Humanity is missing, luckily I have billions of clones-Chapter 285: No Limit

The silence in the factory sectors was deafening, yet the air hummed with an unseen, terrifying purpose.

At this moment, all 2 billion clones allocated to the project were engaged in the final, most delicate production tasks for the Unified Force Field complete sets. This was not heavy industry; this was the work of surgeons and artisans multiplied by the billion. They were focused solely on the production of microscopic components, the writing and debugging of hyper-complex intelligent code, and the assembly of sensitive terminal devices.

Prior to this stage, there were obviously a large number of upstream production tasks—mining raw ore from asteroid belts, smelting alloys in zero-gravity foundries, and processing rare crystals.

Tom did not include these rough, heavy-lifting tasks in the production assignments for these specific 2 billion clones; instead, those burdens were shouldered by millions of other clones operating heavy machinery in the outer orbits.

These 2 billion clones were the elite craftsmen of the hive mind. They were genuinely and fully dedicated to the production of the Unified Force Field complete sets, not participating in any other work, not distracted by a single stray thought.

Even during the research and production of the colossal Mars-class battleship, the pride of his fleet, Tom had never deployed so many clones for a single component system.

Yet, the difficulty of this task was humbling.

Such a vast production capacity, billions of hands moving in perfect synchronization when applied to this single set of equipment, could only yield an annual output of merely 100 million components.

It was a crawl.

Based on the minimum requirement of 1 billion components to form a single functional complete set, even with all available clones deployed and working without sleep or rest, Tom calculated the timeline with cold precision: he would need a full decade to produce it.

There was no alternative; the components of the Unified Force Field complete sets were simply too precise. They operated on the sub-atomic level, requiring tolerances that defied conventional physics. They were too complex, too difficult to produce, and intolerant of even a nanometer of error.

At this moment, Tom truly had no way to reallocate clones from other areas. Every mind was necessary.

This production speed might seem slow to an outsider, but only Tom a singular consciousness controlling a billion bodies could achieve it.

For other civilizations, even the initial design could not be completed, let alone the logistical nightmare of subsequent production. They would drown in communication errors and bureaucratic delays.

Amidst this almost all-out production, various components, large and small, were manufactured in silence. Once finished, they were carefully crated and stored in several aerospace carriers specifically built to house these precious, volatile parts.

Time passed quietly in the vacuum of space.

The stars shifted their positions slightly. The red dwarf star continued its slow, ancient burn.

Ten years flew by in a blur of repetitive, perfect motion.

Tom finally accumulated 1 billion units of the Unified Force Field complete sets.

Standing in the command center, looking at the data streams turning green, Tom felt a sensation that transcended the cold logic of a machine. Even with Tom’s composure, he was so excited that he could barely control himself. The data represented survival. It represented power.

"There are so many other production tasks to perform," he mused, his thoughts echoing across the neural link. "So many battleships, spacecraft, industrial facilities, unmanned combat systems, supercomputing bases, and other things that I need to build... But I could only watch. I had to restrain myself, patiently dedicating almost all industrial capacity here, producing piece by piece, accumulating little by little, for a full decade."

He clenched a fist in his main body. "And finally, I have enough!"

Tom carefully retrieved all 1 billion of these components. Using a fleet of transport tugs, he arranged them in deep space, forming a massive, invisible grid. Then, he placed some battleship wreckage and decommissioned battleships in the corresponding target areas as sacrificial lambs.

Production was complete; the next step, of course, was testing and debugging. He had to truly ensure that this beast could operate normally.

Of course, Tom could not allow them to truly engage in self-destructive attacks at full output.

It took ten years of full effort to produce these components; to scrap them all in one overzealous test was a joke that wasn’t funny. It would be a strategic suicide.

For this test, Tom only set their power to 1% of full capacity.

This way, he could test the integrity and performance of the equipment, verify the energy pathways, and check for feedback loops without causing the complete destruction of the equipment or the death of billions of clones from neural backlash.

With a mix of anticipation and nervousness, Tom issued the final command.

"Activate."

At this moment, all of Tom’s production and research tasks across the solar system were paused. The hum of the factories died down.

All of his consciousness links were transferred to the 3.5 billion clones seated in the control base to manage the data flood.

Because it was a test, these clones were not injected with mind-enhancing agents, nor did their brains collapse due to high-intensity calculations in a short period; they merely experienced a momentary, sharp headache as the system surged to life.

In space, the 1 billion units of equipment, so painstakingly accumulated, hummed with terrifying power. They did not burn out due to overload.

But even so, the result was apocalyptic.

In the test area, the decommissioned battleships and battleship wreckage that Tom had placed there experienced violent explosions in an instant.

There was no fire, no shrapnel—just pure dissolution.

Under the Unified Force Field, a considerable portion of the matter comprising the ships’ hulls was forcibly converted directly into energy. The metal didn’t melt; it simply ceased to be matter and became pure, unadulterated radiance.

Then, it erupted violently.

At this moment, it was as if a sun had appeared in the test area. A blinding sphere of light erased the darkness of space, casting long shadows across the system.

Closely monitoring various data, and after completing the final analysis of the energy spikes, Tom finally let out a long breath. A surge of joy welled up in his heart, washing away the fatigue of the last decade.

The test results were even better than Tom’s previous best-case predictions.

Based on the data at only 1% power, it was estimated that if this second-generation Unified Force Field complete set were fully activated, its field strength could increase by a full 20% compared to the first generation!

Its field coverage, range, penetration, conversion efficiency, stability, and all other indicators showed significant improvements.

Although it was only a 30% increase, which might seem small on paper, in a battlefield scenario, facing some enemy battleships with super strong defenses, it was a game-changer. It could mean the difference between causing no damage at all before—scratching the paint—and now being able to directly atomize them!

Even with such a massive improvement, it was still not enough!

Tom remained unsatisfied. His ambition was a bottomless pit.

’The Mechanical Disaster fleet has not yet arrived,’ he thought, his mind racing. ’I still have time.’

If that’s the case, then continue producing components for the Unified Force Field complete sets!

Anyway, the more components there are, the higher the power, so keep producing them!

It would be best to accumulate 10 billion pieces!

’What level of power would this set of equipment achieve when they all activate simultaneously then...’

Tom was very much looking forward to this. The image of an enemy fleet dissolving into nothingness danced in his mind.

But he also knew in his heart that this was merely a fantasy.

He couldn’t possibly reallocate that many clones and spend that much time specifically producing force field components. The economy of war required balance.

Now that the minimum requirement of 1 billion units had been met, he could at most deploy approximately 200 million more clones to continue related production.

After all, there were still so many other production tasks that required clones to execute. A force field alone does not win a war; a fleet does.

Tom adjusted his industrial capacity and once again plunged into full-scale industrial production.

The forges roared back to life.

This production included Mars-class, Earth-class, Venus-class, and Mercury-class battleships among the manned fleet. It included oceans of unmanned battleships, space mines drifting like silent predators, space fortresses bristling with guns, and various satellites within the unmanned combat system.

It also included the production of strategic materials: energy cannons capable of cracking planetary crusts, various specifications and models of projectiles, precision laser emitter components, and interstellar missiles.

Numerous reserve factories and raw materials within the industrial production system were activated. All categories advanced simultaneously.

This time, it was truly a widespread effort, with no production task in any category left behind. The entire solar system became a machine of war.

As for the production scale and time, they were... limitless.

As long as the Mechanical Disaster fleet did not arrive, Tom would maintain production for that day.

All sorts of battleships, unmanned combat systems, materials, factories, and so on—the more, the better; it would be best to stockpile tens of millions of manned battleships and billions of unmanned battleships! He would drown the enemy in steel.

Time thus quietly passed, ticking down toward the inevitable clash.

In another star system, far removed from Tom’s frantic preparations.

Heimerlan stood before a holographic display, his expression tight. He sent a message to his ally through a dedicated communication channel, his voice full of solemnity.

"Respected Akakenu, with your strong support and the full efforts of our scientific researchers, the ’Variable Energy Shield’ has been successfully developed and has passed our internal acceptance."

"..."