, the ‘technical leader’ of the Governor’s Camp, to spend substantial time doing manual labor as a bullet-crafter was obviously a waste of talent and would affect the development of Gu Hang’s territory.
But all in all, it was a method of supply.
Subsequently, Wu Jiarong also moved some equipment from the Phoenix Battle Group’s ship, Burn Feather, to research how to achieve mass production, at least to the point where her junior technicians could take over the task.
Then there was the maintenance of powered armor; currently, only Wu Jiarong was capable of it. As long as the damage wasn’t too severe, small repairs and maintenance were within the capability of this technical officer.
Typically, maintenance of the battle group’s equipment was the responsibility of technical sergeants. The technical sergeants from Phoenix had been to the Mechanical God Cult’s headquarters—Mars—for advanced training. They were more skilled than the average technical Priest.
But what more could be done?
Under these conditions, they had to endure.
Rebuilding wasn’t an easy task—it relied on struggle and perseverance!
Nevertheless, Mr. Gu’s investment in the battle group’s rebuilding efforts was recognized.
An engineering team was formed explicitly. They would construct a Fortress Monastery some distance from the camp.
Starfighters pride themselves as descendants of The Emperor and Death Angels of The Emperor; they always consider themselves the most steadfast believers in the Divine Emperor among the empire. Although they are a military organization, they are also a religious organization. Many Starfighter Battle Groups refer to their headquarters as ‘Fortress Monasteries’.
The construction site that had already started attracted the warriors of Phoenix to visit.
They couldn’t help but recall their battle group’s headquarters on their homeworld.
Compared to what it once was, the current one was world’s apart.
But at least, it was a good start, and the battle group was getting on the right path.
On the next day, the seven warriors of Phoenix left the housing previously arranged by the Governor and moved directly next to the construction site of the Monastery.
They wanted to watch the Monastery being built from the ground up.