"Big brother, did your experiment succeed?" Wei Peng asked excitedly.
"It did." Lin Zhichen nodded. "NPCs generally have mediocre talent. Without Psionic Potions, even with NZT-50, it would probably take thirty or forty years to reach the Yang God Realm and awaken their psionic abilities.
"With Psionic Potions, it could be shortened to two or three years—or even just one for the quick learners. But the cost is high. On average, it takes 420 Energy Coins to train each person."
"That much?" The others were shocked.
At that price, training three people would cost enough to build two Frigates!
"Actually, when you think about it, it's not unreasonable. They are Psionicists, after all." Wu Tianyi was the first to recover. "If the Federation knew there was a way to mass-produce Psionicists, they'd probably go crazy with excitement."
Psionicists were the elite of society, and their numbers affected a nation's strength. If there was a chance to train them in large numbers, they'd be willing to pay 4,200 Energy Coins per person, let alone 420!
"What if we don't use Psionic Potions? We could take decades to train them slowly. How much would that cost?" Link asked.
"About twelve or thirteen Energy Coins, perhaps even less. They'd still need to take Psionic Potions from time to time to regulate their bodies, so there'd be some cost," Lin Zhichen estimated.
"What about Natural Persons?" Wei Peng asked. "How much would the Psionic Potions cost? Or would they cost nothing?"
"Natural Persons do have some advantages. Their aptitude for cultivation is generally better. Based on my estimates, once they've mastered the cultivation method with NZT-50, they should awaken in about twenty or thirty years," Lin Zhichen replied.
"Twenty or thirty years isn't that long," Link said.
It really wasn't long. Once awakened, they would live for at least several hundred years, with all that time ahead of them to enjoy life.
"But it's too long for Meteor right now." Wu Tianyi shook his head.
The group fell silent. By now, they all understood Lin Zhichen's plan. NZT-50 was about to hit the market, and once it came into public view, it would unleash a tidal wave powerful enough to swallow the Meteor Mercenary Group dozens of times over.
"I'm planning to visit the Dakan System soon," Lin Zhichen said. The others immediately turned pale.
Beyond the Federation's borders, the Dakan System was a lawless wilderness, rife with danger.
"Big brother..." Wu Tianyi began, but Lin Zhichen stopped him with a wave.
"Don't worry. The Dark Star Domain may sound dangerous, but that's all relative. Besides, the Dakan System is right next to Raidor Fortress, a border region where Federation troops often operate. The area is swept clean every so often, so the danger is limited."
He looked at their worried faces. "Don't worry. I'm going there to look for a hidden base. Within the Federation, we have to be cautious in everything we do, which makes it nearly impossible to grow.
"In the coming years, more and more eyes will be watching us. We have to prepare in advance, just in case."
"Big brother, I'll go with you!" Wu Tianyi said. "You'll need a helper."
"Ake will come with me. You can come next time. Dapeng, get ready. As soon as I find a suitable planet, I'll warp back and hand the Gravity Drive over to you. Then it'll be up to you to secure the base," Lin Zhichen instructed.
"Got it, big brother," Wei Peng replied.
Lin Zhichen looked at them and smiled. "Relax. The corps has more trump cards than you think."
"Beep, beep!"
A sharp communication alert rang out. Lin Zhichen glanced down and saw that Kadir Rockefeller was calling.
"Big brother, looks like the Rockefellers can't hold out any longer," Wu Tianyi said, looking at the caller display.
"Don't underestimate these major families. This kind of loss is nowhere near enough to cripple them." Lin Zhichen shook his head slightly.
"I'm afraid Kadir is the one who can't hold out."
Kadir Rockefeller was the family heir, but he wasn't the only one. If he wanted to take over, he needed enough achievements to his name.
If his losses were too great this time, his accomplishments wouldn't make up for them. He'd end up worse off than before.
"My dear friend, we meet again." Kadir appeared in the Holographic Projection, smiling broadly. There wasn't the slightest trace of dejection from his setback.
"I hope I haven't interrupted your celebratory dinner."
Clearly, he'd already learned through his channels that the mercenary fleet had arrived on Earth.
"I heard that Pirate Base is proving troublesome," Lin Zhichen said, skipping the pleasantries and getting straight to the point.
"It is a bit of a headache. I heard you've formed a Mercenary Group. You can take this on as a mission and lend us a hand." Kadir had expected Lin Zhichen's attitude, but his smile never wavered.
"You don't need to send in the ground troops. I just need you to take out the Pirate Base's turrets."
"1,000 Energy Coins. If you agree, I'll head out right now. I've got another trip to make afterward," Lin Zhichen said.
"Then I'll leave it to you," Kadir agreed at once.
The Holographic Communication ended. Lin Zhichen said, "Come on. Let's go check out the NZT-50 Production Line."
They took a convenient flying car to a newly opened, sealed pharmaceutical factory.
Through the transparent tempered glass, they watched the automated Production Line. One by one, Intelligent Mechanical Persons placed the extracted medicinal ingredients into vessels for special processing.
At the exit, translucent pills were bottled and packaged.
"Commander, Vice Commander!" Doctor Li Ping, who was busy at work, came over and greeted them.
"How's the Production Line?" Lin Zhichen asked.
"I was just about to report to you. Everything is going smoothly, and the medicines have passed inspection." A faint smile appeared on Doctor Li Ping's face, but then he hesitated. "There's just one strange thing. We can produce at most 10,000 NZT-50 pills a day. If we try to make more than 10,000, the process stops producing pills and yields only a mixed liquid with no effect."
"10,000?" Lin Zhichen mused. It seemed that was the production limit.
To be honest, it was far too little, well below his expectations. He didn't know what the key was to increasing the output, but without it, he wouldn't be able to achieve his aims.
"Keep trying for now. See if you can find a way to increase production," Lin Zhichen said, looking him straight in the eye.
Even if the output fell short of expectations, the profits from NZT-50 would still be enough to make the Meteor Mercenary Group rich. Before it hit the market, he had to strengthen the corps as much as possible, so they wouldn't be helpless when danger came.
Piloting the Qinyuan, Lin Zhichen took Link and raced toward the Asteroid Belt. He activated the Space Warp Psionic Combat Skill, and the ship appeared at the edge of the asteroid field.
The engine engaged. The ship darted through space like a fish, easily dodging one asteroid after another as it headed deeper into the belt. A day later, the Pirate Base appeared in the distance.
"Mr. Lin, I'm Colonel Bros. Young Master Kadir Rockefeller asked me to assist you in taking down the Pirate Base," the middle-aged officer said sternly.
"I'll take out the Pirate Base's turrets. The rest is up to you," Lin Zhichen said simply.
"Of course. Here are the locations of the Pirate Base's turrets that we've identified," Colonel Bros said, sending Lin Zhichen the relevant information.
"That includes sixteen small turrets, eight medium turrets, eight point-defense cannons, and four large turrets."
Lin Zhichen swept his gaze over the Holographic Projection and immediately memorized the turrets' positions inside the Pirate Base. The Qinyuan powered up. "Understood. Ten minutes. Follow in behind me!"
With that, the Holographic Projector shut off.
Aboard the Aidehua Cruiser, Colonel Bros furrowed his brow. Behind him, several staff officers exchanged glances.
"Sir, is he joking? It'd take the ship longer than that just to turn around!" one of the staff officers asked uncertainly.
"Don't underestimate him. He has the potential to become a great figure like Billus Dical, a Hero of the Federation." Colonel Bros paused in thought.
"Have the fleet ready within five minutes. Be prepared to move out at any time!"
As he piloted the Qinyuan, Lin Zhichen watched the gravitational sensor's waves spread outward. The entire star region came into hazy view.
Using the waves to extend his psionic perception greatly expanded its range, but the clarity of what he sensed dropped sharply.
Fortunately, after some time adapting, he could now identify obstacles of different sizes in his field of perception with reasonable accuracy.
With this unusual vision, he traced the flow of energy within the Pirate Base and compared it with the turret layout he'd seen earlier, locating his targets precisely.
The Qinyuan accelerated rapidly as it flew, reaching sublight speed in a short time before angling toward an asteroid.
"Beep, beep!"
The base's radar blared urgently. The pirate NPCs, already on alert because of the Rockefeller Family fleet's attack, sprang into action and rushed to their posts. The entire base's defenses reached maximum readiness in moments.
But it was futile. When the radar speed readings came in, the pirates in the central control room trembled so violently that they could barely stand.
"It's that demon! That demon's back!"
The one-sided slaughter in the space battle outside the base twenty days earlier had left every pirate who witnessed it shaking with fear. The destruction of three hundred warships had proved just how terrifying that sublight-speed demon was.
Now he was back!
"Boom! Boom!"
Suddenly, bursts of flame erupted throughout the base. The turrets had been hit by Electromagnetic Projectiles!
The Qinyuan was incredibly fast, and the NPC crew members, having taken their first steps on the path of cultivation, had clearly become quicker to react. Lin Zhichen had also learned from experience to filter out more irrelevant information, making it harder to pinpoint his position.
With these effects combined, the Qinyuan's strikes were devastating. The Rockefeller Family fleet, watching the Pirate Base from a distance, was stunned to see a string of explosions suddenly flare up. Almost in the blink of an eye, every marked location containing a pirate turret was hit with pinpoint accuracy.
The entire base lost its ability to fight back almost instantly, while the Qinyuan hadn't even reached the area closest to the base's asteroid during its sublight-speed charge.
After completing its mission, the Qinyuan traced an arc through space and vanished into the depths of the asteroid field in an instant, leaving a crowd of stupefied onlookers behind.
"..." Colonel Bros stared speechlessly at the final message left in the Holographic Communication: "All done. Please send the spoils back to corps headquarters."
He realized he'd already done his best to overestimate the other man. Yet what he'd just witnessed made him understand that he could never use the mindset of an ordinary person to comprehend the extraordinary.
"Big brother, you were incredible!" Link looked at him with admiration. He'd watched the whole thing from inside the ship.
He couldn't make sense of the operation at all. The crew had fired the guns with unbelievable skill, barely aiming at all—as if they were shooting blind—and still hit their targets with pinpoint accuracy. Link was left staring in stunned disbelief.
Lin Zhichen had already come out of the state of being one with the ship. At Link's words, he smiled. "It was all right. Once you get a Psionic Warship and awaken as a Psionicist, you'll be able to learn this trick too."
"No way. I might have a shot at becoming a Psionicist, but I'm not going to dream about getting a Psionic Warship." Link waved a hand.
"Don't decide that so soon." Lin Zhichen smiled mysteriously, but didn't tell him the answer.
Why establish a Secret Base outside the Federation?
Preparing for possible enemy attacks was only one reason. The most important was that there would be nowhere to hide a Psionic Warship that appeared in such a short time.
Before you continue