44: Intruder

"Current position, 7,300 meters underground in the southwest direction, no traces of viable minerals detected..."

"Current position, 2,600 meters underground in the northeast direction, sporadic Black Gold Ore veins detected..."

"Current position..."

Engineering vehicles with massive drills rapidly delved into the planet's core, their belly-mounted detectors occasionally sweeping with pulses of red light, relaying information back to the base.

"Continue the survey."

Above ground, inside a building covering about 500 square meters and constructed entirely of silver-white metal, Zhang Huaiyuan looked at the feedback and issued the order.

It had been three months since arriving on this planet. Aside from the portion of resources specifically set aside for emergencies, everything else brought from the Imperial Mining Zone had been used up.

Of course, the results were equally gratifying.

30 construction robots.

50 underground exploration robots.

200 micro space probes.

And 100 combat robots modified from mechs.

They stood a full five meters tall, were blue-black in color, equipped with large-caliber pulse guns and a high-power laser longsword, and carried the latest small cruise missiles on their chests and shoulders.

They were modified from the "Warrior II" obtained previously at "Dark Destruction Legion" and implanted with the latest algorithmic systems. While they couldn't compare to the mechs of Viscount Kane's elite forces, data projections suggested they were already comparable to the standard Imperial weapons from eighty years ago.

"Only after striking out on my own did I realize how important resources are..."

Zhang Huaiyuan sighed inwardly.

Previously, whether at "Dark Annihilation" or in the Imperial Mining Zone, he only needed to bury his head in research, and resources were always supplied in excess. It was nothing like now, where he had to prioritize developing exploration robots to hunt for mineral veins on this desolate planet.

—There was no choice. He had considered returning directly to the Star Dome Empire territory.

But firstly, he had no star map, and he was unaware of the potential dangers in the surrounding star sectors.

Secondly, he... had no starship.

Yes... at the moment of the final evacuation, because it happened so suddenly, there was no time to prepare one in advance. Later, after everyone left, he was afraid that moving a starship would attract the attention of the Galaxy Beast swarm, so he could only regretfully run away with a few supplies.

"Asroth, how much material is still needed to manufacture the starship?"

"Master, this planet's mineral veins are extremely scarce. Not to mention those rare ores, even the most basic iron ore is still short by nearly 80 tons."

"Let's wait a bit longer. If it's still not enough after the entire planet has been explored and scavenged, we'll have to dismantle the mechs."

Zhang Huaiyuan shook his head.

He hoped to preserve his combat strength as much as possible. After all, even if the starship were built, it would be easy to encounter various dangers during interstellar travel, and he needed means of self-preservation.

"Also, have the models for the building blueprints I planned earlier been perfected?"

"Yes, Master, please take a look."

Asroth projected several high-tech images in front of him via the screen in the base's main control room.

Zhang Huaiyuan's eyes flickered slightly as a string of data was intuitively imprinted into his mind.

【Combat robot Production Workshop】

Size: 280,000 square meters.

Internal facilities: 300 precision power robotic arms, 15 assembly line stations, 3 machining rooms...

Currently entered production plan: Warrior II Modified Version.

Production time: 10 hours/unit.

Resource requirements: 100 units of refined Black Stone Ore, 120 units of G5-grade alloy...

Estimated construction completion time: 28 days.

【Auxiliary robot Production Workshop】

Size: 360,000 square meters.

Internal facilities: 500 precision power robotic arms, 20 assembly line stations, 5 machining rooms...

Currently entered production plan: Construction robot I, Scout I.

Production time: 3 hours/unit.

Resource requirements: 30 units of refined iron ore, 50 units of G3-grade alloy...

Estimated construction completion time: 36 days.

"What a pity... what a pity."

Zhang Huaiyuan shook his head again.

These building models were perfected together with his intelligent assistant, aiming to realize automated production so that, provided there were sufficient resources, he could continuously generate various combat weapons.

Besides the two mentioned above, there were also buildings still in the conceptual stage, such as the "starship Integration Center" and "Advanced Technology Research Laboratory."

However, even a clever housewife cannot cook without rice. Although he had complete blueprints and construction robots capable of doing the work.

But without sufficient resources, nothing could be accomplished.

"Enough, I can only continue studying. Asroth, the security and command of these robots are handed over to you."

Zhang Huaiyuan gave the order and began to focus on researching the advanced knowledge materials obtained from the mining zone system.

...

One day, two days... thirty days...

Soon, another two months flashed by in the blink of an eye.

The fifty underground exploration robots finally finished surveying the entire planet, finding a total of only about 200-plus tons of useful minerals.

During this undisturbed period, Zhang Huaiyuan had been studying and verifying various knowledge materials, and his progress in extraordinary level had also risen rapidly.

He took a look at his panel.

extraordinary level: B (456621 / 500000).

The progress had grown from 166 when the disaster first struck to over 450,000, and the promotion to A-rank was within reach.

"I really owe it to that portion of restricted Imperial knowledge materials in the mining zone system. Besides that, observing the Imperial standard weapons in service at close range also gave me quite a bit of inspiration."

Zhang Huaiyuan revealed a faint smile on his face.

"When I advanced to C-rank, the gamification process improved, adding a favorability display. I wonder if there will be more changes when I advance to A-rank."

"Master, intruders detected."

Just then, Asroth suddenly issued an alert.

"Micro probe No. 73 detected a starship of unknown affiliation 30,000 kilometers away. Judging by its design, it should be a fearless ii series assault ship."

"According to the trajectory analysis, the ship seems to have encountered some malfunctions; there is an 83.6% probability that it will temporarily dock on this planet for repairs."

"Oh? Only one ship?"

Zhang Huaiyuan was startled at first, then felt ecstatic.

fearless ii was an obsolete product of the Free Star Alliance from 160 years ago. Its assault ships were famous for their unique spiked design, and their common attack method was to approach the enemy and pierce them directly with the head spike, earning them the nickname 'Suicide II'.

Generally, they were not equipped with too many offensive weapons, and their internal cargo space was relatively small.

There was a high probability that it wouldn't be hiding too many enemies; with 100 combat robots, he might not be without a chance to fight. As long as he captured it, he would have gathered most of the materials needed to manufacture the starship!

"Asroth, closely monitor that starship and find a way to hack into their system to obtain more detailed intelligence. You must be careful to avoid their detection devices and not be discovered!"

Zhang Huaiyuan ordered quickly.

Although the other party was using this kind of starship, they were likely not a tough opponent, but he couldn't afford to lose what little assets he had now.

"Understood, Master."