Two of the five S-slot small weapon mounts were equipped with third-generation Fire Rain Autocannons:
Fire Rain Autocannon Mk III: A large-caliber ballistic weapon capable of firing discarding-sabot shells at extremely high velocities.
Type: Instant, Kinetic.
Damage: 25-30.
Fire Rate: 1 shot per 2 seconds.
Accuracy: 50%.
Range: 60 km.
Modifier: +25% Shield Damage.
Modifier: -50% Armor Damage.
The three remaining slots were equipped with third-generation small Railguns:
Railgun Mk III (Small): A long-range railgun capable of firing high-power shells at extreme distances.
Type: Instant, Kinetic.
Damage: 80-120.
Fire Rate: 1 shot per 25 seconds.
Accuracy: 75%.
Range: 400 km.
Modifier: +25% Shield Damage.
Modifier: -50% Armor Damage.
The P slot was equipped with the Defender Type-1 Rapid-fire Cannon.
Defender Type-1 CIWS: The warship’s last line of defense, specialized in intercepting missiles and space fighters.
Type: Instant, Kinetic.
Damage: 2-2.
Fire Rate: 12,000 rounds per second.
Accuracy: 30%.
Range: 14 km.
Modifier: -75% Armor Damage.
Modifier: -50% Hull Damage.
Two of the five S-slot utility mounts were fitted with third-generation Durasteel Armor:
Durasteel Armor (Small): An alloy with high strength and impact resistance.
Armor Strength: 800 points.
The other three were equipped with third-generation Energy Shields:
Energy Shield Mk III (Small): Activates a shield to defend against enemy fire once engaged.
Shield Capacity: 1,000 points.
One A-type utility slot was equipped with a standard Afterburner Combustion Chamber.
Afterburner (): Improves the ship’s flight speed and agility.
Attributes: Acceleration +20%, Turn Rate +20%, Flight Speed +10%.
Slot: A-slot.
Applicable: Any warship.
The energy core was a third-generation Nuclear Fusion Reactor.
The FTL component was the escort ship version of the third-generation Jump Drive:
Jump Drive Mk III (Escort Ship): The Jump Drive can charge up to tear open a temporary wormhole in space, allowing a jump to another star system.
Attributes: Charge Time 50 minutes, Jump Range 30 light-years, Cooldown 3 hours.
Slot: C-slot, Jump Drive.
Applicable: Escort Ships.
The thruster was a Plasma Thruster:
Plasma Thruster (Escort Ship): A thruster powered by plasma, faster and more agile than ion propulsion.
Attributes: Speed +35%, Acceleration +15%, Turn Rate +15%.
Slot: C-slot, Thruster.
Applicable: Escort Ships.
The sensor was a Subspace Sensor:
Subspace Sensor (Escort Ship): Detects ships by analyzing the subspace fluctuations they leave behind; more sensitive than gravitational wave sensors.
Attributes: Detection Range: 2,000 km.
Slot: C-slot, Sensor.
Applicable: Escort Ships.
The combat computer was the escort ship version of the Advanced Combat System:
Advanced Combat System (Escort Ship): A combat optical computer with powerful processing capability, capable of simulating complex battlefields through sensor data, providing real-time feedback on battlefield developments and selecting the optimal course of action to transmit to the ship’s command hub.
Attributes: Accuracy +10, Fire Rate +10%.
Slot: C-slot, Combat Computer.
Applicable: Escort Ships.
With the full Tier-3 configuration, the total price came close to that of an Escort Ship—falling short compared to the best, but more than enough compared to the rest.
Although Li Qing still had one hundred million Star Credits on hand, he had no intention of upgrading or reinforcing the ship.
There were too many places that needed money in the early stages; one hundred million wouldn’t last long at all, leaving no spare funds to strengthen a warship.
Besides, he didn’t plan to venture far in the early going anyway.
Like the vast majority of Pioneers, his first step was to find a suitable star system near the Colony Planet to mine, kill some wild mobs now and then, dig through wrecks, and clear anomalies when they appeared—basically, earn some money first and worry about the rest later.
Only once he had enough money would he gradually start adding new warships, building his fleet according to his earning pace.
This would probably take quite a long time.
Even if Li Wei planned to make money through exploits, it would still take a year or two to accumulate a starting fund.
He planned to use the Palm Universe’s ability to store objects with a diameter of no more than ten kilometers.
While mining, he would directly open a spatial passage to asteroid belts, specifically collecting drifting meteorites containing minerals.
Gathering ore this way would surely be far more efficient than normal mining.
Boarding the Escort Ship, Li Qing first entered the bridge command room—a very spacious platform with a surface smooth as a mirror, bearing only one main command seat and two secondary command chairs, with a huge floor-to-ceiling screen at the front.
Li Qing sat in the command seat and pressed his palm on the armrest.
The entire bridge command room immediately lit up, and a mechanical voice sounded:
“Reserved commander information detected. Honorable Commander Li Qing, do you wish to take command of this warship?”
Li Qing answered in a deep voice:
“Yes, I am taking command of the warship now!”
As the words fell, a beam of light descended and enveloped him.
Within the beam, streams of data could be seen surfacing—the warship’s central control computer was collecting his information and comparing it against the reserved data to confirm his identity.
Soon the information collection was complete, and the beam faded.
A warship control hub light screen popped up before him, a logo floating on it, and an electronic voice—slightly crisper than the previous one—sounded:
“Greetings, Honorable Commander. Welcome aboard the JM-D Escort Ship!”
Li Qing raised his hand in a salute, the logo vanished, and the light screen displayed the warship’s detailed specifications.
He took a look.
The Swift-class Escort Ship’s standard length was 120 meters, width 45 meters, height 30 meters, with an overall spindle shape.
At the moment, this Escort Ship was in brand-new, just-out-of-the-factory condition, never having seen combat.
All its indicators were at their initial state, ready to take off and fight at any time.
Provided it had a sufficient crew.
That’s right—right now he was the only person on this ship.
Taking off alone was no problem, but combat was out of the question.
Later he would need to go to the Crew Guild to hire a few senior crew members and a batch of ordinary crew members, and also purchase weapons, ammunition, and living supplies.
Maintaining a warship was no easy feat.
Although technology was now so advanced that full automation had long been achieved, and a warship could theoretically fight fully automated, in reality a warship relying entirely on computers without a combat crew was nothing but a floating coffin drifting through space.
The reason was simple: fully automated combat depended on precise electronic equipment.
A single Pulse Bomb or Electronic Oscillation Weapon from the enemy would affect even the most precise electronic equipment—the most advanced combat computers and electronics would fail on the spot.
So an Escort Ship required 50 Clone Crew, 3 Natural High-ranking Crew, and 1 captain.
Of course, in the early stages when a player only had one ship, they could serve as the captain themselves, saving that expense for the time being.
Sitting in the Escort Ship’s command seat, Li Qing opened the regional channel.
A virtual frame popped up before his eyes, with a target displayed on it—Jinmen Local Channel Six.
Before confirming which channel to enter, the first activation would automatically route into the various sub-channels based on channel congestion; if you wanted to enter a specific channel, you had to manually select it again.
The moment the channel opened, all kinds of miscellaneous recruitment posts filled his view:
“Hengguang Trade Group is temporarily recruiting a team to clear out a newly spawned anomaly entrenched in the TY-D-358 star system. Requires basic naval command skill Lv5 or above. Payment is 20% above international standard, with international-standard battle damage compensation.”
“Noah Heavy Industries is recruiting an escort fleet to travel to Tianzhu Province’s capital, Tianzhu One. Requires large or medium-sized teams with a credit rating above 75. Payment negotiable.”
“The Sky Patrollers Legion is recruiting a batch of newcomers. Veterans and complete newbies both welcome. Veterans must provide past combat records; complete newbies will have their innate attributes reviewed. Those with an Innate Talent of blue or above will be given priority.”
“Green Voyage Studio is hiring a batch of permanent miners. Requires Mining skill Lv3 or above, Mineral Analysis Lv2 or above, and Space Geology Lv3 or above, plus at least one Mining Ship. Compensation negotiable.”
“Dahan Media Group is recruiting a batch of paparazzi. Requires Keen Nose Lv2 or above. Training provided. Monthly salary 5,000+, with bonuses and commissions calculated separately.”
“Dazhao Financial is recruiting a batch of traders. Requires Stock Market Analysis skill Lv4 or above, Financial Relations Lv3 or above, and Actuarial Science Lv2 or above, or several finance-related skills. Salary negotiable.”
“Qixuan Technology Laboratory is recruiting researchers. Requires Physics Lv3 or above, plus at least one physics-related sub-skill at Lv5 or above. Salary negotiable.”
“Dahong Entertainment Company is recruiting a batch of interns. Requires a presentable appearance and an obedient, honest disposition. Candidates with related vocal, performance, or other talent skills will be given priority.”
The biggest characteristic of the regional channel was its chaotic mess—it had everything, just like back in the Qinghe star system.
From this tip of the iceberg, one could see that no matter where you were, the vast majority of players followed the civilian path.
Combat-focused players made up only a minority of the enormous player ecosystem.
Of course, that minority was only relative to the entire player base—in absolute numbers, they were far from few.
Jinmen had 1.8 billion players in total.
Even if only one-tenth were combat-focused players, that was still nearly 200 million.
Li Qing casually browsed the regional channel, then quickly switched to a trading channel, entering Jinmen Province’s trading platform through it.
Without pausing, he headed straight for his target items.
First, he compared prices across several shops, then placed an order with one of the merchants for a small Mining Ship, equipped with 2 unmanned reconnaissance drones, 8 unmanned mining machines, 2 mining laser guns, and a 200-unit cargo hold, for a total price of 25 million—more expensive than an Escort Ship.
At the same shop, he also ordered a small Industrial Supply Ship, a logistics support vessel type with an enormous cargo capacity and towing capability, capable of automatically collecting and salvaging loot, as well as repairing damaged ships and replenishing their ammunition.
The small industrial ship had a total of 300 cargo holds, each capable of holding 1,000 cubic meters of cargo, for a total capacity of 300,000 cubic meters, priced at 30 million per ship.
Just those two ships had eaten up the better part of 100 million, but it was money that had to be spent.
After that, he also ordered a small Ore Crushing, Screening, and Refining setup that could directly produce finished refined ore.
The crushing unit cost 12 million, the screening unit 12 million, and the refining unit 15 million—39 million gone in total.
Adding in the earlier 55 million, he was suddenly left with only 8.24 million.
And then…
Li Qing tapped his head, trimmed down the list of things he had planned to buy, and finally decided to purchase some ammunition.
He had originally wanted to buy a Base Module, a small Water Extraction and Purification Device, a cold storage unit, and so on, but he didn’t have enough money now.
He’d just have to make do living on the Escort Ship for a while.
Those things could wait, but weapons and ammunition were non-negotiable—he had to buy them.
“Wait, I don’t have enough money!”
He suddenly remembered that he would also need to hire a crew for the warship—not only would they need settling-in payments, but monthly wages as well.
“This…”
He rubbed his head again, staring blankly at his order list.
After a moment, he quietly opened a communication channel.
A light screen popped open, revealing a middle-aged man in a Zhongshan suit, who appeared to be talking with someone.
Seeing Li Qing, he paused slightly and asked:
“Nephew Li Qing, is something the matter?”
Li Qing skipped the pleasantries and got straight to the point:
“Second Uncle, I’d like to borrow some money.”
The reason he was borrowing from Second Uncle rather than the clan was that, according to the pioneering regulations, the clan could not provide any additional loans beyond the 100 million in starting capital.
Li Lun studied Li Qing carefully for a moment and said:
“How much do you want to borrow?”
Then he added:
“You know, given your situation, Second Uncle can’t lend you much—100 million at most.”
Li Qing nodded:
“Just 100 million.”
“Fine, I’ll send it to you shortly. Oh, and by the way, get ready—tonight the Yu Clan is hosting a banquet for the many young elites who have recently come to Jinmen. Our Li Clan is among those invited. Attending would do you some good.”
“Thank you, Second Uncle.”
“Work hard!”
The light screen vanished.
Li Lun shook his head, and the handsome young man standing nearby asked:
“Father, why lend to someone with no future like him?”
Li Lun replied:
“The pioneering trial has only just begun. Who knows whether he’ll make something of himself.”
“With that Innate Talent of his, and his usual performance, I don’t believe he’ll amount to anything.”
Li Lun smiled:
“So what? If he doesn’t make it, he can still repay the money—we’ll just deduct it from his branch-family allowance then.”
“Brilliant, Father!”
“Brilliant my ass—stop flattering me. Get ready properly. I hear the Yu Clan’s Pearl will also be attending the banquet. She’s probably looking to arrange a marriage with an outstanding genius among this batch of clan scions. Make a good showing.”
The young man laughed helplessly:
“Dad, you’re overestimating me. Your son has some ability, but he’s still quite far from being a top-tier prodigy. Besides, women only slow down my sword. Once I perform well in the pioneering trial and grow strong, will suitable marriage prospects really be hard to find?”
Li Lun looked rather surprised at this:
“Kid, where’d you learn to think like that? You really are my son.”
On the other end, less than ten minutes after they cut contact, Li Qing received one hundred million Star Credits from his second uncle.
With money in hand, he bought the Base Module he couldn’t afford before.
It included one small main core command cabin, 100×100×100 meters in size, four small auxiliary cabins at 30×30×30 meters each, plus a small electromagnetic radar set and sixteen fully automated Sentry Autocannons, for a total of twenty-five million.
A small water purification unit cost 1.5 million, a medium-sized cold storage unit 1.5 million, and he ordered a batch of fresh water and food for 300,000.
A small Planetary Flyer, 25 meters long, capable of carrying 150 passengers or 150 tons of cargo, cost 3.5 million.
Then he purchased fifty Level-1 clone workers—Blank Slates with no attributes, equipped with only three Universal Brain Interfaces each, a twenty-year lifespan, bought out at 100,000 apiece, totaling five million.
Altogether, he spent 25 million + 1.5 million + 1.5 million + 300,000 + 3.5 million + 5 million, a total of 36.8 million, leaving 71.44 million remaining.