Chapter Thirty-Two: Eight Oils

Several steam locomotives, belching thick black smoke, departed the main base once again, fully loaded with various supplies, armed clones, and a massive quantity of ammunition.

At this moment, the strange birds surrounding the main base had been cleared out. Only a few scattered, lone specimens occasionally gathered, only to be easily struck down. However, as the trains ventured further from the base, the number of birds increased, and combat erupted once more. The windows of the steam locomotives were flung open, and over a dozen gun barrels bristled from each carriage, unleashing a fierce barrage upon the distance. Furthermore, several clones climbed atop the roofs, firing down from their vantage point. Other clones opted not to ride the trains, instead running alongside them. This allowed for more flexible combat, providing wider fields of fire and greater ease in repositioning.

Under this triple-threat assault, the birds that gathered near the tracks were cut down as quickly as they appeared. Once the enemies were neutralized, the armed clones would toss their firearms back into the carriages and immediately pick up wrenches, hammers, and steel rails to repair the damaged tracks. The transition from warrior to engineer was fluid and seamless, without the slightest hesitation.

The train roared onward, eventually arriving at Copper Mine No. 1. As a bridgehead, the mine had faced the most ferocious assaults and suffered the heaviest casualties. But it mattered not; the armed clones had arrived, and with them, victory!

Hundreds of clones leaped down with predatory ferocity, raising their weapons in a synchronized volley. In just over twenty seconds, more than thirty thousand rounds were expended. Li Qingsong’s design philosophy for this firearm, which he dubbed the "Assault Type I," ignored accuracy in favor of pure fire rate, relying on a near-infinite supply of ammunition to overwhelm the enemy through sheer volume. Improving precision was no simple task; it required higher manufacturing tolerances, high-precision machine tools, and high-performance materials. Why go through all that trouble? With that effort, he could simply produce tens of thousands more bullets. When tens or hundreds of thousands of rounds are poured onto a target, what enemy could survive?

Consequently, the swarm of birds besieging Copper Mine No. 1 was wiped out in an instant. The melee-equipped clones, who had been fighting for their lives, breathed a sigh of relief and retreated, handing the front line over to their reinforcements. The scene at the main base repeated itself: under the relentless impact of endless gunfire, the birds fell in droves until they were entirely eradicated.

Simultaneously, the clones aboard other trains heading to the remaining mining bases achieved similar results. Furthermore, the main base continued to churn out a steady stream of firearms and ammunition. In less than five days, every single strange bird besieging the base network and railway lines had been cleared. There was not a single bird left within a ten-kilometer radius.

At this moment, Li Qingsong finally relaxed. "But it is not yet time to truly let my guard down," he mused. "Luoshen Planet is too vast, and my base network occupies only a tiny fraction of it. I don't know how many more birds are out there in the distance. I must conduct large-scale reconnaissance to confirm their movements and numbers. Moreover, I can no longer ignore the development of weapon technology. If such peculiar creatures have appeared on this small planet, who knows what other dangers lie hidden elsewhere?"

Having made his decision, Li Qingsong immediately recalled a large number of clones to the main base. With sufficient firearms and ammunition, he left only 400 clones to defend each of the outlying mining bases. Although the numbers were significantly reduced, their overall combat effectiveness was still several times higher than the previous 2,000 melee-equipped clones. Even the main base only required 1,000 clones for defense, but to ensure absolute security, Li Qingsong deployed 2,000 to patrol and maintain vigilance around the clock.

Including the 1,000 clones required for the railway lines, the total number of clones Li Qingsong committed to defense dropped from 16,000 to just 7,000. The remaining 9,000 consciousness connection slots were finally freed up. Conveniently, the clones tasked with basic production at the main base had been worked to the bone over the past period, so he sent additional personnel there to provide them some much-needed rest.

Li Qingsong launched another round of large-scale redeployment. Beyond the 7,000 defensive clones, he specifically assigned 1,000 to reconnaissance duties. They traveled in small teams, driving off-road vehicles into the far reaches to scout the desolate, silent landscape of Luoshen Planet. Of the remaining 8,000 connection slots, a portion was funneled into basic production, while for the rest, Li Qingsong initiated another, more critical task: the research and development of advanced combat equipment.

At the current stage, having only the Assault Type I made for a thin combat doctrine; he needed more diverse gear. "The environment on Luoshen Planet is different from Earth's; I cannot build aircraft here for the time being. I must find a way to build armored vehicles, tanks, and similar weapons. That is relatively simple—just pile on the armor. But... the power source is tricky. My battery technology isn't up to par."

After some thought, Li Qingsong decided to use internal combustion engines. While Luoshen Planet lacked gasoline, it had an abundance of methane. Methane has a lower density than gasoline but a higher calorific value, making it roughly equivalent in output. If gasoline could drive a vehicle, so could methane. Furthermore, because of the planet's low gravity, "fuel consumption" would naturally be lower. Previously, his technical level hadn't been enough to build internal combustion engines, but that had changed. The only difference from Earth was that vehicles there didn't need to carry oxygen, as the atmosphere provided it. Here, the engines would need to carry their own oxygen supply.

Factoring in the gravity, terrain, fuel, and technical differences, Li Qingsong estimated he could achieve a performance of about 8 liters of methane and oxygen per 100 kilometers for a three-ton vehicle. "Eight liters per hundred kilometers—that will suffice."

With that resolve, large-scale research began in earnest. Li Qingsong intended to build not only more firearms but also armored vehicles, tanks, and various forms of artillery. While concurrently managing R&D, production, patrols, and reconnaissance, he also brought back several bird carcasses to be examined in his biological laboratory. Having now developed a foundation in biotechnology, he made a discovery that left him somewhat shocked.

"The body fluids of these strange birds... they’re actually this nutritious?"