Chapter 98
War of Mechanics (Arc 8.3)
Jing Yang was forbidden from touching any machinery and couldn"t even sit on a wheelchair anymore. He could only sit on the bed and lean against the wall, fiddling with his fingers. Because he was truly too bored, he asked a nurse for some paper and pen to pa.s.s the time in the most primitive way in existence.
Jing Yang was immersed in vigorously scribbling and writing and completely lost track of time. Just like this, a morning quickly pa.s.sed. It wasn"t until Denanfry and Morgan came in that he finally paused, looked up at them, and then continued to write on the paper. "The general is finally here. Don"t hesitate to ask what you want to ask, or else I"ll be so bored I"ll grow mold in the corner.”
"I am Morgan, the head of the mechanical team." Morgan introduced himself and then said, "I heard that you wanted to work with us, but we will at least need to know your specific abilities in order to make sure that your value meets the standards of being able to cooperate with us. Regarding that wheelchair that you modified, I hope that you can explain in detail the transformation process.”
"It seems that you have already finished negotiating my treatment." The pen that had been moving nonstop finally stopped. He handed Morgan those papers that were already filled with writing. "This is the entire process about the wheelchair"s modification. I won"t bother to explain, you can just take it and slowly look over it. The explanation should be very detailed, and there shouldn"t be any parts that you don"t understand.”
Morgan just quickly skimmed over the contents of a page, but the more he read the more excited he got. He couldn"t wait, saying to Denanfry, "General, I want to first go back to the workshop and study these contents with the rest of the team. I feel like using these ideas on mechas is also very plausible.”
"Go ahead." Denanfry responded.
Morgan"s footsteps hurried away, leaving only the two of them in the room.
Denanfry sat down in the chair next to the bed and said to Jing Yang, "Like you said before, you are indeed very capable. Morgan has a very high opinion of you and wants for me to let you stay. Even though you used that wheelchair to demonstrate your capability, we still can"t speak about cooperation. You should know, no matter how strong your own personal ability is, compared to an army, it"s not equivalent at all. You can voice your ideas and our military staff can evaluate the value of it, and then decide whether or not we want to ask you to do it.”
Jing Yang said, "In reality, whether it"s cooperation or using service to get your help, there isn"t much of a difference to me, as long as I can achieve my purpose of getting revenge. But I think that you all may have misunderstood, modifying the wheelchair was just to get your attention, and not to prove my ability. After getting your attention, only then can I prove my worth. As for what I want you to do, why not wait until I prove my strength to discuss it?”
"How do you want to prove it?" Denanfry looked at Jing Yang"s delicate and pale face. He felt that this seemingly thin man seemed to be hiding an immense strength in his body. What could have supported this huge amount of strength? Was it hate?
"The twelve planets in the Jinming star cl.u.s.ter were first discovered by the Wilkesa Empire, and it was also the Wilkesa Empire who drove away the insects there." Jing Yang slowly said. "Even though Jinming isn"t suitable for human habitation, there are a large amount of precious metals there, essentially a huge money vault. It"s a pity that even though the Wilkesa Empire took the lead in occupying the area, they were unable to mine the metals and had to withdraw when the cosmic storm started. After the storm pa.s.sed, John Dottley brought his soldiers and took the lead in occupying the planets, and his brother Avery also led a team that has already almost finished researching equipment for mining those metals.”
"Everything you just said, there is probably no one in this universe who doesn"t know." Denanfry said.
According to federal convention, for all of the planets in the universe, they belong to whoever first occupies them. But once the forces are withdrawn from the occupied star, then the planet would belong to the country that occupies it afterward. The universe is vast and endless, and of the countless planets, not every one is suitable for human habitation. Many planets are rich in resources but present many difficulties that human science and technology have no way to overcome. Especially the planets where cosmic disasters occur, they are not only not suitable for ordinary humans to live in, but before the disaster appears, even soldiers will need to quickly evacuate.
In order to occupy the Jinming star cl.u.s.ter, the Wilkesa Empire invested a large number of troops to expel and eliminate the insects, but only after occupying the Jinming star cl.u.s.ter did they discover that their current technical equipment was unable to extract the metals on those planets. Then, after evacuating to escape the cosmic wind storms, the planets were seized by the Fetani Empire. These kinds of situations often occurred between the countries in this universe. In this age, whoever had stronger technology would have greater power, and if you weren"t as strong as others, you could only recognize your own bad luck.
"Before the end of the next storm, I can create equipment that can mine those precious metals. As long as you can help me." Jing Yang said.
"You should know, you need to be responsible for every sentence you say. If the least thing goes wrong, you will have to pay the price for it, so you need to think carefully before you speak." Denanfry didn"t want to doubt him or threaten him, but as a general of the empire, his responsibilities were great, and he definitely could not cause a loss to the empire because of his negligence.
"Of course, I will be responsible for everything I say and everything I do." Jing Yang said very calmly. "You can send people to monitor my every move, and I can also give you a detailed report on everything that I create here. If you think that I am acting abnormally, you can also take measures to handle me. I will not resist.”
"Have you decided? You are sure you won"t regret it?" Denanfry asked seriously.
"Yes, I have decided, I will definitely not regret it." Jing Yang"s eyes looked forward, but that hazy gaze didn"t seem to be looking at something, but rather inward at some memories. "For my revenge, I can do whatever it takes. If you knew what I have encountered previously, you will definitely be able to understand my mood. I am already no longer living for myself, but for all of my relatives who have died. In front of revenge, no matter whether it"s freedom or privacy, it has no meaning to me.”
In order to deepen the other person"s trust, Jing Yang once again immersed himself in the original owner"s emotions.
Denanfry looked at his expression and felt pain in his heart, also beginning to hate those who had hurt him before. "Good! Then, according to what you have said, I will give you the chance to prove yourself. Starting today, I will be your primary monitor. I will take responsibility for all of your actions, and your every move will be under my control.”
Jing Yang received a workshop, one that was so big that you could make mechas in it. Because his legs weren"t convenient, Denanfry a.s.signed ten or so a.s.sistants to him, and even gave him the right to use cla.s.s A materials. His current treatment was almost the same as that of the head of the mechanical team, Morgan, all because of the special care that Denanfry gave him.
Before the next time the cosmic storm on the Jinming star cl.u.s.ter ended, there was about a month"s time. Jing Yang said that he would create the design for the mining equipment before the storm was over, which meant that he would at most have a little over a month to do it. To complete in such a short period of time something that they couldn"t even accomplish after two years, not to mention the other members in the First Fleet thinking that it was impossible, even Denanfry, who had already decided to trust Jing Yang, was also not at ease.
Jing Yang first a.n.a.lyzed the geological report on the planets in the Jinming star cl.u.s.ter, and then studied the samples that had already been brought back. Then he directly started making some drawings.
When he had time, Denanfry would go take a look at Jing Yang"s studio. But he didn"t go in to disturb them and also didn"t alarm them, just watching from afar.
Jing Yang"s busy appearance and his serious yet cautious face, every time he saw it, Denanfry couldn"t look away. Seeing that Jing Yang was so busy he barely rested, Denanfry was somewhat worried about his body, but he couldn"t go stop him or persuade him to rest. Under the pretense of wanting to get the precious metals in the Jinming star cl.u.s.ter, he had already given him too much special treatment. The success or failure of this trial would not only determine whether or not he could continue to enjoy this kind of treatment, but also whether or not he could continue to stay here and complete his revenge.
By the time the cosmic storm reached the Jinming cl.u.s.ter, the equipment Jing Yang made had also entered the final experimental stage. They created a simulation of the Jinming cl.u.s.ters" planet geology, and then conducted excavation and mining tests.
Seeing the success of the experiment, those a.s.sistants a.s.signed to help Jing Yang were extremely excited. During the process of completing these equipment, they had already often been amazed, and now seeing that the equipment that they had also partic.i.p.ated in creating was a success, they couldn"t help but feel jubilant. In the process, they had learned a lot beyond the level of the current technological knowledge, and felt that they were very fortunate. Rather that saying they came as a.s.sistants, they were more like students, and had received a lot of harvest.
Denanfry also brought some men to observe the experiment. Seeing the success of the experiment, he also felt that it was quite magical, this person actually really succeeded in little more than a month. But he was well aware that the results of the experiment and the actual effect in reality would definitely have some differences, but this at least proved that the hope of success was still very high.
With the success of the experiment, Denanfry had also already prepared his soldiers to occupy the Jinming star cl.u.s.ter.
~
After the cosmic storm pa.s.sed through the Jinming star cl.u.s.ter, many countries were desperate to occupy it. Even if they temporarily could not extract the precious metals on the surface, it was also good to collect some samples and study them, and this could also prevent the Fetani Empire from exploiting the planets.
Relying on the fact that his army"s mechas were stronger than any other country"s mechas, John did not take the other troops who wanted to occupy the Jinming star cl.u.s.ter seriously.
"Report, General, there are obstructing light waves ahead, the Jinming star cl.u.s.ter has already been preemptively occupied by other troops!" A soldier reported to John.
"What?!" John was originally resting his eyes when he immediately stood up and glared. "Which country"s army?”
"Based on the resolution frequency of the light waves, it displayed the Wilkesa Empire"s signal.”
"Wilkesa?" John thought for a bit. "Then it must be Denanfry"s First Fleet.”
Even though John had been advancing very smoothly these few years, and his army basically suppressed every other army"s forces, he still had to pay close attention to this strong rival, Denanfry. And all of Denanfry"s subordinates were also very strong, if it weren"t for the mechas that Avery had created being too much stronger than Wilkesa"s, if they fought without them, they simply wouldn"t have a chance of victory.
"Big brother." Avery came straight in.
"You go down first." John said to the soldier.
"Yes.”
After the soldier left, John hugged Avery"s shoulder and walked to the sofa. "Come, sit. Did you find me for something?”
"Big brother." Avery sat down. "I heard that the Jinming star cl.u.s.ter was occupied by another troop?”
"That"s right, it was taken by Wilkesa"s army." John nodded.
"Can"t we think of a way to get them out?" Avery frowned. "After another couple rounds of adjustment, we might be able to succeed.”
"If it were another country, chasing them out might be fine. After all, because of your inventions, our Fetani Empire is already one of the most powerful nations in the universe." John said. "But the name of General Denanfry of the Wilkesa Empire, you have also heard of it, that person is actually quite powerful. Moreover, in accordance with the provisions of federal convention, the planet belongs to whoever occupies it. There can be no conflict between federation countries, otherwise the country that caused the conflict will become the public enemy of the Federation. So we cannot have a head-on confrontation with them right now.”
"The mechas I made are stronger than those of any other country, why do we have to abide by some federation convention. Those small countries only joined the Federation as a means of self-preservation, and with our current strength, could we not reconst.i.tute a new federation that is centered on us?" Avery asked.
"It"s not yet time." John patted Avery on the shoulder. "Rest a.s.sured, we have already spent more than a year and still haven"t succeeded in mining the Jinming cl.u.s.ter. Even if they occupy it this time, they still won"t be able to mine successfully. They are also at most going to conduct a field experiment and then continue to research. Our research is so far ahead of theirs, could they possibly have a better mechanic than you? Isn"t it fine to wait to occupy it next time?”
"We will still have wait at least two months before next time." Avery was somewhat unhappy. The cosmic storm would only come once every two months to the Jinming star cl.u.s.ter. But they already came here from the capital star, just making a trip in vain and then turning right back, no matter how he thought about it it was still a huge waste of time. That was more than ten planets worth of precious metals. He had invested so much thought into it, and spent so much energy on it, he had long thought of those precious metals as his own possessions. As long as he mines those precious metals, he would be the richest man in the universe, what couldn"t he buy? He could even buy a planet.
"It"s just two months, we have already waited a year, do we still care about two months? Those things basically already belong to us, no one else can take it from us." John said with confidence. "When we extract all of the precious metals from the Jinming star cl.u.s.ter, we can plan for the creation of a new federation headed by us. When we have sufficient financial resources, we will have much fewer concerns, and we can attract more countries.”
"Since we can"t land on the Jinming cl.u.s.ter now, we definitely won"t be able to do any field experiments. Then let"s hurry back to the capital star and come back in two months." Avery said.
"What"s the hurry, we just came out and you want to go back. Do you want to go back and see Tony again?" John looked at him with a smile.
"We can"t do field experiments anyways, it"s better to continue doing some simulated experiments back at home. What"s the point of staying here?" Avery didn"t care about his brother"s teasing.
"You ah, if you"re not guarding the workshop, you"re guarding Tony. Occasionally relaxing, going out to take a look, or play a bit, isn"t that good?" John said. "Since we"re already here, we might as well go to the Federal Star to check it out. I remember that you seem to have only been there twice. This time we can go play properly, we have two months anyways.”
The Federal Star was a public planet of the Cosmic Federation, and every country that joins the Federation would have a foreign emba.s.sy on it.
"I"m not going." Avery immediately refused. "The Federal Star is full of politicians or businessmen, what is there to play there. Even if I were going to play, I would also want to go with Tony. What"s fun about going with you.”
John looked helplessly at the disdainful Avery, not knowing what to say.
Translator Notes:
[1] very strong – 骁勇善战, idiom, means to be brave and good at fighting
[2] chasing them out – 威逼利诱, means to make threats and promising
Random Notes:
A little more than an hour: 10:15 am – 11:30 am, for 4.6k characters to 2.9k words