262: Chapter 262 Building Satellites

"Target identified, initiating clearance."

Over a hundred robots with silvery-white metallic bodies swept rapidly through the forest.

The thermal imaging systems in their eyes locked onto all enemies within their field of view, while the automated turrets on their shoulders synchronized their aim, firing a dense barrage of small missiles.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Slimes, goblins... even packs of wolves spitting wind blades and giant magic spiders several meters in diameter were reduced to nothing under the impact of the steel torrent.

These robots, named "Terminator I," were the most cost-effective combat weapons manufactured under the current conditions.

Besides being equipped with two shoulder cannons, an assault rifle, and an alloy longsword, they also possessed functions like thermal imaging scanning and short-term flight.

Furthermore, they also shared a portion of Zhang Huaiyuan's knowledge regarding combat and leadership.

Although Zhang Huaiyuan himself had not studied these subjects extensively, it was a completely different story once implanted into these robots born for combat.

For these monsters with little intelligence and average individual strength, it was simply a dimensionality-reducing strike.

In the areas they cleared, engineering robots moved out quickly one after another.

Tall trees that had grown for who knows how many years were all cut down, clearing out level ground.

Some of them stored the resources like ore and transported them back to the base.

Others began constructing the outer defensive lines.

Meanwhile, several automated production lines, having received energy replenishment, began operating at full capacity.

More engineering robots and "Terminator I" units were assembled and joined the battlefield.

Once on the right track, the development speed of the mechanized legion was naturally incomparable to before.

Just five days later, this forest, stretching over a hundred kilometers, had been almost completely leveled.

"612 engineering robots, 1008 'Terminator I' combat robots."

Zhang Huaiyuan sensed the entities connected to his mental network and quickly arrived at the exact numbers.

"2.17 units of resources remain, but other than two small energy mines, all other resources in this area have been extracted; I must continue to expand."

"However... among the items brought back by the engineering robots, some have residual fluctuations of magic, and there are even some low-level cultivation techniques. It seems that integrated factions and true transcendent beings should exist within this magic-oriented world."

"Runic magic is also one of the powerful cultivation systems. With my current strength, I would have no ability to resist if I encountered a true expert. I need to proceed with caution. It is time to build a satellite base station to obtain intelligence. I might also be able to contact companions from other academies."

After pondering for a moment, he materialized a large quantity of components again and began designing.

Under such barren conditions, this was actually not an easy task.

In addition to the reconnaissance satellite itself, he also needed a launch site capable of sending it into outer space, a monitoring center responsible for issuing commands and monitoring the satellite's status, a data receiving station to receive and process data fed back by the satellite, and so on.

Fortunately, the mental network he constructed could connect directly to the satellite itself, so those cumbersome facilities could be omitted.

Soon, a giant launch site and a satellite phantom were constructed on the open ground.

It had to be said that this ability bestowed upon him by the "Mechanical Armament Master" was too convenient, saving a huge amount of time and trial-and-error costs.

Otherwise, even with his knowledge reserves, it would be impossible to build a launch site from scratch under the current conditions without several days of work.

"Materialize."

As the "empowerment stone" rotated, the launch site and satellite instantly turned from phantom to reality.

"Launch."

Without further inspection, Zhang Huaiyuan connected his mental network to the satellite and directly activated the launch button.

For a Scholar of his level, such a design could not possibly have any issues.

Sure enough, the next moment, accompanied by a huge roaring sound, the simple carrier rocket carrying the satellite ascended rapidly into the sky.

About five hours later, an image of the area near the forest base clearly emerged in his mind.

"Hmm? So that's how it is."

Zhang Huaiyuan's expression shifted as he zoomed in with the reconnaissance satellite's optical sensor, finally gaining a rough understanding of the vicinity.

To the north of the area where he was located was a vast ocean, with no end in sight.

To the east was a tall city, where he could faintly see towering structures and well-equipped troops; it was clearly a powerful kingdom.

The southern region was cut off by an impassable mountain range, shrouded in mist that never dissipated.

As for the western region, it was a vast plain populated by many tribes, which, judging from their apparent threat level, were far inferior to the magnificent city to the east.

"It's a pity I didn't find any traces of other examinees... The coverage area of this satellite is roughly equivalent to a circular region with a diameter of 500 kilometers. It seems this world is much larger than I imagined."

Zhang Huaiyuan analyzed the known intelligence.

"The east... it is not yet suitable to fight such an organized force. Both the south and the west can be considered."

"The west looks like a soft persimmon, but in an area with so many living beings, the surface resources must have already been exhausted."

"Although the south is shrouded in mist, it shouldn't have much impact on mechanical life. Most importantly, such a place clearly hasn't been explored much. Hmm... I'll first go and check the composition of this mist; if it's confirmed that it has no effect, I'll explore there first."

Zhang Huaiyuan quickly made a decision and rapidly materialized a collection box, handing it to a newly produced "Terminator I" robot.

At the same time, he issued orders to the frontline robot troops through his mental network.

The next moment, the eyes of three hundred standby robots flashed, and they instantly changed direction, flying toward the south at full speed.

About two hours later.

The main force approached the vicinity of the mountain range.

"It's far more terrifying than what I saw on the satellite."

Through the vision of one of the robots, Zhang Huaiyuan saw the full extent of the mountain mist.

It was an overall pale grayish-green color, and within the limited visibility, almost no vegetation grew.

Through the thermal imaging system, no traces of life were detected either.

At this moment, one robot flew forward, opened the newly materialized collection box, and carefully collected a small portion of the grayish-green mist inside.

But just then, the mist seemed to come alive, rapidly wrapping around the robot's hand that was holding the collection box.

The alloy arm developed obvious signs of rust within seconds.

"Hmm?"

Zhang Huaiyuan's eyes narrowed slightly.

"This thing seems to be a bit more interesting than I imagined."