Chapter 1606 - 299: The Base Vehicle and the Prophecy of Calamity

Chapter 1606: Chapter 299: The Base Vehicle and the Prophecy of Calamity

"Great Prince, take a look. Here’s our brand new project list. See if there’s anything else the Imperial Capital might need?"

"Great Prince, look, this is our Silverpeak Domain’s Alchemy Industrial Park, a newly developed alchemy park perfectly in line with the high-tech developments of the Imperial Capital. Do you think we could get a little more funding..."

"This way, Great Prince..."

Knowing that Carlos had brought along the funding approval authority, Ian’s attitude suddenly became warm, even making Carlos a bit uncomfortable: "Silver Peak Earl, hold back a bit... Your Silverpeak Domain isn’t exactly short on money, is it? The Western Corps Flint Group’s military orders, and the beverages selling next door to the Imperial Capital... Your domain ranks in the upper-middle among all the earldoms, and it has tremendous future potential!"

"There’s never enough money."

Upon mentioning this, Ian couldn’t help but sigh deeply.

This was not a guise, but a fact.

Previously, as a researcher who needed funding, he didn’t know the cost of running a project until he was in charge. Now that he is, he realized how much gold his projects were consuming.

To say nothing of others, just the "Artificial Soul" project group alone—aimed at optimizing soul structures, enhancing cognitive abilities and memory—he had already procured no less than forty batches of ape-like magical beasts as experimental subjects, and was even breeding in his lab to cultivate ape species most similar to humans.

In addition to that, military research was also a significant expense. Despite Ian’s alchemy expertise allowing him to fulfill numerous Imperial Military industrial demands with his research, constructing and developing mechanical engineering and experimental new equipment consumed another huge sum of money.

To say nothing of others, the "MCV" (Advance Base Construction Vehicle) development that Ian coveted was a prime example—this project is so expansive that even its simplest aspect, the "Giant Vehicle Tracks," currently required breakthroughs; choosing materials and designing structures both required funds to sift through.

As for the "STC" (Standard Construction Module) within the base vehicle, it was relatively straightforward, being merely a fractal terminal of the Heart of Terra, containing all Silverpeak Domain’s construction technology. The only challenge lay in translating the construction module’s blueprint into reality using the vehicle’s onboard engineering tools.

The base vehicle was something Ian foresaw on the Dying Star Path; an intelligent machine used for outer space mining. Its existence meant Silverpeak Domain would have nearly infinite industrial resources. Its development was supposed to be of highest priority in the sequence, but alas, it drained so much money that even rallying the entire domain’s strength couldn’t realize it in the short term.

But if there were grants from the Imperial Capital...

Ian passionately introduced his various projects to Prince Carlos, packaging the base vehicle’s technology within the concept of a "Simplified Advance Base," alongside pitching the "Floating City."

In Ian’s descriptions, the Floating City he wanted to construct was not a heavily-armed fortress, but a gigantic frontline factory where all Sky Armors could undergo rapid repairs and refits. It could even locally produce some Unmanned Armors or lower-standard Sky Armors for reinforcement.

This kind of Floating City could entirely be referred to as a Mobile Fortress Dockyard, a truly advanced base, even equipped with a coordination network to oversee the deployment and cooperation of local troops.

"This concept... is interesting!"

Carlos was clearly persuaded, nodding slightly, and generously waved his hand: "As expected of a young person, coming up with a new function for the Floating City so quickly—the Imperial Capital will give you full support, as long as you can build it, then nothing will be a problem!"

"Rest assured!"

Though Ian disliked the Sunbird’s lack of respect for personal space and their speed, he admired how fast they approved funding, giving them a hundred thumbs up.

"Take care—ah, but you can’t slow down."

Ian almost sent off Prince Carlos like he was sending away the God of Wealth, and as he watched the prince’s figure disappear into the horizon, his smile gradually faded and finally turned solemn.

"Is it that the Imperial Capital truly doesn’t care, or is my moral standard too high?"

Ian mumbled to himself as he sat at the entrance of his castle, finding it somewhat difficult to understand.

In reality, ever since he brought Prince Carlos into his experimental base, Ian had been testing him—whether it was the soul technology for treating brain diseases, or vaguely suggesting that Ian had soul modification technology capable of enhancing human potential, Carlos remained unmoved, seemingly accustomed to it.

To be honest, this was quite odd.

Dorch Hos. This ’brain-dead patient’ with cerebral atrophy, after obtaining normal wisdom via an Artificial Soul, actually instilled fear rather than ’joy’ in his father upon the change.

"Is this truly my child?" He muttered with trepidation standing outside the hospital room, saying: "Even though I know it’s a soul born from his flesh and brain structure... but my child, who was too foolish to even be called a fool, has suddenly become so wise..."

"Though it may sound perplexing, Earl, can you make him a bit more foolish? Just a little... I don’t need him to be very smart, just enough to maintain the family estate..."

Unfortunately, Ian could turn someone from an idiot into a genius, but couldn’t make a smart person dumb.