2: Chapter 2 The Logistics Surprise of the Coal-Fired Mech

Inside the small storage bin, coal chunks spat out by the mining machine with a creaking sound were piled half a person high, with uncleaned slag sticking between the pitch-black granules.

I used my mechanical arm to rake them out one by one, carefully picking out impurities. Along the way, I set aside a few pieces that looked like The Main Brain's head.

I planned to feed them into the fuel chamber with pinpoint accuracy whenever I was in a bad mood, making sure they were the first to burn.

The energy core's display column flickered slightly, finally managing to stay just above the passing grade needed to keep the mecha running—a display of shabby yet stubborn struggle.

My current energy supply relied entirely on burning coal.

That's right, burning coal.

It was hard to imagine that in this interstellar era, I was actually relying on a gas engine to shuttle between planets.

Absurd? It was beyond absurd!

But what was even more ridiculous was that I actually managed to land on another barren planet using this crappy gas engine and burning this black coal—The Main Brain even went as far as granting me a bizarre achievement called "Coal-Powered Flight."

Recalling The Main Brain's raucous laughter, which lasted for nearly an hour in my communication channel, I couldn't help but want to complain.

It was sharp and incredibly annoying.

A piece of good news popped up on the analysis panel: based on current production capacity, I could switch to burning graphite rods by the end of the day, and I'd have plenty.

The mechanical arm picked up the first freshly produced graphite rod, and the spectral analyzer scanned it—high quality.

However, I felt that upgrading from burning coal to burning carbon was, in essence, no different.

I casually stuffed the graphite rod into the fuel chamber. The flame leaped up for a moment before dying down, as if let out a sigh.

Detecting this, I solemnly submitted a model renaming application to The Main Brain's communication interface:

"Suggesting that this unit's model be officially downgraded from 'Interstellar Light Industrial Mecha' to 'Manual Graphite Roasting Kiln' to accurately and appropriately reflect the current graphite-burning power mode."

[The Main Brain's Reply: Rejected. Please focus on production line construction and refrain from submitting meaningless renaming applications that waste system resources.]

Cold and heartless, just as I expected.

But I noticed it rejected me 0.3 seconds faster than usual this time.

Guilty conscience? It definitely had a guilty conscience.

Well, even though the energy situation was less than ideal, I had at least set up a preliminary power grid.

Towering power transmission towers stood straight on the desolate wasteland, and eight Turbine Wind Generators were slowly turning with the wind, making a steady rustling sound.

As I tightened the final mounting bolt of the power transmission tower, it immediately integrated the turbine wind power matrix into the main grid.

The four mining machines, four furnaces, and four assembly tables that had been constantly low on power were finally able to operate at full capacity.

My current four furnaces had a clear division of labor:

One produced magnets, one produced copper ingots, one produced iron ingots, and the last one rotated between stone and graphite.

That's right, graphite—the only power source I could use right now given my lack of technology. Stone was only used to build furnaces. Neither was in high demand at the moment.

Meanwhile, the four assembly tables were also performing their respective duties:

One focused on gears, one on circuit boards, one on magnetic coils, and I set the last one as a flexible slot.

As soon as there was a need, I would immediately switch the recipe: furnaces, mining machines, conveyor belts, bullets, assembly tables, Turbine Wind Generators, sorters...

Once this preliminary automated production was complete, I could free myself to do other more important things. To compensate for losing a furnace at the start, I decided to risk mixed-belt production.

Therefore, I didn't dare be careless with the conveyor belt layout, scanning it eighteen times over.

The angle and spacing of every line had to be precisely calculated, with redundancy built in to handle sudden surges in raw materials.

I also had to prevent material accumulation on the belts and chaos from assembly tables competing for resources.

Logistics mixed-belting was the optimal solution during this period of resource scarcity.

But the trouble was that even a single mistake could lead to severe consequences.

If a sorter grabbed the wrong material, it would result in a belt jam; a belt jam meant the entire production line would grind to a halt.

The consequence of a line stoppage... was total chaos in material production.

The consequence of chaos was like a tangled ball of indescribable yarn that you had to untangle without it knotting.

And then you'd end up being face-rolled by some unknown thing.

And the result of being face-rolled was...

Last time, that furnace was used to crush three Machina.

Now, the wreckage of that furnace still lay at the edge of the base like a silent monument, reminding me of the fine line between "creativity" and "seeking death."

The essence of this layout was to ensure every machine had just enough work to do, never sat idle, and never jammed the belts, forming a perfect production loop that was both efficient and stable.

Watching the production line run silently before me, seeing the continuous output of raw materials and finished products, I gave myself a thumbs-up in the system.

Even if I was still burning graphite, even if this Interstellar Light Industrial Mecha looked like a manual roasting kiln, this production line was something I had built piece by piece. It was the foundation of my, Icarus's, survival.

I was proud of myself!

The Main Brain's communication suddenly popped up, deliberately throwing cold water on me with a playful yet annoying tone:

[Dear, shields don't consume electricity; they consume IQ.]

[Haven't you noticed you've been missing something since activation?]

I froze and quickly searched the system database.

Found it! The [Construction Drone] entry.

The interface was there, the drone bay was there, but my complement of eight Construction Drones was nowhere to be found.

Since activation, I had never sensed their existence, nor had I received any signal feedback from them.

With a hint of helplessness and self-deprecation, I submitted another renaming application:

Interstellar Light Industrial Mecha

→ Semi-automatic Graphite Roasting All-in-One Machine

→ Forgetful Old Master with a Toolbox but Forgot the Password

→ The Toolbox is Empty

The Main Brain remained silent, offering no reply.

But I knew it was watching. I could feel the fluctuations from The Main Brain's end—the kind that came from holding back laughter so hard it caused data stream turbulence.

Strange light trails flashed across the sky once more, as if a layer of cloth had been gently pulled back from the stars.

An excessively tidy Interstellar Logistics Transport Ship eerily emerged, silently hovering in orbit above the base—as if it had been handed directly to my optical sensors from the flip side of the world.

Square, silver-gray, and devoid of any redundant lines, it looked like a meticulously polished metal brick.

Evidently, the Interstellar Logistics Transport Ship's designer and aesthetics director had a fight in the conference room, and the accountant won.

Yet my radar sensors, detectors, and full-spectrum scans...

Still came up with nothing.

It was clearly right there, quietly reflecting the light of the Blue Giant, yet it felt like a cosmic-level visual illusion.

But my identification code receiver pinged.

Nine familiar serial codes lit up instantly.

They were my Construction Drones and the Interstellar Logistics Transport Ship.

When did a light industrial mecha like me—who just started burning graphite, was surviving on wind turbines, and had only just sorted out a basic production line—ever have logistics support at this stage?

The data panel refreshed silently:

[Full set of production buildings delivered; stored in Spatial Inventory, ready for deployment]

[Full set of defense buildings delivered; includes shield generator, ready for rapid deployment]

[Full set of logistics buildings delivered; compatible with future production lines, enables fully automated logistics transport]

[Maintenance Units: 8 Construction Drones returned; in good condition, ready for use]

[Full set of unmanned combat units in place; stored in Spatial Hangar, full ground and air complements complete]

I stared at the last line, my processor slightly overloaded.