Global Crossing: Empire of Stars

Speaking of which, she glanced at Wei Peng, who was burying his head in food beside her. Although he had cultivated a peculiar Psionic Skill to completely conceal his power, in front of a Hero-class expert, one could still sense the secrets he was desperately hiding.

Lin Zhichen listened, dumbfounded. It took him a long while to snap back to reality. Almost overjoyed, he said, "So that's how it is, so that's how it is! You didn't tell me such an important secret, I really wouldn't have thought of it!"

"This is a top secret hidden by all the major powers," Conilia said with a smile. "Grow up quickly. Being in charge of a Psionic Battleship and being in charge of Psionic Guards are two completely different concepts!"

Lin Zhichen gave her a deep look. Just as she thought he was about to be moved, he casually asked, "I heard that the Federation's advanced genetics can allow different races to intermarry?"

Conilia was stunned. A blush suddenly appeared on her face: "As expected, a dog's mouth can't spit out ivory!"

Seeing her embarrassed and angry expression, Lin Zhichen burst into laughter.

"Beep beep~"

A prompt sound came from the holographic wristband. He lowered his head to look, and a conspicuous character appeared before his eyes. Wei Peng glanced at it and felt his mouth go dry, almost unable to stand.

"4,000,000 Energy Coins have been credited. Please check."

"We're rich, we're rich!" Wei Peng giggled foolishly, his hands and feet feeling weak, almost collapsing to the ground. However, Lin Zhichen grabbed him and helped him into the Captain's chair. "Young man, your psychological resilience isn't good enough yet. You need more training."

...51%

Suppressing his excitement, Lin Zhichen knew what he wanted. This amount of money was nothing in the grand scheme of things, barely enough to make a ripple. It was only the first pot of gold. At this moment, he could still maintain a semblance of calm.

"Yes, I need more training. It would be even better if a few more waves of Energy Coins could be thrown at me until I'm crushed," Wei Peng said hazily, even his speech was a bit incoherent.

What did tens of thousands of Energy Coins mean?

For ordinary people, this was a string of countless zeros. And for the upper echelons of the Federation, it was also a sum of money so large it would make people's eyes red.

If it weren't for Conilia transferring the money through a secret channel, erasing the information of both parties, such a large transaction would have already attracted the attention of countless people.

"Next, it will surely be an era of rapid development for Meteor!"

The "Qinyuan" activated its Space Jump again, traveling directly from the Dover Galaxy to the solar system.

After more than ten minutes of rapid travel, Earth was in sight.

"My God, what is that?" Wei Peng's exclamation came from somewhere, interrupting Lin Zhichen's thoughts. He subconsciously looked out the porthole, and a behemoth was docked in outer space.

The starship was so large that it exceeded anyone's imagination. The newly completed Earth Starport couldn't even accommodate such a behemoth, so it had to dock directly in outer space.

"The radar measured it. The length of this starship exceeds 18 kilometers. My God, it's even larger than the Mammoth-class Titans we've seen!" Wei Peng exclaimed:

"What is such a large starship for? Is it a Transport Ship?"

Among conventional starships, only Transport Ships were built this large, especially colony transport ships, which were often tens or even hundreds of kilometers long. Those were the true behemoths.

As they approached, the external armor of the starship almost filled the porthole. Compared to it, the "Qinyuan's" less than 200-meter length was as insignificant as an ant next to an elephant.

At this moment, it wasn't just the "Qinyuan"; more and more ships were circling the silent giant, seemingly awestruck by its massive size and coming to observe.

To be honest, this was indeed a rare sight in the solar system. Before this, the largest starship in the solar system was the Meteor Mercenary Group's light aircraft carrier, which was less than two kilometers long, and its size was less than a tenth of this behemoth!

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"Beep beep~"

The holographic communication sounded. The radar operator quickly traced the source: "Captain, is the communication from that giant starship?"

Lin Zhichen's gaze shifted. He snapped back from the shock of seeing the giant ship for the first time and immediately understood the origin of this starship: "Open communication."

"Sizzle~"

On the holographic projector, Wu Tianyi's excited voice came through: "Big Brother, we've made it big~"

That's right, this massive starship was the large industrial colony ship that Conilia had promised, known as the "mobile dock" and "universal production factory."

Because it was equipped with a large amount of industrial production equipment, industrial colony ships were always enormous. Among similar warships, only cargo transport ships and colony transport ships could surpass them in size.

"Let's go closer and take a look," Lin Zhichen ordered.

However, there was no need to get closer. For a "small fry" like the "Qinyuan," this large industrial colony ship had a unique method – a cargo bay door opened at the bottom of the hull, revealing a vast space.

The "Qinyuan" entered directly through the bay door and followed the navigation guidance to a suitable docking berth – it could even accommodate a Battleship here!

Why are large industrial colony ships called mobile docks?

Because their hulls can repair and perform routine maintenance on starships at any time. Moreover, with sufficient materials, they can serve as shipbuilding yards, directly constructing starships of corresponding scales!

"Big Brother, the dock of this giant ship has a total capacity of 24 units, and can build up to 24 frigates or 3 battleships simultaneously!" Wu Tianyi, who came to greet them, saw Lin Zhichen's gaze fixed on the dock and immediately understood what he wanted to know.

Capacity is a special unit for building starships in the New Universe, usually used to measure the size of a dock.

Generally, a frigate is 1 unit of capacity, a destroyer is 2 units, a cruiser is 4 units, and a battleship is 8 units.

"Good, we finally have our own dock!" Lin Zhichen exhaled, feeling greatly relieved.

Having a dock meant more than just building ships immediately; it meant being able to start training shipwrights and engineers. In the early stages, it could repair damaged warships, and later, it could build ships independently. This was of great significance.

What did the shipbuilding industry mean in the Interstellar Era?

Just like how the automotive industry supported the national economy in the planetary era, the industrial system of the Interstellar Era would largely depend on the shipbuilding industry.

"We must remember this favor from Conilia!" Lin Zhichen sighed. He looked at the vast interior of the ship, an endless sea of machinery, countless engineering machines lined up, stretching deep into the vessel:

"How many people are needed to operate this ship?"

"Big Brother, that's the biggest problem!" Wu Tianyi said, a headache appearing as he spoke:

"If it's just about piloting, getting this industrial colony ship moving only requires about a hundred people. But if we want to utilize all the machinery and production capacity on this ship, we'll need at least 3,000 people, covering almost every category of engineer!

If we want to achieve maximum productivity, the number needs to increase to 10,000!

'Do we have enough people?' Lin Zhichen asked.

'We have enough for now, but the reserve talent we prepared is all for base construction. If we reallocate them, we won't have enough manpower!' Wu Tianyi replied.

'If we don't have enough, we'll just train more. Don't you think this giant ship is a perfect training academy? Any engineering talent can be cultivated here,' Lin Zhichen said, and Wu Tianyi suddenly realized.

With the 'Diligence Repays the Heavens' talent, every time this giant ship trains a batch of talent, they can be drawn out to establish specialized factories. As long as there are NPCs, the shortage of talent can be quickly resolved.

'I was shortsighted,' he thought, feeling a sudden sense of relief.

'What happened while I was gone this week?' Lin Zhichen asked as he walked, looking at the diverse engineering machinery beside him, feeling as if he were in a steel jungle. These were all manifestations of the giant ship's industrial capacity.

'Nothing much else, just that the Star Net exploded after the industrial colony ship arrived,' Link replied.

'A ship this massive has never appeared in the solar system before. The Jujing Hao's arrival startled a lot of people—many thought that larger starships were always more powerful, unaware that most combat vessels aren't as large as transport ships!

However, this has further boosted our Mercenary Group's reputation, solidifying us as the solar system's number one mercenary group. People are flocking to headquarters for jobs every day, comparable to the talent markets of the Old Era.

'Jujing Hao? That's a good name. It'll be called that from now on. How are the crew's rest and recuperation going?' he asked.

'They've all finished their rest. The newly joined pirate NPCs have also integrated into the group and can be used with confidence,' Wu Tianyi said.

'Big Brother, I think we can make a move. The Jujing Hao just sitting here is too conspicuous and a waste.'

'I brought back 4 million Energy Coins this time, which is enough for our development for some time to come.' As Lin Zhichen spoke, gasps of shock could be heard from those around him, clearly stunned by the immense sum.

Ten million Energy Coins would be enough to assemble a small-scale fleet—tens of thousands in number, ranging from Titans to Frigates, from combat vessels to auxiliary ships, all-inclusive.

'I originally planned to purchase a batch of starships. Since we have our own Shipyard, let's not mind if it's slow. We'll buy the materials and build them ourselves, and at the same time train engineers, preparing for future industrial development,' Lin Zhichen arranged.

'Manager Xu, you're the head of the Industrial Department. By rights, this "Jujing" Hao also belongs to the Industrial Department. Make the corresponding plans, coordinate with Tianyi, and prepare the talent and materials to start the shipbuilding plan as soon as possible!'

'Yes, Commander!' Manager Xu Wen of the Industrial Department saluted excitedly, then said with some difficulty, 'It's just, Commander, we're short on transport ships, and our shipwrights have just been trained. In the beginning, it might be...'

'You figure those things out, I only care about the results,' Lin Zhichen waved his hand, interrupting him. 'If the difficulty is high, start with civilian transport ships. Once you're proficient, then begin building Frigates, then destroyers, step by step. For finances, find Tianyi to draw funds.'

'I understand,' Xu Wen replied.

Although the "Jujing" Hao was enormous, it didn't look particularly remarkable. In fact, industrial equipment is like that; it prioritizes sturdiness, durability, and ease of use, so most of it looks quite ordinary.

Soon, Lin Zhichen lost interest and went to the "Jujing" Hao's lounge to rest.

For the foreseeable future, this would be the new headquarters of the Meteor Mercenary Group.

In the Dakan System, near the space of the Dakan System, space suddenly rippled, and the "Qinyuan" Hao rapidly materialized from nothingness.

'Good luck, no enemy ships nearby.' Although he had predicted it with Psionic energy precognition, Lin Zhichen only felt at ease after the Radar scan.

'Is this the Dark Galaxy? It looks no different from the solar system,' Wu Tianyi cautiously peered out the porthole at the outer space. With his back to the star, the lighting here was acceptable; at least, it wasn't completely dark within his line of sight.

'Danger isn't always apparent on the surface. Use your Psionic energy to sense it,' Lin Zhichen reminded him.

Soon, Wu Tianyi, who had his eyes shut tight, changed his expression. 'I was wrong. This is an unyielding darkness!'

In his perception, danger was everywhere, like walking naked in a snowstorm, the biting wind feeling like cuts, with no place to hide.

In the command cabin, Lin Zhichen looked at the reserved Li Heng, the unexpectedly acquired materials science genius NPC.

In fact, only NPCs with such extraordinary specifications as "Zero Zero Zero" were given independent names instead of cumbersome codenames, indicating their exceptional talent.

'Mr. Li, it's time for your honor—go ahead, place your hand on that Crystal Stone,' he said, pointing to the Psionic Crystal.

Li Heng cautiously looked at the crystal and slowly stepped forward. After some time together, he knew that the other party wouldn't act recklessly or abandon him casually.

Under everyone's gaze, the frail NPC placed both hands on the Psionic Crystal. Surging Psionic energy surged, enveloping Li Heng.

It was only after more than ten minutes that he emerged from his cocoon, reborn.

Lin Zhichen opened his personal panel:

'Name: Li Heng Elite Human, Yellow'