Chapter 316 - 309: Cleanup and a Pleasant Surprise
Chapter 316: Chapter 309: Cleanup and a Pleasant Surprise
Allen stood before a row of specialized, temperature-controlled preservation containers. Dozens of "Resonance Crystal Cores" floated silently in a nutrient solution, emitting a faint blue glow like distant stars.
His mind had long since switched from microscopic technical analysis to the level of grand strategy.
This creature, unrecorded in any Wizard’s bestiary, was a major security risk in and of itself.
Once the Resonance Crystal Core technology replication project succeeded, it would become the sharpest spear and the strongest shield in his Celestial Net system.
But before that, the source of this technology, the Abyss Ray, could also become his Achilles’ heel.
If he could discover it, other Wizards naturally could too.
Especially in this world where strength was paramount, there were only two kinds of secrets: those that had already been leaked, and those that never would be.
He chose the latter.
"Jarvis, have the Hive Mother Ship return to the Silent Abyss."
Allen’s voice rang out in the spacious laboratory, devoid of any emotion.
"Mission objective: Area purification."
Allen’s gaze fell upon one of the crystal cores, his tone flat. "Exterminate all living Abyss Rays within the Silent Abyss. Leave none alive."
[...Acknowledged. Executing area purification directive.]
Jarvis faithfully carried out the command.
Allen added, "After the purification is complete, recover all the Abyss Ray carcasses."
...
Ten minutes later, a colossal, inverted pyramid-shaped shadow once again fell over the Silent Abyss.
This time, there was no probing, no reconnaissance formations deployed in waves.
The Hive Mother Ship was like a majestic and indifferent god of calamity, poised to end the world.
[All deployment hatches, open.]
[Mad Bee drones, release all units.]
On the ship’s hull, one thousand two hundred hexagonal apertures lit up simultaneously with an eerie blue glow.
WHOOSH WHOOSH WHOOSH WHOOSH—!
The next second, a dense barrage of sonic booms shattered the tranquility of this place.
One thousand two hundred black streams of light, like a bursting dam, poured out from the mother ship’s underbelly, instantly tearing through the grayish-white fog at the abyss’s entrance.
Under the oppressive computational power of the mother ship’s main control core, the Magic Power interference field of the entire abyss was forcibly torn wide open.
The data link was rock-solid.
Under the mother ship’s unified command, the one thousand two hundred Mad Bees instantly formed twelve large hunter-killer squadrons. They began a sweeping, no-blind-spot extermination of the abyss, attacking from multiple angles.
Inside the abyss, the swarms of rays nesting on the rock walls clearly sensed the impending doom.
The remaining Abyss Rays startled from their hiding places among the fungal flora, flying about chaotically like headless chickens, the resonance organs on their backs erupting with an unprecedented glow.
However, this time they faced the overwhelming crush of sheer numbers and kamikaze weapons.
A single Mad Bee might be shot down by an interference wave, but under the protection of the mother ship’s anti-jamming Force Field, they only needed to be stable for a tenth of a second to fire their Magic-guided beams.
One thousand two hundred lethal beams wove a net of death that covered the entire abyss.
Some of the Mad Bees had already adjusted their angle and charged straight for the Abyss Rays, with no intention of returning alive.
Wherever the net of light passed, the translucent bodies burst in mid-air like popped balloons, dissolving into clouds of blue, bloody mist. Any that weren’t hit were killed by the kamikaze attacks.
From the very beginning, this battle was asymmetrical.
Allen quietly watched as the green dots of light representing life signals were extinguished, one patch after another.
His attention wasn’t even on the species’ extinction itself.
A Demon Eye had descended with the Hive Mother Ship. It was conducting a geological scan, digitizing the abyss’s topography and structure piece by piece to be saved in the database.
[Report. The life signal of the last Abyss Ray has disappeared.]
[Purification task complete.]
Jarvis’s voice sounded.
On the holographic sand table, the last green dot representing the Abyss Ray species flickered and died out.
At that very moment, Jarvis also reported an unexpected discovery.
[Mineral vein signal detected in the western rock wall at the bottom of the abyss.]
Allen raised an eyebrow.
"Send an Exploration Golem down."
An Exploration Golem swiftly descended to the bottom of the abyss, following the safe passage cleared by the Mad Bees.
Its drill activated, and it took a sample of ore from the rock wall.
Through the real-time feed from the Demon Eye, Allen saw a crystalline ore that was a deep blue all over. Inside, streams of light seemed to be slowly surging, and the Magic Power it contained was so intense it almost seemed to leap off the screen.
Jarvis quickly allocated resources to perform a remote analysis of its composition and cross-reference it with the database.
[Sample analysis complete.]
[Preliminary identification: ’Rich-Magic Blue Crystal.’ An intermediate Alchemy material, commonly used to construct the core nodes of large Witchcraft Arrays, or as a material for High-tier Witchcraft experiments.]
[Average market price: Each standard unit is approximately equal to 1.8 to 2.2 times the value of twice-refined Black Patterned Magic Steel.]
Allen’s eyes lit up.
He quickly opened a 3D geological model of the Silent Abyss and had Jarvis mark the detected mineral vein’s distribution in bright red.
A single mineral vein ran through almost the entire hundred-plus-kilometer-long abyssal rift.
For the past several hundred years, the existence of the Abyss Rays had been like the most loyal guardians of this rich ore deposit, ensuring that any who coveted this place never returned.
Now, he had personally eliminated these guardians.
"Give me a preliminary estimate of the deposit’s total value."
[Data model being built based on vein thickness and range... Estimating...]
[Estimate complete. The total reserves of this vein, converted to Low-Level Magic Stones, are worth at least thirty-two million.]
The cold expression on Allen’s face completely melted away.
He had originally thought that the technological inspiration from the Resonance Crystal Cores was the greatest reward from this expedition.
’I never expected the real grand prize was here.’
"Jarvis," he said, the corners of his mouth twitching upward uncontrollably, "recalculate the savings period for the demesne fragment based on the new mine’s estimated production capacity."
[Reconstructing model...]
[Based on the estimated production of the ’Rich-Magic Blue Crystal’ mine, the war zone’s average monthly net income will increase from the current two million four hundred thousand Low-Level Magic Stones to approximately two million six hundred fifty thousand.]
[The funding goal of over eighty million for the demesne fragment is now projected to be achievable six months ahead of schedule.]
The Silent Abyss...
Allen looked at the massive rift on the sand table, a complex look flashing in his eyes.
First, it had delivered black technology capable of changing the face of warfare, and then it had offered up a super-rich mine that would save him years of effort.
This place, once considered a forbidden zone, had turned out to be a veritable land of fortune for him.
Allen immediately began to plan its development.
He would use the abyss’s naturally enclosed terrain to build a fully sealed, automated mine. Two squads of Spider Slayers and automated Magic-guided Cannons would be deployed at the entrance to lock it down completely. Inside, he would deploy the latest models of Mining Golems and short-haul transport Floating Ships to achieve 24/7, non-stop extraction.
This place would become yet another of his cash cows.
Allen’s thoughts pulled back from his future blueprints to reality. He then checked the financial statement for the Hive Mother Ship.
The string of numbers on the screen made the smile on his lips slowly fade.
*The Hive project has been tested and is ready for mass production. Total R&D and prototype construction costs: 5,850,000 Magic Stones.*
’And that was just for a single prototype.’
He had poured all that money into it and gotten a new Golem, but it also meant he hadn’t managed to save anything.
"Enough."
Allen extended a finger and drew a heavy red line on the financial report, right below the string of numbers representing expenditures.
He had to admit, he had an almost obsessive fondness for this kind of weapon of war, one that combined brutal aesthetics with cutting-edge technology.
But that fondness wouldn’t pay the bills.
"Jarvis, halt mass production for the Hive project. Aside from the two projects already underway, suspend all other R&D tasks."
"Allocate only a small portion of production capacity and funds toward the mine’s construction and regular legion maintenance."
"From now on, our core objective is saving."
He had more important things to do.
In the upcoming R&D queue, only two relatively low-cost but highly cost-effective projects remained: the longer-range "Red Lotus-II" Magic-guided missile, and the Talismanic Replication of the "Resonance Crystal Core."
’As for a new generation of Magic Engines or even more formidable superweapons... they were all too expensive.’
’They’ll have to wait.’
"Demesne fragment," Allen murmured the name, as if seeing a world of infinite possibilities that belonged to him.
"Wait for me."