172: Chapter 172 Resource Supplement

Watching Grace's endearing expression, Zhou An sighed softly, his tone softening a little.

"Don't overthink it. The nature of this airspace is a cruel insect-breeding arena; it won't stop the gears of its meat grinder just because someone wants peace."

He paused, his gaze turning stern.

"Sentimentalizing won't solve anything; we need to make pre-battle preparations immediately. Grace, what is the current personnel distribution of the White Feather Guild's exploration fleet?"

Grace also knew that now was not the time for weakness. She took a deep breath, quickly adjusted her emotions, and opened the holographic star map.

"To find the rare core materials you need, the nine joint fleets we sent out are currently mostly clustered within the front 30% of the area."

She pointed to the light spots on the star map and explained in detail.

"Only in that range is there a chance to occupy newly refreshed high-level Sky Islands. Further back, the resources have long since been picked clean by other forces like a plague of locusts."

"Moreover, the front 30% of the area has formed a subtle 'rolling wheel rule'."

Grace gestured to illustrate.

"The fleet flying at the very front must stop to extract and mine resources once they discover a Sky Island. Mining high-level Sky Islands is time-consuming. During this period, the originally trailing fleets will seize the opportunity to overtake them. When those behind encounter a new Sky Island, they will also stop... This cycle repeats, like a wheel constantly rolling forward. Most of the time, as long as two parties aren't stubborn enough to target the same Sky Island simultaneously, large-scale conflicts are relatively rare—because everyone is racing against time to grab resources."

She gave a bitter smile: "However, the White Feather Guild's foundation is still too thin. To play it safe, the fleet can only follow at the tail end of this 'rolling wheel,' eating the scraps left behind by the frontline forces. This is also why our resource collection has always been so slow."

After listening to this clear analysis of the situation, Zhou An tapped his fingertips lightly on the table and issued an order decisively.

"Eating scraps is better than being served as the main course. The situation is about to become chaotic; immediately send the highest-level recall order to all fleets currently out. Retract the defensive lines completely and gather everyone."

He analyzed calmly.

"Once full-scale war breaks out, isolated fleets will definitely be treated as living targets by those large guilds and destroyed one by one. We must clench our fist tight."

"Understood, I will issue the recall order immediately!" Grace nodded heavily.

"One more thing." Zhou An changed the subject. "How many five-source power cores are currently stored in your guild's treasury?"

Grace was stunned for a moment, then quickly went through the inventory in her mind: "Because we raided quite a few ruins before, we have accumulated some five-source power cores; there are currently about seventeen."

"Seventeen? Perfect."

"Pick out the seventeen best-built LV4 frigates from your fleet, add these seventeen cores directly, and smash out seventeen LV5 warships for me! I will cover all the level-five unit resources needed for the upgrades."

Once these words were spoken, Grace and Ivy widened their eyes instantly.

However, Zhou An's money-power bombardment was far from over.

He turned to look at Luo Ning beside him and instructed in a calm tone: "Luo Ning, once the White Feather fleet has fully assembled, take some robots to their warships and conduct a comprehensive check-up. See what outdated weapon and defense modules need to be replaced. I intend to upgrade all of their warships' core combat modules to legendary grade."

"All... all upgraded to legendary grade?!"

If upgrading seventeen LV5 warships just now was like a pie falling from the sky, then these words were like a meteorite made of pure gold smashing directly onto Grace's forehead. This Winged Clan queen stood up abruptly in shock, and because she was too excited, she even accidentally knocked over the teacup beside her.

A full set of legendary grade modules—that requires massive amounts of top-tier materials and resources to pile up. Even just refitting a single warship could empty out the family assets of a small guild, let alone arming the entire White Feather fleet?

"War is about logistics, which is burning money. The fear of insufficient firepower must be treated."

Zhou An didn't pay any attention to their shocked expressions; he simply opened the system panel and decisively transferred an astronomical sum.

"Ding—"

System Prompt: You have received war-preparedness funds transferred from the designated account: 200,000,000 level-five unit resources.

"Take these 200 million level-five resources and plan them out yourself. Fill up all the high-energy bombs and energy cartridges for the soldiers!"

Zhou An looked at Grace, his tone calm and steady, exuding an unquestionable confidence.

Looking at the 200 million huge sum that had appeared in the account, Grace's eyes reddened. In this cruel airspace where one could be backstabbed by allies at any moment, Zhou An's approach—not only refusing to treat them as cannon fodder but instead throwing out real money to arm them to the teeth—completely broke down the last line of defense in her heart.

"Lord Zhou An..."

Grace knelt on one knee solemnly, her voice choked with emotion.

"Your great kindness will be remembered by the entire White Feather Guild forever! Even if we fight to the last person, we will never take a step back!"

"Alright, alright, get up quickly. I can't stand you people kneeling at every turn."

Zhou An waved his hand helplessly and pulled her up. "Save the great kindness to repay later; the primary task now is to ensure we can all survive this bloody war."

After finishing the instructions for all war-preparedness matters, Zhou An took Luo Ning and Hila out of the lounge and walked outside.

Walking along the spacious metal corridor, Luo Ning, who had been cooperatively maintaining a cold and aloof posture in the lounge, finally couldn't help but lean in beside Zhou An.

"Boss..."

She lowered her voice, tugged on Zhou An's sleeve with a pained expression, and muttered softly.

"You were way too generous just now, weren't you? First you covered the upgrade resources for seventeen LV5 warships, then you outfitted everyone with legendary grade modules, and before leaving, you just threw out 200 million in cash! Can our family assets... really afford to burn like this?"

Although Luo Ning knew that Zhou An had earned quite a bit from reselling during this period, this massive expenditure pouring out like water still made this fortress's chief financial manager feel a sense of unease.

Looking at Luo Ning's little miser appearance, Zhou An couldn't help but chuckle and reached out to ruffle her hair.

"Set your heart at ease. You know absolutely nothing about the power of compound interest in capital."

He leaned into Luo Ning's ear and whispered in a voice only the two of them could hear:

"The high-frequency buying low and selling high over this period, plus our fortress's massive internal self-production and self-consumption capabilities... my system account currently has over 8 billion level-five unit resources lying in it."

"Eight... over 8 billion?!"

Luo Ning's footsteps stopped abruptly, her lively big eyes widened exaggeratedly, and her small mouth opened wide enough to fit an egg.

"So..."

Zhou An stretched comfortably. "Giving them 200 million to arm the defensive line as meat shields doesn't even count as a drop in the ocean."

...

Above the thick thunderstorm clouds, a massive floating giant city lay across the horizon like a sleeping beast.

In the very center of the giant city, inside the top-floor conference room of the Sky-Lift Tower, which symbolized the supreme power of the human race and towered into the clouds, the atmosphere was murderous.

City Lord Zhao Tianyu sat upright in the highest main seat.

On both sides of the conference table sat the powerful figures of the current human faction:

Minister Su Hongye, in a red dress with a sharp aura;

The plump and shrewd Guild Leader Qian Wanguan, former president of the Four Seas Guild and current Minister of Finance of Sky City;

And the burly Guild Leader Lin Xiaotian, former president of the Divine Domain Guild and current Deputy City Lord and Vice President of the Sky Engine.

Besides these familiar faces, a striking newcomer also sat at the end of the conference table.

She was a young woman who looked full of intellect and a literary temperament. She wore a refined and capable white slim-fit uniform, her long black hair casually pinned up with a jade hairpin.

On her fair and delicate face, she wore a pair of gold-rimmed glasses that gave off a highly academic aura, giving people a feeling of calmness and wisdom.

She was the newly appointed Deputy Minister of the Skynet Information Department—Deputy Minister Ye Shengge.

"Deputy Minister Ye Shengge, report on the current war-preparedness and personnel distribution within the city."

City Lord Zhao Tianyu crossed his fingers and spoke steadily.

"Yes, City Lord."

Deputy Minister Ye Shengge pushed up the gold-rimmed glasses on the bridge of her nose and stood up. Her voice was crisp and without ripples, carrying the composure unique to a professional intelligence officer:

"According to the system data summary, the total population currently belonging to our Sky City has surpassed the 400,000 mark, firmly occupying more than 80% of the total number of human survivors in the entire airspace."

"Among these 400,000 people, there are about 80,000 core combat personnel within the establishment. The top combat power possessing LV5 warships is currently around 4,000 ships, and the rest are all LV4 and LV3 level backbone escort fleets."

Deputy Minister Ye Shengge's slender fingers slid gently across the holographic control console, bringing up the resource ratio chart: "Currently, we have 40,000 main combat personnel deployed in the front-most '30% golden exploration zone.' This frontline force is highly efficient, providing Sky City with up to 60% of its core material sources. As for the remaining 40% gap, it mainly relies on cross-regional trading under Minister Qian Wanguan's command, as well as the output from the city's massive fully automated production lines."

After finishing the report, Deputy Minister Ye Shengge closed the folder neatly and sat back in her original seat.

After hearing this set of huge and terrifying data, the entire conference room fell into a brief silence. This was the absolute foundation that, after the unification of the human race, was enough to go head-to-head with the Beast Clan's super guilds.

"40,000 frontline troops; once full-scale war breaks out, facing the Beast Clan's berserk charge, the defensive line is too thin."

City Lord Zhao Tianyu's deep gaze swept across the room, and he decisively issued strategic mobilization orders:

"First, immediately initiate an emergency mobilization order! Let all reservists within the city who possess combat skills be transferred into the formal combat sequence immediately!"

"Second, quickly pull 20,000 elite combat personnel from the rear defensive lines to reinforce the very front line immediately! Guild Leader Lin Xiaotian!"

"Here!"

The burly Guild Leader Lin Xiaotian stood up abruptly, his eyes blazing with fighting spirit.

"You will personally lead this 20,000-man reinforcement troop."

City Lord Zhao Tianyu's voice was cold and hard.

"Nail me to the frontline position of the golden zone; do not allow the Beast Clan to push forward even a single step!"

"City Lord, rest assured! If they want to step over our human defensive line, they must pay with their lives!"

Guild Leader Lin Xiaotian pounded his chest heavily.

After arranging the frontline forces, City Lord Zhao Tianyu turned to look at Guild Leader Qian Wanguan, who was in charge of the purse strings.

"Fatty Qian, war is about logistics. I am giving you a death order."

City Lord Zhao Tianyu extended a finger and tapped on the table: "Contact all major war zones on the front lines immediately, as well as all traders who have influence in the regional channels. Use our reserve supplies to exchange for five-source power cores that can upgrade warships!"

"Raise the pricing directly—exchange 3 million level-five unit resources for one core! I want as many as there are, with no upper limit!"

Hearing this exaggerated bounty price, even the typically wealthy Guild Leader Qian Wanguan couldn't help but twitch his eyelids. But this fatty was very shrewd; he immediately understood the City Lord's intention and nodded heavily.

"The five-source cores acquired will not be put into storage."

"Distribute them directly and free of charge to those LV4 members who perform excellently on the battlefield and have outstanding combat merits. Under heavy rewards, there must be brave warriors. I want to spawn more and stronger LV5 warships in the shortest time possible!"

"You must closely follow every batch of material consumption on the front line. Even if it empties out Sky City's foundation, you must ensure that the ammunition and energy shields on the front line are sufficient—do you understand?"

"Understood! Guarantee to complete the mission!"

Guild Leader Qian Wanguan accepted the order solemnly.

Watching the human war machine running at high speed, City Lord Zhao Tianyu turned to look at the thick thunderstorm clouds outside the floor-to-ceiling windows, his eyes flashing with cold killing intent.

"The Beast Clan wants to play at unification? Then let's see whose teeth are harder."

...

After the oppressive highest-level war-preparedness meeting ended, the high-level officials dispersed one after another.

In the spacious corridor filled with a cold metallic texture, Minister Su Hongye and Deputy Minister Ye Shengge walked side by side.

Their high heels clicked on the alloy floor, emitting a crisp sound that faintly revealed a sense of confrontation.

"Deputy Minister Ye Shengge's report at the meeting today was truly wonderful."

Minister Su Hongye broke the silence first. She wore a provocative red dress, crossed her arms, and turned her head to look at the woman beside her, who had a cold temperament and was full of literary style. The corners of her mouth curled into a professional but temperatureless fake smile.

"Minister Su Hongye is overpraising me; it was just part of my duty."

Deputy Minister Ye Shengge calmly pushed up the gold-rimmed glasses on the bridge of her nose, her tone gentle, yet it was like a ball of cotton that one couldn't grasp.

"Part of one's duty also requires a deep foundation to support it. This makes me can't help but think back to when we were in the 'Initial Zone'..."

Minister Su Hongye naturally threw out the sense of oppression that came with seniority.

"At that time, Sky City was still in a difficult starting stage. The City Lord, me, Old Qian, and Old Lin fought our way through a bloody path. Now that the zones have merged, Sky City embraces all rivers; having excellent fresh blood like Deputy Minister Ye Shengge join the core layer, the City Lord can finally worry a little less."

These words could be described as "needles hidden in cotton."

Minister Su Hongye was beating around the bush to warn Deputy Minister Ye Shengge: Don't get too cocky; I, Minister Su Hongye, am a core veteran who followed City Lord Zhao Tianyu to conquer the world, while you are just an outsider who came to pick the peaches after the zone merger. Don't even think about easily occupying my ecological niche in this core team.