Chapter 1 Long Ming's List

Long Ming nodded slightly. He took out a notebook and a pen, and began to copy down the list of items to purchase.

After a long while, he had copied page after page of lists.

A quick glance revealed several items on the list:

Mass production technology for synthetic nutrient bars.

High-energy sewage purification technology.

Second-generation mech, Iron Guard, mass production line...

Interstellar mining ship, Marauder, production line...

i-Type omnipotent gene serum synthesis formula.

ii-Type omnipotent gene serum synthesis formula.

Compendium of Negative Universe Monsters.

Encyclopedia of Negative Universe Creatures and Minerals.

......

Long Ming listed more than a thousand items, all of which were the most urgently needed technologies and supplies.

To put it bluntly, if all the technologies and equipment on this list could be acquired, the Federation's civilization would officially enter the interstellar era and squeeze into the ranks of interstellar powers.

Of course, the world wasn't that kind.

After writing down the entire list, Long Ming began to cross out items on it.

Such as space warp technology, advanced life support technology, third-generation mech production line...

Each time Long Ming crossed out a technology, Ougulas's heart bled. But there was nothing he could do; resources were limited, and nothing was perfect.

But as Long Ming crossed out items faster and faster—more than seven hundred of the thousand-plus items—

Ougulas and the others began to get anxious.

"Long Ming, that's enough. Stop crossing things out. We should be able to afford what's left."

"Compress it further."

Long Ming insisted, and continued to cross items out.

Ougulas wanted to say something, but ultimately kept his mouth shut. Finally, Long Ming was left with only eighty-odd items.

He raised his pen to cross out more, but Spader reached out and grabbed Long Ming's hand, shaking his head.

"That's enough."

Long Ming sighed, but didn't cross anything else out. Instead, he picked up his pen and added a new item:

Interstellar mothership, Obsidian.

The ship is approximately 120 kilometers long and 30 kilometers wide.

Maximum habitable capacity is 30 million people.

Equipped with five nuclear fission Csw-02 type power units.

tou04 type large life support and circulation system, Cew-12 type anti-gravity device, Exploration 4 type radar scanning device.

Cids sub-light speed flight device.

High micro-energy ship shield, high-strength alloy armor plate.

vds-02 focused energy beam cannon (main gun) *1, BCe01 type destructive light cannon *2 secondary guns, shipborne missile launch ports *5000, close-range artillery *3000...

.....

The ship alone would cost 1.5 billion star coins.

Taking up nearly half of their available funds.

"What are you doing?"

Ougulas and the others looked at Long Ming in confusion.

Long Ming took a deep breath and said, "A wily rabbit prepares more than one burrow. Buying this mothership is for deep exploration, allowing us to find more wealth and resources. But also, if one day we really can't hold on, at least we'll have a safe haven to escape to, to continue our civilization. Of course, I hope it never comes to that."

After hearing Long Ming's words, the others fell silent. After a long while, Spader spoke to break the silence.

"You've considered everything. Let's do it that way."

Ougulas and the others also agreed.

"Let's do it that way."

Long Ming nodded, and then began to make the purchases according to the list. Of course, the so-called purchase was just placing an order on the mechanical pillar.

The actual goods still had to be picked up from a designated area, and required a certain amount of preparation time.

......

Half a month later, inside Shanghai, Su Mo was lying on the sofa, browsing the forums. The forums were buzzing with activity, with countless posts being published every day.

All were discussing the Star Ring City and the returning fleet.

According to inside sources, the Federation had redeemed an entire fleet that was returning, and it was bringing back a ton of technology, including technology for immortality.

In any case, the exaggerations were wild. The specific facts had not been announced to the public. Most of the returning fleet landed under the cover of night at hidden interstellar military airfields.

Of course, Su Mo didn't believe any of that. Although he didn't know how many bargaining chips the Federation had, they definitely couldn't afford immortality technology. And even the Star Ring City might not have that technology.

But watching those posts every day was still strangely interesting.

His yearning for the Star Ring City had grown even stronger. His only problem now was how to get to the Star Ring City discreetly.

Having money but not being able to buy anything was annoying.

All ships to the Star Ring City were controlled by the Federation, and the Federation had no intention of opening civilian channels. Instead, it was adopting a high-price buyback measure for Gold and Silver Points, and was aggressively repurchasing them from everyone.

Currently, the purchase price of Gold Points had reached 10,000 Federation credits per point, and Silver Points had reached 1,000 Federation credits.

Of course, that was because the government hadn't opened up civilian channels to the Star Ring City. If it had, the price would probably have gone crazy long ago.

Thinking of that, Su Mo sighed helplessly. He could only seek help from others. He picked up his phone and dialed Chen Shan's number.

Beep~

Before long, the call connected.

"Brother, what brings you to call me?"

Chen Shan replied in a lowered voice.

"Are you busy?"

Su Mo immediately sensed something was wrong and asked in a low voice.

"We're in class. I'll call you back later; I'll get punished if I'm caught."

"Okay, okay..."

Su Mo quickly hung up the phone.

At that moment, inside a stepped classroom in the capital's military headquarters building, rows of officers were sitting, all listening attentively to the lecture.

On the stage, a white-haired instructor was lecturing the officers.

"This is the standard interstellar warship interface control panel, which is typically composed of five zones and more than five hundred command buttons. Of course, more advanced warships are divided into two forms: those with AI assistance tend to simplify the control panel, while those without tend to be more complex..."

That said, the officers below were getting dizzy listening, but everyone gritted their teeth and listened intently.

Xiao Wen nudged Chen Shan.

"Listen carefully."

"Okay, okay."

Chen Shan quickly replied.

It wasn't that Xiao Wen was being harsh on Chen Shan, but that the training was too important. After the training, they would have a practice test, and the top officers would be assigned to the first batch of purchased warships.

Right now, there was a severe shortage of ships.

Even so, the officers who were able to sit there were all elites among the Federation's elites. Most of them had received the Federation Medal of Honor, or had a good father or a good superior.

As for the purchased mothership, it was the Federation's lifeline. Without knowing the outside situation, they wouldn't dare to send it out.

Furthermore, the purchased mothership still needed to be modified, with material production lines added, along with all sorts of other things that needed to be installed. It wasn't suitable for missions yet.

It was estimated that it would take at least a year before it could be truly put into use.

Soon, the class ended. The old man on the stage said in a deep voice,

"Alright, I've said everything I need to say. Saying more won't do any good. The first people to eat crabs always have to figure things out on their own. We're actually figuring things out on our own too. Maybe the things we're teaching you are wrong, so I won't teach you any more. You'll also be given operating manuals and cosmic navigation guides for the corresponding warships, so let the exam begin."

Hearing the old man's words, the officers all looked solemn.

They had only been studying for less than seven days. Everyone was nervous; it was like pushing ducks onto a perch.

Unfortunately, they had no choice but to bite the bullet.

Soon, the exam papers were distributed. Each person received ten papers, covered with questions.

At the same time, the doors of the stepped classroom opened, and soldiers wearing special uniforms walked in, standing behind each officer to prevent them from cheating.

......

The white-haired instructor said, "The exam time is twelve hours. You can only go to the restroom and eat during the break. Of course, that's assuming you can eat. Now, officially begin!"

As soon as he said that, the officers immediately began to write.

......

On the other side, Su Mo was waiting at home, but Chen Shan didn't call back.

He was a little puzzled. What kind of class would an officer have to take? And why would it take so long?

But Su Mo waited patiently. Besides Chen Shan, he really couldn't find any other way.

In the evening, just as Su Mo was about to wash up and go to bed, his phone rang. The caller ID showed Chen Shan.

Su Mo immediately answered, and Chen Shan's hearty laughter rang out from the phone.

"Brother, sorry, we just finished the exam."

"Exam? What were you taking an exam on?"

Su Mo was immediately interested.

"The Federation brought back a large batch of warships, so they need to be assigned. That's why they're using this form of competition. Sigh, it really exhausted us."

Chen Shan complained non-stop.

Su Mo listened quietly, without interrupting.

After a while, Chen Shan finished complaining and asked cheerfully, "Brother, what did you want to talk to me about?"

"There's something I want to ask you for help with."

"Between us brothers, there's no need to be polite. As long as it doesn't violate my principles, I'll do it, no problem."

Chen Shan patted his chest and guaranteed.

"I want to go to the Star Ring City. Do you have a way?"

Su Mo didn't stand on ceremony with Chen Shan and asked simply and clearly.

Hearing Su Mo's words, Chen Shan's expression froze, and he didn't know how to answer for a moment.

Su Mo didn't urge him.

After a while, Chen Shan said, "That's a little difficult. There's something you might not know. To repurchase Gold and Silver Points, the Federation has a tacit rule that no non-official personnel are allowed to go to the Star Ring City. But this order hasn't actually been signed, it's just a well-known secret. However, I've heard that some powerful tycoons have gone to the Star Ring City. After all, you understand that in places like the m-District, the influence of their tycoons can even shake Ougulas's position. So it's not surprising. Let me think. I can't give you an answer right now. I'll discuss it with Xiao Wen. Come to the capital tomorrow, and we'll talk in person."

"Okay, thank you."

Su Mo replied gratefully.

"What are you thanking me for? We're brothers, so there's no need to be so polite. Alright, I won't talk to you any longer. See you tomorrow night."

"Okay!"

........

------------------------------------------------------------------

The next day, Su Mo bought a ticket and boarded a high-speed train to the capital.

Su Mo leaned against the window, watching the scenery flash by. Before long, the high-speed train left Shanghai.

When they reached the suburbs, Su Mo's eyes narrowed.

He saw that a lot of suburban land outside Shanghai had been excavated.

Those suburban lands were all heavily polluted areas, previously wastelands. Now, they were being reused, and there was only one possibility: large-scale polluting heavy industry was being built on them.

That is, military industry, which didn't care about the nature of the land.

Seeing that scene, Su Mo was even more amazed. It seemed that the era was advancing by leaps and bounds, every day.

He might really not be able to keep up with the times.

.......

That night, inside an inconspicuous restaurant in the center of the capital, Su Mo was sitting quietly in a corner seat.

At that moment, the door was pushed open, and Chen Shan and Xiao Wen walked in.

"Mr. Su Mo, long time no see."

Xiao Wen was in a great mood and extended his hand to Su Mo.

"Lord Xiao Wen."

Su Mo smiled, extended his hand, and shook Xiao Wen's hand.

"Why are you being so polite? We're all family."

Chen Shan said heartily.

"What would you like to eat?"

Su Mo asked with a smile.

"Some meat and beer. My mouth has been tasting bland these past few days."

Chen Shan complained.

"Huh? Isn't your food always pretty good?"

Su Mo asked, somewhat surprised.

Xiao Wen said with a wry smile, "There's a new order from above. To test the effectiveness of the new synthetic nutrient bars and train us to adapt to the new product, we've been eating synthetic nutrient bars for the past three meals. That stuff is like—"

"How's it working?"

Su Mo was very curious.

"The effect is great. You don't feel hungry at all after eating it. But I feel uncomfortable all over, and my mouth always feels like it's missing something. Do you want to try some? I brought a few with me, including strawberry flavor."

As he spoke, Chen Shan pulled out three synthetic nutrient bars from his pocket and handed them to Su Mo.

Su Mo was also very curious, so he accepted them.

"Then I won't be polite."

"Eat less. One nutrient bar will basically keep you from being hungry for half a day. Eating too much will make you fat. In theory, you only need to eat two a day. Professional soldiers with large appetites can eat three at most."

Chen Shan explained the usage to Su Mo.

"Okay, I'll try it later. Let's order first."

Su Mo was also feeling very curious.

"Okay."

Chen Shan replied cheerfully.

A moment later, plates of meat dishes were brought up. Su Mo and the others each poured a glass of beer.

The three clinked glasses and drank it all in one gulp!

"Ah! That's refreshing!"

Chen Shan exclaimed happily.

After a brief exchange of greetings, Xiao Wen asked Su Mo, "Su Mo, I heard from Chen Shan that you want to go to the Star Ring City?"

"Yes. Do you have a way to make that happen?"

Su Mo's heart immediately rose to his throat. If Xiao Wen couldn't help, then it would be troublesome.

Xiao Wen smiled and said to Su Mo, "If you had asked me about this a few days ago, I really wouldn't have had a way. But now, there is."

"Hehe, you don't know, do you? Yesterday, Xiao Wen successfully outshone everyone and won the spot for a designated Marauder warship. Our entire legion now has an interstellar warship."

Chen Shan said excitedly.

"That's great."

Su Mo couldn't help but heave a sigh of relief.

"However, it's still a bit troublesome."

Xiao Wen suddenly changed his tone.

"What's the trouble?"

Su Mo was also slightly stunned.

"After all, you're not a member of the Federation. When we take off, there will be personnel checking, and you might be stopped. I know you don't like to be tied down, so my suggestion is that I find a way to get you a semi-legal identity."

Xiao Wen said thoughtfully.

"What kind of identity?"

Su Mo asked curiously.

"External chief of staff, or what is commonly known as an advisor."

"Is that feasible?"

"It should be no problem. Then, I'll apply to the higher-ups to go to the Star Ring City. For the whole thing to be completed, the fastest it can be done is ten days."

Xiao Wen did some rough calculations and said to Su Mo.

"Ten days is fine."

Su Mo was already very satisfied with that result.

"That... Mr. Su Mo, I have another request."

Xiao Wen said to Su Mo somewhat awkwardly.

"Go ahead."

"Actually, I don't want to ask you what you're going to do at the Star Ring City, but you always give us too many pleasant surprises. If possible, you must not make too much noise at the Star Ring City. Otherwise, if the people at the top of the Federation notice, it will be difficult for us to explain. The current Federation is different from before. Let me explain it to you simply. Before, I was a legion commander, with the rank of general. But since the Federation merged, I'm just a colonel. And this colonel position is only a standard allocation because I excelled in the exams and got the warship. Before, it was a temporary lieutenant colonel. Also, after the Federation was established, many new administrative departments were formed. The situation is a bit complex, and I can't explain it to you clearly in a short time."

Xiao Wen explained to Su Mo.

"So strict?"

Su Mo was also very surprised.

Chen Shan said with a wry smile, "What Xiao Wen said is absolutely correct. Brother, let me tell you, I'm still just a major now."

"Okay, I'll try my best not to make a lot of noise."

Su Mo didn't say that with much confidence. He was thinking that he was just going to buy something, so that didn't count as making a lot of noise, right?

"Don't worry. Su Mo is still very reliable when it comes to getting things done."

Chen Shan said with a smile.

"Um... can I ask you something?"

Su Mo suddenly spoke, thinking of something.

"Ask away."

Chen Shan replied readily.

"Have you guys seen Qian Chengxue recently?"

Su Mo hesitated for a moment before trying to ask.

"You said Qian Chengxue? It's been a long time since I've seen her. I can't contact her now either."

Chen Shan was also stunned, and then replied.

After listening, Su Mo didn't say anything, just sighed. Actually, Su Mo was a little worried about her. There was such a big change on her side, so the situation should be pretty bad, right?

At that moment, Xiao Wen suddenly spoke, "I do have some news about her."

"What news?"

Su Mo's eyes lit up.

"After the medal conferment, when Qian Chengxue's achievements were taken over by her older brother, I asked someone to inquire about it. After leaving Dawn Corporation, Qian Chengxue seems to have joined the Federation government's recruitment program. But it's not clear which formation or legion she was assigned to. You also know that after the Federation was established, many new and reorganized legion formations were formed, and many permissions are confidential."

Xiao Wen told Su Mo roughly.

After listening, Su Mo sighed and said, "That's good too."

"Good my ass. Those old fogeys from Dawn Corporation actually deprived Qian Chengxue of her achievements. If I didn't want to cause Qian Chengxue any trouble, I would have sued them."

Chen Shan drained a glass of beer and cursed angrily.

"Forget it, Chen Shan. Every family has its own problems. Like Su Mo said, it's good too. Qian Chengxue is at least free now, and she's joined the Federation military."

Xiao Wen seemed relatively accepting.

"I'm just indignant. If it weren't for those idiots, Qian Chengxue would have had a chance to fight for first-class merit. Then, joining the military would have been a completely different starting point."

Chen Shan felt very stifled when he got to that point.

"Let's not talk about that. Let's drink."

Su Mo raised his glass.

......

The three drank until late into the night. After Su Mo sent Chen Shan and Xiao Wen off, he walked alone on the street.

Looking at the recruitment advertisements that were constantly playing on the bustling street, he was also somewhat touched.

At that moment, a young couple walked past, holding a child's hand. The child pointed to the advertisement and shouted excitedly,

"Dad, I want to join the recruitment when I grow up too."

The young couple showed a hint of a wry smile, then touched the child's head and said,

"We'll talk about that when you grow up. You're still too young to understand."

Su Mo inadvertently saw that scene and was slightly stunned. It seemed that the Federation government's recruitment might not be too ideal.

But that was normal. This wasn't a game anymore; going out there meant truly facing monsters. It would be a true baptism of blood, and everyone would be scared.

After all, people always feared death.

At that moment, the outdoor virtual billboard broadcasted a news item. A steady male host began to speak,

"Respected and beloved citizens, the Federation Conference's second meeting concluded half an hour ago. The meeting passed a new policy to mass-produce the i-Type omnipotent gene serum. This i-Type omnipotent gene serum can comprehensively enhance the body's various indicators and has no side effects. It is safe and reliable. Theoretically, it can extend human life by one hundred years. All citizens will hopefully usher in an era of longevity. However, due to limited production capacity, the Federation government has decided that the produced i-Type omnipotent gene serum will only be available to frontline combat personnel and their families for the time being..."

After watching the news, Su Mo couldn't help but shake his head. This was adding bargaining chips to the recruitment.

If there were no accidents, it was estimated that there would be large-scale turmoil in the original military organization. There should be many people who refused to participate in frontline work and wanted to retire to the second line or even retire altogether.

......

Inside the capital's administrative center office, Tang Xin handed a report to Long Ming.

"This is the latest result of the Federation legions' internal questionnaire. The situation is not optimistic. Besides the ace legions, a large number of second- and third-tier troops have a strong sense of resistance. Recently, the number of retirement applications has been more than a hundred times higher than in previous years, and it is still increasing. Also, the newly announced policy has sparked a strong backlash online. Many citizens are strongly demanding that the i-Type gene serum be opened up to them..."

Long Ming took the report, looked at it, and said in silence, "Sigh, we've been stable for too long after all. Let those who want to retire retire. We're about to usher in an extremely cruel war. Rather than let them shrink back on the battlefield and kill their own teammates, it's better to let them retire now. As for the welfare aspect, I still say the same thing: don't make any changes. We can't let the soldiers who are ready to fight to the death lose heart."

"But, if we do that, we'll face a personnel shortage when the ace legions are damaged."

"Let's think of a way. We can't rush this. People are afraid of death. Only after being tempered by blood and gradually adapting will the situation perhaps improve. And you don't need to worry too much. We currently have a limited number of warships, so we still have enough people."

Long Ming replied calmly.