https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-314-The-Source-Hunt-Civilization-and-the-Floating-Land-Core/12899950/
Chapter 315: [Floating Continent Core Extraction Device]
Chapter 315: [Floating Continent Core Extraction Device]
Among countless possibilities, the one he least wanted to see had come to pass. Song Chi's current state of mind was understandable.
However, he still tried his best to control his emotions, shifting his focus to the already damaged special device.
According to the high-ranking Source Hunters from the Source Hunt Mothership, this special device was named the "Core Extraction Device." It was a technological product developed over several tens of thousands of years, starting from the accidental discovery of the wreckage of an alien starship.
As he had suspected, this "Core Extraction Device" could indeed autonomously extract the core of a star sea floating continent. This was also the reason why the territories under the Source Hunt Civilization were filled with desolate floating continents.
However, this device had significant limitations. First, it required a considerable amount of time to extract the core of a star sea floating continent.
Secondly, extracting the core of a Level 3 floating continent seemed to be the limit of this device. Although they had not attempted to extract the core of a Level 4 floating continent, the higher-ups in the Source Hunt Civilization were not fools and had a clear understanding.
Apart from these, Song Chi also learned something else.
The Source Hunt Civilization was a technology-based civilization. The substances they developed to extend their lifespans were special gene optimization agents.
The crucial point was that the raw materials for these agents were indeed related to the core of a floating continent. This was also the reason why, despite the long span of tens of thousands of years and the assistance of the Core Extraction Device, they had never managed to cultivate a Level 4 life floating continent.
Not only was their territory in a remote star domain, with no Level 4 floating continents over tens of thousands of light-years, but the individual greed within the clan was also boundless.
In the face of personal life, was the future potential of the civilization important?
Perhaps in the hearts of a few farsighted individuals, the answer would be yes. However, in the flood of endless selfishness, their strength was not even as significant as a mantis trying to stop a cart.
Understanding all this, Song Chi couldn't help but sigh deeply.
He remembered a passage from the foundational knowledge he had learned in the past.
The Shattered Star Sea is vast and boundless, with countless civilizations. In this vast sea of civilizations, a small decision and the minutiae within the clan can influence the entire civilization's future trajectory. A slight misstep could lead to its destruction.
This statement was clearly very fitting for the Source Hunt Civilization.
With a good start, if the Source Hunters had been less selfish or had more capable leaders, over tens of thousands of years, they might have even cultivated a Level 5 floating continent. Using this as a foundation, they could have overcome spatial star gate technology and continuously expanded into neighboring star domains.
In such a case, the outcome after tens of thousands of years would have been entirely different.
Similarly, for the Torch Human Civilization, if they had monopolized the initial Flame Seed after obtaining it and only focused on their own development rather than sharing it with the entire clan, would there have been the rapid growth over 300,000 years, leading to the Torch Human River Community occupying the entire Torch Human civilization today?
Perhaps, at some point, they would have already encountered an insurmountable crisis and been erased from the long river of time.
With a sigh, Song Chi quickly calmed his chaotic thoughts. He divided dozens of Void Shadow Killer puppets into three groups and sent them out to swiftly descend upon the Level 3 floating continent below, quickly scavenging all high-tier resources from the continent.
After all, it was a Level 3 floating continent and could not be entirely valueless.
Without the interference of the only Level 4 combat unit on the Source Hunt Mothership, the pseudo-Level 5 Void Shadow Killer puppets faced no obstacles on the Level 3 floating continent and cleared all the mid-to-high-tier resources at the fastest speed.
As for the low-tier resources, which could not be collected in a short time, Song Chi had little interest.
In the future, he could send the development team from his lineage or bring Soul One and Soul Two, who were still in the asteroid belt.
Speaking of Soul One and Soul Two, the asteroid belt was no longer suitable for them to stay. After completing the exploration of the ancient star battlefield, the family had also dispatched a large development team to develop the 21-light-year-wide asteroid belt.
Furthermore, since he had reported the resource point, he would receive a share of the resources obtained during the large-scale development, so there was no need for Soul One and Soul Two to remain there.
Several hours later, Song Chi's expression was far from the initial anticipation.
"Truly a rotten civilization to the core, even the few remaining Level 3 floating continents have had their resources completely depleted. Even the floating continent core is maintained at the lowest balance level..."
Song Chi was inwardly criticizing fiercely, even finding it hard to believe that despite reaching a mid-level civilization, they could still be so short-sighted.
After a thorough scavenging by the Void Shadow Killer puppets, he discovered that even without the extraction of the floating continent core, all usable resources on this Level 3 star sea floating continent had been plundered to an unimaginable extent.
Even the slight increase in volume of the floating continent core, which relied on the absorption of stray energy from the star sea each year, was precisely extracted by the Source Hunt Civilization, leaving no room for the floating continent to improve. All this was done to extend the lives of the old fossils in the highest council of the Source Hunt Civilization.
The Source Hunt Civilization truly had no concept of sustainable development, and everything was done without considering the consequences.
Song Chi's brows were tightly furrowed, thinking that if he had been born in such a civilization, he would be filled with despair.
Buzz, buzz, buzz!
Since it was determined to have little value, Song Chi naturally would not linger. Activating the spatial leap device, he headed to the second Level 3 star sea floating continent where another Source Hunt Mothership was stationed.
After several days, the second target was successfully dealt with.
This time, he learned from the experience and did not sink the Source Hunt Mothership but rendered it completely incapable of resistance before taking it over.
Under this premise, the "Core Extraction Device" on the Source Hunt Mothership remained intact. However, the bad news was that this extraction device was not a rarity.
Since it was not a rarity, it could not be disassembled from the Source Hunt Mothership. To use this special device, he would have to take the entire Source Hunt Mothership and also bring a batch of Source Hunters familiar with its operation.
The Source Hunters were not a problem; they could be directly imprisoned in the holding cells on the Sky Dome or placed in the Market Mystic Realm.
Of course, the cultivation secret realm was not included, as it was currently undergoing realm acceleration, with thousands of years passing. By the time they returned, several generations might have passed, and without the corresponding education system, these newborn Source Hunters would be completely lost when facing the Source Hunt Mothership.
The challenge lay with the Source Hunt Mothership itself, a behemoth over twenty thousand meters long.
Song Chi instinctively thought of the Proportional Scaling Device. Currently at enhancement level 40, it could not only affect the Source Hunt Mothership, which was also a fourth-rank unit, but its maximum scaling ratio had also reached 200 times.
Soon, the Source Hunt Mothership, which was originally a behemoth over twenty thousand meters long, was reduced to a compact warship a hundred meters in length, easily sucked into the Sky Dome's hold.
Seeing that he had successfully captured the enemy, Song Chi was delighted. This meant that in the future, he could proactively use the mothership to extract the Floating Land Core, which would undoubtedly bring him substantial benefits.
However, his joy was tinged with dissatisfaction.
The "Core Extraction Device" had its limits. It had value, but it wasn't as exaggerated as he had hoped. After all, the time it took to extract a Floating Land Core from a floating continent wouldn't be much shorter than if a fourth-rank creature did it personally.
Therefore, deep down, Song Chi still yearned for a device that could be converted into a ship component.
After dealing with the second Source Hunt Mothership, Song Chi's subsequent actions were the same as before. He began to plunder the nearby third-rank floating continent, but the results were similar.
Just like the previous floating continent, this third-rank floating continent had been almost completely depleted, and he could hardly find any truly valuable resources.
Reluctantly, Song Chi headed to the last floating continent.
This floating continent, named Source Hunt 001, was the fundamental floating continent of the Source Hunt Civilization. Originally a third-rank peak floating continent, just one step away from the fourth rank, it had regressed to a regular third-rank continent due to the long-term exploitation by the Source Hunters.
However, as the fundamental floating continent of the civilization, the last two Source Hunt Motherships were both stationed nearby.
For a cruiser of considerable strength, this might have been a significant problem, but for Song Chi, the difference between one and two ships was negligible.
The Enraged Giant merely appeared and easily intimidated the two ships, which were quickly taken over by Song Chi one after another.
After searching the third Source Hunt Mothership, Song Chi's frown remained.
Twenty minutes later, a burst of excitement echoed through the Sky Dome's main control room. Through the perspective of the Void Shadow Killer Puppet, he saw a Star Sea Relic emitting a captivating orange glow inside the last Source Hunt Mothership.
Relic: Core Extraction Device
Quality: Orange
Convertible: {Floating Continent Core Extraction Device}
Note: A special device created by the Source Hunt Civilization from an unknown warship wreckage. After evolving over twenty thousand years, it has become an orange relic.
...
Floating Continent Core Extraction Device lv0
Quality: Orange
Feature: Energy Theft
Feature 2: 25% Reduced Cooldown
Consumption: 10/s (Mana Points)
Recharge: 1 hour; Buffer: 7.5 years
Effect: Consume 10,000 Mana Points and, after a certain period of operation (varying based on the component's enhancement level and the target floating continent's rank), extract the Floating Land Core from a designated Star Sea Floating Continent of a rank not exceeding the component's enhancement level.
Upgrade Required: 10 strands of Floating Land Core (Zero Rank), 1,000 Mana Points
{Energy Theft: The warship equipped with this component will gain a special "Energy Theft" feature, autonomously absorbing ambient energy to power the ship's energy supply components, increasing their efficiency by 45%.}
After reviewing the two attributes of this relic, Song Chi exclaimed that it was top-notch.
Even without considering the highly coveted ability to extract Floating Land Cores, the first feature, "Energy Theft," had already thrilled him.
Currently, the Light Energy Convergence Engine on the Sky Dome was enhanced to level 59. However, with the continuous enhancement of various golden, silver, and red components that required constant energy, and the recent addition of a new silver component, the Sky Dome was about to face another imbalance in energy supply.
Moreover, the Mirage Dragon Transformation Pearl component was only enhanced to level 20. If he wanted to further enhance it to the fourth or even fifth rank, a complete imbalance in energy supply was inevitable.
Song Chi had been grappling with this issue, but the appearance of the "Energy Theft" feature provided a perfect solution.
Although the Light Energy Convergence Engine would eventually need to be replaced, the "Energy Theft" feature's enhancement effect would remain unchanged. Furthermore, after replacing it with a higher-quality engine, the enhancement effect would be even more significant.
As for the core ability of this component to extract Floating Land Cores, it wasn't entirely clear from the attribute panel alone. He would have to test it personally to know the full effects.
However, it was certain that once enhanced to the fifth rank, it would be able to extract the Floating Land Core from a fifth-rank Star Sea Floating Continent.
"5th-rank Floating Land Core, this is comparable to a silver legendary relic. I wonder how long it will take to extract it..."
Muttering to himself, Song Chi then towed both Source Hunt Motherships into the Sky Dome in the same manner.
One of them even carried a regular "Core Extraction Device," which would be extremely useful whether he kept it himself or handed it over to the lineage or the clan.
In the Sky Dome's main control room, several pointy-eared, four-clawed Source Hunters were prostrate on the ground, their faces filled with terror.
These four were the highest authorities of the Source Hunt Civilization's council, bound and brought over by the Void Shadow Killer Puppet.
Song Chi's purpose was straightforward.
"Is the wreckage of the alien warship from twenty thousand years ago still intact? Can you still manufacture the 'Core Extraction Device' now?"
Since the technology for the Core Extraction Device came from that unknown alien warship wreckage, its value was evident. If he could obtain some technical data from the wreckage and hand it over to the clan's research institute, it would be highly valuable.
If he could thereby control the mass production technology for the "Core Extraction Device," it would undoubtedly become a new foundation for the clan.
The imagination was beautiful, but reality was cruel.
The answer Song Chi received was that the alien warship wreckage had been reduced to ashes during the initial scramble. As for the "Core Extraction Device," they could still manufacture it.
However, don't get too excited too soon.
The core material for this device was obtained from the alien warship wreckage, and there was now only enough left to manufacture five more "Core Extraction Devices."
Song Chi examined the material carefully but couldn't identify its origin. It was not recorded in the Dinghai Song Clan's database.
(End of Chapter)
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