Chapter 43: Energy Weapon
Chapter 43: Chapter 43: Energy Weapon
Yang Bo put down his cup and asked curiously, "Why?"
"Rift itself isn’t complicated. What’s complicated is the Energy Stone on it. This piece of Energy Stone is called a Homogeneous Energy Stone," Liu Zhijie said with a shrug.
Then, he sighed. "However, those who can afford to play with it are truly formidable. Take our planet for example. The Guardian can kill any locked-on target anywhere on the planet within ten seconds."
"Homogeneous Energy Stone?" Yang Bo asked, looking at Mr. Liu with a face full of curiosity.
Liu Zhijie nodded and pointed at the virtual TV. "The Battle Armor on the Red Earl this time is an Energy Armor, and specifically, a Homogeneous Energy Armor.
"Energy Origin, as the name implies, means the Energy has the exact same Energy Attribute and frequency as the user. A Weapon like Rift requires massive resources to manufacture a Homogeneous Energy Stone. Only then can the user control Rift.
"Homogeneous Energy Armor is Battle Armor forged from Homogeneous Energy Metal. The Homogeneous Energy Metal of this Battle Armor shares the same Energy Origin with the user—or at least has a very high compatibility rate.
"How should I put it... Whatever abilities the user has, the Homogeneous Energy Armor will reflect those exact abilities. You can imagine it as an extension of one’s own body.
"Whether it’s a Homogeneous Energy Stone or Homogeneous Energy Metal, the manufacturing process is highly classified. Furthermore, once a Homogeneous Energy Stone is made, all of the user’s secrets become known. Rift is very famous, but there aren’t many users. First, the manufacturing cost is astronomically high. Only people from major families and large financial conglomerates have the ability to use them, because these major families and conglomerates manufacture them themselves.
"Second are the state personnel. Like the Guardian of each planet, they all possess this kind of Weapon, and the state steps forward to equip them with Rift.
"Third, it requires the support of remote, encrypted communication data."
Yang Bo understood, his mind racing. Since his own Mecha used Homogeneous Energy Metal, would it achieve Invisibility when he piloted it?
He was brimming with anticipation. If the Mecha could indeed turn invisible, he would definitely have to test it out later...
"Who exactly are these Red Earl people?" Yang Bo asked.
"How should I put it... They are the descendants of Nobles from an ancient Empire. On one hand, these people want to restore the nobility system. On the other hand, as you know, the Nobles of the past never treated commoners as human beings. Therefore, they wantonly slaughter those they deem guilty—for instance, people in the financial sector, whom they consider to be Vampires. And you know what kind of people financiers are in today’s society.
"Furthermore, they treat ordinary residents like dirt. Every time they appear, large numbers of residents end up dead. The status of residents might be low, but who would actually say it out loud? Who knows what goes through their minds, acting all mysterious and crazy. Thanks to the Ace Mecha Master this time, otherwise we might have died.
"The Red Earl suffered massive losses this time. The Commander’s silver Energy Armor has been thoroughly researched by the Alliance. The Red Earl’s people won’t be able to run away in the future. As long as their Energy Attribute, frequency, and so on are figured out, finding them will be a piece of cake," Liu Zhijie said, shaking his head.
Yang Bo couldn’t help but feel that this was a Cult. Otherwise, why would these guys dare to broadcast across the entire Alliance that the lowly commoners deserved to die? It was just like Mei on Earth—in reality, white people inherently discriminated against people of color, but if anyone actually said it out loud, they would be locked up in prison until they died.
"The Red Earl’s people were also out of luck," Liu Zhijie continued. "The mainstream combat style for a Mecha is close-quarters combat. Long-range Weapons are originally just meant to be auxiliary. If the target was truly a few kilometers away, Rail Cannons, Space-Based Laser Weapons, and Warships would have opened fire long ago.
"Furthermore, without an intelligence-based evolutionary path and long-term training, a ranged Mecha Master simply cannot operate them. Some joke that the brain processing power of every ranged Mecha Master is comparable to a Light Brain. These guys were using new Weapons, too. They might be fine against unarmored targets, but against a Mecha... I’m just curious whether this incident was an internal conflict within the Red Earl or if someone had infiltrated them..."
At this moment, a woman’s voice rang out from the virtual TV. "Emergency news. According to the Reconnaissance by the Alliance Security Department and the military, it has been discovered that members of the Red Earl extremist organization were employees of the Alliance’s second-largest logistics company, the Red Crystal Logistics Company. A small-scale conflict broke out at the airport, resulting in the deaths of a hundred and thirty extremists and the acquisition of a large amount of evidence.
"This proves that the Red Crystal Company is a property of the Red Earl extremist organization. The Alliance Council has issued a wanted order for all members of the Red Crystal Logistics Company and has listed the Red Crystal Logistics Company as a target for elimination."
Watching the floating wreckage above the airport, Yang Bo finally understood. Why were the people he killed all Warship Pilots and Warship Maintenance personnel? It turned out these guys really were... Wait, no. This was a transport ship. Could it be that the people he had killed were serving in a certain Fleet in the military?
Yang Bo gasped. Had the Red Earl’s people already infiltrated the military? Should he pack up and run away immediately?
Seeing Yang Bo’s expression, Liu Zhijie thought he was just shocked by the news. He shook his head and took a sip of water. "To think it’s actually the Red Crystal Logistics Company. A lot of people are going to be out of luck now, which means our business is going to be very good."
"Why do you say that, Mr. Liu?"
"Before anyone takes over the properties of those unlucky people, they definitely have to clean them out first. The judicial organs won’t intervene in these properties. Do you know why?" Liu Zhijie asked.
"I don’t know."
"Because they’re afraid of finding too many contraband items. Once it’s made public, who knows how many people will have to resign or take the fall. The leaders of the law enforcement agencies might even have to resign entirely. The new buyers definitely won’t want to get involved with these things. That’s where we come in. Anyway, we’re all just residents. There’s so much contraband across the entire Alliance, and without chips, how could we possibly recognize it?" Liu Zhijie said in a low, smiling voice.
He continued, "In my lifetime, it would be great if I could get my hands on a Homogeneous Energy Stone and an Energy Weapon to play with."
"A Rift?"
"Not a Rift. Rift requires data support. You can think of it as a Cold Weapon forged from Energy Metal," Liu Zhijie explained.
Yang Bo nodded, secretly thinking that the knife made of Energy Metal on his Mecha could also be considered a Cold Weapon.
A Mecha was mainly used to fight for resources, such as Energy Ores and the like. Rail Cannons or long-range Energy Weapons couldn’t be used, as that would destroy the resources. Thus, the mainstream combat style for a Mecha was close-quarters combat.
"By the way, are you buying a house? I can lend you a sum of money," Liu Zhijie suddenly offered.
Yang Bo quickly shook his head. "Not for now. I’ll save up the money myself."
He was already preparing to make a run for it. Those lunatics from the Red Earl might have even infiltrated the military. Buy a house here? He would have to be crazy.
He quickly changed the subject. "Mr. Liu, buying an Energy Weapon shouldn’t be much of a problem for you, right?"
"It’s fine to check the market for a pure Energy Weapon without an Energy Stone. After all, over the years, many Weapons from our predecessors have been left behind. There might be one with the same Energy Origin, or one with a similar compatibility rate would do. The crux of the problem is that the Homogeneous Energy Stone is troublesome," Liu Zhijie replied, shaking his head and taking a sip of tea.
"Mr. Liu, what do you mean? Can you actually use the Energy Weapons left by predecessors?" Yang Bo asked in astonishment. Half of his expression was faked.