Hindrance in the dark
T2 technology? Xia Fei was very confused. All he knew was that cruisers and frigates were categorized into different grades. For example, Xia Feis Vampire was a grade 5 frigate, the highest grade frigate out of all the other frigates, yet he had no idea what a T2 grade was.
Ling Feng laughed. Simply put, T2 is a second-generation warship. It's not even a product of the same generation as a normal warship, and its performance far surpasses the first generation in every aspect.
Xia Fei was completely shocked. Unknowingly, the Alliance had already developed its own second-generation warship, but due to the limitations of the manufacturing process, this second-generation warship had yet to be popularized, and most people did not even know of its existence.
The group boarded the Gaian Ares-class interceptor. The interior of the ship was no different from other frigates. The crew cabins and command cabins were also designed in an orderly manner. There was nothing particularly outstanding about it.
After arranging everyone's rooms, Ling Feng led Xia Fei to the command deck, where a bearded captain was busy working.
"Depart. Destination: the capital ring," Ling Feng ordered.
Xia Fei furrowed his eyebrows. Arent we going straight to Endaro Star Region?
Ling Feng answered, Thuram will be going with you, so we'll be heading back to the capital to pick him up first.
Xia Fei nodded. Originally, it would have taken him more than a month to reach Hek, but now that he had this interceptor, it only took him twenty days. Though he had wasted three days at the border, the overall journey was about eight days faster than Xia Feis return trip alone. It turned out that Thuram had already made arrangements for this trip.
Ling Feng showed Xia Fei the various advanced facilities on the ship before the two of them entered the lounge and quietly closed the door.
Brother Xia Fei, what do you think of this Ares-class interceptor? Ling Feng asked.
Xia Fei nodded. Not bad, especially the improvements to the electronic and propulsion systems. Its level is simply unimaginable. I wonder what speed this ship can reach?
"Interceptors, as the name suggests, are meant to intercept and pursue. If you want to catch up to the enemy, you have to be faster than them, have a more precise positioning, and capture them in one fell swoop. This is the ultimate purpose of interceptors."
If we use Vampire's Black Mamba 130 engine, this ship should be able to reach a maximum speed of over 30,000m/s, Ling Feng said.
Xia Fei was incredulous. "That fast?!"
Ling Feng chuckled. "This isn't its limit. It's said that there are a few warships of the same model that have undergone extreme modifications. Their speed has already exceeded fifty thousand. This ship has just arrived not long ago, so it hasn't had time to undergo modifications."
Xia Fei lit a cigarette and thought for a moment. Is the engine system of this ship the same as a normal frigate?
Yeah, it's the same. The reason why it can reach this speed is because the warp processing unit is much more powerful than a normal frigate. As for the increase in cruising speed, it's because of the lightweight design of the hull. The weight of an Ares-class interceptor is only one-tenth of a normal frigate, Ling Feng explained.
Opening a temporary wormhole in the universe was not easy. One needed to calculate the weakest node in the nearby space, then use the wormhole generating unit of the hyperdrive engine to forcefully tear the space apart and build a path to a faraway place.
The environmental variables, gravity variables, and the connection between the nodes all required a supercomputer to calculate, and then carry out precise energy distribution. The amount of data was unimaginable.
The energy generated by the warp engine was fixed, and the warp processing unit of a T2 warship had been improved, so it could use the same amount of energy to build a temporary wormhole with a longer distance.
As for the increase in cruising speed, it was because the interceptor had abandoned its bulky hull and adopted a lightweight design with multiple auxiliary devices, sacrificing the warship's defense and firepower for the sake of maximizing speed.
Xia Fei understood everything. "I understand now. The greatest use of this T2 warship is probably not to intercept the enemy but to search and discover them, because its weak armor and pitiful firepower won't be able to pose any threat to the enemy.
"Brother, you've really seen things through. Interceptors are mainly used to coordinate with fleets in pursuit, and when the enemy isn't too strong, they can intercept and attack. If it's your Vampire, I wouldn't dare approach it even if I had the guts. After all, Vampire's firepower and energy draining system are too overpowered. Without energy, the Ares-class won't be able to display its full potential no matter how fast it is. "
Xia Fei laughed. "Currently, the mainstream of warship development is the cooperation of multiple warships. Every warship has its own strengths and weaknesses. A good warship is never afraid of having weaknesses, but it's afraid of not having any strengths. That way, it'll just be mediocre.
"Take this Ares-class for example. You can't deny it just because of its weak armor and firepower. Opportunities are fleeting, and the advantage of this warship will be revealed when it needs to be fast."
Xia Fei could not help but think of that mysterious Titan-class warship when he mentioned warships. There was no warship in this world that was perfect, and this rule applied everywhere except for the Titan. After all, the Titan had long since broken away from the concept of warships, becoming the terminator of the universe.
"What are you thinking about?" Ling Feng stood up and took out two bottles of energy drinks from the fridge, handing one to Xia Fei.
"I'm thinking that if a person wants to explore the universe alone, having just one warship is definitely not enough. They should be equipped with several warships with different styles and distinct characteristics to deal with different tactical needs," Xia Fei answered.
"That's right." Ling Feng said. "It's best if they have a group of trustworthy teammates and build a composite, all-purpose fleet, each with their own role, so that they can maximize their combat power."
Xia Fei smiled. "Third Brother Ling, where can I find such an interceptor?"
Ling Feng patted Xia Fei on the shoulder. "Brother, I'm not trying to discourage you, but T2 warships can't be bought anywhere at the moment. The four major warship companies have just completed their research and development of such warships. Let's take this ship as an example. Our Adjudicator Union is a big customer of theirs, so they've sent a few of them over for us to test. Some other major companies have also gotten their hands on some, though no one knows exactly how many they have."
Xia Fei nodded, somewhat disappointed. A new warship's research and development required a lot of data collection and experimentation. It would probably take another decade or so for a T2 warship to be mass-produced.
"You can talk to Mr. Thurams about it. He's the person in charge of the weapons and equipment department, so there might be some hope." Ling Feng could see Xia Fei's disappointment, so he suggested.
"But you'll have to be mentally prepared. I heard that the cost of an interceptor is likely to exceed two billion star coins."
* Pfft! *
Xia Fei, who was drinking an energy drink, nearly spat it out when he heard this. "Two billion star coins! That's enough to buy a brand-new cruiser. That's really expensive. "
The Gaian Second-class Cruiser Fury that Thurams had sold to Xia Fei had only cost him five hundred million star coins, yet this little interceptor cost more than two billion star coins. Xia Fei would not be able to fork out that much money even if he sold everything he had.
"It can't be helped. The cost of a new warship will always be very high at the start, but as it's mass-produced and optimized, the price will gradually drop," Ling Feng said.
Xia Fei shook his head, temporarily putting aside the thought of buying a T2 warship. Currently, he only had a little over 1.4 billion in his account, and Xia Fei planned to continue investing the money into Quantum Holdings.
As long as the energy-shield boosters were put into production, the profits would naturally come rolling in. Any company would have a tough start, so what he needed to do now was to get through this period of time.
On the outskirts of the capital ring, in a hidden asteroid belt.
It only took nine days to reach the capital ring from the border of the Alliance, a full week shorter than the original plan, which was enough to show how fast the interceptor was.
In space, a Caldari Caracal-class cruiser was quietly docked. The two ships opened their docking cabins at the same time, and Xia Fei and Ling Feng stood at the entrance, waiting for Thurams arrival.
Before he arrived, Thurams hearty laughter could be heard from afar.
"Uncle Thurams, how have you been?" Xia Fei hurried over to greet him.
"Still the same. Staying in the office all day with nothing to do. I'm about to die of boredom."
The two brothers, Ling Xiao and Ling Yun, came along with him. The Ling brothers had made great contributions in the battle against the Plumagers, so Thurams had entrusted them with important tasks. They would often be by Thurams side when he went out, so their statuses were different from before.
After greeting the Ling brothers, Porter just happened to come out of his room. Thuram's eyes flashed as soon as he saw Porter. The two of them nodded at each other as if they were old friends who hadn't seen each other for many years, but they didn't say a word.
Xia Fei felt that it was strange. Could Thurams and Porter know each other?
"Set off for the Endaro Star Region immediately. I wonder if that old thing Qin Mangs is still alive or not," Thurams ordered with his hands behind his back.
"Yes." Ling Feng immediately relayed his order to the command deck.
"Xia Fei, come with me," Thurams said mysteriously.
After calling Xia Fei to his room, Thurams took off his Adjudicator Union uniform and only wore a tight singlet and a pair of shorts. He casually sat on the bed and said to Xia Fei, "Its not our first time meeting, so why are you so reserved? Just find a place to sit."
Xia Fei nodded slightly, pulling a chair over and sitting beside Thurams, lighting a Hongtashan for himself.
"You might not understand why someone would target you for no reason," Thurams said in a deep voice. "Actually, I don't understand, either. That old thing Qin Mangs hasn't known you for long, so why would he leave something for you?"
You've already exceeded your reading limit for today. If you want to read more, please log in.
Login
Select text and click 'Report' to let us know about any bad translation.
