My health recovery is incredibly fast.

"Huberon and I have discussed this many times. Although the current deep-sea endurance capability has surpassed that of the military's front-line combat dummy, it may not be enough if it is used to participate in a competition."

"I've learned some information. The grass-based combat puppets developed by Golden Bauhinia can replenish elemental energy during battle by absorbing free elemental energy from the environment through a built-in elemental energy recharger to replenish what is consumed."

The group members present all looked shocked.

Xia Zuo was no exception.

The total endurance of a combat golem is calculated as follows.

Its internal energy circuits can store elemental energy equivalent to the energy barrier of the controller.

With an energy barrier of 15,000 points, his battle golems can store the corresponding amount of energy before the battle begins.

For beginners in the study of magical artifacts, a peculiar question arises at this point:

Why not expand the capacity of the energy circuit and store more elemental energy?

Leaving aside the fact that the volume of the energy circuit will increase accordingly after the capacity is expanded.

The main reason for not doing this is that when the energy circuit storing elemental energy is opened for secondary charging, a certain degree of energy loss will occur.

It's like continuing to inflate an already inflated balloon; when the needle is inserted into the valve, airflow will spray out uncontrollably.

However, energy dissipation will be more severe, with 30% to 50% of the stored energy dissipating before the second charging officially begins.

The larger the capacity of the energy circuit, the more severe the energy dissipation will be.

Replenishing elemental energy during wartime is not difficult.

Infusing combat golems with concentrated energy or directly harnessing the elemental energy output from the mental ocean can replenish elemental energy during combat. However, this is inefficient, with only about 50% to 70% of the energy successfully entering the energy circuit.

Within the alchemical school, there is a mainstream research approach:

If we can capture the dissipated elemental energy and recharge it into the energy circuit, it's equivalent to reducing energy loss and improving the efficiency of secondary charging.

The elemental energy recharger was recorded on the desks of various alchemists specializing in unusual artifacts, and was tracked and studied as a long-term goal.

Now, Danielle mentions that the Golden Vitex Sisterhood, an association of herbal alchemists, has actually developed a primal energy recharger…

Hillenburg found it somewhat unbelievable and asked:

"Daniel, is this information reliable?"

“Very reliable, team leader.” Danielle nodded. “This is no secret in the Golden Bauhinia Ideal Country. It’s just that the Federation is too far away from there, which is why we haven’t been able to get the intelligence in time.”

Hillenburg took out a secret communication ring. "I need to send a secret message and find an intelligence broker to investigate properly. Danielle, you go and meet the broker. If Grass-Based Wonder Alchemy really develops an energy recharger, the outer teaching area will definitely be bustling with activity in the future."

"Okay, team leader."

Hillenburg is right, this will create a huge wave.

Existing magical alchemy is based on ores and gems, and the alchemical products are basically metallic or alloys of metals and non-metals.

This kind of magical alchemy based on metal systems is called mineral-based magical alchemy.

Grass-based Alchemy, as the name suggests, uses magical herbs and medicinal herbs as its main materials, and the alchemical products are mainly made from plant materials.

If the energy recharger developed by the Golden Bauhinia Sisterhood can be tested in practice during this research competition, then the outer teaching area will have several more masters of alchemy based on grass-based artifacts.

From the perspective of establishing a new school of alchemy, the Golden Bauhinia alchemists are very similar to the Hillenburg Group. The former wanted to create a grass-based alchemy, while the latter aimed for marine alchemy.

Hillenburg quickly flicked the dial, arranged a meeting time with the intelligence broker, and then put away the coded ring.

“Well, guys, it seems we have some pretty strong competitors in this research and development race.” Hillenburg looked at Allen and Mars, the father and son who were responsible for designing and building the battlefield and props. Their cooperation was essential to uncovering the potential and weaknesses of the combat puppets.

Do you have any thoughts?

Professor Allen took out a stack of site design drawings and handed them over, while Mars took a sand table from the suitcase at his feet and placed it on the table.

"Mars and I discussed it, and the current training grounds don't have enough vertical depth, so the elevation differences in actual combat aren't significant enough," Professor Allen said, manipulating the sand table to change the simulated terrain to be higher on both sides and lower in the middle.

“We haven’t been able to simulate terrain features like ocean trenches, grabens, and underground rivers very well yet. But I don’t recommend building them.”

"Perhaps, going to the nearby seas and finding some similar natural terrain for combat training would be a better choice."

"Mars and I calculated that if the combat golems fight in this kind of complex terrain, their endurance will be further reduced by about 20%."

Hillenburg compared the design drawings and the model, pondered for a few minutes, and said, "Hmm... we'll do it your way. I'll request an escort from the castle administrators, and then we'll drive directly to the integrated alchemy room right here."

Hillenburg put down the design drawings, interlaced his fingers on the table, and scanned his team members. "Our problem centers on battery life. I think this is a headache for most research groups. We must overcome it to stand out. Does anyone have any good ideas?"

Mars put away the sand table and raised his hand, saying:

"I have a suggestion."

“Tell me about it, Mars,” Hillenburg said, adjusting his glasses.

"That's right. When I was studying the science of giant creation, my mentor, Master Tyson, was developing a special alchemical material for use on high-speed airships."

Mars pulled a small metal box from his pocket, inside which a thin metal sheet was clipped to a soft pad.

The light fell on the metal surface, emitting a beautiful four-colored glow, clearly indicating that it was a high-end alchemical product.

Hillenburg activated the [Eye of Kolas] meditation technique, carefully examining the metal sheet with his azure eyes on his forehead. "Its hardness is about level 40, and it has some metallic memory, allowing it to return to its original shape without being subjected to force. It wasn't enchanted; it's a pure alchemical product. Hmm... this kind of metal material usually has a relatively high density and isn't light, but yours looks as light as two or three sugar cubes."

“Yes, it weighs only one-third of that of conventional metal materials,” Mars said, pushing the metal box onto the table.

"This special alchemical material was a graduation gift from my mentor. He said that as long as I could reverse-engineer the raw materials and manufacturing process, he would allow me to use this alchemical material."

"The good news is that I successfully replicated this material the night before last, and I think I am now qualified to use it."

Marston paused for a moment, "I want to contribute it and use it in combat golems. It can be used as raw material for non-critical parts inside the golem, reducing the overall weight of the golem by about 15%."

The "contribution" that Mars mentioned was not unpaid.

The Hillenburg team has a reward program that effectively motivates members while ensuring fairness to the greatest extent possible.

The contribution of each member to a specific research and development task is calculated comprehensively from multiple perspectives, including working hours, contribution to the research and development process, work efficiency, and accuracy.

If the special alchemical materials contributed by Mars are proven by Hillenberg to be usable on combat golems and produce positive results, then Mars will receive a certain contribution reward, which is a reward for the research and development phase.

If this special alchemical material is still used in the final battle golem, Mars will receive another contribution reward, which is the reward for settling the research mission.

Hillenburg held immense prestige within the group, and when selecting team members, he specifically chose those who were relatively simple-minded and disliked forming cliques.

The group is composed of alchemists who engage in underhanded tactics and schemes, resulting in an excellent atmosphere where no shady or sordid deals exist.

This incentive program has been operating for over a decade and remains healthy.

It was precisely because of this that Xia Zuo had the motivation to research kinetic energy devices.

Mars became his role model.

Hillenburg praised Mars' enthusiasm, "Very good, Mars. We need the help of lightweight alchemical materials. I will evaluate your special alchemical materials after the meeting. If they can be used to refine non-critical parts, then you will be of great help."

Mars nodded with a smile, while his father, Allen, quietly gave him a thumbs-up.

“Any other suggestions?” Hillenburg put away the iron box. “We don’t need to worry about costs in this research and development competition. If necessary, we can seek funding from the castle administrators. If the amphibious combat golems used around Lumington City don’t utilize our group’s alchemical products, we’ll become a laughing stock in Lumington City’s emergency response department.”

Xia Zuo raised his hand and said, "I have an idea, but it still needs to be tested repeatedly."

“Speak, Shazo,” Hillenburg said, his eyes filled with anticipation.

Xia Zuo pulled out a thick stack of notebooks from his alchemy pouch.

He turned to one of the pages, showing it to his group members as he said:

"Daniel's summary report shows that combat golems consume the most energy when launching mines in a dark zone environment."

"After carefully studying the structure of the mine, I discovered the reason for its drastic energy consumption."

As an alchemical weapon, naval mines require an authorized license to be manufactured.

The marine team did not have this permission; these mines were purchased from the castle guards after obtaining permission from the castle administrators. The specific model is Federal Navy underwater stinger BV-3.

When producing 10 mines at once, the cost of a single mine is 10 citizen points—mass production of alchemy tools can reduce production costs. If only a few or dozens of mines are produced, the cost of a mine ranges from 100 to 1000 citizen points.

Hillenburg spent 1 points to buy 1000 standard sea mines for live-fire training.

No one in the group would study sea mines, and the reasons for this are complicated.

The main reason is that, as a military weapon, naval mines have an internal research and development process. As a military weapon that has been used on a large scale, it has been tested in actual combat. Neither the military nor the research team behind it will easily modify it.

Any changes made to the appearance of a mine will affect the launcher, magic array, and energy circuit, requiring numerous practical experiments. This will divert a significant portion of experimental resources, and there's no guarantee of good results...

Barring unforeseen circumstances, sea mines will become the primary weapon for every amphibious combat pod in the deep-sea environment.

For this reason, in-depth research on naval mines became a blind spot for Hillenburg's group.

Xia Zuo showed his crew a mine without a warhead.

(Note: Warhead refers to a part of the body that has the ability to inflict damage.)

Its appearance is spherical, a shape that makes it easy to inscribe magic arrays to counteract water pressure.

The magic circle needs energy to be injected before it can take effect.

Most of the energy consumed by the combat golem when launching mines is used to activate the magic array inside the mines.

All the group members are well aware of this.

So, is there a way to reduce the energy consumption of activating the magic circle?

Xia Zuo had an idea, but he wasn't entirely sure.

In my previous life, when I was receiving compulsory education, the school organized a visit to a military museum for the students.

Boys are always interested in guns and bullets, and Xia Zuo was no exception; he was deeply impressed by the visit.

Especially underwater bullets, and their underlying principles.

Underwater bullets do not rely on the bullet head to kill the enemy, but rather on the pressure difference.

Imagine a space of approximately 10 cubic centimeters. The left 5 cubic centimeters contain high pressure with no light bands, while the right 5 cubic centimeters contain normal ground pressure. What will happen next?

It's easy to imagine that this 10 cubic centimeter space would become a mess, with the huge pressure difference tearing apart every bit of space until the pressure throughout the space is completely uniform.

The damage caused by this pressure difference is no less than the damage from shrapnel from a mine.

How is a pressure difference created?

Answer: Supercavitation.

Supercavitation is a purely physical phenomenon.

When an object moves underwater at a speed exceeding 180 km/h, a water vapor bubble, or supercavitation, will form behind it.

The pressure inside a supercavitation bubble is much lower than the pressure of water without light bands, creating a huge pressure difference. Anything that comes into contact with a supercavitation bubble will be crushed by this pressure difference.