Chapter 295: Supercarrier—The Inheritor of Legacy! Department of Talent Strategy!
Main Universe – Universal Megalopolis, Ideal City!
While the various factions in the Dune Universe were scrambling to prepare for an all-out war, following the agreement between the Megacorp and House Atreides, Li Ang had already shifted his focus elsewhere.
With Song Zhaomei and a powerful expeditionary legion stationed there to keep things in check, Li Ang hardly needed to worry about the situation in Universe 005 [Dune].
During this time, he devoted considerable effort to further consolidating the internal stability of the Universal Megacorp's regime, balancing power among its departments, and digesting the newly acquired tech points from Universe 004 [Halo].
Thanks to the tireless efforts of the research division and their hyper-intelligent AIs, more of the Forerunner think tank's data had been successfully decrypted.
This time, they unlocked a technological breakthrough: the manufacturing technique for World Seeds!
These seeds could be planted on any planet, generating lifeforms perfectly adapted to the local environment.
With this tech, the number of habitable colonies available to the Universal Megacorp across the universe would grow exponentially.
And that was just a small part of it. The real bombshell was that Morgan Blackhand had unearthed a Forerunner supercarrier—the Inheritor of Legacy!
This so-called Inheritor of Legacy was a super-flagship carrier built by the ancient Forerunner civilization.
The vessel stretched an astonishing 142.7 kilometers long, 138.6 kilometers wide, and a jaw-dropping 371.4 kilometers tall!
Its total displacement exceeded 4.7 billion tons, making it a veritable colossus—an airborne island in every sense.
While its sheer size couldn't quite compare to the 3,000-kilometer-wide disk ships of the Reaper civilization, its destructive power and technological sophistication were on par.
The hull of the Inheritor was composed of programmable solid-light materials and energy link connectors. This material could be programmed to alter its shape and properties at will.
It could even adapt to incoming damage by changing its composition in real-time. The solid-light generators could create a boson-photon quantum field, producing beams of light that behaved as tangible, solid matter under stress.
In simpler terms, the Inheritor could manipulate light to form its hull and defensive armor—capable of withstanding massive energy assaults.
And remember, light is a free and infinite resource in the universe. A warship that forms its shields from light itself? That's next-level—no need to worry about armor overload ever again.
Even more outrageous was the fact that, despite its massive appearance, the ship's size was somewhat "illusory"—its materials were fully reprogrammable into alternate forms.
In other words, the Inheritor could morph from a rectangular prism to a cube, then into a sphere, all without compromising combat effectiveness!
It also came equipped with a stealth system so advanced that it rendered the ship completely undetectable by radar, visible light, gravitational wave detectors—you name it.
This surpassed any known stealth tech. Once the Inheritor engaged its stealth mode, it might as well have activated a cosmic invisibility cheat. No eye, radar, or detection array could locate it.
It was like an invisible wall materializing out of thin space. Anything that collided with it would be utterly annihilated.
In addition to the stealth system and standard equipment like the distortion field, the Inheritor's most vital asset was its Core Seed.
As long as the Core Seed was preserved, the ship could be reconstructed from scratch in a factory, no matter how badly it had been damaged.
That alone showed just how terrifyingly advanced the Forerunners were.
Staring at the holographic screen displaying the Inheritor's specifications, Li Ang couldn't help but shake his head. Such a radiant, powerful civilization—and now all its legacy belonged to the Megacorp.
Sometimes, hard work really wasn't enough. No matter how capable you were, luck still played a bigger role. The Forerunners had painstakingly dethroned the Precursors and become rulers of the galaxy…
…only to be tricked by the Primordials. In the end, their painstaking achievements became freebies handed to humanity.
As the saying goes: fate first, luck second, and only then feng shui. Those words rang truer than ever.
Having reviewed the ship's basic design specs, Li Ang moved on to the weapon systems of the Inheritor.
And sure enough, they were every bit as ferocious as he had imagined. The ship's main gun was a heavy ion weapon system.
Its attack principle was to accelerate a piece of matter to light speed, then fire it. A single strike from a light-speed projectile could deform entire continental plates on a planet.
The sheer force of impact was enough to obliterate any surface-level defense!
In theory, this kind of power amounted to planet-killing potential.
You didn't need absurdly strong weapons to wipe out all life in a star system. Just look at the Singer civilization in The Three-Body Problem—they threw a photon bomb into a star to hasten its collapse and wipe out billions in an instant.
Clearly, the Inheritor's main cannon could deliver that same kind of one-shot extinction.
But perhaps the most intriguing system was its Stasis Tension Drive.
This engine consisted of an array of three energy projectors, with internal quantum singularity generators working in tandem with torsion drives to cause localized spacetime distortion.
In practice, this meant it could block warp-space from opening, disrupt faster-than-light communication, and jam sensor systems.
It was basically a miniature hyperspace inhibitor—perfect for sealing off enemy warp channels.
If the full-scale hyperspace inhibitor was a high-cost tool reserved for critical battles, then the Inheritor's system was the budget-friendly alternative.
It might not be as powerful, but it covered all the essential functions—without the insane energy demands.
"What a treasure..."
Li Ang couldn't help but sigh in admiration.
With this supercarrier in their fleet, the Megacorp could instantly interfere with enemy warp channels. Once detected, the Inheritor could intercept and distort spacetime around the entry point—effectively trapping enemy ships mid-jump.
It was like diverting a high-speed freeway into a maze. Enemy fleets would become lost in the endless void.
This alone could waste massive amounts of enemy time and force them to miss their strategic window.
As Li Ang browsed through the rest of the ship's configuration, he found that the remaining features focused mainly on point defense upgrades.
Compared to the wanderer-class Dreadnought, this ship came loaded with additional systems, including 40 deflection field drive arrays and a staggering 25,000 focused beam cannons.
Naturally, with a carrier of this magnitude, the crew capacity was equally mind-blowing:
It could support 6 million official crew members, and a total of 1 billion Prometheus-class mechanical knight units.
Yes—1 billion Prometheus Knights.
Realistically, the ship would never reach full capacity any time soon, since Megacorp's factories couldn't possibly mass-produce that many units in the short term.
Nonetheless, aside from the Reapers' two colossal ships—one 800 km and the other 3,000 km long—and the War Moon, the arrival of the Inheritor marked a new record for the Megacorp's largest capital ship.
After reviewing Morgan Blackhand's report and the full specs of the Inheritor, Li Ang responded by confirming Morgan's continued governorship of the Halo universe.
Although they now possessed this behemoth, it would still take a significant amount of time before it could be fully activated and put into formal service.
Just the initial testing and analysis phase would require an immense amount of effort.
However, Li Ang estimated that by the time he ascended as God-Emperor and claimed dominion over the Galactic Empire in the Dune universe, the Inheritor would likely be battle-ready.
And that made it the perfect ceremonial gift for his coronation on the Golden Lion Throne—not to mention a powerful show of force to intimidate the noble houses of Dune and make them witness the true might of the Megacorp.
As Li Ang was about to shut down the holographic screen and ask Song Zhaomei about the situation in the Dune universe designated 005, she preemptively connected via the faster-than-light communication device.
With a soft [Beep], the link was successfully established. Song Zhaomei's face appeared via projection, and behind her stood numerous captains of the expeditionary fleet.
From Terrence to Andrew, all of them had gathered here.
Clearly, this was a mid-stage status update. Without a significant breakthrough, Song Zhaomei wouldn't have contacted headquarters so rashly.
[Boss, the Corrino royal family and House Harkonnen have already formed an alliance. The other great houses of the Galactic Empire are all watching the spectacle unfold—everything is going exactly according to our plan!]
Song Zhaomei reported to Li Ang in detail all the developments between House Atreides and the royal family during this period.
All the AI spies and surveillance devices deployed across the noble houses were now fully in place. At this moment, the entire Galactic Empire was under the watchful eye of the Universal MegaCorp.
Li Ang nodded. Since war was inevitable, they might as well wipe everyone out—obliterate the Sardaukar legions and the Harkonnen guards entirely.
He wasn't particularly concerned with frontline battle deployments. Given the vast power disparity between the two sides, all he cared about was the outcome.
The only thing that truly warranted attention was the postwar redistribution of interests and the realignment of major powers.
The Corrino royal family? Nothing to discuss—they'd be eliminated from top to bottom. Even the worms in the imperial garden would need to be caught and split open lengthwise!
Even the eggs in the royal kitchens would have to be scrambled.
The transition of imperial power was bound to be bloody. To prevent any chance of restoration, complete eradication was the only option.
As for House Harkonnen, they might be kept—used to balance House Atreides. Of course, that would depend on how Baron Harkonnen performed.
If he surrendered quickly enough, they might just spare his miserable life.
Li Ang 's political insight certainly exceeded that of Emperor Shaddam. He was sharp—he knew that only through maintaining a balance of power could long-term stability be ensured within the empire and the corporation.
Once House Atreides rose to become a top-tier noble house, a new family would be needed to serve as a counterweight within the Landsraad, rallying the lesser houses to oppose Atreides.
Indeed, House Atreides would eventually become the new Corrino, and House Harkonnen would gradually become what Atreides was today.
Such changes weren't driven by individual will, but by the nature of humanity and power itself, compelling everyone to repeat this cycle like clockwork.
[What about the Bene Gesserit, the Navigators, and the Mentats? Should we establish a special department to handle these unique individuals?]
Song Zhaomei continued with her inquiry.
The Galactic Empire had no shortage of specialists who gained extraordinary abilities from spice. Dismissing all of them in one fell swoop would undoubtedly create major instability for the mega-corp's security apparatus.
So precautions were necessary. A decision had to be made now: should these people be executed or retained?
Li Ang fell silent for a moment, clearly pondering.
It was about time the Universal MegaCorp established a dedicated division for handling employees with supernatural abilities.
Those with voice-based control powers like the Bene Gesserit, the hyper-intelligent Mentats, and the Navigators—all could contribute to the research division.
Li Ang was a pragmatist. Spice-addicted freaks didn't mean much to him—as long as they could offer value to the corporation, he'd treat them equally.
"Temporarily classify them under the Strategic Talent Division. But I want talent, not dead weight. And I don't want their old organizations."
By "old organizations," Li Ang meant institutions like the Spacing Guild where the Navigators were based. Individuals like the Navigators and Mentats could be recruited—
But organizations like the Guild should be dismantled and rebuilt entirely under MegaCorp's structure.
As for the Navigators—those spice junkies—whoever controlled the spice, controlled them. They'd serve whomever held the reins.
Of course, this miraculous substance—spice—would need to be thoroughly researched. The aim was to make its use safer and industrially viable.
Currently, both the Bene Gesserit and the Mentats used spice in primitive ways, resulting in serious side effects.
If the controllability could be improved and risks reduced, spice might pave the way for the next stage of human evolution!
More brilliant minds would also bring new technological advancements to the MegaCorp's R&D division.
Once the final placements for the Mentats, Bene Gesserit, and the like were settled, Song Zhaomei asked about the handling of the Fremen legion.
This formidable army would be a waste if not absorbed. But as things stood, the Fremen only obeyed Reverend Mother Helen.
If Helen used them to betray House Atreides mid-conflict, it would be a major headache.
Li Ang paused and reflected carefully.
The Fremen only followed their so-called messiah. But in their minds, the messiah wasn't necessarily the most powerful—it was whoever the Bene Gesserit declared.
Now that Helen had sided with the royal family, plotting to take Paul and Lady Jessica, she clearly wouldn't acknowledge the MegaCorp or Duke Leto as the messiah.
"Don't bother with Reverend Mother Helen for now. Just make sure House Atreides keeps a close eye on the Fremen. Once the war is over, we'll see how the Bene Gesserit react."
Li Ang didn't believe that the opportunistic Bene Gesserit would keep backing the Corrino family after witnessing such a massive disparity in military strength.
Once the war ended, if Helen had any sense of self-preservation, she'd turn over both the Bene Gesserit and the Fremen legion to save herself.
That said, Li Ang wasn't particularly interested in the Fremen army.
To the noble houses of the Galactic Empire, this might be a rare elite force.
But to the Universal MegaCorp—with its Iron Hand Battalions and Spartan warriors—the Fremen weren't especially attractive.
It felt like a classic "chicken rib" situation: not worth much, but a shame to waste.
Even so, Li Ang would still try to secure them.
There was no way the Fremen could be allowed to fall into the hands of other imperial houses. At worst, the corporation would spend a little extra to keep them in reserve for its own use.
With Li Ang 's decisions made clear, Song Zhaomei noted all the key points for the next phase of operations.
[Understood, boss!]
…
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