35: Rich Galaxy

"One-tenth."

When Zeral stated this conclusion in a tone filled with regret, both the Central Council on the homeworld and the bridge of the Far Star Fleet, light-years away, fell into a complex state of emotion.

The reserves of the "residue" left behind after that great catastrophe alone were already sufficient to support the entire construction plan for the Faleim Civilization's stargate network.

What kind of earth-shattering scale must that super mineral vein, which spanned the entire planet before the catastrophe, have been?

Consul Price watched the scene of the crystal forest transmitted back by The Arbitrators legion on the holographic screen, and a burning flame finally ignited in his calm, blue eyes.

He knew that the turning point in the fate of the Faleim Civilization in this strange universe had arrived.

"Zeral," he spoke slowly, his voice not loud, yet it clearly resonated throughout the entire conference room, carrying an unquestionable authority, "I need you to immediately organize a top-level project team composed of geologists, ecologists, and planetary engineers."

"Your task is to develop, in the shortest possible time, a complete and detailed plan for us to thoroughly transform the entire Laika System and incorporate it into our civilization's territory."

"Yes, Archon!" Zeral immediately performed a respectful chest-touching salute.

"Talon," Price turned his gaze to the commander of the Far Star Fleet, "After you complete the preliminary exploration of the remaining planets in the Laika System, your fleet will temporarily station there until the first batch of engineering fleets arrives. I need you to ensure the absolute safety of that place; I do not want some blind insects like the Tigaden people to pop out from some corner after we start construction."

"Understood, Archon." Talon's reply was concise and powerful.

A massive system development plan, personally named "Foundation Stone" by Archon Price, was rolled out across the entire Faleim Civilization with thunderous momentum just minutes after the meeting.

In synchronous orbit above the homeworld Faleimland, those giant shipyards that had just completed the technical upgrade and mass production of the "First Generation Warp Drive" received new orders.

They ceased the construction of combat ships.

Instead, they began mass-producing a brand new type of "Pathfinder-class" multi-functional engineering ship, designed specifically for long-distance interstellar travel and planetary engineering operations, at an astonishing speed.

These engineering ships were like giant, mobile toolboxes.

They were not only equipped with the latest "Next-Generation Warp Drive," capable of interstellar travel at ten times the speed of light, but also featured planetary atmosphere processors, Geological Stabilizers, automated mineral refineries, and hundreds of industrial engineering robots specialized in construction.

And on the surface of the Falem Homeworld, an even larger-scale mobilization was quietly underway.

Millions of citizens received draft orders from the Central Council.

Most of them were former administrative personnel, officials, and engineers from the empire's capital system. The empire's former administrative system had appeared concise and efficient in the face of vast territories, but it was too bloated when limited to only one system.

Therefore, most citizens who once belonged to the upper class underwent genetic editing or physical modification surgeries after losing their original status, and after having specific knowledge implanted via brain-computer interfaces, they became technicians in various fields.

They would bid farewell to the comfortable homeworld and become the first colonists to set foot on a new world.

There was no fear or loss on their faces, only a fanaticism born from a heartfelt pride for the continuation and expansion of their civilization.

This was the Faleim Scientific Conglomerate.

A civilization set as "Authoritarian" and "Fanatic Materialist" in Lei Wen's game.

They had no inefficient democratic bickering, nor did they have pointless personal emotions.

Only absolute rationality and a terrifying execution ability that operated like a precision machine for the highest interests of the civilization.

When a clear goal that aligned with the highest interests of the civilization appeared, the entire civilization would be like a giant activated beehive, and all individuals would unhesitatingly pour all their strength into it.

This was the supreme achievement of the Faleim Civilization's genetic editing technology.

...

Meanwhile, in the distant Laika System.

After completing the preliminary survey of the Laika-3 planet, the ten ships of the Far Star Fleet began their new mission.

They no longer maintained a concentrated formation, but instead, like a pack of released hunting dogs, dispersed to conduct more detailed close-range detection and scanning of the other nine planets in the Laika System.

They were to be like an experienced old miner, thoroughly exploring this rich mine.

To find all valuable mineral deposits, not missing a single corner.

The flagship rathia and another cruiser, sifidia, remained in orbit around Laika-3 as a temporary command center and communication relay, while simultaneously monitoring any unusual movements in that massive rift.

The remaining destroyers and frigates sailed toward their respective targets.

A [New Generation-class] destroyer arrived above the greenhouse hell wrapped in sulfuric acid clouds—Laika-2.

It deployed hundreds of probes equipped with anti-gravity suspension devices into the atmosphere, which was as thick as soup.

These probes, built from super-corrosion-resistant alloys, pierced through the thick clouds and, braving a terrifying atmospheric pressure hundreds of times that of the Falem Homeworld, revealed the true face of this planet to the Faleim People.

This was a world composed of black basalt and twisted sulfur crystals.

Countless massive shield volcanoes were erupting incessantly, sending vast amounts of sulfur dioxide and volcanic ash into the atmosphere, further exacerbating the planet's greenhouse effect.

"Although the environment is harsh," the destroyer's captain reported to Talon, "the planet's crust is rich in massive amounts of heavy metal elements—uranium, thorium, plutonium... all excellent raw materials for manufacturing high-energy weapons and traditional fission reactors. The reserves are at least ten times that of our home system. I recommend establishing orbital refining stations and automated extraction platforms."

"We should find a use for them if we are to incorporate lower-tier vassal civilizations in the future."

Another [Pulse-class] frigate sailed toward those massive gas giants.

Its high-sensitivity sensor suite was able to analyze extremely subtle compositional differences in the violent atmospheres of these planets.

"In addition to hydrogen and helium, high concentrations of exotic gases have been detected in the atmospheres of Laika-4 and Laika-6. In our old universe's technology repository, this gas is used to produce a strategic resource called Alien Natural Gas, which can greatly increase the damage output of energy weapons and the capacity of energy shields. I recommend establishing orbital atmospheric collection stations."

"Laika-7's magnetic field is extremely abnormal, with an intensity over a hundred times that of similar gas giants. It seems that some kind of ultra-high-density exotic matter exists deep within its core. This has extremely high value for our physics research. I recommend establishing a permanent scientific observation station in its synchronous orbit."

One piece of good news after another kept coming in from the various exploration squads.

The entire Laika System was like a massive, untapped treasure trove, with almost every planet containing precious resources needed by the Faleim Civilization that could greatly enhance its strength.

And the biggest surprise came from the exploration of the fifth gas giant—Laika-5.

This was a beautiful giant planet featuring pale purple and orange stripes.

It possessed as many as dozens of satellites of varying sizes.

When the [Pulse-class] frigate responsible for exploring this area scanned its largest satellite, named Laika-5A, it discovered an extremely anomalous physical phenomenon.

This satellite was larger in volume than the Falem Homeworld, but it had no atmosphere, and its surface was completely covered by a thick layer of ice.

However, in its polar region, the frigate's matter scanner detected a massive ocean in a liquid state.

"This is impossible," the scientist on the frigate said, looking at the data in disbelief, "The average surface temperature of this satellite is below minus 180 degrees. Any known liquid—whether water or methane—should be frozen solid, unless..."

"Unless the substance making up this ocean is itself an anomalous substance."

A scientist at the homeworld's scientific center who was monitoring this situation added.

The frigate cautiously deployed a sampling robot into that liquid ocean.

When the robot collected a test tube of liquid sample that emitted a luster like mercury and analyzed it, a result that overturned their existing understanding of physics appeared.

"Commander, we have a major discovery!" the frigate's captain reported to Talon in a tone mixed with surprise and disbelief.

"We have discovered a brand new anomalous substance on the Laika-5A satellite!"

"It appears liquid in low-temperature environments, and when we tried to heat it with a laser, it actually solidified!"

"Its physical properties are completely opposite to conventional matter!"

This discovery immediately caused a stir throughout the entire homeworld scientific center.

Because they knew what this substance meant.

In their old universe's technology repository, this anomalous substance was named "Sub-Recursive Meson."

It was one of the essential materials for manufacturing the mega-structure Matter Decompressor.

And the Matter Decompressor was a galactic wonder capable of "decompressing" matter absorbed and compressed by black holes, forming massive amounts of minerals.

A civilization possessing a Matter Decompressor would almost never be troubled by the problem of mineral shortages.

This was an ultimate artifact capable of completely changing the way a civilization acquired resources.

...

Three months later, the preliminary exploration of the entire Laika System was declared complete.

A thousands-of-pages-long system development plan, personally written by Zeral, was presented before Archon Price.

The grandeur and detail of this plan were enough to make any strategic planner from an Earth nation feel ashamed.

["Foundation Stone" Plan Outline]

Phase 1 (1-5 years): Infrastructure Construction

Dispatch the first fleet consisting of 100 "Pathfinder-class" engineering ships and 10 escort warships to the Laika System.

Establish a primary starbase in orbit around the star Laika as the administrative and defense center for the entire system.

Establish the first fully automated morse crystal mining station in the great rift on the surface of Laika-3, and use the abundant morse crystals found on-site to begin construction of the first stargate connecting Faleimland and the Laika System.

Establish corresponding resource collection stations in orbit around resource planets such as Laika-2, Laika-4, and Laika-5A.

Phase 2 (5-20 years): Planetary Transformation and Industrial Development

Initiate the ecological transformation project for the planet Laika-3.

Use planetary atmosphere processors to inject large amounts of terraforming bacteria and oxygen into the atmosphere, and use Geological Stabilizers to repair planetary plates that had become extremely unstable due to the high-dimensional explosion, transforming Laika-3 into a habitable planet suitable for colonization within a few years.

Establish massive industrial cities and scientific research centers on the surface of Laika-3, forging it into the second core world of the Faleim Civilization in this universe.

Establish a large physics research station in orbit around Laika-8, the ice giant with complex meteorological activity.

Phase 3 (After 20 years): Full-Scale Colonization and Strategic Expansion

Initiate large-scale interstellar migration once the Faleimland stargate and Laika stargate are completed, with an estimated tens of millions of Faleim citizens to be relocated to the Laika System.

Utilize the abundant resources of the Laika System to build a large number of engineering ships and research ships.

Use the Laika System as a forward base to begin exploration and expansion into the vast, unknown star regions nearby.

...

Price looked at this plan, a satisfied expression appearing on his face.

This was how the Faleim Civilization should be.

Tenacious, rational, efficient, and forever filled with a desire for expansion into the future.

"Very good."

He approved the plan.