Chapter 50: Raising Funds to Build a Carrier
“A few days ago, I took a trip to the dark star region to explore its situation and stumbled upon a newly formed warship graveyard,” Lin Zhichen said casually, as if he had just returned from a vacation.
“I salvaged a few items, including a blueprint for a Quark Light Spear. I plan to manufacture the spear and sell it to raise funds for building a light aircraft carrier.”
“It seems you’ve had quite a fruitful trip,” Liu Manjun said, giving him a deep look. She understood that he was already preparing for the launch of NZT-50 and was also amazed at Lin Zhichen’s capabilities.
Even with a psionic warship, being able to safely navigate the dark star region on a first attempt was a testament to his skills.
“Not bad. The dark star region is extremely dangerous, but it has plenty of valuable items,” Lin Zhichen nodded. “So, what do you think? Do you want the Quark Light Spear?”
“Yes, it’s a rare and valuable item, but I want the finished product. You have military permissions, so you probably get construction discounts.
The price of a Quark Light Spear may not match that of a carrier, but with the discount, it’s close enough,” Liu Manjun said straightforwardly.
“Send me the payment link.”
“I like your decisiveness,” Lin Zhichen laughed heartily. With this deal, he only had to spend 960 energy credits, and a blueprint for a Quark Light Spear would get him a light aircraft carrier.
“Don’t hang up just yet. Has NZT-50 gone into mass production?” Liu Manjun asked. “Have you decided when to launch it?”
“This trip to the dark star region was more challenging than I anticipated, so the launch date will be pushed back a bit,” Lin Zhichen sighed slightly.
“The Meteor Mercenary Group’s resources are still a bit too thin.”
“It’s good that you know. As a psionic, you have a lifespan ten times longer than ordinary people. There’s no need to rush. You can plan slowly,” Liu Manjun said with a hint of a smile.
“For example, you could take some time to accompany your twin lovers.”
“Who?” Lin Zhichen was slightly taken aback.
“Heh, how heartless,” Liu Manjun looked at him with a teasing yet reproachful gaze. “You’ve forgotten them so quickly.”
“Are you talking about the sisters from the academy? Well, I’ve already forgotten their names. It was just one night anyway,” Lin Zhichen said nonchalantly.
“There are too many things to do in life. Why drown in longing?”
“You are quite carefree, or should I say, a bit of a player,” Liu Manjun chuckled coldly. “I advise you to be cautious. Those sisters are not easy to deal with. If they find you, you’ll likely face some trouble.”
“Yes, it was indeed quite troublesome,” Lin Zhichen nodded seriously, “I look forward to your next visit, and maybe you can bring me some more trouble!”
Then the holographic image was cut off. He shook his head. “Women are really inexplicable. Everything that needed to be done is done, so why be shy?”
He sent the construction order to the military’s warship factory and quickly received feedback. With a high construction priority, he would get the ship in a month.
Under normal construction cycles, it would take about six months. Getting it so early was because they took over a ship that was already under construction. Thinking of this, he felt quite pleased.
“The joy of having privileges is something ordinary people wouldn’t understand.”
Three days later, after a brief rest, the “Qinyuan” set sail once again, traveling through space directly to the Dakan star system.
In the asteroid belt between Dakan III and Dakan V, a massive fleet battle was still ongoing. Every day, both sides dispatched millions of warships, engaging in continuous battles across the vast expanse of space.
In space, pirate and rebel fleets were converging on the asteroid belt from all directions. If they didn’t encounter opposition en route, they would eventually join the brutal battlefield as reinforcements. However, if they met enemy forces halfway, they would engage in direct combat in space.
Originally, Lin Zhichen hoped to take advantage of the two factions’ large-scale battle to acquire more spoils of war. However, he underestimated the war potential of this star region—the fierce battles resulted in the destruction of hundreds of thousands of starships every day, yet the number of fleets clashing on the battlefield showed almost no noticeable decrease.
After multiple fruitless explorations that only drew hostility from both opposing factions, Lin Zhichen had to change his approach, targeting the NPC fleets engaged in skirmishes.
“Zzzt~”
A scorching electromagnetic projectile streaked through space, passing just ten meters from the hull of the “Qinyuan.” After narrowly avoiding a warning shot from a rebel warship, Lin Zhichen piloted the starship to probe the nearby star region.
At this moment, nearly a thousand starships from both sides were engaged in fierce combat, with warships being heavily damaged or even exploding every moment.
“Pirate fleet: approximately 600 ships. Rebel fleet: approximately 400 ships.”
After multiple probes, the radar quickly gathered basic intelligence on both sides.
Despite the pirate fleet having more ships, the two sides were almost evenly matched on the battlefield.
Lin Zhichen understood that although these were two major factions of wild NPCs, the fact was that the rebel NPCs had higher individual quality and stricter discipline, resulting in stronger combat performance.
Another important reason was that pirate faction ships generally had lower armor and hull values, with only their speed exceeding standard levels.
Originally, this was an advantage, but due to the generally poor skills of the pirate NPC crew members, the well-conceived tactics often became mere paper plans. Instead, the disorganized formations led to greater losses. As a result, these tactics were gradually abandoned in favor of direct engagements, where the losses were often greater than those of the rebel fleet.
The “Qinyuan” maneuvered around the battlefield, occasionally launching sudden attacks to destroy a few NPC warships.
Lin Zhichen did not limit himself to any faction and chose targets at will. This behavior quickly drew the ire of both sides, and each faction gathered dozens of warships, splitting into two groups to pursue the “Qinyuan.”
“Do they hate natural persons more than they hate each other?”
He carefully piloted the warship, weaving through the web of fire. Suddenly, the “Qinyuan” transformed into a beam of light, crossing hundreds of thousands of miles to reach the rear flank of the rebel fleet. Its speed abruptly dropped to 1.2 kilometers per second, and three turrets fired simultaneously, destroying three enemy ships in one volley.
Without any grand evasive maneuvers, the “Qinyuan” glided like a nimble swallow, with scorching projectiles accurately hitting enemy ships.
To avoid being caught in a pincer attack by the two fleets, the “Qinyuan” used the pirate fleet as cover, hiding in space and aligning itself in a straight line with the rebel fleet.
If these two fleets were from the same faction, the rebel fleet would deliberately avoid friendly fire. However, since they were targeting the pirate fleet, it was entirely acceptable for them to weaken the enemy while eliminating the disruptor.