Some spaceships were hovering in the starry sky.
Because in the distance, a terrifying object appeared.
It was a huge eyeball, rotating like a living creature.
"We received a response from the Federal Star Patrol, telling us not to approach. This eyeball is the Federation's new biological battleship."
The Federal citizens who heard this news were incredulous.
"Are you saying that in the future, we will be fighting in interstellar battles inside this thing?"
It felt a little hard to accept.
Yan Xia also felt the same way.
"Why is it shaped like an eyeball? It looks a bit creepy."
Ella handed Yan Xia a cup of tea, with an eye floating in it, which startled Yan Xia so much that he threw the tea away.
Ella said seriously from behind, "This is the best eye tea in the Federation. This eye is a plant that just happens to look like an eye."
Yan Xia felt that Ella was definitely doing it on purpose.
The tea actually didn't look much like an eye. If it were any other time, Yan Xia would never have thought of it that way. But looking at this battleship, and then at this tea, which was red tea, Yan Xia had almost thought that Ella had handed him a cup of blood.
"So, why make it into an eye?"
Ella looked up some information.
"The giant ship is already in the research and development stage. Once we enter the giant ship era, the rest of our battleships will become auxiliary."
"So, the biological battleship has been determined to be an auxiliary direction 580 years ago. The giant eye battleship has a simpler structure and more outstanding abilities, so it was manufactured."
"It is mainly used for reconnaissance rather than attack. One advantage of biological battleships is that they can hide their energy sources, achieving an invisibility effect in the universe. The giant eye has excellent vision, with an eye resolution of up to 100 billion pixels, capable of detecting high-frequency rays like alpha rays, as well as low-frequency rays."
"This is a great light-sensing tool."
Yan Xia was actually a bit disappointed because he had hoped for a more handsome battleship rather than this Cthulhu-style battleship.
Ella seemed to understand Yan Xia's thoughts.
"Don't be so discouraged, Yan Xia."
"The most critical part of a biological battleship is that it is a living organism, and living organisms are more malleable than metal."
"So, we have also considered giving the battleship a function."
"This function is temporarily called the 'Battleship Sequence'."
Individuals have sequences, so why can't battleships have sequences?
Ella looked at the giant eye floating in deep space, and the giant eye seemed to sense her gaze and began to expand.
Something pierced through the front end of the eyeball, and an object grew out of the eyeball, covered in a layer of bony scales. It was a skull, a sturgeon's skull.
The sturgeon's body followed, and the eyeball itself began to shrink, forming the sturgeon's tail.
This sturgeon had a distinctive feature, a longer snout, which was a prominent characteristic of the paddlefish family.
"Chinese Paddlefish, a species that went extinct with the industrialization of the Earth."
"To adapt it to the universe, this white sturgeon has a more slender and elongated body. The cells of its outer skin can change colour at will, currently white, but it can also be black, grey, five-coloured, seven-coloured, or camouflage."
"The bony scales and the entire skeleton have been reinforced. It is now considered a hard-boned fish, and this natural creature should better suit your aesthetic standards."
Indeed, its appearance went from -100 to +100 points.
"What are its specific abilities?"
Sequences usually have corresponding special abilities.
"No."
"Biological battleships differ from ordinary living organisms. Their true purpose is to reduce the cost of battleships."
"So, the biological body is just the shell, and the internal machinery is what truly functions."
"When transforming from an eyeball to a sturgeon, some of the internal mechanical structures are activated, turning the reconnaissance ship into a battleship."
"You've noticed it too, right? The protruding object in the sturgeon's mouth is a cannon."
This 40,000-metre-long giant sturgeon's exterior was not exactly the same as a real biological organism. Instead, it had some metallic components, such as the large cannon, and the end of the heterocercal tail was a row of thrusters, providing power to the biological battleship.
"The purpose of shape-shifting is to change functions, and flesh can do this more easily."
"If it were made of metal, it would have to use a lot of liquid metal, which would be too expensive. Alternatively, it could be made with a very complex structure like a Transformer, which would also be costly. However, the biological sequence can significantly reduce costs."
"This allows for dual-use, which is another cost-saving measure."
Every sentence Ella spoke was related to "cost".
The biological battleship itself was developed to suppress the cost of battleships, so Yan Xia felt that the most important aspect was also the cost.
"Then, what is the price of this battleship?"
Ella separated the biological battleship's blueprints into external biological components and internal mechanical parts, labelling the corresponding prices.
"The price of the weapon system is 1.09 million energy coins, the energy system is 7.07 million energy coins, the power system is 1.61 million energy coins, the detection system is 0.84 million energy coins, the engine is 0.38 million energy coins, and the price of the remaining battleship's internal cabins plus the external biological body is 0.17 million energy coins."
A total of 11.16 million energy coins.
This was a 40,000-metre-class battleship that could transform between two forms in a very short time.
Yan Xia remembered that battleships of the same level usually cost over 50 million energy coins. Of course, the performance of the biological battleship was definitely not as good as the original steel battleship, but the price difference of more than four times was enough to make up for everything.
"On average, it should be able to save 80% to 90%."
"The military budget will be significantly increased. Building 10,000 biological battleships will cost just over 10 billion energy coins, which is enough to build two dwarf planet-class battleships."
Yan Xia rested his chin in his hand.
In fact, the Federation had not yet entered a normal development mode, and its economy and actual production capacity were disconnected.
A Level 2.2 civilization can produce 100 billion energy coins of energy per second, and 3.1 billion billion energy coins of energy per year. In theory, the Federation should have at least 100 billion billion energy coins of sufficient funds each year.
However, the current Federation is very "poor".
The available energy is extremely low.
The entire Federation can only use an additional 200 million energy coins per year, which is 1/50 billion of the expected amount.
Why is this the case?
Because the Federation has been in an accelerated construction phase, with excessive energy being used for internal construction and maintenance.
For example, the Mobius ring world of Water Commission One requires more than two stars to maintain its operation. Additional energy must be continuously transported from other star systems.
Similarly, the mechanical gods in various star systems temporarily use energy that accounts for more than 50% of the total energy of a star system, and there are also the star cities.
The maintenance of a single battleship requires astronomical amounts of energy coins, not to mention the star cities.
Beyond the star cities are the interstellar factories, and beyond the interstellar factories are various giant structures.
If you were to ask which resource-devouring glutton is the most voracious in the Civilization Federation, every federal citizen would answer without hesitation: the simulated universe.
At this stage, the Civilization Federation only has two simulated universes, but the total consumption of these two simulated universes is 8% of the total energy production of the entire Civilization Federation.
The laser transmission technology developed by Yan Xia also consumes a lot of energy.
This is also why Yan Xia and Ella are so frugal with energy, even to the point of having scavengers collect energy through clean-up operations.
"By the time war comes, it will be too late with such a small number of battleships."
"The development of the Triangle Region must be accelerated. We need to increase our current total energy to the 100 million billion level, so we can complete the transformation and enter the giant ship era and the biological era."
"Pay attention to the internal economic balance, Ella."
"The proportion of machines can also be reduced, allowing more federal citizens to replace machines and take up important positions."
Just thinking about this made Yan Xia's head hurt.
To perfectly control a vast organization spanning 200 star systems and nearly a trillion citizens is not an easy task.
"Actually, I've already been planning the economic aspect."
"You don't understand this aspect, it's actually very easy for the Federation to save resources."
Ella's face showed some hesitation, as if she was considering whether to tell Yan Xia the root cause of the Federation's economic disaster.
"Oh?"
"How can we save resources?"
Yan Xia was very curious, as economics has always been a problem since ancient times. Economics determines many things, such as the strength of the Civilized Federation. Without a strong economy, the Federation's combat power would be insufficient.
"Hmm..."
Ella paused for a long time but couldn't bring herself to say it. Yan Xia instantly understood what she was hesitating about.
"Is it your problem? You seem so reluctant to talk about it."
"Don't worry, I won't blame you."
Ella rarely hid anything from him, no matter how disastrous it was, except for one type of matter...matters related to Ella herself.
As expected, after Yan Xia said this, Ella asked suspiciously, "Really?"
"Of course!"
Ella took a deep breath and gathered the courage to speak, "Actually, Yan Xia, have you ever felt that the Federation isn't as poor as its economy suggests?"
Yan Xia thought about it and found it to be true.
No matter where you went in the Federation, it was incredibly prosperous, at least on the surface. Sometimes, Yan Xia even felt it was too prosperous.
Moreover, the Federation was also very beautiful, as if it had an endless supply of resources.
It was only at this moment that Yan Xia suddenly realized that all of this was an illusion.
But why did these illusions exist?
"It's due to excessive investment."
"I've invested too much in various parts of the Federation, and these excessive investments are all in infrastructure."
"Infrastructure is 100% controlled by the Federation, not individuals."
"This has led to the current situation, where Federation citizens enjoy benefits beyond their imagination."
"For example, a building that should cost 100 million to construct in the 21st century, with a total return of 120 million after selling, giving the real estate developer a 20% return."
"But in the Federation, it costs 100 million to construct, but the recovered funds after selling are only 1 million. The Federation bears the loss of the remaining 99 million."
"If a citizen were to investigate, they would discover this issue. Even without an investigation, a visit to the Hengxing System controlled by those companies would reveal the problem. Those places are like slums compared to the Federal Star City we built, yet they have emptied the pockets of those companies."
In other words, Federation citizens are living a very luxurious life.
They are enjoying services worth 100 or even more energy coins for just one energy coin.
Ella spoke with a sense of shame, lowering her head.
"Do you mean that the Federation is filled with vanity projects?"
Yan Xia could imagine that the current Federation was too developed, and he himself had invested a lot in this aspect, such as the Genius Arena and the Scholar Ranking.
What is the foundation for these things that benefit the citizens?
It must be the citizens' own qualities and culture.
What do these qualities and culture bring?
A wealthy life!
Only the construction of basic infrastructure can satisfy all of this.
Yan Xia had to admit that his thinking was still like that of a teenager, as he had always lived in a society with abundant basic infrastructure.
In 2037, China also demonstrated the importance of basic infrastructure through its success.
The Federation's current peace and stability are built upon Ella's excessive consumption.
"If the Federation were as dilapidated as the Earth in science fiction movies like 'Starship Troopers' and 'Guardians of the Galaxy', then we could easily possess 100 billion energy coins, enough to support not just 10,000 battleships but even 100 million battleships."
This was the point that made Ella feel guilty.
Yan Xia compared it in his mind. Although he couldn't remember the scenes from those science fiction movies, they seemed incomparable, even with the improved special effects in later science fiction films. The Federation was vastly different.
Only some science fiction works could describe the Federal Star City.
Countless skyscrapers over 100,000 meters tall rose from the ground, with millions of neon lights flashing, countless spaceships flying at ground level, 10-meter ultra-low altitude, 100-meter low altitude, 1,000-meter low altitude, 10,000-meter mid-altitude, and 100,000-meter mid-high altitude, crisscrossing the six levels of space. Above the city, an upside-down forest and lake were constructed, making it difficult to distinguish between the sky and the ground.
All of this was maintained by gravitational devices.
Some star cities even had entertainment facilities like giant Ferris wheels with diameters exceeding 100,000 kilometers. Each seat was not just a seat but a small park.
These facilities were not just one or two but were widely distributed across countless star cities.
Luxurious!
Extravagant!
"So, your plan is to reduce these extravagant parts?"
Ella nodded.
However, Yan Xia said, "There's no need for that."
"The Federation is good enough as it is, and we are not a civilization that desires war."
"In the beginning, the Civilized Federation was just our deception, and later, we made this deception a reality, partly for self-preservation. Now, I'm enjoying the process of building a civilization."
"We have plenty of time; there's no need to be so anxious."
"What the Federation brings now is something we won't have after reducing it. Such a vast number of citizens, such a vast star field, such a wealthy and happy citizenry—all of this is very beautiful."
"Ella, if you want to make up for it, focus on developing the Triangle Region."
"I think that plan should be put on the agenda."
"Perhaps we shouldn't be naturalists but destroyers of nature."
Ella searched for a moment and instantly understood what Yan Xia was referring to.
The Destructive Energy Utilization Plan
As the name suggests, this is a destructive act.
Its essence is to collect energy by destroying objects, and these objects can be anything, but primarily—stars.
The energy released by stars is limited. How can we make a star release more energy in a very short time?
We must make the star enter the giant star stage ahead of time, entering the destruction stage ahead of time.
Therefore, the Destructive Energy Utilization Plan is also known as the Star Destruction Plan.
"Do we really need to start this plan?"
Ella initially didn't plan to use this plan because using it meant permanently losing some stars.
Stars themselves are resources, and these resources are not just energy.
"That's right."
"There must be sacrifice for gain. The universe is vast, and we don't need so many stars." Yan Xia spoke with determination.
Comentario de párrafo
¡La función de comentarios de párrafo ya está en la Web! Mueva el mouse sobre cualquier párrafo y haga clic en el icono para agregar su comentario.
Además, siempre puedes desactivarlo en Ajustes.
ENTIENDO