Chapter 331: Drone Loitering Munition (Patreon)

Chapter 331: Drone Loitering Munition

May 14th.

Amid the ceaseless labor of tens of millions of workers through the night, the fourth above-ground level of the Farmhouse Shelter gradually began to take shape.

At the same time, as the majority of the workforce shifted toward surface construction, the progress of the underground engineering teams was noticeably impacted. Efficiency had dropped by more than 30% compared to previous days.

"Building materials are also starting to show signs of shortage."

In the underground first-level control center, Su Wu calmly observed the scene below through a reconnaissance drone flying within the City-Level Shield. Inside the still-unfinished walls of the fourth above-ground level, some functional areas were already faintly taking shape.

The current Farmhouse Shelter had exterior walls with a standard thickness of three meters. Starting from the fourth above-ground level, following the previous construction specifications scaled proportionally, the underground cement partitions for the plantation and livestock layers needed to reach three meters in thickness. For the residential areas, the underground partitions had to be six meters thick.

However, since a significant portion of these partitions would be occupied by hollow pipelines or soil for green belts, the actual cement consumption was roughly equivalent to only half of the specified thickness.

Even so, the amount of cement required was staggering. Just the exterior walls and underground partitions combined would consume over 63 million tons of rapid-setting cement.

And even with such massive material consumption, what Su Wu would obtain was merely an empty shell of a fourth above-ground level. He still needed to construct an urban-scale plantation inside to truly complete the project.

"Through the recycling of ruins from Jianghe City and shelters in the Kuan Jiang River Basin, we’ve accumulated a stockpile of rapid-setting cement materials. In the past, after excavating down to the 14th underground level of the Farmhouse Compound and hastily constructing three above-ground layers over 150 meters tall, our reserves were already nearly depleted."

"Now, with the even more demanding construction of the fourth above-ground level, it’s inevitable that our inventory would become strained."

After reviewing the expenditure of stored materials, Su Wu noticed that the limestone powder—separated from concrete and serving as the primary raw material for rapid-setting cement in the shelter’s general storage—was depleting at a rate of nearly one percentage point per hour.

It was foreseeable that without new sources, within a few days at most, there would be no more of this cheap construction waste left to use. They would have to resort to precious, pure limestone mined from quarries.

But given the shelter’s overwhelming demand, the output from those quarries would be a drop in the bucket.

Lost in thought, Su Wu turned his gaze northward across the Kuan Jiang River Basin.

The first fleet of Ice Lake-class transport ships, dispatched earlier from the coastal Bluebird Shelter to transport supplies from Zhenhai City, had already arrived in Steel City. Meanwhile, the final batch of Ice Lake-class ships sent to the Bluebird Shelter for transport was still en route, with several days remaining before reaching their destination.

The entire operation was expected to take over a week to fully transfer nearly 100 million tons of general supplies from Zhenhai City at the Bluebird Shelter to Steel City.

"The storm should be dissipating soon."

"The remaining transport ships don't need to go through Steel City as a transfer point."

"They can return directly to the Farmhouse Compound."

His fingers manipulated the holographic map slightly.

The northern transport route stretching over 1,000 kilometers was instantly divided into two sections.

The convoy on the shorter segment less than 100 kilometers from Steel City continued toward the industrial hub.

The rest adjusted their course, turning toward the Farmhouse Compound.

As a super industrial city, Steel City required massive amounts of ordinary resources to produce the robots and various equipment Su Wu needed.

By transporting a small portion of Zhenhai City's supplies there,

the finished products could later be hauled back to the Farmhouse Compound.

This round trip wouldn't constitute wasted transport capacity.

"Those transport ships that previously arrived at Steel City

can unload ordinary materials there, then fill up with construction debris for the return trip to the Farmhouse Compound.

This should slightly alleviate our building material shortages."

"As for the newly produced 4,000 Ice Lake-class Transport Ships over the past two days,

they can head south to Yühe City to collect construction waste."

Even now, with the development of Seventh-Generation Fighter Jets and Morning Light-Class Transport Ships capable of breaking through the atmosphere into space,

the Ice Lake-class Transport Ships—with their unparalleled 10,000-ton payload and exceptionally low manufacturing costs as land transport vehicles—

still held extremely important strategic value for Su Wu.

Therefore,

he never slackened their mass production.

Another 4,000 units had rolled off the assembly lines in just two days.

This newly formed transport fleet

was deployed south to Yühe City, adjacent to Jianghe City,

where Su Wu planned an ambitious demolition operation.

Every piece of concrete—whether from surface urban ruins or underground shelters—

would be crushed and hauled away.

Since Yühe City remained under official control, backed by a supercity's support,

this operation

effectively marked Su Wu's second large-scale, deliberate incursion into official territory after Steel City.

The outcome held significant reference value,

determining whether Su Wu would adopt a more conciliatory or assertive stance toward other Eastern Continent factions in the future.

"With 4,000 Ice Lake-class Transport Ships dedicated to recycling construction waste from neighboring areas,

this should substantially ease our construction pressures."

Setting aside matters concerning the Ice Lake-class,

Su Wu turned his attention to other transport assets.

His most numerous Azure Sky-Class Transport Drones

had become vastly outclassed by the newer vessels.

Even all 40,000 Azure Sky transport aircraft combined couldn't match the payload capacity of a single Morning Light-Class Transport Ship.

Additionally, their fixed-wing glide takeoff and landing

imposed demanding runway requirements.

Truthfully, they'd lost nearly all practical value.

"This marks our first large-scale retirement of transport aircraft."

Su Wu felt a tinge of regret.

These unmanned transports had provided considerable assistance during the early stages,

helping establish an aerial network spanning most of the Eastern Continent.

Through trade with other shelters, they'd collected substantial quantities of gold and silver.

Su Wu's farmhouse compound has been able to develop to its current scale.

They have played an undeniable role in this achievement.

However, though they are set to be retired,

it doesn’t mean they will be outright scrapped.

These drones will return to the farmhouse compound one by one

after completing their final missions.

They will enter the assembly workshop on the second floor to be disassembled and refitted,

eventually transforming into drone loitering munitions with foldable fixed wings and a second rocket propulsion system.

These so-called drone loitering munitions

have a less formal name—Youth Edition Smart Networked Intercontinental Missiles.

"Youth Edition" means their performance in all aspects is significantly inferior to the original version.

"Smart Networked" indicates they can form a network among themselves, automatically adapting to suitable tactics for coordinated strikes against targets.

As for "Intercontinental Missile," it’s more of a compliment highlighting certain extreme capabilities of the loitering munitions.

After the Azure Sky-Class Transport Drones are successfully converted into loitering munitions,

their range will increase from the original 1,500 kilometers to 3,000 kilometers,

granting them medium-range intercontinental strike capabilities.

Though their conventional cruising speed remains a mere 165 kilometers per hour,

meaning it would take nearly 20 hours of continuous flight to cover the full 3,000 kilometers—

an absurdly long time.

However, once they finally approach the target and enter the terminal strike phase,

the second rocket propulsion system installed on them

will be instantly activated and pushed to overload.

Then, as the loitering munition transitions into a vertical dive from high altitude,

its speed will skyrocket from 165 km/h to over 700 km/h in an instant—

nearly matching the velocity of a subsonic rocket-propelled grenade,

making it extremely difficult to intercept.

Additionally, the 40,000 loitering munitions converted from Azure Sky-Class Transport Drones

have no launch environment requirements.

They can be activated using any makeshift launcher or even a simple airdrop,

making deployment incredibly easy.

With these in reserve,

Su Wu can designate any location within a 6,000-kilometer radius centered on the farmhouse compound

on the Eastern Continent map and effortlessly reduce it to rubble.

And if he doesn’t mind the extra effort,

by deploying Morning Light-Class Transport Ships or sixth- and seventh-generation fighter jets

to transport and release the loitering munitions,

Su Wu gains the capability to strike any target on the planet.

"At least they can still be of some use,"

"and won’t waste all the manufacturing costs from back then."

Following the Azure Sky-Class Transport Drones

are the Twin-Winged Helicopters from nearly the same era.

At the time of their development, these helicopters were flawless in performance given the technological standards.

Whether in speed, payload capacity, or defensive capabilities,

they were considered the pinnacle of engineering—

strategic-grade equipment so advanced that only supercities could afford to own a handful.

But now,

their 20-ton payload capacity and 500 km/h flight speed

feel somewhat underwhelming.

Even if all 75 Twin-Winged Helicopters under the farmhouse compound worked tirelessly for an entire day,

their combined output would likely pale in comparison to a single Morning Light-Class Transport Ship

making a half-hour flight.

The gap in transport efficiency between the two has grown so vast

that there’s almost no point in pairing or complementing them anymore.

"The Twin-Winged Helicopters are too expensive to produce and far too scarce in number."

"There's no need to remain entangled in the current air transport system."

"It's better to withdraw entirely from frontline operations."

"Instead, repurpose them as dedicated research aircraft."

"Send them to remote and hazardous regions across the Eastern Continent for surveys and studies."

"To explore the origins of the disasters and predict their potential future movements, enabling early warnings."

For Su Wu, this was something that needed to be done sooner or later.

As long as the apocalypse persisted, he would need to gather as much environmental data as possible from across the Eastern Continent.

And the Twin-Winged Helicopters, though outdated by modern standards but still serviceable in performance,

became the ideal reconnaissance tools.

"Meanwhile, the Sixth-Generation Fighter Jets must continue operating normally."

The Sixth-Generation Fighter Jets were the culmination of Su Wu's first major breakthrough in technology, bringing him close to the world's cutting edge.

Their cruising speed of five times the speed of sound and transport capacity of 40 tons

remain impressive even today.

They can handle minor tasks that aren't worth deploying the Morning Light-Class Transport Ships for.

However, their operational range needs to be adjusted and scaled back.

The vertical takeoff and landing capabilities of the Sixth-Generation Fighter Jets

still require costly specialized airfields to function.

And to this day, fewer than ten such airfields—both fixed and mobile—exist.

Their numbers are extremely limited.

Su Wu's gaze swept over the 500 Sixth-Generation Fighter Jets, now discontinued, their production permanently capped at that number.

He then turned his attention to the route between Jianghe City and Xiao Jiang Province,

where large convoys of Merchant Trains were once again making their way toward Xiao Jiang Province.

After the advent of the Seventh-Generation Fighter Jets and Morning Light-Class Transport Ships,

these Merchant Trains lost their primary purpose:

transporting populations.

Now, their remaining roles—combat and cargo transport—

are barely adequate, just enough to get by.

Under these circumstances,

the Merchant Trains have effectively entered the final phase of discontinuation.

Their total number will forever remain at 612.

However,

given that the Ice Lake-class Transport Ships haven't yet reached overwhelming numbers,

and the Morning Light-Class Transport Ships will, at most, only have five in service for the foreseeable future,

the Merchant Trains—numbering over 600 and capable of rapidly transporting more than six million tons of cargo in a single run—

still bring Su Wu considerable returns.

In terms of importance, they rank slightly higher than the Sixth-Generation Fighter Jets.

"From now on, the Super Factory's production focus,"

"will be on the Seventh-Generation Fighter Jets, Morning Light-Class Transport Ships, and Ice Lake-class Transport Ships."

"And to maximize their transport efficiency,"

"the Wireless Power Transmission Network, built via Low Earth Orbit Satellite Networking,"

"should finally be put into operation."

Whether it's the Seventh-Generation Fighter Jets, the Morning Light-Class Transport Ships, or the Ice Lake-class Transport Ships,

their primary energy source is electricity.

Among them, the Seventh-Generation Fighter Jets, being combat-oriented weapons,

have inherently limited onboard power reserves.

In solo combat, they can only activate their Electromagnetic Protection Field for less than a minute as an emergency defense measure.

But if they could recharge via satellite-transmitted wireless power,

their Electromagnetic Protection Field could become a permanent, unlimited defense.

It could also carry an additional energy shield that previously couldn't even be activated due to limited power capacity.

This would almost instantly increase battlefield survivability by more than tenfold.

As for the Morning Light-Class Transport Ships, their limited numbers make them a separate discussion for now.

With the current production rate of 2,000 Ice Lake-class Transport Ships per day,

it wouldn’t take more than a month or two

for their numbers to exceed 100,000.

At such a massive scale, simply finding places to recharge them would be a huge challenge.

But with a near-Earth orbit wireless power transmission network,

the Ice Lake-class Transport Ships could replenish their power

while transporting supplies, anytime and anywhere during transit.

This would achieve near-perpetual motion.

Additionally, there’s a small but significant side benefit.

With ample power supply,

the Ice Lake-class Transport Ships could also activate electromagnetic protection fields and energy shields,

as well as carry miniaturized beam main cannons.

This would drastically improve safety during transport.

(End of Chapter)