Global Crossing: Empire of Stars

Precision Gray: Kinetic Weapon accuracy +1%

Skill: 1—Artillery White, Beginner 0.21%: Firing speed +10%, artillery damage +10%

—Ultra-long Range Shelling, Apprentice 1.23%: Range +50%

Evaluation: Top-tier trash with dual talents!"

Just as wild monsters could respawn, Federation regulations allowed civilians to purchase various refreshed NPC assistants from the Clone Shop.

As a free gift from the Federation, the Frigate's crew naturally had no exceptionally gifted talents, but at least they were not blank slates. Every one of them had some talent.

His pockets were empty, and with no family to support him, Lin Zhichen, who had grown up in an Orphanage, naturally could not count on any support from family. As long as they were usable, that was enough.

"Three gunners, all Beginners."

He felt somewhat helpless. If he had received family support while studying and bought a batch of crew members in advance, then entered the Virtual World to learn ship piloting, his skill growth might have been slower because it was not the real world, but he would not have remained a mere Beginner until now.

He did not wallow in self-pity. Having a Purple Talent was already an incredibly lucky start. He directed the warship pilot to steer the Frigate deeper into the asteroid field.

Following the radar display, he chose a battlefield, hid behind an asteroid, shut down the engines, and lay in wait.

As the most basic wild monsters, Pirate Raiders had poor configurations. Their radar ranging range was far inferior to that of a Frigate, so by the time Lin Zhichen had finished setting up the ambush, the pirates remained utterly unaware.

It was not until an hour later that three gunboats, their hulls uneven and faintly rust-stained, finally drifted over at an unhurried pace.

They knew nothing of the lurking Frigate, because their outdated radar could not distinguish alloy from asteroids.

"Charge the ship cannons. Prepare to fire!" Lin Zhichen ordered calmly.

The three NPC gunners swiftly activated the ship cannons, charging them while rotating the turrets toward the pirate ships.

Had they been facing the Regular Army, the enemy radar should already have detected the electromagnetic changes caused by the Frigate activating its energy systems. But the Pirate Raiders showed no reaction at all, swaggering into a relatively open area—the very burial ground Lin Zhichen had chosen for them.

"Aim—fire!"

Separated by one Light-second, three Small Electromagnetic Railguns fired simultaneously.

"Bzzzt—"

Accelerated through electromagnetic rails, the three shells reached sublight speed in an instant and blasted toward the three Pirate Raiders.

More than a minute later, the results of the first volley came in. All three Electromagnetic Projectiles had missed!

Even the closest shot had passed a hundred meters from its pirate ship!

Lin Zhichen's expression darkened, though he had been prepared for this. After all, they were firing across a distance of thirty kilometers—one Light-second.

That distance far exceeded the Electromagnetic Railgun's optimal range.

According to the descriptions in the virtual ship tutorials, this model of Railgun had an optimal range of 0.3 to 0.5 Light-seconds, two to three times shorter than his current distance.

At that moment, he was watching the three gunners' skill panels. Under the influence of Diligence Repays the Heavens, the progress of Ultra-long Range Shelling was rising rapidly.

Skill: 1—Artillery White, Beginner 0.42%

—Ultra-long Range Shelling, Apprentice 1.56%

Skill: 1—Artillery White, Beginner 0.56%

—Ultra-long Range Shelling, Apprentice 1.73%

Skill: 1—Artillery White, Beginner 0.71%

—Ultra-long Range Shelling, Apprentice 1.87%

Skill: 1—Artillery White, Beginner 0.85%

—Ultra-long Range Shelling, Apprentice 2.36%

The Small Electromagnetic Railguns completed a charge cycle every 3.45 seconds, while the Frigate completed a round of artillery fire every four seconds. In just one minute, they fired fifteen volleys—forty-five alloy warheads!

With such dense firepower, even Apprentices had a chance to hit. After three consecutive missed volleys, a hit marker finally appeared on the radar.

Out in space, the Pirate Raider that had been drifting along lazily had no idea it was being battered by a storm until an alloy warhead struck at sublight speed, pierced its Electromagnetic Deflection Shield, and slammed heavily into its hull.

The fragile hull was ripped open at once, and shattered alloy fragments sprayed outward.

Lin Zhichen glanced over and was delighted to discover that with a single hit, the NPC gunner's Ultra-long Range Shelling progress had surged by 3%!

Only then did the oblivious pirates snap awake. They hurriedly stopped their ships, activated their radar, and scanned the surrounding starfield.

But they quickly discovered, to their astonishment, that there was nothing within radar range except asteroids. Thinking an enemy ship was hiding nearby, the unwilling pirates frantically maneuvered to evade while firing at suspicious asteroids around them.

Naturally, they found nothing. Aside from suffering more bombardment, they did not even know where their enemy was hiding.

Ultra-long Range Shelling was the sniper among artillerymen.

Gunners who attacked from the very edge of radar visual range were elites among those at the same level. In an extremely short time, they had to judge the enemy's evasive direction based on vague radar feedback and decide where the current shell needed to be fired in order to arrive a minute later.

Three minutes later, the second and third shots struck home.

By then, the pirates had finally figured out where the shells were coming from and rushed toward the Frigate's hiding place.

But at a distance of one Light-second, and within an asteroid belt where they could not travel at full speed, the pirate boats would need at least several minutes to arrive.

Round after round of Electromagnetic Projectiles streaked through space. One Pirate Raider, repeatedly struck by artillery fire, was badly damaged and had no choice but to slow down.

It immediately became the focus of the three gunners' fire. After only five volleys, the Pirate Raider, having suffered nearly ten Electromagnetic Projectile impacts, finally reached its end. A burst of flame exploded across the battlefield, tearing the entire warship into fragments.

At the same time, Lin Zhichen's eyes lit up. At the very moment the gunboat was Destroyed, one of the gunners finally gained enough experience. Ultra-long Range Shelling advanced from Apprentice to Beginner, and his hit rate rose somewhat.

Having lost one gunboat, the remaining two were baptized by even more shells. Four minutes later, the second gunboat was Destroyed.

The last remaining pirate ship finally saw the culprit: a Frigate concealed beside an asteroid, quietly extending its three gun barrels and lobbing shell after shell.

By now, both sides had entered optimal range, and the hit rate rose sharply.

The Pirate Raider was equipped with two Red Laser Turrets and one Electromagnetic Railgun.

Laser Cannons had the advantage of speed and high sustained burning damage, but their range was too short, so they were still useless at this distance. The lone Electromagnetic Railgun fired, but its Electromagnetic Projectile struck the asteroid in front of the Frigate, blasting out crater after crater.

The silicon-based asteroid could not block Electromagnetic Projectiles for long, but it was enough for the Frigate to unleash its firepower. The gunners, whose artillery skills had already reached Intermediate, achieved an eighty percent hit rate over several consecutive volleys. Just four salvos sent the last gunboat to join its companions.

Accompanied by dazzling firelight, this small ambush battle finally came to an end.

Name: Gunner DQXJ

Gender: Male

Age: 19

Profession: Intermediate Gunner

Talent: Gunnery Gray: Kinetic Weapon range +3%;

Precision Gray: Kinetic Weapon accuracy +2%

Skill: 1—Artillery White, Intermediate 11.34%: Firing speed +15%, artillery damage +15%

—Ultra-long Range Shelling, Intermediate 5.64%: Range +150%

Evaluation: Top-tier trash with dual talents!

"As expected, only real combat lets them grow fast enough!" A smile appeared on Lin Zhichen's face. Skill improvements had even improved their talents. If he had ambushed them in their current state, the last Pirate Raider would never have had the chance to close in.

Apprentice was the term for beginners, while reaching an Intermediate profession usually required two or three years of work. With the boost from his talent, one real battle had done the job. After a few more battles, he believed he could train them into an elite crew.

The battle was won. It was time to clean up the battlefield.

The Frigate emerged from behind the damaged asteroid and darted through space like a fish, quickly arriving before the pirate ships' wreckage.

An object emitting a faint white glow was especially conspicuous and was immediately spotted by the crew. The Frigate promptly moved toward it.

The New Universe resembled a game. Killing monsters also produced loot, which floated above Warship Wreckage in the form of faintly glowing objects of various colors.

The Frigate's Damage Control crewman, dressed in a conspicuous white spacesuit and carrying a jetpack, rushed from the cabin. He quickly salvaged the loot, then was pulled back by the tether behind him.

Twice in a row, Lin Zhichen was delighted to find that the three Pirate Raiders had dropped two pieces of loot. That was an unusually huge haul.

Generally speaking, the longer a starfield had been developed by Intelligent Life, the lower its drop rate became. In the Federation's prosperous starfields, it had fallen to just a few percent. After a major battle, the loot gained might not even cover the cost of ammunition.

In newly developed starfields, however, drop rates were much higher. According to statistics, the Solar System's drop rate was roughly one-fifth. This time was clearly above average.

"A Red Laser Turret. It's junk, but at least I can sell it." Lin Zhichen looked it over, unable to suppress his smile.

Though this Small Red Laser Turret had outdated performance, its standard price on the interstellar market was nine units of Universal Alloy.

Universal Alloy was the collective term for white-quality metal alloys. It could be used to construct Frigates, Destroyers, and ordinary civilian ships. Of course, the quantities used and manufacturing processes differed, as did their performance.

In the Interstellar Era, currency was anchored to energy. Energy Points could be regarded as Federation currency and were accepted throughout the Human Federation and all human subsidiary states.

One hundred million Energy Points equaled one unit of Energy Coin. One unit of Universal Alloy was usually worth between four and five units of Energy Coin.

The selling price of this Red Laser Turret was thirty or forty Energy Coins.

This turret alone had already earned back the cost of the trip.

He looked toward the other piece of loot: a floating sheet of paper.

"A Frigate Blueprint!" Lin Zhichen froze for a moment before confirming that he had not misread it.

A Frigate Blueprint was a ship design blueprint, and also a kind of authorization. This was something unique to the New Universe.