Global Crossing: Empire of Stars

"According to our projections, each level of Mercenary Group rank represents 10,000 units of production capacity!"

30,000 pills per day, with each pill selling for just 1 Energy Coin, amounts to 30,000 Energy Coins daily. That's enough to build a Battleship.

"The economic value is not significant, but the strategic value is outstanding!" Lin Zhichen sighed softly. NZT-50 has a huge impact on society as a whole. Many young people who lost their dreams due to mediocre talent might regain hope for the future because of it, which greatly drives societal progress.

"Recently, we've been specifically searching the Star Net for information on specialities of Relic authorities. We found that factions possessing specialities eventually established nations, and yet the originally scarce output of these specialities began to surge." Wu Tianyi said seriously:

"Perhaps there's a key here. Only by establishing our own nation will the limitations of NZT-50 be completely lifted."

Lin Zhichen nodded. This was the most likely answer.

[Name: Meteor]
[Type: Mercenary Group]
[Leader: Lin Zhichen]
[Rank: 3]
[Military Merit: 44]
[Mission Completion Rate: 100%]
[Members: 4/100]
[Warships: Psionic Frigate*1, Frigate*2, Pirate Raider*20, Pirate Gunboat*3]
[Base: Earth]
[Specialty: NZT-50, 30,000 pills/day]
[Evaluation: Novice rookie!]

"How is the Mercenary Group recruitment going?" he asked.

"It just started. We've already received applications from over a hundred people who completed their Captain professional assessments at the Virtual Academy. I took a quick look, and there are no elites above A-rank, but there are quite a few ordinary Captains of B and C rank," Wu Tianyi replied.

"There are also over a dozen Army generals, and the rest are Engineers and such, with average abilities."

"Average abilities are normal. In this era, anyone with even a little talent is starting their own business. Who would work for someone else?" Lin Zhichen chuckled.

"Having average abilities isn't a problem. We have plenty of ways to improve them. Loyalty is what's most important. You need to screen them carefully and try your best to identify spies from other factions.

Once NZT-50 is released, the entire Federation's attention will be drawn to us. We'll need to be extremely cautious with our recruitment then."

"Understood, Big Brother." Wu Tianyi nodded.

An hour passed quickly, and the "Qinyuan" entered Space Warp once more, disappearing from the solar system.

In the orbit of a planet in the Dakan Galaxy, in the outer space of a vast starship graveyard.

"We're too late." The information transmitted by the gravity sensors filled Link with disappointment. The starry sky was dark, with no light spots remaining. The 3-day protection period had already passed. They didn't have time to slowly identify useful parts because there were too many things to do.

Lin Zhichen didn't reply. He piloted the "Qinyuan" slowly into the graveyard zone, venturing deeper and deeper.

This action was actually very dangerous. If any starship discovered the "Qinyuan" from the periphery of the graveyard, they could launch long-range artillery fire. Trapped deep within the interstellar debris, the "Qinyuan" wouldn't have much space to accelerate and escape.

However, in what seemed like a dangerous environment, Lin Zhichen was in control. His Psionic energy was constantly sensing information in space. The amplification from the Psionic crystal had elevated his perception to a whole new level, allowing him to sense even the subtlest threats more quickly.

And a more sensitive premonition made him feel something quite attractive.

Soon, a faintly glowing object appeared. No, not just one. This seemed to be the center of the graveyard, with four or five objects distributed in a small space.

Huge wreckage floated in space, occasionally colliding with surrounding pieces of scrap metal, splashing out large amounts of metallic debris. In the Virtual Academy, Lin Zhichen had seen various types of starships. He could tell at a glance that this was the wreckage of a Battleship.

Link perked up and quickly sent his Psionic energy to probe: "Big Brother, there are Blueprints!"

Lin Zhichen didn't reply. He skillfully maneuvered the "Qinyuan" to dock beside a piece of debris. To Link's surprise, instead of immediately salvaging the valuable spoils, he unleashed his Psionic energy and retrieved a floating escape pod.

"Big Brother," Link was somewhat confused. Escape pods were where survivors stayed after a starship explosion. Due to limited oxygen and energy, they could only last for 3 days. If no rescue arrived within 3 days, the people inside would die from lack of oxygen.

The problem was, there were NPC safety pods everywhere in this star system. Why save only this one?

"Sense your Psionic energy with your heart. It will guide you to the most valuable spoils," Lin Zhichen replied. After retrieving the escape pod, a hint of a smile appeared on his face. With a sweep of his Psionic energy, he collected several glowing spoils nearby.

At this moment, the faint sensing in his Psionic perception had completely disappeared. There might be other overlooked spoils in this graveyard, but undoubtedly, they were no longer worth his time to search for.

The "Qinyuan" slowly sailed out of the graveyard zone. To escape as quickly as possible, he even used his Psionic energy to form an arm, pushing aside the fine metal fragments nearby and finding a safe route.

"Big Brother, a Light Aircraft Carrier Blueprint?!" Link fiddled with the spoils, finding the most valuable item among them.

Lin Zhichen glanced at it and was immediately captivated by the three-dimensional image of the aircraft carrier on the Blueprint.

Similar to combat methods in the planetary era, aircraft carriers primarily relied on carrier-based aircraft for combat. In a fleet, they usually served as flagships or support ships, using their own aircraft to extend vision and bring enemy fleets into combat range ahead of time.

However, unlike their dominant position in planetary-era naval warfare, in the space age, starships possessed thicker armor, stronger energy shields, and higher-performance combat computers, significantly enhancing the defensive capabilities of point-defense cannons.

Consequently, the combat effectiveness of space fighters was greatly limited, and the importance of carriers was significantly impacted. In most cases, they could only serve as flagships for support fleets or as the eyes of main fleets.

But this did not mean aircraft carriers had no reason to exist. At least when facing medium and small warships below Cruiser class, they could still exert considerable combat effectiveness.

"I recall that manufacturing Blueprints for carriers are quite rare, aren't they?" Lin Zhichen asked excitedly. The appearance of the carrier Blueprint gave him more ideas.

"That's right. According to Star Net statistics, for every hundred Battleship Blueprints manufactured, there's usually only one or two carrier Blueprints," Link replied joyfully, with a hint of regret. "It's a shame it's not a Battleship."

Battleships were the absolute main force in large fleets, like heavy cavalry on the space battlefield, making them difficult to counter.

Although Light Aircraft Carriers were of the same class as Battleships, they were definitely no match for Battleships in frontal combat.

"No, for us, the improvement a carrier brings at this stage far exceeds that of a battleship," Lin Zhichen shook his head.

What is the biggest feature of a carrier? It's the carrier-based aircraft!

And space fighters require pilots, and his talent can cultivate the best pilots in the shortest time. The combat effectiveness of this carrier might even surpass that of a battleship.

"There's also a blueprint here, it's a Tachyon Lance!" Link handed the blueprint to him, "That's why I said it's a pity."

The Tachyon Lance is an upgraded version of the particle lance, a main battle weapon that only large warships of battleship class can equip. Its scorching beam can easily penetrate the shields and armor of a cruiser.

"It's not a pity, we have the money to build the carrier!" Lin Zhichen showed a relaxed smile.

Under the special permissions of the military, there wasn't even a purchase channel for this kind of equipment. On the market, a Tachyon Lance costs 2800 Energy Coins, but it's always out of stock. Therefore, the actual price of this main cannon is even higher than the market price.

Some powerful weapon systems, like ballistic missiles in the planetary era, are not easily sold to outsiders. The Tachyon Lance has already reached this level.

"Big Brother, we only have this one blueprint, is the price...?" Link hesitated, because manufacturing the lance requires precious materials, Tachyon Crystals.

Tachyon Crystals are a common rare crystal in interstellar space. It sounds contradictory, but compared to metals like gold, silver, copper, and iron, the output of Tachyon Crystals is much lower. Yet, many important engineering equipment requires them, making these minerals extremely scarce and expensive on the market.

Normally, one unit of Tachyon Crystal costs around a hundred Energy Coins. One Tachyon Lance requires about 3 units of Tachyon Crystals.

It's not a large amount, but with the current scale of the Meteor Mercenary Group, it's impossible to snatch enough rare crystals from the market in a short time.

"Don't worry, with my authority in the military, I can exchange for a batch of Tachyon Crystals every month, which is enough," Lin Zhichen comforted him.

"As long as it's a finished product, this equipment will bring us enough profit."

Main battle equipment like battleships are completely different from cruisers or even lower-tier equipment. Small warships like frigates and destroyers are basically cannon fodder on the battlefield. They have a short construction cycle and are relatively simple to train. They always serve as decoys to attract fire in fleet battles.

Battleships are the true main battle warships. Their thick armor and powerful energy shields provide extremely strong defense, making them difficult to sink. With the cover of numerous cannon fodder ships, they can unleash their firepower to the maximum. At this time, their main cannon is very important.

"And the most important spoils of war," Lin Zhichen looked at the escape pod, "Let me see what affected my psionic perception."

He pressed the switch, and the remaining oxygen sprayed out like white smoke, bringing a refreshing feeling. The two looked inside the cabin, and an NPC Crew member, who was sleeping, slowly woke up.

With anticipation, Lin Zhichen opened his personal panel. Natural Persons don't need consent to view NPC templates of wild factions.

"Name: Draftsman DKXXHTS Human, Red Gender: Male Age: 17 Occupation: Draftsman (Junior) Talent: Red Blueprint: Drawing Speed +16% Skills: 1. Red Blueprint, Junior 4.03%: Drawing Speed +17%, Drawing Authority +0, Opens Civilian Industrial Products, Military Frigate Blueprints 2. White Ship Piloting, Junior 14.57%: Sublight Speed +20% Evaluation: Don't look for me, I'm just a painter."

"Drawing talent? What kind of talent is this? How did he become a ship pilot?" Link muttered to himself.

"This is our biggest gain this time," Lin Zhichen exhaled, a sincere smile on his face.

Perhaps this draftsman's talent isn't outstanding, only increasing drawing speed, but it undoubtedly solves the Meteor Mercenary Group's urgent problem. At the very least, this NPC draftsman, working with Dr. Will, can already make some modifications to frigate-class ships.

At this stage, this is already sufficient.

"I never expected that NPCs spawned in the wild would have such talented individuals," Lin Zhichen sighed. It's a waste for these talents to be in NPC factions. Just like the draftsmen that countless major powers desperately seek, he was trained as a ship pilot.

If he hadn't been lucky enough to be rescued, the Starry Sky would have lost an extremely rare professional talent. Thinking of the countless NPC fleets fighting repeatedly in the dark galaxy, how many elite talents would be lost?

When he thought about how these talents could have played a more important role in his hands, he couldn't help but feel a sense of regret.

"Big Brother, how did you find him?" After a round of explanation, Link had recognized the importance of the draftsman. He was now amazed by the keenness of Lin Zhichen's psionic perception.

"It's partly due to myself, but also the augmentation from the psionic crystal," Lin Zhichen looked at the crystal that occupied nearly half of the command cabin.

"It can amplify my perception abilities."

"Big Brother, with this skill alone, our chances of obtaining rare talented NPCs in the future will far exceed those of ordinary factions!" Link exclaimed. This is like a prospector, continuously digging out gold mines.

The harvest was huge, but the "Qinyuan" did not return directly to the solar system, as it was already close to its destination, an unnamed planet.