Super Mothership
Energy crystals are, without question, an extremely important non-renewable strategic resource for the Gemini civilization.
As an ultra–high–density energy storage medium, their energy density far surpasses all known materials—including nuclear fuels.
This cannot be explained by current physics, so some speculate that energy crystals conceal legendary space-type technology, making them extremely valuable for scientific research.
In addition, their extremely high instantaneous power output not only can greatly increase weapon lethality, but also plays a crucial role in weapon miniaturization and extending endurance.
Their discovery and exploitation for the Gemini were like the application of fossil fuels on Earth, massively accelerating the civilization’s technological development.
Amplifying weapon power, increasing the exploration range of interstellar fleets, shortening travel time — for the Gemini civilization’s history of interstellar expansion, energy crystals have an irreplaceable catalytic effect!
Precisely because of their strategic importance, ordinary civilizations would never trade away such valuable material in large quantities as a mere commercial commodity.
Even if this trade uses energy crystals as the base unit of value, both sides are only using them as a measure of value; it’s basically impossible that they would settle large transactions with actual quantities of energy crystals.
…
“Can you explain what you mean by ‘special commodity’ for the energy crystals?” Arthas looked toward the Black Steward.
“Of course. According to the transaction rules designated by our allies, the sale of energy crystals as a special commodity must be treated separately. If your side wants to buy energy crystals, the only designated exchange item is… ‘blank crystals’!”
“Blank crystals?!” The experts behind Arthas all exclaimed in unison.
Blank crystals are not some rare cosmic mineral; on the contrary, within the Gemini civilization they are useless “waste.”
Because… they are precisely the residue left after an energy crystal has been completely depleted!
Ordinary energy crystals are red, ruby-like transparent crystals. As their energy is gradually released, their color fades until they become totally transparent—these are the “blank crystals.”
What surprised everyone was not that the other side required this waste as payment, but the astonishing implication hidden in that condition…
“Do you… have the technology to recharge blank crystals?” one expert couldn’t help but blurt out.
Blank crystals are waste to the Gemini because they cannot use them; however, the Ant Empire would not make such an odd demand without purpose—this stuff clearly has collection value.
Combining that strange move—offering energy crystals in exchange for blank crystals—the final answer became obvious…
The blank-crystal recharging technology—Nie Yun really has mastered it!
And this… was also Nie Yun’s pièce de résistance prepared for the Gemini!
When the first deposits of energy crystal remnants were discovered on the moon, facing the huge threat from the Gemini, Nie Yun’s research on energy crystals initially focused on how to apply this high-density energy to military technology.
In subsequent research, Master Yu and the others steered the development of energy crystal tech toward the “art” field…
Ahem! Of course, it must be admitted that both sides achieved remarkable results and produced meaningful scientific outcomes.
It turned out that the energy crystal’s ultra-high instantaneous output and the mechanical-insect’s powerful energy-superconducting materials were a perfect match; the terrifying destructive power of the Mithril Fleet was fully displayed in the nearby–system war!
Master Yu and the others also made gratifying progress. Reportedly, they combined force-field technology to develop fancy “energy-crystal bombs” capable of directionally and quantitatively projecting energy shockwaves…
Even so, all told, Nie Yun had only been developing and utilizing energy crystals for about a year. It was still at a small-scale application stage. So it wasn’t until the recent great war began, with the heavy use and consumption of energy crystals, that the number of blank crystals in his possession grew larger and larger, and he finally turned his attention to this so-called “unrecyclable waste.”
As for how to use blank crystals, without a doubt, the most valuable approach would be repeated recharging technology!
If this one-time-use battery could be transformed into a rechargeable one, then energy crystals could practically serve as an inexhaustible conventional energy source, and their strategic value would instantly multiply countless times over!
However, according to intelligence from Gemini, they had made basically no progress in developing such a technology.
Within the entire Gemini civilization, blank crystals still had no effective use. Some Gemini architects even treated them as rare construction materials.
Therefore, at first, Nie Yun had little hope for research in this field.
After all, with Gemini’s superior scientific conditions, they had studied energy crystals for many years without making any headway. Nie Yun didn’t think that, with his current research capabilities, he could surpass them in a short time.
But sometimes fortune comes from an unintentional stroke. Master Yu, almost out of habit, tossed out a casual line: “Why not try mithril materials?” That instantly reminded Nie Yun.
Within his own faction, if there was anything that could directly affect these cosmic oddities, it would likely be the mechanical insects, which themselves seemed to be another kind of cosmic anomaly.
Whether it was fusing tiny mineral fragments into a complete energy crystal block, or mixing with the Water of Life to produce “vampire serum,” both had proven the mechanical insects’ unique ability to transform certain materials.
So Nie Yun carried out experiments with blank crystals using the mechanical insects…
And the final results were nothing short of delightful!
The mechanical insects really could use their internal energy to recharge blank crystals!
Although the insects’ energy storage capacity was far inferior to that of energy crystals—even exhausting themselves completely could only give a small blank crystal a faint red tint—the fact remained that energy had indeed entered the blank crystal…
Which meant that, as long as the mechanical insects were provided with a steady energy supply, they could function as a special kind of “transformer” to recharge energy crystals!
This discovery made Nie Yun ecstatic.
But… happiness was short-lived. Just when Nie Yun thought he was about to strike it rich overnight and possess endless energy crystals, the subsequent experiments poured cold water on his hopes.
Because after being recharged three times, the blank crystal suddenly shattered into a pile of white powder, and not even the mechanical insects could piece it back together.
A fluke?
Maybe the insects had been too rough?
Yes! That must be it!
Mechanical insects: “……” (‵o′)凸
Unwilling to give up, Nie Yun ran several more tests. But to his disappointment, no matter how gently the recharging was performed, the result was always the same.
An energy crystal could only be recharged at most three times before becoming completely unusable.
It was clear that although this method could recharge blank crystals, each round of energy flooding through damaged the energy-storage structure of the crystal itself.
After at most three cycles, the crystal’s internal structure was so thoroughly destroyed that it collapsed on its own.
In the end, Nie Yun had no choice but to gloomily accept this harsh reality.
He felt as if he had won three “Try Again” prizes in a row, only to believe he had received the “divine blessing” of unlimited free retries—only for the very next bottle to hit him with the hateful words: “Thanks for participating!”…
The wild ups and downs of life were just too much excitement to handle…
TL Note- Green energy or mithril energy?
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