Chapter 6

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Chapter 6: The Junk Collectors

In the year 2075, on April 6th, 4360 light-years away

This is a cold planet that slowly orbits a red giant star. Its surface is covered in thick snow, silent and still. But beneath the surface, a thriving world of life exists. Glowing fungi and lichens grow wild in caves and rocky crevices, with ferns surrounding warm geothermal springs.

Small upright creatures scurry out of their nests and burrows, wearing tattered cloths. They sow fungal spores in the soft soil, bury glowing stones, and wait for precious green slime mold to grow for warmth and electricity.

The underground city looks like a giant garbage heap, filled with debris from various civilizations. You can see remnants of ancient civilizations covered in yellow sand, wreckage of military ships from the Lockrose Empire, and even old furniture from the Sefi people who ruled this star sector centuries ago.

The small beings climb through the waste piles, salvaging usable parts and taking them to a roaring workshop, where rat-like creatures and technicians use their cunning to turn the scraps into wealth for their entire society.

At the center of the city lies a massive boiler, emitting green smoke mixed with gray ash. The warm smoke is collected and distributed through iron pipes to the noble district near the "mega generator", providing warmth for the noble clan leaders and stormrat to enjoy a lavish lifestyle.

Surprisingly, this reactor runs on nuclear energy, specifically radioactive. The ratfolk insert radioactive minerals, green luminescent slime mold, and a large amount of waste and sewage. When heated, these grotesque green substances emit light, heat, and essential electricity, serving as the primary energy source for the whole ratfolk society.

Food is highly valued by the ratfolk, second only to waste. Eating is a sacred act in their society. Due to the low caloric content of mushrooms, the ratfolk have evolved strong digestive abilities and resilient stomachs. They constantly battle hunger, finding relaxation and joy only in eating.

"Sniff sniff~ Chief writer, if you can’t~~~sniff~ provide a reasonable explanation~~~sniff sniff~ I will take you to feed those~~sniff~ animals with long hair!" Rat magistrate Horn Tail Biting put down the mushroom stick he had been biting, twitched his nose with blood-red eyes, looked at his deputy with a terrifying and ferocious expression, and his tail, which had been bitten off by himself due to hunger, swished on the cushion unhappily.

"Animals with long hair, get ready, sniff sniff~~ they are going to attack~ sniff sniff, a despicable primitive creature~~~sniff sniff, waste, more waste~~sniff sniff, and food!"

"Sniff sniff~ battle, losses, waste~~~sniff, riches; corpses, more corpses, sniff sniff, more food… you convinced me, sniff sniff, you don’t need to go, sniff, and be with the ‘Butcher,’ my pet, sniff, for now!"

Horn Tail Biting stood up, being fed from abundant sources made him taller and smarter than the average rat person, he picked up the magistrate’s scepter on one side and walked out of the "palace" built from soft feathers, wood chips, and the finest waste.

"Sniff sniff~ rat people, slaves, a new waste dump has appeared, activate our flying devices, bring mushroom sticks, power blocks, Dimension Stone, let the mother rats, sniff sniff, give birth, quickly give birth, we need more slaves, more little rats! Can’t let sniff sniff~ the Rodent Clan~ sniff, get there faster than us!"

Through the electric horn, Horn Tail Biting’s voice echoed throughout the underground, countless shadows stood on the burrows, wooden racks, and garbage heaps, looking up at the tallest tower in the city center.

Groups of rat people were like a black tide, under the magistrate’s command and the tribal rats’ garbage guns behind them, they surged through the city, breaking through and rushing into the only slightly cleaner area in the entire underground. Compared to other places, the three huge piles of rubbish parked here were clean and tidy, just like a sacred temple.

The battleship of the Lockrose Empire, the junky scrap of Cuiraghal’s barge, with a half-steam boiler pulled out from who knows which ruin, started puffing smoke under the work of the little rats, driving the Space Displacer to make these large rubbish float. A large number of big-headed rats (scientist class), scribes (civilian logistics), and storm rats (military officers) flocked into the compartments, wriggling through damp and dirty air-filled pipes, followed by tribal rats climbing up through the wooden racks (warrior class).

As for those slave rats, they were responsible for moving cannonballs, food, and fresh water, pouring fungal fuel into the engine, then running swiftly on the conveyor, providing heat and power for the entire ship along with the steam boilers and generators. When necessary, they would also be stuffed into a plague censer and used as a mouse-meat guidance system. Besides their skin not being green enough and not having enough WAAAAAGH, they looked exactly like Orks.

The difference between Ratmen and Orks in fighting: Orks get more excited the more they fight, while Ratmen get more scared. Ork technology: explosions are art, Ratmen technology: turning waste into treasure. Ork attack: leader charges ahead, we want chaos and mischief, Ratmen attack: suppress with cannons, slave cannon fodder charge!

The Ratmen often swarm out, either expanding or searching for food, but more often they go to battlefields or civilizations that have been conquered to loot, or simply to take over what they see as a waste dump. Most of the time, Ratmen won’t touch things that look intact, or they will leave them for later.

They collect scraps of loot left behind by the victors on the battlefield as much as possible, then scavenge even the last remains of what the losers have left, not even sparing the bodies, as the meat can keep them satisfied longer. Even bodies buried deep underground will be dug up by the Ratmen. Bodies too decayed to eat will be used as fuel and power for their ships.

However, the Ratmen don’t just rob and dig. They also interact with some civilizations, exchanging information and resources obtained elsewhere for the other party’s garbage and waste. Sometimes, civilizations in need will dump their trash in areas where the Ratmen are active, and these scavengers won’t even ignore ashes.

Of course, given a chance, they don’t mind moonlighting as bandits and pirates, looting merchant ships and colonies, taking all prisoners as backup food. They will pack up everything, whether wreckage, ruins, or intact devices until their ship can’t carry even a tiny bit more.

"Eat, eat it all; take it all; fill it up!"

"And, sniff around~ casually kill some stuff~~"

Since they never actively attack the victors, the Ratmen are like scavengers, unloved by anyone, spreading stench, plague, and deadly radiation residue. But no one bothers to exterminate them – what do they have to offer? Besides unwanted junk and trash, they are not strong in battle, but not weak either. No one is willing to fight wars without benefits.

After a whole day of preparation, the big-headed rats calculated their way through the stars, stuffed enough Energy-generating Dimension Stones (radioactive mineral mycelium distillates) and slime molds into the jumper. Then they disappeared into a spreading electric arc. Ratmen’s jumps were always rough but very effective. The Star Distance they cover is much longer than the empire’s, but sadly, only they can use these devices (radiation-filled).

On April 11, 2075, at the Dalian Shipyard

After a short break, the "brainstorm experts" in the creative team came up with their first batch of designs. At first, Lin Wei was unsure if his pyramid-shaped warship design would be accepted. However, when he saw the variety of designs the others presented, ranging from spherical and pyramid shapes to disk and cigar shapes, he realized his design was more conventional. Even rubber ducks and swans in the park would seem more innovative compared to these designs.

The truly innovative designs, though, surprised Lin Wei.

For instance, the largest "warship" in the area had a unique design. It featured a large sun umbrella-like structure that could expand and collapse, supported by slender struts resembling AA batteries connected in a series. The main chamber had no protective walls or structure, with six umbrella ribs able to open and close.

The umbrella ribs were not connected to the main ship body. Numerous load-bearing structures and supports lined the umbrella’s surface, covered with solar panels on the back and heat sinks and lasers on the front. The reactor was placed at the center of the umbrella ribs. When stealth was needed, the umbrella would close, relying on six light laser guns at the ends and one heavy laser gun at the center for defense. In battle, the umbrella would expand.

According to the designers, this light warship could engage in relay and concentrated fire. The first warship would use its central laser to illuminate the second warship. As the laser beam lost power over distance, it would be refocused by the giant umbrella, combining with the second warship’s laser to target the third warship. This relay continued until a devastating energy spear destroyed the enemy when reaching a threshold.

Although the experts had many opinions on this design, they were obligated by superiors to provide support in checking and enhancing it. If the design fell short, they would inform the research team to come up with a short-term alternative. Only as a last resort would they notify the designer for adjustments.

Besides the sun umbrellas, there was another structure resembling post-industrial abstract art. It consisted of three sturdy main frames forming a spiral rack. With its milky-white pipes resembling twisted organs hanging on the frames, various tumor-like growths covered it, creating a mental impact on spectators larger than its actual weapon systems.

Inside the weapon pods controlled by drone systems were electric thermal cannons, medium lasers, reactors, generators, command modules, and the Space Displacer, all packed within the spiral compartments at distant positions. The design allowed this warship to be operated with minimal crew, with most of the space being empty cavities and a modular layout enabling movement of weapon pods, radars, and command modules along the spiral track.

Looking at the design plans, even if the ship is cut in half, the crew and key core chambers can quickly detach from the frame using small Space Displacer devices installed inside. Except for the too large chambers like the reactor, the entire ship feels restless, as if blessed by the forest black goat, ready to split into countless individuals at any moment.

Furthermore, it could potentially reassemble into one or several similar style warships later. They may have weak firepower, weak protection, complex structure, and not well-designed, but the hardworking construction workers first constructed a rough framework using plastic and wood. In fact, most of the ships here are just empty shells made of plastic and rubber, as human industrial capabilities are not advanced enough to build a warship weighing thousands of tons in just a few days.

Including the exploration and research work on details, it will take at least three months before the first batch of Space Battleships are officially completed. With outfitting work, the earliest space exercise combat might not start until around August. As for the outcome… just look at the chaotic scenes on the field, the expert team expresses no hope for any treatable or salvageable situation.