Vientiane Throne of Civilization

Chapter 1852 Cutting-Edge Technology (Part Two) (Bonus Chapter for 500 Monthly Tickets)

It's clear from the intelligence Gargamel sent back that even with the location pinpointed, it would still take two months to travel from their Great Zhou border to that spot.

The desert is vast and boundless, and there are no clear markers. The other party does not know their location, so it will not be easy to find them if they conduct a normal exploration.

If you go in the wrong direction, you never know how long it will take to find it.

Not to mention the harsh desert climate and limited resources. From this perspective, any force with a choice would not choose to invest a large amount of manpower and resources in desert exploration, a project that is clearly destined to lose money.

Of course, just in case, after confirming that a safe distance must be maintained, Zhou Xu made further arrangements...

"Send people to keep an eye on their every move. If they show any tendency to approach our Great Zhou territory, report it immediately."

"In addition, let the front-line troops find an opportunity to see if they can capture an orc and obtain some intelligence."

Zhou Xu didn't intend to directly grab the person on the other side.

If the other side investigates, wouldn't that expose their existence prematurely?

Even if it's just a possibility, he's not really willing to take that risk.

In comparison, the situation would be much better if they were to capture orcs.

Following this line of thought, Zhou Xu even considered setting up a sandstorm barrier around the perimeter. If the other side stepped into the barrier, a sandstorm would be stirred up, which would have a deterrent effect.

But then I thought about it and decided to give up.

Given the vastness of the desert region, there is more than one road leading to the border of their Great Zhou, and the current restrictions cannot cover it all.

At the same time, if he does that, he will trap himself, which is tantamount to closing the country off from the world in disguise.
That's not a good thing.

Not to mention, if the other party notices the existence of the restriction and is instead aroused by the desire to explore, wouldn't that backfire?

In this way, the relevant orders were quickly issued.

At the same time, Qin Fen rushed over after receiving the news.

After a brief greeting, Qin Fen immediately craned his neck and began looking around.

"Didn't they say there were mechs? Where are they?!"

"I thought you were only interested in steam engines."

Zhou Xu looked at him with some surprise.

Qin Fen, on the other hand, had an expression of disbelief...

"What guy wouldn't be interested in mecha? But I've never had any mechas to study before!"

That is a very real problem.

At this moment, seeing Qin Fen's excitement, Zhou Xu didn't keep him in suspense and directly told him the information that Gargamel had sent back.

Upon learning that there was no actual object and it was just intelligence, Qin Fen visibly wilted, but he still showed considerable interest in the mecha mentioned in the intelligence.

"The enemy's cockpit is outside, and the mech pilots are wearing helmets and goggles, which means they probably don't have any intelligent systems to assist them. They need to use their naked eyes to locate the enemy, understand the situation, and take action. After all, only in this way can they have a wide enough field of vision."

Qin Fen closed his eyes, mentally rehearsed the scenario, and then began to analyze it...

"The power unit, circular saw, and mechanical claw—each of these components is not complicated when combined individually. However, without the assistance of an intelligent system, relying solely on mechanical operation to make the mecha reach a level of agility applicable in actual combat is no simple matter. No, wait a minute!"

At this point, Qin Fen changed the subject. "No! It's too difficult! Considering the current level of technology, it's simply impossible. To me, this is definitely unscientific; it's absolutely cutting-edge technology!"

After making this assessment, Qin Fen turned to analyze the mecha from other perspectives.

Although the mecha was clearly a piece of cutting-edge technology, and its core technology was something they couldn't possibly figure out on their own, Qin Fen's mind was still very active.

The analysis also provided Zhou Xu with a lot of useful information.

After discussing the mecha, Zhou Xu gradually shifted the topic to an important project that Qin Fen was in charge of...

"Speaking of which, how's your research on the steam-powered armor project going?"

In earlier years, the dwarf steam tank project and the steam-powered armor project were postponed, and later several other projects even cut in line.

After all, it was obvious to everyone that the reason the dwarves traded the blueprints for the steam-powered armor was because it was the most difficult to develop among all steam-powered projects.

They couldn't make it themselves and felt there was no point in keeping it, so they put it on the trading table.

Later, all the dwarf designs fell into the hands of their Great Zhou, so naturally they no longer needed to obsess over steam-powered armor.

"Your Majesty, this steam-powered armor project was only restarted at the beginning of the year, and the funding was only allocated a month ago, so it's not much yet. The manpower I need is still in another project team, and not all of them have arrived. You're asking me about the progress now?"

"Cough cough!"

Upon hearing this, Zhou Xu let out two awkward groans.

He did indeed neglect this matter. Mainly, he had too many things to deal with every day, and in peacetime, the focus of his work had also changed, causing him to completely forget about it.

"Isn't this a time of peace, where the focus has shifted to development and construction?"

In recent years, in order to allocate more funds for development, military-related funding has indeed been reduced to some extent.

Just like how some soldiers retire after a war, this is a perfectly normal procedure.

If it weren't for this sudden news from the border, Zhou Xu wouldn't have suddenly thought to call Qin Fen over to ask about this matter.

Qin Fen was naturally aware of this, but he didn't intend to hold a grudge.

He and Zhou Xu had become quite familiar with each other, and were practically friends in private. It was fine for them to banter casually, but if it went on and on, then he would lose sight of their true relationship.

"Then could Your Majesty increase the research and development funding?"

As he spoke, Qin Fen seemed to remember something and added another sentence...

"By the way, there's not much progress on the steam-powered armor, but another project has already undergone final testing."

This was undoubtedly good news for Zhou Xu, and a look of joy appeared on his face. He readily agreed to Qin Fen's request to increase research and development funding.

"Okay, I agree to this. I'll have Song Jinyu call you later."

This matter clearly doesn't need to be discussed with Song Jinyu, or rather, under these circumstances, there's basically no room for discussion.

After all, when encountering a force whose actual strength they cannot yet ascertain, the simplest and safest approach is to enhance their own military capabilities as quickly as possible.

Basically, as long as you are strong enough, many problems will no longer be problems!

(End of this chapter)