Zhao Chen looked at the status of the 12 T2 Iron Hammer-class Heavy Interstellar Industrial Ships in the data display before him.
Two were in the Lion King System. Four T2 Iron Hammers were engaged in building the T3 Goddess Academy-class ship, the T3 Andromeda-class Interstellar Medical Ship, the T3 Phantom Assassin-class Light Interstellar Stealth Bomber, and the T2 Snow Mastiff-class Heavy Interstellar Battleship — expected to be finished before the end of June. The remaining six T2 Iron Hammers had just completed a stage of their build tasks; at this moment these six were recovering their external manufacturing platforms, for they'd been assigned a different task — to go elsewhere. To the Owl Dragon Star System.
"These past weeks have been hard on you." Zhao Chen looked at Lilith, whom he hadn't seen in nearly two months.
"It's for the fleet." Lilith gazed at Zhao Chen, and in the look she fixed on him there was something more than there'd been when she first joined the Owl Dragon Fleet.
"You've seen the star gate construction plan, I take it." Zhao Chen raised the matter of building the gate. To this point, those who knew Zhao Chen meant to build a star gate were only Charlotte, Lilith, Aili — and the person in charge of this gate-construction project, Annie!
Lilith nodded. "I've seen it. It's an enormous investment. But if it can truly achieve rapid movement between the Owl Dragon Star System and the Lion King System, it will absolutely hold great strategic standing in future! So this gate must be built!"
"That's my thinking too. Which is why I've decided to first pull those six T2 Iron Hammers back to the Owl Dragon Star System. The other four T2 Iron Hammers have ongoing projects and can't be moved; we'll just have to wait until those four ships under construction are finished, then bring them back to the Owl Dragon Star System too," Zhao Chen said.
Lilith nodded. Arranging things this way meant Zhao Chen had begun to place the center of gravity of his construction in the Owl Dragon Star System.
"Any large stirrings in the Starlight Empire of late?" Having been away nearly two months, Zhao Chen naturally needed to catch up on affairs in the Empire.
Lilith began to fill him in. On the whole, there'd been basically nothing major. The hive-race threat in the Water Lily Star System, after the Imperial military moved in, had been brought under control; to this point all the Hive Motherships had been destroyed. What came next was a long and troublesome phase: dealing with the hive-race units on the invaded planets. Compared with space, the situation on a planet was far more complex; one couldn't well send ships to bombard the whole globe from orbit with a mind to wrecking the planet's ecology. One could only dispatch ground forces to sweep every inch of the planet's surface — a very long process indeed. A few months at least, a few years at most. And to restore these planets to the order they'd known before the interstellar hive-race invasion would take decades more. This too was why an interstellar hive-race invasion was called a most terrible disaster.
As for that figure of the hour in this affair, Zhao Chen — the attention he drew at the outset had soon quieted down, most likely because someone behind the scenes was steering public opinion, cutting down the information about him. The power behind it might be the Azure Governor and his lot, or it might be Governor Chu of Chu River. Whoever it was, it was no bad thing for Zhao Chen; he preferred a low profile and had no love of standing in the spotlight.
Beyond these, as for anything that could be called a major event — there was this: in October of this year, the Empire would hold a round of military-procurement bidding. This tender was aimed chiefly at the warships of the Imperial garrisons in the various star regions — mainly T2 warships, and among those, mainly interstellar destroyers. And rumor had it the Hurricane Conglomerate was sworn to seize the T2 destroyer order in this military procurement. The T2 destroyer order alone might come to as much as 20 billion star coins! That was a colossal order indeed.
"An interstellar destroyer procurement order?" Zhao Chen showed a flicker of interest.
He instructed Lilith to see to the matter of migrating those several T2 Iron Hammers to the Owl Dragon Star System, then himself returned to his captain's quarters and sat down at the desk. To that number, he sent a holographic video request.
In three minutes, that woman's figure appeared before Zhao Chen.
"I hadn't expected Miss Li Yaqi to be so quick?" Zhao Chen was a little surprised.
Li Yaqi gave a demure smile. She'd set Zhao Chen's number to the highest priority; even were she sleeping or bathing, it would alert her at once.
"You've sought me out this time on account of the T2 Tibetan Mastiff-class Medium Interstellar Destroyer, I take it?" Li Yaqi asked.
Zhao Chen nodded. "Two matters, chiefly. One is indeed this T2 Tibetan Mastiff. I hear the Imperial military means to hold a round of procurement bidding for the garrisons of the various star regions this time, and the Hurricane Conglomerate is set on winning it?"
Li Yaqi nodded. "Yes. This procurement tender is the largest in the past 50 years — and rumor especially has it that the share of the T2 destroyer procurement order may far exceed anything we imagine. But just how much won't be known until October. And as everyone knows, the front-line Imperial forces at the borders, where the fighting strength is first-rate, will in future be fielding T3 warships on a large scale — which means a great many T2 warships will be retired. The likeliest destination for these retired T2 ships is, without question, the second-line Imperial forces of the various star regions. So people reckon this may be the last large-scale T2-grade warship procurement the Imperial military ever runs. Everyone wants to seize this last chance — to pour the funds into T3 warship development and grab a share of the T3 warship market. The Hurricane Conglomerate certainly thinks the same; they've invested heavily in T3 warship research and badly need these funds. So they're set on winning it!"
"And you?" Zhao Chen looked at Li Yaqi with a faint smile.
Li Yaqi brushed back a strand of her hair, then sent Zhao Chen a top-secret document. Zhao Chen looked it over: it was a bidding plan for the T2 Tibetan Mastiff in this October procurement — targeting the Hurricane Conglomerate at every turn.
"Quite the nerve on you," Zhao Chen said teasingly.
Li Yaqi's lovely eyes rested on Zhao Chen. "Mr. Zhao Chen has set the stage for me already; if I still hadn't this much resolve, I wouldn't be fit to be Mr. Zhao Chen's partner."
Zhao Chen admired this Li Yaqi very much — above all in this business of going after the Hurricane Conglomerate. That banquet at Hongmen[1] in the Azure Star Region, Zhao Chen had not forgotten. When others "entertain" you like that, mustn't courtesy be returned in kind?
"All right — let's speak of the other matter. I need a great quantity of raw materials — an estimated 4 billion… no, around 5 billion star coins' worth. And I need a top-secret transport channel — that is, no one is to know this batch of raw materials is for me." Zhao Chen fixed his eyes on Li Yaqi and laid out his other matter.
5 billion in raw materials?
At that figure, even Li Yaqi herself was given a start.