Chapter 105

Chapter 105. The Abyss Stares Back (1)

According to Jessica’s explanation, our problem was none other than…

The fact that we had to bear a “portion” of the repair costs for the massive pirate fleet of about 100,000 ships that Marian had requested to come to our aid. As a result, all the resources we had accumulated so far…

Literally vanished like a crab hiding its eyes, disappearing in the blink of an eye within just one month.

What’s even more frustrating is that this was Marian and the Pirate Alliance doing their best to accommodate us.

“Repair costs? Yeah, there’s been a lot of talk about that lately.”

“…Ahem.”

“Even though we only called in the best to help Oppaya, a bunch of random stragglers showed up too, so the fleet’s loss rate is insane.”

“Ughhh.”

“But don’t worry, I know realistically Oppaya’s base can’t handle that.”

“*Sob*.”

As you can tell from the way Marian herself is talking…

The repair costs for the pirates currently dispatched (?) to our base aren’t something we have to bear 100%.

Given the sheer scale, what we’re responsible for is only about 1-2% at most.

The rest is handled by the Pirate Alliance’s main base and each pirate group through self-sufficiency.

But even that measly 1-2% becomes a mind-boggling amount when the fleet requesting repairs is close to 100,000 ships.

On our side, even with the newly discovered areas included, we have over 10 resource zones in total.

We’ve gone all out, deploying fleets of transport-destroyers filled to the brim with transport containers (except for one turret), working in three shifts to gather resources.

At the same time, whenever we clear quests, we also receive resources sent by the Monster Force as rewards.

Yet, our fleet simply couldn’t keep up with the overwhelming scale of the pirates.

Slowly but surely, all our resources were drying up.

So, in this absurd situation, we were desperately trying to avoid a “resource depletion” crisis at all costs…

First and foremost… because I had been pulling so many gacha draws, I had a ton of resource boxes piled up.

I started opening these one by one, treating them like emergency canned rations, and filling our warehouse with the resources inside.

I thought to myself, “This should be enough for an emergency transfusion, right?”

But that was short-lived.

As if to mock my naive thoughts…

The resources disappeared in the blink of an eye, and the resource boxes I had kept as proof of my gacha addiction were emptied in no time.

Realizing this wasn’t going to cut it, I immediately moved on to a new method.

—————————————-

<Event Resource Box x10 Purchase Complete!>

<15,000 Points Deducted.>

<Remaining Points: 395,222>

—————————————-

In other words, unless I bought resource boxes from the shop at 1,500 points each and dumped them in, there was no way to meet the resource demand.

So, whether we liked it or not, we had no room to do things like base upgrades.

And so, while desperately hoping to avoid a “resource depletion” crisis…

I was once again pouring a massive amount of points into patching up our resources, putting in effort after effort.

Of course, part of me wanted to just let the resources run out and pay it all back later.

But if that happened and a real “resource depletion” crisis hit?

If resources completely ran out, my fleet and superhumans would suffer a massive debuff.

—————————————-

<Tip: Resource Shortage Crisis>

<If the Commander's base runs completely out of resources...>

<The entire fleet will receive a debuff of -50% attack power, -30% evasion, and -20% speed.>

<Warning! This debuff applies to ALL fleets under the Commander's command, including mercenaries!>

—————————————-

If that insane debuff, like the one in the tooltip I’m looking at right now, were to kick in…

Even a rough estimate shows that our fleet’s combat power would be halved, making it impossible to compete with users of the same level…

No matter who the opponent was, they were bound to face certain defeat.

Moreover, the real issue at hand wasn’t PVP with other users.

As you can see from that damn debuff tooltip, it literally applied to any fleet under my command, regardless of affiliation.

Given that, as of now, Marian’s elite guard fleet + miscellaneous rabble from the Pirate Alliance were temporarily under my command to help me out.

The debuff from resource depletion would affect them all too.

And why is this the real problem, you ask?

Because the performance of Marian’s direct fleet and various pirate groups, currently wreaking havoc everywhere, would all take a hit.

And if that happens… naturally, the surrounding factions.

Especially the NPC factions like the Xenobia Empire and the Earth Federation, would definitely not leave the thorn-in-their-side Pirate Alliance alone.

Suddenly, the Pirate Empress and her main fleet, properly debuffed and struggling, could all be wiped out in a major disaster…

The massive backing I had in the form of the “Pirate Alliance” could crumble, leading to a full-scale invasion by other factions after the main fleet’s destruction.

Whether I liked it or not, I had to focus on resource fleets and quests for resource supply.

I was also buying resource boxes in bulk with event reward points, doing everything I could to avoid a catastrophe.

Of course, as time went on, conflicts with pirates, users, and other factions would inevitably lead to additional repair costs.

As mentioned earlier, after grinding resource fleets, clearing quests, and opening resource boxes like crazy.

I somehow managed to balance resource consumption and supply.

But that was short-lived.

It dawned on me that if things continued like this, I’d just be maintaining the status quo.

Realizing that, aside from resource boxes, nothing else was possible in the event.

“Oh crap, I’m screwed.”

At this point, I couldn’t help but think that this event was definitely a bust.

The pirates were only there to help with my event progress and to improve relations with the Monster Force by clearing quests faster.

But now, it felt like the cart was before the horse.

And it wasn’t just me who felt this way.

“Commander, may I offer a suggestion?”

“…I think I know what it is, but go ahead.”

“If we keep going like this… aren’t we just wasting time meaninglessly in the event?”

“So you think so too.”

Even our dear Jessica was saying the same thing.

If we continued like this…

Honestly, the cost-benefit just didn’t add up.

Since the topic came up.

Jessica and I had a lively exchange of opinions on how to resolve this situation.

After about 15 minutes.

“…I guess we should send the pirates back now.”

“Yeah, it’s time for the pirate uncles to go home.”

For some reason, Marian didn’t explain clearly.

But as time went on, the repair bills from the Pirate Alliance were skyrocketing.

It was clear that other factions’ response units had arrived at the border.

And Marian’s nearly 100,000 pirate fleet was probably having a blast fighting them.

With this conclusion in mind.

I went to Marian, who was sitting in a corner of the base’s command center, to suggest sending the pirates back.

But the moment I said that.

“Oppa, do you not need me anymore?”

“…!”

“I really, really need you, Oppa.”

Marian’s eyes were radiating a very, very, very menacing aura.

I felt like a little foal thrown in front of a lion, thinking this must be what it feels like.