Chapter 349: Steward Bai’s Worry
Translator: Dragon Boat Translation Editor: Dragon Boat Translation
[Do you want to spend 100 Technology Points to exchange for Energy Station II?]
“Yes!”
100 Technology Points instantly used and remained with 4.
At the same time, a new building appeared in the base.
After the second energy station was completed, Zhao Yu opened the interface.
As expected, three new buildings appeared in the exchange list.
[Mining Plant: Collect all types of resources.]
[Resource Recovery Furnace: Recovers all materials separately.]
[The chemical plant: Automatic conversion of chemical elements.]
“Resource Recovery Furnace…”
Zhao Yu was confused by the building’s appearance, which seemed to have little use. Wouldn’t it be enough for the mining plant to just gather resources?
After learning more about it, he realized that the resource recycling furnace has unique function.
The resources brought back by the mining plant are in their initial form, such as various types of ores or human-made materials like steel.
These materials are returned in the same state as they were found. For example, if a mining plant brings back a car, it contains many usable resources like gold, silver, copper, iron, tin, and various plastics.
However, the mining plant lacks the capability to dismantle these resources, this is where the recycling furnace comes in.
Any object thrown into the recycling furnace can be broken down into its most basic elements and stored categorically without waste.
For instance, the same car, when thrown into the training camp’s recycling furnace, can only be broken down into resources recognizable by the camp, like gold, silver, copper, iron, tin, cloth, etc.
But in a resource recycling furnace, that same car can be broken down into hundreds or thousands of different materials. Some might not be useful now, but they could be valuable in the future.
After exploring the mining plant and resource recycling furnace, Zhao Yu started to study about the function of the chemical plant.
As described, the number of naturally existing chemical elements in this world is limited, and many are found in specific places like deep-sea glaciers or high-temperature areas.
When it’s inconvenient to source these, the chemical plant can synthesize these elements from other common materials for easy use.
“The three buildings unlocked by Energy Station 2 could not greatly enhancing our current combat strength, they are vital for the long-term development of the base…”
Zhao Yu’s current priority was the issue of ammunition.
This means that he needed to construct the mining plant, resource recycling furnace, and chemical plant in sequence.
“A total of 300 technology points needed, not too much. Four or five days should be suffice…”
With 50 technology points from daily tasks and a natural increase of 24 points per day, if he uses the technology points sparingly, he could gather the necessary amount in four days.
Zhao Yu left the energy station, his trip yielding substantial gains, especially in resolving the ammunition issue, ensuring enough supply until he could manufacture more.
However, his soldiers decreased from 91 to 77, losing 14 soldiers in the previous trip.
As for the loss of vehicles, Zhao Yu wasn’t too concerned. They didn’t require technology points for exchange; as long as he had enough resources, he could get new ones.
“The most important thing is to fill the gaps…”
“In terms of weapons, mortars and rocket launchers are much better for siege warfare, but it’s a pity that there are no sh.e.l.ls to use now…”
“Besides weapons, tanks can also be built, but they require more, not just ammunition, but also some diesel…”
“No, gasoline as well!”
Zhao Yu thought that not only did he have tanks, but other armored vehicles could use it too. However, due to the lack of fuel, there was no point in building them now.
Furthermore, once he could manufacture airplanes, he might need to produce some aviation kerosene.
“Overthinking doesn’t help, better take it step by step!”
Zhao Yu exhaled deeply and walked around the base, noticing many soldiers were sleeping on the ground.
Winter might had just pa.s.sed, the air was still cold.
“Won’t they get frostbite?!”
Although the soldiers were robots, their combat effectiveness depended on their physical condition and frostbite could impact their performance.
Currently, the main base’s rooms, aside from Zhao Yu’s room, mostly were used for storing food, leaving no place for the soldiers to sleep.
“It looks like I need to build a barracks…”
Zhao Yu suddenly remembered that there were four buildings nearby, originally part of the electronics factory, including a dormitory for the employees.
Zhao Yu, having the base, seldom visited such buildings. After all, the base was armored, providing a sense of security even when sleeping during the day.
But now, having a shelter to protect from the wind and rain was better than lying scattered on the ground.
Zhao Yu acted upon his thought immediately, waking up the resting soldiers and leading them to the neighboring dormitory building.
The dormitory was dirty, littered with trash. After some cleaning, the entire building was made habitable.
Having arranged for the soldiers to stay there, Zhao Yu returned to the Munitions Factory to exchange for a few sniper rifles.
“Do you know how to use sniper rifles?”
“Yes!”
He then had Cheetah, Dragon, and Fierce Tiger test out the sniper rifles.
Dragon, who had the most balanced attributes. He could hit a stationary target at 500 meters with near-perfect precision. Beyond 500 meters, accuracy decreased with external factors like wind speed and humidity.
Zhao Yu equipped each of the three Dragon special forces soldiers with a sniper rifle.
The Munitions Factory also had grenades and explosive packs, but due to limited materials, they couldn’t be produced yet.
Zhao Yu thought of forming a demolition team once he could manufacture explosives weapons.
This way, in similar situations in the future, they could just blow open the gates to reduce casualties.
“Additionally, we need an armored vehicle that can withstand gunfire while charging forward…”
After checking the list, there were many bulletproof vehicles, with varying bulletproof levels based on their weight.
However, each one required diesel to operate, and Zhao Yu had to abandon the idea at current stage.
Nevertheless, he placed the Fire G.o.d machine gun on an off-road vehicle, planning to bring it on the next mission. In case of an emergency, Fierce Tiger from the special forces could use it for fire support.
After more arrangements and adjustments, Zhao Yu had a tasteless breakfast, grumbling about “when will we have a cook” and “improving the food” before going to sleep.
“The mission failed!”
“How did it fail again?!”
Zhou Xi was also baffled: “According to the investigator, a group claiming to be from the Reed Group attacked Black Wind Stronghold…”
“Our people?!”
Steward Bai was startled. “You sent someone?!”
“I didn’t!”
“Then who was it?!”
“That’s impossible. The helicopter crash was only just reported to the higher-ups. If they were to send someone to investigate, it would have to go through me first…”
Steward Bai pondered all possibilities, shaking his head. “No, it definitely wasn’t our people!”
The nearest base of the Reed Group was hundreds of kilometers away. Even if they didn’t notify him of their mission here, they would need to refuel at his station.
“But apart from us, who else would know about the helicopter crash?” Zhou Xi asked.
“Didn’t the school have survivors? Maybe they let it slip…”
“And who else would know about the three vials of genetic elixirs at Black Wind Stronghold?!”
“Maybe Black Wind Stronghold spreaded the news…”
Steward Bai shook his head. “It must be another force pretending to be us. This way, the mission isn’t considered a failure…”
After all, as long as someone used the elixir, there was a chance of mutation into zombies. Whether the zombie outbreak occurred at Black Wind Stronghold or somewhere else, it made no difference.
Zhou Xi bit her lip. “The investigator said the three vials of elixirs were destroyed, and according to tests, they indeed came from us…”
“Air?”
Steward Bai was stunned again, his expression turning serious.
“Destroyed? Could it really be our people?!”
“Could it be… the higher-ups are investigating?”
Steward Bai’s expression turned grim. Were the higher-ups investigating him in secret?
“Suspend the previous plan. I need to understand the higher-ups’ stance before proceeding…”