Returning to the second base on Planet X17, William inspected the progress of the base's construction and the spacecraft being built. The massive facility, fully integrated into the mountainside, was bustling with thousands of highly efficient engineering robots working seamlessly.
While marveling at owning an entire planet and a workforce dozens of times more efficient than humans, William couldn't help but reflect on the potential consequences of introducing such robots on Earth.
Though automation was the inevitable future, the short-term impact of replacing human labor would be devastating for ordinary people. Those without competitive skills would find themselves unemployable.
However, with a planet three times larger than Earth already at his disposal, William realized Earth's six or seven billion inhabitants weren't as overwhelming a concern anymore. In fact, he could acquire more planets through the Predators if he wished. The only uncertainty was how far these planets were from Earth and how many people would be willing to migrate to uncharted worlds.
A few hours later, Sunday reported that the Predator hunting team had successfully delivered Megatron.
Yet, for William, who could now create new Transformers himself, Megatron's value had dwindled to mere curiosity. His childhood memories aside, he had little interest in keeping a leader figure like Megatron, who was used to being in charge.
As for someone like Optimus Prime, whose self-righteousness and moral compass could turn him against William at any moment, he was even less appealing.
When the Predator ship landed, William handed over a small case containing 100 healing stones and 192 energy crystals to the Predator leader.
After a brief glance at the disassembled Megatron—now in six separate parts—he instructed Sunday to transport them to the lab for research. He hoped to uncover the mechanism behind Transformers' ability to transform and decrypt their weapon systems.
Once the transport robots left, the Predator leader addressed William.
"The Elder asked me to remind you that while a mechanical army can quickly become a formidable force, it poses a significant risk when facing more advanced civilizations. Your mechanical army could very well end up becoming their army instead."
"Hm?" William frowned, considering the implications.
It made sense. Advanced civilizations undoubtedly recognized the convenience of robots. The reason they avoided reliance on them was likely because overdependence on automated systems could lead to societal decline. People would stop working, stop thinking, and devolve into hedonistic parasites, leaving them vulnerable to AI uprisings or complete annihilation.
However, the human tendency to seek convenience was hard to overcome. Every invention was driven by the desire to make life easier or more comfortable.
William himself was reluctant to give up Sunday or his robots, despite understanding the risks.
As he contemplated a solution, the Predator leader added, "Unless, of course, your mechanical army is deployed against opponents with lower technology—or those entirely unrelated to technology."
Enemies unrelated to technology.
William's mind immediately turned to the Zerg, located 1,000 light-years away. The insect-like race was the perfect target for a robotic army.
Using biological beings—whether humans or animals—to fight the Zerg risked providing them with genetic material and nutrients for evolution. But robots posed no such risk.
For William, building robots was simply a matter of processing minerals through dozens or hundreds of manufacturing steps. With sufficient mining operations, producing 10,000 robots a day was just the output of a single facility.
And if environmental concerns arose on X17, he could exploit the robots' ability to work in hostile environments to mine resources on lifeless planets.
Still, large-scale mining and production would dramatically increase his energy demands.
William eyed the Predator leader, suspicious of their motives. He realized they were trying to exploit humanity's natural belligerence to provoke him into declaring war against the Zerg.
Such a war would shift their relationship from one where the Predators sought his healing stones to one of mutual dependence.
If William wanted to wage war across a distance of 1,000 light-years, transporting supplies through portals would be inefficient. He'd have to rely on spaceships, which would significantly increase his demand for energy crystals.
A war could be worthwhile if the benefits outweighed the costs, but it would be foolish to start one if it resulted in losses.
The Predators' eagerness to stir conflict, however, suggested their need for healing stones was far greater than they let on.
Observing William's thoughtful expression, the Predator leader realized their attempt to provoke him had likely been exposed. With a resigned tone, he said, "The healing stones you've traded with us thus far have only been sufficient for my squad.
"Even with the loss of eight warriors, we've managed to eliminate two modified Predator armies and secure seven strongholds.
"These results convinced the Elder Council to deploy ten squads of 400 warriors to fully eradicate the modified faction. To achieve this, we need significantly more healing stones.
"And you, in turn, will need more energy crystals."
William stared at the Predator leader. "Supporting your war with an increased supply of healing stones isn't an issue," he said. "But I see no reason for me to fight a meaningless war against the Zerg."
"It wouldn't be meaningless," the leader countered. "The Zerg require food and energy to thrive.
"Their home planet contains a substantial energy crystal mine. While we can't confirm the exact reserves, our experience suggests it won't be small."
"Stop," William interrupted with a skeptical glare. "Do you take me for an idiot? If there really were energy crystals, you wouldn't have left them untouched."
The Predator leader chuckled, baring his four mandibles in a toothy, unsettling grin.
"Let me ask you something: would you start a war with an African nation over a gold mine worth ten billion pounds?"
William froze, realizing the point.
Even if the energy crystals existed, the costs of extracting them—particularly from a hive world dominated by the Zerg—would outweigh their value.
It was a sobering reminder that while the Zerg might hold valuable resources, the Predators saw little value in starting a costly conflict over them.
Still, their desperation for healing stones was evident, and William began considering ways to leverage that. By limiting supply strategically, he could maximize profits without pushing them to the brink of retaliation.
(End of Chapter)
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