42: Chapter 42 Research Module Unlocked! Embark on an Independent Technology Development Path!

The Dawn Fleet's superluminal engines carved a pale blue jump trajectory through the void, carrying the glorious fruits of occupying Black Reef Planet and establishing the second colony planet, as it returned at full speed to Dawn-1 Colony Planet.

The atmosphere in the command room remained heated, with the crew's faces overflowing with unconcealable excitement and pride. Just a short while ago, they were merely a small fleet huddled on a barren colony planet, but now, the Dawn Faction, sitting on two habitable planets, a population of seventy thousand, and nearly seventy warships, had already become an emerging power in this border star sector that no one could ignore.

Emperor Chen Fan stood in the center of the command deck, his gaze calmly watching the star clusters receding rapidly outside the viewport. He appeared indifferent, but his heart had already made a clear plan for the next step of development.

Occupying planets, expanding the population, and strengthening the fleet were merely the foundations of a civilization's rise.

In a universe fraught with crises and the law of the jungle, what truly determines the upper limit of a faction is always technology.

Without autonomously developed technology, no matter how massive the fleet is, it is merely an empty shell relying on captured equipment; no matter how prosperous the colony planets are, it remains a backward civilization stuck at the primary production stage; once they encounter interstellar consortiums or kingdom fleets with high-end technology, all their glory will crumble under absolute technological suppression.

Emperor Chen Fan knew this better than anyone.

"Commander, we are about to enter the orbit of Dawn-1 Colony Planet, and docking is expected to be completed in ten minutes." Adjutant Qin Shuang's voice interrupted Emperor Chen Fan's thoughts. Her fingertips slid lightly across the operation panel, synchronizing the latest data of the two colony planets to the main holographic screen. "The transformation progress of Dawn No. 2 Planet (formerly Black Reef Planet) is at 100%. The defense system is fully activated, industrial production lines are running 24 hours a day, household registration and personnel allocation are all completed, and the seventy thousand citizens are emotionally stable with extremely high production enthusiasm."

"Additionally, the scientific research materials, technical blueprints, and legacy equipment seized from the Black Reef Planet underground warehouse have all been transferred to transport ships and are about to be sent to the Research Center at the main base of Dawn No. 1 Colonial Planet."

Emperor Chen Fan nodded slightly, his voice steady and powerful: "Very good. All fleets enter docking status, combat personnel return to their stations to rest, and technical personnel and logistics management troops, immediately transfer all seized technical data, industrial equipment, and energy cores to the Research Center at the main base."

"Yes! Commander!"

Accompanied by a slight vibration, the Dawn flagship docked steadily in the orbital spaceport of Dawn No. 1 Colonial Planet. When Emperor Chen Fan led the command staff down from the warship, a dense crowd of people had already gathered on the ground to welcome them, and cheers swept through the entire spaceport like a tide.

From the old subordinates who followed Emperor Chen Fan in surviving desperate situations at the beginning, to the former pirate subjects who had just surrendered and regained a new life, everyone's eyes were filled with absolute trust and fanatical adoration for this young commander.

Emperor Chen Fan raised his hand to suppress the crowd's cheers, his voice transmitting through the global broadcast: "My people, we have used our hands and courage to conquer territory belonging to the Dawn Faction and established a stable home. But I want to tell you, this is just the beginning!"

"From today on, the Dawn Faction will no longer be satisfied with picking up technology discarded by others, and will no longer be limited to repairing captured equipment! We will build our own warships, develop our own weapons, and upgrade our own ecological and energy technologies!"

"The technology tree of the Dawn Faction will be lit up by ourselves!"

The impassioned declaration made everyone's blood boil. They vaguely realized that a new era belonging to the Dawn Faction's autonomous research was about to arrive.

Returning to the command center of the main base on Dawn No. 1 Colonial Planet, Emperor Chen Fan did not stop for a moment and walked straight to the core main control room located in the deepest part of the base.

This was the hub of the entire Dawn Faction, carrying the core system of civilization development, and it was also Emperor Chen Fan's greatest trump card—the Mothership Troop Production System.

Previously, the system had been in a partially unlocked state, only opening basic functions such as territory management, fleet command, population control, and infrastructure construction, while the most critical Research Module remained in a gray, locked state.

According to system prompts, unlocking the Research Module required meeting three core conditions:

First, the number of colony planets ≥ 2;

Second, the total population of the faction ≥ 60,000;

Third, establish a complete basic industrial system and energy supply system.

And now, with the formal establishment of Dawn No. 2 Planet and the population exceeding seventy thousand, and the military industry, energy, and production facilities of the two colony planets fully operational, all three conditions had long been met!

Adjutant Qin Shuang, Commander Lei Meng, and other core executives followed closely behind Emperor Chen Fan into the main control room. Everyone's eyes were fixed on the huge golden holographic system screen in the center, and their breathing slowed down unconsciously.

Emperor Chen Fan took a deep breath and gently pressed his right hand onto the system identification area.

Hum—!

A low energy tremor spread throughout the main control room. The originally calm system screen instantly erupted with dazzling golden light, and rows of brilliant system prompt text scrolled rapidly across the screen:

[Detected that the Dawn Faction meets all conditions for unlocking the Research Module]

[Number of colony planets: 2 (Target met)]

[Total population: 71,246 (Target met)]

[Basic industrial system: Complete (Target met)]

[Energy supply system: Stable (Target met)]

[Congratulations, Commander! Mothership Troop Production System—Research Module officially unlocked!]

Boom!

As the last line of text appeared, the entire system screen suddenly lit up, and a vast, complex, yet well-organized technology tree map was fully presented in front of everyone.

The technology tree was divided into five major branches, each of which was like a towering tree, extending into countless detailed research projects, from the most basic materials science and energy science, to mid-range warship engines, shield technology, and weapon systems, and then to top-tier interstellar jump, ecological transformation, and genetic optimization. It was dazzling and covered all fields of civilization development.

Adjutant Qin Shuang widened her eyes, looking at the incredibly shocking technology tree map in front of her, her voice trembling: "Commander... we really unlocked the Research Module! We possess our own technology research and development system!"

Commander Lei Meng, this former pirate leader, was even more shocked and awestruck. He had drifted in the Dawn Star Sector for decades and had never seen any small faction possess such a complete and high-end technology research system. At this moment, he believed even more firmly that following Emperor Chen Fan, the Dawn Faction would surely reach the pinnacle of the universe!

Emperor Chen Fan looked at the scientific research technology tree in front of him, his eyes shining with fiery light. He did not indulge in excitement but immediately calmed down and made the first step of deployment for the launch of the Research Module.

"Adjutant Qin Shuang, issue an order immediately to screen all personnel with research talent, technical foundation, and learning ability from the two colony planets to form the Dawn Faction's first basic research team!"

"Prioritize drafting the technical personnel seized from Black Reef Planet, including warship engineers, energy researchers, materials scientists, and mechanical designers, totaling no less than 500 people!"

"Enter all seized pirate technical blueprints, research data, and industrial equipment into the Research Module database as initial research resources!"

"Yes! Commander!"

With the order given, the entire Dawn Faction started operating instantly.

On Dawn No. 2 Planet, the technical personnel who had just settled down received the conscription order, and they were all overjoyed. Most of them had become pirates because they loved research and were skilled in technology but were forced by livelihood. Now that they had the opportunity to join a formal research team and engage in the career they were best at, it was simply a dream opportunity.

In just two hours, a basic research team of 520 people was assembled, all concentrated in the Research Center of the main base on Dawn No. 1 Colonial Planet, waiting for Emperor Chen Fan's next instruction.

At the same time, the initial functions of the Research Module were fully displayed in front of him.

1. Research Point Mechanism

The system will automatically generate research points daily based on the colony planet's development level, population size, industrial output value, and energy production. Research points are the core resources for researching all technologies.

Current daily research points: 128 points.

2. Basic Technology Research List

After unlocking the Research Module, the system opens the first batch of basic technologies that can be researched directly, without prerequisites, and can be started by consuming research points:

1. Basic Alloy Strengthening Technology: Increases warship armor and building material strength by 30%

2. Small Energy Core Optimization: Increases energy conversion efficiency by 20% and reduces consumption

3. Ecological Circulation System Upgrade: Expands the planting area of colony planets and increases food production

4. Ship-borne Energy Cannon Basic Improvement: Increases main gun power by 15% and shortens charging time

5. Basic Medical Technology Upgrade: Reduces injury and illness rates and improves citizens' physical fitness

3. Research Acceleration Mechanism

The more research personnel invested, the higher the research talent, and the more perfect the research equipment, the faster the technology research speed, which can be accelerated by up to 300%!

4. Technology Reverse Engineering Function

Can reverse engineer captured alien warships, weapons, and equipment, dismantle technologies, convert them into autonomously developed technologies, and supplement the research database!

Looking at this series of powerful research functions, all the executives in the command center were completely boiling.

This meant that the Dawn Faction had henceforth shaken off its dependence on captured equipment and embarked on a technological path of autonomous research, self-upgrading, and infinite growth!

Emperor Chen Fan tapped the holographic screen with his finger and first chose the two most critical technologies for the current faction to start research.

"First, start the research on Basic Alloy Strengthening Technology, invest all research equipment and 300 materials science and mechanics researchers, and prioritize improving the defense capabilities of warships and buildings!"

"Second, start the research on Small Energy Core Optimization, invest 220 energy technology researchers to solve the energy consumption problems of the fleet and colony planets, and lay the foundation for subsequent large-scale research!"

The moment the two research instructions were confirmed, progress bars appeared under the two technology projects on the Research Module screen and began to advance slowly.

[Basic Alloy Strengthening Technology: Researching... Progress 0%, Estimated completion time: 72 hours]

[Small Energy Core Optimization: Researching... Progress 0%, Estimated completion time: 96 hours]

Although it was only basic technology, this was the first step of the Dawn Faction's autonomous research, which was of extraordinary significance!

Immediately afterwards, Emperor Chen Fan ordered the activation of the Technology Reverse Engineering function, sending all three damaged alien frigates, over a dozen types of exotic energy weapons, and a complete set of interstellar navigation equipment seized from the Black Sail Pirate Group into the Research Analysis Center.

"Conduct comprehensive analysis on all alien equipment, dismantle technical principles, and supplement our research database! Every sub-technology parsed can provide huge help for subsequent research!"

The machines in the Research Center roared into operation. Countless robotic arms, scanners, and analysis devices were fully activated. Researchers wearing white work clothes were busy in the laboratory, and everyone's faces were filled with passion for exploring unknown technologies.

To further improve research efficiency, Emperor Chen Fan made a major decision—invest all rare resources seized from Black Reef Planet to expand the Research Center!

Expand the original single-story basic Research Center into a large-scale research base containing five major areas: Materials Laboratory, Energy Laboratory, Weapon Laboratory, Ecological Laboratory, and Analysis Center. Add two hundred high-end research equipment, expand the research space by three times, and make sufficient preparations for subsequently absorbing more top-tier research talents and researching higher-end technologies.

After receiving the order, the infrastructure troops started construction immediately. Relying on the sufficient materials and industrial capabilities of the two colony planets, in just one day, the brand-new Dawn Research Center rose from the ground, becoming the most dazzling landmark building on Dawn No. 1 Colonial Planet.

In the evening, Emperor Chen Fan came to the Research Center again for inspection.

In the laboratory, researchers were nervously conducting alloy proportion experiments; in the energy room, researchers were staring at data screens and constantly adjusting parameters; in the analysis center, parts of alien warships were being dismantled, analyzed, and recorded bit by bit...

The bustling scene of scientific research made Emperor Chen Fan feel very gratified.

Adjutant Qin Shuang, who was in charge of the Research Center's management, stepped forward to report: "Commander, the expansion of the Research Center is complete. The research progress of the two basic technologies is advancing steadily. Basic Alloy Strengthening Technology has reached 18%, and Energy Core Optimization has reached 12%; the reverse engineering of alien equipment also has preliminary progress. We have cracked the basic structure of the alien frigate's engine, which can be used for subsequent engine technology research!"

"In addition, the daily research points have increased to 156 points. With the continuous development of the colony planet's industry, the points will continue to rise!"

Emperor Chen Fan nodded with satisfaction, looking at the huge technology tree screen at the top of the Research Center, and said softly: "Basic research is just the beginning. Our goal is to light up the entire technology tree and develop top-tier warships, top-tier energy, and top-tier technology belonging to the Dawn Faction!"

"But at present, our research team still has huge shortcomings..."

Emperor Chen Fan's words made the scene quiet down instantly.

Everyone understood that the current 500 researchers were mostly engineers and technicians with basic skills, which could only support basic technology research. Once it involved high-end theory, core technology, and breakthrough research, this team's ability would be far from enough.

If the Dawn Faction wants to truly reach the pinnacle of technology, it must have top-tier research talents, top-notch discipline leaders, and top-tier scientists who can lead the entire research direction!

This was the biggest shortcoming of the current research system, and it was also the next goal he had already planned in his heart.

Adjutant Qin Shuang immediately understood and asked softly: "Commander, are we going to launch a research talent recruitment plan next? Issue a conscription order in the border star sector to absorb wandering technical talents?"

Emperor Chen Fan shook his head slightly, his gaze looking into the depths of the universe, his eyes becoming deep and sharp.

"Ordinary wandering talents are not enough to support the Dawn Faction's technological rise. What we need are top-tier scientists who truly stand at the forefront of cosmic technology, possess top-notch academic attainments, and can lead top-tier research projects."

"And just a short while ago, the system detected that a fleeing fleet carrying top-tier research talents is being chased by interstellar hunters and is heading towards the direction of our Dawn Star Sector..."

"They are the core souls that our Dawn research team needs most!"

As the words fell, Emperor Chen Fan raised his hand to tap the global detection screen. On the screen, a faint distress signal source was constantly flashing in the border area of the star sector, and behind the signal were several hunting warships in hot pursuit.

A rescue operation concerning the future of the Dawn Faction's technology was about to begin.

The Research Module had been unlocked, the path of autonomous research had officially started, and the formation of a top-tier research team was about to come!