Expeditionary Force

Li Qingsong had originally joined one hundred embryos cultivated with Strange Bird Body Fluid, but at this moment, only a dozen or so displayed superior physical qualities. Most of the rest remained ordinary, while some had even begun showing signs of deformity, clearly indicating failed cultivation.

But that did not matter.

It was highly likely because his extraction and filtration techniques were not up to standard.

That was not important. What mattered was whether this strange bird's body fluid truly possessed higher nutritional value, and whether it had the potential to allow him to cultivate higher-quality clones even before any breakthroughs in biotechnology.

If he further improved his filtration or purification techniques, would that mean that, using Strange Bird Body Fluid as an "additive," he could cultivate greater numbers of high-quality clones on a large scale?

At that point, not only would he have more consciousness-link slots, but the average quality of each clone would also increase. With improvements in both quantity and quality, the mental capacity at his disposal would rise enormously...

Watching this, Li Qingsong's heart burned with excitement.

Though he still did not know how many clones these embryos would ultimately allow him to link to, Li Qingsong had already made up his mind.

Not a single one of the strange birds that had come to Luoshen Star would escape! He would capture them all!

Some of the strange birds would be slaughtered directly for their body fluid, while others would be raised for research and artificial breeding, then slaughtered for their body fluid as well!

Under these circumstances, Li Qingsong assigned clones to build more than a hundred off-road vehicles and sent them all out. Together with the previous scout vehicles, they began searching the surface of Luoshen Star.

Beneath the dim shroud blanketing Luoshen Star, off-road vehicles raced across the land as they searched.

Just as one off-road vehicle rounded a mountain and prepared to continue forward, the clone driver suddenly spotted something unusual.

A brilliant pillar of light suddenly appeared in the dark sky.

The beam shot straight upward, rising more than a hundred meters before abruptly vanishing.

"What was that?"

With some confusion, the clone stepped on the accelerator, and the vehicle surged forward.

The farther ahead it went, the fewer obstacles there were, and the more it could see.

Then the clone witnessed an utterly shocking sight.

It was a Small Plains wedged between two mountain peaks, with a total area of no more than two hundred square kilometers.

At this moment, the Small Plains was packed with strange birds everywhere!

Streams of scorching, brilliant gas and flame continuously burst from beneath the strange birds, propelling them straight hundreds of meters into the air like rockets. Then, they either allowed themselves to drift slowly back down or changed direction in midair, flying like jet fighters.

Countless strange birds took off and landed without pause, while countless more crowded shoulder to shoulder on the ground, making the plain seem like a bizarre, fantastical world.

Li Qingsong finally understood.

At this moment, all the strange birds that had come to Luoshen Star had likely gathered on this plain roughly a thousand kilometers from the Main Base!

"Why were they all gathered together? This was..."

After observing for a while, Li Qingsong understood.

It was probably the strange birds' breeding season...

They had all gathered here to court and reproduce!

So that was why they had all gathered here!

The strange birds constantly taking off and landing were probably males. They were using this method to show the females of their species how strong they were and how well-nourished they were, all to attract mates!

The strange birds resting on the ground, too lazy to fly, were all females. They quietly watched the male strange birds perform, and if one caught their eye, they would approach and pair up with it.

On this plain, Li Qingsong even saw many newborn strange birds that could not yet walk. They could only survive on Oxygen Ore and organic matter brought back by the larger strange birds!

"Reasonable. Very reasonable."

Li Qingsong thought rapidly. "Matter is sparse and resources are scarce in space, so it is obviously unsuitable for reproduction. Only after finding a resource-rich planet and obtaining supplies from it would they have enough nutrition to breed the next generation.

Clearly, Luoshen Star was one of the breeding sites they had chosen.

Once the strange birds reproduced in greater and greater numbers and the resources on Luoshen Star were exhausted, they would abandon this planet and migrate collectively to another one, where they would reproduce again..."

But whether the strange birds were breeding had little to do with Li Qingsong. What caught his attention was something else.

Since they had entered breeding season, it proved that these strange birds seemed to have recovered their nutrition.

And recovering their nutrition... meant that they already had sufficient flight capability!

Even if they were not yet capable of space travel, flying near the planet's surface would be no problem at all.

That meant what he now faced was no longer over a million strange birds capable only of ground combat, but over a million flying monsters...

Li Qingsong's thoughts raced, and he immediately made a decision.

"We must deploy all our forces and eliminate them immediately. Otherwise, once they grow stronger, their flight capabilities improve, and their numbers increase, I might truly be no match for them..."

In an instant, of the 1,100 clones carrying out reconnaissance missions outside, all except the few near the strange bird flock disconnected their consciousness links, and all the link slots were reclaimed.

As for whether they lived or died, Li Qingsong no longer cared. At worst, he would lose over a thousand clones.

Li Qingsong transferred all the thousand-plus reclaimed link slots to reserve clones and drove them all to the factories.

At the same time, all technological research activities ceased. The clones originally participating in research also joined production.

At this stage, production was the most important thing. Research could be set aside for the time being.

And since all the strange birds had gathered there and would not threaten him in the short term, only a small number of clones needed to remain on perimeter watch. Most of the consciousness links there were likewise reclaimed and put into the factories.

Thus, out of Li Qingsong's total 21,000 consciousness-link slots, a full 20,500 were devoted to production.

At this moment, Li Qingsong truly unleashed all his strength.

Tens of thousands of clones worked in shifts, day and night without rest, keeping the machines running without pause.

Large quantities of steel and minerals were transported from the other bases and rapidly processed at the Main Base. Some became tanks, armored vehicles, tanker trucks, Logistics Support Vehicles, and more, while the rest became countless bullets, countless firearms, and artillery pieces.

After roughly half a month of intense production, all the weapons, equipment, logistical supplies, and everything else Li Qingsong needed were finally ready.

Then...

"Expeditionary Force, move out!"

Tomorrow was Monday. As usual, there would be an extra chapter. After midnight tonight, there would still be two updates tomorrow at noon.

New Year's Day was coming soon, and monthly tickets were doubled too. Please send some monthly tickets!!!!!!