Astral Ants

Longbai stayed in Xianglan Mountain and waited patiently.

...

Bai Wei planted the white crystal seeds bestowed by God, which she had purchased at a high price of 300 billion, in Xianglan Mountain.

Enshrouded by the water energy field of the azure divine seed and with the careful care of Spade and Bicolor Chamomile, it grew to the level of a mountain master in just over two hundred years.

Baiwei's only life-giving plant, Baiwei grass, was left on Huangtao Mountain, and Huangtao helped to guard it.

Bai Wei spent a lot of source gems to strengthen and improve her life seed. Currently, she is in the star realm. After taking root and growing for a long time, she has transformed from a herb into a woody stem with thick branches and broad leaves.

Clinging to the trunk was a black, flat, round cocoon with ten-color energy veins, which continuously and slowly absorbed life energy and nutrients.

Suddenly one day,
There was movement inside the cocoon, and the natural force quickly gathered to form a force vacuum.

The dragon cypress that was resting on the eleventh floor of the short-handled horn tree was awakened and scanned with its mental power.

next door,

Huang Tao and Ze Qi moved quickly, using their abilities to manipulate large bags of original crystals from the depths of the cave. They were opened and broken to replenish the original force for the Baiwei grass.

The black cocoon on the trunk was shining with ten-colored energy patterns, and it expanded little by little while absorbing energy.

It lasted for three days and three nights.
The cocoon bursts,

Bai Wei broke out of the cocoon and her shell hardened quickly.

Bai Liu was obviously used to this and brought a large bag of white refining beads over.

Bai Wei takes food as a supplement.

"???"

Long Bai cast a questioning mental thought.

"Chief Longbai?"

"you are back."

Bai Wei explained: "Doesn't the Luoli Chamber of Commerce have a major project to build five star systems at the same time? Luoli got some information. Hongtao, Molan, and I went to investigate the material conditions of the star field over there. The journey was too long, so I simply asked Molan to kill me, and my soul returned at ten thousand times the speed of light, returning in a reborn form."

Bai Wei: "I found a problem. After death, the two external objects, titanium sand and technological star core, will fall. It's okay for normal death practice, I can put them away in advance and let Hong Tao help me collect them. But if I go to the battlefield and die on the battlefield, won't they be lost?"

Long Bai: "..."

Long Bai: "We must not die casually on the battlefield. If we really encounter an invincible enemy, it is great to be able to save our lives, and it doesn't matter if we lose some things."

Long Bai asked: "How is your rebirth ability training? Have you realized the meaning of 'reincarnation'?"

Bai Wei sighed and said, "Not even close. I have just comprehended a little bit of the power of 'death'. I need to comprehend the life, water, and soul powers of life and death at the same time. The next step is 'reincarnation'."

Bai Wei quickened her pace and ate all the Bai Lianzhu in one breath to restore her strength. She stretched her legs and feet, turned into a stream of light, and came to the living room on the first floor of the short-handled horn tree.

Zeqi and Huang Tao followed.

Long Bai quickly went downstairs.

Bai Wei changed the subject and asked, "Have you looked for Xiao Luoli? What did he say about the project?"

"……certainly."

Long Bai introduced himself briefly: "Xiao Luoli introduced me. I have met President Qian Qu once, so I have obtained the qualification to enter."

"President Qian Qu arranged for us to go to the material group code-named 'Had' to collect materials from points 024 to 038."

"Oh--"

"A mass of cod?"

Bai Wei thought about it and said, "Overall, the working environment is not ideal!"

Bai Wei raised her claws, and the surroundings shrank. The water vapor condensed into numerous ice crystals, which were suspended to form a spherical mass with a long tail.

"It was originally a large star. About 10 million years ago, it was probably hit by a high-speed moving star, causing a huge explosion similar to a supernova explosion. It turned into a mass of matter mainly composed of hydrogen and helium. In the center is a large gas planet. Around it is a diameter of 30 billion kilometers. Various materials are scattered in the form of asteroids, meteorites, and dust, orbiting the gas planet."

"There are two criteria for evaluating whether a region of matter is suitable for a star or a planet: the structure of the matter and its distribution density."

"This mass of whiting has a complex composition and is difficult to process. If used to build a star, there are too many impurities. If used to build a planet, the material structure is barely reasonable, but it is too dispersed and fragmented, and it takes time and effort to collect it."

"I roughly understand..."

Long Bai stared at the model that Bai Wei showed him for a few seconds, then retracted his gaze, tapped his antenna, and asked, "I heard from Luo Li that there is another mass of matter codenamed 'Qingxue'? What is the specific situation?"

Bai Wei gently waved her claws, and the model changed, forming a flat, round mass of matter shaped like a fish fin.

"A cloud of matter formed by the collision and explosion of neutron stars and the drift of matter is rich in various metal substances, which is particularly suitable for building mining stars. Some areas are also particularly suitable for building life planets."

“The most ideal operation area, but unfortunately it is not large enough.”

"Currently, eleven fast survival carriers have arrived first and have begun operations..."

As Bai Wei was talking, she understood and said, "There must be other teams on their way to the 'Cod' material group. The best operating areas have been arranged there. We are slow and have no choice."

Long Bai said calmly: "Everything should be based on first come first served, there is no doubt about that."

Long Bai asked: "President Bai Wei, have you calculated the approximate cost of building a life planet with the cod mass?"

"I've calculated it!"

Bai Wei said: "Taking into account all expenses, including the 10% depreciation of the survival mothership, the minimum cost is close to 1.6 trillion. The quotation of 1.8 trillion to 1.9 trillion is appropriate."

"As for the material collection points 024 to 038 arranged by President Qian Qu... the whiting material group is uniform overall, and the differences between the operation points are not that big."

Long Bai slowly moved his tentacles, "Now I have a clue about this."

Hongtao went along.

Baiwei, Molan and Yinbai may not be reliable.

You can't go wrong with hearts.

Moreover, according to the inside information given by Luo Li, the contract price of one team was exactly 1.8 Chaos Stones.

It is not difficult to infer that this team was also arranged to work in the Cod Material Group. The cost was close to 1.6 Chaos Ore, and the profit was 2000 Chaos Ore, which is 2000 billion.

It can be further inferred that President Qian Qu's psychological price is 1.8 Chaos Origin Stones. The previous offer of 1.9 was completely unacceptable to the other party.

Long Bai changed the subject and said, "Our Xianglanshan Chamber of Commerce can dispatch 5000 planetary warriors to participate. I have communicated with Huaqishan, and they can send 3000 warriors who are good at earth, metal and water abilities, of which the proportion of star realm warriors can reach 300%, which means no less than ."

"President Bai Wei, how many fighters can you recruit?"

Bai Wei said proudly: "As many as you need!"

Bai Wei: "The key is whether we can make money. Chief Longbai, how do you plan to calculate the salary?"

Long Bai asked back: "President Bai Wei, do you have any good ideas?"

Bai Wei: "I discussed it with Molan, and we think we can use two settlement modes."

"The first method is to further divide the collection star area divided by the Luoli Chamber of Commerce into smaller work areas, and price them based on the volume and material density of the star area. They are then contracted out to various tribes or chambers of commerce, including Citi Mountain. These tribes or chambers of commerce lead the team to organize the collection work."

"For example, we divide a three-dimensional area with a side length of 1000 million kilometers. We comprehensively evaluate the material density and total amount in the area, calculate a contract price, and then subcontract it to Citi Hill."

"The leaders, deputy leaders, star masters, and mountain masters of Citi Mountain organize their soldiers to do the work, and we will not interfere. Within the specified time, they will collect the materials, classify them, and stack them in the designated area, and they will complete the task. The original crystals will be handed over to the Citi Mountain Chamber of Commerce, and they will pay the salaries to their soldiers themselves."

"The second model is that the Xianglan Chamber of Commerce has its own bugs, with fixed salaries, and unified command and flexible scheduling by the Chamber of Commerce management bugs. They handle some unconventional miscellaneous affairs, are responsible for material transfer and planet construction, as well as some particularly simple or particularly troublesome collection work."

This coincides with Long Bai's idea.

"This method is feasible! Following President Bai Wei, Molan has become smarter."

Long Bai praised and asked, "President Bai Wei, are there any more?"

"Ha. Ha. Molan is very smart."

Bai Wei was happy for a moment, and then continued: "The total number of warriors participating in this project will exceed three million. We will also need to dispatch at least 30,000 warriors. With so many insects from different tribes and chambers of commerce gathered together, it is inevitable that conflicts will arise during work. Therefore, we need a combat team. The first is to prevent our insects from being bullied by insects from other engineering teams; the second is to maintain order within our own team."

"Molan is not available to show up. Didn't Hongfeng get in the top 200 in the Daylight Sea Arena? We can publicize it. Hongfeng has a deterrent effect. Maomei has been learning from Molan and Hongfeng, and her fighting ability is not bad either. Molan's idea is that Hongfeng and Maomei will lead soldiers from the military department to form two security teams, specifically responsible for maintaining order."

Bai Wei turned around and said, "President Zeqi, you are responsible for recruiting warriors for the Bauhinia star system. Please pay attention to the number of warriors recruited by each tribe or chamber of commerce to be controlled within 300. In this way, they will have fewer insects and will not resist subconsciously. They will obey our rules and follow our arrangements."

"On the contrary, if there are too many insects in a tribe or a guild, and they gather into a big force, they will definitely not be so obedient. Today they complain about the low subcontract price and want to make trouble. Tomorrow they complain about the poor food and want to go on strike. The day after tomorrow they complain that the allocated living room is too small and want to destroy it... In short, there are all kinds of troubles that can be imagined or unexpected."

Zeqi: “…”

Long Bai: "..."

Bai Wei added: "For a large project like this involving 30,000 insects, the most important thing is to coordinate and synchronize operations in an orderly manner. To achieve this, the prerequisite is that the participating insects obey orders and follow commands. The second thing is to test the coordination and command capabilities of the leading insect."

This trick was most likely thought up by Hong Tao.

“This arrangement is also very reasonable.”

Long Bai agreed and asked, "President Bai Wei, is there anything else?" Bai Wei: "Another point is to take out some original crystals appropriately and give them as rewards to those subcontracting teams that obey orders and have high work efficiency to boost morale. Let's speed up and complete the construction of the life planet."

"With our subcontracting model, the expenditure and income of building a life planet are almost fixed. Shortening the construction period, completing this project and moving on to the next one, is equivalent to increasing the average annual income."

"At this stage, the Baijing Galaxy is still in the initial stage of material environment stabilization, and there are still primary sources that are constantly evolving. It is in the stage of large-scale development and construction. After one project is completed, it is relatively easy to find the next one. There is no worry about not getting work. What is lacking is the survival mothership and insect talents with organizational and management capabilities."

"With this kind of management, the participating fighters are happy to receive their bonuses, and we also earn more."

"On the contrary, if it is not managed properly, a culture of perfunctory work and passive resistance will form among the Zerg. The project progress will be slow, the participating warriors will not earn crystals, and our income will also be reduced in disguise."

"The survival mothership is suspended in a force vacuum environment, and the equipment is always in operation, which causes constant wear and tear. Add to that some unruly bugs that cause damage, and the mothership's depreciation costs several million crystals every year. If we don't handle it well, we won't make any money, and we'll even lose money."

Long Bai thought carefully, slowly moved his antennae, and said: "Luo Li Chamber of Commerce will pay the project fee in stages. We can do this. For each stage, we will set a construction period. Within the construction period, the subcontracting team that completes the assigned tasks ahead of schedule can receive a corresponding amount of reward. If all teams complete the task ahead of schedule, then everyone will get a reward."

"President Qianqu has set a construction period of 1 years for us. If we successfully complete the task, the profit will be about 2000 billion, which is 2000 million crystals per year. We can do this. For every year the total construction period is advanced, half of the profit, that is, 1000 million crystals, will be allocated as a reward."

"half?"

"Is it too much?"

When Bai Wei heard this, all eight legs stood up and looked at Zeqi.

Zeqi: "If we count all the 30,000 soldiers, there won't be much left."

Zeqi analyzed, "Think about it from another angle. The carrying capacity and supply efficiency of the survival carrier are limited, and the number of soldiers on board is limited. The limited number of soldiers work hard to improve efficiency and shorten the construction period. For every year shortened, you earn an extra 1000 million, right?"

"That's true..."

Bai Wei sighed, "I earned an extra million? I'm so happy."

According to the agreement, Baiwei Chamber of Commerce assisted in the construction of the mothership, was responsible for various transportation tasks, assisted in recruitment and construction management, and could share 10% of the profits after a construction period.

"..."

Long Bai asked, "Does the cod mass have a lot of raw metal ore? Can we still do the sideline business we planned to collect metal ore, refine it and sell it?"

Bai Wei replied: "After careful investigation, there are metal mines, but the density and total amount are too small, and the benefits are low. There is no need to do it."

"Oh--"

"let it go."

Long Bai was slightly disappointed and said, "If we want to improve efficiency, there is another issue that must be considered, and that is food supply."

"Other Zerg warriors are not like us. They are strengthened by the fruits of the system laws and their comprehensive physical fitness is enhanced to the extreme. On the contrary, working in an environment without the Force, light, and temperature not only consumes the Force, but also consumes a lot of physical energy. There may even be physical damage that is difficult for us to detect."

"In addition to proper rest and replenishing the Force, you also need to eat high-quality food to maintain your body's metabolism. Otherwise... for cosmic life above the planetary level, it may be fine for a few years or decades, but if it lasts longer, hundreds of years, the body will inevitably become weak and affect efficiency."

"The onboard ecosystem of the survival mothership cannot meet the food needs of 30,000 soldiers. My idea is that this project happens to be adjacent to the Aquamarine star system. I will arrange for Prince Zuo to collect food on the life planet and make it into white and blue refining beads. President Bai Wei, you arrange for the poisonous beans to deliver it."

"A Zerg warrior consumes 1 kilogram of refined food per day. Thirty thousand Zerg consume about 1 tons per year. The poisonous beans transport 1000 million tons each time, which is enough to support the entire engineering team for 1000 years. We have modified several cold storages on the survival mothership to be used specifically for food refrigeration."

Bai Wei agreed, "That makes sense! We have inquired and found that other engineering teams regularly purchase fresh food from nearby source star systems. They use human methods and after simple processing, they use star spiders and starships to transport it to the construction site, which is extremely laborious and expensive."

Zeqi asked, "So, can you guys do some trade in ordinary food as well? According to Longbai's calculations, with more than three million insects involved in the entire project, one million tons of refined food can be consumed in a year? This is a large-scale transaction. If you earn one crystal per ton, you can earn one million crystals per million tons."

"can do!"

“I can do it!”

"My refining ability has passed the third-level special ability certification!"

Bai Wei and Long Bai's eyes lit up.

We discussed it in detail for a while.

Zeqi, Baiwei and Huangtao said goodbye and left.

Zeqi set out directly to visit the tribes and chambers of commerce in the star field under the jurisdiction of the Bauhinia star system that had cooperated with the Shuhua Chamber of Commerce, and began to organize an engineering team.

Bai Wei rested for half a year and then set out to the Tiemu star system to recruit workers.

Six years later,

Molan, red peach, juniper and silver cypress returned from the front-line investigation.

Longbai called together Luoli and the chief of the Citi Mountain Redwoods for a formal meeting and discussion to finalize all matters.

Find President Qu to discuss and quote.
The Luoli Chamber of Commerce has professional bugs who specialize in actuarial work and can calculate the accounts accurately.

Old Spider Qianqu was unwilling to give more, and after some bargaining, the contract was signed at the price of 1.81 Chaos Gems.

...

...

[Time: 78th Era-191 Yuan-150 Years]

The construction of the Molan survival starship has been completed, all tests have been confirmed to be correct, the six energy ships are fully capable, and the shipboard engineering starships and star spiders are all in place.

Long Bai was in charge personally, and Gui Shan and Xing Yun Bai were in command. The mothership set sail from the Tiannanxing star system and headed towards the Bauhinia star system.

A straight-line journey of 1.3 light years.

On the way, the ship stopped at the Yinyu star system port for replenishment and maintenance.

Molan, Baiwei and Chief Redwood led 30,000 soldiers to land on the mothership.

...

[Time: 78th Era-191 Yuan-411 Years]

The survival mothership Molan successfully arrived at the cod mass.

The No. 1 command cabin can accommodate a thousand soldiers.
Longbai organized a meeting of managers from various departments and teams.

Xingshen'ao, acting as the mothership's control computer, automatically activated the holographic projection, projecting a three-dimensional image of the cod mass that was a hundred times clearer than the one provided by the Luoli Chamber of Commerce.

Character annotation.

The green lines divide the three-dimensional area of ​​material collection points 024 to 038 designated by the Luoqi Chamber of Commerce.

"Xing Shen Ao, calculate the best docking position for the survival mothership."

Longbai spoke.

A projection of a metal turtle with tentacles growing all over its carapace appeared, with one tentacle extending and pointing.

The projection zoomed in, and near the location of the mass of matter, a green spot was lit up.

"here!"

Xing Shenao: "The mothership is slowing down and approaching. It is expected to be in place in two days."

Long Bai: "Calculate where is the best place to build a life planet?"

Star God Ao extended his tentacles, lighting up a brown spot, and drew a green line with an arrow, saying:
"Build it here first, and collect materials from areas 024 to 026. When the diameter of the planet reaches 5000 kilometers, all the bugs will work together to move 8 million kilometers to the collection area 028..."

Long Bai: "Calculate and divide the first phase of tasks for the engineering team."

Xing Shen Ao: "Okay..."

Thirty thousand Zerg warriors, divided into 185 engineering teams.

Among them, there were 5000 Xianglanshan warriors, divided into 30 teams of different sizes.

The 3000 soldiers on Citi Hill were divided into 15 teams.

The more than 22000 soldiers that Bai Wei found were divided into 140 teams of different sizes, with each team ranging from dozens of insects to a full quota of insects.

With the help of the powerful detection system of the third-level mothership, Xing Shen Ao has insight into the distribution of materials. Coupled with its super computing power, it can divide the areas, set prices, and subcontract according to the situation of each team.

In order to further improve work efficiency,
Each construction team's 'foreman' is equipped with a portable communication device with a simple holographic projection function.

The Molan survival mothership regularly detects and observes the construction area and continuously releases electromagnetic wave signals.

The 'foreman' of the construction team can use the communication equipment at any time to check the distribution of materials in the contracted area, the progress of the project, and the location of each team member, and then number these insects, so that who is lazy and not moving can be seen at a glance.

If you encounter any problems, you can contact the command center through communication equipment.

The command center has tasks to arrange, or Xingshenao is always monitoring and discovers unexpected situations during the team's construction process, and will send information notifications at any time.

In this way, the command efficiency is maximized.

Long Bai and Xing Shen'ao spent half a day explaining the construction planning and management rules clearly.

The insects return to their respective nests and wait.

Longbai came for the first time, accompanied by Baiwei, Molan, Hongtao and other insects, and went out of the cabin first to inspect the specific conditions of the material collection point. (End of this chapter)