Technological advancement begins with devouring.

Over the highlands of central South America.

A futuristic-looking fighter jet streaked across the night sky and landed on a barren plain in the center of the plateau.

The movement of the fighter jets attracted the attention of many monsters, and a dense horde of beasts swarmed over.

But before they even got close, the hatches at the bottom of the fighter jets opened, and one by one, humanoid metal monsters strode out, raised their rifles, and opened fire wildly on the distant horde of beasts.

Amidst the dense gunfire, one monster after another was shot and fell to the ground.

Like harvesting wheat, thousands upon thousands of beasts were slaughtered in just a few minutes.

If you observe carefully enough, you will find that almost every monster was shot only once in the head.

One bullet takes the life of a monster; as for those that miss or require a second shot, they are extremely rare and almost negligible.

"No matter how many times I see it, the combat power of your mech unit is always awe-inspiring..."

Jia Yi sighed.

He was ready to make a move when he saw so many beasts.

As a result, Jiang Chen's mech force easily crushed the beast horde, giving him no chance to make a move.

“They’re all beast soldiers and beast generals, not even lord-level monsters, so of course there’s no difficulty.” Jiang Chen smiled and said, “Please wait a moment while I clear a space before unloading.”

As he spoke, Jiang Chen opened his spatial ring and released [SCV].

SCV stands for the Terran race from the StarCraft universe.

Its full name is the T-28 Space Engineering Machine, a multi-functional logistics unit capable of adapting to most complex and harsh environments.

By changing the functional modules on the robotic arm, it can undertake tasks such as mineral mining, mineral refining, raw material processing, construction, maintenance, and even a certain degree of precision machining.

It even has a relatively weak combat ability, but its combat strength is not strong, and it cannot even deal with a warrior at the general level.

Jiang Chen chose [SCV] because of its versatility and sufficiently low cost.

Producing one [SCV] only requires a few million Chinese Yuan; the price of one [Boxer] is enough to build thousands of [SCVs].

If there are enough of them, the efficiency can be increased rapidly, whether for mining or building a base.

Upon receiving Jiang Chen's order, the SCVs quickly dispersed, wielding the tools on their robotic arms to clear away debris from the soil beneath their feet, and then compacted the ground with heavy hammers.

In less than half an hour, a large area of ​​very flat and solid open space was cleared.

Building structures directly on this vacant land, even low-rise ones, is definitely not allowed.

However, there is absolutely no problem with temporarily storing some goods.

As long as a standard warehouse is built as soon as possible, the goods can be transferred in promptly.

“Alright, let’s unload the cargo here. Thank you for your help, Mr. Iceberg.” Jiang Chen said to Iceberg.

The latter nodded and placed a large amount of goods from his spatial ring onto the ground.

After completing these tasks, 'Iceberg' said to Jiang Chen, "Councilor Jia Yi and I will head back now. The second batch of goods is expected to arrive in about ten hours."

With the speed of a 'primordial' fighter jet, a round trip from Asia to South America would only take one or two hours.

As for those dozen or so hours, that was the time it took for 'Iceberg' to retrieve the goods from the warehouse.

Although there is a spatial ring, storing a large amount of goods is still quite troublesome without strong mental power.

"Thank you for your trouble." Jiang Chen nodded and watched the two board the fighter jet and leave.

After the two left, Jiang Chen muttered to himself, "This spatial ring definitely doesn't belong to 'Iceberg.' It probably doesn't belong to Hong either. I wonder who got such a treasure from the ruins..."

A spatial ring of this size would be considered extremely valuable even in the universe, and might even attract the covetous eyes of other powerful beings.

Judging from the occasional awkwardness 'Iceberg' showed when using the spatial ring, it's clear that he rarely comes into contact with it, so he can't possibly be the true owner of the spatial ring.

However, Jiang Chen was too lazy to think about it further. Since the other party was unwilling to show themselves, Jiang Chen had no interest in investigating further.

Jiang Chen believed that as his level increased, the system would eventually involve technology related to 'space', and at that time, creating some space equipment would definitely not be too difficult.

After the two left, Jiang Chen activated the auxiliary computer on his bracelet and ordered Jarvis, "Jarvis, get these SCVs to work. First, build a warehouse. Also, send some mechs to scout the surrounding area."

This location was carefully selected by Jiang Chen and Jarvis after repeated discussions. It is located on a plateau in central South America with a very flat terrain.

Less than ten kilometers to the south lies the world's largest iron ore mine, the Mutung Iron Mine, with total reserves of tens of billions of tons.

Within a radius of hundreds of kilometers, there are also abundant resources of various kinds. Only a small amount of minerals need to be imported, and the rest can be produced domestically.

Even the soil quality was determined by comparing data collected before the Great Nirvana with satellite data, and preliminary calculations were performed to confirm its suitability for building a large base.

The only drawback is that the terrain is too flat, making it difficult to defend.

However, considering the agility and destructive power of planetary-level and above powerhouses, even if there are terrain obstacles such as mountains, they are not very useful.

On the contrary, on open, flat ground, the field of vision is better, and it is easier to spot the enemy from a distance.

Moreover, the area Jiang Chen chose was on the South American plateau, a place with a relatively low monster density. Not even a King-level monster had been found there, and the highest level was only Lord-level.

Building materials made up a significant proportion of the first batch of goods delivered.

The twelve SCVs were quickly equipped with engineering construction modules and, under Jarvis's control, worked together to dig deep pits nearby, mix concrete, and drive it into the foundation.

The entire process was smooth and efficient, using only twelve SCVs, yet far more efficient than a large construction team.

Before 'Iceberg' and Jia Yi returned, the prototype of the first warehouse was almost complete.

"That's quite efficient!" Seeing the bustling scene at the construction site, Jia Yi raised an eyebrow, revealing a look of great interest, and said to Jiang Chen, "Mr. Jiang, are you selling these engineering mechs?"

As a high-ranking member of a powerful force, Jia Yi had some knowledge of various aspects and immediately recognized the value of this highly efficient engineering mech.

Within the base city, it's fine, but even if it's necessary to ensure jobs and maintain stability, there's no need to use this thing to replace human labor.

However, in the front-line war zone, the ability to rapidly construct fortifications is of great strategic significance.

"Of course I'll sell it, but we'll have to wait a while until my work is finished," Jiang Chen said with a smile.

Money delivered to your doorstep is money you shouldn't pass up.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

Name: T-28 Space Construction Vehicle (SCV)

Category: Logistics Unit/Mechanical Unit

Rating: Level 0, Rank 6

Note: "Reinforced electroplated armor has been installed to ensure your safety 100%." ​​— Mengsk Group