Chapter 206 Receiving Heavy Equipment
The next afternoon,
Most players on Li Star paused what they were doing and looked up at the blue sky.
Hugh's convoy broke through the atmosphere and descended from the sky.
For the players, this was the first time they had seen a complete fleet with their own eyes.
Although the largest of them, the wealth key, was just a merchant ship, when its deceleration engines spewed nuclear flames over three kilometers long, splitting the entire sky in half, everyone still clearly felt the immense power.
Finally, the wealth key landed in a desert near Red Iron Town, four kilometers from the Oasis City-Red Iron Town oil pipeline.
After landing, Cangyuan's three SCVs and engineering vehicle fleet immediately surrounded it.
The Engineers, following the tasks received from the Executive Officer, split into two groups to act separately.
The smaller group was responsible for extending the oil pipeline to the merchant ship's cargo hold and building large oil pumps along the way; the majority of the remaining people entered the merchant ship to build large liquid containers inside the cargo hold.
According to the Wealth Key's original design, it could only transport a maximum of 2 million cubic meters of liquid, not enough for Cangyuan's 8.2 million tons of crude oil.
So, this upgrade was necessary.
Of course, as Cangyuan's Engineers, it was also very logical for them to carry scanners when boarding the ship to work. These two tasks would last for three days, after which, it would take another two days to pump in all of Cangyuan's accumulated crude oil, and then the convoy could set sail.
Previously, through corporate announcements, players had learned about the content of this transaction.
Cangyuan would provide a total of 15 million tons of crude oil in two batches in exchange for the convoy's four escort warships, as well as space fighters, nuclear warheads, and other heavy weapons.
And now, it was finally time to inspect the goods!
While other Engineers began their work, Moto led a large group of Sailor players, driving dozens of electric all-terrain vehicles, and arrived majestically in front of the escort fleet.
“Hello, we are here to accept the warships.”
Norris, the convoy's escort commander, who had been waiting, nodded slightly and then saluted them.
“Hello.”
He maintained a poker face, led everyone to tour the ships, and very seriously and formally introduced the performance parameters of his warships.
The convoy's four warships were of different types, with two Star Alliance standard frigates measuring 112 meters and 125 meters long, and weighing 2,400 tons and 2,900 tons respectively.
Their primary mission was anti-ship warfare; the front third of the entire hull was occupied by heavy interstellar torpedoes, or warp missile launchers and magazines. The overall cabin structure was very similar to a 21st-century attack nuclear submarine.
Moto knew very well that using missiles as the main weapon had an advantage: the weapon system hardly required power from the reactor.
This would provide an energy surplus for the entire ship, meaning that after entering combat, it could pursue or escape at a faster speed.
In other words, the positioning of these two frigates was actually more akin to 20th-century torpedo boats.
“Let's go inside and take a look, everyone from Cangyuan.”
Upon entering the ship, the Sailor players were extremely curious and excited.
The highest-level among them had been waiting for nearly three months, during which, as Sailors, they never had their own ships.
This prevented them from gaining extra experience from specific gameplay like other professions.
A typical marginal profession.
Naturally, they were often teased by other professions, especially the Soldier and Engineer professions, which were relatively strong and leveled up the fastest, considered “noble” professions.
However, now, four fully armed Star Alliance Class 1 warships suddenly became Cangyuan's assets, and two larger “Qinling” class ships were about to be completed, how could they not be excited?
Only with ships could the Navy truly be considered first-class!
“This is the core of the entire ship,”
Commander Norris led everyone to the bridge, pointing to the various U-shaped, three-sided console positions.
“Unfortunately, due to technological regression after the apocalypse, especially in AI technology, our control system is not intelligent. You will definitely need some time to learn and adapt.”
As part of the deal, several instructors from the escort fleet would stay here for a period to teach the players various basic operations.
“This is also similar to a submarine—”
Moto, who was familiar with various naval equipment in reality, muttered to himself.
He saw that the two foremost positions on the bridge were for the pilot and Navigator, the left side, resembling a five-person internet cafe setup, was for situational awareness and communication, and the three on the right were for weapon fire control. The Captain and First Mate were seated in the middle.
The entire room was no more than 40 square meters, with a ceiling height of only 2.1 meters, very cramped, emphasizing practicality, a stark contrast to the luxurious bridge of the cangyuan one colonial ship discovered earlier.
“How many crew members does this ship need?” Moto asked.
“Twelve are needed on the bridge, two Engineers in the power room, at least six Sailors, and three service personnel, one of whom is a chef.”
Commander Norris replied.
“A total of 24 people can get her running, but considering the personnel rotation required for combat duty, the actual crew size is recommended to at least double, meaning it should reach 48 people.”
“Hmm, does this ship have lifeboats?”
“Yes, on the back of the hull. Look, you just crawl through this hatch in the bridge ceiling.”
“Okay. Does it have a hangar?”
“No, this ship emphasizes maneuverability. A hangar would add extra weight burden and is completely a drag. Our fighters all take off from the Wealth Key.”
“Understood.”
“Can we go see the mess hall and dorms?” a player squeezed forward and asked.
Those who chose the Sailor profession had a unique yearning for interstellar navigation, so they naturally cared about the living conditions on board.
“Of course, follow me.”
The frigate had only one narrow sleeping quarter, with a narrow aisle of about 60 centimeters in the middle, and three tiers of six rows of 36 bunks on either side. The bunks were less than 1 meter wide, and there were toilets and storage rooms at the end of the aisle.
There were more people on the ship than bunks, so most of the 48 crew members had to hot-bunk, with only the Captain, First Mate, and officers having the privilege of their own beds.
“This is much harder than on an industrial ship…”
Several players looked at each other after seeing the room configuration.
“Of course! This is a warship! Every bit of weight and volume must be used to improve combat power!”
“Hmm! I can't wait to experience it. I'll just consider it a mental exercise!”
The simple living conditions did not scare the players at all; in their opinion, it had a unique charm.
Norris was deeply surprised; it was his first time seeing newcomers who didn't frown here.
Considering that these people, who called themselves Cangyuan, usually lived very well, even having enviable banquets like hotpot, this was especially remarkable.
These people are not simple! Maybe they can really achieve great things in the future...
After leaving the frigate, the group of Sailor players enthusiastically visited the destroyers.
Their lengths were 155 meters and 167 meters, weighing 4,800 tons and 5,200 tons respectively.
Although larger in volume, the destroyers' main function was to deal with space fighters. They were equipped with more than 20 medium and small laser cannons, making them veritable anti-aircraft hedgehogs.
The barrels of these cannons were usually stored inside the hull and would not compromise radar stealth. They would only rise during combat.
Moto silently noted the design characteristics of the Star Alliance warships.
It was clear that their positioning was more “specialized,” not pursuing versatility, and at the same time, they pushed performance to the extreme by restricting the crew's living conditions.
Under this design philosophy, the entire fleet had to cooperate synergistically and could not fight separately.
Soon after, the ship acceptance was successfully completed.
At the same time, Jubian, personally led by Hugh, came to the Wealth Key's cargo hold to select other goods.
He first selected 200 nuclear warheads with a yield of 1.5 million tons, and then carefully inspected several types of space fighters lined up in the cargo hold.
“I want one of each of these!”
Finally, Jubian told Hugh his final decision.
Refuse to choose difficulty, I want them all!
“Are you sure?” Hugh kindly reminded, “Too many types of fighters will greatly increase pilot training costs and ground maintenance costs.”
Jubian's mouth curved upward, and he pushed up his non-existent air glasses.
“Thank you for your suggestion, but I'm very sure, just one of each model is fine.”
Behind this choice, his plan was certainly not to play the “United Nations” card, but to let the pilot players quickly experience the Star Alliance fighters and summarize the advantages of each model.
For Cangyuan, buying one was equivalent to buying a complete set of technical blueprints, which was truly a “pregnant with one glance” situation.
As long as he combined the blueprints with the usage experience, he could integrate the excellent aspects of these Star Alliance products into Cangyuan's own new generation fighter design!