110,000 (33)

After completing the construction of the Clone Cultivation Factory, the entire factory cluster would only need fewer than ten thousand clones left behind for maintenance.

Li Qingsong deployed all the surplus clones to the construction of more outer bases, as well as railway lines, power grids, and communication networks between the bases.

One mine after another rapidly appeared across Luoshen Star's surface. Moreover, these newly built mines were more technologically advanced, capable of completing preliminary mineral processing right at the mining site while requiring fewer workers than before.

Railways rapidly stretched outward, while power grids and networks reached in every direction.

But the problem now was that although there were many mines, Li Qingsong did not have enough manpower to operate them.

Once built, they could only sit idle.

But that was all right. The first batch of newly cultivated clones would soon be born.

After roughly half a year of busy construction, the cultivation of the first batch of clones was finally complete.

Under Li Qingsong's control, as many as fifty thousand Culture Pods were emptied one by one, and the clones were transported to the Rest Area for preliminary examinations.

After waiting with slight anticipation, the fifty thousand clones finally awakened. Li Qingsong did not hesitate and immediately extended his consciousness links to them.

In an instant, surging mental capacity flowed over, and Li Qingsong's thoughts immediately reached an unprecedented speed.

Under these circumstances, some problems that had accumulated earlier but had yet to be considered due to limited mental capacity were solved in an instant.

It was like a student who, due to limited time, had not yet finished the thick stack of test papers before him. But then, more students suddenly joined in, and in a short while, every single test paper was completed.

Feeling that surging mental capacity, Li Qingsong shifted his attention again and began testing how many consciousnesses he could connect to now.

The number of consciousness links rapidly rose, jumping from just over sixty thousand to seventy thousand in an instant.

But that was not the end. The number was still climbing rapidly.

Eighty thousand, ninety thousand, one hundred thousand...

It did not stop even after reaching one hundred thousand. In the end, it surged to 102,200 before Li Qingsong felt that all his consciousness-link capacity had been occupied.

Clearly, his current connection limit was 102,200.

But that was only the connection limit of his current body.

The newly cultivated batch of clones had also used Strange Bird Body Fluid as a nutritional supplement, but their cultivation process had been more standardized and rigorous. Their "quality" should have been higher than that of the clone body he was currently using!

Li Qingsong immediately transferred his consciousness into one of the newly cultivated clones. Yet the number of consciousness links did not rise; instead, it dropped by five hundred.

"Minor differences lead to minor differences in quality. That's normal."

Li Qingsong thought to himself as he transferred again.

This time, the number of consciousness links rose by another nine hundred, reaching 102,600.

Li Qingsong tested them one by one like this. In the end, after trying every clone body, he selected the clone that could support the greatest number of connections.

This clone could support 109,800 consciousness links!

That was practically 110,000!

And counting the newly cultivated fifty thousand clones, the total number of clones in his possession was almost exactly 110,000!

"Good, very good."

Overjoyed, Li Qingsong immediately controlled the fifty thousand clones to put on clothes, eat their first meal, undergo restorative training, and so on. Once that was complete, he dispatched them to the mines, factories, breeding farms, and other facilities that had been built earlier but had remained inactive due to a shortage of manpower.

At this point, a new batch of cell samples had already been placed inside, and a new round of cultivation began.

His consciousness-link count had now risen to 110,000, but clearly, 110,000 clones were not enough.

They needed rest as well. To ensure that 110,000 clones could remain at work around the clock every day, he needed at least 170,000 clones.

If he did not want the clones to work so hard and so close to their limits, and wanted a little more room for scheduling redundancy, then he would need at least 200,000 clones.

With additional reserve clones, as well as capacity reserved for future increases in consciousness links, he would probably need one million clones.

For at least the next ten years, this Clone Factory would have to operate at full capacity without a moment of rest.

At this point, Li Qingsong had a total of 269 bases under his command.

Because he now had sufficient manpower, all 269 bases had begun operating at full capacity.

Countless trains sped along the tracks, countless heavy trucks drove across the desolate, lifeless land of Luoshen Star, and countless factories and mines rumbled day and night.

Yet even at full capacity, of the 110,000 clones Li Qingsong could currently control, as many as thirty thousand were still temporarily idle.

"Finally, I have idle clones."

Li Qingsong inwardly sighed. "With these thirty thousand fully dedicated clones, I can finally establish a specialized Technology Development Department."

Previously, Li Qingsong had also been conducting scientific and technological research. But back then, it was more like pulling together a group of people to study a solution whenever a problem arose. It was more of an emergency response than deliberate research.

But now, the situation was different.

Li Qingsong had completely moved beyond the initial stage of doing everything possible for survival, self-protection, and the normal development of his bases.

It was time to actively drive technological progress.

After all, building such large bases, so many production lines, and such a complete Industrial System was not the ultimate goal. Production itself was not the final purpose; improving technology through production and driving technological development were.

Thus, another enormous base rapidly rose from the land of Luoshen Star.

It was a comprehensive scientific and technological research institution.

Li Qingsong divided it into several major sections: the Materials Research Building, Casting Technology Research Building, Mechanical Research Building, Optical Research Building, Chemical Research Building, Computational Technology Research Building, and so on.

Each building was further subdivided in greater detail. For example, the Materials Research Building contained the Polyethylene Research Department, Metal Research Department, Glass Research Department, Heat Resistance Research Department, and more.

The Calculation Building was divided into Photoresist Research, Silicon Purification Research, Circuit Research, and so on.

Its research covered every aspect of modern technology.

Although everything was still very basic, the overall research framework had now been established.

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