140: Chapter 140 Nuclear Fusion

Fire Seed Shelter, Main Control Room No. 1.

Lin Li sat on a leather swivel chair and withdrew his gaze from the forum interface.

The players had basically finished digesting the massive spoils of victory from taking Coastal City.

Naturally, due to the large-scale reshuffling and the massive influx of points from this campaign, the players' average level had significantly increased, and various strange new legion registration applications had popped up.

Lin Li continued to uphold the principle of strict auditing in the backend, only opening up slots for four new legions.

There weren't many major changes regarding the bases of the established legions.

Large guilds like the Scourge Legion and the Galactic Empire Stormtroopers began to snowball crazily, using points to buy out development rights for various regions, accumulating more and more resources in their hands.

Only that group of muscle-brained hunks from the [Brotherhood of Steel] made an unexpected move.

After spending a large sum to buy the large waste treatment plant north of Coastal City as their new base, they immediately turned around and sold the property rights of the Northwest Grand Canyon camp for a pittance to the newly formed mutant legion [Bear Ridge] just to recoup some funds.

After all...

In the northern wasteland of Coastal City now, although the Ork Warboss was dead, millions of scattered remnants were still fighting each other.

And the people of the Brotherhood of Steel loved nothing more in life than fighting Orks; they would set up camp wherever the Orks were most numerous.

“The player base has risen again, and mass production for individual Power Armor and bipedal mechs is about to go online. Plus, the first batch of native gene enhancements is on the right track.”

Lin Li rubbed his chin, calculating silently, “Internal affairs are stable now. It's time to start guiding this group of The Fourth Calamity players into deep space!”

Lin Li had previously emphasized on the B6 floor that 73 should manufacture the [Miniature Nuclear Fusion Core] from the mechs separately, all for this grand game of deep space.

Currently, let alone Fire Seed Shelter, even looking at the entire Yuanwang Star System, there was probably no one who could create a nuclear fusion core so small in volume yet so massive in energy.

From a purely strategic perspective...

The arrival of bipedal tactical mechs didn't actually have as much impact as imagined.

To put it bluntly, these things were just more flexible bipedal tanks with melee armor-piercing capabilities.

Their target profile on the battlefield was even much larger than that of ordinary tracked tanks.

Anything a mech could do, a tank could do just as well.

But if the [Miniature Nuclear Fusion Core] inside its belly were taken out separately, the things it could do would be completely different!

This represented an absolutely clean, nearly infinite energy supply!

This would completely revolutionize the primitive energy structure on this planet!

Add to that the simple Anti-gravity Engine Coils that the grease monkey Kane had recently tinkered with.

If these two things were combined and given to those imaginative science and engineering players...

They would definitely pull off something big!

More importantly...

Lin Li had already ordered Iron Man 73 to begin deep deconstruction of the underlying data in the STC Etched Plates, requiring it to directly use the large Matter Constructor on the B5 floor to manufacture independent Nuclear-powered Engines!

The nuclear fusion core was only used to provide electricity.

But a real Nuclear Thermal Ramjet Engine could directly heat inhaled air or working fluid through a nuclear reactor, producing terrifyingly high-temperature and high-pressure gas for propulsion!

This thing was even more incredible.

Once they had it, as long as players welded the doors shut and sealed them well, driving a ground-tracked vehicle straight into space with a stomp on the gas wouldn't be a problem!

“However, before the players officially build spaceships to go up, I have to scout the path for them first.”

Lin Li opened a computer document, his fingers flying across the keyboard as he began to write a new faction quest:

[Step into the Stars Expansion · Limited Quest: Alliance Pioneers!]

[Quest Description: Do not be limited by the dirt beneath your feet! Go explore the unknown worlds in the galaxy! The first blood is always the most precious.]

[Quest Rewards: Every individual player who successfully lands on an alien surface and establishes a beacon for the first time will receive the 'Star Pioneer' out-of-print limited title and 10,000 points! Their legion will directly obtain priority trading rights and development qualifications for that planet!]

The quest editing was complete, and Lin Li clicked to publish it server-wide.

He intended to switch back to the forum page to lurk and see the players' hilarious reactions to this new quest.

The pv terminal on the desk suddenly lit up. Iron Man 73's voice came through:

“Creator, the latest deep space launcher has been manufactured. It is currently standing on the launch pad ready for ignition. Please proceed to the B5 floor monitoring room to observe the maiden launch ceremony.”

“So fast?”

Lin Li immediately got up and took the elevator to the B5 floor.

Stepping out of the elevator...

Good grief, he saw that a huge compartment on the B5 floor had been completely transformed by 73 into a sci-fi real-time monitoring and command room.

Nearly a hundred high-definition data sub-screens hung on the surrounding walls.

In the center of this hall was a main display screen the size of a movie screen.

The screen was broadcasting a real-time live feed of the surface launch pad.

Lin Li walked to the screen and looked closely, instantly stunned.

“Isn't this just a giant space shuttle?”

Lin Li pointed at the behemoth in the image that looked similar to a space shuttle from the Earth era.

“Why aren't we using the traditional multi-stage liquid rockets like the ones used to launch satellites before?”

73 stood nearby, a hint of mechanical arrogance flashing in its red electronic eyes:

“Creator, since we have decoded the underlying architecture of nuclear fusion engines, those primitive spacecraft that need to carry massive chemical fuel tanks can be completely thrown into the trash heap of history.”

“The Nuclear Thermal Ramjet Engine is already built?!” Lin Li was somewhat surprised by this Iron Man's insane work efficiency.

“Yes.”

73 pulled up a 3D perspective view.

“With the data support from the STC Etched Plates, I used the Matter Constructor to print a miniature Nuclear Thermal Ramjet Engine array. Each engine is three meters high and one meter in diameter, with a single unit capable of producing a maximum absolute thrust of 500,000 tons. Furthermore, within the atmosphere, it doesn't need to carry any propellant fuel at all; it only needs to heat air to produce thrust.”

“The space shuttle you see is 300 meters long. Its cargo bay is currently carrying a high-precision large space telescope weighing 80 tons.”

“The mission for this launch is to deploy this telescope into the planet's geostationary orbit. It will provide us with ultra-high-definition real-time optical video data of the entire galaxy.”

Lin Li understood: “To put it simply, you've installed an oversized surveillance camera in the sky, right?”

“Yes. Your common analogy is physically and logically correct,” 73 replied.

“With this giant surveillance, we can stay home and check the real-time status of various planets in the Yuanwang Star System at any time?” Lin Li's eyes lit up.

“Launch it quickly! It'll clear the fog of war for the players. Otherwise, even if they build ships later, they'll be flying around in space like headless flies, and the exploration efficiency would be too low.”

“Understood. Countdown finished. Ignition.”

As soon as 73 finished speaking...

In the image on the big screen, the bottom of that massive silver-white space shuttle instantly erupted with a blinding white high-temperature plasma stream! There was no billowing smoke, only intense distortion caused by the extreme heating of the air.

There was no need for the slow climb of a traditional rocket.

With a terrifying thrust-to-weight ratio, the acceleration of this space shuttle simply defied the laws of physics.

It was like an arrow shot from a powerful bow, its altitude constantly soaring.

In less than thirty seconds...

The space shuttle's silhouette had completely broken through the thick cloud layer, no longer visible to the naked eye.

Its straight flight path could only be tracked through the perspective of the reconnaissance satellites already in orbit.

In less than a minute...

The space shuttle accurately entered its designated low-Earth orbit.

The cargo bay doors on its back slowly slid open to both sides.

A huge folding robotic arm extended, steadily deploying a cylindrical device dozens of meters long into the pitch-black space.

Then, the space shuttle's nose turned, its tail emitting a faint ghostly blue glow as it began to turn back into the re-entry orbit for the atmosphere.

Meanwhile, that massive space telescope unfolded its huge and complex lens array in space like a Transformer.

After a brief system self-check and calibration...

Massive amounts of optical video data instantly crossed the distance of hundreds of kilometers, transmitted in real-time to the main server on the B5 floor.

“Swish—”

On the giant display screen at the front of the monitoring hall, the image instantly switched to the deep space perspective of the telescope.

However...

When Lin Li looked up with anticipation and saw the scene in the image...

He was completely dumbfounded, his face full of questions.

“What the hell is all this?”

Lin Li pointed at the countless points of light on the screen, dense like a handful of sesame seeds scattered on a black cloth.

“Why are there so many messy planets? Where is this Outpost Star we're on? Which ones around us are friend or foe?”

Iron Man 73's metal head slowly turned around.

Its red optical lens scanned Lin Li up and down twice.

Lin Li felt like his intelligence was being insulted by this Iron Man.

73 didn't speak.

It turned and left the hall for a short while.

When it returned...

In its cold metal hands, it carried a bunch of small spheres of different sizes and colors, like billiard balls.

73 walked to the tactical table in the center of the hall and placed the balls on the tabletop in order of scale and orbit.

“Creator. To compensate for your lack of star map knowledge, I have created a physical sandbox model for you.”

73 pointed to the largest red sphere in the center of the table, “This burning red dwarf is the star of the Yuanwang Star System.”

Then, its finger moved to a small dull yellow ball closest to the sun.

“This one is closest to the sun. Judging by the surface spectral composition and thermal response, it is suspected to be a Forge World. Additionally, this Forge World has an associated white moon. Observation through polarized filtering suggests no signs of large-scale human activity on that white moon.”

73's finger continued to move outward.

“Next is this blue-green planet. Its surface is covered by large areas of mutated plants, and there are thick clouds in the atmosphere. It is suspected to be an Agri-World dedicated to food production.”

“Further out is this planet covered in dark red patches. From the dense Hive City structures on its surface, which even extend into near-Earth orbit, this should be the political center of this system—the Hive World Capital.”

73 paused and pointed to a massive, eerie purplish-red gaseous sphere on the table.

“And this large purplish-red gas giant is the primary planet closest to us. Outpost 586, where we are currently located, is just a small moon orbiting it.”

“Also, it's worth noting that this gas giant's gravitational field is very large. It doesn't just have us as a moon; there are several other unknown moons in its outer orbits.”

Finally, 73's finger landed on a solitary blue-white ball at the very edge of the table.

“And at the outermost edge of the system is this blue-white planet covered in thick ice. Spectral analysis shows that what flows on its surface isn't seawater, but an ocean of extremely low-temperature liquid methane.”

“This is an excellent natural mine for refining the Promethium fuel needed for interstellar ships. However, judging from current high-definition observations, there are no signs of human-established mining bases on it.”

After listening to 73's explanation...

And cross-referencing it with the real-time telescope footage on the big screen...

The mess in Lin Li's mind finally cleared up, and he gained a general understanding of the power distribution in this galaxy.

To summarize simply...

This Yuanwang Star System had a total of six major planetary bodies.

Three of them—the Forge, Agri, and Hive World Capital—had human life.

The other three—the white moon, the gas giant, and the liquid methane ice planet—appeared to be uninhabited dead worlds for now.

“Since the Warp in this sector is sealed, the most likely direct threat to us would be that Hive World Capital in the same system.”

Lin Li rubbed his chin and stared at the screen: “Old Seven, zoom in a bit. Let me see the current state of that Hive World Capital.”

“Understood.”

The image on the big screen began to move and zoom in rapidly.

Until the entire screen was completely occupied by that reddish-brown Hive planet radiating an oppressive aura.

Viewed from a distant space angle...

The surface of this planet looked like it was covered in metallic sores. Aside from a few somewhat dilapidated orbital defense platforms floating in geostationary orbit, nothing substantial could be seen at all.

“Zoom in more.” Lin Li frowned.

“Wait... no! Old Seven! Stop!”

Lin Li suddenly leaned closer to the screen, pointing at an area in the planet's near-Earth orbit.

“What are those little black dots that look like flies?!”

73's optical lens also instantly locked onto that area.

Through the extreme optical magnification of the space telescope...

The scene in that area was finally clearly presented in the image.

In the near-Earth orbit of that Hive World, there was actually a fleet composed of over fifty ships of various sizes, slowly breaking away from the gravitational pull!

Although the speed of this fleet was far from the speed of light, the direction they were sailing was precisely toward the outpost planet where Lin Li was located!

Unlike those merchant ships that traded between planets without any self-defense firepower...

Every ship in this fleet had hulls densely covered with weapon turrets!

The main flagship of the fleet was a cigar-shaped system defense patrol boat.