Deep Space Wandering Fleet
Chapter 468 - 466 Planet-level Fortress

Chapter 468: Chapter 466 Planet-level Fortress

Zhang Yuan pondered for a while before frowning and saying, "Theoretically, a High-dimensional Fragment shouldn’t be enough to exchange for a Fourth-level Civilization’s core technology... I haven’t even seen the price of Curvature Technology on the trade list. This suggests that its price must be over 50,000 points!"

A conventional technology from a Third-level Civilization is priced around the double digits, like the complete manufacturing method for a certain type of electronic chip, which costs only 33.2 AmiBa Points! There are some simple technologies that can be acquired for just a single-digit price.

The price for a conventional technology from a Fourth-level Civilization ranges from three to four digits.

But when it comes to core technologies, their prices skyrocket. The highest price on this table is for some subatomic material theory priced at 50,000!

Anything above 50,000 isn’t listed, which could include things like Planet Fortresses or Curvature Technology, presumably out of reach for humans.

Zhang Yuan sighed and said, "Although the High-dimensional Fragment has a high technological content, for lower-level interstellar civilizations, it’s completely like a book of incomprehensible script, and even a Fourth-level Civilization would not be able to decode its mysteries."

"As for this impressive yet impractical thing, apart from treating it as a collectible, it can at most be used as an electromagnetic cannon shell..."

After researching the High-dimensional Fragment for so long without any significant results, some enthusiasts specially designed a type of acceleration weapon for it, similar to an electromagnetic gun.

Anyway, no matter what material the target is, even if it’s a neutron star, once hit by this thing, it will still get "eaten" up a bit.

At this point, Zhang Yuan laughed and said, "If the High-dimensional Fragment really could be exchanged for Curvature Navigation Technology, then it would definitely be worth the trade! The Amoeba Civilization knows we have Virtual World Technology, yet as a Sixth Level Civilization, they would surely not reveal all they know to their affiliated civilizations."

"Moreover, this trade market is monitored by the Amoeba Civilization, and other Sixth Level civilizations exist... The Huantai Civilization wouldn’t dare make a move in their own market."

"If these conjectures hold up, trading this High-dimensional Fragment isn’t too risky, better to have one bird in hand than ten in the forest... After all, where in the world is there anything absolutely risk-free? Compared to the potential gains, the risk involved is worth it."

"Curvature Technology is our current top priority."

"That’s exactly what I was thinking."

Apart from the High-dimensional Fragment, another major system humans could trade was their unique science—New Civilization History.

This is a branch of applied Mathematics, as well as a management discipline, that human scientists believe to possess great value.

Selling this discipline theoretically wouldn’t compromise human safety. Like "Capitalism" or "Wealth of Nations," what harm would come from others learning it?

Every civilization is unique, with different ideologies and their own distinct histories, so, according to New Civilization History, they would walk their own unique paths, not replicated by humans, and could not interfere with human internal affairs.

Of course, the so-called "high value" is also a figment of human imagination; if the other party’s offer is too low, they simply won’t sell.

The last ace up their sleeve is Virtual World Technology, a core technology of humans. Although it holds high value, it would not be put on sale.

Not even a single word about it is mentioned in the transaction materials being carried...

That is all of the assets that humans possess.

As this discussion was taking place, the spaceship gradually accelerated, and it was expected to take a month’s time to reach the central trade location.

With each passing day, some very strange plasma clouds appeared outside the window, like large clumps of clouds floating in space. Human transport ships were almost navigating through the gaps between these cloud formations.

Zhang Yuan furrowed his brow, feeling that these plasma clouds might be some kind of defensive war weapon.

All kinds of observation equipment on the spaceship were actually unable to penetrate this thick layer of plasma clouds, and it was unknown what exactly was inside.

One weapons expert said, "These plasma clouds contain a small amount of helium-hydrogen ions, which have a certain degree of corrosiveness. If a spaceship flies around inside haphazardly, it will quickly become scrap. Therefore, it should be a means of defense in trench warfare."

Helium-hydrogen ions, being the strongest acids in the universe, could react with nearly any substance, including various carbon nanomaterials and composite ceramics. The Huantai Civilization had also warned human ships not to fly recklessly in the clouds, otherwise, any accidents incurred would be their own responsibility.

"...able to defend against lasers while also disrupting electromagnetic communications, and to prevent incoming ships from flying around at will. A trading market must have order."

"However, how were such large plasma clouds produced? I guess there must be a space fortress in the middle, manipulating these clouds with super magnetism."

"There might even be landmines or similar weapons inside, right?"

It took nearly ten more days to pass through these blurry clouds from the gaps.

Finally, the clouds ahead dissipated, and everything within the whole planet system became clearly visible again, including over twenty planet-level fortresses and two Jupiter-like planets that could replenish energy.

The human transport ship had already received various electromagnetic wave information.

Zhang Yuan felt a slight thrill, as the dreariness from passing through the clouds in the previous days was swept away.

However...

Planet-level battle fortresses, they are truly massive!

This large transport ship was also considered to be of considerable size, but compared to a planet, it was like an ant under an elephant’s foot, no, like a grain of sand in a mountain...

All kinds of huge constructions, as vast as the sky itself, came into view. There was a circular behemoth, it was unclear whether it was a gun barrel or something else, with a dark hole that could even fit a "Kunlun Mountain"!

"It must be the planet engine, so violent!"

Planet fortresses, for interstellar civilizations that have survived in the Milky Way for over a hundred thousand years, usually opt for developing such super spaceships. For example, within the captured Badi Civilization Mother Star, there resides a planet-level fortress.

First, it was necessary to hollow out much of the planet’s interior and then install a huge engine, while also ensuring a sufficiently robust internal mechanical structure. When it moved, it would consume tens of thousands of tons of nuclear fuel per second, a pinnacle of violent aesthetics below Level 4 civilizations.

On a planet a million kilometers away, countless spaceships and robots were busily coming and going, creating a huge trench on the surface of the planet.

This must be a planet that had not yet been fully developed. Now, with the entire trade market moving away in three thousand years, if it was still incomplete, it might be sold off at a discount.

Zhang Yuan and others just looked on with longing, knowing that humans couldn’t possibly buy anything. Owning a planet fortress was the dream of all humanity... but on second thought, without Curvature Navigation Technology, the mobility of such a thing was seriously lacking.

"Without Curvature Navigation, a planet fortress can only travel near cosmic strings. Once it leaves the cosmic strings and loses gravitational acceleration, relying solely on its own planet engine, the mobility is really too poor, and it would have to expend a massive amount of fuel to move itself."