Cataclysmic Era: I can unlock the tech tree

Hope stared at the lines of text that appeared in the translation software and fell silent.

This was the first time the giant fish had spoken so much.

This even caused some lag in the translation process of translation software.

After all, this involves a large number of word rearrangements.

Faced with completely random sentence structures, Zero, lacking the unique thinking of a giant fish, can only exhaustively arrange and combine all the received words to arrive at the correct word order.

"It...it tells us to...strengthen our bodies." Hope's eye twitched slightly. "And it also shows contempt for our current weak bodies."

Hansent: "..."

In the eyes of the giant fish, strengthening their bodies was nothing more than gluing these scattered fragments of star gold ore onto their body surface to weave themselves a suit of extremely strong armor.

However, this is undoubtedly asking too much of a question for the Poseidon II-class exploration vessel.

"Now I finally know how those newly born giant fish received their initial enhancements..." Hope said, both amused and exasperated.

Is it possible that, in the eyes of this giant fish, we are like overgrown babies who have no ability to take care of themselves?

Hansent added expressionlessly, "And then this giant baby even expressed affection for it."

"In return, it went to great lengths to bring us to their tribe's enhancement site."

"It really made me cry."

As soon as he finished speaking, not only did Hope raise his hand to cover his face, but even Lu Yongchang and others, who were thousands of miles away, subconsciously reached out to cover their eyes.

Looking at the urging messages constantly appearing in the translation program, Hope took a deep breath: "So, what should we do now?"

"Should I listen to its instructions to strengthen my body?"

"Prepare to activate the ultrasonic expulsion procedure." Lu Yongchang's helpless voice came from the speaker. "Try to see if it works. If it doesn't... activate the cockpit escape procedure after establishing a location beacon."

……

More than ten seconds later.

The giant fish looked at its "partner," who was standing still and weak, and fell into deep thought.

Could it be that it is not only physically weak, but also has a damaged brain?

How pitiful!

The giant fish opened and closed its huge mouth, and the ultrasonic signals it emitted even carried a hint of pity.

It gently swayed its body as it approached the exploration vessel.

It's not a big problem; they have relevant tutoring experience.

As always, it prepared to personally mentor this poor, isolated fish who had no common sense.

next moment.

A "piercing" ultrasonic wave came from the "partner".

That was the highest level of warning.

It stood there, stunned, its wide-open mouth uttering a series of soul-searching questions.

There was no response.

It thrashed painfully in the ocean of liquid ammonia and quickly distanced itself from the exploration vessel.

It then remained in place for a moment, seemingly waiting for the situation to change.

A few minutes later, the discomfort caused by the "piercing" sound gradually intensified, and it finally chose to leave.

Under the watchful eyes of Hope, Hansent, and the others, the giant fish gently swayed its body, turned, and swam away into the distance.

From its retreating silhouette, Hope could even discern a hint of reluctance and a touch of confusion.

"So, what's the principle behind this expulsion procedure?" Hope asked after a moment of silence.

"It's very simple," Meng Lu explained from the speaker. "During the research, I discovered a gap in the ultrasonic frequencies they emit."

"No giant fish communicates using the frequencies within the gap."

"So, I guess this frequency isn't a good thing for the giant fish."

"Although we still don't know exactly what it means, it at least worked."

Upon hearing this explanation, Hope nodded with a wry smile.

As Hope watched the giant fish in the sonic diagram gradually disappear into the distance, a pang of sympathy welled up in her heart.

How about... next time we have the chance, we throw it in more cesium chloride and rubidium chloride?

As Hope pondered this in his mind, he steered the exploration ship toward the nearby Star Gold Vein.

The real exploration mission has begun.

……

One week later.

Having completed all exploration and sampling work, Hope and Hansent detached from the Ice Giant and returned to the [Gluttonous] supply depot.

Beside the [Taotie], the [Engineering Ship] has begun work, and a simple ice giant synchronous orbit space station has been successfully established.

The mined star gold ore was also placed inside the Mysterious Maiden II.

Under Zero's control, the Mysterious Maiden II departed from its ice giant synchronous orbit at top speed and flew straight toward Dawn Star.

……

A month later.

Dawn Star Materials Laboratory.

Lu Yongchang and Cao Liangcai stood in front of a holographic projection, their eyes sparkling with surprise.

"Perfect hull material!"

Lu Yongchang looked at the various data points and gave his evaluation.

"If we use carbide as a framework to create a star-gold-carbide composite material, the strength of the starship could be increased by more than one level!"

"Unfortunately, Star Gold is too difficult to obtain."

"It is also quite difficult to produce in the laboratory, and it may even be more trouble than it's worth."

As he spoke, Lü Yongchang shook his head regretfully.

This is the biggest limitation of Star Gold.

Currently, humans can only mine inside ice giants, and it is completely impossible to achieve artificial mass production.

Cao Liangcai smiled faintly: "Be content, Professor!"

"Although it is very difficult to obtain, its reserves are extremely abundant."

"Once the first batch of mining vessels made of Xingjin-Carbyne composite material are launched, Xingjin's production capacity will increase rapidly."

"At that time, the small planetary-level [Earth] can be put on the construction schedule!"

Lü Yongchang nodded, then his eyes flickered as if he had remembered something.

"By the way, Zero, how's Hope?"

"The psychologist said it was because of the environment inside the Ice Giant that he developed an emotional connection with the giant fish?"

"Is that so?"

Cao Liangcai, who was standing to the side, was stunned by what he heard.

Is this even true?!

The next second, Zero's virtual image appeared beside Lü Yongchang.

Ling nodded, confirming Lü Yongchang's statement: "The diagnosis is indeed as stated."

"However, Hope has now largely recovered."

"Oh?" Lu Yongchang smiled easily. "How did he recover?"

"He applied for a second exploration mission." Zero's synthesized voice echoed faintly in the laboratory, "In his spare time from mineral exploration, he acted as a caretaker for the giant fish."

As soon as he finished speaking, the image in the holographic projection changed rapidly.

In the scene, the Poseidon II exploration vessel is swinging its robotic arm, throwing one sealed device after another, loaded with cesium chloride and rubidium chloride, towards a school of giant fish in the distance.

After the giant fish had eaten and drunk their fill, they led the exploration vessel into the depths of the liquid ammonia ocean.

"These giant fish now seem to understand the difference between the exploration vessel and themselves."

"Meanwhile, led by the swarm of giant fish, Hope and Hansent successfully located the second star gold mine."

"The gold reserves inside the ice giant are far greater than we imagined."

With the sound of "Zero," the holographic image switched to the cockpit.

Hope had a big smile on his face, while Hansent beside him looked utterly dejected.

Looking at the image projected on the holographic screen, Lü Yongchang chuckled wryly, "Coexistence?"

"That's a good choice."

P.S.: Thanks to the amazing verification from Jiuli_! I'm out of ideas... I'll add more in a couple of days...