It seemed as though Cinder's prayers had been answered.
That night, the Brute finally found Blueprint Energy again, and this time, he found two 1000-point Blueprint Energies at once.
[Congratulations, you have obtained 2000 Funds.]
[Congratulations, you have obtained 1000 Blueprint Energy.]
[Congratulations, you have obtained 1000 Blueprint Energy.]
[Congratulations, you have obtained Conscript × 8.]
[Congratulations, you have obtained 'Enhanced Defense Lv.1' x1.]
Gaining 2000 Blueprint Energy plus 2000 Funds in one night was an incredible haul!
Cinder couldn't sleep in the middle of the night, so he immediately unlocked the blueprint for the ore refinery.
[Blueprint Energy 3800 → 1800]
Select Build.
[Funds 12000 → 10000]
The base began operating, and twenty seconds later, the ore refinery was finished constructing.
Cinder placed the refinery in the spot he had prepared beforehand.
Along with the mining field, not only did an Armored mining vehicle unfold, but also a standard mining rod for the refinery.
The mining rod would delve deep underground to excavate the subterranean ore.
He embedded the mining rod according to the previously planned location.
The massive device began operating, and the mining rod, thick enough for dozens of people to embrace, started penetrating the earth.
Soon, the drill brought up large amounts of dark black soil.
The Armored mining vehicle began operating; the mining vehicle was as massive as a heavy truck, with a collection port at the front directly connected to the hopper in the back.
Above the driver's seat was mounted a 20mm Rapid machine gun.
It is worth mentioning that the Armored mining vehicle is an unmanned vehicle, relying entirely on its internal intelligence to operate.
The mining field area behind it was already comparable in size to the base itself.
The minerals collected by the mining vehicle are sent into the factory via a conveyor belt.
The factory contains a complete assembly line capable of separating various mineral resources.
He would keep the resources the base needed and sell off the unnecessary minerals directly, without needing to find a buyer.
Cinder calculated mentally: "In the game, one load of ore from a mining vehicle earns 1000 Funds, and if a rich deposit is encountered, one load can earn 2000 Funds. To gather the required funds faster, players would build more 'ox carts,' which are mining vehicles, to quickly and temporarily acquire more Funds."
This method seemed useless now.
Because the output of the mining field entirely depended on the mining rod and the underground ore reserves.
Building so many mining vehicles would just leave them parked if there was no ore to mine.
"Therefore, the alternative mining method to building more mining vehicles is to build more refineries to obtain the mining rods used for excavation."
With this thought, Cinder immediately purchased two more ore refineries.
He now only had 6000 Funds remaining.
Three ore refineries unfolded simultaneously, operating three mining rods plus three Armored mining vehicles.
Mining efficiency instantly tripled.
"According to Sophia's calculations, the total value of the underground minerals in Dadupa Valley should be around 1 million Funds. With three ore refineries operating together, complete extraction can be finished in about a year. This doesn't even count the deeper oil fields; if those were included, the total value of the mineral resources could approach 5 million."
What kind of concept was this?
Roughly speaking, once Cinder completed the extraction, he would be able to field an army corps, or at least three divisions of troops.
This level of military strength would be enough for him to contend with any nationexcluding the Seven Gods, of course.
When dealing with God-level existences, no amount of troops is useful.
To deal with them, he would need to use superweapons, such as Weather Control Devices, or perhaps a nuclear bomb, iron curtain device, and so on.
Those things were completely beyond what the current Cinder could even dream of.
"It's better to focus on ordinary weapons. The new mission now is to quickly construct a War Factory to produce Rhino Tanks, which far surpass the Grizzly Tank in all aspects of performance."
Opening the construction panel, three new blueprints awaited unlocking in the construction module.
Building: Soviet War Factory
Blueprint Unlock Price: 2000
Construction Price: 2000
Power Consumption: 15
Armor: Wood
Durability: 1000
chariot Capacity: 100
Description: A unique Soviet Army War Factory, capable of constructing mechanical vehicles for both ground and air forces. I am a very important building~
Building: radar
Blueprint Unlock Price: 1000
Construction Price: 1000
Power Consumption: 50
Armor: Wood
Durability: 1000
Description: The eyes of the base, the eyes of the missiles, the eyes of the aircraftintelligence determines everything on the battlefield! I will send you a reconnaissance plane!
Building: Naval Yard
Blueprint Unlock Price: 1000
Construction Price: 1000
Power Consumption: 25
Armor: Concrete
Durability: 1500
Description: The Soviet Army's exclusive Naval Yard, capable of building submarines, missile ships, and even Giant Squids! Do you like Giant Squids? They can be eaten even if they aren't used for fighting~
"If I remember correctly, building the radar grants the blueprints for the Flak Trooper, Crazy Ivan, and the Tesla Coil.
I don't need to consider the Flak Trooper or Crazy Ivan.
Neither of these unit types is particularly useful for the current situation, but the Tesla Coil is quite tempting.
This is an extremely powerful defensive structure; if paired with Tesla Troopers to charge it, its power far exceeds a sentry turret.
But after thinking about it, Cinder gave up the idea.
The cost of one Tesla Coil can reach 1500 Funds. Furthermore, this type of facility consumes a lot of power, requiring cooperation from many power plants for construction. Before nuclear power is manufactured, the Tesla Coil's cost-effectiveness is not very high.
Moreover, the Tesla Coil requires Tesla Troopers to cooperate and charge it to unleash greater ATK, making it somewhat redundant for the current situation.
He shifted his gaze away from the radar.
Looking again now, the War Factory offered the highest cost-effectiveness.
He didn't need to consider the Naval Yard right now; he had no need for naval combat.
Cinder prayed in his heart: "I hope I can find enough Blueprint Energy tomorrow."
But things did not go as planned. For the next four days, Cinder seemed to have used up all his luck.
Out of 20 boxes, he continuously opened 13 temporary buffs, 1000 Funds, and 10 Conscripts.
His luck was absolutely terrible.
Cinder's development had stalled, yet crisis was rapidly approaching.
It truly confirmed the old adage.
No one ever knows whether tomorrow or accident will arrive first.
The sound of exploding missiles shattered the tranquility of the base.
Warning lights flashed intensely inside the Command Center.
Cinder scrambled out of bed.
Without time to think, he grabbed his outer clothes and ran toward the Command Center.
Upon arrival, Sophia was already in position.
"What's the situation?" Cinder asked.
"Just one minute ago, the western wall of the base was attacked by missiles."
"Missiles?"
"That's right. I also detected twenty humanoid robots one kilometer outside the base walls. They have surrounded us."
Humanoid robots.
Without a doubt, they were One-Eyed Little Treasures... Ruin Guards.
These were the war machines of the former technologically advanced nation, Khaenri'ah.
They were equipped with large-scale explosive missiles.
Just as Sophia finished speaking, two missiles directly slammed into the concrete wall.
A large hole was blasted right through the sturdy wall.
Just then, a mission panel appeared before Cinder.
Campaign Triggered!
Campaign Name: Red Spirit
Campaign Difficulty: Hard (Mission levels are divided into Easy, Normal, Hard, Extreme, and Desperate.)
Victory Condition: Repel or destroy all Ruin Guards.
Failure Condition: All buildings destroyed.
Time Limit: None.
Reward: 7000 Blueprint Energy, 20000 Funds, Mysterious Blueprint × 1, Random Module Wooden Crate Lv.2 × 10.
Sophia looked solemnly at Cinder: "Commander, the Soldiers are ready. Please command the battle."
Cinder hadn't expected his first confrontation with the Abyss Order to be a battle against twenty One-Eyed Little Treasures.
"But trying to flatten my base with twenty One-Eyed Little Treasures, aren't you underestimating me a bit?"
Let me show you the tactics of a ten-year veteran Red Alert player!
And based on this victory reward, this battle absolutely must be won!