Volume 12: Yaguna Kotor Chapter 579: The First Joint Exploration (Part 2)
Ke Lan didn't ask any more questions. He was not the kind of person who liked to meddle in other people's affairs, especially other people's private affairs.
Several engineers briefly introduced the design ideas of the front-line supply base to Ke Lan - this base is called a building complex, but it uses an integrated frame. In a sense, the entire base can be regarded as a "cabin" composed of layers of nesting dolls. When encountering danger, the entire base can be directly "lifted from the ground" and moved to the outside of "Yaguna Kotor" through the transmission device.
Ke Lan's original main requirement for the base was that it had strong defensive capabilities and should be designed as a military fortress. However, this group of engineers went a step further and designed it into a battleship with self-driving capabilities - yes, this base has the ability to float in the air, and it can even be incorporated into the combat sequence of Fleet Zero and act together with other battleships.
The reason why they designed it this way is because the resources on hand are too abundant. It would be a waste to use these resources just to build a base... Since the Ye Group is generous enough, these guys just let themselves go and raised the standards of all materials to the top level, so that the initial budget of the entire "frontline supply base" has reached more than sixteen times the cost of the "New Dawn".
If it were any other party, this design proposal would have probably been rejected the moment it was proposed. However, not only did the Ye family not reject the design, they even stopped the production lines of their four factories that produced high-end mecha skeletons, and invested all of these resources into the production of base components.
It is no exaggeration to say that nearly half of the businesses under the Ye Group have now turned to serving this exploration mission. During this period, the trading prices of Nino alloys and energy crystals in the market have been rising, and all stocks related to steel, non-ferrous metals, and high-molecular polymers have been rising for many consecutive days, allowing some investors with a keen sense of smell to make a fortune.
The Ye Group has placed all its bets on this ancient warship from the third civilization. This is a huge gamble, and there is almost no way out.
…
Perhaps because he was busy from the moment he opened his eyes until late at night every day, Ke Lan hardly felt anything. A month had passed. It was not until the Hound and his companions returned to the battleship with a large group of people that he realized that the scheduled first joint exploration was about to begin.
A total of three groups of people arrived at "Aguna Tor" today, namely the "Gray Bird Hunting Group" named after the Ye Group; the "Tide Hunting Group" trained by Hound and others, whose original crew members were from the Pioneer crew; and the lone hunter nicknamed "Thirty-three" and his brothers.
The hunters sent out by the "Grey Bird Hunting Group" this time are all familiar faces on the rankings, but although Ke Lan and the others are familiar with these people, they have never had any experience of cooperation with them - every time the Grey Bird Hunting Group goes on a mission, it is all monopolized by its own hunters, and they never cooperate with outsiders... Speaking of which, this is the first "non-exclusive operation" after the Grey Bird Hunting Group became famous.
These people wore uniform black combat uniforms, were well-equipped, and had clear division of labor. Leading them was "Ghost Owl", one of the top elite hunters in the circle and the top instructor of the Gray Bird Hunting Group. Although this guy had a nickname of "bird of misfortune", he had led the team for more than ten years and there had never been any serious casualties.
A bored netizen once started a vote in the forum, "Which hunting group (or hunter) do you most want to explore the ruins with?" Ghost Owl ranked more than 4,000 votes ahead of the third place. Even if this was just an entertaining vote, it was enough to prove that this person's leadership ability is recognized as excellent.
As for the first place, although she is also a very powerful relic hunter, her abilities in all aspects are actually not as good as the Ghost Owl... The reason why she received the most votes is simply because she is a beautiful woman with a stunning face.
Most of those who voted for her were animals who thought with their lower bodies and people who were there for fun. As for those hunters who voted seriously, nine out of ten times they cast their votes for the ghost owl.
There is a saying that has been circulating in the hunter circle, "You are lucky to work under the Ghost Owl Boss. At least your chance of living to retirement is several times higher than that of other colleagues."
Although the hunters of the Grey Bird Hunting Group were all very quiet, the expressions on their faces were very relaxed - this group of elites had full confidence in both their leader and themselves.
On the other hand, the Tidehunters were obviously much more nervous, and the gap in quality between them and the Graybird Hunters was clearly visible.
The Tide Hunting Group is a consortium-level hunting group temporarily registered by the Soma Consortium, but the Tide Hunting Group has not yet completed the "qualification certification". Only after successfully completing the "Aguna Kotor" exploration mission can they be considered officially registered.
The leader of the Tidehunters was Caroline, the former first mate of the "Pioneer" icebreaker. However, her position was actually a nominal one. As a member of the security department of the Soma Consortium, Caroline's main mission in coming to Yaguna Kotor was to protect Zofia Soma's safety. She would not act with others. As for the command of the Tidehunters, it was fully handed over to Ke Lan and the others.
Ke Lan glanced at the twenty-five people who were selected. These people were all men who had been fighting on the sea for many years, so their physical fitness was naturally needless to say... At the end of the team, Ke Lan saw two people he had dealt with before.
"Old Ba" Bartlett, who had met them once at the barbecue stall, and his immediate superior, Quinn, the deputy team leader of the mechanical repair team.
Quinn looks even more muscular than before, while Ba is still as thin as before, but his two robotic arms have been replaced with the latest models produced by Mayan Biology.
"These guys are all good." Hound stood beside Ke Lan calmly and whispered in his ear, "They are all good talents with strong organization and discipline. The only problem is that the training time is a bit short, and they have never been in contact with the ruins in person. If there is enough time, take these people to the C-level and D-level ruins to train, and the situation will be much better."
As the Hound was talking, he kept glancing at the Gray Bird Hunting Group on the other side out of the corner of his eye - it was obvious that the gap between the two groups made him feel a little embarrassed.
"It's ok, old dog." Ke Lan saw through the hound's little thoughts and patted his shoulder. "The hunters selected by Gray Bird are all experienced hunters. How can these newcomers under our command compare with them? Besides, these people are used to the wind and waves on the sea. They are just a little uncomfortable now. You can't regard them as rookies who leave the Ark for the first time."
"Of course, if it weren't for this, I wouldn't want any of these people." The Hound nodded, "Except for Lao Ba, the others were all carefully selected by me."
"You didn't choose Lao Ba?"
"No." The Hound shook his head. "There are several people who are better than him, but this guy just relied on the fact that he had a meal with us to squeeze in... Well, but then again, he passed , just a few points lower than the others."
"My impression of this guy is that he is not that courageous, right? Why did he insist on participating in this exploration mission? Is it to buy himself a set of robotic arms?" Ke Lan asked in some confusion.
"Ahem... I heard, just heard, that Lao Ba fell in love with a girl, but he used to be a boatman, and basically spent whatever he earned, so he didn't have much savings. He lived in the employee dormitory provided free of charge by the Soma Consortium, and he couldn't even afford to buy a two-bedroom apartment, so..."
"That's why he shamelessly came to you, hoping to open a back door for him to come in, right?"
"Well, anyway, Lao Ba's score is not much different from others, and he knows all of us, so just consider it a piece of cake ... Anyway, it's the Soma Group that pays his salary, not us," said the Hound.
"That's not what I'm talking about... I always feel like this reason is like a flag."
"Uh, what do you mean?"
"Think about it, among all the characters in novels or TV dramas who say 'I'll go home and get married after I finish this job', how many of them can survive to the end?"
"Ah... Now that you put it that way, it seems to be true!" The Hound was stunned. He turned to look at Bartlett, who was chatting with Quinn and was completely unaware, and said, "I'll send this guy back now!"
"Wait..." Ke Lan grabbed the hound and said, "If you send Lao Ba back now, won't that ruin his job? The Soma Group might even ask him for money for the two new robotic arms."
"What should I do? Should I go and tell him to be careful?" The Hound rubbed his stubble irritably. "This is not a big deal!"
"There's no need to tell Lao Ba about this. People like them who make a living on the sea are superstitious in nature. He may not show any big reaction when you tell him these things, but the impact on his mentality is fatal... There's no need for us to kick Lao Ba out of the team. We can just let him take charge of logistical support when the time comes."
"That's fine." The Hound nodded. "We'll have to allocate a group of people to handle logistics anyway."
The people from the Grey Bird Hunting Group, Tide Hunting Group and God Hunting Group all settled down in their assigned dormitories. As for "Thirty-three" and his group of brothers, because there were too few of them, they ended up being assigned to the same building as the people from the God Hunting Group.
After Ke Lan and Sanshisan explained the whole story that day, the latter contacted his companions. He called a total of four hunters, three of whom were members of the Velociraptor Squad, and the other was a female military doctor. This female military doctor was not a member of the Velociraptor Squad, but she had saved the lives of several members of the Velociraptor Squad on the battlefield. After hearing that Sanshisan and his friends had switched to become relic hunters, she also decisively chose to retire and join their small group.
Ke Lan noticed that the eyes of this female military doctor always became very gentle when she looked at Thirty-Three. Even they, a group of outsiders, could see why this girl retired, but Thirty-Three herself seemed to be completely unaware and treated her the same as other brothers.
"What a blockhead." The Hound commented, "How about we give that girl a hand and help her break through the window paper?"
"Forget it. I don't think Thirty-Three didn't notice it. He just didn't want to accept it." Ivan said, "He gives me the impression that he is a very thoughtful person. It's impossible that he didn't notice something like this."
"Hey, it's his own relationship problem, so we outsiders shouldn't interfere." Layton interrupted, "Why not think about how to get him to agree to join our hunting group... Tsk, in this month, I've completely admired this guy. To be honest, this guy is really capable, worthy of being from the Velociraptor Team."
"What's going on? Did something happen between you?" Ke Lan heard the implication of Leighton's words, and couldn't help but glance at him and asked.
"At the beginning of the training camp, the big guy was not convinced. He thought that the Mongolian guy was just bragging. He thought that even a reinforced human couldn't have that kind of strength. He ran to challenge the Mongolian guy to a fight like a fool." Hound explained, "As for the outcome of the fight... did you notice that the big guy's mechanical prosthesis was replaced again?"
"We all watched the fight. Within fifteen seconds of the start, Layton's robotic arm was destroyed by the opponent, and he gave up after twenty-two seconds," Ivan added.
"Hey... I can only say that this guy is really a monster. Even if is sharp, it can actually cut my arm armor when thrown by hand. It's really outrageous." Layton sighed, "Don't laugh, old dog. I can only say that you will be the same if you do it."
"I'm not as ignorant as some people." The Hound rolled his eyes at Layton.
"I can cut Layton's arm armor with a knife." Asano Akira, who had been silent, spoke up, and Layton's already red face immediately turned the color of liver.
"You... you are also a monster!" Layton sighed heavily, "Alas, there are fewer and fewer normal people like me in our team. Even Ke Lan can probably beat me now, right?"
"You make it seem like I was very weak before... By the way, have you mentioned to Sanshisan about joining the God Hunting Group? Did he refuse?" Ke Lan asked.
"He didn't refuse directly. He just said he would think about it, but I think it's a stretch." Zhuo Ligetu, who has some experience with Sanshisan, said, "But he also said that he doesn't like being restricted and prefers to be alone."
