Garton Star System, Planet Golden Gate.
The Black Star base is under construction in full swing. The engineering team that Han Xiao contacted belongs to a professional construction company. In the interstellar era, the efficiency of building houses is very high. The equipment is almost fully automated. Time-consuming tasks such as laying foundations, plastering cement, building walls, and laying cables can be completed quickly. As long as the raw materials are available, the engineering team can build the blueprinted buildings in a short time.
In the blink of an eye, more than ten days have passed, and a steel base has risen from the ground and stands tall on the surface. This base is large enough to accommodate about 70,000 to 80,000 people. It has a large area and a simple terrain. According to the blueprint, the base is divided into several functional areas, but it has not yet started to be set up. The base is still just an empty shell.
With over 4.5 million in funds, Han Xiao was no longer short of money. He did the math: he needed to build a military factory production line, deploy basic weaponry for the base, and build the main control unit for the base. He had to manufacture these devices himself; the main expense was the materials.
Next, he needs to solve the transportation problem. Buying a spaceship is too expensive, so he plans to cooperate with some interstellar travel groups and rent their spaceships on a long-term basis. After deducting these expenses, he can probably still have two or three million Enas left, which is quite considerable.
The transportation issue isn't urgent; it won't be needed until players return. Han Xiao should focus on building an assembly line first. An assembly line is a prerequisite for the Legion strategy, requiring a considerable amount of Advanced Knowledge and corresponding High-End Knowledge. Han Xiao has already learned most of the Advanced Knowledge, and his vast funds allow him to afford new High-End Knowledge.
He directly spent hundreds of thousands of Enas to buy High-End Knowledge of the Armament Department, [Giant Compound Machinery Technology]. This knowledge is one of the prerequisites for building super-large machines such as warships. He combined and integrated the knowledge from his memory to create the key blueprint skill [Automated Mass Production Assembly Plan], which is the assembly line blueprint. This is the core of the Legion Flow. As long as raw materials are put in, the assembly line can automatically mass produce, saving time and effort... but not money.
The assembly line is a special type of blueprint that cannot be manufactured alone. If a player uses it, they must first trigger the assembly line blueprint to activate it, and then use another machine's blueprint skill. This creates the assembly line for that machine, similar to a fusion skill.
The assembly process for each machine differs. For example, the production process for assembling Ranger and assembling Black Panther Mechanical Beast are different. Therefore, different machine production lines need to be built separately, and the raw materials vary depending on the composition of the target machine. This is enough to make any player's wallet feel desperate. That's why the Legion build burns money at an unparalleled speed, leading all professions and all builds.
Han Xiao's current main combat system is the field-spreading, labor-intensive three-man attack, which focuses on low cost and is far from a true legion-based strategy. The main reason is that he didn't have much money to burn back then, which frustrated him. Now that he has ample funds, he can finally put the plan to build a legion-based strategy on the agenda.
After all, the combat power of Mechanic Class is directly linked to money.
Han Xiao's secondary profession, [Ordnance Engineer], specializes in [Ordnance Mass Production Insights], which is precisely the skill of reducing assembly line costs and improving product quality, demonstrating his long-term vision.
Besides initially building a large-scale mechanical army, another goal of the assembly line is to mass-produce equipment that players are willing to buy, then sell it on a large scale to generate more money, compounding profits...
Then open branches, one becomes two, two become four, four become eight, and after eight, go public, raise funds, speculate on stocks, and then spin off more branches for listing. Just collecting dividends... cough cough, that's roughly the idea. Just thinking about it makes Master Han feel like the sky is clear and the sun is shining brightly.
The more advanced the machinery, the more complex the assembly line. Even with Han Xiao's current assembly speed using Mechanical Force, it would take several days to complete one assembly line. Therefore, the type of machinery to manufacture is crucial. After much thought, he decided to focus on low-level machinery, because it was far beyond the players' levels and was considered "low-level machinery" to him, but it was just right for players around level 60.
As for high-quality machinery, there is no need for an assembly line. Han Xiao is currently level 116. Because of the Noriosse incident after advancing, he did not have time to overhaul the core machinery. Building the base is a long-term project, so he has plenty of time to upgrade and replace it.
Thanks to Anur's reward, his experience points increased to over 300 million. He first upgraded the [Automated Mass Production Assembly Plan] to the maximum level, significantly reducing costs. Then, he gambled out a large number of different types of low-level machinery, selecting suitable blueprints to build an assembly line. With his understanding of Mechanic Class and players, he could guarantee that the mass-produced machinery would all be useful.
The assembly line is a huge project. Before that, he built the mainframe for the base and let Phillip manage it. The first assembly line he built was the assistant robot production line, so that Phillip, an artificial intelligence-controlled assistant robot, could be of great use, just like mass-producing workers at the start of a game.
Following the blueprint he left behind, Phillip directed more and more assistant robots to improve the layout of different areas of the base, adding furniture, access gates, equipment, instruments, and other miscellaneous items, so Han Xiao no longer needed to supervise it personally.
The 2.0 preparation plan required everyone to stay at the base for a long time. Melos had no objection, as he believed Han Xiao had a plan. The others also had no objections. The Volga Three Brothers and Sylvia were willing to do anything with Han Xiao. Fording would not leave until Morning Star was completely suppressed. Resta was very patient; he had waited for so many years and didn't care about a little more time or letting Han Xiao use his body.
Wilsander returned to Dragon Calm, leaving only Han Xiao and his group among the troops operating outside.
Han Xiao knew very well that Dragon Calm must have learned of his base-building activities, but Ames had not inquired about them. He understood that Ames had tacitly approved of his expansion of the armed forces, and this trust made him quite gratified.
Because of the base construction, Han Xiao's core team suspended hiring, with only the Sunil Squad remaining active. News travels fast in interstellar space, and the intelligence about Han Xiao building the base was interpreted differently by many factions; they saw it as a signal:
--Could it be that Dragon Emperor has finally started to expand his armed forces, just like the other three Beyond Grade A powerhouses?!
Han Xiao's "Dragon Calm Field Operations Force" has always been more symbolic than practical, and this move immediately made many big figures in organizations and forces feel apprehensive and pay close attention.
The construction of the base progressed step by step, time passed, seasons changed, and sunrises and sunsets occurred.
As time went on, the dormant Mutation Source that had been secretly introduced into all the planets by the DarkStar slowly began to awaken.
"... That's how it is. In just two days, there have been over 2,700 riots worldwide, involving more than 100,000 people. And this is only what we've monitored. Intelligence Department have investigated the identities of all the rioters. The rioters come from all walks of life and are located in different cities. There were no warning signs before the riots started, and there was no pattern to follow. Currently, most of the rioters have been detained by law enforcement agencies in Six Nations, and the reasons are under investigation."
A Dark Net intelligence officer was reading a report. Bennett sat in a chair, his brow furrowed; he looked a bit older than he had two years ago.
After Han Xiao left, the social environment on Planet Aquamarine finally became peaceful. The Six Nations recuperated and ceased hostilities, and the refugees found a home.
However, in the last two days, riots suddenly broke out in many areas of Planet Aquamarine, with a large number of cases, which immediately attracted the attention of the Six Nations and Bennett.
"Sir, we've reviewed the details of all the riots and found only one common thread..." The intelligence officer swallowed hard, his voice tinged with obvious fear.
"Speak," Bennett said in a deep voice.
"All the riots can be divided into three waves, each occurring at almost the same time. This means that within a margin of error of less than ten seconds, riots broke out simultaneously in hundreds of different locations around the world, as if it had been pre-arranged... However, we checked the network records, and these people did not contact each other privately..."
Bennett's eyes narrowed; this situation was far too unusual!
The intelligence officer, his palms sweating and his voice strained, continued, "Moreover, the incidents also occurred in several of our Sanctuary, and many of the refugees we sheltered have rioted."
"How are the refugees' physical conditions?"
"The refugees we detained were running high fevers and were fast asleep. Doctors' examinations revealed that their brains were abnormally active, causing their organs to produce hormones at levels far exceeding normal. According to our informants, the rioters detained by the Six Nations are in the same situation."
Bennett was shocked and furious. "Everyone's unconscious? Is it all from the same infectious disease?"
"Not all of them. A small number of the detained refugees have regained consciousness. They clearly remember what happened, and their testimonies are remarkably consistent. They all said that they suddenly felt a strong surge of anger and had an urge to destroy something to vent their frustration. Our doctors examined these conscious individuals but found nothing unusual. All their physiological indicators were normal, and even the fever they experienced while unconscious had disappeared. Everything was back to normal. We can't figure out what happened, so we've isolated them. There haven't been any riots for eighteen hours now."
"Is isolation really effective...? The three waves of large-scale riots were all completely different groups, and they came without warning. If this is truly an undetectable, unknown virus, I'm afraid the number of infected people..."
Thinking of this, Bennett couldn't help but gasp, his face turning grim. He had a strong premonition that this matter wouldn't be so simple.
"The war is over, and the world has finally ushered in peace, so why did this happen...?"
Suddenly, he remembered Han Xiao and the catastrophic prophecy Han Xiao had left behind before leaving, which had left him with some doubt. The current situation was remarkably similar to Han Xiao's description!
Could what Black Phantom said be true?!
Clang!
Bennett abruptly stood up, knocking over his chair, threw on his coat, and hurried out of the room.
"Prepare the plane, I'm heading to Black Phantom's Third Sanctuary!"