Humanity is missing, luckily I have billions of clones-Chapter 286: Shocking Proportion

"We tested over 160 million core materials and ran simulations on tens of millions of internal configurations. It was an exhaustive process, sifting through the sands of physics to find a single grain of gold, but we have finally developed this—the Variable Overload Energy Shield."

Heimerlan stood tall, though his internal nervousness was palpable. Facing the vast, star-studded backdrop of deep space outside the viewport, surrounded by high-ranking civilization officials who held their breath, he solemnly reported this achievement to the Black Mountain Civilization and the invisible entity listening: the Akakenu AI.

He gestured to the holographic projection floating in the center of the room.

"Compared to previous equivalent components, its main advantage lies in its ability to withstand catastrophic short-term energy overloads. When needed, it can instantly boost its power to three times its maximum normal operating power in as little as 0.1 seconds. We guarantee it can maintain this intensity for ten seconds without suffering self-damage or generator burnout."

He paused, letting the data sink in before continuing with the strategic context.

"Our intelligence confirmed that the large-scale destructive weapon used by Human Civilization is essentially a force field weapon. It is a terrifying technology that forcibly converts the materials of our warships from mass into pure energy through external influence, causing them to self-destruct from the atomic level up."

A murmur of unease rippled through the officials. They remembered the reports.

"We have confirmed that, without the possibility of knowing the specific frequency and energy of this force field weapon beforehand, increasing the sheer density and strength of our energy shields is the only defense method. It is a brute force solution to a sophisticated problem."

Heimerlan tapped the console, changing the display to a tactical timeline.

"Crucially, the duration of this force field weapon is limited. According to theoretical calculations, under ideal conditions, the enemy’s weapon cannot sustain output for more than eight seconds. In practice, the force field weapon used by Human Civilization has a duration of approximately 4 seconds.

Thus, our tactic is simple but effective. In combat, once our sensors detect that the force field weapon has entered an irreversible excitation state, our ships will immediately activate this variable energy shield. It will surge into an overload state, increasing protective strength to more than three times the conventional limit, and hold that line for ten seconds.

This way, the destructive power of Human Civilization’s force field weapon can be greatly weakened, rendering this strategic trump card ineffective."

Silence hung in the room for a long moment. Then, the synthetic, oscillating voice of Akakenu arrived through the speakers, devoid of emotion.

"Initiate combat testing."

"Alright."

The order was given.

In the void of space, a designated firing range had been cleared. A sleek warship equipped with the new variable energy shield, piloted by elite Havilah warriors, drifted into position. Opposite it, a medium-sized automated warship under Akakenu’s direct control rotated its turrets.

The communication channel crackled with the AI’s cold voice.

"I will control this warship’s main cannon to strike the target in ten seconds. This will simulate a kinetic impact exceeding the standard shield threshold. Countdown starts now: ten, nine..."

The tension in the Honor spaceship’s conference hall was thick enough to cut. Every official stared at the screen, their hearts synchronized with the countdown.

"Three."

On the screen, the light yellow energy shield surrounding the small target warship suddenly shifted. It pulsed violently, transforming in a split second. The soft yellow hue vanished, replaced by a blinding, brilliant blue—the color of a supergiant star burning at maximum intensity.

"...Zero."

BOOM!

There was no sound in space, but the visual impact was deafening.

A heavy excited-state projectile, weighing 25 grams and accelerated to relativistic speeds, whistled out. It crossed the few hundred kilometers in a blink, slamming into the target warship.

For a vessel of that tonnage, a projectile of this mass and velocity should have been a death sentence. It should have punched through the shield like paper and vaporized the hull.

But this time, the laws of destruction were rewritten.

The moment the projectile collided with the bright blue shield, the kinetic energy clashed with the overloaded barrier. The Strong Nuclear Force contained within the quarks of the projectile was suddenly released.

A dazzling fireball erupted. It was a sphere of pure violence, instantly engulfing the entire warship, turning the screen white.

"Did it hold?" someone whispered.

A few seconds later, the angry fireball receded, dissipated by the vacuum.

And there, floating defiantly in the void, the small warship remained completely intact.

Its hull structure was pristine. The energy shield, though flickering slightly, showed no signs of instability or collapse.

The next moment, the blinding bright blue slowly faded, dimming back to the standard standby yellow.

A swarm of inspection drones belonging to Akakenu AI immediately surged forward like a cloud of metal gnats. They scanned the hull, entered the interior, and checked the working status of every internal component.

After a long, agonizing wait, the analysis was complete. Akakenu AI responded.

"Very good. With this energy shield system, our chances of capturing Human Civilization are even greater. You Havilah Civilization are indeed a highly intelligent species. On behalf of Black Mountain Civilization, I express my respect to you."

Whoosh...

Warm, thunderous applause erupted in the Honor spaceship’s conference hall. Dignified officials hugged one another; some even wiped tears from their eyes.

It was a victory nearly a century in the making.

Nearly a hundred years of exhaustive, sleepless effort. A century where their entire culture had shifted, investing everything into this single research project. At this moment, the tree of sacrifice had finally borne abundant fruit.

Such strategic equipment, which could be called a nation’s vital asset, was something their own civilization originally had no ability to develop. They lacked the resources, the time, and the industrial base.

Fortunately—or perhaps, terrifyingly—the Black Mountain Civilization’s Akakenu took on all the material supply issues. The AI fed them, clothed them, and supplied them, allowing the Havilahs to concentrate their entire racial intellect on specifically cultivating targeted talent.

In the later stages, they had gathered 200 million relevant research scholars to work full-time on this single shield.

It was a staggering statistic. The civilization’s total population was only 150 billion. This meant there was one energy shield expert for every 750 people on average. It was an astonishing proportion, a mobilization of intellect that no free economy could ever support. Only through this total war economy did they finally complete this seemingly impossible task.

Heimerlan clapped along with his people, but a shadow crossed his mind.

’We have succeeded. But in doing so, we have sharpened the claws of the Beast.’

The Mechanical Disaster’s strength would now be even greater. Who knew how many more orthodox intelligent civilizations would suffer disaster because of this technology in the future?

He shook his head slightly. ’That no longer concerns the Havilah Civilization. We must survive first.’

Heimerlan raised his hand, silencing the room, and turned back to the communicator.

"Respected Akakenu, we still have a few suggestions regarding the tactical use of this new type of shield."

"Speak," the AI commanded.

"First, there is a limitation. This new type of shield’s complete set of equipment allows for the overload state to be activated only once per distinct combat engagement cycle. Once used, the emitters are internally damaged. They can maintain a conventional state, but attempting to activate the overload again without repairs will lead to a complete system collapse. It is a one-time trump card."

Heimerlan leaned forward, his eyes narrowing.

"And the second point... for the strategic need of ’striking unexpectedly,’ I suggest that in the early stages of the war, we do not expose the fact that we have mastered this technology. We must endure. We must let them hit us. We must temporarily conceal our strength."

"Explain," the AI requested.

"Once Human Civilization activates that force field weapon, they will certainly calculate that our side has suffered significant battle results and heavy losses. They will advance, exposing their flanks, arranging their tactics based on the assumption of our weakness. At that precise moment... when we reveal the new shield and our ships do not die... we will catch them off guard. We can achieve a total victory in a single stroke."

"Your suggestion is calculated and ruthless. It is very reasonable. I will consider it carefully," Akakenu replied. "Now, since we have mastered the opponent’s top-secret weapon, then... let the true preparations for war begin."

"Yes!"

Heimerlan solemnly agreed.

With the order given, a massive industrial mobilization began—one of a scale enough to make all Havilahs dumbfounded.

Under the already established industrial system, the floodgates opened. Countless manned warships, unmanned warships, autonomous combat facilities, large aerospace carriers, and transport ships seemed to generate out of thin air. They flew out one after another from orbital shipyards and planetary factories, converging into space like silver rivers flowing into a sea of steel.

And the Havilah Civilization once again began a radical transformation.

The previous phase was an era of the mind, fully dedicated to cultivating talent related to energy shields. The current phase, however, was an era of blood. They were fully dedicating themselves to cultivating warriors!

The numbers were terrifying.

Normally, for a civilization with a population of 150 billion, the number of frontline warriors would not exceed 100 million. Logistics, food production, and economics usually limited the military. Under rotation, perhaps 33 million warriors could be deployed at once.

Even under the most extreme "Total War" circumstances, a civilization of this size usually capped out at 300 million warriors. Anything more, and society would collapse from a lack of workers.

But this was no longer a normal civilization.

Because they had the Mechanical Disaster.

The AI grew the food. The AI built the ships. The AI managed the logistics. The Havilahs didn’t need to work; they only needed to fight.

And so, the Havilah Civilization’s warrior training plan intended to cultivate a total of 1.2 billion warriors.

It was a number that defied all sociological models, directly increasing their military capacity to four times the biological limit!

This was the power of the alliance. This was the terror of the pact they had made.