Chapter 10, Technology System
【You have successfully annexed the Empire faction: Wasteland Society】
After completing his speech, Gu Hang opened the system interface again and saw this new message.
Annexed? Is that even possible?
In the system’s judgment, even a small place like the Wasteland Society is considered a faction?
He continued reading.
【Current Grace Points: 11】
【Total Territorial Income: 6/Terra Month】
【Governor’s Temporary Camp: 5/Terra Month】
【Wasteland Society: 1/Terra Month】
The total monthly income increased by one point. Gu Hang curled his lips, not particularly satisfied.
The population of the Wasteland Society was too small, and their productivity was not strong.
In comparison, his temporary camp, although built from scratch, had more than three thousand people.
Of course, both sides had considerable room for development.
He believed that once productivity and prosperity went up, the monthly Grace income would also see a significant increase.
But from Gu Hang’s current understanding, relying on the fixed monthly income was just the bare minimum.
To get rich quickly, one had to rely on warfare.
What Grace System? This was a War Maniac System!
After reaping 19 Grace Points from defeating the main force of the ‘Prisoners,’ he got a taste for it.
After finishing the tasks at the Wasteland Society, he dispatched Yan Fangxu, sending the Captain with half of the marine elites and a platoon of mechanical infantry to attack the ‘Prisoners’ bandits’ lair based on the prisoners’ confessions.
That should be an easy battle.
The main force of the Prisoners had been wiped out outside the Wasteland Society, and most of those left in the camp were the old, weak, and sick.
After all, even bandits had families.
The few remaining bandits weren’t much of a concern.
At most, there were thirty to fifty of them, and it was uncertain how many guns they could gather.
The forces Yan Fangxu took with him were enough to wipe them out.
He hoped Yan Fangxu could rescue as many of the captured Wasteland Society members as possible.
If it wasn’t feasible, there was nothing to be done.
Additionally, Gu Hang was more interested in the Grace Points he would gain.
Although he knew the enemy was weak and the Grace yield wouldn’t be high, it should still be higher than the fixed monthly income.
With this in mind, he continued reading.
As a result, an even bigger surprise awaited him.
He noticed that the system had quietly introduced a new feature.
Below the options for 【Heroes】 and 【Troop Cards】, a new option sat quietly.
【Technology】.
Gu Hang’s emotions were far from calm.
Previously, he felt that this system was a war-maniac system, not just because winning battles awarded a lot of points, but also because of the system’s functionalities.
Whether it was personal upgrades or military training upgrades, they were all preparations for war.
It seemed like a system that got stronger through fighting, and the stronger it got, the more it could fight—a cycle where farming was just a secondary element.
But unexpectedly, the system’s functionalities were not fully unlocked to him initially.
Could there be more new features in the future?
What conditions are needed to unlock these new features?
He had no idea.
There would be plenty of time to delve deeper into this later.
Right now, Gu Hang was most eager to see what this 【Technology】 feature was all about.
Upon opening it, the system interface displayed a sky full of stars, though each star was dim, waiting for him to light them up.
Upon closer examination, these dim stars seemed interconnected, forming a complex pattern, each varying in size, and each seemingly representing a specific technology.
【Grace Points can be invested to unlock a random technology. The success rate and level of technology unlocked increase with the number of points invested. The minimum investment is 10 points for one unlock, the second tier is 100 points for one unlock, and the third tier is 1000 points for one unlock…】
Is this a gacha, lottery mechanism?
Could it be a scam?
Gu Hang had a bit of a psychological shadow regarding gacha games.
But he had no other choice.
He currently only had eleven Grace Points, which would be gone with one minimum standard draw.
Based on his understanding of similar mechanisms, a minimum draw usually didn’t yield good results.
But the key issue was that if he didn’t spend it here, he had no other use for the ten Grace Points!
In terms of heroes, he was currently at level 2, stuck at the experience cap, and even with Grace Points, he couldn’t level up; for troop training, upgrading from unranked to T5 required 1 point for every hundred people, upgrading from T5 to T4 required 1 point for every ten people, and upgrading from T4 to T3 required 1 point per person.
Currently, his mechanical battalion is at T5 and can’t be upgraded due to hardware limitations; the marine elites could be upgraded, but raising just 11 people to T3 wouldn’t make much of a difference.
Besides, even if their training level increased, without better equipment, their overall combat power wouldn’t be significantly enhanced.
Considering this, if he didn’t want to let the Grace Points sit and go to waste, drawing for technology was indeed his only option.
Since that’s the case, let’s draw.
Hope his luck isn’t terrible.
With his thought, ten Grace Points quietly vanished, replaced by a single star lighting up among the dim stars.
【Basic Technology: Alloy Plastic Steel】
【A research product of the Imperial Mechanicus, it is a qualified multifunctional material, based on steel and smelted with various minerals. Depending on different formulas, it possesses different properties. It can be used for soldier bulletproof plates, construction materials, vehicle armor, spaceship components…】
As expected, it was just the most basic technology, and in the realm of raw materials at that.
But upon closer examination, Gu Hang’s jaw dropped:
“I’ve struck gold!”
Alloy Plastic Steel itself isn’t particularly rare, and the performance varies greatly depending on the mix and craftsmanship.
The best plastic steel can be used for the core components of precision instruments, while the worst can only be used as construction material.
If it was just the craftsmanship, formulas, and blueprints, its usefulness would be limited. In his current impoverished state, Gu Hang didn’t have the conditions to implement the craftsmanship and blueprints.
But… the system provided a nanny-style guide.
Unlocking a technology gave him three things:
Firstly, theoretical knowledge, craftsmanship, and design blueprints.
With these, as long as there are enough technological talents and industrial foundations, this technology can be directly applied on a large scale to build factories.
That’s not surprising, but the next two things are: black-box manufacturing machines.
Black-box is a metaphor, meaning no one knows how the equipment works internally.
It just requires the most basic raw materials to directly produce finished products.
And there were two such black-box manufacturing machines, each different.
The first was a finished product black-box, which only needed input of iron ore and any other materials in the right ratio to directly produce the highest quality Alloy Plastic Steel.
The second was a mother-machine black-box, which also required only the most basic materials to produce a smelting furnace capable of manufacturing qualified Alloy Plastic Steel.
This was incredible.
Gu Hang looked at the two machines he could materialize at any time, along with the wealth of knowledge in his mind, realizing just how powerful the Technology System was.
The food was directly fed into his mouth.
Gu Hang’s subordinates indeed lacked technological and skilled personnel, but with this, even a group of baboons could set up an Alloy Plastic Steel production line.
Ten Grace Points, a massive profit!
“What war-maniac system? I declare, this is the most awesome farming system!”