In the following days.
The farmhouse courtyard, located on the 8th underground level, was enveloped in the ceaseless hum of the Super Factory operating day and night.
It had entered an extreme production mode.
Every day.
A large number of robots and the new Ice Lake-class transport ships were being produced.
After undergoing simple debugging.
They were immediately put into use.
The finalized Ice Lake-class transport ships had an extremely low manufacturing cost.
Although their size was even larger than that of the Pioneer-class Land Destroyer.
In reality, as long as the supply of parts was sufficient, the entire assembly process took only about 5 hours.
With the Super Factory's production capacity in full swing.
The assembly workshop on the first floor of the farmhouse courtyard could produce over a hundred ships in a single day.
And the transport capacity of a single Ice Lake-class transport ship was equivalent to that of an entire merchant convoy.
In just 5 days.
The first batch of 500 Ice Lake-class transport ships was completed.
Their combined transport capacity exceeded that of a total of 450 merchant convoys.
Effectively doubling Su Wu's surface transport capacity.
However, Su Wu did not immediately deploy this new transport force to the queue for transporting supplies from Zhenhai City.
Instead, he organized them into groups of ten.
Starting from Jianghe City.
They systematically revisited all the Subsidiary Shelters and mines, from near to far.
They packed up and took away all the ordinary resources that had been left behind due to their low unit value, as well as any second-hand equipment that still had recycling value.
Even the concrete walls that made up the shelters themselves.
Su Wu did not overlook.
He directly sent over a batch of engineering equipment.
To crush and separate them.
Metal resources like steel reinforcement were directly hauled away.
The concrete was crushed into powder on-site.
Then, it was turned into Rapid-setting Cement and transported back to the farmhouse courtyard.
The concrete that formed the main framework of the shelters.
When converted by weight ratio.
Contained about 10% to 15% limestone and around 10% steel.
In essence, it could be considered a decent-quality limestone and iron mine.
Worthy of being mined and recycled.
At the same time, to speed up the efficiency of this recycling process.
Su Wu specially modified ten Ice Lake-class transport ships, each equipped with a mobile small-scale Rapid-setting Cement production line.
These were assigned to the ten transport ship groups.
To facilitate movement between the dismantled Subsidiary Shelters.
"This is scraping the earth three feet deep."
"Nothing of value will be left behind."
Looking at the holographic projection.
A Subsidiary Shelter that, after the violent demolition by engineering machinery and the plundering by Ice Lake-class transport ships, was left with only a sunken pit.
Su Wu's mood was somewhat complex for a moment.
Feeling that he might have gone a bit too far.
Apart from the relatively easier-to-mine underground shelters.
Su Wu did not overlook the surface city ruins in this operation.
He even specially produced a batch of engineering equipment that could withstand the Low-Temperature Cold Wave, specifically for collecting resources from these ruins.
However, by now, nearly a year into the apocalypse.
The remaining building ruins on the surface were scarce.
Most had disappeared in multiple earthquakes.
Or had been buried deep in the ice, no longer worth mining.
Regarding the profits from reclaiming urban ruins, the overall gains were not significantly higher than those from dismantling affiliated underground shelters.
This led to rapid progress in the surface reclamation efforts.
Often, an entire county.
Would be thoroughly stripped clean in just a few hours, or perhaps a dozen hours.
Leaving behind nothing but a barren white expanse.
Additionally, for mines located deep within the complex terrain of mountainous regions.
The Binghu-class transport ships would not venture directly into these areas.
Instead, they would first use the construction tools and rapid-setting cement materials they carried.
To quickly build a vacuum transport channel between the mine and the edge of the mountainous region.
Then, via sixth-generation fighter jets, they would airlift a miniaturized mobile construction waste processing center to the site.
The output from the mines.
Would first be rapidly ejected to the edge of the mountainous region, then loaded onto the Binghu-class transport ships.
This method.
Convenient as it was.
Had the major drawback that the constructed vacuum transport channels were difficult to reuse as permanent structures.
Often, within one or two weeks, or perhaps half a month.
They would be destroyed by various geological disasters.
To use them again, significant resources would have to be spent on rebuilding.
However, in the eyes of Su Wu, who was now somewhat flush with resources.
This flaw was no longer as significant.
As long as it accelerated the overall transportation and transfer speed, such waste was entirely acceptable.
Accompanied by the holographic map.
Starting from the area near Jianghe City in the Kuangjiang River basin.
All material storage locations were gradually being emptied.
The Farmhouse Shelter entered a phase of continuously skyrocketing resource inventory.
Within just two or three days.
The material consumption for manufacturing the first batch of Binghu-class transport ships was replenished.
And even exceeded.
With ample material inventory.
Su Wu also began manufacturing the second batch of Binghu-class transport ships.
And unlike the initial plan.
This time, Su Wu removed the originally set limit on the total number of ships to be manufactured.
As long as resources did not fall below the inventory warning line.
The Super Factory would operate at full capacity.
Maintaining a daily production of 100 Binghu-class transport ships, continuously accumulating transport capacity.
"Since current practice has proven that the Binghu-class transport ships are low-cost and highly effective."
"There's no reason to limit their numbers."
"Produce them to the fullest."
"At the fastest speed, bring back all the resources that can be scavenged from the surface to the Farmhouse Shelter."
Silently watching the nearly exponential growth in various data at the Farmhouse Shelter.
Su Wu faintly felt as if he was standing at a turning point in history.
That feeling.
Was as if, without having had time to prepare, the tide of the era had already pushed him to a height he once could only look up to.
"Also, along the Kuangjiang River basin."
"It's time to eliminate those last dozen or so official shelters."
After watching on the map as the Binghu-class transport ships gradually swept through one area after another.
Those shelters located along the Kuangjiang River basin's sweeping route.
Not under Su Wu's control.
Stood out as particularly glaring.
With just a slight hesitation.
Su Wu decided to take them out one by one while scavenging for resources.
Now, with the Farmhouse Shelter's strength increasing rapidly every moment.
There was no longer a need to fear accountability from the Eastern Capital, or even the Federation.
A full-scale confrontation might not yet be the time.
However, simply antagonizing the few super cities behind the official shelters in the Kuangjiang River Basin was not a problem.
"After all, it's just a regional conflict."
"Moreover."
"This area has long been abandoned by the Eastern Capital."
"No matter how big the commotion, it's unlikely to escalate into a full-scale war with the Eastern Capital."
The importance of intelligence was once again profoundly highlighted at this moment.
Back then, Su Wu, in his bid to seize Steel City, did not hesitate to mobilize the Eden Satellite and activate space-based weapons.
He directly brought the flames of war to the location of the Eastern Capital.
Prepared to pay any price.
He caused a huge uproar.
Now it seems, it was somewhat of an overreaction. The other side had already completely abandoned Steel City, and even all areas beyond the Western Wasteland Plateau.
They had no motivation to engage in a full-scale war with him over it.
At that time, all he needed to do was demonstrate a certain level of strength that could threaten the Eastern Capital.
The rest could have been negotiated slowly.
If the negotiations went well.
Not just Steel City, but even the currently prosperous and affluent Chongzhou City, 300 kilometers away.
Could have been within his grasp.
"But it's not too late now."
"Even if we had obtained it back then, we wouldn't have been able to transport much of the resources back."
"Now, with the Ice Lake-class transport ships."
"We finally have the capability to truly digest them."
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"After dealing with the matters in Xiaojiang Province."
"Let's go and talk to the Eastern Capital."
"See what it would cost to purchase the population and resources of the Eastern Capital."
On April 17th.
As the engineering teams completed the expansion of the 11th and 12th underground levels of the Farmhouse Shelter, planned to accommodate the population of Xiaojiang Province.
And as 300 merchant train convoys, working around the clock, transported 26 million survivors from Zhenhai Shelter back to the Farmhouse.
The population of the entire Farmhouse Shelter officially surpassed 100 million.
A sudden battle that erupted in the Qinling Mountains disrupted Su Wu's development plans.
Forcing him to turn his attention to a place he had long neglected.
In the Magma Canyon, surrounded by various permanent and semi-permanent automatic turrets.
Almost simultaneously, a large number of new evolved Amethyst Crystal Entities emerged.
With their terrifyingly powerful combat strength and unprecedented new tactics.
They brought immense pressure to the entire blockade line.
Boom! Thousands of magma shells streaked across the sky.
Like a crimson meteor shower, spanning over ten kilometers.
Accurately hitting the positions of fixed turrets and mechanical army formations.
Destroying a large number of defensive weapons on the spot, including a Thunder-class Optoelectric Cannon.
Then the ground trembled.
Countless Amethyst Crystal Entities began to concentrate on one side, charging towards the defense line.
A rough scan revealed over 100,000 Amethyst Crystal Entities.
Triggering the highest level of alert from the Artificial Intelligence.
Causing it to activate a large number of Rocket Propelled Grenades before the Amethyst Crystal Entities entered the optimal firing range of most turrets.
But at this moment.
Some of the Rocket Propelled Grenades that had locked onto the Amethyst Crystal Entities remotely began to report anomalies.
Their locked targets.
Appeared to split, showing up at two different coordinates.
"Abnormal interference source detected."
"Commencing cause analysis."
"Reconnaissance drones activated, initiating battlefield scan."
"Anomaly source confirmed."
"New variant of disruptive evolved Amethyst Crystal Entities."
"Executing decapitation tactics."
In the series of photos captured by the high-speed cameras of battlefield reconnaissance drones.
Several evolved Amethyst Crystal Entities, no larger than adult dogs.
Were singled out by the Artificial Intelligence.
And marked as priority targets for elimination.
Within mere seconds.
Dozens of Rocket Propelled Grenades came roaring in.
Amidst the massive explosions triggered by the warheads laden with metallic hydrogen.
These disruptive evolved Amethyst Crystal Entities.
Were instantly annihilated without any resistance.
However, after this brief delay.
The Amethyst Crystal Entities had rapidly closed a significant distance towards the defensive line.
Engaging in a fierce exchange of fire.
With the mechanical army stationed there.
From a bird's eye view.
At this moment.
It was as if a colossal wave from the ocean had crashed against the shore.
Erupting into a breathtaking spray of water.
On one side of the battlefield.
Familiar and frequent shrieks echoed through the air.
A series of heavy artillery shells.
Plowed through the areas where the Amethyst Crystal Entities were concentrated.
Amidst the massive shockwaves of the explosions.
Violently tearing apart hundreds of Amethyst Crystal Entities.
This was the heavy artillery cluster Su Wu had deployed in the Qinling Mountains, a staple in almost every major battle.
Conducting routine cleansing of the battlefield.
But as unexpected incidents had frequently occurred before.
This time.
The Amethyst Crystal Entities were no longer passively taking hits.
Instead, they launched a counterattack towards the direction of the incoming heavy artillery.
A massive magma ball, 10 meters in diameter.
Was hurled by dozens of evolved Amethyst Crystal Entities towards the position of the heavy artillery cluster.
Seconds later.
A massive tremor occurred at the foot of the Qinling Mountains.
Air defense weapons failed to intercept.
And the heavy artillery cluster, unable to evacuate their original positions within those seconds.
Suffered the greatest loss since its establishment.
A full third of the vehicle-mounted howitzers were melted into scrap metal by the extreme heat of the incoming magma ball.
"Have they been secretly stockpiling for a long time?"
"Preparing for a big move?"
Receiving a warning from the Artificial Intelligence midway.
Su Wu switched the surveillance feed to the Qinling Mountains battlefield.
Witnessing most of the battle's progression.
He felt somewhat troubled.
The Amethyst Crystal Entities had clearly developed targeted countermeasures against many of his weapons and equipment.
No longer just passively taking hits.
Under these circumstances.
With the military forces deployed in the Qinling Mountains.
Continuing to confront the Amethyst Crystal Entities head-on was not impossible.
But in terms of cost-effectiveness.
It was not very economical.
"Our technological military advantage over the Amethyst Crystal Entities."
"Seems to no longer be sustainable."
"But we can't immediately lift the blockade either."
"There are still 6 million people in Zhenhai City who haven't been relocated from the coast to the farmhouses."
"And the last few official shelters in the Kuanjiang River basin that were just taken out."
"With millions of people and resources inside."
"Have not yet been scavenged."
"At any rate, we must hold out a little longer."
In a moment of contemplation.
Su Wu temporarily removed hundreds of Azure Sky-Class Transport Drones and forty to fifty sixth-generation fighter jets.
From the transport queue that were conducting material handovers at the farmhouses.
Have them switch to carrying aerial bombs instead.
Make a trip to the Qinling Mountains.
As the saying goes, brute force can work miracles.
Since they didn't want to suffer too many losses on the defensive line and still hoped the line could hold out a bit longer.
The only option was to employ saturation bombing.
First, they needed to crush all the Amethyst Crystal Entities that dared to show their heads.
This was the best way to resolve any battle.
The only downside.
Was that it consumed too much ammunition.
Occasionally was fine, but if this continued long-term.
Even the wealthy Su Wu wouldn't be able to sustain it.
(End of Chapter)