Both their questions had been utterly direct.
Governor Chu didn't stand on who asked whom; he simply said, "Right now you're a treasure glittering with light — with this T3 Blizzard-class Light Interstellar Battlecruiser of yours, a great many interstellar powers will want to get their hands on you. Today's Blue Fatty and his lot, for instance. Their manner was a touch ugly; trusting to this being their own turf, they dared move on you outright, thinking to strike first and seize the upper hand. They simply never reckoned that I'd turn up here today. As for my calling you the Chu family's grandson-in-law — in your present straits you must have some standing to shield you, or else, even back at Northstar Academy, one trouble after another would come knocking at your door. Truth be told, whether you personally land in trouble, I couldn't care less. But if such troubles delayed the T4 warship research you promised, that this old man will not allow."
Having said all this, Governor Chu shot Zhao Chen a sidelong glance. "Of course, I do admire you, young man — you're also one of the very few males my granddaughter doesn't find distasteful. If, one day, you truly had the chance to become my grandson-in-law, well — it's not as though I couldn't give it some thought."
"You'd make a joke of your granddaughter's lifelong happiness and her good name, just like that?" Zhao Chen was a little astonished.
Governor Chu went on, "I'll not be afraid to speak plainly — before this, several princes of the royal house had a mind to arrange a marriage with my granddaughter; even the old codger sitting on that throne once raised it with me. Anyone else, I could disregard. But I owe that old codger far too much; to refuse him again and again wouldn't do. And you serve nicely as a shield to hide behind. As for her good name? Heh, heh, heh — who'd dare breathe a word of gossip about my granddaughter? Let them ask my Boreas first, if they have the nerve!"
High-handed, and bound by no convention — that was Governor Chu.
Put this way, Governor Chu's whole maneuver made sense. It was, one might say, one move for many gains: on the one hand it settled the royal house's designs for a marriage alliance; on the other it protected Zhao Chen, ensuring he could set his mind at ease and pursue the T4 warship research — and it lashed Zhao Chen to the Chu family's war-chariot besides.
Governor Chu said no more.
Since the man had been so frank, Zhao Chen had nothing much to conceal either — for anyone with eyes could see the "open gambit" behind the rescue operation.
"Some of the moves in this rescue were indeed deliberate on my part. Since the T3 Blizzard had to be exposed, I might as well expose it thoroughly — draw as many eyes as possible. After all, compared with being ambushed in some dark corner, I'm safer standing out in the middle of the street. And on the return trip, I deliberately fell out with those noble scions, put on a show of being utterly unpersuadable — which amounts to announcing to the world that I, Zhao Chen, am a blockhead with an odd temper, tied to no noble power whatsoever. That, in turn, actually makes me relatively safer; certain parties would otherwise worry I belonged to a rival faction, and would then stop at nothing to be rid of me. This way, if anyone still wants to move against me, unless they do it openly, the way the Azure Governor did, no one will dare scheme against me in the shadows — for whatever else I am, I'm a 'young hero,' am I not? Governor Chu's little maneuver, though, rather took me by surprise — but it's about the best position I could be in just now." Zhao Chen laid out his thinking.
Governor Chu nodded. "Your original intent wasn't wrong, and you'd reckoned on the reckless conduct of the likes of Blue Fatty. But weren't you worried — if I and the royal fleet hadn't come forward today, could you truly have left that place alive?"
"I was fully confident I could leave alive — only it would have been by the one method I least wished to use." A cold cast came into Zhao Chen's eyes.
Governor Chu studied Zhao Chen for a good long while. For some reason, he felt he'd made a supremely wise decision. Had he not appeared here today, the Starlight Empire might well have gained one more enemy. A… terrifying enemy. He didn't know why, looking at this young man barely past 20, some part of him should feel such a thing.
"Since Governor Chu turned up here today, I take it you're quite satisfied with the technology of the T3 Flame Dragon-class Medium Interstellar Destroyer?" Zhao Chen looked at Governor Chu.
Governor Chu nodded, and was not stingy with his praise. "At a build cost of 5 million star coins a ship, it's worth, beyond all question, far more than its price. Its performance, while not the very top among T3 warships, is the most cost-effective of them all — it can truly be called a warship built for war. I've already had the shipyards below prepare a trial run; within three months the first batch of T3 Flame Dragon-class Medium Interstellar Destroyers will roll off the line and enter service."
Worthy of the Chu family indeed — they built what they wished to build, with never a care for such things as manufacturing conditions or funds and resources. This was the confidence that came of a great house and a vast estate!
"Rest easy — my earlier promise stands unchanged. For this first batch I mean to build 30 T3 Flame Dragon-class Medium Interstellar Destroyers. By a licensing fee of 30 times build cost, and by market trading rules, I'll transfer you 31% advance shortly — that is, one and a half billion star coins. Once the 30 are built, I'll pay the balance. Whatever's over and above, consider it my sponsorship of your research." That one sentence of Governor Chu's set Zhao Chen's little heart lurching.
31% advance? One and a half billion star coins? Then the total came to 5 billion star coins! And once all 30 T3 Flame Dragon-class Medium Interstellar Destroyers entered service, Zhao Chen could lie back and collect another three and a half billion!
Holy crap!
Worthy of the deep-pocketed, open-handed Chu family — a single wave of the hand, and it was licensing fees in the billions.
Back when he'd struck his deal with Li Yaqi, he'd had to ask her for an advance of a mere 20 million star coins just to get his 30 ships built and into service. Sure enough, to make real money, you had to rely on high-grade, advanced warships. The profit from selling 60 or 70 T2 ships might not match the profit from a single T3 warship — and there was the time invested, the labor costs, and all the rest of it. The gap was simply too vast.
"Certainly, certainly. If there's any doubt or problem on the technical side, come to me at once — I'm online 24 hours a day." The smile on Zhao Chen's face just now — words couldn't capture how radiant it was. The more he looked at Governor Chu, the more he felt: how had this old fellow gotten so very handsome?
"And don't you go kicking up any great commotion for the time being. The Empire hasn't been very peaceful of late." Governor Chu let the remark drop offhandedly.
It gave Zhao Chen's heart a jolt. These great personages often knew things most people didn't; the height at which they stood was beyond the reach of the vast majority.
"Governor Chu — do you know of something that's about to happen?" Zhao Chen looked at him and asked.
Governor Chu said mildly, "It's nothing so out of the ordinary, really. So long as you don't take part in it, you won't be caught up in any of it. At least for now, the value you carry isn't yet enough to make those interstellar powers risk setting themselves against my Chu family to come after you. Still — you'd best not leave the bounds of the North Wind Star Region and the Chu River Star Region."
Zhao Chen nodded. With one and a half billion star coins of "startup capital" in hand now, he could truly begin his plans to build up the Owl Dragon domain.
As for the outside world? Whoever wanted to go out there could go. The next time he came out, he'd damn sure bring a super interstellar fleet with him. That Blue Fatty, that Yellow Rat — he'd have the whole lot of them on their knees, singing of how thoroughly they'd been conquered!