Chapter 358: S: The Glorious Event (33)

Devoid of virtue... The reason several members of the Glory Alliance, along with Steve and Peter, came to the Andromeda Galaxy must be traced back to the recent developments in the Solar System.

Since beginning construction of the Mercury Base, Stark had started leveling up his infrastructure skills, first by recognizing that Mercury's future development would make it a fully automated energy collection base, requiring automation above all else.

Programming was child's play to Stark; he crafted an extremely complex robotic logic network, adapted different robot models to fit this network, then integrated them directly into construction structures, turning them into unified mechanical systems that solved troublesome issues like robot energy supply and damage repair.

Second came nanite folding and unfolding technology: the nanosuit Stark had received from Shiler had been thoroughly studied by him; though he still couldn't match that folding rate, he could now fold most large machinery into the cargo capacity of transport robots.

What followed was even simpler: a mage opened a portal, transport robots carried equipment inside, and Stark operated everything from a massive screen on Earth.

The actual process was just like playing certain factory-building games: locate mineral points, place mining machines, smelting units, assembly bots, then lay conveyor lines, assemble factories, optimize efficiency...

With the technology to fold large machinery, Stark could now do exactly what he did in games—he clicked a button on his Earth-based screen, and the construction robots on Mercury instantly deployed, unfolding entire large machines on the spot.

Of course, since the technology was still immature, there was a risk of explosion during deployment, so it couldn't be used on Earth itself—but Mercury didn't matter; if it exploded, just build another one.

The initial explosion rate was somewhat high, so Stark began leveling up his recycling system skills: he modified the large machinery to make the blast radius fully controllable, then recycled the shattered materials, achieving over 80% recovery, eventually pushing it above 98%, effectively making demolition and reconstruction cost-free.

Next, Stark collaborated with technical advisors from the Far East nations to establish logistics systems between bases—elevated highways and maglev trains—followed by the tedious processes of wiring and routing.

For an ordinary person, this would have burned out their brain, but for Stark, it was nothing; with JARVIS's superintelligence assisting him, the Mercury Base soon took shape in a remarkably professional manner.

But problems arose again: the Mercury Base was meant to experiment with solar energy extraction; staying only on Mercury wasn't enough—it had to move closer to the star. Yet every step closer increased temperature exponentially; ordinary metals couldn't withstand the Sun's heat, and critical equipment required vibranium and vibranium alloys.

Wakanda, the black sheep, had nearly been stripped bare by Stark's demands; even if Wakanda wanted to participate in Solar System development and was eager to elevate vibranium's importance, the mining technology remained the same—after years of digging, they'd extracted little, and no amount of urgency could conjure more out of thin air.

Stark knew he couldn't keep squeezing one sheep dry, and this non-renewable resource had to be used sparingly.

Thus, Solar System development was again bottlenecked by materials, and Stark realized that to achieve technological leaps, obsessively upgrading material durability was far too slow; instead of spending years whittling a stick into a spear, he should find iron and gunpowder and make a gun.

Coincidentally, the Sulfur Dwarves were precisely the race capable of drawing energy directly from their star; according to the symbiotes, their civilization had advanced beyond others and developed its own independent technological system thanks to a unique metal in their star system, which the dwarves called Molten Steel.

Additionally, the Andromeda Insectoids controlled cavernous crystal clusters with exceptional light transmission and thermal retention; the High Elves and Totem Spirits both inhabited regions rich in high-magic-affinity materials, ideal for mages to anchor teleportation portals.

"Humans traveled countless light-years to Andromeda, overthrew the evil Consortium Chairman, and restored justice to the Andromedans—surely even peacekeeping deserves some wear-and-tear fees?"

"We don't even ask for money—just mining rights. How much ore can a primitive surface civilization possibly extract?"

"Look, even the Sulfur Dwarves have no objections."

Shiler sat on the sofa in the Consortium Chairman's residence, sipping a glass of the local fruit wine.

Strange rolled his eyes: "I bet that once they agree, you'll immediately fly off in a ship to mine until every warehouse is overflowing..."

"Impossible. If anyone's flying, it's Peter. Flying isn't as fun as I imagined—pass on it."

At that moment, Magneto and Charles entered one after the other; Shiler turned to them and smiled: "How's the new home?"

"Excellent." Charles clearly was very satisfied.

After all, this floating island's location, structure, and environment were top-tier; the selfish Chairman had spent years hoarding precious resources and technologies from across the galaxy, pouring them all into his private garden.

He had turned the entire island into a beautiful, resource-rich paradise; for mutants, it was like seizing a billionaire's private estate—they were naturally delighted.

Moreover, compared to a full planet, this island—half Earth's size—was easier to defend; at least Magneto's magnetic field could fully envelop it.

Earth could hold billions, but mutants numbered only a few million; living here was truly spacious and sparsely populated.

Shiler was also satisfied, because Charles's next words were: "Of course, there are still many problems with development here—there aren't enough houses, infrastructure is lacking, urban planning has no direction..."

"No problem. You're not moving here tomorrow—you can plan everything on Earth first, then slowly transform this place into mutants' dream homeland over several years."

"Exactly this issue." Charles gave a slightly awkward smile. "Mutants have powerful individual abilities, but in construction... we're really..."

"Beast proposed a plan, but we have no idea about raw materials or how to begin construction. It sounds simple, but it's a massive undertaking—and if poorly planned, it could cause major chaos later..."

"Don't rush. Earth's support doesn't mean supplying raw materials—it means supplying technology and ideas. For base construction, Stark can handle it easily—didn't you see the speed of Mercury Base's construction just a few days ago?"

Charles nodded: "That was truly miraculous. But we must also consider aesthetics—you know, this is where people live. We can't turn it into a robot factory."

"Relax. Nick has already invited the world's most renowned landscape architects, plus several professors from top universities specializing in environmental design—they'll provide the optimal environmental renovation plans for you."

"Also, you can use local materials. You've seen the Chairman's residence—this special material exists on planets within the galaxy. The Insectoids have just sent word, thanking us for exposing the Consortium Chairman's conspiracy, and stated their civilization suffered the heaviest losses during the fleet's destruction."

"If mutants can guarantee their safety, they're willing to cede two mining planets at the galaxy's edge, providing you with ready-made ore."

"The High Elves' leader also wishes to negotiate; they want to trade some of their technology for ours. They lag behind other civilizations in engineering, especially in electricity and magnetism control—perhaps we can get something valuable from them."

"The Totem Spirits are a pure elemental race, so they have little to do with mutants—but if they trade with mages, you can ask the mages if they can exchange any enchanted items."

"In short, this is the advantage of the Prosperity Zone—everything can be traded, all parties can exchange what they lack and progress together."

"Even compared to Earth, this place is more suitable for development; Earth itself feels like a remote wasteland where you must extract everything yourself."

Charles deeply agreed. Over these past days, watching Stark rapidly level up his skills, he honestly felt Stark had given his utmost—but still, he was constrained by resources, forced to count every ounce, squeezing every bit into the most critical uses.

Even with Stark's intellect maxed out, he still had to travel countless light-years to Andromeda just to haul back ore.

In this light, mutants had clearly struck a massive windfall: the core region of the Andromeda Nebula had highly developed infrastructure and established interstellar laws, making it ideal for intelligent life—especially for benevolent to neutral beings.

After Magneto left, Charles sighed, picked up his cup, took a sip of fruit wine, and asked: "Such a wonderful place—why are you so willing to hand it over to mutants?"

"We're not handing it over to mutants—we're all human, at least all part of human civilization. You are humanity's first step into the stars, the vanguard and pioneers."

"Perhaps you're wondering: why don't ordinary humans move here? Even if they can't move everyone, moving some would still count as interstellar colonization—but it's not that simple."

"You now think the Insectoids, High Elves, and Totem Spirits are friendly because mutants are strong enough."

"The leaders of these civilizations have at least guessed Magneto's abilities; they fear mutants' overwhelming individual power. Cooperation is far better than forcing you into a corner."

"But if ordinary humans came here, our strength and technology wouldn't be enough to hold the ground. Then, these seemingly friendly alien civilizations would reveal their fangs—they'd tear humanity apart."

"That's the rule of interstellar society: survival of the fittest, the strong devour the weak. Humanity is far from ready to step onto the interstellar stage."

"Enough." Shiler changed the subject. "Where's that Kree descendant? It's time to talk about the ten ships the Kree owe us..."

————————Author's Note———————

The histories of the Three Empires have been largely rewritten; I've been cursing while drafting this past week.

The author's mental journey while drafting:

Look at the original setting... why so little?... maybe I can tweak it... WHAT THE HELL IS THIS... AND THIS... DID THE EDITOR HAVE WATER IN HIS BRAIN?!... HOW DO I FIX THIS... Screw it, rewrite it.

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