Lu Yuan had long anticipated the existence of other humans on the planet.
After the Great Cataclysm, there likely weren't many planets left with breathable atmospheres, and even if they had become wastelands, they would still be treasured by humans.
"Tell me the details of the situation."
Caoyuan unscrewed his water bottle and took a sip.
"At that time, I had finished hunting and was patrolling the sandy ground when I saw a black dot in the distance that was getting bigger and bigger."
"I immediately lay down and found that the black dot was actually an all-terrain vehicle driving at high speed with three people on it, all carrying weapons which, judging by the outline, looked like guns."
Jin Yi Ye Xing: "Are you sure they didn't spot you and follow you here?"
Caoyuan shook his head: "No. To stay hidden, I lay on the sand for over half an hour until I was sure they were far away before getting up again."
"You're a tough guy, brother..." Jubian gave him a thumbs-up.
"Good work." Lu Yuan patted Caoyuan's shoulder, "Describe the appearance of that all-terrain vehicle in detail."
Caoyuan: "It's not hard work, it's what I should do. Anyway, it looked very similar to a Desert all-terrain vehicle in reality, with suspension, a roll cage, four tires, and a relatively lightweight body. Let's just say it was very close to the wasteland style you see in the movie 'Mad Max'."
"Then it seems their technology level won't be very high, at least not some sci-fi hovercar."
Jubian breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing this.
"Listening to Brother Caoyuan's description, I think the other party is somewhat like local Raiders or subordinates of a warlord," Ye Xing commented sharply.
"Regardless, we still need to remain vigilant," Lu Yuan concluded, "Since they have guns and an all-terrain vehicle, it indicates they may already possess considerable industrial capacity, and their strength should not be underestimated."
"Yes!"
"Scholar, you mentioned earlier that we could manufacture weapons and ammunition?"
Shenceng Jubian nodded.
"Yes, there's not much technical difficulty. Metal plus explosives equals bullets and grenades. Whether it's the smokeless powder used in rifle bullets or the RDX and TNT loaded into grenades, they actually only contain the four common elements of carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, and nitrogen, which are completely consistent with protein. This means that as long as the body of a Desert Spider is used as raw material, it can be synthesized in bulk using a 3D printer."
"As for primers, tetraammine can be used, and the raw material for synthesis also only requires protein."
Beside him, Caoyuan and Ye Xing couldn't help but look sideways.
Master, what exactly do you do for a living?
Lu Yuan nodded slightly.
"Very good, then, what is the energy consumption for synthesizing ammunition?"
"Unfortunately, under the constraints of the three laws of thermodynamics, it also consumes a considerable amount of electricity."
"Specifically, with sufficient raw materials, one kilowatt-hour of electricity can synthesize 200 grams of TNT, or 120 grams of RDX, or produce one high-explosive grenade with a 75-gram charge, or 60 rifle bullets, plus the corresponding two engineering plastic magazines."
Lu Yuan quickly calculated in his head.
"I understand. Then allocate some extra power to produce 30 rifle magazines for us, plus 10 grenades. The production order should be before the battery panels. Sufficient ammunition is crucial for us now."
"Received!"
Lu Yuan walked to the computer in front of the player's hibernation pod, uploaded the video previously recorded by the tactical helmet, clicked play, and fast-forwarded to the combat footage.
"In addition, besides potentially existing human Raiders, this newly discovered mechanical creature is also a potential threat."
The monster manual has been updated?
Looking at the fierce, clawing Mechanical Desert Spider in the holographic image, Jubian and Caoyuan weren't overly worried, but quickly began thinking about countermeasures.
This is not some small fry; at the current level, it's at least an elite monster.
"Its armor is a bit thick, rifle bullets won't work, they won't penetrate," Caoyuan offered his professional opinion.
"Maybe damaging its camera eye could disable it?"
"Not necessarily, it might have other sensing equipment inside its body, like ultrasonic radar or infrared sensors. We still need weapons that can penetrate the armor. As long as we can severely damage the key equipment inside, this thing will definitely shut down on the spot."
"Like a rocket launcher?" Ye Xing suggested.
"Or an anti-materiel rifle," Jubian added.
Seeing the players actively thinking, Lu Yuan was very satisfied.
"This is Scholar's next task: to research and develop single-Soldier combat weapons powerful enough. Each new weapon prototype will be recorded as additional employee performance," he said from the side, in the authoritative tone of an Executive Officer.
Ye Xing: "What about me, Team Leader? What do I do?"
"Next, the Investigator is responsible for storing and using the scanner. I need you to survey the surrounding area in detail, identifying as many creatures and minerals as possible."
"You also need to go back and investigate the cave where you encountered the Mechanical Desert Spider to confirm if it's truly dead. If it is, scan the remains and drag them back if possible."
"Soldier, you will act with the Investigator, responsible for protecting him throughout and helping him recover the remains."
"Understood!"
"Um, there's something I need to add."
Jubian habitually pushed up his non-existent glasses, using a line he often used in lab meetings at the research institute.
"Speak."
"Our 3D printer has limitations. It cannot print overly intricate circuit structures, meaning it cannot print smart chips. Even if we get the blueprint for that mechanical creature, we can't build it at this stage."
"Furthermore, because tactical helmets, drones, personal pads, and ballistic computers all contain chips, they also cannot be manufactured at this stage."
"Don't worry too much about this," Lu Yuan waved his hand, "There will definitely be a way later. For now, just collect the engineering blueprints."
"Alright."
Seeing his confident attitude, although Jubian knew how difficult it was to build a lithography machine from scratch, he didn't say anything more.
Night fell, and the three players had free time.
Jubian went to the 3D printer, first allocating the production of ammunition, then connected to the Earth Internet, and eagerly searched and downloaded blueprints for RPGs and anti-materiel sniper rifles from the external network.
Caoyuan and Ye Xing gathered together, looking at the map on the Pad, discussing their next course of action.
…………
One kilometer away.
Xiewei held up his binoculars, observing the aerospace plane in the distance reflecting the silver moonlight.
He was a Raider in the Desert, and also a native of this planet.
A long time ago, Xiewei's ancestors luckily survived the "Plasma Skyfire" that burned the entire world.
As for what "plasma" was, Xiewei was like the other Raiders in his war band.
Like a toad jumping into water, he didn't understand.
But that wasn't important. What was important was that now, fat prey had come right to their mouths.
Caoyuan was very careful; he certainly wasn't tracked.
But a 55-meter-long aerospace plane in the Desert was still too conspicuous.
If you happened to pass by nearby, you would definitely notice it, unless you were blind.
"It's a Celestial flying machine, and they can't fly anymore! There must be good stuff in there!"
There was suppressed excitement in Xiewei's tone.
"Celestial" was the term used by the natives for the "higher humans" who still possessed spaceflight capabilities. Due to their technological superiority, Celestials generally had aerial firepower far exceeding that of the ground natives.
But no matter how advanced they were, if they couldn't fly, any aerial firepower was useless.
"Let's act tonight!" Xiewei turned to look at Dusha beside him.
"No rush, be cautious."
Dusha was the leader of this group of Raiders. He was older than his deputy Xiewei and calmer.
"What are you afraid of? I think there are at most seven or eight of them. With all thirty-something of our brothers, we can take them down easily! And, you know, Celestials are very timid!"
"I'm not afraid of the people in that flying machine," Dusha glanced at Xiewei contemptuously.
"I'm afraid of the forces behind them. What if the company that hired them comes for a rescue?"
"Then we'll take hostages first, and when the company people arrive, we'll demand a ransom!"
"Idiot! They can ransom the people first, and then fire on our camp from the sky, bombing us to smithereens! For those Celestials, that's just the cost of a few shells."
"This..."
Xiewei scratched the back of his head.
"Then what do you say we do?"
"That's why I said no rush."
Dusha sneered.
"If they are just small fries, then after something happens, most companies won't bother to rescue them. We'll wait a few days. If the rescue team hasn't shown up after a few days, then they are left to fend for themselves."
"At that time, without any worries, we'll make our move!"