Global Crossing: Empire of Stars

-Fatal Strike Red, Junior 33.54%: Critical Hit +2%

Psionic Combat Skill: 1: Ship Command Elite Red: Effect 1: Ship Evasion +25%*10; Effect 2: Sublight Speed +25%*10 Psionic Energy Cost: 50 Duration: 30min

-Sublight Assault Elite Red: Effect 1: Sublight Cannon Barrage Accuracy +25%*10; Effect 2: Sublight Cannon Barrage Damage +25%*10 Psionic Energy Cost: 60 Duration: 30min

Psionic Energy: 312

Evaluation: "Watch me, Flying Immortal from Beyond the Heavens!"

"Second Psionic Skill!" Lin Zhichen exhaled, a smile appearing on his face.

After converting it into a Psionic Skill, he could feel his mastery over Sublight Assault becoming more refined. With a thought, the "Qinyuan" turned into light and soared, beginning to test the speed he could now perfectly control.

.2km/s

.8km/s

.5km/s

.1km/s

.6km/s

.5km/s!

It wasn't until 12.5km/s that Lin Zhichen felt the pressure. At this point, his psionic perception and mental computation speed had reached their limits.

Simply converting it into a Psionic Skill had increased the Subspace Assault speed from 1.2km/s to 12.5km/s!

What benefit does an increase in assault speed bring?

It means the speed at which the "Qinyuan" could move and shoot had increased from 1.2km/s to 12.5km/s, while the firing frequency remained unchanged.

When encountering an enemy fleet's lock-on, the faster the speed, the lower the probability of being locked onto by the ship's electronic control systems, making it safer.

The spiritualization of Sublight Assault had given this skill a qualitative leap.

Satisfied, he circled in space a few times, casually shaking off the pursuit of two NPC fleets, and Lin Zhichen piloted the "Qinyuan" back to the solar system.

"Big Brother, how did it go? Have the Pirate and Rebel Army factions decided a winner?" Link asked. He hadn't accompanied Lin Zhichen to the Dacan star system this time.

"No, they're still fighting. It doesn't look like there will be a winner anytime soon," Lin Zhichen shook his head. "This is good. Troubled waters are good for fishing."

However, he felt some pressure. Despite the prolonged fleet battles, the number of main fleets in these two factions had not decreased, indicating how many warships each faction acquired during every refresh cycle.

This was unequivocally bad news, meaning the number and scale of NPC bases in this star sector far exceeded his expectations, and he would face greater pressure when confronting them in the future.

Having converted Sublight Assault into a Psionic Combat Skill, Lin Zhichen was finally free for a short while and prepared for his upcoming trip to the asteroid belt.

For the next month, aside from checking the progress of the major battle in the Dacan star system every few days, he stayed at the headquarters base, waiting for the aircraft carrier to arrive while training the NPC crew.

When the new month arrived and the Gate of Time and Space refreshed again, the captured pirate NPC crew and the newly recruited NPC crew and pilots, who were responsible for operating the aircraft carrier and its carrier-based aircraft, had all mastered the basic skill of Refining Essence into Qi with the assistance of NZT-50. After recuperating with psionic potions, their physical condition had greatly improved compared to before.

The NPCs refreshed by the system were at the lower end among professionals of the same caliber. Just like clone soldiers, they were often at a disadvantage in terms of physical fitness compared to rigorously trained Natural Person soldiers.

Of course, this was their initial state. They would all undergo professional training later. In fact, this was the norm for all military forces: whoever could train the most outstanding NPCs at the lowest cost would gain a greater advantage in combat.

"No new Instance Worlds have appeared this month," Lin Zhichen said with some regret, but he had been mentally prepared. He organized his thoughts and looked towards the Black Hole Surface.

"We need a second Psionic Warship now."

He looked at the ball of psionic light floating in his hand. This was a Killing Ship Spirit, a unique Relic and item. The most precious thing that could be obtained within this Instance World was the ball of light before him, which could transform a Frigate into a Psionic Warship.

"I'll give this Psionic Warship to Ake," he mused. "But it can't be in the solar system, or even within Federation territory.

Unfortunately, I'm still quite a distance from the Hero tier."

If he could advance to the Hero tier and transform his psionic skills into a Domain, the "Qinyuan" could completely carry a fleet and jump directly from the solar system to the Dacan star system, eliminating the current dilemma.

"Big Brother, our aircraft carrier has arrived! It's already all over the Earth Star Net!" Wei Peng burst into the training room, speaking excitedly.

"It's already here." Lin Zhichen was slightly surprised. He had been focused on the Gate of Time and Space and had missed the message on his holographic wristband.

As he walked towards the parking lot, he opened his holographic wristband and immediately saw a pinned new message: "Shocking! The First Aircraft Carrier Appears in the Solar System, Earth Enters the Era of Capital Ships!"

He opened the video. The perspective was from the spaceport, where a behemoth was docked in a shipyard. The ships docked nearby were like dinghies compared to a cruise liner.

As an aircraft carrier that relies on carrier-based aircraft for combat, its size is always an order of magnitude larger than warships of the same class.

The Light Aircraft Carrier Lin Zhichen ordered was considered a small fry among carriers, but it still had a hull length of 2853 meters, exceeding the largest Battleships and comparable to Flagship-class Warships!

"Finally! Humans finally have large capital ships!"

"Look at that massive carrier, the frigates next to it are like giants and dwarfs."

"A hull length of 2800 meters, holy crap, I couldn't run from one end to the other without taking a breath!"

"An aircraft carrier, it's invincible in the solar system."

"My mom asked why I'm watching the video on my knees."

"Whose is it? Does anyone know which tycoon ordered it?"

"Think about it, upstairs. Could someone like that own this thing? It must have been purchased by a major family."

"Everyone go to sleep, it's the royalty and corporations again. This is a game for the wealthy, nothing to do with us commoners."

""

"Public opinion on Earth isn't great; it seems many people are holding grudges," Lin Zhichen remarked casually.

"Big Brother, don't be misled. Most of these people online are the unmotivated type. They're living comfortably enough on Federation welfare," Wu Tianyi said, shaking his head.

"You know, even the most ordinary Commoner receives some benefits, like free basic cell optimization fluid, which can add a few years to a decade to their lifespan.

Think about it, who would want to risk venturing into the Starry Sky when they can live comfortably without working hard?

According to surveys by various civilian organizations published on the Star Net, not many people are willing to study in virtual academies and become professionals in the Interstellar Era, like Captains, Battleship pilots, or pilots for other important roles. It's only about 15% of the total population."

"That few? What about the Federation's other Administrative Planets? What's the ratio there?" Lin Zhichen was slightly surprised. He usually didn't pay attention to these things and didn't realize so many people were content to just coast.

But upon further thought, he understood. After all, dying once deducts 10 years of lifespan. Who would choose to risk their life when they could just comfortably slack off?

"No more than 10%. Speaking of which, Earthlings are among the top ten most proactive people in the entire Federation. Surprised?" Wei Peng chuckled.

Lin Zhichen: "..."

Soon, over a hundred flying cars ascended into the sky, heading towards the outer space starport.

"Truly spectacular," Link said, looking at the approaching starport dock where a colossal beast loomed larger and larger.

Its massive hull, made of metal, was like a dormant behemoth, quietly moored. The Frigates, less than two hundred meters long, beside it, looked like insignificant little dinghies.

Energy light flowed across its entire body, and the enormous Aircraft Carrier's exterior gleamed with a cold metallic sheen. Its sharply defined hull, combined with its massive size, exuded a unique kind of dominance.

Unlike the Aircraft Carriers of the Planetary Era, where the deck was exposed and planes took off via a ski-jump, Interstellar Era Aircraft Carriers had fully enclosed armored hulls. The launch channels for space planes were hidden within the thick armor layers.

There wasn't just one channel; several launch bays hidden along the long hull were now closed. From the outside, the hull armor was seamless, giving no indication of the exits.

Lin Zhichen opened the Aircraft Carrier's status panel:

"Orca-class Aircraft Carrier

Scale: Length 2853m, Width 1132.7m, Height 489.5m

Hull Integrity: 8900

Armor: 23

Shields: 4500

Shield Recharge Rate: 12%

Damage: 3.08

Speed: 30

Evasion: 15.5%

Carrier-based Aircraft: 144 * 5"

As a large warship on the same level as a Battleship, the Aircraft Carrier's armor and firepower weren't outstanding, but it always fought using its carrier-based aircraft.

Interstellar Era space fighters, equipped with energy batteries and cannons, were generally over 30 meters long, comparable to shuttles and flying cars.

"The space fighters we're procuring are Flowing Light Multi-function Fighters. They can act as attack aircraft to defend against enemy swarms or launch proactive sorties to support fleet operations," Wu Tianyi explained. He had chosen the models of the space fighters, and Lin Zhichen was responsible for purchasing them.

"The Flowing Light Fighters are versatile. When equipped with missiles, they're like a swarm; with torpedoes, they're torpedo bombers. If they carry space mines, they can act as minelayers."

Lin Zhichen nodded repeatedly. While these multi-function fighters might not match specialized fighters in a single performance aspect, they were the most suitable choice for the small-scale Meteor Mercenary Group. The various interchangeable combat equipment could fully handle complex battlefield situations.

In the Interstellar Era, air forces typically organized their fighters into squadrons of 12, flights of 12 squadrons, and wings of 12 flights.

The Orca-class Aircraft Carrier carried 5 flights, totaling 720 aircraft. While this wasn't a significant number in large-scale warfare, it could be a crucial factor in winning small-scale engagements.

Due to its massive size and large number of pilots, even with a high degree of automation and intelligence within the ship, the Aircraft Carrier still had over 1500 NPC Crew members.

At least until the storm brought by the NZT-50 subsided, Lin Zhichen didn't plan to recruit too many Natural Persons for important positions.

After all, NPCs had certain limitations and basically wouldn't turn into double agents.

The flying cars responsible for transporting the NPCs made several trips to ferry everyone, and after completing resupply in some time, the fleet, which had been docked at the space starport for days, finally departed and headed towards space.