Chapter 50: A Grandmaster [Requesting Monthly Tickets, Recommendation Votes, and Continued Reads]

49. Grandmaster

Sure enough, Professor Chi continued, "I have compared the technological system of the 'Kushan Civilization,' which we have mastered relatively well, and it is highly similar to the technological system of the Traders' Emergency Alliance. Compared to the Tyran Empire, to which the Ghost Fighter belongs, the similarity is even higher. In other words, our efficiency in analyzing the Traders' Emergency Alliance's technology and achieving integration will be very high. Additionally, there is one more crucial point..."

Chi Jianjun adjusted his reading glasses. "The Traders' Emergency Alliance's technology tree is more comprehensive. They possess a series of functional buildings and spacecraft, including fixed defense turrets, space hangar platforms, planetary fortresses, and even massive Titan-class warships. If we can complete the analysis of this civilization's technology, we will have the confidence to contend with the potential threats of the Galactic Republic."

Tang Xiao nodded and said, "In other words, during this current vacuum period while the Ghost Fighter is being developed, we will primarily rely on the improved Blade-class fighters and these Hammer-class light frigates to protect us?"

"Exactly. The modification work for the Blade-class fighters has been completed; the design is finalized, the production lines have been adjusted, and they are being produced according to Qi Jian's requirements. After the improvements, the fighter's length has increased to 8.6 meters. It is equipped with a small fusion engine, a primary energy shield, one infrared laser cannon, and two Gemini missiles. We have also removed unnecessary armor, so it barely has the capability to fight."

Chi Jianjun continued, "As for the modification plan for the Hammer-class light frigates, in addition to replacing the electromagnetic autocannon turrets with infrared lasers, we have rejected the plan to install Gemini missiles. Instead, we intend to add a type of plasma bomb to these frigates."

"Has the technology for the plasma bomb been analyzed yet?" Tang Xiao asked.

"It is still in progress. This was originally a weapon used by a specific type of bomber in the 'Kushan Civilization' designed to attack large vessels. We believe the existence of such bombers is unnecessary, but their weapon system is quite good. These plasma bombs have a relatively slow flight speed, but they deal extremely high damage to shields. The size of the Hammer-class frigate is also just right to accommodate such a high-energy weapon system," Chi Jianjun said. "This is the weapon modification plan we formulated based on the incoming Hammerhead-class cruiser."

Then, Chi Jianjun produced two design blueprints. Tang Xiao was very familiar with one of them and blurted out, "Isn't this an SCV?"

The Terran worker from *StarCraft*!

"That's right. The T-280 Space Construction Vehicle is a universal engineering mech, 12 feet tall, capable of completing most construction and engineering tasks. The mechanized exoskeletons used for engineering in our colony are no longer suitable. This SCV can even operate in space environments; it is an excellent piece of engineering machinery," Chi Jianjun said.

"Furthermore, the SCV is also a product of the Terran Empire. Therefore, while researching the Ghost Fighter, we have already accumulated some experience regarding Terran manufacturing processes, so the development progress of the SCV will be much faster," he added.

"Then what about this?" Tang Xiao asked, pointing to the other blueprint.

"The engineering spacecraft used by the Traders' Emergency Alliance. This type of engineering ship can also build most space structures with high efficiency. Moreover, they also possess heavy engineering ships capable of building even larger space constructs; everything is part of a complete system," Chi Jianjun explained.

Tang Xiao nodded. Indeed, now that the Ghost Fighter was in service and the security issues had been temporarily alleviated, he needed to devote greater strength to civil livelihoods and development. The research and production of the SCV and engineering spacecraft would bring greater convenience to the colony's construction. Currently, the biggest constraint on the colony's development was the issue of building construction, which prevented the population from growing; it was still hovering around 6,000 to 7,000 people.

And among the many issues restricting the colony's strength, infrastructure was the most important. Even population wasn't a major problem; there were a full 5 billion embryos in the cryo-embryo bank that could be grown within 10 years, and a reliable intelligent robot could be found in the technology library to solve that.

But there were no shortcuts for infrastructure; it had to be done step by step.

Professor Chi Jianjun had a keen eye for this and was prepared to launch the SCV and engineering spacecraft projects directly!

"There is one more point. Within the Kushan Civilization's technology library, there is also a type of stealth fighter. However, the stealth performance of that fighter is relatively limited. But we can use this as a shortcut to give the Ghost Fighter stealth capabilities as quickly as possible," Chi Jianjun concluded. "Combined with the blue-wavelength laser weapons we are currently exploring, these are the main research directions of our scientific department. The current manpower and equipment are basically sufficient. You should invest more resources into the colony."

Having said that, he said no more, gave a simple salute, and led Dr. Feng Yongwang and the others back to their busy work.

Seeing Professor Chi's demeanor, Tang Xiao was almost moved to tears. This old man no longer resembled the one who had burst into his dormitory bare-chested, clutching his clothes and screaming for help to steal his bed. He now possessed the grandmaster-level poise of a truly experienced professor!

He had not only planned the current scientific research route in an orderly fashion but also maximized the integration of existing resources and determined the most urgent research directions, ensuring that the resources of the Fourth Civilization would not be wasted.

Unlike those researchers who spoke of nothing but "resources" every time they opened their mouths, Professor Chi's vision was focused directly on the big picture!

Truly a master-level figure, truly a national treasure! With such talent helping, the revival of the Fourth Civilization was just around the corner. It was a pity that he was only willing to work for him for five years.

Tang Xiao couldn't help but wonder: what kind of great nation could possess such a grandmaster...

...

Meanwhile, on the edge of Hutt Space on the other side of the galaxy, on the planet Tatooine, a great battle was about to erupt.

BOOM!! An explosion erupted at the entrance of a spaceport in Mos Eisley. This spaceport was a circular high tower over 20 meters tall with six docking bays, capable of accommodating medium-sized ships around 100 meters in size; it was one of the larger spaceports on Tatooine.

Many people did not know that in the middle of this high tower, there was a hidden elevator specifically used to transport illicit contraband, such as spices that could induce euphoria or hallucinations.

But today, this spaceport was under attack!

Before the smoke from the explosion had even cleared, a band of vicious Bossans rushed in. The Nikto mercenaries guarding the spaceport scrambled to resist; some hid behind cover with blaster rifles, while several others rushed straight toward the rapid-fire blaster machine guns mounted on the high platforms.

[Easter Egg Chapter Figure 1: Nikto]

Thanks to samwyc for the 600 Qidian coins!!

(End of Chapter)