Stars, Players and Immortals

Chapter 87 Rapid Development Period

In the following period, Mars entered a truly rapid development phase.

The Propyla Rail Port, the L4 takeover dock ruins, and the Mariner Valley military assembly plant were all put into wartime scheduling.

Originally scattered across three major sectors—alloy casting, armor plate pressing, hull keel welding, SA rack interface assembly, and general maintenance parts production—Chiseiro has reorganized these processes into a single industrial rhythm.

After being produced at the Mariner Valley foundry, the ship-grade alloys are directly sent to the keel work station at the railport.

Standard armor plates are prefabricated on the ground and then transported to the dry dock by cargo shuttle.

The SA mount interfaces are uniformly calibrated by the Archimedes Engineering Hub to avoid rework and drilling after the ship is completed.

After the [Mars Standardized Destroyer Template] is released, the shipbuilding speed of the Mars Shipyard will be greatly enhanced.

In the past, the Mars dock was more like a system of independent craftsmen. The hull frame, weapon interfaces, armor plate specifications and maintenance parts batches often needed to be adapted on-site. When the destroyer was in the second half of construction, the dock engineers still had to look through old blueprints and modify the pipelines at the same time.

Now, the STC module compresses these processes into a standardized sequence. The keel, armor, interfaces, hangar, and maintenance bays can all be aligned in advance. The dry dock only needs to assemble according to the modules and then feed back the sea trial data to Ares and Chiseiro.

The first batch of [Cross-star close-orbit defense destroyers] were launched under this rhythm.

The eight destroyers left the dock in two batches. The main propulsion units at the stern were ignited at low power, the shield generators were briefly charged, the electromagnetic guns at the bow were only calibrated under no-load conditions, and the small SA hangar under the hull was repeatedly tested for rack unlocking, catapult rails and recovery arms.

In Zhang Qiming's view, these processes were compressed into a series of productivity terms by the Gaia system.

[Production Project: Crossbow-class Close-in Defense Destroyer]

[Standard construction cycle: 24 production turns/ship]

[Mars Standardized Destroyer Template Correction: Construction Time -35%]

[STC Module Blueprint Revised: Universal Armor Plate Assembly Efficiency +20%, Shipborne SA Mount Interface Adaptation Efficiency +15%]

[Archimedes Engineering Hub Collaboration: Reduced Dry Dock Repair Rates and Shortened Interface Calibration Cycles]

[Wartime Military Heavy Industry Prioritization: Increased Efficiency of Parallel Shipyards]

[Current actual construction cycle: 9 production rounds/ship (no less than three months)]

[Currently under construction: 8 vessels]

From the perspective of the Gaia system, Mars' heavy industry has woven itself into a production capacity network that is entirely reddish.

With 1.8K military production capacity continuously being poured into the fleet's equipment lines, the entire industrial chain has been incorporated into wartime planning and scheduling.

While naval gun production was in full swing, efforts were also made to improve people's livelihoods and government affairs.

Zhang Qiming directly placed the six core indicators of the first stage of the "Philosopher King" on the front page of the Supreme Command's schedule.

The four indicators of stability, public happiness, living comfort, and planetary habitability must steadily surpass the 60 mark, while the crime rate must be firmly suppressed to the "good public security" range of 10 to 19, leaving no room for leniency.

The civilian supplies delivered by the Lunar Council were given clear priorities.

The first batch will fill the gaps in medical facilities and prosthetic maintenance stations to ensure the supply of essential consumables at the grassroots level; the remainder will be gradually deployed to fill the gaps in people's livelihoods, such as community service terminals and household mechanical repair parts.

The black market channels left over from the era of the Office of the Inquisitor were systematically eradicated by the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

The mine security team and the factory industrial militia were uniformly incorporated and integrated into the temporary security system as a safety net.

Even the most mundane tasks at the grassroots level, such as public complaints, equipment repair requests, material allocation, and public service scheduling, are all connected to the administrative coordination link of Zhishilang and Ares, using computing power to smooth out the bottlenecks and pain points in grassroots services.

After a series of combined actions, the system panel immediately displayed progress feedback.

[Philosopher King - Phase One Indicators Progressing]

Stability: 57→61

Happiness level: 54→60

[Comfort level: 51→62]

[Livability rating: 60→63]

Crime level: 26 → 18

[Current area: Excellent public security]

While accelerating both military and civilian development, Zhang Qiming never forgot the most special card in his hand—the fourth natural disaster.

Preparations for the fourth version of the game were initiated almost simultaneously with fleet expansion and administrative reforms, without the slightest delay.

Soon, a small ship project with a high priority but which puzzled a group of military engineers was added to the Archimedes Engineering Hub’s research and development list. The initial name was [Peregrine Falcon Type Small Starship].

When the project was first launched, most of the senior engineers at the hub were puzzled.

In their view, with military production capacity currently stretched thin, why bother developing such a "neither fish nor fowl" small vehicle?

It wasn't until Zhang Qiming personally set the tone at the project review meeting that everyone realized that this ship was never intended for use by the regular navy from the very beginning.

"This is not a warship; it's a deep-space transportation vehicle for anomaly squads."

"You should be aware of their existence and their special nature. I can tell you clearly now that they will return to this land in the near future, and they will stand with the Martians once again."

"I have only three requirements for the core of the Youji spacecraft: cheap to build, simple to maintain, and low cost, so that I won't feel bad if it explodes."

According to the design plan, the Youji type adopts a fully modular architecture, and the hull length is controlled between 12 meters and 45 meters depending on the configuration.

Within a meter range, it covers all scenarios from individual to team needs.

The smallest basic model is only 12 meters long, eliminating all redundant functions and retaining only basic propulsion, short-distance jumps, and a simple life support system, allowing a single pilot to complete all operations.

Its main features are flexibility and affordability, making it suitable for solo reconnaissance and short-distance cross-orbit travel. Even if it crashes into an asteroid belt, its cost is less than that of a close-in weapon system.

The mainstream 24-meter advanced version is tailor-made for four-person teams, with the addition of a co-pilot's seat and a small cargo hold. It can carry a set of standard land combat equipment and short-range resupply. It can perform team rail delivery, as well as short-orbit patrol and small-scale material transfer, and is the main vehicle for subsequent deep space missions.

The largest 45-meter extended version is equipped with an additional engineering and maintenance bay, an expanded cargo hold, and two light weapon hardpoints. It can accommodate a three-person team of a driver, engineer, and cargo manager. It can serve as a mobile maintenance station for a small team, run interstellar trade routes, and even act as a low-intensity armed escort.

In order to keep costs to the minimum, the design team made a lot of trade-offs.

This small boat, with its low entry barrier, high potential, and maximum tolerance for error, has only one real purpose: to allow the Fourth Calamity to explore the asteroid belt and abandoned shipyards around Mars in its peregrine falcon, naturally leading it to yearn for a wider galaxy.

While the spaceship project is progressing steadily, a huge old storage area in the core area of ​​the Olympus Hub has been included in the renovation plan, and the Player Integrated Center project has officially broken ground.

Zhang Qiming directly assigned this project to the first-level wartime administrative rank.

"The project must be completed and delivered within three months!"

This is a direct order from the Supreme Commander.

In Zhang Qiming's plan, this is by no means a simple service hall, but the "core of the main city" of the Fourth Calamity on Mars. It is the official facade that all players will see when they return, and it is also the key anchor point to completely integrate the scattered players into the Skyward system.

The entire center is seamlessly connected to the first phase of the Tianqu Plaza, which is under construction. It has three floors above ground and two floors underground, with clear functional divisions.

The first floor is the reception hall, with a giant Skyward army flag and faction insignia standing in the center. On the left and right sides are the resurrection point binding terminal, the faction identity registration office and the new player guide station, respectively.

New and old players can complete the most basic identity registration as soon as they enter, instead of being scattered and confused like before.

The second floor is the mission and military merit center. The entire wall of light screen will scroll through government commissions in real time, from patrolling surface mining areas to exploring deep space debris, from assisting military production lines to security investigations. Various missions are arranged according to difficulty and reward.

The adjacent military merit exchange area is also open at the same time. From small items like prosthetic body consumables and repair tools to large items like tactical equipment, spaceship parts, and even limited-edition standard weapon modification rights, everything can be exchanged with military merit points. Prices are clearly marked and easy to see.

The third floor is the modification and service center, where prosthetic body modifications, equipment adjustments, and spacecraft module customization are all concentrated. Basic modifications can be completed on the spot, while high-end customizations can be scheduled by submitting a request.

The underground level is the hangar connection area, which connects directly to the ground-level helipad and rail elevator outside the hub. When players return in their Peregrine Falcons, they can directly dock in the underground hangar and take the elevator to the lobby, forming a complete closed loop of circulation.

To meet the deadline, hundreds of construction machines worked day and night, and building materials were continuously transported from the Mariner Valley building materials base to Mount Olympus via a dedicated maglev line. Chiseiro oversaw the entire construction schedule, squeezing out almost every gap between processes to the extreme.

According to the project schedule, the Player Integrated Center will be delivered simultaneously when the first phase of the Skyward Plaza is completed, just in time for the end of the maintenance period, so as to give the returning fourth-generation Tianchai a "major version update" as a welcome gift.

On the tracks, the welding lights in the dock never go out day and night, and destroyers slide into the sea trial area one after another.

On the surface, people's livelihood and government affairs are progressing steadily, and public security and public morale are rising together.

Deep within the hub, player vehicles and the core of the main city take shape simultaneously.

Warships were launched, government affairs were stabilized, spaceship projects were approved, and the player center project commenced.

From military industry to civilian life, from regular army to anomalous entities, Mars' massive war machine has begun to operate at full speed.