I'm the boss because I have a harem of anime characters.

Page 162

Two groups, each with their own agendas, began a performance competition. At the same time, both sides were well aware that as time went on, they would eventually be exposed. The key question was who would be the first to benefit when the competition began.

"Enter the designated coordinates and begin deploying the reconnaissance devices."

Hundreds of fast reconnaissance ships had just emerged from subspace travel when they released a massive number of unmanned reconnaissance units into the surrounding universe, and then quickly headed to other star systems to prepare for battle.

If the vast universe is a sea, then each star system is an island in that sea. Ships need to rest and resupply on these islands, and wartime is about using them as important forward bases or rear production bases. Therefore, when war is foreseeable, rapidly deploying friendly combat units in multiple star systems is a very effective delaying tactic, and this delay can be transformed into a full-scale conflict on the front lines in a very short time.

Behind them are massive armies constantly being produced, while the front lines are places where lives and steel are slaughtered. This is the model of quality warfare, a contest of who can produce more, deploy more, and recycle more per unit of time, until the other side can no longer hold on. It is a ruthless confrontation with no edge.

The Autobots have many intelligent combat units, and the Decepticons are no exception.

It's important to understand that even within the solar system, although Xinhua only ostensibly sent a small advance team of a few thousand people to the Tiangong space station, it simultaneously launched over ten thousand intelligent robots into space to assist with various operations. Furthermore, the lunar base was also being constructed by a multitude of intelligent robots. They continuously upgraded and iterated their algorithms, storing the problems they encountered in cloud servers. This mechanical evolutionary model allowed the base's construction efficiency to improve every day until it reached its physical limits.

This is also the biggest advantage of intelligent robots. Although they lack innovation capabilities, they can explore the technology to its fullest potential within the existing framework and quickly replicate and mass-produce it in every unit. At the same time, they can quickly provide more cost-effective replacement solutions. In other words, what is iterated every day is not only the algorithm, but also the actual hardware configuration of various intelligent robots.

The Decepticons also have the same evolutionary algorithm, and their evolution is even more thorough. It's no exaggeration to say that if the Decepticons were to warp their fleet directly into Earth's orbit right now, they could immediately send out a robot army that exceeds the total population of Earth, and use a crushing massacre to wipe out the entire planet, leaving only the parts they want.

Or, to take it even further, turn Earth into Cybertron. An environment that silicon-based life forms can adapt to would be a deadly trap filled with deadly poison for carbon-based life forms. With just this one move, humanity could be wiped out.

This was an even more desperate situation than that of the Native Americans in North America back then.

Native Americans were at least able to incite large-scale resistance, but human resistance was merely a hunting game to please the demagogues.

According to the intelligence gathered, the Decepticons' sweeping force (not the main force, but larger than the reconnaissance fleet, mainly for colonizing and eliminating unwanted life forms) is advancing slowly two hundred light-years away. Therefore, Qin Shan decided to let the players and the Omnic Legion clash with these Decepticons first to see what kind of exchange ratio can be achieved on the front lines.

Or to put it more bluntly, if you use the exchange tactic, how much loss can you gain in exchange for the opponent?

As intelligent factories were launched onto the surfaces of nearby planets, orbital factories began to unfold around stars, and a new war began.

Section 59: Bait

"Let's show ourselves this time; it can effectively mislead the Decepticons."

"Okay, but you all need to be careful."

"We're just showing our faces."

In this operation, Optimus Prime decided to lead the Autobot Cybertronians to give the enemy a surprise. Of course, it was just a surprise, a brief appearance to make the Decepticons think they were attacked by the Autobots and mistakenly believe that the Autobots were in the area. Then they would move their forces over, and the two sides would start a fierce battle.

It sounds like a very simple plan, even lacking in technical sophistication, but that's what makes a brilliant, open strategy.

Detailed plans are prone to errors when executed. True leaders use macro-level strategies to determine the overall situation, disregarding the gains or losses of a single city or place, and ultimately achieving a strategic victory.

Time is on the side of the People's Revolutionary Alliance because the Alliance can afford to fight a war of attrition. However, for the Decepticons, as long as they cannot achieve a quick victory and divert internal conflicts caused by class stratification and racial oppression, they will be like a boiler that has lost its pressure relief valve, entering a countdown to implosion.

Optimus Prime shared various information about the Decepticons. Although silicon-based life forms are the main body of Cybertronian civilization, the Decepticons rule over a large number of planets, and naturally, there are many civilizations as well. They all live under the Decepticons' oppressive rule, as do some Cybertronians who are dissatisfied with the Decepticons. Moreover, the pyramid structure within the Decepticons dictates that the core will oppress the periphery. But the Cybertronians on the periphery are still Cybertronians; you can't just expel them.

When the interests within an empire can no longer extend to its vast territory, that is when imperialism collapses.

However, implosion alone is clearly not enough; external forces are also crucial. Xinhua, the Autobots, and the People's Revolutionary Alliance are doing just that: first, they inflict a major external defeat on the Decepticons, and then they can sit on the bench, drinking soda and waiting for the enemy to kill themselves.

As an elite commander of the Decepticons, Starscream's combat prowess is undeniable. However, animation is just animation; for the sake of plot development and toy sales, there are many illogical elements. Furthermore, the audience's omniscient perspective makes these elements even more illogical.

However, in reality, everything that seems illogical has its own inherent logic and is connected by a chain of interests. The fanatical faction that is conquering everywhere has very high requirements for its commanders. I dare not say anything else, but at least you have to be able to fight and lead the charge. Being cunning is acceptable, but you can't be cowardly at crucial moments, otherwise someone else will take your place.

Therefore, the real-life Red Spider is cunning and ruthless, and very skilled in various strategies; he is not the oddball who can't even organize a spring outing.

After all, real-world wars between super civilizations involve massive battlefields with hundreds of millions of units on each side. The various combat units on both sides can fill every available space. In such situations, without strong decision-making abilities and adaptability, you'll be eliminated in no time. After all, before you can play Red Alert, you need to learn how to download the game. Even if you're just playing a cloud version of Red Alert, you still need to find a website. This tests your intelligence and operational skills.

"What a boring trip, isn't there any fun in it?"

Starscream sat high on the command ship, in what was essentially an arena within the vessel. Below him, two Decepticon warriors were engaged in a duel. This kind of place, resembling a Roman colosseum, was a favorite of the Decepticon's high command.

But after chasing and conquering thousands of light-years, and seeing the same things too often, Starscream became increasingly bored.

Thunderclap, standing nearby, said, "Maybe we'll soon run into those Autobots who're always running around looking for fun."

"I'm really looking forward to it."

Despite saying that, Starscream didn't really think he would encounter the Autobots. The universe was so vast that they could have been hunting the Autobots for centuries. The Decepticons had figured it out. Their biggest advantage was that they could keep chasing and killing the Autobots, preventing them from having enough time to establish bases. Otherwise, if they were given enough time to develop, it would turn into a protracted war, and the Decepticons' political structure was not suitable for a protracted war.

Megatron, the leader of the Decepticons, was well aware of his own weaknesses. So, based on the idea that "it's better to eliminate the enemy than to strengthen ourselves," coupled with the need to divert internal conflicts and expand territory, the Decepticons continued to hunt down the Autobots, while using various means to shift internal conflicts elsewhere.

So far, Megatron has played his hand well. The Cybertronians' superior technology and first-mover advantage allow them to easily crush weaker civilizations and turn them into their own pressure relief valves and colonies.

But sometimes, things that you think are impossible will actually come to you.

Suddenly, alarm signals rang throughout the entire fleet, and then, fire broke out on one Decepticon warship after another, and an explosion light show began to unfold in the silent universe.

Immediately afterwards, a classic-looking arc-shaped spaceship appeared about four hundred light-seconds away from the Decepticon fleet, surrounded by various warships, seemingly poised to encircle them.

Thunderclap exclaimed, "The Ark! It's those Autobot lunatics!"

To the Decepticons, the Autobots' behavior is incomprehensible, as if they are fighting for a dream and are fearless of death, so they regard them as madmen. In the eyes of the Autobots, the Decepticons who recklessly create massacres and exterminations are the real madmen.

It's like turning a one-track mind into a double-edged sword, with everyone agreeing on the same thing, right?

"Great, finally we've encountered some fun!"

For Starscream, this was quite exciting and interesting. In reality, he was not as cowardly as in the cartoon. On the contrary, he was bloodthirsty and warlike. For him, it was quite uncomfortable if he didn't fight for a day. Only war could excite him.

Especially when you tear the enemy apart with your own hands.

"Attack! Attack! Decepticon warriors, it's time to prove your loyalty to Cybertron! Full speed ahead!"

The panic was brief. Soon, under Starscream's calm command, the Decepticon fleet regained order and began charging towards the Ark, displaying a fearless and suicidal attitude.

"The enemy's reaction speed is very fast, and that flashy-looking command ship must be Starscream," Skyfire analyzed.

As a former close friend, no one understands Starscream better than Skyfire. He is powerful and meticulous, but he has a little habit of showing off. For example, his warships are mainly red, which makes him stand out in a fleet dominated by Decepticon warships that are mainly purple and green.

"Now that Starscream has told us where he is, let's not hold back and focus fire on the command ship!"

At Optimus Prime's command, beams of energy swept across the enemy ship as it entered within twenty light-seconds. However, Starscream was no longer on the command ship at this time.

Yes, he's arrogant, but not stupid at all. His flagship is so beautiful that it's bound to be a primary target, so it has the strongest defense. But whether or not to stay on the flagship depends on who the enemy is.

A typical rudimentary civilization could not threaten the fleet's shields, so they could just charge in and have fun. However, the Autobots' technology was on par with the Decepticons', and even if there was a gap, it was a gap that could threaten their own lives. So, the moment Starscream ordered the fleet to prepare, he changed to a new command ship, a particularly inconspicuous cruiser.

Capital ships are used for frontline assaults, while other ships are used for menial tasks, such as flanking and harassing, and delivering a fatal blow when necessary.

However, the Autobots' fleet contains many unmanned warships, and some warships, although they are manned capital ships, are actually filled with players. So, when needed, they can simply engage the enemy directly, or board the enemy when the battle is intense.

Of course, in actual combat, instances of mutual boarding are very rare; this can only be considered a supplementary tactic. However, the People's Revolutionary Alliance's forces possess an advantage that others do not have: powerful space technology.

The technology originates from Qin Shan's spatial abilities, which are allocated and used through the system. Players then control robots that resemble Cybertronians to engage in combat inside the deep-sea pod (an upgraded version of the game pod). They are disguised as Cybertronians from beginning to end, making the enemy truly believe that the Autobots have developed here.

"Charge! Charge! Our fleet is fearless!"

"The enemy's formation is in disarray, charge! A real-life interstellar war is calling us!"

"Aaaaaaah! This is so exciting! My manhood is standing at attention!"

Players who are completely safe from harm pose the greatest threat in chaotic battles. Or rather, these combat units, which possess ample intelligence and potential and can surprise you at any time, along with their formidable tactical execution capabilities and flexibility, are extremely troublesome and dangerous entities at any time. The fleet led by Starscream quickly experienced this astonishing madness.

For example, in normal boarding maneuvers, the ship first makes contact with the enemy ship and then jumps over. But when players board, they treat their warships like torpedoes and ram them together. Once the two warships are physically connected, they enter the enemy warship through the gap and begin a fierce battle.

Furthermore, each player's character has a self-destruct system, so if things go wrong, you can just restart. If your main ship is gone, you can just board an unmanned ship and charge up. As long as you can still attack, the battle will never stop.

Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Blood sacrifice for Kong Nue! Skull offering for the Western King!

"Damn it, have these Autobots completely gone mad!?"

Starscream had seen his share of crazed warriors, but those were mostly fighting desperately in dire circumstances, already bordering on suicidal, much like the last Japanese soldiers, posing little threat. But these Autobot Cybertronians before him were all exceptionally strong, fearless of death, and incredibly tactically flexible. Their madness amplified the viability of their tactics, since even the best cruise missiles were no match for suicide manned guided missiles.

Since there is no seawater in space, and both sides have a strong ability to adapt to the battlefield environment, unless a warship is completely destroyed, the other side has the ability to attack. This ability becomes a one-for-one exchange tactic, and the other side has many pieces to exchange, which makes the scene quite terrifying.

The Decepticon warships were forcibly physically linked together, and both sides began to fight inside the ships. However, this kind of fighting was definitely disadvantageous for the Decepticons. If they won, the warship would be destroyed; if they lost, the warship and the people on it would be sent flying.

The Red Spider has fought for hundreds of years, but I've never seen such a large-scale tactic of using the fleet as torpedoes before!

Did your warships just drift in on a strong wind!?

Pretty much. Anyway, the lifespan of unmanned equipment is always short-lived because they are designed to achieve the ultimate performance and then self-destruct after use. This kind of consumption requires a huge production capacity as logistical support, and it is also necessary to ensure that it can be quickly deployed to the front line. Coincidentally, the Human Revolutionary Alliance's portal can do that.

So while artillery fire raged on the front lines, more and more ships were arriving on the battlefield. After discovering that unmanned capital ships were more effective, North Carolina immediately adjusted its production lines to mass-produce these unmanned ships and send them to the battlefield to trade with the enemy.

It can be said that this battle demonstrated another strategic advantage of the People's Revolutionary Alliance: as long as there are coordinates, troops in the rear can arrive at the battlefield immediately without delay, and they can be continuously produced from various worlds, ensuring absolute safety in the rear, while the enemy's forces that can be deployed to the battlefield per unit of time are limited.

It would be easy to annihilate Starscream's sweeping fleet, but why do it? Wouldn't it be better to use them as bait to lure more Decepticons into a costly and exhausting expedition?

Section 60: Starting to Increase the Bet

The battered and bruised Red Spider had no choice but to retreat with the remaining sweeping fleet. Since the surrounding space had been blocked, they couldn't escape into subspace at faster-than-light speeds and could only find a nearby star system to hold out against.

This was also a trap that Optimus Prime had prepared in advance for him, not only to trap Starscream, but also the poor bastards who would come to reinforce later. It was a classic siege and reinforcement strategy.

At this time, Starscream was unaware that the planet beneath his feet was not actually safe either. However, as long as the Autobots did not activate the traps, the planet was safe. Therefore, the Decepticon sweeping fleet launched a batch of manufacturing machines to begin producing various intelligent combat units and controlling the surface of the planet. A large number of machine workers also began to work, building a defense system and preparing to rely on the planet to wear down the Autobots until reinforcements arrived.

However, when sending the message, Starscream played a trick: he reported that the Autobots' main fleet had been discovered and that the enemy had already established a solid base there, presenting an excellent opportunity to wipe them out in one fell swoop.

The distance for this subspace faster-than-light signal transmission is very long, but it is not yet possible to send information directly from a place thousands of light-years away. It needs to pass through several relay stations. These communication relay stations will amplify the signal and then send it to the next relay station. Using this relay method, the signal can be delivered within 1 to 100 hours.

The exact time it is delivered depends on the degree of interference and attenuation of the signal during the process. Sometimes, even if the signal is received by the relay station, all they get is a jumble of characters.

After all, the subspace is merely an appendage of the main world, essentially a part of the universe itself. Therefore, all changes within it are influenced by the main world. Some more dramatic changes, such as supernova explosions, black hole formation, and stellar collapse, will create local distortion effects in the subspace. All information and matter passing through this area will be distorted, acting as a massive source of interference. Current technology is powerless against this level of interference; it represents a natural limit beyond human capability. At most, a tenth-tier superhuman can destroy planets the size of Saturn or Jupiter, but they cannot physically fight a black hole. The term "invincible" is used under certain conditions in the world of superhumans.

For the Human Revolutionary Alliance, this is a very good training ground. After all, the decisive battle of the interstellar fleet is just like the decisive battle of the main fleet of the maritime countries. If a real battle breaks out, it may very well determine the course of the entire war in just one afternoon. Therefore, the main fleets of both sides often do not move or confront each other for a long time, constantly increasing their own chances of victory by vying for control of the planet.

Because a planet is itself a resource and a battlefield, as well as a huge cosmic platform, a planet that has fully constructed a planetary defense system is powerless even if a planet-destroying cannon comes, unless you drag over a fortress the size of a giant planet. Otherwise, the two sides are on different energy levels. An iron ball can indeed flatten cotton, but if it is a trainload of cotton, your iron ball will have to be enlarged accordingly, otherwise it will be a waste of time.

As both sides continued to launch factories to build on the planet's surface, a mass war on the planet's surface began.

Without any mourning for Starscream who was beaten to a pulp, the next game was "Supreme Commander Online".

The planet is rich in resources, but the types of resources are limited in a certain area. Therefore, the combat units collected and produced by various smart factories are basically made from the most common materials. A small number of factories will be upgraded under special circumstances. This upgrade is named the "War Upgrade Protocol" by the Human Revolutionary Alliance. Each level corresponds to a more advanced war unit, and this upgrade also means an upgrade in the scale of the war.

All smart factories, like base vehicles, have expansion and upgrade capabilities. The Cybertronian civilization uses similar technologies, called "Advancement Protocols" by the Autobots and "War Thunder" by the Decepticons. They can be upgraded to the point of manufacturing spaceships, but this is generally not needed. After all, the fleets that can deploy smart factories are usually quite large. If the fleet is completely destroyed in outer space, you can forget about launching a counterattack with just a few smart factories.

Control of star systems and control of planets are complementary; neither can be lacking.

The first mechanical units deployed on the battlefield were round, ball-shaped robots. They were numerous and heavily armored, but they only had one attack method: rushing into the enemy's face and self-destructing. They were about the size of a basketball and could also be called ground-guided bombs.

Players disguise themselves as Cybertronians and enter the battlefield in a Cybertronian state of war.

As mentioned before, Cybertronians have two forms. One is about the size of an ordinary human. Only after entering their individual combat suits do they reach the size of Transformers, with a height generally between five and ten meters, most not exceeding eight meters, and a small number reaching over twenty meters.

At this moment, they are pure warriors. Before entering their combat suits, these Cybertronians will transform into a sphere that looks like an energy source, just like a spark.

Surprisingly, in reality, the Cybertronians' spark is their true form; their enormous size is merely an outer shell.

Although the actual number of people on both sides is not large, the various combat units deployed on the battlefield have swelled to the million level in a very short time, and the trend suggests that it may rise further. While these steel-on-steel clashed, on their defensive lines, intelligent robots were digging temporary trenches and building fortifications. Even the fleet in orbit was constantly launching bunkers downwards to form solid fire support points and block the enemy's offensive frenzy.

At this point, both sides are doing the same thing: manufacturing more intelligent weapons, deploying them on the battlefield, and after they are destroyed, trying to control the battlefield, recovering the destroyed materials, and preventing the enemy from recovering them.

This is the war of quality.

Then the Decepticons discovered something very strange: regardless of whether their forces were able to control the battlefield after the war, the amount of mass they recovered was extremely small, only equivalent to a fraction of the total mass of both sides before the war. Even if there were losses, weren't these losses a bit too exaggerated? Did the remaining 99% simply vanish into thin air?

No, on the battlefield, many teleportation units were hidden among the combat units of the People's Revolutionary Alliance. They appeared to be charging with the main force, but in reality, they did not participate in the battle at all.

Their sole purpose is to teleport all damaged enemy and friendly units away from the battlefield.

It wasn't even a teleportation to the rear, but a direct teleportation to another world.

The characteristic of vector warfare is that victory is achieved by preventing the enemy from obtaining the required mass.

On the surface, spatial teleportation is similar to the effect produced by an antimatter explosion.

So initially, the Decepticons thought the Autobots had used a large number of antimatter bomb robots on the battlefield to destroy the mass they wanted to recover. But upon closer inspection, they realized something was wrong. Antimatter is such an expensive substance; how could they possibly produce it in such large quantities? If they could mass-produce antimatter on such a scale, then the Decepticons would have been the ones who suffered the most back then.

Some Decepticon technicians analyzed that it was spatial teleportation, but here's the problem: such large-scale use of spatial teleportation would consume an enormous amount of energy. If the Decepticons had such a breakthrough in energy technology, they would still be the ones kneeling before them back then.

Consider the Autobots' living conditions. Despite such a turbulent existence, they were still able to develop such groundbreaking technologies. Compared to them, the Decepticons are practically a kindergarten full of idiots.

Faced with such an unreasonable system, the Decepticons were completely baffled, and then came up with all sorts of wild guesses about what was going on.

It was during this period that the balance of power in the war shifted irreversibly.

Because the Autobots always have abundant resources, while the Decepticons must constantly mine, process, and produce them, their processes involve many more steps than the Autobots'. Initially, this didn't seem problematic, but as time went on, the Decepticons' offensive intensity gradually weakened, and their troop deployment became increasingly strained. In a quality war environment, both sides possess abundant resources, and the battlefield is piled high with various weapons. Even maneuvering and flanking maneuvers are difficult; advancement requires artillery fire to clear a path, meaning daily resource consumption is enormous.

When full-scale combat begins, resource consumption will be calculated precisely in minutes or even seconds. A single point where troop strength fails to keep up will lead to the breach of that area. Experienced warriors know that a breach at one point on the battlefield can cause the entire line to collapse, or lead to a bloody tug-of-war at the breach point until one side can no longer hold out. If the Autobots hadn't controlled the intensity of their attack, and if Qin Shan's mission instructions hadn't kept the players' offensive frenzy in check, Starscream wouldn't have even lasted the first round. It wasn't that he was incompetent; they were simply caught off guard. Many of the technologies weren't actually Autobot technology; they were just Autobot emblems on the surface. Seeing the unfavorable situation, Starscream sent out one distress call after another, even attracting the attention of Megatron, who was busy with reforms on Cybertron.

"It seems that Starscream has really encountered the Autobots' main force this time, and these little mice we've been chasing have found a relatively stable base."

A majestic voice came from the throne, and Megatron wore a satisfied smile.

However, he couldn't possibly get there in time; there simply wasn't enough time. Therefore, the nearby fleets were mobilized and moved towards the coordinates where Starscream was located. This time, they were determined to completely eradicate those delusional cancer cells. True Cybertron didn't need weaklings or unnecessary sympathy.

Chapter 61: Starship Girls R

(This book is nearing its end, and I'm preparing a new one. Thank you all for your support! (*^▽^*))