Chapter 343: The Profits of the Great Voyage Era (Patreon)

Chapter 343: The Profits of the Great Voyage Era

"The production cost isn't excessively high."

"It's slightly lower than that of Military Special Alloy."

"Yet its performance far surpasses the latter."

Initially, Su Wu had only been casually skimming through the data.

But as he saw more and more of it,

his expression couldn't help but grow increasingly astonished.

For a technological civilization,

a new alloy that was both inexpensive and high-performing

held strategic value nearly on par with a Cosmic Treasure.

To name just one example,

for core components like Ship Engines, which had the most stringent material requirements,

the incorporation of Basic Titanium Alloy

could at least double their performance.

And the manufacturing cost might even decrease.

"With this material available,"

"the Morning Light-Class Transport Ships should soon be upgraded to the second generation."

"We could also produce at least twenty more."

Currently, Su Wu had eight Morning Light-Class Transport Ships in his possession.

Due to limited supplies of certain key materials,

the original plan had been

to produce two more, bringing the total to ten,

and then halt production.

But now, with Basic Titanium Alloy as a substitute,

the shortage of critical materials was resolved.

Naturally, production could be expanded further.

However, before resuming production,

Su Wu had one more task to complete:

redesigning the original Morning Light-Class Transport Ships

to fully leverage the superior performance offered by Basic Titanium Alloy.

June 6th.

Having already completed the main population-related mission,

Su Wu's pace of absorbing people from the outside world had slowed.

The daily number of relocated individuals now ranged between eight million and ten million.

This scale

could be met by dedicating just one Morning Light-Class Transport Ship to transportation.

As for the remaining transport capacity,

Su Wu redirected it toward trade with other continents beyond the Eastern Continent.

The Morning Light-Class Transport Ships, which were essentially Aerospace Carriers,

could reach any location on the planet within a few hours.

During flight, they could traverse nearly any extreme environment—except for the deep ocean's Atmospheric Cyclones—

with an exceptionally high safety rating.

Coupled with their massive transport capacity of thirty thousand tons,

once deployed in global trade,

they almost immediately increased Su Wu's trade revenue by more than tenfold.

And this was only the beginning.

Once Su Wu completed the design for the second-generation Morning Light-Class Transport Ships

and their transport capacity surged even further,

the resulting income would continue to multiply.

"Unlike normal trade,"

"in this post-apocalyptic world,"

"industrial products can yield profits a hundred or even a thousand times their cost in many places."

"And with the Farmhouse Compound now housing a population of one billion,"

"even though most are still settling into the Shelters and haven’t passed the initial adjustment period,"

"the excess labor force alone"

"is enough to establish a staggering light industrial production park."

"It can churn out vast quantities of industrial goods,"

"while compressing manufacturing costs to nearly the price of raw materials."

"This cycle of input and output"

"would generate profits almost comparable to outright plunder."

"Even reducing the inevitable accidental damage during violent plundering."

"The overall efficiency is actually higher."

Gazing at the holographic projection map that had expanded to cover the entire world,

and the seven Morning Light-Class Transport Ships shuttling across the skies of various continents,

Su Wu felt like he was watching merchant ships of the Age of Exploration exchanging cheap goods for shiploads of gold and silver treasures.

Effortlessly plundering the wealth accumulated by local natives over generations.

However, slightly different from the Age of Exploration,

the scale of Su Wu's trade far exceeded the combined total of all ocean-going merchants back then.

And the markets he faced,

compared to the massive population of 1 billion in the Farmhouse Compound itself, weren't particularly vast.

The golden period would likely last only one or two months, perhaps even shorter.

"One month is enough."

"Basic titanium alloy can replace the functions of most rare resources from before."

"Calculating at this ratio,"

"the trade income during this golden period should be sufficient to completely transform the Farmhouse Compound."

"Truly evolving from an ordinary shelter into a solid fortress."

The new main mission

still imposed tremendous pressure on Su Wu.

Facing a planetary disintegration - a disaster never experienced or observed in human history -

Su Wu couldn't possibly assess what degree of pressure they would encounter when the time came.

But even making the most conservative estimate,

it certainly wouldn't be simpler than a magnitude 10 earthquake or directly facing a meteorite impact.

Against disasters of this magnitude,

the shelter's outer walls, originally equivalent to 60-meter-thick ordinary concrete in defensive capability,

no longer seemed reliable enough.

Further reinforcement was needed.

In the afternoon,

Su Wu received news from Changming City.

Song Hong, the council leader of Changming City, had decided to lead the city's core members to migrate to the Western Wilderness Plateau.

"We've found a suitable location on the Western Wilderness Plateau."

"Planning to relocate there in the coming days."

"Although the conditions there aren't as good as the current Changming City shelter,"

"at least the environment is stable."

"It can be considered a decent destination."

Song Hong and Su Wu's holographic projections strolled through the streets of Changming City's shelter,

their expressions tinged with nostalgia and reluctance.

Barring unexpected circumstances,

this would be his last tour of the shelter.

He might never return again.

"Is this the backup plan you mentioned before?"

Su Wu asked curiously.

During previous alliance meetings,

Song Hong had proposed that the entire alliance retreat to the Western Wilderness Plateau to build a new shelter accommodating 500,000 people,

to escape potential super disasters that might affect the entire Eastern Continent in the coming months.

But with no support, the plan had to be shelved.

"Not that one."

"It's a military fortress transferred by the Eastern Continent capital."

"Much smaller in scale, only accommodating about 50,000 people."

"Just right for us."

"Any larger and we wouldn't have enough resources to maintain it."

Song Hong shook his head, his expression clouded with slight helplessness.

For a supercity,

a military fortress accommodating merely 50,000 people was far too cramped.

Only by making the painful decision to eliminate most of the population, including some original core members,

could they barely manage the relocation.

To put it bluntly, it was essentially abandoning everything to flee from famine.

"This isn't an easy decision to make."

Su Wu was visibly moved upon hearing this.

For someone of Song Hong's high status, making such a decision was almost like falling from the clouds down to earth.

To actually carry it out was no simple matter.

(End of Chapter)