Chapter 158: The Fuel Collection Brigade

Words : 1456 Updated : Sep 23rd, 2025

The Supercomputing Center was Xiao Yu’s strongest support. With the ample computing power provided by tens of thousands of supercomputers within the center, Xiao Yu could produce robots and all manner of equipment without restraint, without ever worrying about computational limitations. At this moment, the true value of the Supercomputing Center was fully revealed. Across the nine moons of the planet two system, countless robots and various devices continued their busy operations. In space, billions of ultra-miniature starships were still locked in battle, while Xiao Yu turned his attention to the construction of the newly seized moon. To distinguish them more clearly, Xiao Yu assigned each moon a specific name. The moon in the planet three system occupied by the Swarm Queen was named Satellite 3A, and the one Xiao Yu had captured was named Satellite 3B. In the planet two system, the moon housing the Supercomputing Center was called Satellite 2A, and the rest were labeled sequentially as B, C, D, and so on. Xiao Yu’s fleet fought with their backs against Satellite 3B, forming a comprehensive and tight defensive perimeter to ensure that the one hundred million construction robots stationed there could operate in a safe environment. The mineral surveys of Satellite 3B had long been completed. In the coming period, these robots would sequentially construct mining bases, forging bases, equipment manufacturing bases, and other facilities—forming a self-sufficient system, driving a deep nail into the Swarm’s very heart. The Swarm Queen showed extreme hostility toward this. It clearly understood Xiao Yu’s intent, which made its counterattacks even more frenzied. Hundreds of millions of Swarm bugs surged forth from the depths of space. After suffering some losses from the long-range fire of the twenty thousand large starships, they would close the distance only to be met by the firepower of the ultra-miniature starships. Here, Xiao Yu’s fleet formed a solid dam, holding back the tidal wave of the Swarm. Up to now, Xiao Yu’s fleet had remained in place for five days, exterminating at least several billion bugs. Yet the Swarm’s numbers didn’t seem to decrease at all—they kept pouring out with unrelenting madness. Xiao Yu estimated he would need to hold out for at least one more month. Only after that time would Satellite 3B possess basic self-defense capabilities and gradually grow strong enough to launch counterattacks. Under these conditions, the issue of logistics for Xiao Yu’s fleet became pressing. After all, this was the Swarm’s territory—there were no established bases of his own. So far, the one hundred million robots on Satellite 3B had only completed construction of the main base. Other facilities like mining and forging bases were still in their early stages. However, Xiao Yu had long anticipated this issue and had prepared accordingly. In the planet two system, another massive fleet of fifty thousand starships—led by the Yanjing—had already set off for the planet three system. By this time, the Yanjing had completed a full retrofit: its original standard construction materials were replaced with Alien Beast bio-materials. This retrofit project had begun when Xiao Yu first entered the Aquila Three System and had only now been completed. Alien Beast bio-materials required extremely strict construction environments and high-precision standards. Given Xiao Yu’s manufacturing capacity at the time, building a Province-Class ship would’ve taken over twenty years—clearly impractical under those conditions. Retrofitting a City-Class ship became the ideal choice, leading to the birth of the new Yanjing. Surrounding those fifty thousand large starships was a combat cluster of another two and a Half billion ultra-miniature starships. This massive fleet carried ample fuel, manufacturing equipment, and specially designed resource collection ships, all making their way toward the planet three system. This fleet also encountered fierce resistance from the Swarm. But under the command of the powerful Yanjing—second only to the Hebei—they suffered little obstruction and successfully rendezvoused with the Hebei. With that, even more robots and heavy machinery arrived on the surface of Satellite 3B, joining the construction efforts. The satellite’s surface, still pockmarked from combined energy cannon and hydrogen bomb bombardments, now became a bustling sea of machines and equipment. As Xiao Yu’s strength surged further, a new fleet of two hundred million ultra-miniature starships quietly broke off from the main force and began heading directly toward planet three. This instantly caught the Swarm Queen’s attention. Xiao Yu saw that almost simultaneously, a force of five hundred million bugs began pursuing them. Most of the previous battles had taken place on the far side of the satellite—its side facing away from planet three. On the near side—facing planet three—the only visible activity had been fuel-collecting Swarm bugs shuttling back and forth. Now, Xiao Yu intended to carve out a share of that operation for himself. The distance between planet two and planet three was too vast, making it impractical to rely solely on fuel shipments from planet two to support Satellite 3B. Acquiring fusion fuel locally within the planet three system was essential. For this reason, Xiao Yu had developed a new model of ultra-miniature starship that integrated both combat and fuel collection capabilities. These ships would take on the responsibility of refueling Satellite 3B and other future occupied moons. Xiao Yu observed as the five hundred million Swarm bugs trailed relentlessly behind the fuel collection brigade, launching volleys of micro energy blasts as they chased. Meanwhile, the two hundred million fuel-collection ships focused on evasion, fighting back only when absolutely necessary. In stark contrast to their passive resistance was their aggressive assault on the Swarm’s fuel-collecting bugs. In the inner system of planet three, aside from ultra-miniature ships and combat bugs, there existed a vast number of fuel-collecting bugs—each bloated and slow-moving, clearly packed with fusion fuel. Under Xiao Yu’s command, his ultra-miniature ships showed extraordinary enthusiasm toward these large, defenseless targets. If one ship couldn’t kill it, then two would team up. In any case, they would not let any of these bugs escape. Thus, a strange scene unfolded in the inner planet three system: a swarm of attack-type bugs raced behind a fleeing horde of ultra-miniature starships, which, in turn, launched constant ambushes on any large fuel bug they passed. Xiao Yu’s objective was clear: ensure his own logistics while doing everything possible to cripple the enemy’s. With this disruption, the Swarm Queen’s ability to gather nuclear fusion fuel dropped by at least thirty percent. This pursuit finally ended when the ultra-miniature ships entered planet three’s atmosphere. These ships were capable of operating within a planetary atmosphere, while the Swarm’s combat bugs clearly were not. They could only hover outside, waiting in frustration for the starships to reemerge. Inside the atmosphere, Xiao Yu’s ultra-miniature ships embarked on a smooth fuel collection mission. Each ship was equipped with a large intake device that continuously sucked in massive amounts of atmospheric gas. Through onboard processing, deuterium gas was separated and stored, while the remaining gases were vented. In this process, the ships’ mass gradually increased. After several hours, they completed their collection and reemerged from planet three’s atmosphere—only to be met by the Swarm bugs lying in wait. Xiao Yu had anticipated this encounter. He maintained his passive strategy, ordering the ships to flee at full speed and only turn to fight when absolutely necessary. Amid this chase-and-escape dance, the fuel collection brigade began its return journey to Satellite 3B. When they were just two hundred thousand kilometers away from the base, Xiao Yu’s massive fleet opened fire to cover them, unleashing a fierce assault on the pursuing Swarm. The final outcome: of the original two hundred million fuel-collecting ships, only one hundred seventy million made it back to Satellite 3B. thirty million ships had been destroyed. Satellite 3B was only two million kilometers away from planet three—just a four million kilometer round trip. Yet in that short journey, Xiao Yu had lost thirty million ships. The brutality of the operation was self-evident. “This result is still acceptable. At least it’s lower than the twenty-five percent loss rate I had estimated. Anyway, they’re just expendables—it doesn’t matter.” Xiao Yu thought to himself, then issued new orders to the Supercomputing Center. Under its direction, sixty percent of the remaining one hundred seventy million ships landed on Satellite 3B to offload their collected fuel. The remaining forty percent replenished Xiao Yu’s fleet. His fleet not only provided artillery support and long-range attacks but also served as a mobile dockyard for the ultra-miniature fleet. Ships that had depleted their fuel reserves could be refueled and repaired within the larger vessels. On Satellite 3B, the billions of robots and countless machines—now replenished with fusion fuel—instantly sprang back to life like plants revived by spring rain. Xiao Yu’s construction efforts accelerated once more.

Chapter 158: The Fuel Collection Brigade

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