Outnumbered? I'll conquer America with an unlimited number of suicide soldiers.

Chapter 59 Reaching Level 10 and Upgrading Skills (Please Subscribe)

A few days later, in the morning.

Inside the shipyard on Davis Street.

With dozens of suicide soldiers and hundreds of recruited Chinese laborers working day and night, the conversion of two three-gun, fully-sailed merchant ships is nearing completion.

The black 120mm breech-loading gun has been installed on the ship.

With the addition of a recoil recovery mechanism, the long sliding rails behind the gun mount were eliminated, replaced by a more flexible and precise rotation and elevation mechanism.

Inside the cabin, more than half of the space was occupied by boilers and steam engines, with the drive shaft running outwards to connect to the propeller hub and rudder system at the stern.

In addition, wrought iron plates have been riveted to the inner walls on both sides of the engine room, around the ammunition depot, and in front of the boiler.

Now, all that's needed is to paint the ships a new coat of paint and modify the ship's shape and sails, and the two three-gun, fully sailed merchant ships will be converted.

"So beautiful."

On a wooden plank on one side of the dry dock, Rong Hong looked at the ship and couldn't help but sigh.

Upon hearing this, Hongwu chuckled and said, "They're just two armed merchant ships of four hundred tons each. Mr. Rong has seen them before, so why the fuss?"

Rong Hong said with a self-deprecating smile, "Let alone four hundred tons, I have certainly seen steam warships with a displacement of two or three thousand tons and dozens of giant cannons."

But no matter how good or powerful, it was still a white man's ship, a ship of the great powers, and the muzzle of their cannons was pointed towards the homeland of us Chinese.

"These two ships, however, were transformed by my own eyes from ordinary merchant ships, bit by bit, through dismantling, reinforcement, and the installation of our own cannons and machinery, all by our own compatriots, nail by nail and rivet by nail. The feeling is naturally different."

Hongwu listened quietly and said in a deep voice, "Then Mr. Rong is making his judgment too early. These two ships are just the beginning."

"When we come back next time, we may see warships with a displacement of several thousand tons, covered in steel armor, and equipped with larger caliber naval guns."

Rong Hong chuckled, "That would be perfect. I'll be watching closely."

He composed himself, remembering the important matter at hand, and asked, "Mr. Hong, when shall we depart?"

Without hesitation, Hongwu replied, "If everything goes smoothly and there are no unexpected events, the day after tomorrow."

"The day after tomorrow?"

Rong Hong paused for a moment, then said with some surprise, "Won't the ship be completely modified by this afternoon?"

"Moreover, I saw that rifles, machine guns and other firearms, as well as all kinds of ammunition, had already been moved into the shipyard, and high-quality anthracite coal for the steam engines had also been transported over."

"Supplies and personnel are all ready, why is it taking so long?"

Hongwu laughed and said, "Mr. Rong, you are unaware of this."

The ship's modification is only the first step. Like a newly forged sword, after sharpening it, you must test it to see if it's suitable and if there are any hidden damages.

"These two ships have undergone significant structural modifications and have had so much equipment added. Their center of gravity, stability, sailing performance, and especially their handling characteristics after the addition of steam power and propellers are all very different from the original ships. They must undergo a series of tests."

Yung Wing asked, "A test? So, we're going to spend a whole day at sea?"

"That's right."

Hongwu nodded and started counting on his fingers: "We need to test the speed and handling of pure sail power under different wind conditions, and test the speed, range and maneuverability when driven by steam power alone and when driven by a combination of wind and steam, especially the turning radius."

In addition, live-fire tests will be conducted to verify the stability of the artillery installation and its firing accuracy.

"These tests, taking a day and a night is considered fast."

The next day, at dawn.

The tide is just right.

The valves in the dry dock were opened, and seawater began to rush in, lifting the ship.

Zeng Tai stood at the dock, looking at the two brand-new ships with satisfaction.

Both ships were painted red, and the goddess statues on the ships were removed and replaced with two newly sculpted animal heads full of oriental charm.

Bi Kuang, one of the dragon's sons, resembles a tiger. Legend has it that he is fond of litigation, and he also has the meaning of being majestic, solemn, and able to drive away evil and avoid disaster.

Although the carving appears somewhat rushed, the lines are strong and the eyes are wide open in anger, giving it a dignified and imposing presence.

"My lord, let's name these two ships!" Hongwu shouted from the deck.

Zeng Tai laughed and said, "Since there are two ships, let's name one 'Riding the Wind' and the other 'Breaking the Waves'."

"My lord, what a wonderful name!"

Hongwu laughed loudly, "Riding the winds and breaking the waves, let's set sail!"

The two ships slowly glided out of the dock and sailed into the wide expanse of San Francisco Bay.

As the sails were gradually raised, various turning, upwind, and downwind navigation tests began within the bay, recording speed and steering response.

Zeng Tai watched the two ships gradually disappear into the distance with envy. He originally wanted to board the ship himself, but Hong Wu and the others refused on the grounds that the safety level of the ship test was unknown.

"Damn it, I want to go on the boat too!"

He muttered something, then turned and headed back home.

The ship will need to be at sea for at least a day, so there's no point in him staying here. He might as well go back to Chinatown.

They found a teahouse on the street, went to a private room, and Zeng Tai originally planned to lie there and drink tea all day, while listening to the storyteller's tales.

The storybooks "Ten Days in Yangzhou," "Three Massacres of Jiading," and "Li Dingguo" were recently written by Su Song and Guilliman and distributed to storytellers in Chinatown.

According to Jianyuan, the response was quite positive, with many people cursing the wild boar after hearing it.

The tea had just been brewed, and the steam hadn't even dissipated when suddenly, a system interface popped up in front of him.

【Name: Life for Life System】

[Host: Zeng Tai]

[Level: 10]

[Effect: Automatically generates 2 assassins daily, whose physical strength is twice that of a normal adult Homo sapiens male]

Current number of assassins: 5782

Number of summonable assassins: 512

[Upgrade condition: Kill 1024 humans (1/1024)]

"You're already level 10?"

Zeng Tai raised an eyebrow, somewhat surprised, but it was normal. Ever since the "California Collapse Plan" was proposed, assassins all over California had been working diligently and had won many votes. However, the biggest contributors were the Indian assassins in Southern California. According to Chong Yue, they had attacked several churches in recent days and rescued many Indian children.

The white population in Southern California is going crazy and has begun to massively conscript militia to completely wipe out the Native American insurgents, represented by the Cavilla tribe.

He picked up his teacup, blew away the floating leaves, and took a small sip.

Just as he was pondering, the system interface in front of him flashed again, but this time it didn't pop up a newly unlocked skill, but a message.

[Congratulations, host, on reaching level 10. From level 10 onwards, you are free to choose whether to unlock new sub-skills or upgrade existing sub-skills.]

"Oh? There's a new way to play?"

Zeng Tai blinked, then his interest was piqued. "Can I know in advance what new skills will be released, or what the new effects of skill upgrades will be like?"

The system did not respond.

"He stops talking when faced with difficult questions."

Zeng Tai pursed his lips, thought for a moment, and decided to try the new option.

Upgrade existing sub-items.

In an instant, a new interface popped up, with ten skills, including [Hive Consciousness], [Fear of Death], and [Warspace Teleportation], flashing with light.

With a thought, he chose the skill [Hive Consciousness].

This skill is the core link that allows him to control the overall situation and coordinate the actions of the assassins scattered across a vast area; its importance is unparalleled.

He wanted to know what effects the upgraded [Hive Consciousness] would have.

Select "Confirm".

[Sub-skill has been upgraded]

[Original effect: You can simultaneously access all information perceived by the Mo's assassins and communicate with them telepathically.]

[New effect: While retaining the original effect, all your assassins can now form a communication sub-network with your permission and achieve long-distance communication.]

New lines of explanatory text appeared.

"This new feature is great. It turns single-line communication into multi-line communication, and we've created a company WeChat group."

Zeng Tai's eyes lit up, and he instantly understood the immense convenience brought by this upgrade.

Previously, all assassins could only communicate with him one-way or two-way through their minds. If assassins needed to collaborate across regions or groups, they had to go through him to relay information.

Although, given his current physical and mental state, processing these information streams shouldn't be too difficult for him.

But sometimes, I'd be sound asleep in the middle of the night when an emergency call would suddenly wake me, and then I'd have to sleepily "forward" the message to another bodyguard in charge of the matter.

After a while, it really does get a bit annoying.

Now that's good, the power has been delegated, let them make the connections themselves.

Soon, groups were created in Zeng Tai's mind.

Jian Yuan's *Rise! Han!*, Su Song's *Science and Technology are the Primary Productive Force*, Dutch's *A Fistful of Dollars*, Yuan Guang's *Stardew Valley*, Guilliman's *Ottaramar*, Leon and Azrael's *Dark Angel*, Hongwu's *Overthrow the Qing and Restore the Ming* —

"What do you think of the name I suggested for your group?" Zeng Tai chuckled and asked in his mind.

Leon replied frankly, "Aside from not understanding it and it being a bit of a tongue twister, there's no problem."

Guilliman grumbled, "My lord, I clearly chose 'San Francisco Politics and Press Group'—it was so simple and straightforward! Why change it?"

"Tsk, no appreciation."

Zeng Tai pursed his lips and asked, "Does anyone need more manpower? I just got over five hundred more summoning slots."

Jian Yuan said, "My lord, I request the addition of one hundred Han Chinese. Recently, we have been operating or controlling factories and warehouses in San Francisco..."

With the increasing number of docks and shops, reliable personnel for internal security and key positions are becoming increasingly scarce.

Su Song followed closely, saying, "My lord, I would like to request fifty more. The more scientists and engineers each group has, the faster the research speed of each project can be increased."

Zeng Tai nodded, mentally approving the two applications. Then he waited a moment, asking curiously, "That's it? The rest of you don't need them? There are over five hundred spots available."

Hong Wu, who was conducting sea trials, said, "I don't need any more for now. The two ships already have all the sailors, gunners, and engineers needed for navigation and combat. Any more would be too much for the ships. We'll see how things go once we reach the other side."

Guilliman stated, "I have enough staff on my side to handle San Francisco's political affairs and news reporting for the time being."

Leon then said, "My lord, how about we just send the rest to our group?"

"We have now basically completed the initial infiltration network in all counties, major cities and important towns in California. Our team plans to send some people to the neighboring Nevada region, Oregon, and even further to Washington and Utah."

Leon's Dark Angels team was primarily responsible for infiltration and providing local intelligence to their colleagues.

Chongyue was able to accurately locate cities in Southern California involved in the Native American slave trade thanks to intelligence provided by the Dark Angels.

Zeng Tai nodded in agreement: "Your idea is good, but don't limit your focus to the American West."

A small number of capable personnel could be set aside to try to infiltrate key areas in the east, such as New York and Washington, D.C., and even consider sending people to Canada in the north, Mexico in the south, or even more distant important ports or cities in South America.

It's not necessary to immediately establish a comprehensive network; even simply planting a few seeds to understand the local political, economic, and social conditions is extremely valuable.

"Yes, my lord."

The communication at the level of consciousness was swift and efficient. Zeng Tai put down his teacup and turned his attention to Daqi Arthur and the others who had remained silent.

"Dutch, why aren't you saying anything?"

At this moment, the Wild West crew, who had been silent all along, finally replied, "My lord, you will understand once you project your consciousness."

A little earlier.

Mare Island Naval Shipyard.

This is the first naval base the United States has established on the West Coast.

As its name suggests, this place is located on Marley Island, on the northeast shore of San Pablo Bay, about four thousand kilometers from downtown San Francisco.

Across the sea from Mare Island lies the city of Vallejo in the Solano County.

Dutch and Arthur, along with hundreds of Van der Linde gang members, held a meeting on a cliff outside the city.

"This terrain isn't suitable for a direct assault!"

Dutch scanned the distant Mare Island with his monoculars and clicked his tongue: "There's no bridge connecting the mainland to the island; you can only get there by boat."

"But the four cannons on the island are pointed directly at the dock area. If we get too close and are spotted, the ship will be a sitting duck, and we'll have to go out to sea."

"We still have to outsmart them."

He lowered his binoculars and looked at the people around him: "Has all the intelligence been gathered?"

Arthur nodded and said, "I've investigated, and this is the current situation on the island."

"The shipyard construction has entered the final stage, so the number of workers recruited is gradually decreasing. There are only those leaving and no ones entering. It is definitely not feasible for us to sneak into the island by disguising ourselves as workers."

John chimed in, "We've also checked on the supplies transportation. Every week, the Vallejo city government sends people to deliver food to the island. This week's delivery is today, and they'll be leaving in about an hour."

Dutch's eyes lit up: "Can we take the ship?"

John said, "That shouldn't be a problem. There are only a few sailors on board responsible for hauling goods and one city official."

"But the problem is, how do we convince that city hall official to cooperate with us? What if he shouts something, or gives himself away when we get to the island—"

Dutch grinned: "Convince them of what? Just throw them all into the water to feed the fish."

"With routine weekly deliveries of food and water, do you think the island's garrison would investigate very thoroughly? They probably don't even remember what the people on the ships look like."