7: Space transport and magnetic storm coils

The wreckage of that Reaper's minions was piled outside the base like a small mountain, and a strange smell of scorched earth and molten metal still drifted in the air. The battle was won, but the unease in Sun Zheng's heart only grew heavier. The Scrin's retaliation had been swift and precise, which meant he was likely being watched right under their noses.

"The Combat Laboratory must be built as soon as possible." Sun Zheng reaffirmed this goal. But looking at the construction requirements—$3000 plus a massive amount of power—his current assets were nowhere near enough.

He pulled up the building list:

[Combat Laboratory] - Cost: $3000

[Function: Unlocks advanced infantry, armored units, and superweapons.]

Prerequisites: Air Command Post, War Factory.

The Air Command Post hadn't even been built yet! Sun Zheng slapped his forehead; the rhythm had been disrupted by one thing after another. He quickly checked the requirements for the Air Command Post: $1500, requires a Power Plant and Barracks.

"Build the Air Command Post first!" Sun Zheng made up his mind. After the battle and repairs, there was still some funding left, and with the ore trucks working non-stop, he soon scraped together $1500.

"Construct Air Command Post!"

The laser printer started up again, beginning the construction of the Air Command Post with its giant radar antenna in the central area of the base. This time, it would take 12 minutes.

While waiting, Sun Zheng's thoughts turned back to his homeworld space. During the last battle, he had wondered if this space could be used tactically. It was a waste to use it only as a warehouse.

He looked out the window at the grizzly tank that needed repairs. If... he could directly pull the damaged tank into the space, then transmit it next to the War Factory and release it, wouldn't the repair time be greatly reduced? Or even on the battlefield, could he instantly pull units into the space to dodge lethal attacks?

The thought made his heart race. No time like the present to try.

He focused his mind, trying to pull a smaller piece of armor plating that had broken off from the Reaper into the homeworld space.

Success! The fragment vanished and appeared inside the space.

Next, he tried a larger piece of wreckage, about half the height of a person. This time he felt a clear resistance, and the mental drain was significantly higher, but he still succeeded.

"It seems the larger the object, the more mental energy it consumes, and there might be a volume limit." Sun Zheng pondered. Finally, he locked his target onto the damaged grizzly tank.

He put on a simple spacesuit and walked out of the Command Center to the tank's side. Pressing his hand against the cold armor, he concentrated all his mental energy and thought: "Store!"

Buzz—!

A sudden, intense wave of dizziness hit him, as if his brain had been instantly emptied. The grizzly tank in front of him blurred for a moment, but it didn't disappear! It failed!

Sun Zheng stumbled and leaned against the outer wall of the Command Center to steady himself, gasping for breath. "No... with my current mental energy, I can't move such a big guy yet."

He was a bit disappointed, but it was expected. It seemed that relying on the space for tactical maneuvers was out of the question for the short term.

But another thought immediately popped up: If I can't move big things, what about small ones?

He thought of the American Soldier! The volume and weight of a single soldier were much smaller than a tank. What if he could instantly deploy soldiers to key positions?

He called over a soldier. "Relax, we're doing a test."

Sun Zheng placed his hand on A007's shoulder and focused his mind again. The dizziness was still there this time, but much lighter. In the next second, Soldier A007 vanished into thin air from before his eyes!

Sun Zheng immediately entered the homeworld space. He saw A007 standing somewhat dazed in the center of the gray space, yet still maintaining a vigilant posture with his gun; the loyalty inherent to the system kept him from panicking.

"I can store living beings! At least these system-generated soldiers!" Sun Zheng was overjoyed. He tried to communicate with A007 and found that sound couldn't travel in the space, but they could communicate with hand signals. He signaled A007 to stay put and then exited the space.

He ran quickly to a small crater dozens of meters away, focused his mind again, and locked his consciousness onto A007 inside the space.

"Release!"

With a flash of light, Soldier A007 instantly appeared at the bottom of the crater!

Success! Although the range was currently limited—it had to be within his mental lock range, about several dozen meters—and the consumption was significant, this was absolutely a god-tier skill! Infiltrations, point reconnaissance, emergency retreats... the tactical value was simply immeasurable!

Just then, the notification for the completion of the Air Command Post sounded.

[Allied Air Command Post] Ready!

[Function: Provides wide-range radar vision, unlocks construction permissions for aerial units.]

Constructible Units:

[Intruder Fighter] - Cost: $1200

[Black Eagle Fighter] - Cost: $1500 (Requires Combat Laboratory)

[Rocket Trooper] - Cost: $600

As soon as the Air Command Post was built, the map on the Command Center's large screen expanded with a "shing"! Large areas of the far side of the moon, previously shrouded in the fog of war, instantly became clear! The terrain, craters, and mountain ranges within a fifty-kilometer radius were visible at a glance!

This feeling of "opening the whole map" gave Sun Zheng a massive boost in security. He immediately discovered more mining spots, and even in a remote, deep crater, he captured a faint yellow signal, very similar to the signal from the wreckage found earlier, but hidden even more covertly.

"Are there more Scrin ruins?" Sun Zheng silently noted the location.

Now all the conditions were met. He looked at the building icon he had been longing for.

"Construct Combat Laboratory! $3000!"

His funds were instantly zeroed out, and the largest, most complex building in the base began construction. It was estimated to take 30 minutes.

Sun Zheng waited with high expectations. Once the Combat Laboratory was built, he could unlock advanced units like the prism tank, phantom tank, and even Chrono Legionnaires, and he could also research those two alien technologies!

But when the Combat Laboratory was only halfway built, the piercing alarm sounded again!

[Warning! Multi-band, high-intensity spatial fluctuations detected! Bearing: Directly above the base and at the wreckage site to the northwest! Quantity: 3! Identification: Same origin as "Reaper" minions, but with stronger signals! Estimated arrival: 5 minutes!]

[Warning! Base power demand has surged; existing power generation cannot support the Combat Laboratory's startup and the full-power operation of defense systems! Please build additional power facilities immediately!]

Sun Zheng's expression changed instantly!

Three coming at once! And they were tougher than the previous one! Even worse, there wasn't enough power! The Combat Laboratory was a power hog in itself; once it started up, the three existing Power Plants wouldn't be able to sustain the base's defense facilities at full power!

"Build a fourth Power Plant immediately!" Sun Zheng roared, but looking at his funds—the money had just been spent on the Combat Laboratory, and while the ore trucks were working frantically, there simply wasn't enough time!

He snapped his head around, his gaze falling on the Scrin wreckage fragments in the homeworld space.

"Can these things... be exchanged for money?"