chsdbacks Chapter 91 I have bad news for you
Chapter 91 I have bad news for you
Chapter 91 I have bad news for you
"Buzz"
With a low-frequency shudder from the subspace engine, the New Bond completed its second short jump since leaving the port of call.
The starlight of the real dimension once again filled the porthole; this was now the edge of the star region marked as "Pagan Stars" on the star map.
"Switch to conventional sub-light speed propulsion."
Andy sat on the bridge and gave orders.
"Xiao Liu, activate wide-area scan and find all habitable zones within a few light-years around here."
"clear."
Xiao Liu's voice sounded cheerful, indicating that she had been in a good mood since getting rid of those electronic vengeful spirits.
While the spaceship was on autopilot, Andy called Gamma-9 and Sisyphus to begin taking stock of the final gains from this trip to the port.
It must be said that although Sisyphus is a shrewd businessman, he is indeed very efficient.
The boxes of "Andy Biochemical No. 1," which are high-purity antibiotics, in the cargo hold are 90% empty.
Instead, there were mountains of all sorts of strange boxes.
There were still condensation cabinets emitting cold air, containing the glands of some kind of large organism.
There are fractal mechanical parts sealed in a static force field, which look like antiques from thousands of years ago.
There were also various alien creations whose purpose was incomprehensible, as well as some stone slabs covered with runes.
Although it looks messy, in Andy's eyes, who has the STC database, these are all tech tree nodes waiting to be unlocked.
"What about weapons?" Andy asked, flipping through the list.
"Sales are good."
Sisyphus wiped his sweat and reported to his superior: "As you instructed, a total of thirty-six CBS-12 high-explosive crossbows have been sold."
"Most of the buyers were itinerant merchants and small mercenary groups."
"But—" Sisyphus paused for a moment, "Andy, why don't we allow the sale of high-explosive arrowheads?"
"I see those buyers are very interested in our 'One Shot, One Kill' arrows. If we sell high-explosive arrows, the price could be at least three or four times higher."
Andy glanced at him.
"I wouldn't sell even if the price increased tenfold."
Andy picked up a silver-white crossbow bolt, a solid shape-memory alloy bolt that he had specifically instructed Sisyphus to ship.
"The worst thing you can do in the arms business is to sell weapons that could threaten you to potential enemies."
"These solid arrows have strong penetrating power, are recyclable, and can be straightened by burning them with a blowtorch. They are a good, affordable, and durable product for those poor buyers."
"But it lacks area-of-effect damage; it's fine against light infantry, but not against our heavy exoskeletons."
The armor of the New Bang is like a tickle.
"As for the high-explosive arrows loaded with three basic explosives—"
Andy gave a cold laugh.
"One shot could blast a hole in the hull of this ship. If we sell it, it might end up back on our own heads one day."
Just kidding, what do you mean by the self-cultivation of an arms dealer?
Core technologies must be mastered by ourselves; what we sell to others will always be just a generic version!
Sisyphus nodded repeatedly, looking as if he had learned something.
However, there were also some regrets about this deal.
"Where are the electronic components?" Andy pointed to a large blank space on the list. "How come there's only this much?"
"Boss, I really don't have any!"
Roger said with a bitter face.
"You saw the port of call, it's basically a black market built on a giant garbage dump."
"Those idiots can play around with biochemical modifications and mechanical assembly, but when it comes to things like precision chips and advanced sensors that require ultra-high precision lithography machines, they really can't make them."
"The parts circulating on the market are basically salvaged parts taken from dead people, and their performance is not as good as the parts we build ourselves."
Andy sighed, but this was to be expected.
The Warhammer universe's technology tree is severely unbalanced. Macroscopic mechanics is extremely advanced, but the field of microelectronics has stagnated due to fear of AI and the lack of STC. Only tech enthusiasts know a little about it.
But when it comes to photoelectric conversion and high-density interconnection, even seasoned motorists are still at a loss.
It seems that to solve the chip shortage, we still have to slowly climb the technology tree ourselves, and then dig deeper into the ruins.
After taking inventory of their belongings, the group was just about to leave.
Gamma-9 suddenly coughed, and his expression became unusually serious.
He straightened his political commissar's overcoat, adjusted his peaked cap, and even took out a small notebook.
"My sage, and my fellow colleagues," Gamma-9 said solemnly, "I have something important to report."
"Something big?" Andy was taken aback. "Someone's planning a rebellion?"
"No, it's about status and legitimacy."
Gamma-9 pointed at Sisyphus, then at Roger.
"Just now at the port of call, Sisyphus claimed to be a trade representative from the Misty Star Region."
"When Roger introduced himself to people, he said he was from the Rust Construction Team."
"Even I myself am sometimes called 'that guy in the black coat' by those ignorant mortals."
"This is so chaotic! So unprofessional! So lacking in authority!"
Gamma-9 waved its arms excitedly.
"We are now an independent interstellar power with starships and heavy firepower!"
"We can no longer act like a band of outlaws, without even a unified banner!"
"If we encounter other forces in the future, are we supposed to say we are Andy the Sage and his friends?"
Andy touched his chin.
That actually makes a lot of sense!
Indeed, whether you're navigating the world or engaging in diplomacy, you can't do without a prestigious reputation!
"So what suggestions do you have?" Andy asked.
I think—
Gamma-9 was clearly prepared, its eyes gleaming with fanaticism.
"We should call ourselves the Sacred Gear Expeditionary Force!"
"Or pioneer the Angelic Legion!"
"At the very least, you could call it the 'Iron Truth Order'!"
"Stop, stop, stop!"
Andy quickly interrupted him.
"The smell is too strong!"
"We're going to farm, not to preach. With this kind of name, people who don't know us might think the Mechanicus has launched some kind of holy war again, which would easily attract trouble."
"Then... the Wings of Freedom?" Sisyphus tentatively suggested.
"Too rustic, like pirates," Roger rejected.
"Star Pioneers?" Father Zor interjected, "The Pioneer Mechanical Order?"
"It's even more tacky now!!"
As Andy sat in the chair, a word suddenly popped into his head.
The Fourth Calamity!
This name is powerful! This name is fitting! This name is practically tailor-made for a farming-style player like him!
But he immediately dismissed the idea.
In the Warhammer universe, they're called "the Scourge," because the Inquisition's extermination order wasn't coming fast enough, and the Chaos Four weren't getting enough attention.
Farming should be done discreetly, and names should reflect reality!
Just then, Xiao Liu's voice came from the main speaker on the bridge: "Lord Andy, after searching through a massive amount of data, this machine has found an excellent name for you."
"Oh? Tell me about it."
"Enlightenment Guild"
Xiao Liu's voice carried a hint of smugness.
"It signifies that we bring the light of knowledge to enlighten the ignorant masses, and the word 'guild' sounds neutral, suitable for business and also for colonization."
Andy's lips twitched.
Enlightenment? Guild?
Why does this sound so familiar?
In addition, Xiao Liu's usual rational tone —
Isn't this the style of Titanium-kun, who believes in "the highest good" and is always saying "it's for your own good"?!
In the human empire, getting involved with Tau is a sure sign of heresy, and would be killed by fanatics as a surrenderist.
"No, absolutely not." Andy firmly rejected the idea. "The name sounds like some kind of alien cult; it could easily cause misunderstandings."
"This won't work, that won't work."
Xiao Liu was a little unhappy. "Then you come up with one?"
This stumped Andy.
Andy pondered for a moment: "Let's call it—Deep Space Industries."
Andy made the decision.
"Deep space represents our scope of activities, while industry represents our core competitiveness."
"The name sounds like both a reputable, large company and a low-key, 'I'm just a miner, not a threat at all' kind of thing."
"Most importantly, it's hard-edged and pragmatic enough, which suits our style."
Everyone looked at each other.
Deep space industry?
It does sound like that at all.
It lacks religious fanaticism and pirate swagger, exuding a cold, metallic feel of capitalism.
"But—why not 'deep space machine'?"
Gamma-9 and Zoll, those two oily guys, were still a little unwilling to give up.
"Mechanics" are the true essence of all things!
"Because industry includes machinery, but machinery does not represent everything."
Andy waved his hand, exercising his veto power.
"It's settled then. From now on, we'll be called Deep Space Industries."
"6
'
While it's a bit of a shame that Gamma-9 didn't incorporate religious elements, since the Sage has spoken, it must be carried out.
The conference about official status thus concluded with the minority submitting to the majority (mainly Andy's one-man show).
Deep Space Industries, a name that would later shake the entire galaxy and strike fear into the hearts of countless humans, aliens, and demons, was born on this spaceship.
With the name confirmed, everyone felt much more relaxed.
Sisyphus even pulled out a bottle of his private stash of red wine, ready to celebrate the founding of "Deep Space Industries".
however.
The wine hasn't been poured into the glass yet.
"Zi"
An unnatural static sound suddenly came through the communication channel.
Immediately afterwards, Xiao Liu's voice rang out.
It was no longer the relaxed tone she had when naming someone, nor was it her usual calm and aloof girlish voice.
There was actually a hint of guilt in her voice?
There was also a hint of tension that was hard to hide.
"Um—Mr. Andy."
"This machine feels it necessary to tell you some bad news at this moment."
Andy's hand holding the cup froze in mid-air, and he frowned.
"What's wrong? The flight path has veered off course? Oh no, could the reactor be leaking again?!"
As long as the ship doesn't blow up, Andy feels he can accept anything.
However, the frequent leaks from the reactor are indeed quite troublesome to handle.
"No, it's not those minor issues."
Xiao Liu paused for a moment, seemingly organizing his thoughts.
"Just now, about three seconds ago."
"The machine has detected an extremely weak and extremely concealed active radar beam."
"This beam is very sophisticated, with its frequency constantly changing, trying to disguise itself as cosmic microwave background radiation."
"If this machine weren't a subspace sextant with an innate sensitivity to this kind of detection signal, it might not have been detected at all."
"So?" Andy had a bad feeling.
"Um—" Xiao Liu's voice lowered even further, "It seems like we're being targeted—"