Under the watchful eyes of Chen Ming.

Gamma Z and Gamma B entered different systems within the Dusk Star Realm in staggered times.

Gamma B was left to roam freely, while Chen Ming kept a close watch on Gamma Z.

Chen Ming arranged for Gamma Z to be placed in a region located two galaxies away from where he currently resided, in the Dusk Colony.

Upon reaching the Star System Central Space Station, after undergoing the same inspection as last time, it seamlessly integrated back into the Dusk.

It also managed to smoothly acquire permission to resupply at a planet with an Industrial Colony within the system.

The environment of the Industrial Colony on this planet was vastly different from where Chen Ming was currently stationed.

That's because it was a habitable planet.

The entirety of it was composed of a continental plate occupying half the planet's surface, with the rest being oceans.

Dusk's industrial facilities were concentrated on this rugged continent.

Although the level of industrial development here was higher than on Chen Ming's side, the environment here was surprisingly better.

Industrial production equipment did not emit vast amounts of pollutants, nor did it use any fuel that would cause pollution.

Furthermore, there wasn't a trace of Earth Core Melting Furnace Power Towers, which could easily devastate the local ecology.

This allowed the planet to maintain a good ecological environment.

However, according to Gamma B.

The reason they were protecting the planet's ecology is because there existed a creature on the continent's mountains that looked like a hermit crab, but with a crystalline shell and exterior.

Its scientific name was Energy Crystal Crab.

The shells on the back of the Energy Crystal Crab naturally formed with its own secretions, exhibiting an extremely efficient energy storage effect.

Even when these crystals were detached and the internal energy depleted, they still served as excellent energy storage material.

The Energy Crystal Crab itself would not die from losing its shell; instead, it would regrow as part of its daily activities.

The crystals had immense value, and so did the crabs themselves.

In fact, the Energy Crystal Crab was a product of genetic engineering.

Obviously, it wasn't a creation of humans, nor was it engineered by the Dusk themselves.

It was rather a legacy from a civilization that was discovered by the Dusk in the Empire's territory, now destroyed.

The Dusk reached here faster than humans and occupied it.

Initially, Dusk merely sought to harvest planetary resources, but upon discovering these Energy Crystal Crabs, they altered their development strategy.

They adopted the approach Chen Ming now witnessed, engaging in research on these species left by that civilization.

As of now, Dusk had been able to achieve small-scale cultivation of Energy Crystal Crabs, which have evolved to adapt to this planet's ecosystem, on other planets.

But this wasn't enough.

Cultivated ones were definitely not as good as the wild ones.

After all, when bred, the energy generated by the shells growing on their backs belonged entirely to Dusk themselves,

continuing studies to integrate the Crystal Crabs into other planets' ecosystems and scheduling large-scale harvests clearly appeared more favorable.

Chen Ming thus realized from where Dusk obtained those self-powered storage materials they provided.

Previously, he wondered how Dusk had several kinds of materials he had never seen or even heard about.

On the human side, there were similar self-powered materials, but from what Chen Ming knew, all were artificially synthesized and self-storing; even his ability might not handle them.

Perhaps they would dissipate entirely after a single use, utterly different from these naturally occurring self-storing materials.

If he could figure out a way to take a few Energy Crystal Crabs back, they would be extremely valuable.

However, that's not what Chen Ming came here to do.

For now, he shelved this thought to see if there might be an opportunity later on.

Currently, Chen Ming continued observing as Gamma Z controlled the Torrential Rain to land at a small and common refueling point within the Dusk Colony.

It needed to replace its ship with something more suitable.

After all, Chen Ming still had use for the Torrential Rain.

Moreover, if a Torrential Rain roamed carelessly in Dusk's territory, it might eventually be noticed by someone in Dusk, potentially leading back to Chen Ming himself, which could be a significant problem.

The Dusk were not lifeless machines; they did harbor suspicion.

The longer the Torrential Rain existed, the higher the chance it would raise suspicion, thus more likely jeopardizing Chen Ming's entire plan.

Consequently, when Gamma B returned, Chen Ming didn't allow it to upgrade to a Warrior ship; instead, he let it operate the Destroyer it acquired after the upgrade and continue with its tasks.

Gamma Z soon followed the signals from the refueling point and landed inside the factory at the point.

The next steps for it were quite simple.

Undergo factory maintenance, then trade its material reserves recorded in the database for a new ship.

Chen Ming had seen this procedure before: unloading the core from the ship, temporarily storing it in an interim location, waiting for the new ship to be positioned and installed.

However, Gamma Z's core replacement this time was unlike the separate temporary robot allocated when Gamma A did so previously.

This time, Gamma Z directly connected to the factory's database.

Gamma Z was allowed to browse the ships available in the factory stock; if the desired ship wasn't available currently, Gamma Z could remain connected until the ship was brought in and installed, quite convenient.

In the unsuspecting surroundings of Dusk.

Snagging this refueling point was a piece of cake.

The Gamma AI at the refueling point responsible for maintenance, upon Gamma Z's factory connection, instantly understood the situation.

It lacked the capability to resist Chen Ming's actions, accepting everything, obediently facilitating Gamma Z's ship swap.

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