Chapter 25: Arsenal
45th Base completely lost contact with Tom.
Losing one 45th Base was still within an acceptable range of loss. Tom wouldn’t even care if more bases were lost in the short term.
But the crucial issue was that those main ore veins could not be lost!
For example, a total of 10 ore veins, including Iron Ore No. 1, Copper Ore No. 1, oxygen ore No. 1, and thorin ore No. 1.
These ore veins were Tom’s lifeline. It was the output from these ore veins that supported the development of the Main Base.
"The key issue now is to figure out how many of these Monster Birds there are and where they are located."
Thoughts churned in Tom’s mind as he tried to aim the telescope on the Deep Space Spaceship at Loshen Star, searching the planet from a distance of several hundred kilometers.
However, compared to a planet, the size of these Monster Birds was still too small. The Deep Space Spaceship searched for a while but did not find any signs of Monster Birds.
Even the 45th Base, where the presence of Monster Birds had been confirmed, could not be seen.
Having no other option, Tom thought for a moment and decided to risk operating his only landing spaceship, carefully searching Loshen Star.
After flying for only about a hundred kilometers, Tom witnessed a shocking scene.
He saw countless Monster Birds scattered densely across the dark red land of Loshen Star. Their sizes varied, with the largest reaching over three meters in height, and the smallest still over one meter!
A rough estimate suggested there were over two thousand Monster Birds here!
They were currently on the land of Loshen Star, using their sharp proboscises and wings, seemingly through a dual action of heating and cutting, to collect tolin, formaldehyde, methane, and other organic matter, which they then devoured.
There were about a thousand at 45th Base, and another two thousand here...
"When did these monsters arrive..."
Tom thought to himself.
There was nothing he could do; he currently lacked space observation and early warning capabilities. Otherwise, he would have discovered them before they descended from space, and he wouldn’t be in such a passive situation now.
Controlling the landing spaceship, Tom continued forward.
After advancing for another distance, Tom saw another Monster Birds flock. And this time, these Monster Birds seemed to have discovered him.
Several Monster Birds ejected powerful air currents from their tails, propelling their bodies to take off at high speed and charge towards the landing spaceship.
Tom immediately performed an evasive maneuver.
But those Monster Birds did not fly too high, only a few tens of meters, before the air currents from their tails disappeared, causing their bodies to slowly fall back down.
At the same time, Tom also saw some Monster Birds falling from the endless dark Deep Space ahead, at extremely high speeds. Just before they hit the ground, air currents also ejected from their tails, slowing their bodies down, eventually allowing them to fall onto the land of Loshen Star at a slower speed.
However, even after deceleration, some Monster Birds were still moving too fast, so they crashed heavily onto the ground. Some became motionless immediately, while others struggled and couldn’t get up for a long time.
A flash of realization came to Tom’s mind.
These Monster Birds did indeed migrate from the stars.
Perhaps due to the long interstellar journey, their energy was almost depleted, and they had essentially temporarily lost their ability to fly.
This was a good thing for him.
But... Loshen Star had ample material replenishment.
Tom didn’t know how long it would take for the materials replenished from Loshen Star to be converted into the power for their flight. However, this time should not be too long.
Based on the data obtained from dissecting that Monster Bird earlier, Tom arrived at an estimated value.
At most, it would not exceed a month and a half. Specifically, it should be between 30 and 40 days.
As far as the eye could see, these Monster Birds covered the sky and the earth, with tens of thousands of them in his line of sight alone.
Counting those yet to be discovered, and those continuing to descend from space, what would the total number be?
Tom’s heart was heavy, and he immediately made a decision.
"Stock 50 Clones in the Deep Space Spaceship, bring corresponding supplies, and first evacuate Loshen Star, hiding in space!
The remaining Clones, industrial facilities, and supplies that cannot be taken will be left on Loshen Star to fight these guys!
If we can win, I will continue to develop on Loshen Star. If we can’t, I will escape to other planets to continue developing!
Fortunately, the Deep Space Spaceship hasn’t made any moves recently, and there are few Clones left there, and these Monster Birds have no energy left, so they haven’t attracted their interest. Otherwise, without the Deep Space Spaceship, I wouldn’t even have a last resort."
Tom decisively maneuvered the landing spaceship back to the Main Base, then immediately began transporting relevant Clones and supplies, promptly activating the Deep Space Spaceship’s thrusters, and controlling it to begin evacuating into Deep Space.
Over the years, Tom had carefully maintained the Deep Space Spaceship, and his current technological level was barely capable of producing chemical fuels, which allowed it to restart.
While evacuating the Deep Space Spaceship, Tom simultaneously made a second decision.
"My war with these Monster Birds is inevitable.
Since that’s the case, I’ll shorten the front lines! All second-line bases will be abandoned, and all Clones will be concentrated at the 10 main mineral bases, to fiercely protect the Main Base and the 10 mineral bases, as well as the railway lines, to buy time for development.
Then... fully commit to developing weapon technology!"
For a time, among the more than one hundred scattered bases, nearly ten thousand Clones from over ninety bases rushed out. Various mechanical vehicles, such as mining carts, bulldozers, trucks, and exploration vehicles, began to roar, charging across the silent land of Loshen Star as if their lives depended on it.
On the railway, all trains were mobilized, pulling many Clones from existing bases and transporting them to the Main Base or core mineral bases;
In the core mineral bases, many Clones also took action, collecting all parts that could be used as weapons and doing their best to arm themselves.
Here at the Main Base, thousands of Clones also put on spacesuits and rushed to the base’s edge.
Numerous searchlights were erected at the base’s edge, and many exploration vehicles spread out. The Clones risked death to rush into the darkness.
Sending out the only landing spaceship again was too risky. At this point, they could only rely on the Clones for physical reconnaissance.
They would patrol and guard the base’s edge. Once Monster Birds were detected, information could be immediately transmitted back.
In addition to these preparations, Tom was simultaneously carrying out a most core and urgent task.
The dozens of existing factories with metal processing capabilities all stopped production of their current products and were all converted by Tom into the most important type of factory at this stage.
An armory!
An armory that produced cold weapons!