"Congratulations!" Midai stepped up gladly to congratulate Leona and Zhao Ruyue, who could be counted her classmates of the same year.
Though they served in different Imperial fleet groups, they had kept in touch and talked all along, and could be called close friends.
"Sister, I knew you could do it." Zhao Waner came running over and threw her arm around her sister's.
The others came up one after another to offer their congratulations as well.
After this a simple banquet would be held here,
chiefly to celebrate these two marshals and the founding of the two Imperial fleet groups.
At this moment Zhao Chen and the other two stood in a corner to one side.
"We have six Imperial fleet groups now. Total strength over three million warships."
Zhao Chen looked to Marshal Charlotte beside him.
Marshal Charlotte nodded. "And with several T6 combat and support warships joining, the fighting power of every Imperial fleet group has risen enormously."
"And what's the plan for the coming year?" Zhao Chen looked to Lilith.
What Lilith chiefly took charge of now was drawing up the plan of growth for the coming year; even for the expansion of the legion fleets,
Marshal Charlotte had to put forward a proposal of her needs, and whether it would be carried out in the end depended on Lilith, the housekeeper.
"The basic building plan for the coming year: besides improving the infrastructure, industrial installations, star-gate network, trade network and so on across our Empire, at least four more Imperial fleet groups are to be built. If there's production capacity to spare then, we can build a few more, but that has to depend on how things stand at the time. At least what's certain now is the target of ten Imperial fleet groups; that can surely be met before the end of next year." Secretary-Officer Lilith gave her assurance with complete confidence.
Zhao Chen nodded in satisfaction. "If it can be so, that's best, naturally. Though there's no war now, that doesn't mean hidden dangers won't appear again. Order, and the legion fleets it controls, may appear in our universe at any time. And if later we can manage to sail between universes, then we must go and find the Mechanical Race. They must surely be at war over there right now, and in need of our help. We must be ready to meet any war."
In truth Zhao Chen had a few more words he did not say:
that if his exploration of the universes truly led to war with some other universe's civilization,
then they would need a keen sword enough to cut down any enemy.
"Yes." Secretary-Officer Lilith nodded, and added, "Our war industry has been expanding all along. Our war-industry output will only grow higher and higher in future. If war breaks out, we can put all our industrial capacity into the war. Then the output that bursts out will be several times that of normal times!"
At present, in order to build up the Empire, and meet the needs of the upgrading of civilian technology, and create a flourishing environment of interstellar trade,
Lilith had set some industrial capacity to these things.
And once a state of war came, everything would of course exist for the war.
"We need at least twenty Imperial fleet groups, or thirty. With our Empire's present capacity, in peacetime, keeping twenty million warships is well within our means," Marshal Charlotte said confidently.
"The New Year's banquet: you must get ready to attend it. And because last year's banquet for the Empire's first anniversary was canceled, this year it has to be done in a big way!" Secretary-Officer Lilith suddenly turned a stern look on Zhao Chen.
When Lilith wore that look,
Zhao Chen knew it was not to be refused.
"Keep the time as short as you can. You know I have a lot of work to deal with over there," Zhao Chen said with a wry smile.
"However much work there is, shouldn't you keep your wives and children company at the New Year?" Charlotte, beside him, looked at Zhao Chen reproachfully.
Hearing this, Zhao Chen lost his nerve at once.
He looked helplessly at Lilith. "All right, all right, all right; I'll go along with whatever you arrange, will that do?"
"Just one day; rest easy. For the ceremonies after that, we'll use holograms you've recorded in advance. You needn't appear in person." Secretary-Officer Lilith flung Zhao Chen a roll of the eyes, but still, most thoughtfully, had arranged everything with Zhao Chen in mind.
Hearing this, Zhao Chen let out a breath of relief at once.
He stepped up and kissed Lilith's cheek outright. "Truly my housekeeper; I love you to death."
Lilith's cheeks flushed, and she pushed Zhao Chen away at once. "What are you doing… in front of everyone……"
Looking at this bashful succubus,
the corner of Zhao Chen's mouth lifted slightly, and he pressed close again. "What's this… our lady succubus is shy?"
He had found that Lilith was growing more and more bashful now, above all when Zhao Chen did something intimate in front of everyone.
It was, if anything, a great contrast with the way Lilith behaved in private.
Many a time it gave Zhao Chen no little amusement.
"I only want you to mind… the Emperor's dignity a little more." Secretary-Officer Lilith moved her gaze away.
Since she had become the Owl Dragon's Supreme Secretary-Officer, some of a succubus's traits had indeed been hidden away.
For a great part of the reason this racial ability existed at all was to help the physically weak succubi survive.
And now that was no difficulty for Lilith, so this ability had naturally 'withered' somewhat.
"That's right. Lilith gets cuter and cuter these days," Charlotte teased beside them as well,
not letting slip this chance to make fun of Lilith.
For before, in private, when the three of them played their games, Lilith would actually make fun of her, and several times Charlotte had even seen a look of excitement on Lilith's face.
In other things Charlotte was second to no one.
But in that one thing, every time, Lilith had the upper hand.
Now that a chance to 'mock' this little sister of hers had come, how could Charlotte let it pass without a moment's hesitation?
But the next second Lilith struck back without ceremony, running a finger lightly along Charlotte's tail.
In that instant Charlotte went as if electrified from head to foot; then she sprang back a step, every hair on her body standing on end.
Lilith looked at Charlotte with a wicked smile.
Charlotte looked at Lilith warily.
Watching the two women like this, Zhao Chen was happy at heart too.
"How are the children lately? Lilith, you're minding your work and minding the baby; can you manage it all?" Zhao Chen asked with concern.
At the mention of the child, Lilith's face was full of a mother's loving smile. "Well enough. At first I wasn't used to it; Charlotte taught me a lot. Now I've in the main got used to it. Though I'm very busy with work, I still make time to be with the baby. Luckily the baby is lying in a crib for now, and I've taken on people especially to look after her. I've put my office and my rest room together too, so I can be with the baby even while I work."
Hearing Lilith's words, Zhao Chen felt both easier and ashamed.
Other men's wives might by now be at home looking after their children in peace.
But Lilith still had to work hard for the Empire.
He wondered whether he, as a husband, was making a very poor job of it.
"Little Hu and Baier are very good now. They even said 'Mama' not long ago!" Charlotte shared her life of child-rearing happily.
When she spoke of the children, her eyes shone.
When they had chatted a while about the children,
Lilith's face grew grave again. "About sailing between universes, and exploring other universes: is there truly no danger? I heard before that a Dr. Xu had put forward a theory about the dangers?"
Zhao Chen said in a deep voice, "To say there's no danger would be a lie. You could even say we may step on a mine at any moment. For us, the universes out there are unknown. And any interstellar civilization that can detect our exploration must be a T6 technological civilization. But certainly not a T7 technological civilization. So even if there's danger, it's within what we can bear. I know the risk of doing this too, but with Order in existence, we must do it. Otherwise, the next time Order threatens us, we may not even have the power to resist. For this time it brought out quasi-T7 pitch-black interstellar warships; next time it may be true T7 warships."
Hearing Zhao Chen's words, Lilith fell into a brief silence.
And Charlotte, beside them, looked at Zhao Chen encouragingly. "Whatever happens, we support you without condition. Do what you mean to do!"
Lilith nodded at Zhao Chen too.
Then Lilith went on, "The New Year's banquet at the end of this year will be held in the newly built Chang'an City. This is the list of those invited. Look it over."
"Chang'an City? Can Chang'an City be finished before the end of the year? Didn't they say before it would be March next year?" Zhao Chen asked in some astonishment, looking over the list of invitations at the same time; there was nothing wrong with it in the main.
Lilith answered, "It was going a bit faster to begin with. And with this New Year's banquet in view, I gave special orders to speed up the work. So it can be finished and handed over to run before the end of the year. It's just the time, too, to bring Chang'an City before everyone."
Chang'an City was a T6 Divine Palace-class Interstellar Complex, and the first to be completed.
And it lay in the Owl Dragon System; from now on it would be the Owl Dragon Empire's political center and financial center.
It would be of enormous symbolic meaning to the Owl Dragon Empire in future.
"That's a very good arrangement indeed." Zhao Chen nodded.
When this banquet for the promotions was over,
Zhao Chen went back without a pause to the Imperial Military Industry Research Academy once more, taking the chance before the year's end.
For today the Machine No. 4 experiment was to be carried out.
"Your Majesty." Dr. Camille, seeing His Majesty the Emperor arrive, came forward at once to meet him.
"How are the preparations going?" Zhao Chen asked.
"They'll be finished very soon. In no more than ten minutes the experiment will begin," Dr. Camille said.
Zhao Chen went into the observation room; before him appeared holograms of the inside of the laboratory, footage from as many as several dozen cameras,
so that every small detail could be shown clearly before the researchers' eyes.
Zhao Chen watched this Machine No. 4 before him.
Machine No. 4 was a great deal larger than any machine before it.
To hold this Machine No. 4's experiment, even the laboratory chosen was the largest one of all,
fully two hundred square meters.
And this Machine No. 4 stood alone in the middle of the laboratory.
Zhao Chen stared at this Machine No. 4.
Though he held no great hope of finding, this time, the newborn primordial universe he wanted to find,
still, so long as there was progress, it meant Zhao Chen was one step nearer his goal.
The ten minutes passed quickly.
"Everything is ready. We await Your Majesty's word." Dr. Camille looked at Zhao Chen and asked gravely.
"Begin," Zhao Chen said coolly.
The fourth experiment began.
Though it was the fourth experiment now, every researcher present wore a tense look.
They dared not be careless in the least.
"Beginning charge preparation……"
"Main unit starting……"
In the operations room the researchers one after another reported what they were doing.
On the casing of that huge machine, bands of light began to surface one after another, a sign the machine was starting.
All that followed went very smoothly,
in the main much the same as the procedure of the three experimental machines before.
A huge exploration star chart surfaced before Zhao Chen's eyes.
Under this machine's working, the map of the whole universe began to be drawn out slowly.
"How much do you expect from this experiment?" Zhao Chen asked straight out, looking at Dr. Camille beside him, her face tense.
By how things had gone before, this Machine No. 4 would run at least three minutes or more.
So for now there was, if anything, nothing to do.
"We've already finished exploring Universe No. 1. I believe this Machine No. 4 experiment should be able to explore the full size of Universe No. 2. And find other new universes. The new range of exploration will be at least ten times the one before!" Dr. Camille said, full of confidence.
Zhao Chen smiled faintly and gave no direct judgment,
but went on watching the scene in the laboratory before him coolly.
By now that Machine No. 4 was like a sun, its whole body giving off a dazzling light.
"Report: Machine No. 4 has run three minutes. Every module running normally. Energy system normal. Energy transmission all normal……"
Zhao Chen listened to the somewhat noisy voices, and watched the star chart before him.
The range explored now already took in Universe No. 1,
and was beginning to explore the borders of Universe No. 2.
But Zhao Chen had in truth lost interest in Universe No. 2.
For Universe No. 2's present size already meant it could not be a primordial universe.
And not being a primordial universe, it was not the target Zhao Chen was looking for.
All he hoped now was that, in the exploration to come,
other universes could be found.
The time passed little by little.
In the end this Machine No. 4's running time stopped at six minutes twenty-seven seconds.