Space Odyssey from Abandoned Mining Space Station

Chapter 606: Chapter 188: Raid

One week later.

Chen Ming led a fleet consisting of five cruisers: Supreme Point, Stardust, Brilliant, Radiant, and Defender, arriving near the Mechanical Race Star System.

The appearance of these five cruisers had undergone slight or noticeable changes compared to a week ago.

These changes shared a common feature, which was to make the ships more suited to their inherent roles.

The source of these changes was Chen Ming’s progress in Spiritual Energy after absorbing the new Enlightenment Nerve.

A few days ago, after the Enlightenment Nerve arrived, Chen Ming emulated how he had absorbed it before.

At the moment his Spiritual Power was stimulated to the utmost using equipment taken from the Dusk Research Institute, he absorbed the Enlightenment Nerve given by Bai Quan, which hadn’t undergone specialized cultivation.

Unlike last time, Chen Ming did not fall into a coma but remained conscious throughout the absorption process.

He clearly sensed the changes in his Spiritual Energy, ensuring the Enlightenment Nerve was completely absorbed, becoming the nourishment for his Spiritual Energy.

As a result, Chen Ming’s Spiritual Power saw a significant increase.

When he absorbed the first Enlightenment Nerve, Chen Ming went from controlling a Destroyer to being able to control a Cruiser.

Now, his Spiritual Power leapt from being able to control nearly five Cruisers to seven simultaneously.

Chen Ming felt that controlling ten Cruisers with his Spiritual Power was a crucial point; at that time, he might even control a higher-level ship.

Of course, it might require more since the difference between a Main Ship and a Cruiser seems larger than between a Cruiser and a Destroyer.

But at least Chen Ming sees the goal, making it possible to achieve.

Besides the progress in Spiritual Power, Chen Ming’s Spiritual Energy gained new capabilities.

In addition to his initial, basic [Repair] ability, a new branch emerged.

An astounding option, named [Deep Maintenance].

Its effects extend beyond simple repairs on various items under Chen Ming’s control but target more fundamental aspects.

It can resolve theoretical design flaws in ships or devices under Chen Ming’s control, aligning them more with their intended functions, edging closer to perfection.

The cost remains a massive drain on Chen Ming’s Spiritual Power.

But since a night’s sleep restores Spiritual Power, it’s almost negligible.

Though Chen Ming spent the last week in a perpetual state of coma due to this.

Of course, this ability also has limitations.

It can only perform Deep Maintenance on objects under Chen Ming’s control.

This means when performing Deep Maintenance on a Cruiser, only the Cruiser itself gets repaired.

Any additional equipment like ship armor, Speed Particle Spear, and Shield Module that can be detached and installed at will are unaffected.

Unless Chen Ming conducts Deep Maintenance on those, but the Spiritual Power cost remains terrifying.

Only structures inherently part of the ship, foundational control equipment, or something like the Brilliant Level-exclusive Plasma System will be optimized alongside the Cruiser.

But that’s a minor issue as the ship’s optimization includes various radiant energy transport lines, which alone can enhance the ship’s performance by at least 20%.

Moreover, Chen Ming’s Spiritual Energy isn’t just limited to this; there are more combat-related optimizations for spaceships.

Many optimizations are beyond Chen Ming’s understanding, even when piloting a Cruiser with 3D imaging blueprints.

The overall combat efficiency has increased by at least 50%.

Although the Deep Maintenance on the exploratory Supreme Point seems to lean more towards exploration and defensive combat aspects, reducing its offensive capabilities slightly.

And every Deep Maintenance session consumed an absurd amount of Spiritual Power, but Chen Ming remained happy each time he fell into a coma.

Because it meant there was still much to explore in his Spiritual Energy.

The Ship Spirit previously showed the ability to [Transform] from a microscopic level when Chen Ming gathered the second Gathering Spiritual Energy Origin.

Yet, this fundamental [Repair] ability didn’t manifest, indicating Chen Ming could still gain abilities given to the Ship Spirit through the advancement of his Spiritual Energy.

Having more potential to uncover in Spiritual Energy is undoubtedly a reason for celebration for a Psychic.

During the past week.

Chen Ming spent six days applying his Spiritual Power on the Cruisers.

These six Cruisers included the five he currently deployed, and the Refraction Level Heavy Unmanned Cruiser Carrier recently softened in attitude operated by HR as a temporary stronghold’s defense force.

On the remaining day, Chen Ming devoted his Spiritual Power to the Insect Queen.

Carrying out [Deep Repair] on the Biomass Spaceship and the Insect Queen, the core of the Biomass Spaceship.

Chen Ming even deliberately brought back the Insect Queen’s consciousness, which had developed for a day near the Mechanical Race city he wanted to attack, back to its main body.

Only then did he activate the ability he recently acquired and already used once on the Supreme Point.

And then, the Insect Queen exploded.