Star Lord: Rob the alien race and you will get a hundred times the reward

Chapter 65 Merit Exchange, Industrial Changes

After the giant butterfly had a feast and left, the Star Fleet simply stayed where it was and waited for pickup. The rest of the time was spent on in-depth excavation of the Stone Rat Fire Seed Ship. Originally, because of the rush to dismantle the important equipment, now of course, they have to take away everything that can be taken away. After all, it is the core product of the sixth-level civilization. Even if it is just an armor alloy, it is a sixth-level alloy. It is also a good choice to use it on a warship after smelting.

Two days later, the reception information arrived as expected. The merit system that had been silent for a long time automatically started to verify the information. A space bubble suddenly appeared and wrapped the fleet and disappeared into the void. When it reappeared, it had returned to the second world. In front of the fleet was the star gate of the garrison. Various types of warships were parked all around and the number was still increasing.

"The merit system is being settled, please wait."

"Your merit calculation is complete. You have obtained 376,157,600 merit points. The redemption mall is open, the military rank is open, and the mission system is open."

"Please hand in your quest item."

……

A series of information suddenly popped up, attracting everyone's attention. After the merit system finished broadcasting the information, they all looked at Liu Wen.

"Boss, what should we hand over?" Wu Shuhe asked.

"Hand over a part of the first batch, and add four butterfly eggs." Liu Wen still chose to give away a few of the butterfly eggs. It would be fine to keep all of them, but with more than thirty eggs, what difference would a few more or less make? It would be better to give a few to the military to study how to cultivate them, so that they can have a reference when they cultivate them themselves later.

Wu Shuhe passed the order down, and several transport boats delivered the things to the garrison's space station. An hour later, the merit system popped up information again, and the merit points increased by 17 million, of which the four butterfly eggs accounted for 12 million points.

"Let's see what merit items the military has opened up." Liu Wen actually had no hope for the merit exchange, mainly because military-grade warship armaments were not allowed to be used within human territory. Although the Star Fleet was also military-grade, it had a test certificate issued by a scientific research institute and could only be used openly in the name of actual combat testing, and even then there were still usage limits.

However, there are also some benefits. Since the combat data of the Star Sea Fleet is backed up by the Research Institute, the two parties will also give some guidance on the research direction during the transaction, making the research of the scientific research department smoother. At the same time, the general series of warships of the Star Sea Group will sell better with the endorsement of the Research Institute.

After opening the redemption mall, there are dozens of categories. I first looked at the battleship category. The list has everything from planetary fortresses of level 6 technology to escort-class battleships. There are so many models that it is dazzling. There are models not only from the Shangxia Republic, but also from other human countries.

"This price is too outrageous. A level six mobile fortress costs 12 billion merit points. Who can afford it?" Luo Shaohua saw how ruthless the military was. According to the calculation that one merit point can be exchanged for one contribution point, it means that one needs 12 billion contribution points to buy a mobile fortress. The selling price in the Interstellar Alliance is only two-thirds of that.

"You can't count it that way. The military merit points were originally open to the pioneering fleet. It was just a side benefit. In other words, the military is giving them away for free." Shirley retorted.

"This is the human kingdom's support policy for pioneer lords. It's just that we completed a military mission this time, so we can activate the merit system within the kingdom." Michelle was very clear about this information. Military merit was just an extra gain after all. Whether there was a war to be fought or not, it would be fought.

"Level 6 battleships are quite cheap. We have just enough merit to buy one. Do you want to exchange them?" Wu Shuhe asked.

The price of a civilian-grade level VI battleship is more than 100 million contribution points, while the price of a military-grade battleship is directly tripled, while the combat effectiveness has only doubled, and the performance has increased by 0.7 to 0.8 times.

"It's not worth exchanging battleships. It's better to exchange some scientific research equipment for the scientific research department. With the improvement of scientific research efficiency, you will have more and better battleships to use. After you go back this time, you will also have a place to get level VI battleships." Liu Wen rejected the suggestion of exchanging battleships. No matter how powerful a level VI battleship is, it is nothing compared to an entire level 5 fleet.

"The boss is right." Bai Haitang was the first to agree. What's the point of exchanging a battleship? It's still a problem who to assign it to. It would be better to increase scientific research capabilities to build those super flagship fortress ships. Mass production by oneself is better than buying some in small quantities.

He contacted the Research Department and gave them the right to choose. Upon receiving the news, Zhu Jianqiao happily informed several department heads. Soon, fierce quarrels were heard from the other side, and soon there were sounds of fist fights.

After everyone finally quieted down, the shadow of Zhu Jianqiao with a bruised face and nose appeared in front of everyone.

"Ahem, Boss, we have already allocated it. Here is the equipment list."

Liu Wen kindly asked, "Is this okay with you?"

Zhu Jianqiao quickly waved his hands: "It's okay, it's normal, it will be fine in a while."

Since the other party said that everything was fine, Liu Wen naturally would not make any more noise. He turned around and asked Shirley to exchange the equipment according to the list.

After the exchange, the fleet began to set off for the return voyage. The exchanged items would be delivered to Xinghai Group by military transport ships, so there was no need to wait here.

Two months after leaving, the group's development has taken another step forward. A lot of factories have been added to the Sera Industrial Zone, two production lines have been added to each shipyard, and the number of huge space smelting foundries has increased to five. When running at full power, they can smelt 3.2 billion cubic meters of high-energy alloys every day.

Huge material production capacity also means huge capital investment. Even if producing warships by yourself saves much money than buying them, you still have to invest nearly half of the funds.

Now that Liu Wen has brought back some level six technological knowledge, after absorbing, digesting and integrating it into the existing technological system, he will be able to upgrade the existing level five battleships to level six, which will greatly improve the combat capability.

A week later, the group’s top executives gathered in a meeting room at the Sera Industrial Zone.

"President Li, please tell me about the current situation of the group." Liu Wen said to the group's executive president Li Bingzhen.

"Okay Chairman."

Li Bingzhen stood up and pulled up various data reports of the group and said, "So far, there are a total of 23 subsidiaries under the group, 18 of which are mainly engaged in civilian products, the remaining four are military products, and the last one provides services for the group."

"As of now, the group's monthly revenue is 22.35 billion contribution points, with a profit margin of 43 percent."

"The research department invests 3 billion contribution points every month, and the security department invests a total of 350 billion. The funding gap is 130 billion. According to the plan to form two corps, about 800 billion will be invested in two years."

"Based on the group's revenue, how big will the funding gap be?" Liu Wen asked the key point.

Li Bingzhen replied: "According to the mathematical model, the funding gap is about 200 billion." "200 billion contribution points, is it still so expensive to build it by ourselves?" Liu Wen had a headache. He was still too naive. The reality was that for a warship that sold for more than 100 million, it would be good enough if the cost could be reduced to less than 100 million.

Each cubic meter of level five high-energy alloy has a contribution point range of two to fifteen. The Sera Industrial Zone uses the most cost-effective alloy, with an investment of five contribution points per cubic meter.

A 500-meter-long Weiwu-class frigate battleship requires at least 500,000 cubic meters of high-energy alloy, which is worth more than 2 million yuan. The jump engine of the frigate-class battleship costs about 100,000 yuan, and the curvature engine is about the same. With a set of various detection equipment, weapons and equipment, the cost of the Weiwu-class frigate battleship, which is priced at more than 4 million yuan, is actually more than 3 million yuan, and the profit is only ten points.

A business with only a ten-point profit, is this still a lucrative arms trade?

The destroyer-class tank costs about 10 million, while the cheapest civilian-class tank costs less than 1 million. The difference between the two is just in the armor performance. No matter the armor quality or thickness, the two sides are incomparable.

Not to mention the differences in weapons, firepower range, firepower intensity, fire control system, equipment durability and so on.

The cruiser class can cost as much as 60 million and as little as several million.

The same is true for more advanced battleships, flagships, motherships, etc.

If you want to use the best warships, you have to spend more money. Although Liu Wen was mentally prepared for a huge investment, he did not expect that it would take such a huge investment just to purchase raw materials and build them.

"What is the cost of the universal series of warships?" Michelle asked.

Zhao Nina replied: "The current five-level universal series, the escort class is 3.23 million contribution points, the destroyer class is 6.5 million contribution points, the cruiser class is 13 million contribution points, the heavy cruiser class is 27 million contribution points, the battleship class is 61 million contribution points, the flagship class is 145 million contribution points, the super flagship is estimated to be 366 million contribution points, the mobile fortress is as high as 1 billion contribution points, and there is no universal standard for auxiliary ships such as scientific research ships."

Everyone calculated in their minds that a fully-strength legion had at least four mobile fortresses, four super flagships, fifty flagships, two thousand battleships, two thousand heavy cruisers, two thousand cruisers, three thousand destroyers, five thousand escort ships, twenty medium-sized motherships, three hundred reconnaissance ships, twenty large comprehensive engineering ships, twenty large multi-functional transport and supply ships, and a number of other auxiliary ships, totaling about fifteen thousand spaceships.

According to the cost provided by Zhao Nina, the cost price of a level five legion is about 200 billion. If it is upgraded to ordinary level six technology, the cost will have to go up further. It is right around 800 billion for two legions. The gap of 200 billion is enough to give people a headache.

Of course, this calculation is based on the cost price of the goods. If the manufacturing costs and operating costs are deducted, and only the necessary expenses such as wages, scientific research and raw materials are calculated, the amount will be less than half.

Liu Wen drummed his fingers on the table, thinking about how to fill the gap of 200 billion. Going to find some trouble with alien races in two years or selling the technology to the Academy of Sciences were both options.

"In the next two years, Michelle and Bai Haitang, you two have to work harder." Finally, Liu Wen felt that it was worthwhile to cause trouble for the alien races. Not only could he train his troops but he could also increase his income. It was a matter of killing two birds with one stone.

"Chairman, rest assured. I will complete the task." Bai Haitang now earns millions of contribution points a year, and he hopes that the bonuses will be even higher if he completes a few more tasks.

The meeting continued, and the next industrial upgrade and industrial cooperation were discussed for several hours. Level 6 technology products can make more money than level 5 products, and the profit margin is also higher. It all depends on the integration progress of the scientific research department.

Finally, Liu Wen added another department to the group, the Star Creature Breeding Department, which was responsible for breeding the star creatures brought back this time and increasing their numbers. In conjunction with the Marine Corps' psychics, each one was equivalent to a flexible battleship of the same level and was worth investing in.

When they returned to the garden, the two little foxes came over.

"Brother Wen, look at this news. Nangong Ming has been promoted to a seventh-level psychic master, and he has integrated a psychic battleship in three days. He announced that he will go to the No. 4 star field to open up territory in a month." The little fox came over with a push news and said with envy.

"Are you envious of others for becoming a psychic master, or are you envious of others for being able to fuse psychic battleships?" Liu Wen smiled as he touched the other person's head.

Maomao lay down on the other side of Liu Wen, pouted and said, "What's the use of being envious? She's not even level 2 yet, let alone a psychic battleship."

"Humph, sooner or later I will become a seventh-level psychic master." The little fox clenched his fists.

"You can't compare to them. No matter how bad a psychic battleship is, it will cost hundreds of billions of contribution points, and you have to build it yourself. With your brain, can you do it?" Maomao retorted again.

The little fox couldn't take it anymore: "Why do you always tear me down? You talk like you're the best!"

"Forget about the psychic battleship, you two should just improve your psychic level first. Also, if you don't learn your cultural knowledge well, you'll be stuck at level six. No matter how good your talents are, it will be useless, not to mention that both of you have ordinary talents." Liu Wen knew what the two little guys were thinking about again. The "high-minded" ones were referring to them.

He is not even at level 2 in psychic power but he is already thinking about building a level 7 fusion psychic battleship. He is indeed not short of financial resources, but apart from forging a psychic battleship himself, the battleship core is the hardest to get. Now he doesn't even know where to buy this thing.

"Oh, Brother Wen, I'm working very hard now. I practice for three hours every day. I'm very close to level two." The little fox held Liu Wen's hand and shook it continuously. The two big buns conveyed a warm breath.

"It's better to really work hard on your training. Look at Frog, he's almost at level four. If you're not even at level two, do you still have the nerve to do it?" Liu Wen said jokingly as he enjoyed the massage of four steamed buns.

"Ah! So fast? Didn't he just enter level three?" Maomao asked in surprise.

"Wa Zai is very compatible with psychic energy, and his training progress is very fast. I can't catch up with him. Maybe he will be the first among us to reach level seven." Liu Wen also sighed that Wa Zai's talent is really high.

"Let's go practice!" The little fox pulled the cat and ran to the practice room. I don't know if he was really stimulated.

Liu Wen smiled and started to check the latest news, especially the news about the development of new areas. He had to think about where to develop the territory.

"There are eight star regions for human civilization to explore. Which one should we go to?"

(End of this chapter)