Chapter 179: The Universal Metropolis! The Ideal City!
"Awesome! Players of Paradox Interactive games are thrilled again!"
Li Ang suppressed the excitement bubbling in his heart and continued reading. While the operational model and gameplay were secondary, the focus was still on the LA Corporation templates he had been longing for.
This was the foundation for Li Ang to crush alien species and spread the gospel of the LA Corporation across multiverses.
The items drawn from the multiverse lottery were mere appetizers compared to the full technological suite included in these LA Corporation templates!
Li Ang quickly shifted his attention to the newly loaded LA Corporation templates from the DLC.
Sure enough, the upgraded system provided significantly more choices in LA Corporation templates than before.
Some templates that Li Ang wouldn't have dared to imagine before were now within easy reach.
Moreover, the system was user-friendly, offering multiple exchange strategies for different templates, aiming to provide a well-rounded service!
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Option 1: IMC (Interstellar Manufacturing Corporation)
Origin: Titanfall
Current corporate credits: Sufficient to redeem
Unlocking this LA Corporation template grants access to advanced interstellar colonization technology, fleets, Titan mechs, shipyard factories...
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"IMC? Huh, this template doesn't appeal to me much."
Li Ang frowned. Clearly, he wasn't satisfied with this option.
The reason was simple: Li Ang had already considered this template before but decided against it.
While the IMC template was good, it wasn't comprehensive enough. The core tech points required for interstellar colonization were essentially a powerful fleet, space warp technology, and elite combat units.
But Li Ang's LA Corporation already possessed all of these!
The Infinity, a flagship from Halo: Infinite, was a versatile warship equipped with advanced space warp technology and multi-strategy firepower. Its capabilities far surpassed the IMC's starships.
As for elite soldiers...
Under Li Ang's directives, LA Corporation's cloning and modification facilities had already produced 3,000 Astartes warriors.
These warriors, soon to be integrated into LA Corporation's elite "Iron Hands" legion, were in the fifth stage of Larraman organ implantation. Within one or two months, they would become fully-fledged space marines.
In terms of elite soldiers, Li Ang was not lacking either.
Therefore, even without redeeming the IMC template, LA Corporation still possessed excellent interstellar colonization capabilities.
As for Titans, shipyards, and factories, these weren't critical needs for LA Corporation either.
After weighing the pros and cons, redeeming the IMC template appeared to have a low cost-performance ratio, offering limited value to LA Corporation.
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Li Ang decided to skip the first system-recommended option and moved on to the second.
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Option 2: Atlas Corporation + Umbrella Corporation
Origins: Call of Duty, Resident Evil
Current corporate credits: Sufficient to redeem
Unlocking this LA Corporation template grants access to advanced military strike forces, naval fleets, shipyards, bio-viruses, nuclear weapons...
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"What the heck? This is even worse than the first option!" Li Ang couldn't help but complain.
The second recommended template was outright ridiculous. It wasn't just subpar; it was outright useless!
The deeper Li Ang delved into the system's recommendations, the more absurd they seemed. The templates felt like a mismatched hodgepodge designed by a clueless AI.
"This recommendation system... did it learn its logic from Tencent's WeGame? These suggestions are as broken as their talent and equipment builds!"
Li Ang couldn't help but sneer. Clearly, the system's recommendation logic was ill-suited for him.
For a player like Li Ang, who pursued efficiency and rapid progression like a Paradox Interactive expert, the only acceptable templates were those that offered qualitative transformations.
Unfortunately, the system's recommendations were stuck in a beginner mindset, offering templates that were far too basic for someone of Li Ang's caliber.
Resigned, Li Ang realized he couldn't rely on the system's recommendations and decided to browse the LA Corporation templates himself.
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After much searching, Li Ang finally discovered the perfect template:
The Universal LA Corporation !
Origin: Stellaris
This template seemed to be in an unlockable state!
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"Could it be...?"
Li Ang's breathing quickened with excitement. He could hardly believe that his limited corporate credits might be enough to unlock the Universal LA Corporation from Stellaris.
It felt almost unreal.
Without hesitation, Li Ang examined the unlocking conditions for the Universal LA Corporation .
Soon, he received both good and bad news.
The good news: He could indeed unlock the Universal LA Corporation template!
The bad news: It would be a partial unlock.
The Universal LA Corporation template could be unlocked in phases. Each phase granted corresponding technological points and triggered hidden system missions with unique rewards.
These rewards far exceeded the system's regular mission rewards in value.
"This template can be unlocked in phases by spending corporate credits? I barely have enough to activate the first phase!"
Overjoyed, Li Ang was convinced that even the most basic technological advancements from the Universal LA Corporation would provide LA Corporation with transformative benefits.
"Even a base-model Audi is leagues ahead of a premium Volkswagen!"
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Despite suspecting potential pitfalls, Li Ang was willing to take the risk. The potential rewards far outweighed the costs.
"Let's gamble. Go big or go home!"
Determined, Li Ang confirmed the exchange. As his corporate credits dropped to zero, the first phase of the Universal LA Corporation template was unlocked.
The system notification chimed:
[ LA Corporation Template Locked: Universal LA Corporation , Phase 1!]
[Universal Metropolis Ideal City Unlocked]
[Host may establish a main city to serve as the core base for the Universal LA Corporation in Universe 01!]
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"A free Ideal City as the first phase reward?!"
Li Ang's excitement was beyond words.
The technological points from the Universal LA Corporation allowed for the transformation of a regular planet into a planetary metropolis that could host any species in the universe.
A planetary metropolis was a planet entirely covered by urban and industrial complexes. Natural landscapes would vanish, and every inch of the planet would be utilized to its fullest potential.
Regions would be meticulously divided into residential zones, manufacturing zones (for military equipment), industrial zones, recreational zones, and entertainment zones.
If Earth were reconstructed into a planetary metropolis under current cyberpunk standards, it could support a population in the tens of billions while maximizing resource productivity.
Additionally, the metropolis's construction technologies included climate control systems and anti-gravity engineering.
This suite of technological advancements would allow Li Ang to build a global city—the Ideal City—on a planetary scale.
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Of course, such transformation had its drawbacks. Once Earth was converted into a planetary metropolis, humanity could no longer rely on natural resources from Earth. All materials would have to be mined from other planets, requiring advanced colonization technologies.
Fortunately, LA Corporation's interstellar colonization capabilities were more than sufficient to support the construction of an Ideal City.
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"This is what I call a true transformation!"
In that moment, Li Ang envisioned LA Corporation rebuilding Earth, creating a Universal Metropolis, and redefining humanity's future.
[We shall merge the world into one city, and build a city that encompasses the world!]
Li Ang firmly believed that this slogan would become the most meaningful and powerful declaration in human history.
It transcended any ideology, any religious belief—standing only for a pure yearning for technological ascension and the surpassing of nature.
Why do humans value ecological balance so much? Why does every action affecting the natural environment—digging, cultivating, excavating, or large-scale construction—require meticulous calculation?
Why must every construction project be undertaken with the utmost caution, lest its impact on nature leads to catastrophic consequences humanity cannot bear?
The answer lies in one simple truth: humanity is just too fragile.
Humans cannot withstand nature's wrath. A single earthquake, lands slide , volcanic eruption, or even a small wildfire can cause immeasurable loss to life and property.
Even in the cyber age, humanity remains feeble—despite having lunar colonies, they are, in essence, still earthbound beings, clinging to their home planet.
If humanity cannot fully control the natural environment—bend it to its will and place it under its dominion—they can only endure natural disasters like lowly, pitiful insects.
Before the vastness of nature, humanity is but a fleeting speck in the billions of years of Earth's history, insignificant and inconsequential.
However, the emergence of the Ideal City signifies humanity's ultimate conquest and mastery over nature. Every resource on this planet will become readily available at their command.
The roaring oceans and towering mountains will bow before humankind!
Moreover, the construction of the Ideal City will completely shatter humanity's old religious beliefs.
In the past, people revered the God of the Bible, believing in a divine being who created humanity in His image—bestowing life, thought, and the spark of civilization through Prometheus.
But when LA Corporation's Ideal City of the Universe is built, this absurd dogma will be rewritten by Li Ang:
"Humanity, in its own image, created God!"
There never was an all-powerful God.
The Ideal City will symbolize humanity's triumph over nature and its ascension above deities like God, Buddha, and Gaia!
"Risk it all—turn a bicycle into a motorcycle! But this time, I didn't just get a motorcycle; I built an aircraft carrier!"
Li Ang could barely contain his excitement. To LA Corporation, the Ideal City was far more than a mere urban planetary project.
It would be LA's most radiant emblem!
Arasaka Corporation once built the Arasaka Tower in Night City as a corporate landmark, showcasing its authority and power to companies and ordinary citizens alike.
But Li Ang had no interest in simply erecting some useless Arasaka Tower. He aimed to reshape the entire Earth.
He envisioned LA Corporation becoming the foundation of a new human faith!
The company's manifesto and regulations would become the new Bible for humanity.
The cultural significance of the Ideal City would bestow monumental benefits upon LA Corporation.
Once completed, it would be grander and more awe-inspiring than any architectural marvel in human history. It would utterly outclass them all!
"Technology points for construction aren't an issue now. But I wonder if any special resources are needed to build this Ideal City."
With this question in mind, Li Ang delved deeper into the resource requirements for constructing the Ideal City.
Soon, he received two pieces of good news and one bad news.
The first piece of good news was that the Universal LA Corporation template's first phase provided all the technology and resources necessary for constructing the Ideal City.
Additionally, the construction timeline for the Ideal City was a mere ten years!
This meant Li Ang neither needed to search for building materials nor wait for technological cooldowns. In just ten years, he could witness the birth of a colossal urban planet.
The bad news, however, was that while constructing the Ideal City required no resources, its maintenance required a unique mineral with anti-gravity properties.
This "levitating stone" was unavailable on Earth or its seven neighboring planets.
To acquire it, Li Ang would have to send fleets to other planets for mining operations.
The second piece of good news? By sheer coincidence, Pandora—a planet 4.37 light-years away in the Alpha Centauri system—contained this levitating mineral!
Everything seemed to align perfectly!
First, Li Ang unlocked the "Avatar" transdimensional world, then acquired the planning technology for the Ideal City, and now the key resource, levitating stone, was available on Pandora.
Each step seemed divinely orchestrated, propelling him along a seamless and rapid path forward.
This could very well be the hidden solution laid out by the system!
By breaking convention, Li Ang had stumbled upon a fast-track route for development.
"It feels like the system is nudging me to mine on Pandora and establish interstellar colonies," Li Ang mused.
He wasn't concerned about the Na'vi aliens posing any threat to his fleet or Astartes warriors. Instead, he pondered what worlds to colonize or missions to undertake after completing the Ideal City to unlock even more monumental construction technologies.
After all, Li Ang had his sights on megastructures like ring worlds, Dyson spheres, and mechanical planets.
But no matter how ambitious his plans, he knew he must first build the Ideal City, mobilize his forces, and prepare for an era of expeditions—an era of conquests!
"Europa, I want to convene a global corporate summit at LA Corporation's Night City headquarters."
Having settled on his blueprint for the future, Li Ang gave the command to Europa, his AI assistant.
Since successfully subduing the Transcendent AI Europa, Li Ang had made it his personal assistant.
As for the former AI, White Queen, it was now solely responsible for commercial operations, allowing for more precise data processing without distractions.
Li Ang chose Europa as his assistant for its ability to provide real-time information on global LA Corporation s and organizations. In essence, Europa functioned as a massive surveillance network—almost like a "budget" version of a sophon.
"Understood, Master. As you wish," Europa replied.
With that, it began notifying corporate leaders worldwide, detailing the time and venue of the meeting.
Having completed all his preparations, Li Ang habitually walked to the floor-to-ceiling window, gazing at the neon-drenched cyber metropolis beyond.
He knew that a sweeping transformation of humanity's destiny was about to unfold.
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