Chapter 329: Facing Reality and Accelerating (Patreon)

Chapter 329: Facing Reality and Accelerating

The conversation with Zoe proceeded without any complications.

After a brief moment of contemplation,

Su Wu directly accepted this long-term order from space.

He had no reason to refuse.

For the entire transaction, Su Wu only needed to handle transportation and would receive twice the value of the transported goods as payment.

Moreover, it was claimed to be ordinary cargo.

But when it came to space trade, every ounce of transport capacity was precious.

The actual value of the transported goods wouldn’t be low by any means.

And if the total value of any shipment truly fell short,

Su Wu could even receive additional compensation.

For example, transporting one ton of water would earn him an equivalent mass of rare resources as a transport subsidy.

And given the performance of the Seventh-Generation Fighter Jet,

the cost of a round trip between the surface and synchronous orbit wasn’t much more than circling the Earth once within the atmosphere.

Calculated this way, it was practically a deal with infinite returns.

Once the intent to trade was established,

Su Wu received from Zoe the address of an underground storage facility located in a remote area of the Western Continent,

along with the digital key required for access.

Once he transported roughly a quarter of the supplies from that warehouse to Valhalla as agreed,

he would gain ownership of the remaining three-quarters of the supplies, as well as the address of a new warehouse.

As for the extra portion of goods obtained beyond the agreement,

it served as compensation for Su Wu having to travel halfway across the globe to retrieve them personally.

Piloting the Seventh-Generation Fighter Jet,

Su Wu returned to the atmosphere

and continued his unfinished global test flight.

There was no need to rush to fulfill the space trade agreement he had just made with Valhalla.

After all, Su Wu had only just successfully developed the Seventh-Generation Fighter Jet.

Many derivative tasks stemming from this achievement, as well as his plans for the Western Hemisphere,

had yet to be set in motion.

It wouldn’t be too late to fulfill the agreement once he had sorted these matters out.

And in the final moments of guiding the fighter jet back into the atmosphere,

Su Wu cast one last glance at the lonely, drifting space refuge in the pitch-black void.

The starry sky appeared vast and dazzling,

filled with endless matter.

But in reality, for humanity, it was desolate beyond imagination.

Even obtaining a single drop of water in the dark, empty expanse of space was no easy feat.

Without sufficient technological reserves and mobility,

venturing recklessly into deep space

might not be any safer than staying on the surface, facing storms and volcanic eruptions.

In fact, in the long run,

the latter might even offer better odds of survival.

Because it allowed for easier access to abundant resources

and opportunities for technological advancement.

But in space, there was nothing.

"Space will not be humanity’s paradise."

"Nor will it be our final destination."

"At least, not now—"

After re-entering the atmosphere,

the next destination for the Seventh-Generation Fighter Jet was the Black Continent.

According to scattered intelligence gathered from the Federation,

the Black Continent had now completely fallen

and become the domain of the Amethyst Crystal Entity.

Su Wu needed to see it for himself to fully grasp the situation.

He never believed that destroying the exit passage in the Qinling Mountains would completely eliminate the threat of the Amethyst Crystal Entity.

Sooner or later, they would cross paths again.

This was the inevitable outcome when two different races competed for limited living space.

A few minutes later.

The seventh-generation fighter jet, traveling at 12 times the speed of sound across the ocean, arrived over the skies of the Black Continent.

It was unexpectedly quiet here.

Across the vast land, ice plains, deserts, and barren wastelands lightly dusted with snow stretched as far as the eye could see. Clusters of Amethyst Crystal Entities moving in groups were rarely spotted.

Only the blooming Underworld Flowers served as a reminder that this was not human territory but belonged to the Amethyst Crystal Entities.

"Come to think of it, the Amethyst Crystal Entities seem to be a form of life as well," Su Wu mused. "They don't particularly favor extreme heat or cold."

Recalling certain research materials on the Amethyst Crystal Entities, a thoughtful look crossed Su Wu's eyes.

Perhaps the Amethyst Crystal Entities had emerged from the depths of the earth during this period not by choice, but because some catastrophe had interrupted their slumber, forcing them to surface and develop.

But as for what kind of disaster could reach the deep mantle layers where they resided—that remained a mystery.

After circling the Black Continent at high speed, apart from discovering over a dozen large Amethyst Crystal Entity nests hidden in underground caves, there was nothing particularly noteworthy.

The Biological Battleships that had once posed a significant threat to Su Wu were nowhere to be seen, as if they had never existed.

Su Wu found this puzzling, but it was ultimately good news. In terms of combat power, the seventh-generation fighter jets now capable of rivaling Biological Battleships would only increase in number over time. The later the Biological Battleships entered the scene, the less pressure Su Wu would face.

Crossing over the Black Continent, the next stop was the Western Continent. As one of the most developed regions of the Federation before the apocalypse, traces of human civilization were still visible here. There was even a defensive line built to fend off Amethyst Crystal Entities from the Black Continent.

Upon entering Western Continent airspace, Su Wu quickly received numerous communication requests—from the Western Continent's highest official body, the Joint Autonomous Council, as well as from local megacities and even private shelters.

Su Wu personally answered some selectively, while the rest were delegated to the Artificial Intelligence and a specially assembled diplomatic team.

The communications were largely similar in purpose—expressions of goodwill or attempts to establish trade relations. It proved that the formidable seventh-generation fighter jet was the best credential. Even though Su Wu hailed from the relatively remote Eastern Continent of the Federation, and these Western Continent factions had never interacted with him or even heard his name before, it didn't stop them from proactively extending goodwill.

Skimming over the Western Continent and crossing the ocean, the seventh-generation fighter jet arrived at the Federation's core territory—North America.

Upon entering North American airspace, several of the Federation's sixth-generation fighter jets took off in an attempt to intercept Su Wu. But the speed disparity was too great—they couldn't even get close before being left far behind.

It wasn't until Su Wu approached the location of the Federation's new capital that a Federation seventh-generation fighter jet scrambled for an emergency response, marking the first direct encounter between the two sides.

Compared to Su Wu's massive seventh-generation fighter jet, the Federation's counterpart was significantly smaller—only a quarter the size, slightly larger than a sixth-generation fighter jet. Apart from size, however, the two were evenly matched in speed, agility, and even early-warning range—essentially a stalemate in capability.

But an aircraft that could be called an aerospace carrier and a fighter jet only a quarter of its size had nearly the same speed.

This alone proved the former's overwhelming superiority.

Su Wu's seventh-generation fighter jet.

From the moment of its birth, it had surpassed all contemporary rivals, standing at the very pinnacle of the world.

Without overly provoking the nerves of the Federation's higher-ups, Su Wu altered his course when he approached within 100 kilometers of the Federation's capital—almost triggering their air defense systems.

He bypassed the capital, and by doing so, signaled his unwillingness to provoke conflict.

Soon after, he received a personal greeting from the Federation's president.

Judging by the population under his rule alone, the rural courtyard in Jianghe City, home to over 100 million people, should have ranked among the world's elite under normal circumstances.

It should have been enough to grant him the privilege of direct communication with at least a Federation minister-level official at any time.

But his origins from the Eastern Continent, combined with the Federation's post-apocalyptic strategy of retrenchment—focusing solely on gathering elites—meant that Su Wu, who rose to prominence only after the apocalypse, never received treatment commensurate with his status in the Federation.

Now, however, after Su Wu created a new aircraft far more advanced than their seventh-generation fighter jets—which had only just left the laboratory—and stood shoulder-to-shoulder with them in technological prowess, they were willing to set aside their arrogance and treat him as an equal.

After completing the global test flight, Su Wu handed over full control of the return operation to artificial intelligence.

He himself turned his attention back to the rural courtyard.

The recent real-world tests had confirmed that the seventh-generation fighter jet, as predicted by theoretical simulations, had reached full technological maturity.

It was time to launch mass production.

However, due to the fighter jet's massive size, the number of suitable assembly workshops was limited.

After brief consideration, Su Wu activated only 10 assembly lines simultaneously, producing the seventh-generation fighter jets at a rate of one batch every three days.

The restrained production of the fighter jets freed up manufacturing capacity, which Su Wu redirected toward another aircraft of the same generation—

The Morning Light-class transport ship.

Unlike the Ice Lake-class transport ship, which was essentially treated as a land transport vessel with abysmal speed and defense, the Morning Light-class was a true flying vessel.

Stretching 235 meters in length with a cabin width exceeding 60 meters, it rivaled some small naval aircraft carriers.

Its maximum payload reached 30,000 tons.

Under extreme conditions, it could transport 500,000 people in a single trip.

Its staggering transport capabilities even surpassed those of the Doomsday-class land cruiser, making it Su Wu's most powerful means of transportation—both now and for the foreseeable future.

"Although the Morning Light-class transport ship has greater payload capacity and size, its internal mechanisms and major components still follow the same framework as the seventh-generation fighter jet."

"But since it prioritizes transport, its maximum cruising speed is limited to just five times the speed of sound."

"If carrying passengers, the time consumed during acceleration and deceleration phases would also be significantly longer."

As he studied the structural diagram of the Morning Light-class transport ship on the screen, Su Wu couldn't help but admire it.

Despite its shortcomings compared to the seventh-generation fighter jet...

But with its astonishing transport capacity alone, it could already be considered a dreamlike, perfect machine.

Simply using it to transport ordinary goods might not seem particularly remarkable—it was only equivalent to the capacity of three Ice Lake-class Transport Ships.

However, its far larger size and internal space compared to the Ice Lake-class Transport Ship allowed it to accommodate a hundred times more passengers.

More importantly, the Ice Lake-class Transport Ship had a speed of only 10 kilometers per hour.

Using it to transport passengers and relocate populations was a time-consuming and excruciating ordeal for those onboard.

The Morning Light-Class Transport Ship was different.

Its maximum cruising speed reached five times the speed of sound.

This meant that, whether flying from Farmer's Small Courtyard to any location on the Eastern Continent, most trips would not exceed half an hour.

Therefore, when transporting populations, no additional services were required—just a small space for people to stand steadily.

The actual experience was similar to taking a subway ride within a city.

In terms of population transport efficiency, it was tens of thousands of times better than the Ice Lake-class Transport Ship.

"Under ideal conditions, a single Morning Light-Class Transport Ship could relocate at least several million people in a day."

"With just ten ships, it would be possible to effortlessly transport the entire population of the Eastern Continent to Farmer's Small Courtyard in just over half a month."

This was a happy dilemma.

The consequence of such a dramatic leap in transport capacity was that the previously barely balanced supporting facilities now lagged far behind in an instant.

They could no longer fully realize the effects of this transport revolution.

"Based on the current construction speed of the engineering teams, on average, a new large underground shelter layer can be excavated every 13 days."

"Each layer can accommodate 40 million people."

"Calculating further, this means a maximum intake of only 3 million people per day."

"Even the capacity of a single Morning Light-Class Transport Ship would be hard to fully utilize."

The limited expansion speed of shelter space was an unavoidable issue.

Even at the current excavation rate, the amount of excavated debris produced in a single day was enough to pile up into a small mountain on the surface.

Attempting to further increase construction speed would be extremely difficult.

Beyond the space constraints of Farmer's Small Courtyard, another problem was the strategy for securing shelters across the Eastern Continent.

Most shelters on the Eastern Continent were not yet under Su Wu's actual control.

Even if they lacked defenses and could be easily captured, it would still require deploying mechanical armies one by one to occupy them.

Moreover, there was the risk of stirring too much commotion, which could provoke joint resistance from the megacities or expose the Eastern Continent's capital, drawing intervention from the Federation.

To handle all these matters properly, a robot army numbering in the tens of millions would be essential—anything less would be impossible.

"Take it slow."

"Can't afford to be too hasty."

Su Wu tried to calm himself.

But the staggering statistic that a single Morning Light-Class Transport Ship could transport 500,000 people at once made it impossible for him to suppress the excitement in his heart, no matter how hard he tried.

After hesitating for a few seconds, Su Wu ultimately couldn't resist the temptation of achieving everything in one leap.

He began attempting to solve the problem.

"If the shelter space is insufficient based on normal downward excavation progress, then we'll just have to expand upward—build higher into the sky."

"A one-meter-thick rapid-setting cement outer wall is equivalent to a 20-meter-thick concrete wall under normal circumstances."

"In the shelter level above ground."

"Since it can maintain the normal operation of plantations that require extremely high environmental standards,"

"producing countless amounts of food,"

"then housing people shouldn't be impossible either."

(End of Chapter)