Chapter 576: Distance I (1/2)

Chapter 576: Distance I

Translator: EndlessFantasy TranslationEditor: EndlessFantasy Translation

The journey back to base was not without difficulty. They encountered a few more waves of wild creatures, and suffered more casualties. Ye Chong did not interfere too much, as he decided to let the students do most of the fighting. His objective was to train the students. Being overprotective would not serve this purpose. As long there were no mass casualties, he would refrain from interfering.

This process of elimination was cruel, but necessary.

Once they were back to base, everyone felt relieved. In the next few days, Ye Chong did not bring them out for more battles. Instead, he ordered them to analyze their fights. The analysis process would help new soldiers mature faster, and help them understand more about teamwork.

The students had now experienced the cruelty of battles first hand. No one slacked in their roles. That would be like giving up one's life. When battling in groups, survival relied on more than just on individual strength, but also teamwork.

Xi Yan approached Ye Chong. ”Teacher, all the backup parts for the mechs are done. What do we build next? The metals in the warehouse are piling up. If we don't use them fast enough, we'll have to build a new warehouse.” Xi Yan was now the manager of the technical division in their base, leading a busy life.

Ye Chong took a moment to appreciate how plentiful Darkniss was. It was a huge metal wonderland, more than enough to satisfy the needs of five thousand people. All the liquid metal they harvested from Lava River was now starting to challenge the capacity of their warehouse.

The backup standard mechanical parts for all the mechs were completed, and still they could not use up the metal stored in the warehouse. Ye Chong never imagined that he would one day face a problem of having too much metal in his hands.

He considered the issue, and then said, ”Build armor for the stronghold's outer walls. Hmm, change all the support structures to alloys too.”

”Yes sir,” Xi Yan agreed readily. Indeed, a stronghold made of rocks was risky. To Xi Yan and his comrades, Darkniss was a dangerous place. Fitting metal armor to the stronghold was a sizable operation, but not as complicated as building mechs. It should not take too long for them. Besides, he would be able to solve the problem of overstocking metals in the warehouse.

”We might as well expand the stronghold while you're at it. Extend five kilometres outwards. Do this in stages, from one corner of the stronghold to the next.” Ye Chong reminded Xi Yan of the precautions. Safety was always their utmost priority. When the modification work was underway, the stronghold's defences would be lowered. If any wild creatures decided to attack the stronghold while they work, it would very well be very fatal to them.

Xi Yan nodded in understanding.

Ye Chong thought of another problem. He asked Xi Yan, ”How are they doing?”

Xi Yan knew that Ye Chong was referring to the technicians. He smiled and said, ”Those guys are giving it all they got, they know it's a chance of a lifetime. Since Teacher has offered so much precious knowledge to them, they're learning as fast as their minds can take it.”

”How's their progress?” Ye Chong asked.

Xi Yan considered the question. ”Not bad, especially the younger ones. They learn faster. However, the others are more experienced, so they're ahead of the group. I think, though, the younger people have more potential, but it will take time to nurture them.”

Ye Chong nodded and thought about his assessment. He then said, ”Divide them into groups of five, and allocate a lab for each group. If they need any materials, they can get them from you, but if they require equipment, have them figure it out themselves. Hmm, they'll have access to all the equipment available.”

A laboratory needed a lot of equipment to be functional. Ye Chong hoped that the technicians could get more hands-on experience. They must first learn how to use the advanced equipment available to them, and then move on to building their own equipment. The latter would be hard, requiring not only a firm base of fundamental knowledge but also physical strength to tinker with nuts and bolts. Ye Chong did not expect all of them to reach this stage, to all become Masters. Instead, he hoped that this arrangement could help them absorb new knowledge faster.

Xi Yan nodded, understanding the reasoning behind Ye Chong's decision. ”Alright, consider it done.”

The battle analysis session was finally over. Ye Chong was surprised by the thick reports that the students handed in to him. They were doing much better than he expected. In the reports, the students pointed out the mistakes and oversights made during battle, and ways to rectify them. The analysis was detailed but holistic. Aside from a few minor things, Ye Chong found them to be perfectly acceptable.

Appilok, Duan Qian and Shu Mo'er had also handed a personal report each. Duan Qian and Shu Mo'er focused more on the details of the battles, but Appilok's lengthy report surprised Ye Chong the most. After he was finished reading it, he decided to make Appilok the commander of his soldiers. When Appilok was put in charge in their first venture outside, he had convinced the other students of his abilities. Had he had not made a few crucial decisions in battle, they would have suffered even more heavily.

In the next few days, tension gradually seeped out of the students' minds.

On the training ground, it was easy to identify which students who had seen actual combat and which did not. The former trained with more specific goals in mind.

Soon, Ye Chong arranged for another round of real battle experience. This time, Appilok was made leader. 100 students were chosen from the first commando troop, and were each in charge of five students who had never seen real battle. Ye Chong could not be there every time for his students. He must let go for them to learn to be truly independent.

600 mechs eagerly left the stronghold. They were about to experience the realities of actual combat.

Back in the stronghold, the students who were left behind trained even harder. They knew that their turn would come, and the only way to stay alive when it happened was to become a capable combatant.

Ye Chong, who stayed behind as well, went to his laboratory. He wanted to build a pulsed signal relay station, one big enough to cover the whole of Darkniss. Ye Chong was familiar with pulsed signal relay stations. Back on the trash planet, he had lived right beside one. Pulsed signal relay stations were the main medium and the fastest way for interplanetary information transmission.

There were many reasons to a pulsed signal relay station. The most important one was to keep the mechs connected to the stronghold no matter where they were. Another was the possibility to send out drones like the Hummingbirds to study Darkniss.

These were two practical and urgent functionalities that Ye Chong needed.

Pulsed signal relay stations were not too much of a challenge for Ye Chong. The technicalities were not an issue, and his stock of luxurious and advanced equipment was definitely enough to build one.

The main issue he faced was power. After all, if the relay station was to cover the whole of Darkniss, it would have to send out and receive strong signals, and be active at all times. The operation was highly energy consuming.