54: Chapter 54 Exploring Magnetic Fields: The Iron Age!

Su Yang opened the territory panel.

Before starting the upgrades, he needed to tally the current resource stockpile and production rate within the territory.

Upgrades required massive resources; Su Yang needed to use his limited resources to achieve the optimal upgrade path.

Only by calculating the specific resource values could this be accomplished.

Excluding the three new mining machines not yet in use, there were five mining machines operating within the territory.

A Level 1 Stone Mining Machine had an output of 100 units/day. With the dual buffs of "Prosperity and Peace" and "The Progressive," efficiency increased by 220%, bringing the output to a staggering 220 units/day!

The combined output of two Level 1 Carbon Mining Machines was 110 units/day, which became 242 units/day after the bonuses.

The combined output of one Level 2 Copper Mining Machine and one Level 1 Copper Mining Machine was 120 units/day, which became 264 units/day after the bonuses.

It had been nearly 12 hours since he upgraded the Main Base last night.

The stockpile of stone in the territory had reached 363 units.

A total of 168 units of carbon had been produced, all of which were consumed immediately after resupplying the Armored Soldiers.

As Su Yang frantically upgraded his army, the resource consumption grew exponentially.

The energy consumption for both Level 2 Armored Elite Soldiers and Armored Crossbowmen was 2 units/day.

40 Armored Elite Soldiers and 30 Armored Crossbowmen consumed a total of 140 units of carbon resources per day.

The consumption for Level 2 Scouts was 4 units/day; 4 Scouts consumed a total of 16 units of carbon resources per day.

Finally, there was General Li Xin, who required 10 units of fuel resources daily.

This massive force of Imperial Armor Troops required 166 units of carbon resources every day.

If they were to undergo large-scale, prolonged combat, this number would increase even further.

Although the Imperial Armor Camp did not limit the number of troops that could be summoned, this did not mean he could churn out troops infinitely.

To maintain a powerful army, one must possess a powerful logistics system.

Otherwise, if logistical support could not keep up, the army would be unable to operate, no matter how many troops there were.

Although the territory could produce 242 units of carbon daily thanks to the buff bonuses, those buffs had time limits. Once the bonuses disappeared, production capacity would return to 110 units.

This figure was certainly insufficient to sustain the army's consumption in the long run.

He had to prioritize increasing the territory's base fuel production capacity!

Currently, the only ways to increase base production capacity were to upgrade the mining machines or build new ones.

Su Yang immediately utilized the Mining Vein Relocation technology to relocate a carbon mine previously marked by a Scout.

The carbon mine was of "Abundant" quality, and after building a mining machine, the base production capacity was 60 units/day.

Su Yang then began the upgrades; upgrading a mining machine from Level 1 to Level 2 required 10 units of copper resources.

From last night to today, the mining machines had produced a total of 186 units of copper, with 64 units consumed for maintaining the Imperial Armor, replenishing ammunition, and so on.

The territory still had 122 units of copper, which could be considered wealthy.

Su Yang waved his hand and upgraded all Level 1 mining machines.

Upgrading a mining machine to Level 2 provided a 50% increase in production capacity.

After the upgrades were completed, the total base production capacity of the three Level 2 carbon mining machines soared to 255 units/day.

After the buff bonuses, it reached a staggering 561 units/day!

It had more than doubled from the original amount!

Now, the territory's energy problem was resolved; even if new troop types were added, there would be no need to worry.

The base output of the two Level 2 copper mining machines reached 180 units/day.

After bonuses, it became 396 units/day, also receiving a significant boost.

Now, Su Yang did not need to be as frugal with mecha maintenance and crossbow ammunition replenishment as before.

In short, life was now prosperous!

With such powerful logistical support, Su Yang's subsequent upgrades became even more confident.

The core of this series of upgrades was the Thousand Mechanism Tower and the Imperial Armor Camp.

The Thousand Mechanism Tower controlled many key technologies, including iron ore exploration.

The Imperial Armor Camp could unlock even more powerful troop types.

Upgrading the Thousand Mechanism Tower to Level 3 required 30 units of copper and 50 units of iron ore.

Upgrading the Imperial Armor Camp required 50 units of copper and a full 100 units of iron ore.

Fortunately, the territory's production capacity and stockpiles were large now; otherwise, it would be difficult to unlock even these two!

Without hesitation, Su Yang immediately invested the resources.

The rumbling sound of machinery echoed as both the Thousand Mechanism Tower and the Imperial Armor Camp began their upgrades simultaneously.

Thick white steam surged above the territory as the two buildings rapidly transformed.

After a series of changes, the Thousand Mechanism Tower and the Imperial Armor Camp appeared before Su Yang with brand-new looks.

The addition of iron material gave the buildings a vastly different appearance than before.

The buildings were no longer the bronze-colored grayish-green; they had turned silver-white, becoming brighter and colder overall.

In terms of structure, their facades became more complex, with various precision instruments that were dazzling to behold.

The Thousand Mechanism Tower, in particular, had changed from a single tower structure to a dual-tower structure.

Above the thick tower base, there were now two spires.

What did this mean?

Could it be that he could now research two technologies at once?

Su Yang guessed in his heart and immediately opened the Level 3 Thousand Mechanism Tower panel.

Appearance was just the surface; the most important thing was the improvement brought by the upgrade.

After opening it, the panel was indeed different from before.

Two screens appeared on the Thousand Mechanism Tower panel, clearly indicating that it was capable of conducting two research projects simultaneously.

This pleasantly surprised Su Yang!

According to the experience from the first two rounds of trials, the research labs of all countries could only conduct one research project at a time, no matter how they were upgraded.

With many Late Stage technologies taking a long time to research, this dual-thread effect of the Thousand Mechanism Tower would greatly improve the territory's research efficiency!

Filled with joy, Su Yang quickly flipped to the resource tab.

It was foreseeable that iron would become an important resource in the next stage.

Therefore, the iron ore exploration technology was the first technology that needed to be unlocked.

[Technology: Magnetic Field Research]

[Delve into the various properties of metallic iron and utilize metal detection devices to accurately capture the location of mineral veins]

[command points: 3000 points]

[Time: 12h]

Without hesitation, Su Yang immediately invested 3000 command points.

[command points - 3000 points]

[Technology: Magnetic Field Research in progress...]

The metal spire on the left side of the Thousand Mechanism Tower began to operate.

Countless high-temperature steam surged out, accompanied by the rumbling of machinery.

This was the first step for Great Qin to step into the Iron Age, and a brand-new chapter was about to begin.