The North Wind Star Region.
The tenth day since the outbreak of the hive-race disaster. Though the North Wind Star Region was still enduring the assault of the hive-race disaster, set against the chaotic, panicked, terror-stricken environment of the very outset, at present most of the chaos had already been brought under control.
"As of now, over the past 24 hours, no new cosmic bug-nests have appeared, and the original cosmic bug-nests have all vanished. The research experts on the interstellar hive-race are closely watching the North Wind Star Region's spatial fluctuations. By the prediction of the expert group, the reason for this dense-clustered emergence of cosmic bug-nests is still unknown, but it ought already to have ended; no new cosmic bug-nests will appear again." An adjutant was reporting to the North Wind Governor on the present situation.
The North Wind Governor asked, "And how does the situation stand at present?"
"At present, our North Wind Star Region has, one after another, mobilized over 10,000 lord-fleet ships, along with the 3,000 warships of the North Wind Interstellar Corps, to take part in this rescue operation. At the same time, the Empire Military's 12th Corps, 19th Corps, and 22nd Corps — close to 10,000 Empire-military warships — have fully entered the disaster-struck systems of the North Wind Star Region. After the emergency handling of these past 10 days, the chaos has all been brought under control. The situation of the disaster-struck systems can be divided, chiefly, into three grades." The adjutant brought up the whole star chart of the North Wind Star Region.
The many systems in the star chart were divided into four colors.
The most numerous were white; white stood for having suffered no hive-race attack.
Next was green; the green zones stood for places where cosmic bug-nests had appeared but had already been brought under control, with only a small quantity of bugs still remaining.
After that was yellow; the yellow zones stood for regions where there was still a certain amount of Hive fleet, and where, at the same time, some planets might still be under threat, or invaded, and so on.
Among all these, the fewest were the red zones; those marked as red zones were two systems.
A red zone meant that there existed a Hive fleet led chiefly by T3 Hive Motherships, that the count of the Hive fleet had, moreover, broken past 1,000 ships, and that it had invaded and seized multiple inhabited planets.
"The two systems of the red zones are handled, respectively, by the Empire Military's 12th Corps and 22nd Corps; at present they've blockaded the Hive fleets within a region, and are conducting an annihilation operation to last up to half a month," the adjutant said.
"And what of the planets within these two regions?" The North Wind Governor knit his brows.
The adjutant said, "Those planets… can only be abandoned."
The North Wind Governor heaved a long sigh; he knew, too, that this was the best way of handling it. 10 days' time… on those planets, the great majority of the common people who hadn't managed to be evacuated and dispersed in time had by now already fallen to become the hive-race's food.
"Has any tally been made of just how great our losses are, as of now?" The North Wind Governor rubbed at the tip of his nose.
"As of now, this disaster has caused us close to 20 billion in direct deaths of population, and over 50 billion in migration of population. At the same time, we've lost over 100,000 civilian auxiliary-type interstellar ships of every grade; and of combat-type interstellar warships lost in engagements with the hive-race, over 5,000 — including 13 T3-grade warships and close to 500 T2-grade warships. Combat-personnel deaths are projected at around 800,000…" The adjutant reported out a whole string of figures.
The North Wind Governor pressed a hand to his own heart; the losses this disaster had genuinely dealt the North Wind Star Region were far too great — one might say it was the equal of setting the North Wind Star Region's comprehensive strength back a full decade! For, after all, an event of cosmic bug-nests suddenly appearing over so broad a range within a single star-region was exceedingly rare even within the whole Galactic Alliance! And this was still with the North Wind Governor's timely handling; otherwise, what would have fallen would not be merely those few systems, but perhaps the whole star-region — and the deaths of several thousand trillion of the common people![1]
"Also… a piece of the latest word we've just received… you may find it rather interesting." The adjutant suddenly recalled a report just come in.
"What is it?" the North Wind Governor said.
The adjutant brought up a piece of intelligence. "It's about the Sapphire System. Originally the Sapphire System's threat level, too, lay within the range of a red zone. But in a bare span of a week's time, over 50% of the Hive Motherships within the Sapphire System have been destroyed; and on its Third Planet, which makes up its chief population, 1,500 million people have been smoothly and safely evacuated! And on the other planets, close to 500 million people have thereby been evacuated smoothly as well. The system's remaining Hive fleet is likewise basically within the range of our control; destroying it is only a matter of time."
"Which Empire-military fleet did this?" the North Wind Governor asked with interest.
"It wasn't an Empire-military fleet — it was the Owl Dragon System's Owl Dragon Fleet!" As the adjutant said this, his own expression, too, was somewhat odd.
"The Owl Dragon Fleet?" On hearing this name, the North Wind Governor thought of that grandson-in-law of his — the one he'd met but once, whose talent was no bad thing. He knew the Owl Dragon Fleet had, this time, come to lend aid of its own accord; but because there'd been so very many matters over this stretch of time, he'd had no leisure to attend to this grandson-in-law of his. And yet who'd have thought that, in so short a span, the man would go and stir up so great a "surprise" for him.
"Which is to say, relying on the strength of his single fleet alone, he settled the crisis of one whole system! And directly rescued close to 2 billion people!" the North Wind Governor said in astonishment.
"Yes."
"How many warships does he have?"
"100-odd — fewer than 150 combat-type warships. But close to 30 T3 warships, among which, by rumor, is a T3 heavy carrier starship bearing a golden 'Chu'-character emblem," the adjutant answered.
The North Wind Governor knit his brows. "Something's not right here. Though he has combat-type warships, to transport close to 2 billion people to safety — where did he get so many interstellar transports? A Chu-family T3 medium carrier starship? How is it I never heard that old fellow had developed a carrier starship of this kind…"
At the mention of this matter, the adjutant's expression grew odder still.
He said, "In fact there's another small matter, bound up with this one. Over this stretch of time, one Count, five Viscounts, 22 Barons, several hundred noble persons — and even generals on the Empire military's side — have filed formal complaints against the Owl Dragon lord, Zhao Chen. But because you were so busy before this, I temporarily held it down and didn't report it to you."
"Formal complaints against Zhao Chen? Why? By those actions you just described, he's the very great hero of this North Wind Star Region!" the North Wind Governor said in surprise.
"Didn't you just ask where the Owl Dragon lord got so many interstellar transports?" the adjutant said, his expression odd. "Guess how he came by them?"
The North Wind Governor put these two matters together, and understood at once. "Don't tell me this kid went and robbed them?"
The adjutant nodded, and said with a bitter smile, "Yes. Earlier, didn't he arrange for his T3 Blizzards to hunt T3 Hive Motherships on the various systems' hive-race battlefields? Well, afterward, when these T3 Blizzards returned to rendezvous with the Owl Dragon Fleet, they 'borrowed' a batch of interstellar transports away 'in passing.' And there's imagery and audio recordings the parties involved captured. Indeed, toward interstellar fleets that wouldn't cooperate, Zhao Chen's warships bombarded and threatened them outright. By tally, at least six interstellar transports were attacked and destroyed by Zhao Chen's T3 Blizzards; by the parties' reports, over 1,000 people died… but this figure isn't credible — for by observation of the video material, the T3 Blizzards gave a warning before attacking, and the hull positions they attacked weren't the compartment-sections where personnel were stationed, so the number of personnel deaths would not exceed 50, and would likely be fewer still."
"This kid's got no small nerve to him…" the North Wind Governor said with a laughing curse.
But the adjutant could hear, from the tone, that the North Wind Governor had not the least intent of reproach.