Chapter 94: Plunder and Gain
Chapter 94: Plunder and Gain
Facing these starships that had long lost their vigilance, Song Chi was inwardly applauding their carelessness. This saved him a lot of trouble.
While maneuvering the Azure Sky into constant attacks on the second-tier starships, Song Chi also searched for the logistics units of the fleet base built on the small fragment belt. If he was going to plunder resources, the logistics units were the primary targets.
It didn't take long to locate the logistics units. Song Chi first launched a main cannon salvo to eliminate most of the active forces in the area, then deployed ten Fire Chrysanthemum Soldier Dolls and one military combat robot.
The brainwave beacon he had activated earlier was still active, allowing him to continue remote control.
The operation was not much different from when he had boarded a second-tier starship before, except the firepower was more intense this time. The ten Fire Chrysanthemum Soldier Dolls and the combat robot faced hundreds of alien soldiers armed with thermal weapons. Despite several strong charges, they failed to breach the enemy's defenses. In the end, it was the energy grenades Song Chi had prepared in advance that proved effective.
Once the Fire Chrysanthemum Soldier Dolls and the combat robot got close, it turned into a one-sided massacre.
After clearing out all the aliens in the logistics building, the ten Fire Chrysanthemum Soldier Dolls opened the doors to the fleet's logistics warehouse.
When Song Chi's gaze swept through the warehouse, even he, far away on the Azure Sky, was momentarily stunned, followed by a surge of joy.
The warehouse was vast, spanning thousands of square meters. While most of the items were dedicated weapons and ammunition of the Starlight Civilization, there were also many valuable items.
There were over ten thousand strands of Floating Land Essence, with a thousand strands of first-tier, and tens of thousands of zero-tier. In addition, there were various common mineral resources like Adamantium, Mithril, and Purple Copper.
Moreover, there were several Star Sea Curios. Besides the five white ones, there were two blue ones, and one that could be converted into a ship's main cannon.
A rough estimate put the value of the resources in this warehouse at no less than eighty thousand strands of zero-tier Floating Land Essence.
After a moment of consideration, Song Chi decided not to linger outside. Seizing the opportunity, he recalled the Azure Sky and then, wearing a set of military exoskeleton armor, swiftly rushed into the logistics warehouse.
The various mineral resources in the warehouse were plentiful. Relying solely on the Fire Chrysanthemum Soldier Dolls and the combat robot to move them would take too long. He needed the Azure Sky to act as a transfer point to quickly transport these materials to the Marketplace of All Realms.
The reason for his urgency was simple. This was the base of a major faction within a second-tier technological civilization. The Azure Sky had been able to breach the fleet base so easily because the enemy had not encountered such a crisis in years, but this situation wouldn't last long.
Once the enemy regained their senses and gathered thousands or tens of thousands of starships, the combined firepower of their main cannons would make even the Dark Matter Energy Shield Generator insufficient to ensure the Azure Sky's safety.
The Starlight Civilization was a second-tier technological civilization, and the Azure Sky, strictly speaking, was only a first-tier starship. It couldn't afford to be reckless.
Fortunately, the logistics warehouse was spacious enough to summon the Azure Sky inside.
With the Azure Sky's appearance, the ten Fire Chrysanthemum Soldier Dolls and the combat robot began rapidly transporting various resources from the warehouse. Song Chi was still unsatisfied, feeling it was too slow. He could already imagine the rapidly gathering Starlight Civilization starships, and he knew his time was limited.
Finally, he brought out two Floating Land Mining Vehicles, setting their AI to automatic control. The two mining vehicles transformed into temporary transport vehicles, ferrying the mineral resources from the warehouse into the Azure Sky one load at a time.
Once the Azure Sky's cargo hold was full, Song Chi immediately stored it in the Ancestral Aperture and then transferred it to the Marketplace of All Realms.
After two rounds of this, the warehouse's resources were nearly half depleted.
Boom!
A sudden burst of intense cannon fire echoed from the logistics hall outside the warehouse, followed by a slight tremor.
Song Chi's brows furrowed, and his sense of danger reached an unprecedented height.
"Can't wait any longer, we have to retreat!"
In the end, he decisively ordered the retreat. Although there was still a significant amount of resources left in the warehouse, his life was clearly more important.
Besides, the most valuable items, such as the Floating Land Essence and Star Sea Curios, had already been secured in the Marketplace of All Realms during the first trip. There was no need to risk his life for the remaining, less valuable items.
As he gave the order, the eleven figures who had been moving items immediately stopped their actions and quickly returned to the Skybound, without a moment's delay.
Song Chi also returned to the Skybound at the first opportunity. He didn't choose to recall the Skybound into the Ember Ancestral Aperture, preferring to wait until they were clear of the warehouse before summoning it again. Instead, he prepared to break out by force.
The outside world was now filled with an unknown number of second-tier starships from the Starlight Civilization, and a dense barrage of cannon fire could pour down at any moment. Dashing out in the flesh would be far too dangerous.
As for the potential damage the Skybound might sustain from a direct breakout, Song Chi couldn't afford to worry about that now. Fortunately, the "Healing Fruit" component he had acquired earlier could repair the ship, even if it would take some time.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
As the logistics warehouse of the Second Free Fleet, its walls were incredibly sturdy. The Skybound crashed into it several times but failed to break through.
Song Chi remained calm, tapping the main cannon's firing button. Once it was fully charged, a scorching particle beam transformed into a cutting ray and struck the corner of the warehouse's main door.
The particle beam's powerful penetration capability sliced through the door, creating a gap just large enough for the Skybound to pass through.
Without hesitation, Song Chi engaged the Shadow Antimatter Hyperstate Engine to full capacity. In the next second, the Skybound burst out.
Crash! Crash! Crash!
Squeak! Squeak! Squeak!
Amidst the heavy impacts and sharp metal screeches, the Skybound barely managed to escape the warehouse. However, before Song Chi could celebrate, nearly a thousand Starlight Civilization starships opened fire from above the logistics building.
In that instant, the entire logistics hall turned into a sea of light, with colorful beams of energy blinding Song Chi as he watched the projection screen.
Then, the dark matter energy shield began to ripple and tremble violently.
When his eyes adjusted, Song Chi instinctively checked the dark matter energy shield generator.
[Shield Value: 158,506/307,200]
Seeing the exact value, Song Chi's pupils contracted sharply.
This single volley had stripped away nearly half of the dark matter energy shield's value. This was the first time such a thing had happened since the shield generator had been upgraded to Level 29.
After a moment of shock, a deep sense of relief washed over him, grateful for his earlier decision to retreat decisively.
It was important to note that this was just a volley from fewer than a thousand starships. If he had waited ten more minutes, allowing the Starlight Civilization to gather over two thousand starships, the outcome for the Skybound would have been unpredictable.
Banishing the lingering fear, Song Chi dared not linger. The Skybound's engines roared as it charged through the sporadic gunfire, heading straight for the outer reaches of the starfield.
Fortunately, the gunfire was now scattered, no longer concentrated, or Song Chi might have had to seek refuge in the Marketplace of All Realms to save his life.
Several minutes later, the Skybound, battered by countless cannon shots, finally broke through the encirclement. With no further hesitation, it engaged its engines to full capacity, entering lightspeed cruise mode.
To the eyes of the Starlight Civilization's beings, the Skybound had transformed into a streak of light, vanishing from sight in an instant.
"Find out everything you can. Such a terrifying nuclear shield, near-lightspeed cruising, and the ability to face off against our entire Second Free Fleet with a single ship. I want all the information on this warship within a day."
"Furthermore, increase the funding for warship research by tenfold from now on."
...
Song Chi was unaware that his actions had caused a complete 180-degree shift in the Starlight Civilization's attitude toward technology, earning him a significant reputation in the neighboring star domains.
However, even if he knew this, he wouldn't have cared. Regardless of how much the Starlight Civilization increased its investment in research, the likelihood of this civilization intersecting with his path again was virtually zero.
Not only was this star domain located millions, billions, or even trillions of light-years away from the Ember Human Civilization's territory, but the Fragmented Star Sea was vast, covering an area beyond the scope of light-years. The number of civilizations it harbored was countless, and there might well be a more powerful civilization just beyond the Starlight Civilization's reach.
If that's the case, the moment the Starlight Civilization steps out of this isolated and remote star domain, it will most likely be the moment of its complete downfall.
Billions of kilometers away from the Starlight 004 Sea Floating Land, the Sky Vault came to a halt. In the main control room of the airship, Song Chi's figure flickered and quietly disappeared from the Sky Vault.
In the All-Heaven Market, the originally empty free stall area was now filled with dozens of different types of mineral resources. In addition, there were seven star sea curiosities emitting white and blue light, quietly placed to one side. There were also 1000 strands of first-tier Floating Land Essence and over 10,000 strands of zero-tier Floating Land Essence. These were the spoils of his latest adventure, totaling over 60,000 strands of zero-tier Floating Land Essence.
Combined with the resources Song Chi had left from before, his funds now exceeded the 100,000 strands of zero-tier Floating Land Essence threshold once again.
Excitement filled him as he shifted his gaze to two of the blue curiosities among the seven.
Starlight III Starship Cannon LV0
- Quality: Blue
- Consumption: 20 per shot (Phantom Energy Points)
- Attack: 15
- Recharge: 5s; Cooldown: 10s
- Upgrade Requirement: 7 strands of Floating Land Essence (zero-tier), 700 Phantom Energy Points
Starlight V Alloy Armor LV0
- Quality: Blue
- Consumption: 5 per second (Phantom Energy Points)
- Defense: 15
- Upgrade Requirement: 8 strands of Floating Land Essence (zero-tier), 800 Phantom Energy Points
These two blue curiosities were a main ship cannon and a piece of ship armor. The Starlight V Alloy Armor was precisely what the Sky Vault needed, but the blue main cannon was not a group attack cannon, and its attributes were inferior to the Particle Beam Cannon. It would be better to sell it rather than keep it.
As for the five white curiosities, one of them could not be converted into Ember Components, so Song Chi planned to sell it to the "Curiosity Exchange Shop." The other four were basic components and had nothing particularly outstanding, so they would also be sold.
After tallying up the newly acquired resources, Song Chi exited the market. Of course, he took the Healing Fruit and Starlight V Alloy Armor components with him when he left.
Back on the Sky Vault, he immediately installed and upgraded the two components. Given their importance and the 1000 strands of first-tier Floating Land Essence he had just obtained, he upgraded them directly to LV20. If he had more second-tier Floating Land Essence, he would have upgraded them to LV29.
After reaching LV20, the attributes of the two components significantly improved. The Healing Fruit's repair effect increased from 5% of the ship's armor to 20% of the ship's armor + 7% of the ship's hull. The Starlight V Alloy Armor's defense value increased from 15 to 15,000.
If the Sky Vault were to be thrown back into the previous star battle, Song Chi was confident that it could hold out for over three minutes even without activating the Dark Matter Energy Shield Generator.
After reinforcing the two new ship components, Song Chi's gaze shifted to a new star map by his side. This was not the one generated by the Sky Eye Patrol Radar but one he had specifically sought out from the Second Free Fleet base. He had never forgotten about the Level 2 Life-Type Star Sea Floating Land, so when he infiltrated the base, he deliberately obtained this star map from a destroyed second-tier starship.
Because of the surprise factor, the star map had not been tampered with, and Song Chi quickly obtained the precise coordinates of the coveted Level 2 Star Sea Floating Land.
When he discovered that this Level 2 Floating Land was within 40 light-years of the Sky Vault's current position, Song Chi was particularly excited. This meant he still had a chance to explore it.
With 15 hours left until his return and over 11 hours until the Purple River Jump Drive completed its cooldown, he would have about three hours to explore the Level 2 Floating Land.
Naturally, he could not remain calm.
The importance of a Level 2 Star Sea Floating Land was not in its vast area but in its ability to stably produce first-tier Floating Land Essence. Moreover, there was a chance it could produce second-tier Floating Land Essence, which was the greatest allure for Song Chi, who was currently in dire need of second-tier Floating Land Essence.
(End of Chapter)
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