Chapter 1674
Chapter 1674 - 1670: The New Era
1,307 words
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7 min read
Looking at the map, Dragon Moon Island and Mountainous Island are not too far apart... uh, only if we’re talking about the world map.
But that rocky Giant Beast, its speed really cannot pick up, even with the enhancement of extraordinary power, even after years or even decades of covert modifications, its propulsion system still isn’t sufficient.
Standing atop the Dragon Head, looking at the faraway continent, Lu Ping’an even vaguely felt that this "big ship’s" primary power actually came from its limbs.
It, was truly swimming.
"As a top-tier Life entity, swimming as a form of ’movement’, ultimately achieving conceptual relocation?"
Lu Ping’an saw through all of this, yet still found it to be quite impressive.
After all, according to the laws of physics, getting something like this to move, even if this world line also had nuclear power plants, installing dozens of them might still not be enough; this is a whole solid mass of rock we’re talking about.
But now, under the trend of extraordinary power, it has transformed into a self-propelled Life form.
Lu Ping’an didn’t understand, but he was immensely shocked.
Now, this island, this mountain range, this group of rocks, this almost infinite mass itself, became our greatest advantage.
"...We’re almost there, right?"
Lu Ping’an had already sensed it; the east wind blowing his way faintly carried the smells of blood and scorching, a taste of the battlefield all too familiar to him.
And what responded to his query was a sky full of "buzzing".
Countless winged, rotor-winged, and wingless drones, coming from who knows where, flying everywhere within sight, all of them those little "toys".
This could no longer be described as a swarm of locusts; the number was simply too great, resembling layers upon layers of "floors" making up a beehive, or a range of scenery composed of mountains.
The sky, grew dark.
Layer upon layer, like dark clouds, but more like countless swarms of bees obscuring the sky.
"...That’s a lot."
Lu Ping’an himself, felt his scalp tingle from the sight.
A few tens of thousands? Ha, how could there be so few.
Tens of thousands? Hundreds of thousands? Or...
"This batch should only be around two million..."
Upon hearing this, Lu Ping’an was completely dumbfounded, what’s this all about, how come there is such a large reserve, since when are drones counted by the millions?
It’s not merely about production, control is the most difficult part.
The trajectory of technology in this world is quite subtle; due to the existence of Mechanic Spiritualists, AI technology has been continuously suppressed and targeted, but in fact, it is faster and more flexible and human-like than another world line... of course, it is also more prone to losing control.
However, now is clearly not the time to think about Smart Machine warfare; any combat power is desirable.
Just like programming AI drone swarms in a previous life, which needed Pilot Operators and Controllers, this world’s AI drone swarms also need Controllers, and many of them.
They have probably adopted the standard combat combination mechanism where the Pilot Operator controls the main machine, with other AIs following and providing support; this requires dedicated support teams to take charge of deployment, it’s by no means as simple as producing as many as you fly.
"...There are more than twenty thousand professional pilot operators who have received over two years of ’electronic game’ training. Some of them came under the name of participating in e-sports competitions. As for Mechanic Spiritualists..... there are at least six hundred, the Eastern Country officially deployed all they could find."
"One combat group consists of thirty unmanned drones? It requires two pilot operators (on rotation) and two support personnel, with one Mechanic Spiritualist for every ten combat groups?"
"You’ve done your research? Roughly, yes, but now the technology seems to have reached the limit of one pilot operator controlling three hundred drones, yet the best combat power configuration is probably between sixty to eighty."
Lu Ping’an clicked his tongue slightly and didn’t say much else. Indeed, the national developers are formidable; your uncle is always your uncle.....
"My limit here is forty drones; more would just be a waste of resources. And that’s with me having a Rule-level Mechanic Spiritualist.... Can I have them go over to your side for some learning?"
To get them flying and form combat groups is not difficult, nor is utilizing AI as auxiliary machines, but to have more drones revolve around one master control drone and unleash their combat power, the more the better without aimless scattering, is quite difficult.
This requires extensive accumulation of experience and technical choreography. Lu Ping’an’s side has already invested heavily in development, but the progress is quite delicate. Now that he has the opportunity, naturally, he wants to free-ride.
"I’ll file an application, there shouldn’t be a problem."
If it were anyone else, such direct attempts to probe military secrets would be met with more than just refusal; immediate incarceration would be certain.
But General Su only seemed a bit surprised before making a phone call.
"Agreed, but you cannot directly sell the technology or commercialize and sell the finished products. Your products can utilize part of the technology, but it cannot exceed 30% of the market limit//////"
General Su was stunned as well; he realized just how much the Eastern Country government "doted" on Lu Ping’an. What were taboo secrets to others might be seen as a rare chance by Eastern government officials to "pamper and buy over" Lu Ping’an.
But he hadn’t expected the decision-makers to be so "licking"... They actually allowed him to profit directly from this technology, was this not allowing private enrichment with national technology?
Upon hearing this, Lu Ping’an shook his head.
It wasn’t that he planned to avoid commercialization, but he felt that General Su was still purely a soldier, lacking in understanding of politics and diplomacy. The officials didn’t need to please an "independent" like himself.
"Merchants with red hats," in a sense, served as gloves for the officials; the government never cared about who got rich..... What they cared about were the political, economic, diplomatic, and military benefits brought by this technology.
The seemingly restrictive clauses were in fact "custom data for release demands," meaning that the officials expected the market to see goods of such military specifications.
In Lu Ping’an’s view, since the official side had developed this set of technology and algorithms, after making a stunning debut, they would not lock it away in a tech vault..... Enhancing the combat power of civilians and various forces also meant strengthening the entire Eastern Group’s combat power. At the same time, it was necessary to sell it to the outside world, to enhance the power of other kingdoms.
The relevant departments would control the intensity, and trusted, reliable arms dealers like Lu Ping’an were the best gloves.... After all, it was merely a channel for technology exportation.
"You plan to decline?"
"Of course not, why reject an opportunity to earn."
Lu Ping’an was very open-minded; this hard-earned money from turning screws and building connections, others didn’t even have the opportunity to make, let alone.....
"...They didn’t limit me from personal use; I’ve received this gesture of goodwill."
Lu Ping’an smiled, as a new generation "Extraordinary Life Legion," his way of thinking was very modern; this technology came just in time.
"Then, I shall reciprocate..."
Lu Ping’an stretched out his hand, activating his unending "declaration of war."
Black flames floated above the drones, the infamous "Burning Legion/Black Fire Legion" from the Multi-universe, unexpectedly re-emerging in this way.
— End of Chapter 1674 —