Chapter 44 The Blueprint for "Scavenger No. 3"

The "brain-burning" incident involving Lin Yuan served as a wake-up call for the entire project team.

They realized that although they had obtained the heaven-defying trump card known as the "soul USB drive," the current "reading device"—that is, Lin Yuan's brain—was still far from keeping up.

He was like a beggar guarding a mountain of gold with only a small dirt basket, able to carefully scrape off only a tiny bit of gold dust at a time. Once he became greedy and tried to move a larger gold brick, he risked being crushed to death.

Consequently, under the personal supervision of Chen Weiguo, a super learning program codenamed "Sword Casting," specifically tailored for Lin Yuan, was officially launched.

Meanwhile, another equally important task was also being carried out in full swing.

—Designing and building the brand-new "scavenger three" drone.

Without the drone, no matter how good Lin Yuan's brain was, he couldn't enter the "Cosmic Graveyard," and everything would be in vain.

In the project team's largest technical conference room, a seminar centering on the design proposal for "scavenger three" was in full swing.

The attendees were the top scientists and engineers from all over the country.

And sitting in the main seat, besides Chen Weiguo and Academician Wang, was a figure no one had expected—Lin Yuan.

He was no longer just the "pilot" of the drone.

He was now the only "translator" and "technical consultant" connecting Earth's civilization with the "Eternal Flower" civilization.

"According to the information Comrade Lin Yuan obtained from the 'ashilya' database, we have several brand-new, disruptive directions for the design of the next-generation drone."

The Head of Technology Department stood in front of the massive holographic projection, introducing it with excitement.

Behind him was a continuously rotating 3D model of a drone, filled with sci-fi aesthetics.

"First, the airframe material."

He pointed to the outer armor of the model, "We will no longer use traditional alloy materials. Comrade Lin Yuan has provided us with a brand-new concept called 'Adaptive Lattice Armor'."

Everyone's gaze turned to Lin Yuan.

Lin Yuan cleared his throat and, feeling slightly unaccustomed, explained in a half-understanding "scholar" tone: "Uh... according to what's in my head, this armor isn't 'dead'; it's 'alive'."

"It is composed of a special, self-replicating crystal. When damaged, it automatically draws energy and matter from the surrounding lattice to self-repair, just like biological cells. As long as the core 'crystal seed' is not destroyed, theoretically, it can regenerate infinitely."

"Infinite regeneration!"

This term made all the materials scientists present gasp.

"Then... how do we manufacture this material?" one expert couldn't help but ask.

"We can't build it." Lin Yuan spread his hands bluntly, "With our current technology, we can't even build a single crystal cell. But..."

He changed his tone, "We can 'grow' it."

"Grow?"

"Yes." Lin Yuan explained, "Remember that piece of 'oracle-grade armor' we salvaged the first time? That thing, although not from the same technological system as the 'Eternal Flower', has an extremely high material structural strength. We can use it as a 'seed', or rather, a 'skeleton', and then use 'Eternal Flower' technology to 'graft' and 'cultivate' this 'Adaptive Lattice Armor' on its surface."

"This process requires an absolutely sterile environment, precise energy control, and... massive amounts of energy."

Academician Wang added from the side: "We have calculated it. To cultivate enough armor to cover the entire drone body, we need approximately... the energy of five thousand 'ark reactor' units."

"Five thousand!"

This number caused an uproar in the conference room.

You have to know, after three months of hard work, the total number of 'ark reactor' samples they had built was only ten thousand.

This would use up half of their strategic reserves in one go?

"I object!" The Minister of Security was the first to stand up, "The cost is too high! We should use safer, more economical materials. For example, we could use the titanium alloy we developed ourselves and coat the exterior with powder scraped from the 'oracle-grade armor'; that would also provide excellent defensive effects."

"No way!" A materials scientist immediately retorted, "The Minister's idea is too conservative! That's just physical defense! This 'living' armor that Comrade Lin Yuan mentioned not only self-repairs, but according to the database description, it can also 'adapt' to energy attacks to a certain extent! For example, if it gets hit by lasers too much, it will automatically adjust its lattice structure to increase the reflectivity against that laser frequency! That is the most terrifying part of it!"

"That's right! We aren't building a disposable consumable! We are building a 'warhorse' that will accompany Comrade Lin Yuan to conquer the stars and seas in the future! We must use the best!"

The conference room descended into chaos once again.

Chen Weiguo didn't speak, just listened quietly.

Finally, he looked at Lin Yuan: "Lin Yuan, what is your opinion?"

Lin Yuan thought for a moment and said: "I'll listen to the scientists. However, personally, I think money that should be spent must be spent. I don't want to drive a piece of junk out next time, get chased like a dog, and end up having to self-destruct."

His plain talk made everyone laugh.

The tense atmosphere eased significantly.

Chen Weiguo nodded, his mind made up.

"Alright, the material plan is settled! Use the 'grafting' method to cultivate the 'Adaptive Lattice Armor'! Technical Support Department, go prepare the energy immediately!"

He made the final decision.

"Next, the engine system." The Head of Technology Department switched the projection.

"According to the new concept provided by Comrade Lin Yuan, we have abandoned the traditional plasma engine plan. The new plan is this—the 'Miniature Curvature Gravity Engine'."

"Simply put, it doesn't gain thrust by ejecting propellant backward. Instead, it creates a miniature, extremely weak 'gravity depression' in front of the drone, letting the drone... 'fall' into it."

"Holy shit..." Lin Yuan was dumbfounded, "Isn't this just... hanging a carrot in front of a donkey?"

His vulgar analogy made the whole room burst into laughter again.

Academician Wang laughed so hard he slapped his thigh: "You kid! This analogy is so damn vivid! That's right! That's exactly what it means! By constantly creating 'carrots' in front, you lure the 'donkey' forward!"

"The advantages of this engine are obvious." The Head of Technology Department also explained with a smile, "First, it produces almost no visible energy exhaust, making it extremely stealthy. Second, its energy conversion efficiency is hundreds of times that of a plasma engine! Third, and most importantly, it allows the drone to achieve true 'inertia-free' maneuvering! Because the entire airframe is translating within a gravitational field, rather than being pushed by external force. This means it can complete right-angle turns and instant hovering without causing any burden to the airframe structure or the pilot!"

"Good stuff!" Lin Yuan's eyes lit up.

With this thing, he could do all sorts of tricks in the "Cosmic Graveyard"! Dodging attacks from "Void Devourer" would be like child's play, right?

"There are also the stealth system, scanning system, robotic arm system..."

The Head of Technology Department introduced them one by one.

Each system, thanks to the theoretical support from the "Eternal Flower" civilization, became sci-fi, powerful, and... expensive.

"The stealth system has been upgraded from the previous coating to a 'Spatial Lens Force Field', which can directly distort light to achieve perfect optical and radar invisibility."

"The scanning system, on the basis of 'wide-area scanning', has added 'high-dimensional particle penetration scanning', which can detect targets hidden in subspace or other dimensions! It specifically counters those 'Void Devourer' guys who like to play hide-and-seek!"

"The robotic arm has also been upgraded to a 'nanocluster plasticity tool arm', which can deform at will according to needs, turning into a scalpel, cutting gun, energy cannon... or even a key."

When all the design plans were introduced.

A brand-new, streamlined, and bio-aesthetic blueprint of "scavenger three", as if from the future, was clearly presented before everyone.

It looked like it had completely broken away from the category of "drone".

It looked more like a... silent and deadly deep-space hunter.

Everyone looked at this blueprint, their eyes filled with longing and shock.

Finally, the Head of Technology Department announced its final cost.

"...According to our preliminary estimates, to turn this blueprint into reality 100%, in addition to the five thousand 'ark reactor' units mentioned earlier, we also need to consume 90% of the rare materials in our inventory, and... Comrade Lin Yuan, all of your permission points."

"All of my permission points?" Lin Yuan was stunned.

He opened the system interface and took a look.

【Current Total Permission Points: 1500 points.】

"Yes." The Head of Technology Department nodded and brought up the upgrade requirements provided by the system.

【Manufacture "scavenger three" drone】

【Energy required: 2,500,000 points (equivalent to 5,000 ark reactor units)】

【Rare structural materials required: "oracle-grade armor" fragment 1, "Heart of Kalandia" companion crystal 12, Zero-point resonance module * 1...】

【Permission points required: 1500 points.】

Lin Yuan looked at that long list of materials he couldn't understand at all, and the glaring "1500 points" at the end, feeling a bit of heartache.

This was earned from two S-rank evaluations, and now it was going to be wiped out?

However, when his gaze returned to that incredibly cool "scavenger three" blueprint, he gritted his teeth.

"Fine! Wipe it out then!"

"If I'm going to drive, I'm going to drive the most badass one!"