49: Chapter 49 The Underground Great Wall

As the Army's re-equipment was in full swing, the expansion of the system's Production Base also entered a critical stage.

Initially, the Production Base was just an underground factory with an area of about five thousand square meters, primarily producing rifles, ammunition, and Mortars. However, a production capacity of five thousand square meters was fine for suppressing bandits numbering in the hundreds, but it was far from enough to support a modern war involving one hundred thousand elite troops.

Li Ling had long felt that the production capacity was insufficient—every time he saw the piles of ammunition in the warehouse, he felt uneasy. What is war about? It is about logistics, about consumption. Without sufficient ammunition reserves, even the best weapons are nothing but firewood sticks.

Now, the system gave him a surprise.

"Ding! Host, the Army's modernization re-equipment progress has reached sixty percent, triggering the qualification for the Production Base expansion. This expansion will add three major functional areas: the Dockyard Area, the Heavy Industry Area, and the Research Area, increasing the total area to fifty thousand square meters."

Upon seeing this notification, Li Ling was so excited that he nearly jumped out of his chair.

"Fifty thousand square meters! It's increased tenfold!" he shouted internally, wishing he could hug the system and give it a kiss. "System, you've finally been generous for once!"

The system replied testily, "Host, I have always been generous. It is you who are too stingy, wanting everything and complaining that everything is too little. No matter how much I give you, you always think it's not enough."

"I'm stingy?!" Li Ling bristled, his voice echoing in the consciousness space. "I don't even dare to eat meat myself, eating only steamed buns and pickles for every meal, and I've poured all the money I saved into military equipment. You're telling me I'm stingy? Me, stingy?"

"That's because you haven't found the right method." The system retorted, its tone laced with a hint of mockery. "If you had listened to me and engaged in commerce, trade, and industry earlier, you would have been wealthy enough to rival a nation by now. Why would you need to scrimp and save?"

"I don't do commerce." Li Ling said decisively, enunciating every word. "I do military. Commerce can come slowly, but military equipment cannot be delayed for a single day. Japan will not wait for me to get rich before attacking. They are hoping I'll be busy making money, then stab me in the back when I'm off guard."

The system was silent for a few seconds, then finally said something that caught Li Ling by surprise: "Host, although you are sometimes shameless and act like a rascal, willing to throw tantrums and do anything, you have never been ambiguous when it comes to major issues. On this point, I respect you."

Li Ling was stunned for a moment, then chuckled, "Of course. I am going to be the Sea... never mind, you know what I mean anyway."

The expansion of the Production Base was carried out secretly underground.

The system manifested a massive construction crew—these people were all generated by the system, requiring no worry from Li Ling, no salary payments, and they never complained of fatigue. They dug downwards from the foundation of the original base, working day and night to open up three brand-new levels of space.

Li Ling went to "inspect" every day. It was less of an inspection and more of a tour—after all, all production was completed automatically by the system, and he couldn't help much even if he went. But he just loved going. Watching those giant robotic arms busy on the assembly lines, watching the warships under construction in the dockyard grow taller day by day, he felt an inexplicable sense of satisfaction.

The first level was the Dockyard Area, specifically for building warships.

There were two large dry docks here, each three hundred meters long, fifty meters wide, and fifteen meters deep, capable of building two Dreadnoughts simultaneously. The dockyard was equipped with the most advanced gantry cranes, welding equipment, and power systems, with a construction speed thirty times faster than the best shipyards in reality—while it took two years to build a Dreadnought in the outside world, here he could launch one in just over two months.

When Li Ling walked into the Dockyard Area for the first time, he was dumbfounded.

Giant gantry cranes moved slowly overhead, carrying dozens of tons of armored steel plates across the air. Sparks from electric welding flickered like stars, illuminating the workers' faces. The massive hull skeleton was gradually taking shape in the dock, with rib-like structures growing from the keel, like a steel behemoth breathing in its sleep.

The air was filled with the mixed scent of steel, paint, and welding fumes, while the sounds of mechanical roaring and metal clashing filled his ears. The ground vibrated slightly due to the operation of heavy equipment, and that tremor traveled from the soles of his feet all the way to his heart, making his blood boil.

"System, this is too stunning." Li Ling murmured, his voice sounding small in the vast space.

"This is what you call a man's romance." The system was uncharacteristically poetic. "Watching steel forged in raging fire, watching giant ships rise from the water—this is something engraved in a man's genes. From the day humans learned to smelt metal, they have had an instinctive worship of this kind of power."

"Why are you talking like a poet today?"

"I've been influenced by you."

The second level was the Heavy Industry Area, mainly producing core components for warships and heavy weapons.

There were large forging presses, heat treatment furnaces, precision machining centers, and other equipment here, capable of producing almost all components, from gun barrels to armored steel plates. A ten-thousand-ton forging press was in operation, its massive hammer head descending slowly to forge a red-hot steel ingot into a gun barrel blank. Each hammer blow was like an earthquake, shaking the ground and making Li Ling's teeth ache.

"To what degree can this thing forge steel?" Li Ling asked curiously.

"The ultimate strength can reach over one thousand megapascals," the system replied. "It is three times stronger than the best armor steel of this era. In other words, for the same thickness of armor, your warships are three times stronger than others."

Li Ling whistled, "Doesn't that mean that even though my Dreadnought is only twenty-five thousand tons, its defensive capability is equivalent to a seventy-five-thousand-ton warship?"

"That is roughly the idea."

"Good heavens, then if my armor is thicker than theirs, wouldn't I be invincible?"

"Theoretically, yes. But do not underestimate the enemy; they have smart people too."

The third level was the Research Area, the brain of the entire Production Base.

The system manifested a batch of research equipment and laboratories here, which could conduct work such as weapon design, material research, and ballistic calculations. More importantly, the Research Area was also equipped with a computer that could not possibly exist in this era—its computing power was even stronger than the top-tier computers of the late twentieth century, capable of performing complex engineering calculations and simulations.

Li Ling took a tour of the Research Area and saw several researchers in white lab coats busy in front of an electron microscope. When they saw Li Ling enter, they simply nodded in greeting and continued to bury themselves in their work—these people were all manifested by the system, requiring no direction from Li Ling, and operated automatically.

"System, were these researchers also generated by you?" Li Ling asked curiously.

"Yes. They possess the knowledge level of the early twenty-first century and can research and produce all military technologies of this era. Of course, more advanced technology requires you to unlock higher levels of the technology tree."

"Can they teach my students?"

"Yes. You can send personnel into the Production Base to learn technology, and the system will arrange training courses. However, the learning effect depends on the talent and effort of the students; the system can only provide teaching resources and cannot pour knowledge directly into their brains."

Li Ling was overjoyed. He finally had the opportunity to cultivate his own talent. Previously, he had been worried about over-relying on the system, fearing that if something went wrong with the system one day, he wouldn't even be able to find someone to repair a gun—surely, he couldn't let the system-manifested people do the repairs forever? He needed his own industrial system and his own talent pool.

Now with the Research Area and the training function, he could gradually establish his own industrial foundation and talent team.

While the Production Base was being expanded, the construction of the three hidden Dreadnoughts also entered the final stage.

These three Dreadnoughts were the apple of Li Ling's eye, and he named them "Pojun," "Tanlang," and "Qisha"—all names of the killing stars from the Big Dipper. According to the blueprints provided by the system, these three Dreadnoughts had a standard displacement of twenty-five thousand tons, were equipped with ten 305mm main guns, had a speed of twenty-one knots, and an armor thickness of three hundred millimeters.

In this era, they were absolutely invincible. The Great Britain Navy's Dreadnought had just been launched, while these three of Li Ling's fully surpassed the Dreadnought in terms of firepower, armor, and speed.

The hull of the "Pojun" was basically completed, and the power system was being installed. Li Ling walked into the interior of the "Pojun" and followed the narrow passageway all the way to the main engine room. The passage was filled with pipes and cables, and the light bulbs overhead emitted a dim, yellowish light. The massive units of the four steam turbines had been installed, and workers were connecting pipes and cables, with welding sparks flickering in the darkness.

"How much longer until it can be launched?" Li Ling asked the system-manifested engineer beside him.

"The Pojun is expected to be launched in forty-five days, the Tanlang in sixty days, and the Qisha in seventy-five days." The engineer answered cleanly and efficiently, holding a folder in his hand that was densely recorded with various data.

Li Ling nodded and asked again, "What about the three newly built ones?"

"The three newly built ones are currently laying their keels and are expected to be launched in five months."

Five months later, with six Dreadnoughts, plus the three previous Pre-dreadnoughts, his navy would possess nine capital warships. This strength would be at a crushing level across the entire East Asia—let alone Japan, even if the fleets of Great Britain and France in the Far East were combined, they would not be his match.

"System, do you think I have the capability to proactively attack the homeland of Japan now?" Li Ling suddenly asked, standing at the edge of the dock, watching the massive hull floating slowly on the water.

The system calculated for a moment and replied, "With existing military strength, proactively attacking the homeland is still somewhat risky. After all, Japan has a complete coastal defense system, and the caliber of their coastal artillery is larger than your naval guns. Moreover, you only have capital ships and no supporting Cruisers or Destroyers; you cannot form a complete fleet combat system. If you attack rashly, you might suffer a major loss."

"Then we'll wait a while longer." Li Ling was not in a hurry, "Let's first make these ships combat-ready, then slowly supplement them with Cruisers and Destroyers. You can't get fat in one bite."

"A wise choice." The system rarely complimented him.

When he came out of the Production Base, it was already late at night. Li Ling stood on the mountaintop, looking at the brightly lit military port in the distance, and then looking at this behemoth buried deep underground beneath his feet, a surge of heroic spirit welled up in his heart.

His empire was growing out from the ground, inch by inch.