Congratulations — obtained the "T5 Creator-class Starship"
Uh…
Zhao Chen stared blankly a good long while.
From this plain name, Zhao Chen could make out no information at all.
Zhao Chen opened it up — and there was a long string of data-notes.
One thing could be settled for certain: this was not a combat-type interstellar warship.
It was an auxiliary-type interstellar warship.
"This… this is… black-tech!" Seeing what this warship could do, Zhao Chen gasped in wonder.
Why did Zhao Chen call it black-tech?
Because it truly was as its name said — it could "shape matter and make worlds"!
This T5 Creator-class Starship could reform a planet's ecological environment.
Not every planet could be reformed, of course.
A gas-giant, for instance — that it could not manage.
What it could do was to take planets originally unfit for life to dwell on, or of a low-quality ecology, and reform them into something more fit for life to dwell on.
Its working principle was simple.
Within the T5 Creator-class Starship, a great quantity of "eco-forming nanomites" could be produced and carried.
Having selected a planet fit for reforming, the T5 Creator-class Starship would fly to that planet's near orbit, and then scatter the "eco-forming nanomites" over it.
These "eco-forming nanomites" possessed the trait of self-division, and could endure the harshest environments; even flung into a star, they could survive a spell.
But their lifespan was short — the shortest a mere month, the longest no more than a year.
They would use their own bodies to reform the planet: the first step being to reform certain of the planet's most brutal ecological conditions, and then, in an exceedingly short span, to form continents, oceans, an atmosphere, and other such ecological elements.
For a standard-sized planet, a year's time could complete such a reforming; different degrees of planet took different reforming times, of course.
And such a T5 Creator-class Starship, with supply assured, could reform at least 300 planets in a year.
Why had the Starlight Empire earlier suffered a food crisis, the great mass of its lower orders living so wretchedly?
Partly it was a bloated population, and partly it was that habitable planets were simply too few — added to which were the ceaseless cases of planets over-developed, their ecologies wrecked past dwelling on.
And because of the Mechanical Race, for that stretch they'd been unable to draw resources from without or colonize abroad.
Which left the Starlight Empire's people's livelihood plunging fast, the quality of life foul beyond words.
But seeing the cost of this bit of black-tech, Zhao Chen sighed within too.
Black-tech and no mistake — it came down to one word: pricey!
The T5 Creator-class Starship cost 500 billion star coins per ship — and that was the small end.
The large end was the raw-material supply the subsequent production of "eco-nanomites" required: to reform one standard planet, for instance, called for 1 billion star coins' worth of raw materials.
And reforming 300-odd of them without pause across a year meant a supply of 300 billion star coins!
A fine thing it was, and the tech was black-tech — it was just a touch of a money-burner.
To roll it out over a wide range was somewhat difficult; but if it were aimed at only a small range, it was rather good.
The Owl Dragon System, for instance.
In Zhao Chen's thoughts all along, he'd wanted to forge the Owl Dragon System up — but the Owl Dragon System's limitations were too great, worse luck.
No resources — Zhao Chen could develop them in other systems.
No star-gate — Zhao Chen could bring out single-star-system star-gate tech.
No money — Zhao Chen could earn it.
No people — Zhao Chen could recruit from outside.
But with no fit and habitable planets, Zhao Chen had no way to conjure a habitable planet out of thin air.
This had greatly hampered the Owl Dragon System's development.
And the T5 Creator-class Starship counted as the answer to this vexation of Zhao Chen's.
It lifted the Owl Dragon System's development up a whole grade at a stroke!
The annual task settled to perfection, Zhao Chen counted his takings full indeed.
5 million System points, 500 task points, a T4 Selene-class Heavy Interstellar Supply Ship, a T4 Gorgon-class Heavy Interstellar Heavy-Artillery Ship, a T5 Creator-class Starship, and the T4 Tyrant-class Heavy Interstellar Missile-Battlecruiser Zhao Chen had redeemed himself.
Zhao Chen's technical reserves had swelled greatly in one stroke!
But this was far from enough.
Host: Zhao Chen
Profession: Top-tier Starship Engineer
Special Attributes: Fleet Luck-Value Bonus, Eye of Insight
System points: 5,110,000 (single-month fleet income: 1,280,000 points)
Task points: 1,140
Ship count: 20,678
Task: none
Warehouse: T5 Hades-class Interstellar Dreadnought technical blueprint, Hades Matrix module, T5 Creator-class Starship technical blueprint, T4 Tyrant-class Heavy Interstellar Missile-Battlecruiser technical blueprint, T4 Gorgon-class Heavy Interstellar Heavy-Artillery Ship technical blueprint, T4 Selene-class Heavy Interstellar Supply Ship technical blueprint, T4 Giant Whale-class……
With System points and task points now in ample supply, more technology naturally needed purchasing!
As for how to spend this fund, Zhao Chen soon had it sorted.
Spend 1,000,000 System points and 50 task points to redeem the commodity "T4 Tycoon-class Heavy Interstellar Mining Ship" technical blueprint?
Confirm!
Spend 2,000,000 System points and 100 task points to redeem the commodity "T4 Fallen-Angel-class Super-Heavy Carrier Starship"?
Confirm!
Spend 1,300,000 System points and 70 task points to redeem the commodity "T4 Skeleton-King-class Heavy Armored Interstellar Destroyer"?
Confirm!
Before — System points: 5,110,000
Before — task points: 1,140
Spent — System points: 4,300,000
Spent — task points: 220
After — System points: 810,000
After — task points: 920
"With that, then — save for the T4-grade interstellar missile ship, the T4-grade ship types are near enough all gathered in." Zhao Chen let out a long breath, his eyes carrying an excited light.
To gather in the great majority of the T4-grade series of ship types — this was a thing no one within the Galactic Alliance had managed to this very day.
Bear in mind, the T4-grade combat-type interstellar warships the Galactic Alliance had out in the open originally numbered but eight — and two of the Warhammer Interstellar Commonwealth's among them were only quasi-T4.
But now, Zhao Chen held seven in hand; besides which the three great auxiliary types — interstellar transport, interstellar mining ship, interstellar industrial ship — Zhao Chen likewise held in full.
10 T4 interstellar warships, one might say!
So mighty a lineup laid the very foundation of the Owl Dragon Legion's rise!
Beyond doubt, were the Holy Radiance Empire and the Warhammer Interstellar Commonwealth to learn of the technologies Zhao Chen now held, they might well, heedless of any cost, launch an assault on the Owl Dragon Legion!
"Give me three more years… no! One is enough! Within the Galactic Alliance, the Owl Dragon Legion will fear no interstellar power at all!" Zhao Chen had his confidence well in hand.
He raised a hand, called out several electronic screens, and his fingers tapped across them fast as a pianist's.
This drew a curious look from Lilith beside him; she felt that the Command— the Commander-in-Chief, at this moment, gave off a kind of radiance.
Beyond naming, beyond telling.
"Lilith, this is the development outline I've drawn up for the Owl Dragon Legion's coming year; have a look first. And notify Chief Engineer Annie and Chief Engineer Nana to come at once — we'll hold a coordination meeting. Presently, I'll edit more material besides, and set out some detailed development plans." Zhao Chen sent a brief electronic document over to Lilith.
Lilith opened it for a look — and in that instant her eyes went round and her mouth fell wide open; she stared, aghast, at the Commander-in-Chief still editing away at the data.
This document, were the various powers within the Galactic Alliance to learn of it, would be enough to rock every last one of them.
"Commander-in-Chief, this document of yours…"