"Maybe there are other skills that speed up blueprint production. Or perhaps the number of draftsmen is an inherent hidden limit. Either way, the major factions' demand for draftsmen is endless." Lin Zhichen smiled faintly, clearly in a good mood. "Once the carrier is ready, we'll sweep through an Asteroid Belt. I reckon that'll multiply the size of our Mercenary Group several times over!"
"Big Brother, shouldn't we upgrade the Qinyuan first?" Link asked.
Lin Zhichen shook his head. "No. At this stage, the carrier is the top priority."
After saying goodbye to the others, he returned to the penthouse villa and stretched out on a lounge chair. He opened his holographic wristband and began practicing his communication skills.
It didn't take long. After only a few breaths, the call connected.
"Well, this is rare. You actually got in touch with me." Liu Manyun's graceful figure appeared in the projection. A faint blush colored her charming face, and she seemed to be in a very good mood.
"Busy right now?" Lin Zhichen asked.
The holographic projection showed her sitting in the commander's cabin, in the captain's chair. She was clearly on a long voyage.
"Mm. I accepted a military mission to clear out an NPC Fleet in the Dark Star Domain," Liu Manyun said simply. "These are the sorts of missions every large Mercenary Group goes through. If you want to be promoted to a legion, you'll probably have to help the Federation expand its territory.
"So Mercenary Groups aiming for promotion to a legion all take on missions like these, so they can gather intelligence on the Dark Star Domain as early as possible."
"I see." Lin Zhichen considered this for a moment, then asked, "Interested in a Positron Light Spear?"
"You have a Positron Light Spear?" Liu Manyun was quite surprised. Her slightly parted lips had a unique charm. "Where did you get it?"
"I went to the Dark Star Domain a few days ago to scout things out. As it happened, I ran into a newly formed Warship Graveyard." Lin Zhichen spoke casually, as if he'd just taken a trip.
"I salvaged a few spoils, including a blueprint for a Positron Light Spear. I'm planning to build one and sell it, then use the money to build a Light Aircraft Carrier."
"Looks like you made quite a haul this time." Liu Manyun gave him a long look. She understood that he was already preparing for NZT-50's release, and she was also impressed by his abilities.
Even with a Psionic Warship, being able to enter and leave the Dark Star Domain safely was proof of his skill.
"Not bad. The Dark Star Domain is incredibly dangerous, but it's full of good stuff." Lin Zhichen nodded. "So, what do you think? Want the Positron Light Spear?"
"I do. It's a rare treasure that money can't usually buy. But I want the finished product. You have military clearance, so I assume you can get a discount on construction.
"The Positron Light Spear doesn't cost as much as a carrier, but with the discount, it's not far off." Liu Manyun replied without hesitation. "Send me the payment link."
"I like how decisive you are." Lin Zhichen laughed. This way, he only had to pay 960 Energy Coins for the construction cost of the Positron Light Spear to get a Light Aircraft Carrier.
"Don't hang up yet. NZT-50 is in mass production now, right?" Liu Manyun asked. "Have you decided when to launch it?"
"This trip to the Dark Galaxy was harder than I expected. The launch will have to wait a little longer." Lin Zhichen sighed softly. "The Meteor Mercenary Group's resources are still a bit too meager."
"At least you know that. You're a Psionicist, and your lifespan is ten times longer than an ordinary person's. There's no need to rush. You can take your time and plan things out." Liu Manyun smiled. "For example, you could set aside some time to visit your two pretty little sisters."
"Who?" Lin Zhichen asked, momentarily stunned.
"Heh. You really are heartless." Liu Manyun looked at him with an expression that was half amused and half annoyed. "You've already forgotten them?"
"You mean those sisters from the academy? Fine, I've forgotten their names. It was only one night, anyway." Lin Zhichen shrugged. "There are so many things to do in life. Why let longing turn into a river?"
"You're certainly carefree. Or you could say you're a total womanizer." Liu Manyun gave a cold laugh. "I'd advise you to be careful. Those sisters aren't pushovers. If they find you, you're bound to suffer."
"Yeah, they were pretty intense." Lin Zhichen nodded solemnly. "I look forward to your next visit. Bring me some more of that suffering!"
The holographic call ended. He shook his head. "Women are so baffling. We've already done what we needed to do. What's there to be embarrassed about?"
He sent the construction order to the military's warship factory. A reply came back quickly: thanks to his high construction priority, he'd receive the ship in a month.
Under a normal construction schedule, it would take about six months. Being able to get one this soon meant they'd taken a ship that was already under construction. The thought made him feel positively delighted.
"The joy of being an official with special privileges is something ordinary people just don't understand."
Three days later, after a brief refit, the Qinyuan set sail once more. It used Space Shuttle to travel directly to the Kan System.
In the Asteroid Belt between the two Kan systems, a massive fleet battle was still raging. Every day, both sides sent millions of warships to fight endless battles across the vastness of space.
Pirates and Rebel Army fleets were scattered throughout space, constantly converging on the Asteroid Belt. If they encountered no opposition along the way, they'd eventually reach the blood-soaked battlefield as reinforcements. If they met the enemy before then, the two sides would fight right there in space.
Lin Zhichen had originally hoped to take advantage of the battle between the two factions to collect more spoils. But he'd underestimated the ferocity of the war in this star domain. Every day, hundreds of thousands of ships were destroyed on both sides, yet the number of fleets fighting on the battlefield barely decreased.
After scouting the area several times without success—and attracting the hostility of both factions in the process—Lin Zhichen had to change his approach. He shifted his attention to NPC Fleets already engaged in skirmishes.
"Zzz—"
A blazing Electromagnetic Projectile shot through space barely ten meters from the Qinyuan's hull. After evading a warning shot from a Rebel Army warship, Lin Zhichen piloted the ship around the nearby star domain, testing the waters.
Nearly a thousand warships were locked in fierce combat between the two sides. At every moment, ships were being heavily damaged or blown apart outright.
"About 600 ships in the pirate fleet, and about 400 in the Rebel Army fleet."
After several rounds of probing, the radar quickly gathered the basic intelligence on both sides.
Although the pirate fleet had more ships, the two sides were nearly evenly matched on the battlefield.
Lin Zhichen knew that although these were two wild NPC factions, the Rebel Army NPCs were better trained and more disciplined. Their combat strength was greater.
There was another important factor: pirate ships generally had weaker armor and lower Hull Value, but their speed was above standard.
That should have been an advantage. But the pirate NPC Crew were generally poor at piloting, so their planned tactics often amounted to empty talk. Their formations would fall apart, leading to even greater losses. Gradually, they abandoned those tactics and chose to engage head-on, often suffering heavier losses than the Rebel Army fleet.
The Qinyuan circled the edges of the battlefield, occasionally launching a sudden attack and destroying a few NPC Warships.
Lin Zhichen didn't restrict himself to either faction. He picked targets at random, and it didn't take long for both sides to take offense. Each faction gathered several dozen warships and charged at the Qinyuan from a different direction.
"Do they hate Natural Persons more than they hate the opposing faction?"
He carefully piloted the ship, weaving through the Firepower Net. Suddenly, the Qinyuan became a streak of light, crossing hundreds of thousands of miles to reach the rear flank of the Rebel Army fleet. Its speed dropped sharply to 1.2 kilometers per second, and its three turrets opened fire together, blasting three enemy ships apart in a single volley.
The Qinyuan didn't make broad, sweeping evasive maneuvers. It darted through the battlefield like a nimble swallow, its blazing projectiles striking enemy ships with pinpoint accuracy.
To avoid being caught between both fleets, the Qinyuan used the pirate fleet as cover, hiding in space and lining up directly with the Rebel Army fleet.
If the two fleets belonged to the same faction, the Rebel Army ships would deliberately avoid hitting their allies to prevent friendly fire. But they were targeting the pirates. Weakening the enemy while eliminating the troublemaker was perfectly acceptable.
So as the Qinyuan launched its attack at Sublight speed, the Rebel Army fleet opened fire as well, pouring shots without hesitation into the pirate fleet.
The "thin-skinned, stuffed-to-the-gills" pirate warships exploded one after another. By the time the pirates realized what was happening, the Qinyuan was already circling around their fleet.
Caught between two attackers, the pirates fought back desperately, but they didn't last long. Once the Qinyuan blasted apart the last Cruiser, the two sides began their real battle.
The Qinyuan, with its Near Light Speed Flight capability, was invincible in a small-scale fleet battle. By the time the fight ended, an hour had passed.
After a quick sweep of the battlefield, Lin Zhichen piloted the ship toward the site of the main fleet engagement. Nearly a thousand warships had been fighting there at first, but now only a little over seven hundred remained.
He didn't press forward to interfere. Instead, Lin Zhichen stayed safely out of the fighting, circling through the starfield to guard against sudden reinforcements while waiting for both sides to exhaust themselves. That hope finally came true after a full five hours. At that point, fewer than a hundred warships remained on the battlefield—and neither side showed any intention of stopping.
The Qinyuan showed no mercy to these die-hard fighters who were determined to battle to the end. It kept attacking until the last damaged Rebel Army Battleship was desperately pouring out its artillery fire.
But it was futile. The Battleship's ponderous hull gave it armor far thicker than that of other warships. But now that its Energy Shield had been destroyed, it looked rather helpless, like a lumbering bear as the Qinyuan circled and ravaged it.
After nimbly dodging the Battleship's barrage, the Qinyuan reached a perfect firing position, and its three Electromagnetic Cannons immediately fired in unison.
The Electromagnetic Projectiles shot out and struck the Battleship's rear engines. The hull was strong enough to withstand the impact, but once the engines were destroyed, the projectiles were stopped by the inner bulkheads, unable to reach the energy chamber.
The powerless Battleship became a sitting duck, no longer a threat to the Qinyuan. Its Coilguns pounded away without restraint, and after more than a dozen point-blank broadsides, the energy chamber was finally destroyed. In a brilliant explosion of energy, the enormous steel beast broke apart.
"That's the first one, but it won't be the last!" Looking at the burning behemoth, Lin Zhichen finally smiled. He casually collected the spoils. As a rule, sinking a ship of a new class for the first time always brought extra rewards, like the blueprint he'd just found.
"Battleship blueprint!"
A hint of delight appeared on his face. The Ournobain-class Battleship was 1.3 kilometers long and equipped with a Particle Light Spear main cannon. Its high-energy focusing array could destroy several Cruisers with a single shot!
This massive ship, protected by thick armor, was like a battleship from the First World War: heavily armored, heavily armed, and an undisputed force on the space battlefield. Each blast of its dazzling beam could melt an asteroid.
Compared to the rare flagship-class Battleships and the space carriers that relied on relatively fragile fighters to fight, this was the mainstay of fleet battles!
Of course, there was no chance of building one in the short term. The more powerful the warship, the more money it consumed. The Meteor Mercenary Group wasn't yet qualified to get one, but the time for its arrival wasn't far off.
By now, five or six hours had passed since the battle first began.
He had no intention of lingering. After swiftly gathering the spoils, the Qinyuan immediately made a Space Jump toward the Solar System. The cargo hold was full of spoils once again.
The drop rate from NPC-on-NPC battles was much lower than from normal fights, but with so many warships on both sides, the spoils he'd gained were still substantial.
Aside from spoils that could be sold for about 8,900 Energy Coins, this time he'd also acquired more than a dozen blueprints for Frigates and Destroyers.
But no matter how many spoils he collected, they couldn't compare to what he'd gained himself.
After numerous fierce battles, especially after destroying a Battleship, his Sublight Assault had finally broken through Grandmaster-level and begun transforming into a Psionic martial skill.
Name: Lin Zhichen Elite Red Gender: Male Talent: Heaven Rewards Diligence Purple: Effect 1: Effort brings rewards; practicing skills increases them; Effect 2: Members of the faction are also affected by this talent; Gate of Time and Space Blue: Opens once a month, searches for Spacetime Marks, and opens a temporary instance; Psionicist Red: Effect 1: Awakens Psionics; Effect 2: Skill Learning Speed +10%; Class: Captain Elite Red, Apprentice Skills: 1—Psionic Cultivation Red, Warrior 37.14%
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