Chapter 76: The Arrival of the Cosmic Adventurers!

After the introductions, Jiang Chen instructed the “butler” to take Luo Feng on a tour of the factory, while he himself began reviewing the report the “butler” had submitted.

The report was extremely detailed; just by reading it, Jiang Chen could picture the entire process of the factory’s development—from the initial construction to its continuous expansion over the past year—in his mind’s eye, all with remarkable clarity.

However, Jiang Chen paid little attention to most of the specifics, focusing instead on the vast amount of data the “butler” had compiled: warehouse inventory, number of production lines, Goliath Giant production efficiency, procurement costs, sale prices, and so on.

Combining this with the logs that the AI had previously sent him, Jiang Chen carefully calculated the output of goods and the quantities moving in and out. To his surprise, he discovered that even this factory benefited from his specialty, “Mass Production Insight.”

[Mass Production Insight]: Assembly success rate of any production line +50%, mass production efficiency +20%, production cost -20%.

The “assembly success rate” attribute was of little use—at least at present, Jiang Chen had never experienced failure when assembling any production line; success was always guaranteed.

However, the other two attributes—“mass production efficiency +20%” and “production cost -20%”—were extremely valuable, boosting Jiang Chen’s profit margins by several levels.

Without these two features, the Goliath Giant would still be a highly profitable venture, but the rate at which profits snowballed would be much slower.

“All production lines after the first were constructed under AI control; I didn’t participate directly, yet they still benefit from ‘Mass Production Insight’? Is it because the AI is under my command, so it counts as my construction? Or is it that any production line under my name enjoys the bonus?”

Jiang Chen’s mind was filled with speculation.

The mechanism behind the specialty’s effect was as mysterious as the system itself—a phenomenon beyond Jiang Chen’s comprehension.

To unravel the principle behind it was, at least for now, utterly beyond his confidence.

Yet, regardless of how the specialty functioned, as long as it was effective, that sufficed.

As for the rest, there was no need to overthink it.

—

Jiang Chen and his party stayed on Bairan Star for several days. One reason was to handle the factory’s equity transfer procedures—Luo Feng, lacking citizenship before, naturally couldn’t hold shares.

The other reason was that both Luo Feng’s transport fleet and the personnel Jiang Chen dispatched to develop the Aurora Star and Raven Star mining sites needed time to prepare.

Luo Feng’s preparations were his own business—Jiang Chen didn’t interfere.

As for his own side, the “butler” recommended two slaves skilled in management, who, along with their assigned assistants, formed two teams. These teams set off for Aurora and Raven Stars, carrying the official documents Jiang Chen had obtained from the Black Dragon Mountain Empire, to take over the mining sites.

For the miners, Jiang Chen directly transferred fifty thousand SCVs from Mars—ten thousand per site, which would nearly achieve maximum extraction efficiency.

These five mining sites would solve a small portion of the Goliath Giant’s “lower-grade” ore supply.

However, most of the Class B and some Class C metals would still need to be imported.

Even so, the five mining sites could reduce the Goliath Giant’s raw material costs by almost five percent.

It seemed like a small amount, but when scaled to thousands of mechas produced annually, the savings became substantial.

If the factory on Bairan Star reached an annual output of five thousand Goliath Giants, these five mining sites alone would save Jiang Chen over ten billion Black Dragon Coins each year.

And the cost? Merely less than three billion a year in “contracting fees” and some practically worthless SCVs.

The latter were dirt cheap, requiring only common iron, titanium, and similar metals for manufacturing. The metals contained in the Solar System’s asteroids alone were enough to produce billions of SCVs.

A profit margin over threefold—even higher, in a sense, than the Goliath Giant itself.

Yet the true advantage lay in combining both ventures.

After spending several days sorting out the industries on Aurora and Raven Stars and ensuring they were on track, Jiang Chen boarded a ship back to Earth.

As before, he had no intention of personally overseeing further development and expansion; that was left to managerial talents among his enslaved subordinates.

He need only steer the overall direction. The rest—the details—required no excessive attention.

The control provided by biochips and the oversight of artificial intelligence were enough to ensure no internal issues within his enterprises.

As for external threats—

Jiang Chen’s current assets weren’t enough to attract truly formidable enemies.

Petty thieves and minor troublemakers didn’t even require Number One or Number Three to intervene; the factory’s automated defenses were more than capable of eliminating such small-time pests.

—

On this journey into space, Luo Feng also purchased a C-class starship of his own, so in the future, he wouldn’t need to borrow Jiang Chen’s ship.

Likewise, Babata handed Jiang Chen a copy of the map for entering and exiting Earth.

“This is the route map for leaving or entering Earth. It’s easy to leave—just enter Dark Universe flight. Returning is trickier; you have to follow a specific route. Just have your AI memorize the path,” Babata explained, emphasizing, “The spatial secret technique left by my master is a powerful shield for Earth. This map is important—never disclose it. Not even to others on Earth.”

“Don’t worry, I won’t give it to anyone,” Jiang Chen replied. He had no intention of letting anyone else from Earth venture into the universe.

Hong, Jia Yi, and the others had asked more than once to experience the broader universe, but Jiang Chen always refused, using the excuse that “the time isn’t right.”

Earth was still too weak, and the secrets it held too great.

Jiang Chen had no desire for Earth’s ignorant strongmen to stumble into space and inadvertently expose critical secrets, drawing the attention of invincible enemies.

“Luo Feng,” Jiang Chen said, turning to him, “when your Earthling clone reaches the Stellar level, let me know.”

“Stellar level?” Luo Feng was puzzled, but didn’t press further. He simply nodded, “I bought quite a few treasures this trip. If I focus on training, I should reach the Stellar level soon—at most, a few years.”

“Just contact me when it happens,” Jiang Chen replied casually, then took his leave and returned to his base in South America.

The electronic calendar in the base’s main hall displayed the current date: May, 2061.

Countless thoughts flashed through Jiang Chen’s mind as he muttered, “Less than half a year left... I need to pick up the pace.”

—

In the world of “Swallowed Star,” crises on Earth seemed never-ending.

First came the “Great Nirvana,” which nearly wiped out human civilization.

After humanity struggled to rise again—restoring and even surpassing its former glory—a terrifying cosmic beast, the Golden-Horned Beast, descended upon Earth.

Luo Feng risked his life to eliminate the Golden-Horned Beast, but less than two years later, cosmic “bandits”—an exploration squad from the Norland family—discovered Earth.

Although Jiang Chen’s presence had created numerous butterfly effects and changed much, the extent of those changes did not reach the broader universe.

At the very least, Jiang Chen was certain the Norland family’s expedition would still arrive on Earth—most likely at the same time as before, at the end of this year.

The squad wasn’t particularly powerful—the strongest among them was only a Stellar Level Six—but Jiang Chen was confident he could eliminate them easily.

The real challenge lay in speed: he needed to wipe out the squad before they could react or send any messages.

If information about Earth leaked, the Norland family’s power could spell near-certain doom for the planet.

The head of the Norland family alone—a universe-class powerhouse known as the “Axe Wielder”—could destroy Earth countless times over.

If the Norland family took notice, it would spell immense trouble for humanity.

To intercept the expedition before it approached Earth, Jiang Chen would need more than just brute force—he’d have to be fully prepared.

Following Jiang Chen’s orders, the factory on Bairan Star paused its third expansion and redirected most of its profits into purchasing massive quantities of monitoring equipment for the solar system.

After investing hundreds of billions of Black Dragon Coins, Jiang Chen brought the entire solar system under his surveillance.

Unless the expedition possessed D-class or higher stealth or anti-detection gear, they would be spotted by Jiang Chen the moment they entered the solar system.

On November 21, China Standard Time, Jiang Chen was immersed in the system’s library when a piercing alarm jolted him awake.

“Master, a C5-class starship detected 4.3 billion kilometers from Earth!” Jarvis reported swiftly, projecting the image onto the main screen.

The screen displayed a vast, empty starfield. Suddenly, a silver-gray, saucer-shaped ship appeared and began accelerating toward Earth.

—

Amid the boundless starry backdrop, a pale blue planet flashed by in an instant.

Though it was only a glimpse, Jiang Chen recognized it: Neptune.

Since Pluto’s demotion to a dwarf planet, Neptune had been the solar system’s farthest planet from the sun.

Observing for a moment, Jiang Chen realized the ship was the same model as his own—the flagship C5-class from the Black Dragon Mountain X series, famed for its cost-effectiveness.

Even the color was identical—silver-gray.

“Four point three billion kilometers. Even at near-light speed, it’s over forty hours away.” Jiang Chen immediately ordered, “Launch an interceptor with the C6-class laser cannon! Goliath Giant squad, serve as the second line—do not let them approach!”

Pausing, he continued, “Recall Teams Two and Four, have them deploy to Martian orbit as the third line of defense, just in case!”

To deal with the Norland family’s expedition, Jiang Chen had prepared three defensive lines.

The C6-class laser cannon, purchased at great expense from the universe, could destroy a C5 starship in a single hit, instantly obliterating everyone aboard.

However, the cannon was so expensive that Jiang Chen had only managed to secure one unit. If the first shot missed, there would be no time to recharge and fire again.

If that happened, a Goliath Giant squad, remotely controlled by Jarvis, would serve as the second line of interception.

Should that also fail, Teams Two and Four, along with their slaves, would form the third line at Martian orbit to prevent the Norland expedition from reaching Earth.

Though the preparations were thorough, Jiang Chen dared not be careless with Earth’s fate at stake. After instructing Jarvis, he immediately called Luo Feng.

“Luo Feng, this is urgent—listen carefully,” Jiang Chen cut off Luo Feng’s greeting, speaking rapidly. “A cosmic exploration team has entered the solar system. I’ve already dispatched my people to intercept. On your end, send your slaves immediately. We cannot let them discover Earth!”

“A cosmic expedition? How is that possible?” Luo Feng was startled.

He couldn’t comprehend why, with Earth’s Dark Universe coordinates hidden by Huyan Bo’s space technique, an expedition had found its way here.

But he quickly realized this was no time for questions.

“Alright, I’ll send Meng One and Meng Two out now! They’ll coordinate with your team!” Luo Feng replied.

“I’ve arranged two lines of defense ahead. Only if both fail will your people be needed. The third line is at Martian orbit—I’ve sent you the coordinates.”

With that, Jiang Chen focused on the surveillance screens.

The communication with Luo Feng remained open, so Luo Feng could also see the starship speeding toward Earth.

On another large screen, numerous ships were swiftly launching from Earth and Mars, heading to their assigned interception points.

In Mingyue Community, Jiangnan Base City, Luo Feng stared in amazement at the fleet on the monitor. “When did Ah Chen prepare so many ships? Did he foresee this day?”

Luo Feng was already accustomed to Jiang Chen’s uncanny foresight.

Yet, despite his curiosity, Luo Feng knew his bounds—he would never pry into a friend’s secrets.

On the screens, the two sides drew steadily closer.

But the distance was immense; even the first interception line would only be in position after nearly twenty hours.

The Norland family’s starship wouldn’t reach the C6 laser cannon’s ambush until several hours after that.

“Distance: 18.2 million kilometers. Laser cannon charging! Fifty seconds to full power!” Jarvis announced.

Jiang Chen and Luo Feng clenched their fists in tense anticipation.

If this shot hit, the enemy would be killed instantly, with no chance to react.

(End of chapter)