Chapter 75: Overclocking Chip

The explosion that came from the Eighteen Stars of Nocturnal Disaster was catastrophic. Fiery red flames shot up to the sky as everything within a radius of fifty kilometers was enveloped in a tremendous sea of fire.

The shuttle could only fly within the atmosphere, so its fuselage was not equipped with any heat resistance. The scorching temperature penetrated the shuttle’s hull and could be felt inside the cockpit, rolling waves of heat so powerful that any humans would very well be cooked by it.

*Whoosh!*

The shuttle finally escaped the grasp of the intense heat and burst right out of the inferno.

Xia Fei had the protection of his Windshade Mark IV, so he was unharmed by the heat.

After making a turn in the sky, Xia Fei proceeded toward the valley where he had arranged to meet Sonny.

Looking at the sky, it looked like a huge crater had been made from where Old K’s mansion had once stood. Over ten kilometers wide and about two kilometers deep—the flames were unabated, while thick smoke belched unceasingly. It was almost as if the place had been struck by a meteor.

“What a waste. All that ammunition was buried underground. We could’ve made a killing if we managed to sell that stuff off.” Xia Fei sighed.

Phantom rolled his eyes at him. “You’re really a money-grubber. Being able to survive that was already enough.”

……

Sonny drove the shuttle and landed somewhere a hundred kilometers away from where Old Porter’s factory was situated.

It was already dawn, and heavy clouds blanketed the land with rain. The skies of the warship graveyard were completely shrouded in black fog, so even the rain was black. The air was cool and damp.

Xia Fei leaped off from the vehicle and told Sonny, “Head home. Only you and I know what happened last night, so don’t mention anything to anyone.”

Sonny nodded his head with severity. “Don’t worry, boss. My lips are sealed.”

Xia Fei smiled and made a high-speed dash for Old Porter’s factory.

Old K’s men, who had originally been watching Porter’s factory day and night, were all gone by now, most likely because they learned of what had happened to their leader and departed from this place.

The massive explosion had wiped any trace, so there was no way for anyone to discover Xia Fei’s relation to the incident. It was figuratively and literally a clean-cut execution.

The most important outcome was Xia Fei’s return with that Black Mamba 130 engine. With this top-grade engine, it would not be long until the naval-issued, Eagle-class frigate could be completed. In no time, Xia Fei would be able to pilot this top-tier frigate through the cosmos.

Xia Fei returned to his room and had a shower. Changing into his work overalls, he got to the factory to begin the day’s work.

There were still twenty minutes until work began, yet Old Porter’s four apprentices had already started working; all were looking very happy as they laughed and chatted with one another.

“What’s the happy occasion?” asked Xia Fei as he approached.

Xiao Tian put down his universal modification pliers and excitedly said, “Did you know? Old K’s home suddenly blew up before daybreak today. Apparently, several hundred kilometers of the land around have turned into ruins, and most likely, not even ashes of that guy remain.”

Xia Fei pretended to be surprised. “Are you serious? That’s indeed good news.”

“It’s not merely good news; it’s great news. Old K had been a criminal throughout his life, and this was a fitting end for him. I heard the people in the city celebrating early in the morning, and the bars are filled with people. Everyone’s in high spirits,” Boateng happily chimed in.

Xia Fei smiled, wielding the tool in his hand to join everyone with the work, not saying a word about what happened last night. It was as if nothing had happened.

Several days later, Xia Fei announced that he had managed to procure a Black Mamba 130 engine.

Every part of the engine had its own serial number. Xia Fei lasered off the engine’s so that none would realize that this was the same one Old K had taken from Xiao Tian.

Everyone was thrilled to hear this news, though all of them chalked it up to Xia Fei’s luck, and none was aware that behind this so-called luck was an unimaginable, death-defying experience.

The workers, who had previously left the factory, returned one after another at Old Porter’s request. These people were initially forced off from working with Old Porter by Old K’s threat, and none of them had been willing to do so. Thus, Old Porter accepted them all back regardless of what had transpired, and they were all deeply grateful.

Xia Fei was now very busy with work. Aside from learning about spacecraft repairs and maintenance, he had another course to study: aeropiloting.

His timetable was filled to the brim, and every day, he would fall asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow.

The progress of the spaceship restoration increased over time, and Xia Fei became more and more skilled in piloting and repairing spacecraft.

In the blink of an eye, more than half a month had passed, and on this day, all the workers arrived early at the workshop, but none of them started working. Instead, they surrounded that naval-issued, Eagle-class frigate, admiring the fruits of their labor.

A short while, Xia Fei walked into the workshop with a big smile. Old Porter personally handed him a pair of universal modification pliers and a long shaft safety screw.

“The spaceship is left with this final screw before it can be considered complete. Normally, I will be the one fitting in the last screw, but this time, I think it will be more appropriate for you to be the one to do the honors,” said Old Porter as he gave Xia Fei the part and tool.

Xia Fei nodded and dove into the spaceship. He placed this final screw into the appropriate groove and used the universal modification pliers to screw it in.

There was an unspoken rule in spacecraft maintenance: When dismantling a space vessel, the first screw to be removed must be the middle screw out of thirteen counterparts under the captain’s seat. Conversely, when assembling a spaceship, that would also be the last screw to be screwed in.

It was said that doing so was a show of respect to the captain.

Normally, the oldest and most exceptional of the mechanics working on the maintenance and refurbishment team would do this job. For Old Porter to give Xia Fei this opportunity meant that he was acknowledging his skills at spacecraft repairs.

No more and no less, just 19.3 rounds would achieve the most suitable tensile strength of the screw. Xia Fei put down the universal modification pliers in his hand and stood at the entrance of this frigate, loudly declaring, “The work is complete. In a while, Sonny will be delivering some delicious food and good alcohol. Everyone, don’t stand on ceremony; no one’s allowed to leave before they’re properly drunk!”

Everyone cheered and applauded with great enthusiasm, each of them feeling proud of being involved in the restoration of this top-grade warship.

After a short while, Sonny arrived with a shuttle stocked full of delicacies and drinks, setting up several tables in empty space outside the workshop. Everyone partook in the festivity, drinking, and dining with great jubilation.

Xia Fei circled around that spacecraft several times by himself, his eyes filled with joy.

“What a good space vessel. It’s even more majestic than how it was back in the day.” Old Porter laughed as he walked over. “Enhanced neutron cannons, Ardler missile launchers, a grade 3 high-capacity reactor, and the Black Mamba 130 engine alongside those CL-5 energy shields. This warship’s performance is many times more than how it was in the past. Have you thought of a name for it?”

Xia Fei nodded. “I’ve put much thought into it, and I’m calling her Lunar Eclipse.”

“Lunar Eclipse.” Old Porter repeated the name a few times. “Not bad; it’s a good name.”

“Is it possible to register this frigate with the Galaxy Spaceship Authority?” asked Xia Fei.

Because Lunar Eclipse was a naval-issued warship, though they had deliberately revised its exterior during modification to look like a normal Eagle-class frigate, anyone with discerning eyes could tell that there were irregularities with this space vessel.

Porter burst into laughter. “You can get any spaceship registered as long as you pay the Galaxy Spaceship Authority. Besides, I’ve already made changes to the internal code of this spacecraft’s computer, so it can be registered as a standard Eagle-class space transport.”

Porter paused for a moment before asking, “Isn’t a Navy-issue good? It’s more stylish. Plus, you’re now an apprentice Adjudicator. Having a naval-issued top-grade frigate isn’t that big of a deal. There’s no need for you to keep it hidden.”

Xia Fei smiled. “It’s better to be lowkey about this in order not to draw unwanted attention.”

The elderly man nodded and very mysteriously patted Xia Fei’s back. “Come with me.”

Old Porter led him out of the workshop through the back door, all the way to an old and abandoned warship.

Xia Fei was puzzled but did not say a word, merely following right behind Old Porter.

This warship looked to be from a bygone era. Its hull was in tatters as if it had been severely damaged during a battle.

Xia Fei and Porter entered the inside of this warship through one such breach and followed the ancient corridors onward.

After many twists and turns inside this spaceplane, they arrived at its command deck.

Porter got Xia Fei to wait at the entrance as he entered by himself.

Xia Fei lit a cigarette out of boredom, and a while later, Porter returned with a golden metal case, handing it to him.

This case was rectangular in shape and was quite weighty when Xia Fei received it from the old mechanic. There were even some mysterious markings on the case, looking like it had come from a time eons past.

“What is this?” curiously asked Xia Fei.

“First store this item away,” ordered Porter.

Xia Fei kept the case into his spatial ring and walked out side by side with Porter.

“Back in the day, I was once part of the army. My eye was lost on a battlefield; once, some of my war buddies and I got caught in an enemy ambush, and left without a choice, we had to activate our warp engine to make an unplanned space jump.

“At that time, nobody among us imagined that our space jump would actually bring us to an ancient civilization’s ruins. That case contains an overclocking chip that we miraculously uncovered then, and I’m giving it to you right now.”

Xia Fei was completely shocked by this gesture. He knew that Porter had an overclocking chip in his possession, which was precisely what had caused Old K and Mountain Hawk to target him. Never had he thought that the elderly man would easily give him something so precious!

An overclocking chip could improve the overall performance of a warship by fifteen percent at the least when facing extremely dangerous situations!

This was like a motor designed to have a normal speed of four thousand revolutions a minute; The motor could only achieve four thousand revolutions a minute was not because that was its maximum speed but because going over that would lead to motor damage.

A spacecraft was designed in a similar fashion. In order to ensure any equipment’s reliability and durability, all manufacturers would set an operating range for it, such that the equipment could not operate past its limit.

Meanwhile, an overclocking chip was capable of gaining control of the equipment and pushing it to the extreme, fully realizing its potential in the process.

Though using it would cause damage to the equipment in question, every bit of improvement to a spaceship’s performance could decide the outcome in a critical situation.

When two warships of equal defense and firepower encountered each other, the most likely outcome would be mutual destruction, but if one were to use the overclocking system, the result might be that one could secure a win with this additional edge.

An overclocking chip’s function was extremely complex, and it must first gauge the overclock limit of the equipment before a suitable range for overclocking could be set, maximizing the spaceship’s overall performance while protecting the equipment from damage as much as possible.

A high-degree precision was required to achieve this. After all, the equipment was also a high-precision technological product in itself, so even the slightest error could damage it beyond repair or, at worst, caused the equipment to explode.

Present-day people were still unable to reproduce this sort of overclocking chip given their current technological level, and chips like this that were found on the market were all unearthed from remains of ancient civilizations. Thus, the value of this chip was simply incalculable!

Xia Fei shook his head. “This chip is far too valuable; I can’t accept it.”

Porter laughed. “This chip used to belong to your Lunar Eclipse’s former owner. Now that she has been restored and will soon be returning to the stars, it’s only natural for this chip to go back to its original position.”

“You mean to tell me that this chip was originally installed in Lunar Eclipse?” asked Xia Fei.

Porter nodded as he led Xia Fei back to the workshop.

“The overall performance of Lunar Eclipse has already reached its peak. If this overclocking chip is to be added, I dare guarantee that out of all the frigates in service, there won’t be more than ten spaceships out there that can outperform it!” Porter lifted his head to the sky and confidently declared this.