Chapter 38: Choosing a Site for the Base

【Materials Science has been elevated to Lv.21, level increased.】
【Current level: Tier One, Level Three.】
【You gain +10 to all attributes. You gain 10 free attribute points.】
【You gain 99 specialty points.】

“At last, I've leveled up. After reaching planetary rank, my efficiency in mastering new knowledge soared, but the pace of leveling actually slowed down…”
Staring at the system prompts before him, Jiang Chen casually assigned all free attribute points to ‘Spirit’, then opened his attribute panel.

————
Name: Jiang Chen
Race: Earth Human
Rank: Tier One, Level Three
Attributes:
Strength 127, Agility 126, Constitution 127, Intelligence 172, Spirit 172, Mystery 162
Free Attribute Points: 0
Knowledge: [Natural Science Lv.19], [Alchemy Technology Lv.7]
Specialties: [High Focus], [Telekinesis], [Scholar’s Mind]
Specialty Points: 242
————

After advancing, the traditional technology disciplines were merged into ‘Natural Science’, though the detailed interface still showed the progress in each subfield.
With his attributes boosted once more, Jiang Chen’s force and mental powers had broken through as well. Yet, compared to attribute gains, after reaching Tier One, each upgrade now yielded triple the specialty points—99 each time—a much more substantial improvement.

With just two upgrades, Jiang Chen’s panel now held 242 specialty points, enough to exchange for one or two powerful abilities.
“Months of accumulation... I wonder if my strength is enough now…”
Jiang Chen exited the system and spoke, “Jarvis, how many mechs do we currently own?”

“Officially, we have 140 ‘Boxer’ mechs, organized into ten squads, all capable of reconfiguration via equipment changes. In addition, there are twelve ‘SCV’ units. If needed in an emergency, I can immediately obtain control authority over 1,262 mechs belonging to the eight global powers, but doing so would expose the backdoor you left in their systems.”
Jarvis swiftly reported the figures.

It had been nine months since the first ‘Boxer’ production line was assembled, and nearly five months since the second line went into operation.
With full supply support from various nations, the two major martial halls, and the HR Alliance, there was no concern over raw material production. Operating at full capacity, over 1,400 ‘Boxer’ mechs had been produced.
Ninety percent were sold to the major powers, traded for materials, funds, and other treasures, while the remaining tenth was held back by Jiang Chen as his own armed force.
The twelve extra ‘SCV’ units were prepared for the construction of a new base.

“What about resource reserves?” Jiang Chen pressed. “How’s the money I allocated to you last time?”

“Most has been spent, but two batches of materials ordered through the HR Alliance are yet to be delivered. The warehouse currently holds enough parts for over a hundred ‘Boxer’ and ‘SCV’ units, as well as various supplies worth more than ten trillion Huaxia credits—primarily metal, concrete, energy, fuel, ammunition, electronic equipment, and so forth.”
Jarvis recited the figures, then added, “According to your No.12 plan, these resources are barely sufficient to build a small-scale industrial base in the wilderness. However, transporting these resources to the destination presents a considerable challenge.”

“Indeed, transportation…” Jiang Chen sighed, plagued by this very problem.
Even constructing a tiny base called for a staggering amount of building materials.
To carry so much across vast distances to his planned site, all while guarding against monster attacks, was troublesome indeed.
With the total weight in excess of a million tons, no matter the method, transportation would require more than a single trip.

If the base were to be built outside Eurasia, the logistical challenge would be even greater.
Even with technology absorbed from cosmic civilizations, limitations of Earth’s own tech meant nothing could be created that far surpassed current standards.
Take transport aircraft: the most capable on Earth can haul just over a hundred tons, excluding the plane’s own weight and fuel.

A million tons?
That would require ten thousand flights to finish the job!
Even using Jiang Chen’s spatial ring, it would take a hundred trips at least.
Only with more—and larger—spatial rings could the number of journeys be reduced to an acceptable level.

“If air transport can be limited to under ten trips, I believe Target Site One is the most suitable.” Jarvis offered his suggestion. “If air transport exceeds ten trips, data suggests the chance of attracting king-class monsters rises by 87.5%, which is far too risky. Even if you successfully slay them, losing part of the cargo could jeopardize your plans.”

Jarvis had mined vast amounts of data from the web, and Jiang Chen trusted his judgment in analysis.
Target Site One was in South America, in the territory of the country famed for samba and football before the Great Nirvana, boasting exceptionally rich mineral resources—both in kind and in reserves, among the world’s best.
It was now completely overrun by monsters, devoid of human presence. If Jiang Chen could claim it and establish a base, he’d never have to worry about resources before venturing into space.

Yet, the vast distance between Asia and South America meant flights were the only option. One or two trips might go unnoticed, but frequent flights would easily attract attention from high-level flying monsters—a considerable risk.

Should the number of resource transports not be reduced sufficiently, he would have to settle for a suitable site on the Eurasian continent, transporting his stockpiled resources overland.

As for sea routes… The oceans now belonged entirely to monsters. Even Hong and Thor dared not venture there lightly, let alone ordinary ships.

Asia offered two locations that Jiang Chen found satisfactory: the northern grasslands and the southern Golden Triangle. Both lay outside the control of major powers and were reasonably rich in minerals.
Yet each lacked one or two critical resources, which was irksome.

“If only I could get the spatial ring from Babata…” Jiang Chen muttered to himself.
Babata’s ring, while not on the level of the World Ring, possessed a vast internal space—enough to pack up all Jiang Chen’s resources and mechanical army in one go, far superior to Jiang Chen’s standard-sized ring.

Still, Jiang Chen had no intention of seeking out Babata.

“Forget it, let’s see if Senator Jia Yi has any ideas. Surely, there must be more spatial rings on Earth than the one that’s already been discovered.”
He opened his communication wristband, searched for Jia Yi’s number, and dialed.