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In the game, you can just restart, but in reality, let alone capital ships clashing on the battlefield, even if two destroyers malfunction at a crucial moment, it can put the entire fleet in danger. After all, destroyers are also tasked with taking hits for capital ships at critical moments. But for players who haven't received professional training, taking hits is like Jesus trying to shield Kennedy from bullets—a complete failure.
Furthermore, when remotely controlling combat units, game controllers are more efficient and flexible than keyboards and mice when controlling physical combat robots, which is completely different from regular computer games. Therefore, if Qin Shan wants to organize a large army of remote-controlled robots, he must first solve the problems of logistics and personnel training. Even if the training level is low, training is still necessary. It is impossible to just randomly pull a group of skilled players onto the battlefield, at least not at this stage.
Perhaps after accumulating enough battlefield experience and optimizing the AI, we could set up an internet cafe as a recruitment center, but that's for the future. Right now, professional tasks must be handled by professional personnel.
However, these problems are minor compared to the advantages of the unmanned legion.
Relying on the network convenience provided by the system, it is impossible to interfere with or block the system's wireless network. The lack of delay in operation means that human flexibility and reaction speed can be immediately applied to the remote-controlled units. By adding auxiliary AI to each remote-controlled unit, the survival time of these unmanned units can be greatly enhanced.
It is believed that human operators are likely to become oblivious to their surroundings once they get into the game. At this point, an AI that can adjust posture and assist in aiming is needed to help prevent the operator from becoming a blind StarCraft player.
However, when it came to the production and manufacturing stage, Qin Shan came up with an extra trick.
“We can distribute some of the orders, okay? I’m sure this order will be very popular on Earth.”
Soon, Saratoga, now transformed into the Cloud Dream Fairy, found the bigwigs in China and asked if China was interested in cross-border trade.
Ah Zhong was naturally interested!
The small Earth is already overburdened by the production capacity of China's more than one billion industrial workers and urgently needs to explore new markets. However, the global market is already nearing saturation. Otherwise, China would not be investing in factories all over the world and trying to get other countries to complete their initial industrialization in order to consume its huge production capacity (the consumption capacity of the non-industrial population is extremely low).
Now, direct cross-world trade—just the name itself suggests a vast and promising future. Ah Zhong excitedly declared that he could absolutely do it, and that whatever the customer wanted, he could have it! Ideally, they could trade directly with the Divine Land civilization! He'd heard you had quite a few good goods (rubbing hands).
"Sorry, we don't have any trade needs right now."
With just one sentence, Fairy Yunmeng completely drained the power of the top three rows of big shots.
That's true. They are a super civilization that can span worlds and possess the power to independently fight against the abyss. Compared to them, a young and inexperienced like Earth is obviously somewhat lacking. What they want, current human civilization probably can't provide.
"However, world trade is part of our international cooperation. We can take the lead in enabling you to trade with other allies around the world. The total volume of products they need is enormous, which can definitely meet your production capacity needs."
Although I couldn't go to the Divine Continent to buy some of their good stuff, it's still great to be able to do business with other worlds.
Then Ah Zhong received an order with an astonishingly large quantity. Besides various light industrial and intermediate goods, there was a huge order for remote-controlled robots. As for the general equivalent required for trade, should he take blood crystals?
It's not the kind of blood crystal that's just been mined, but a processed, stable blood crystal that's safe for ordinary people to hold in their hands.
For extraordinary individuals, the importance of blood crystals is self-evident. Blood crystals themselves are also an important new energy source for Earth's civilization. In Qin Shan's previous life, blood crystals held this historical status.
Initially, only extraordinary individuals used it, then many weapons and equipment used it, and later everyone used it, permeating all aspects of human civilization and becoming part of the basic energy source of human civilization.
Previously, at Qin Shan's suggestion, Fairy Yunmeng had described the scene of the extraordinary world and the role of the Blood Crystal to the higher-ups at Azhong. Therefore, the higher-ups attached great importance to the Blood Crystal, and various research efforts had never ceased.
There is a small problem: the inherent danger of blood crystals means that many research projects require the protection of superhumans.
The problem is that there are no more than five thousand registered superhumans on Earth at present. There are many one-off Avengers, but they are only seen as suicide bombers. Reliable superhumans who can play a role in scientific research and practical use are rare in any country.
However, if the blood crystal itself becomes stable and can be used in technological products on Earth, its value will increase significantly, representing more possibilities and potentially accelerating research progress by more than tenfold.
The central government immediately approved the trade and offered a very favorable price.
For China, with its explosive production capacity, as long as market demand can pick up, even if it's just hard-earned money, it can unleash tremendous vitality in the whole society.
It's time to showcase the true production capacity of an industrial nation with over a billion people!
Section 133: Peace is at peace in Alaska!
World Two, Alaska, Juneau
Few people know that Alaska is also the largest state in the United States.
However, considering that 90% of the state is wrestling with polar bears, the actual usable area of the state is about the same as that of Palestine.
Due to climate reasons, coupled with the US government's neglect of the region after the Cold War, the local self-sufficiency was barely nonexistent. After the start of the American Civil War, local prices began to skyrocket. After all, Alaska has little agricultural output. The core agricultural region of the United States is now in a state of bloodshed.
It's believed that, nourished by bloodshed, American agriculture after the Civil War would experience a period of rapid development. After all, besides blood, there was also the nourishment of bombs.
Fun fact: Land that has been bombed can become very fertile.
It can not only loosen the soil, but also replenish ammonia, phosphorus, and potassium, but it is quite labor-intensive.
After the U.S. Pacific Fleet defected to the western states and began treating Alaska as a homeland colony to be plundered, the last vestiges of affection the locals had for the U.S. federal government vanished. They hated the chaotic era, the incompetent federal government, and their own lack of choice.
Just when everyone was in despair, the American Socialist Revolutionary Party emerged, allowing them to witness a miracle.
Capturing an entire fleet unharmed, with flesh and blood—isn't that a miracle?
Within the American Socialist Party, Bismarck was practically hailed as a saint. Everyone believed that Joan of Arc, representing America, could help America become great again, or at the very least, spare Alaska from war.
But what they didn't know was that the man behind the Saintess wanted more than just an Alaskan Malamute. "The ship's here! The ship's here!"
On the docks of the port of Alaska, the workers erupted in deafening cheers.
Bismarck promised them that after the American Socialists took over Alaska, there would be a steady stream of goods to replenish the shelves of local stores, allowing the locals to return to a life of plenty.
As for where these things came from, that doesn't matter. Anyway, there are no trademarks for the manufacturers that have been removed. But even if these products are unlicensed, the locals in Alaska are now flocking to them.
Previously, apart from bread which wasn't $500,000, all the other items in the mall were priced at unimaginably outrageous levels.
Unfortunately, after the American Civil War, the dollar collapsed immediately and became worthless paper. Now, the Canadian dollar and the Mexican peso are worth more than the dollar, and even bartering is more reliable than using the dollar.
This collapse resulted in the plundering of the savings of the middle class and lower-class people. Their accumulated wealth vanished overnight. The treatment that the Russian people enjoyed when the Soviet Union collapsed is now being enjoyed by the American people as well, and the American capitalists are even more unscrupulous than the Russian oligarchs.
A capitalist who steals money from outsiders and plunders money from his own countrymen is a healthy capitalist.
But now, all of that will be in the past, because the American Socialist Party has issued a new yuan.
Yes, the US version of the RMB features the standard "Great Unity" design and the American version of the worker-peasant-soldier motif. There's absolutely no need to worry about counterfeiting. It uses the blood-processing encryption technology from Qin Shan's past life. The materials used in the US version of the RMB are valuable; they can be reprocessed into high-purity blood crystals using special equipment. Such currency is so highly secure and difficult to counterfeit that it's impossible to replicate.
Even if other countries try to hoard them, it's pointless because without specialized equipment, these RMB banknotes made from blood crystals and extraordinary materials are no different from ordinary currency in terms of usage, but their encryption and anti-counterfeiting features make them prohibitively expensive.
Unless you have an eighth-level or higher superhuman to help you fabricate the fake.
The problem is, they all have the strength of the eighth rank, so why would they get involved in such meaningless things? An eighth-rank superhuman would never be short of money. Even in the later stages of Qin Shan's previous life, an eighth-rank superhuman was a precious national asset, second only to a ninth-rank superhuman, and would be treated with great respect.
With a reliable currency and sufficient supplies, won't the people's hearts be won over?
Once the shelves of Alaskan supermarkets were filled with affordable and high-quality goods, the American Social Party firmly established itself in Alaska. From that time onward, the generation born before the end of the American Civil War would become the core of the American Social Party, and no one could shake its position in the hearts of the locals.
The greatest kindness is that of someone who offers help in times of need; it can be repaid with ever-increasing gratitude.
In addition to ample supplies, the efficient and clean administration of the American Social Party is also essential. Knowing that the limits of human greed are unfathomable, after the American Social Party took root in Alaska, it began to build a big data network that permeated every corner of society, with the aim of enabling the American people to use digital yuan and facial recognition payment.
In peacetime, implementing these measures would certainly be hampered by various forces. Any label of "citizens' privacy" could be used to indefinitely postpone the entire plan.
But now we live in a chaotic world. The greatest advantage of a chaotic world is that most of the former beneficiaries have been killed. Even those who survived must focus their energy on military affairs. In the face of a life-or-death crisis, as long as you can stand firm, there are plenty of opportunities to make your mark on a blank canvas.
When all economic flows within the region are monitored, corruption becomes a deadly problem.
No matter what benefits you want to monetize with your power, it requires economic transactions. Even cash transactions have to go through the black market first. But if the entire country's economic circulation is under the surveillance of big data, all your transactions will be clearly visible. Corrupt officials will not only be unable to enjoy luxury, but they will also have no chance to transfer assets.
Ample evidence coupled with stringent law enforcement measures—this is the kind of disruptive force that modern technology can use to combat corrupt officials of the old era. Setting everything up now and cultivating good habits will make full implementation easier later.
There were naturally some opposition members within the American Socialist Party, citing reasons such as citizen privacy, but it was still passed by a majority, with the argument that the benefits outweighed the drawbacks. Bismarck also provided a wealth of solid data to support his claim. Many American Socialist Party cadres also deeply resented the inhumane practices of the previous US government and believed that power must be strictly supervised, otherwise the American Socialist Party would sooner or later become another disgusting US government, and what would be the point of their revolution and sacrifices?
The anti-corruption and integrity-building efforts within the American Socialist Party must also continue. Qin Shan never intended to completely eradicate corruption from the beginning; it is the dark side of human nature, and humans cannot sever their own humanity, so the fight against corruption is a never-ending journey.
That means the parts that are unreliable by humans can only be filled by the equipment. At least machines can make mistakes, they won't lie. If a machine lies, it can only mean that there's a problem with the data entered at some stage or the underlying code.
Since artificial intelligence cannot assume responsibility, it will ultimately fall on individuals.
After satisfying the Alaskan people's needs for food and clothing, the American Socialist Party's People's Army could begin to be fully established. However, the core combat capabilities of this army differed slightly from the locals' understanding.
Chapter 134: Heading South, Unification!
"gather!"
"Check the equipment before you start using it."
"Turn on the air conditioner, this awful weather is freezing cold."
"Don't go to the wrong place. Each place corresponds to one identity card."
"Air force personnel, assemble here."
At a military base now controlled by the American Socialist Party, a special military training exercise is underway.
However, only a small number of soldiers participated in the training (referring to the number of combatants on the front lines), while a large number of drones were deployed in the air and on the ground, forming a legion-level scale with a number exceeding 100,000.
But there are still soldiers on the front lines. However, the front-line squad members are surrounded by drones, with gyrocopters overhead and mechanical dogs beside them. The soldiers are all wearing full exoskeletons and heavy bulletproof vests. They are really armed to the bone.
"Aren't there tactical dolls? Why do we still need to go to the battlefield?"
"Tactical dolls are tactical dolls, but the front lines still need human commanders, oh, now we call them commanders. In short, learn to adapt to the new era of warfare."
By this time, the various factions in the Second World Civil War had already exhausted tens of millions of unmanned combat units of all kinds. Learning to coordinate with intelligent weapons such as drones and robotic dogs was an essential skill on the battlefield.
After the exercise began, the swarm of drones launched an attack on the target. Heavy loitering munitions targeted key enemy defenses, while gravity munitions and light loitering munitions eliminated enemy personnel. At the same time, a large number of unmanned launchers equipped with rocket launchers quickly unleashed their ammunition on the target, then rapidly moved to their launch positions, reloaded at their assembly points using optical full-channel stealth camouflage, and then continued the previous sequence of events.
After the drones blocked the sky, the mechanical dogs rushed into the position, and a large number of remote-controlled combat vehicles controlled the surrounding key areas, the real human soldiers appeared. They were all dressed like fearless warriors, and their weapons were general-purpose machine guns with drum magazines or grenade launchers. The pistols they used were also specially made with large calibers to ensure that the enemy would not be cured in one hit. This was the Astartes of the 2K era.
With the powerful assistance of exoskeletons, these soldiers sprinted into the position in complete secrecy, using their nimble hands to complete the subsequent tasks. At this point, you would realize that these soldiers are no longer warriors in the traditional sense, but rather engineering technicians. Their main job is not to annihilate the enemy, but to consolidate the captured enemy positions, continuously expand their own advantages, and steadily advance the battle line.
From a tactical perspective, this plan is too rigid, completely a modern-day version of building strongholds and fighting a dull war, proceeding step by step. But being rigid also means proceeding step by step, being cautious and careful. Often, the competition between the two sides on the battlefield is not about the upper limit of how many correct moves they can make, but the lower limit of how few mistakes they can make.
Patiently waiting for the opportune moment when the time, place, and people are in sync, and exploiting the enemy's weaknesses when they are forced to reveal them, will always lead to victory more easily than actively seeking out opportunities.
From that day forward, the Alaskan Socialist People's Army began intensive training exercises, conducting live-fire drills almost every month. Qin Shan's method for training the commanders and soldiers' tactical skills was very simple: pile up enough ammunition and train in environments that were almost identical to real combat. The biggest advantage of the remote-controlled robot army was its fearlessness in the face of sacrifice; any robots lost could simply be procured. If the Chinese side didn't have enough, there was still the Industrial System waiting. It didn't matter if they weren't familiar with the weapons; they could just practice more, model more, and learn more. There were plenty of bullets, shells, missiles, and grenades. They were going to fight a thousand miles a day, and make a name for themselves!
At this point, the American Civil War in World Two had been going on for more than four years. Many fronts had come to a halt, and many armed forces had entered a stalemate. It wasn't that they didn't want to fight, but that they were simply too exhausted to continue.
For the United States, this civil war was more terrifying than World War II, as evidenced by the large population.
Before the war, the United States had a population of over 400 million; now, the number of people registered nationwide is less than half.
Some tried to escape, others fled to remote mountains and forests to live as hermits and survive in the wilderness, and some simply starved to death because they couldn't find food. Don't forget that the American Central Plains is a very suitable place for a battlefield. With multiple forces causing trouble back and forth, how could food production be guaranteed? They could only consume stored grain, which led to soaring food prices in the United States.
Those who can't afford food will starve to death; you can't expect capitalists to provide disaster relief.
If they had any conscience, the American Civil War would never have started.
Unfortunately, American capitalists, driven by their own interests, have been cutting into society and planting all sorts of time bombs. Now, Bismarck has detonated them all at once, causing the United States to disintegrate in a truly physical sense.
Even if the United States were to be pieced together as a confederation after the Civil War, they could never go back to what they were before.
War has changed many things, and it is about to bring about even greater changes.
The changes we can see at this stage are that the United States, once a consumer empire and a professional spendthrift, has now learned to be frugal. The people living on this land have all mastered the skills of hard work and frugality without being taught, and have tried their best to survive in the midst of war. Many ruins hide people struggling to survive. Hoover House, which was built during the Great Depression in the United States, has now become a luxury item in the country. At least those things can still be called houses, and they even have roofs.
Men either sell their labor as hard laborers or act as cannon fodder to fill in the lines, praying that they can have a full meal before they start filling in the lines.
Women became a driving force in the sex industry. Post-Civil War America was far ahead in the sex industry, and a large number of unspeakable gray and black industries began to impact the international market. Even the everyday sex industry was challenged. After all, Americans' tastes are known to be quite extreme. And during the Civil War, America had no shortage of all kinds of filming material. In that environment, no crime could be effectively prosecuted.
Even if someone wants to uphold justice, once the criminals have fled to another faction's territory, the so-called pursuit becomes a joke.
A chaotic society, depraved humanity, and collapsing morality—all of these elements combined to create a hellish picture of the American Civil War.
The spillover effects of the American Civil War also deeply involved Canada and Mexico, turning the entire North America into a mess.
When violence becomes the only language, the only thing that can end violence is even more powerful violence.
And now, this force has arrived.
Just as the various factions of the American Civil War entered a period of profound uncertainty, a fully armed fleet was preparing to set sail from an Alaskan naval base, while simultaneously, hundreds of newly constructed...
At the airport, a heavy unmanned aerospace carrier, laden with drones and loitering munitions, is ready to go.
The American Socialist Revolutionary Party finally revealed its blade to this land that had been almost burned to the ground.
Head south, unify!
Chapter 135: Another Wildfire in Hawaii
The best strategy is to attack the enemy's plans; the next best is to disrupt their alliances; the next worst is to send troops; and the worst is to attack their cities.
Our ancestors discussed the cost of war very clearly. However, things have changed slightly since the beginning of modern times. The fragmented democratic system of the West allows nationalist sentiments to hold national leaders hostage. Coupled with the biases brought about by electoral politics, the effect of deterring a country has changed from simply frightening the rulers to now requiring at least a third of the country's population to be frightened.
So the United States chose to display its military might on a global scale. As we all know, even a superpower like the United States, which drains the world's resources, couldn't stand it. Their military power is not inexhaustible, and the opportunities to resolve problems through war are not endless either.
After waging numerous counterinsurgency operations, American soldiers inexplicably learned to cultivate bandits to enhance their own power, creatively inventing nuts worth $90,000, coffee cups worth tens of thousands of dollars, and a fleet of goats numbering in the millions.
By the way, some people say that real breeding sheep do cost that much, but the question is, are they even buying breeding sheep? As for reforming Afghanistan's local livestock industry, well, they've been quite successful at reforming agriculture—specifically, drugs. The US military, so ruthless in harming others, is equally merciless when harming its own people. How could a country that uses its own citizens' lives as experimental subjects possibly pass up the opportunity to be inhumane? When war shattered America and various domestic factions turned into warlords, what they did was essentially no different from the warlords of the past.
They also grow poppies, traffic drugs, buy and sell people, and engage in prostitution, gambling, and drug transactions. They don't mind quickly mastering and using any method that can bring them huge profits.
As for the trauma this will cause to the country, the wealthy can simply migrate abroad; there are still some developed coastal cities in Africa. Just because they can't go to southern Jiangsu or the former Soviet Union doesn't mean they can't find a suitable place on Earth to live in seclusion. Warlords are like locusts; the only way to deal with them is to kill them. "Want one?"
"Thanks.'
In the early morning in Hawaii, two American soldiers are smoking marijuana as they watch the sunrise.