Stars, Players and Immortals

Chapter 91 When in doubt, use spies.

The top-floor command center of the Olympus Hub.

The job transfer hall, asset window, military merit exchange office, vehicle registration desk, government-commissioned terminal—all functional areas are operating at full capacity.

Players, like ants just released into a new map, swarmed across Mars, following the quest prompts, reward lists, and version announcements.

Seeing the lively atmosphere, Zhang Qiming couldn't suppress the smile on his face.

What is the new Martian regime most lacking?

manpower!

Moreover, they are capable personnel. To be honest, he would never let the Martian natives do those high-risk jobs that could cost lives.

The native soldiers are the foundation of Mars; losing even one is a loss, and Zhang will be heartbroken.

As for the players—

Dude, dying only means losing some experience points. Just curse the developers for being inhuman and that's it.

Now, tens of thousands, even hundreds of thousands of SkyDrivers are flooding in, queuing up to take on tasks, calculating their own profits and making strategies, and even competing with each other in forums and live streams to keep up with each other's progress, afraid of falling behind even a step.

Just then, the Gaia-Alaya system interface on the right side of the field of vision suddenly lit up, and pale gold prompts scrolled by like flowing water.

[Specialty: "Tithing" has been triggered]

[Skyward Faction Mission Pool Launch and Settlement -]

[Government-managed system completes faction archiving [Settlement in progress for security and suppression commissions] —]

[Settlement in progress for military-industrial cooperation projects]

[Settlement in progress for administrative transfer services]

[Vehicle testing commissions are being settled —]

[Deep Space Pre-Exploration Delegations Settlement in Progress —]

[Today's cumulative faction quest experience reward: 50000000]

Zhang Qiming stared at the last string of numbers, and the corners of his mouth finally turned up completely.

Since he took the position of supreme commander, the entire Skyward government has become his mission issuer. All government commissions issued by the government are included in Zhang Qiming's faction mission pool by the system.

Players now have to contribute experience points as a tithe to the commission once the commission is completed.

The more players grind, the faster Mars recovers; the faster Mars recovers, the more experience they receive.

Fifty million experience points.

It hasn't even been a day since version 0.7 was released.

"They are truly my dearest family and friends, my brothers and sisters."

Zhang Qiming chuckled softly, raised his hand to open the research interface, and immediately transferred the 50 million experience points into the STC template blueprint development pool without hesitation.

[Experience points injected into the STC template blueprint development pool: 50000000]

[Currently feasible projects: Standardized framework for lightweight spacecraft, universal protocol for prosthetic interfaces, and production templates for precision components]

Modular chassis for surface vehicles and rapid casting technology for naval alloys —

Without hesitation, Zhang Qiming selected the [Standardized Framework for Light Spaceships].

With 50 million experience points invested, the previously slow progress bar suddenly shot forward.

[Standardization framework for lightweight spacecraft: 31% → 58%]

[Unlocked Phase Achievements: Universal Module Interface for Light Spacecraft]

[Unlocked Stage Achievements: Basic Production Specifications for Personal-Grade Deep Space Vehicles]

[Unlocked Phase Achievements: Light Combat Boat Maintenance and Parts Replacement Standards]

As the progress bar steadily stopped at 58%, Zhang Qiming's smile deepened.

Once this standard is successfully implemented, it can be applied to all types of small ships, including the currently serving Peregrine-class light combat boats, transport boats, reconnaissance boats, and even all subsequent small ship types.

At that time, Mars will no longer produce a single type of spaceship, but a complete small interstellar ship industrial system that is plug-and-play, can be quickly modified, repaired, and mass-produced.

After putting away the research panel, he casually switched to the ship sequence of the Gaia system, and a deep blue tactical light screen immediately spread out in his field of vision.

[Mars Navy - Fourth Fleet Replenishment Order]

[Currently commissioned ships: 8 destroyers]

[Status: Space Sea Trial Phase]

[Subsequent batches: to be launched into the water successively]

In the center of the list, eight brand-new destroyers are lined up, their names followed by a string of fluctuating sea trial parameters.

These eight ships are currently operational, combat-ready, and able to form a fleet, but they still need one last round of full-subject training before they can officially enter service and be on combat readiness.

Zhang Qiming knew in his heart that this was just the first batch to whet the appetite.

The first batch of destroyers learned all the pitfalls of the production line, and with the experience gained in subsequent batches, the production cycle will be further shortened.

More importantly, the players are back.

The Skydriveers bring not only labor, but also experience.

As long as the faction mission pool keeps circulating, he can continuously pour massive amounts of experience into destroyer modules, shipborne weapons, and...

The entire process of shield system, marine alloy technology, and dock assembly is standardized using STC templates.

Once all core modules are solidified, Mars shipbuilding will be able to completely break free from the "rush to patch up holes" state and truly enter the era of mass production and military expansion.

Every minute the destroyer construction cycle is shortened, the more the Fourth Fleet's combat power gap is filled; every minute the STC (System-to-Concept) is solidified for a ship module, the entire ship class will benefit.

Zhang Qiming's gaze fell on the total number of fleet members, his eyes calm and unwavering.

Eight ships are far from enough.

The Fourth Fleet was too crippled, and the war for unification was nearing its end.

For Mars to gain a foothold in the upcoming chaos of the solar system, it needs enough warships, enough production capacity, enough players, and enough—short-term agents who can strike at the heart of the enemy at crucial moments.

The players from Mars have already joined the Skydrive faction; now, it's the turn of the players from Terra.

Zhang Qiming casually turned off the ship sequence light screen and tapped his knuckles lightly twice on the armrest of the command chair.

The overall plan in my mind has been finalized.

With all the Martian players back in place, the Skyward faction's base is now firmly established.

To break through Terra's grand scheme, simply sending a fleet to the border and using diplomatic rhetoric is far from enough; it can only be a show of force. The real breakthrough always lies hidden in the shadows.

Therefore, he needs to develop new close friends and family, brothers and sisters!

He rose from the command post, stepped out of the command center, passed through the alloy security doors of the Olympus Hub with their multiple layers of access verification, and finally stopped in front of the sealed cabin used exclusively for cyber deep-sea diving.

The hatch slid open silently.

The silver-gray deep-sea chair stands quietly in the center of the room, surrounded by neural connection arms, brain-computer interface stabilization arrays, and black wall isolation modules, which have completed their second round of iterative upgrades.

Zhang Qiming reached out, unbuttoned his coat and draped it over the armrest, then leaned over and sat down in the diving chair.

The two robotic arms extended in response, precisely gripping his wrists, the nerve nodes at the back of his neck, and the connection points to his spine. The moment the cool contact pads touched his skin, the neural synchronization program of the Gaia-Alaya system immediately took over his entire body's perception.

The Cyber ​​Deep Dive Protocol has been launched.

[Mars backbone network access in progress —]

[Blackwall Great Wall ICE authorization verification passed.]

[The coordinates for the lunar dark web redirect have been loaded.]

Zhang Qiming slowly closed his eyes, and in the next second, his consciousness broke free from his body and plunged into the boundless torrent of data.

The cyberspace of Mars slowly unfolded before his eyes: the entire red planet transformed into countless crisscrossing light trails, and data cities floated beneath the virtual sky, flickering and flowing in perfect order.

He didn't stop for even a moment.

On the distant edge of the black wall, a hidden door, pre-prepared by the Lunar Council, quietly lit up. The silver-gray secret passage slanted across the edge of the firewall, leading to the deeper, more chaotic lunar dark web.

Zhang Qiming took a step and walked straight into the dim stream of light.

His next plan was simple—to team up with the Lunar Council AI to hack into the Terra Cyber ​​Network and establish contact with Terra's players.

As always, when in doubt, we resort to espionage.

This move is almost becoming a must-play first move for Zhang in the opening game.

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