87: A Lesson from the Arsenal (5K, thanks for your support!)

Consciousness sank into the compact black briefcase.

There was no sensation of falling; it was as if he had simply closed his eyes and opened them, and everything before him had changed.

All around, the familiar silence and the coldness of metal instantly enveloped Jiang Feng.

He stood before the central console of the Cybrex Warforge, and for the first time, he felt as if he could see everything clearly.

Looking up, he saw crisscrossing tracks overhead with giant mechanical arms hanging down, looking exactly like the palms of Titans.

Judging by their size, they must be used to grab massive objects with diameters of tens of meters.

Jiang Feng was somewhat puzzled; he had been in here at least eight or ten times, so why had he never noticed this before?

Looking down, the metal grid floor extended into the gloomy distance, and for the first time, he saw the boundaries of the control room clearly.

In the distance, a patch of dark red light, resembling embers, illuminated the space both inside and outside.

It was an endless forest of steel, stretching out as far as the eye could see, with no end in sight.

Jiang Feng suddenly felt an inexplicable chill—not of fear, but of an indescribable sense of greatness and excitement that seeped from his bones and spread throughout his limbs.

It was as if he had finally seen something he had always longed for, a sense of mission, a fervor.

Perhaps, the only time he had felt this way in his previous life was when he was assembling the LEGO "Millennium Falcon."

The console screen lit up dimly, the concise data appearing like a cold verdict.

[Total Material Reserves: 6427 kg]

[Energy Reserves: 0.097%]

That scarlet number, less than 0.1%, made Jiang Feng's eyelids twitch.

Too little.

It shouldn't be this low!

Every time he activated this magnificent creation, Jiang Feng felt a sense of doubt.

But previous attempts to investigate had ended in vain, and he couldn't help but suspect that the Armory was keeping something from him.

He took a deep breath, suppressing the irritation born from the lack of energy, and his fingertips slid across the cold touch interface.

"Mainframe, import the blueprint."

"By the way, have you finished the blueprint I asked you to improve earlier?"

A blue light cube popped out, and with a wave of Jiang Feng's hand, Little Handsome and Gold-Wrapped Silver arrived in this space as well.

Little Handsome stood quietly, while Gold-Wrapped Silver was very excited, barking "Woof" several times intensely, as if it couldn't wait.

"Blueprint modification complete."

"The 'Peregrine' robot has had its original body structure upgraded, adopting a hollow frame and hollow shell, reducing weight by approximately 23%."

"Added artificial muscles that work in tandem with servo motors, providing finer force control and reducing energy consumption by approximately 16%."

"Adjusted system-level hardware to improve heat dissipation, increase intelligence, and enhance sensor sensitivity and detection range."

"Overall result: approximately 25% improvement compared to the original model."

The Mainframe projected a simulation of identical Peregrine robots scouting and fighting each other in an urban environment.

The old version of the Peregrine robot would be ambushed by the new version and instantly punched through along with the wall—and this was while unarmed. Immediately after, he saw them using weapons.

The new robots could better balance melee and ranged combat, and infiltration missions were smoother, but most importantly, they could provide computing power and communication relay for the Mainframe when necessary.

All of this did not change the size of the Peregrine; instead, it further optimized the streamlining, making it increasingly anthropomorphic.

"Woof!"

"Woof woof!"

Gold-Wrapped Silver was unsatisfied, opening its big mouth, its alloy teeth clashing, while its tail swung in a circle, striking sparks against the metal floor.

Jiang Feng smiled and did not stop it.

"The 'robot' Robot Dog has received the same structural upgrades as the Peregrine, reducing weight by approximately 31% and significantly increasing speed."

"Added distributed relays, strengthening explosive power through ultra-high voltage capacitors to provide large currents for short durations."

"Added electrothermal claws with tip temperatures reaching 1200 degrees Celsius, maintained for about 30 seconds."

"Optimized the energy core, replacing lithium-sulfur super-crystal batteries with carbon crystal batteries, significantly increasing battery life."

"Increased stealth; by making the internal structure variable, it can pass security checks disguised as a cargo Robot Dog."

The Mainframe also projected a simulation, and this time, it was Gold-Wrapped Silver's turn to watch, drooling uncontrollably.

The new Robot Dog dashed like a gust of wind, faster than a cheetah. Its top speed within thirty seconds was enough to burst forward and catch up to a racing car; any guy riding a hoverbike would no longer be able to show off.

The most terrifying thing was its electrothermal claws; one swipe, and even an exoskeleton would be hard-pressed to withstand it.

Combined with its ghostly speed and the stealth that allowed it to disguise itself as a cargo Robot Dog, it would be the best guardian.

"Perfect!" Jiang Feng was overjoyed.

The safety of his whole family depended on it, especially his parents who were far away. Without it guarding them, Jiang Feng really wouldn't dare to start a war lightly; otherwise, if his loved ones were affected, he would regret it too late!

"Upgrade, upgrade!"

"Manufacture, manufacture!"

Jiang Feng shouted, waving his hands and suddenly clenching his fists in the air.

"In addition to the upgrades, manufacture four 'Storm' and four 'Shadow' units, as well as ten 'worker bee' and six 'artisan' units."

[Materials sufficient, energy reserves sufficient.]

A line of text appeared on the console, and immediately after, a massive sound resonated throughout the world.

In the distance, the silent, massive casting units suddenly awakened, and a low hum came from deep underground.

The entire Armory seemed to come completely alive, turning into a vast and precise symphony orchestra.

The roaring of casting in different areas, the hissing of lasers, the sound of mechanical arms moving at high speed cutting through the air, the humming of energy transmission...

Countless sounds intertwined, forming a massive and dull torrent of noise.

It battered Jiang Feng's eardrums and pressed against his chest.

He subconsciously held his breath, his eyes fixed tightly on the scarlet indicator bar representing energy reserves on the central screen.

"Why isn't it 3D printing anymore?" Jiang Feng felt something was off and immediately asked the Mainframe.

"It still is, but it is more scaled-up," the Mainframe replied immediately.

The next second, the sound of material powder moving at high speed came from the thick pipes, and the casting furnace suddenly lit up with blinding light.

The entire world seemed to be illuminated by the sun.

Jiang Feng had no choice but to close his eyes, but even from a great distance, he could feel the hot wind lashing against his face.

Many robot body frames took shape in the depths of the furnace in just a moment.

At the same time, in another area, several relatively slender and agile the silver mechanical arms were activated in response.

Like metallic tentacles with a life of their own, they flew and darted above the complex platform, almost leaving afterimages.

Tiny laser beams precisely melted the powder material, constantly emitting high-frequency hissing sounds, causing the powder material to "grow" into the material at a specific rate and structure.

Micro-probes carved rapidly on the core components, splashing up imperceptible blue sparks.

The most terrifying thing was a group of gray sand particles; they moved in clusters of a few or a dozen atoms, carrying these "atomic cluster" level materials, and with incredible precision, built the most critical chips and integrated circuits.

There was no earth-shaking from the furnace, only a scalp-tingling silence.

The cold materials were quickly given brand-new contours.

But in contrast to this, the energy reserves...

…were shrinking with resolute and cold speed, visible to the naked eye.

0.090% ... 0.085% ...

0.077% ... 0.062% ...

Every tiny jump felt like it was draining a bit of Jiang Feng's strength.

He clearly felt that every equipment startup preheat, every production unit switch, every brief cooling and reheating of the furnace... was frantically squeezing out that pitiful amount of energy.

Time became viscous and long amidst the huge noise and blinding red light.

Soon, the bodies formed in the furnace, along with the tiny chips and functional components, were all transported to a simple platform, where mechanical arms stably grabbed, assembled, welded, and riveted them.

Splicing distinct modules into perfect works of art.

Gold-Wrapped Silver and Little Handsome's new bodies were manufactured, their core data was packed and uploaded, and calibration began.

How much time passed, he didn't know.

Maybe ten minutes, maybe longer.

The violent noise inside the Armory rapidly weakened and subsided like a receding tide.

Inside the huge furnace, the blazing light extinguished, leaving only dark red embers, like a giant beast wearily closing its eyes.

The high-speed precision mechanical arms also slowed down and returned to their positions, emitting a few final low-pitched electrical whines.

The last hum of the operating equipment faded away, and the vast space was replaced by a dead silence bordering on a vacuum.

In the dead silence, only the console screen glowed faintly, reflecting on Jiang Feng's somewhat pale face.

[Manufacturing Complete]

[Total Material Reserves: 6427 → 2803 kg]

[Energy Reserves: 0.097% → 0.000%]

That glaring "0.000%" was like a cold steel needle, piercing fiercely into Jiang Feng's eyes, and into his heart as well.

Jiang Feng felt his throat go dry.

He stared at the screen and asked in a low, detached voice.

"Console." Jiang Feng paused, then shook his head and smiled, as if amused by the absurdity of it all.

"Tell me, what does 1% of energy actually equate to? Give me a specific number!"

The data stream on the screen refreshed instantly, with lines of breathtakingly precise characters rapidly scrolling and arranging themselves.

[Energy Unit Conversion Reference:]

[Current Status Energy Reserve 1% ≈ 100 Terawatt-hours (TWh)]

[Cybrex Warforge Full Status (Including "Level 4 Singularity" Energy Core and Supporting The Matrix Storage) Energy Reserve 1% = 31 Exawatt-hours (EWh) ≈ 1/4000 of the energy output of a standard G-type star per second]

[Note: Current energy storage and conversion efficiency is in a state of exponential deterioration due to missing core facilities.]

Exawatt-hours? Terawatt-hours? The energy output of a star per second?

These units crashed into Jiang Feng's consciousness like cold boulders.

What kind of concept was this?

He remembered that before his death, the entire world's annual electricity generation had just broken through "32 trillion kilowatt-hours."

That was equivalent to "32,000 Terawatt-hours," or "0.032 Exawatt-hours."

In other words, when the Armory was at full capacity, 1% of its energy reserves was equivalent to "310 quadrillion kilowatt-hours."

That was hundreds, perhaps thousands of times the world's electricity consumption!

Such a massive energy demand could probably only be met by a "Level 4 Singularity."

Of course, "antimatter-catalyzed heavy nuclear fusion" would also work, and antimatter annihilation would be even better, but the scale of all this would only keep growing.

As for what a "Level 4 Singularity" was, he didn't know, nor did he have any relevant concept for it.

The largest energy source he could imagine was actually a Dyson Sphere.

In his impression, a Dyson Sphere was a technology that a civilization could only possess at a late stage of development; it encased an entire star, greedily harvesting its energy and completely extinguishing its starlight.

Indeed, in "Stellaris," a complete Dyson Sphere produced 4000 units of energy credits.

However, that was a monthly settlement, not per second.

'Is this a coincidence?'

Jiang Feng shook his head slightly; he didn't think so.

But even so, these numbers nearly suffocated Jiang Feng; he hadn't expected that the Cybrex Warforge's energy demands would exceed his imagination.

This was enough energy to vaporize a massive city.

This was enough energy to supply the entire Earth civilization for thousands of years before his death.

Yet it was merely 1% of its energy reserves.

He subconsciously clenched his fists, his nails digging into his palms.

Attempting to use this insignificant sting to combat his inability to calm his heart.

In the game, dozens or hundreds of energy credits were commonplace, but in reality, that was such a massive concept.

It exceeded the maximum limit that an average person could comprehend.

"So much energy..."

He looked at the glaring "0.000%" on the screen, then looked toward the twenty-four brand-new robots standing quietly on the empty platform, reflecting the faint ambient light, and of course, Little Handsome and Gold-Wrapped Silver, who were walking over.

Jiang Feng's inner questioning finally erupted: "So much energy, and it only produced this little bit of stuff?"

"Four Storms? Four Shadows? And those worker bees and artisans? And the upgrades?"

"This is simply a waste! A huge waste!"

Jiang Feng took a deep breath, calmed down, and asked again: "Where did all this energy actually go?"

The Mainframe's response remained cold and precise, devoid of any emotion, containing only pure data.

[Energy Consumption Analysis (This Manufacturing Run):]

[Target Unit Effective Material/Energy Conversion: 31.7%]

[Equipment Preheating/Shutdown Cooling Cycle Loss: 22.1%]

[Multi-model Production Unit Independent Activation and Switching Loss: 41.6%]

[Basic Life Support System and Space Maintenance: 4.6%]

[Core Loss Explanation: Production unit switching and preheating/cooling cycle losses (totaling 63.7%) are inherent characteristics of the current non-scaled, intermittent production mode.]

[This loss is negligible (< 0.01%) under full-load, single-model continuous mass production mode.]

Jiang Feng was stunned, his gaze fixed tightly on the number "63.7%."

Equipment preheating? Shutdown cooling? Switching losses?

Behind these dry terms, more than two-thirds of the energy had evaporated silently, like water poured into a desert.

Just to produce these mere twenty-four robots!

His throat felt blocked by something: "What do you mean by 'negligible under continuous mass production mode'?"

The Mainframe's data continued to refresh, like an even colder blade.

[Efficiency Comparison Simulation (Based on the energy corresponding to the 3624 kg of material consumed this time):]

[Mode: Current Non-scaled Intermittent Production]

[Output: Storm 4, Shadow 4, worker bee 10, artisan 6, Robot Dog Upgrade * 1, Peregrine Upgrade * 1]

[Effective Energy Utilization Rate: 31.7%]

[Mode: Full-load Single-model "Storm" Continuous Mass Production]

[Theoretical Output: Storm ≈ 16,200 units]

[Effective Energy Utilization Rate: > 99.99%]

[Note: Economies of scale are the core principle of energy and resource utilization.]

[Intermittent, multi-model, low-volume production modes lead to an exponential collapse in efficiency.]

"Sixteen thousand... two hundred units?"

Jiang Feng's breathing stopped completely.

Those lines of text on the screen were like a bolt of lightning tearing through the darkness, instantly piercing through all his perceptions.

More than sixteen thousand "Storm" units!

That was a terrifying iron flood capable of instantly submerging a city!

And everything he had just consumed, which had nearly drained the Armory's remaining energy, was as insignificant as a grain of sand on a beach when compared to the theoretical model of continuous production.

Jiang Feng didn't know what to say; he rubbed his nose, scratched his head, and pressed his temples.

So, it wasn't that the Cybrex Warforge was stingy or incompetent.

It turned out the greatest waste was himself.

It was his small-time, haphazard production method, like a beggar holding a golden bowl.

Burning away the vast majority of the most precious energy in the process of waiting and switching for nothing.

"Heh..."

A short laugh escaped from his throat.

Gold-Wrapped Silver sat down quietly, gazing at him with its brand-new electronic eyes.

Those robots also walked over, waiting silently for orders.

Jiang Feng could feel their presence.

Even with his eyes closed, those currents and steel were as flexible as his own fingers.

They would obey his orders, moving from the earth to the sky, and from the sky, returning to the stars.

Any obstacle would be quietly crushed within this flood, leaving not a speck of dust behind.

But at this moment, in Jiang Feng's eyes, they seemed to be shrouded in an inescapable shadow.

If he had enough materials, he could produce 16,000 of them.

But one unit consumed 319 kg of material; 16,200 units would be over five thousand tons. Not to mention that he didn't have the money to buy so much scrap, even if he did have the money to acquire it, he would inevitably be targeted.

This was the Terran Union, not a "pre-FTL civilization" that hadn't yet entered the space age; just a few tens of thousands of robots were useless.

'Did I think about this wrong...'

Jiang Feng suddenly realized his mistake; he didn't have that many materials to produce that many robots.

In his current situation, he didn't need so many robots to help out either.

'Perhaps, those wasted energy, it was just wasted.'

'Perhaps this was a lesson, telling me the importance of mass production.'

Jiang Feng's eyes grew brighter and brighter; time was on his side. When he needed more robots, he would ensure that the same batch would ideally produce the same model.

'What kind of magnificent scene would that be?'