allendalepharm Chapter 14 Destroyed Ships
Chapter 14 Destroyed Ships
Lucius's second year began uneventfully.
Liu En continued taking on repair work and processing Marcus's core data. His savings increased from 12,000 to 20,000, then to 30,000. The growth wasn't slow, but it was still far from enough to fill a ship.
Sometimes he would look at the numbers on the data panel at night, then turn it off and stop thinking about it.
Time was not on his side. Not because of lifespan—life-extending surgeries and mechanization could allow him to live for hundreds or thousands of years. Rather, it was the impending turmoil and disasters that awaited the empire that left him feeling insecure.
He sat at his worktable and listed out the major events that he vaguely remembered, one by one.
The Valangian Expedition. The Second War of Amegidon. The Purge of Falheim. The Bloodshed of the Claws of Horus. The Third War of Amegidon. The Thirteenth Black Crusade. The Fall of Kadia. The Opening of the Great Rift.
He couldn't quite recall the exact years of these events, but the sequence and approximate timeframe were certain. Danger was drawing ever closer.
The next day, he went to the secondhand market in Zhongchao.
This was an area he frequented, and over the past year he had become familiar with several stall owners. The market was a shantytown converted from the ground floor of an abandoned factory, dimly lit, with narrow passageways and piles of parts and scrap everywhere. The smell was a mixture of machine oil, rust, and some kind of unidentifiable chemical reagent.
He walked up to old Heck's stall.
Heck is a retired technician in his sixties who had his left leg amputated and replaced with a poorly made mechanical prosthesis that makes a harsh metallic scraping sound when he walks. His stall specializes in electronic components and data crystals salvaged from discarded equipment.
"Cohen." Heck was squatting on the ground rummaging through a box, not even looking up. "You've come at the right time. Take a look at this shipment."
He waved a palm-sized data crystal in his hand. Liu En took it, ran his fingers over the crystal's surface, and scanned it with his field of vision. He didn't break it down, only had a superficial understanding—he knew the storage medium was intact, and the data inside was roughly a technical manual, but he couldn't read the specific content. He handed the crystal back. "You even brought out this kind of junk?"
"Just because this batch isn't good doesn't mean the others won't be." Heck stood up, took a cigarette from his pocket, and lit it. "Have you heard about the Great Crucible 79?"
Liu En shook his head.
"A group of scavengers went to the outskirts of the 79th Great Forge last month and found a crashed transport ship there. They salvaged a Thinker Core, more than 70% intact. They also removed an energy conduit from the engine room; it was made of high-temperature alloy and wasn't corroded much." Heck exhaled a puff of smoke. "They sold it to the Temple's purchasing department and made this much money." He held up three fingers.
"Three thousand?"
"Thirty thousand," Heck corrected him. "The materials for that set of flow guides are enough to make the core components of three military-grade generators. The people from the Temple said that the material cost alone is worth that much. The scavenger didn't know anything about technology; he just knew it was valuable. He asked for fifty thousand, but they bargained it down to thirty thousand, and he happily split the money."
Liu En's fingers twitched slightly inside his sleeve. Thirty thousand Throne Coins were enough for him to take on 150 repair jobs. The group of scavengers had simply happened to be in the right place and had found the right wreckage.
"What is Furnace No. 79?" he asked.
Heck glanced at him. "You've never been there? Oh, you're an outsider. The Great Forge No. 79 is an industrial area of Lucis, or more precisely, an abandoned industrial area. Hundreds of years ago, it was a dismantling and processing center for scrapped ships. Later, the dismantling lines were moved elsewhere, leaving behind a large pile of waste. Some ships were left there before they were even completely dismantled, exposed to the wind and sun for hundreds of years."
"A crashed ship?"
"Not all of them crashed. Some were destroyed in orbit, the wreckage falling down. Some failed in subspace, drifted into the interior of the star system, and then stalled and crashed. Others were damaged in shipyards during repairs, collapsing directly. All sorts of reasons." Heck flicked his cigarette ash. "Anyway, that place is full of ship wreckage. Large pieces and small pieces, some exposed on the surface, some half-buried underground. Decades ago, people used to scavenge there, but after most of the good stuff was collected, and the Great Forge area became unstable due to geothermal activity, few people went there anymore."
Liu En remembered that when he was in the bottom nest, he had dismantled abandoned transport channels, industrial equipment, and building wreckage. Those things were on a completely different scale from ship wreckage. A transport ship was often hundreds of meters long and weighed tens of millions of tons. A cruiser was several thousand meters long and weighed hundreds of millions of tons. If he could find complete subsystems—engines, reactors, weapon arrays—the blueprints from the dismantling could fill a large gap in his database.
He had always assumed that abandoned ships were wrecks drifting in space or subspace, requiring specialized salvage vessels to access them. But Heck's words made him realize that planetary surfaces were the final destination for most ships that crashed.
"What is the exact location of Furnace No. 79?" Liu En asked.
Heck pointed southeast. "Take the commuter train from Upper Nest District to the industrial station, then transfer to a surface railcar and travel forty kilometers southeast. But be careful, that area is now a semi-restricted zone. Geothermal activity makes the ground unstable, and the Ministry of Justice patrols occasionally. The truly valuable items are all sealed off in a few main storage yards, which are fenced off and guarded. There's not much left to scavenge on the outskirts."
After finding out the details of Furnace No. 79, Liu En bought a detailed topographic data board and left the flea market.
That evening, he searched the database for all information about the crashed ships. Marcus's data core contained some relevant information: Lucis, as a forging world, had been a crucial supply base for the Imperial Navy for centuries, and a primary target for the Chaos and Alien fleets. Some of the enemy and friendly ships destroyed in past defensive battles were salvaged in orbit, while others crashed directly onto the planet's surface. The Great Forge 79 was originally built to process these crash wreckages. Later, due to the relocation of the dismantling lines and increased geothermal activity, the facilities were gradually abandoned, leaving a large amount of wreckage behind.
Some of these wrecks have been repeatedly scavenged by scavengers for decades, and all the parts that could be dismantled have long been taken away, leaving only the structural materials that make up the hull. However, some wrecks have never been explored in depth because of their remote locations, complex terrain, or dangerous environments.
Liu En marked the coordinates of several of the most valuable wreckage pieces on the data board. He decided to set off the next day.
At dawn, he checked his equipment. The power armor was fully charged, the field shield's energy output was set to maximum, and the miniature nuclear fusion reactor was operating normally. All six tool interfaces on the robotic arm were cleaned and calibrated. The gas mask's filter was replaced. All six servants were activated and followed behind him.
He took a commuter train from the Upper Nest District to the industrial station, then transferred to a ground-level railcar. He was alone in the carriage; his deep red robe and metallic left arm stood out starkly against the gray-white carriage lights. The scenery outside the window gradually changed from dense Nest City buildings to sparse industrial facilities, and finally to a desolate, gray-black hilly area. The air was thick with the smell of sulfur.
The railcar stopped at the platform of Furnace No. 79. The platform was long abandoned, and the rails were rusted. Liu En stepped out of the car, and the area automatically expanded to a ten-meter radius. The ground was loose slag and gravel, making a soft crunching sound underfoot. In the distance were undulating piles of debris, with large and small pieces of wreckage rising from the ground.
He walked southeast for about twenty minutes, following the route marked on the data board.
The first target was the wreckage of a medium-sized ship, half-buried in rubble. Judging from its shape, it was likely a frigate of the Imperial Navy, about 400 meters long, broken in two. The rear half was completely buried underground, while the front half was protruding at an angle above the surface. The hull had been riddled with holes by rust and corrosion.
Liu En ordered his servants to keep watch around the wreckage while he crawled through a breach in the hull. His headlamp illuminated the narrow passage. The bulkheads were covered in a thick layer of rust, and the floor beneath his feet creaked and groaned unsettlingly. He scanned the surrounding material—he could only perceive surface information: the approximate composition of the hull's structural steel, the type of insulation, and the materials used in the piping. To obtain precise material formulas, crystal structures, and information on internal defects, he would have to disassemble the actual structure.
He found some small, detached fragments in the wreckage—a rusted edge of armor plate, a broken pipe. He picked them up and disassembled them. He entered the atom data into the database, archiving the information. The material was ordinary ship structural steel, already in the database, but the material designation was slightly different; he still archived it.
He continued deeper. In the midsection of the ship, the field detected an unusual signal—a complete alloy frame, its material grade significantly higher than the rest of the hull. However, the field could only provide an outline and approximate composition. He followed the passageway and entered a partially collapsed compartment. The compartment walls were reinforced, and a cylindrical device was fixed in the center.
The auxiliary core of the subspace engine. Not the main engine, but an auxiliary system. It had a crack in its outer shell, exposing some internal parts. Liu En didn't disassemble it entirely. He first disassembled a damaged cover plate on the outer shell, obtaining information about the outer material. Then, from the internal parts, he found a loose and detached bolt and a short, broken wire. Disassembling these two items yielded partial material formulas and structural information about the auxiliary core.
It wasn't a complete blueprint, but it was enough for him to understand the basic structure of the auxiliary core. He archived this information, marking it as "to be supplemented".
He spent nearly two hours in the wreckage, disassembling dozens of small parts and fragments—fragments of heat shield pried from the bulkhead, valve handles removed from pipes, buttons ripped from control consoles. Each item was small, but each required disassembly to extract complete information. Atoms were stored in the database, and information was archived.
As he crawled out of the wreckage, sunlight was already piercing through the grayish-yellow clouds. He examined the samples collected by the servants—just scattered fragments on the ground, of little value, but useful for concealing his true haul.
The second target, located about three kilometers from the first, is the wreckage of a much larger ship. Judging from its shape, it is likely the bow section of a cruiser of some type, at least 800 meters long, and is diagonally embedded in the ground. The ground around the wreckage is cracked and emitting heat—the geothermal activity is much stronger than at the first location.
Liu En activated all the protective functions of his power armor, keeping the field shield on standby. He walked to the side of the ship, found a hole that had been blasted open, and crawled inside.
The interior was even worse than the first one. There were obvious signs of burning on the bulkheads, and the molten metal had solidified into strange shapes. The air had a strong chemical odor, and the concentration of toxic substances was very high—the gas mask's sensors were issuing continuous warnings.
The field of energy swept across the surrounding matter. He could only perceive the surface composition and physical state, not the precise crystal structure. The preservation here was much worse than the first location, but there might still be some things remaining in the core area of the ship. He moved towards the bow, climbed over a pile of collapsed structural debris, and entered a larger compartment.
This compartment was likely one of the ship's weapon control centers. Several Thinker control panels were fixed to the walls, their screens shattered and their casings rusted. Liu En's field of vision penetrated the casings and revealed that one of the Thinker's core processors was intact—protected by a thick armored compartment, with no water damage inside. The field of vision could perceive the processor's general outline and material type, but the specific circuit layout and chip structure remained undetectable.
He didn't disassemble the entire Thinker. First, he removed a loose armor plate from the outer casing, disassembled it, and obtained material information. Then he opened the casing and found the core processor. The processor was a palm-sized multi-layered circuit board fixed in a metal frame. He used tools to remove a few fixing screws and a short section of connecting wire, disassembled it, and obtained basic material information. To obtain the complete processor blueprint, he needed to disassemble the entire processor—but he didn't want to spend too much time on that. He removed a damaged auxiliary chip next to the processor, disassembled it, and obtained some circuit design information.
He didn't get the complete military-grade Thinker blueprints, but he did obtain a lot of fragmented information. He archived this information, planning to supplement it if he could find a complete prototype in the future.
He found a small safe in the corner of the cabin. A field scan revealed objects inside, roughly shaped like two data crystals, but the content stored within was unknown. Liu En removed the safe's handle and a few screws, disassembling it to obtain information about the safe's material. He then pried open the door with tools—no disassembly required, just physical opening. He removed the data crystals, touched them, and used field sensing. The data was encrypted; shallow sensing only indicated the storage medium was intact, not the content. He put the crystals in his pocket, planning to deal with them later.
The third target was marked "High Value, High Risk" on the data panel. It was the wreckage of a large cargo ship, located at the deepest part of a geothermally active zone. The surface temperature was extremely high, and there were cracks in the ground, through which the dark red glow of underground lava could be seen. Liu En observed it from a safe distance for ten minutes, scanning the outline of the wreckage with his field scan—he could only obtain the shape and temperature distribution of the surface, unable to penetrate the thick rock layers and metal shell to obtain internal information.
This wasn't a target he could recover on his own. There might still be intact containers in the cargo hold, but the uncertainties of geothermal activity were too great. If a local collapse or a toxic gas eruption occurred while he was working deeper, even the strongest field wouldn't be able to save him. He saved the coordinates and marked it as "to be explored."
On the way back, he picked up some scattered ship debris on the ground for cover. The harvest from half a day's operation was already enormous: information on some parts of the subspace engine's auxiliary core, fragment data of the military Thinker, two encrypted data crystals, and a large reserve of high-performance alloy materials.
These are worth far more than tens of thousands of Throne Coins. Blueprints and information are assets that cannot be measured in money.
But he needed a buyer to handle the items that could be exchanged for cash. He didn't have the Temple's procurement channels, and trying to sell high-value parts himself would likely draw scrutiny. He needed a middleman.
Vitellius.
Liu En returned to the workshop, quickly cleaned up the equipment, and then sent an encrypted message to Vitellius.
"We have a shipment. Core components for the military-grade Thinker system, in relatively good condition. Want some?"
Vitellius replied quickly. "See you at the workshop tomorrow morning."
The next day, Vitellius arrived on time. He also brought someone with him—an elderly man dressed in the robes of a mechanical friar, with a gold-plated implant in his left eye and his right arm entirely made of machinery.
Vitellius introduced them. "This is Acus, the Temple's purchasing agent."
Liu En placed the core component of the military Thinker that he had created on the workbench—it had been systematically aged at the atomic level, making it look like a piece of junk salvaged from scrap.
Argus carefully examined the components, read through the data with the scanner in his hand, and looked up at Liu En.
"The integrity is higher than I expected. The material shows no obvious signs of aging. Where did you find this?"
"The Great Forge No. 79. The wreckage of a crashed cruiser."
Arcus nodded, seemingly uninterested in the source. "This one core component costs 35,000. If you can find more, the price is negotiable."
Thirty-five thousand. Liu En's expression remained unchanged. "Deal."
Akus immediately transferred the money via the data panel. Thirty-five thousand Throne Coins arrived in his account, bringing his total to over seventy thousand when combined with his previous savings.
Vitellius stayed behind to drink coffee after Acus left. He sat on the edge of the worktable, holding his cup, and looked at Liu En.
"The Great Furnace No. 79 is not a place you can go alone. Geothermal activity has been intensifying in recent years. Last year, a scavenger fell into a fissure there and his remains were never recovered. If you're going, take a few more people with you. Or find a safer place."
"for example?"
Vitellius put down his cup. "The temple's warehouses are piled high with wrecked ship parts waiting to be dismantled. Not whole ships, but fragments of wreckage from ships destroyed in orbit, towed back by the temple's salvage crew, and haven't had time to process them yet. If you need them, I can get you a permit. Dismantling parts from wreckage is much safer and more legal than going to the Great Forge."
Liu En thought for a moment. "Profit distribution?"
"I'll take 20%." Vitellius held up two fingers and waved them.
"One-tenth."
Vitellius smiled. "Alright, one percent. But you have to prioritize selling the high-value parts to the people I recommend. Acus is offering higher prices than outside."
"Can."
Liu En pulled up the data panel again and began planning the new process. The shipwreck fragments in the Temple's warehouse were a more stable source; he didn't need to venture into the wilderness himself, and he could legally sell the salvaged parts to the Temple's procurement system. The only cost was Vitellius's 10% commission, but this cost could be amortized through scale and efficiency.
What he needs is a systematic salvage operation, not working alone.
That evening, he spread out a topographical map of the Great Forge No. 79 on his workbench, marking all the coordinates that had been explored and those yet to be explored. Then he opened the list of temple warehouses sent by Vitellius, matching the location and specifications of the fragments one by one into the database.
The two lists are side by side. One contains abandoned ships that have crashed on the surface; these are high-risk but may contain valuable independent modules. The other contains shipwreck fragments in the Temple's warehouses; these are low-risk, but they have all been pre-screened, so there won't be many that slip through the net.
What he needs is a combined strategy: to acquire foundational technologies and materials from secure fragments, and to extract breakthrough, high-value modules from high-risk areas.
Liu En turned off the data panel and leaned back in his chair. The servo motors of the robotic arm emitted a faint hum in standby mode.
By Lucius's second year, he no longer needed to rely on odd jobs for repairs to make a living. He had a new direction.