The quarterly mission is complete; the mission reward may be claimed.
After Zhao Chen had formally delivered these 113 interstellar warships, he received the prompt that the quarterly mission was complete. He opened the System-mission interface.
His thought stirred.
Claim the mission reward!
Claiming mission reward — congratulations, acquired the "T3 Great White Whale-class Heavy Interstellar Transport Ship" technical blueprint.
This time, what Zhao Chen had come by was an auxiliary-type T3 interstellar warship.
"An interstellar transport ship — that just suits the interstellar-transport needs of the interstellar trade to come," Zhao Chen muttered in his heart; his guess was that, were Li Yaqi to lay eyes on this interstellar transport ship, it'd be much like laying eyes on a very treasure trove. In the field of interstellar trade, the interstellar mining ship and the interstellar transport ship were the two mainstay auxiliary-type interstellar warships. For they each stood, respectively, for the two great markets of interstellar trade.
"Lord Commander, the Snake-folk's interstellar warships have all left." the secretary Lilith reminded from the side.
"Then let's make ready to return to the Owl Dragon System as well. Only — we must strengthen our close surveillance of the Reef Star Region; any situation at all, and you're to report it to me at the very first moment!" Zhao Chen enjoined.
"Yes."
The Reef Star Region now was for all the world like a heap of dry kindling; a single spark, and this place could be set ablaze. What came next was simply to wait for the moment.
The Owl Dragon System · Owl Dragon base.
Upon Zhao Chen's return, he came by a message from Chief Engineer Annie. The T4 Reviver-class Clone-Human Starship was completed.
This news was of more weight, even, than Zhao Chen's having sold 100 interstellar warships. Zhao Chen at once arranged for his own command-ship, the T3 Phoenix, to sail to the construction zone of the T4 Reviver-class Clone-Human Starship. Here one could see five T3 Furnace-class Heavy Interstellar Industrial Ships, having ended the work-tasks of their own, making ready to hasten off to the next "worksite." As well as that brand-new T4 Reviver-class Clone-Human Starship.
Upon this interstellar warship's hull there was not a single weapon module — not so much as a point-defense gun, even. It was, wholly and utterly, the very picture of a harmless creature. Who could have imagined that just such an unassuming, plain-looking interstellar warship was, of all things, a T4-grade interstellar warship — and one that made use, moreover, of a powerful black-tech!
"Can we board it now?" Zhao Chen inquired of Chief Engineer Annie.
"We can; the ship is already able to conduct a running of its basic functions," Chief Engineer Annie answered.
"Then good — let's go up and take a look." Zhao Chen at once made ready to board this T4 interstellar warship, whose construction had, from first to last, taken close to half a year to complete — this was, after all, 10 billion star coins of raw-material resources he'd sunk into it!
Zhao Chen took a shuttle, and, bringing the secretary Lilith along, entered the hangar of this T4 Reviver-class Clone-Human Starship. Here, Chief Engineer Annie had long been waiting.
"How about it? I got this whole grand undertaking seen through!" Chief Engineer Annie stood with both hands on her hips, a whole air of showing off about her. But that figure beside her, of all things, passed her straight by, and walked directly on in.
Chief Engineer Annie was flat-out ignored.
T4 Reviver-class Clone-Human Starship No. 1 system prompt: host system detected… beginning system link… please wait three hundred seconds.
There came into Zhao Chen's mind a soft, gentle female voice, rather unlike the System's voice. And thereafter it was as though a great many data-streams appeared before his eyes.
"Lord Commander, this being your first time boarding this interstellar warship, let me give you an introduction to this T4—" Annie still wanted to make her showing.
But Zhao Chen, of all things, directly raised a hand, opened up a technical panel, and then spoke. "Let's first go and have a look at the most core cabin."
With that, Zhao Chen summoned over a hovering elevator — that familiar bearing of his for all the world as though he'd come home to his own house.
Lilith followed Zhao Chen onto the hovering elevator; Annie, in astonishment, kept close behind. She lifted her head and looked at Zhao Chen, unable to make sense of it — by rights, though Zhao Chen had provided the technical blueprint, this was his first time boarding this interstellar warship, so why should he be this familiar with it? She'd even prepared a whole spiel, the better to display a bit of her own talent and ability. And now, in one stroke, it gave her the feeling of a fist landing on a lump of cotton candy.
Soon enough, the hovering elevator came to a stop.
Zhao Chen and the others arrived at one of the T4 Reviver-class Clone-Human Starship's core cabins — a huge, oval, honeycomb-shaped chamber. Zhao Chen stood at the center; raising his head, he could see "compartments" rising dozens of tiers high, every one of these "compartments" being a cultivation pod. Zhao Chen walked to the edge and looked down below — and could see, still, dozens more tiers of these cultivation pods.
"This… the sight of it makes my very scalp go numb…" The secretary Lilith, looking at these densely packed, teeming cultivation pods, had a feeling of hair standing on end. And, whether or not it was a requirement of the cabin here, the whole chamber made use of a comparatively gloomy, murky lighting, which the more lent one a feeling of shuddering dread.
"This is—" Annie had just made ready to launch, eyebrows dancing, into her introduction.
A voice directly rang out. "These are the T4 Reviver-class Clone-Human Starship's clone cultivation pods; one need only gather the corresponding genes, and clones can be cultivated. Within a cultivation pod, one hour is equivalent to 20 years for a person of the outside world, letting a clone body swiftly enter its adult-body state. After cultivation is complete, these cultivation pods will open, and specialized cultivation-robots will bring the clone into a recovery room. Once a clone is born, for it to grow thoroughly familiar with the whole of its body, it still needs a week's time," Zhao Chen said.
Annie, her lines snatched away by Zhao Chen, could only pout, both arms folded across her chest.
"Cabins of this kind — this starship has 100 of them in all, 1 million cultivation pods in total. Which is to say, if the cultivation ran without stop, 24 hours a day, one could directly cultivate 24 million 'clone bodies.'" Zhao Chen said. This knowledge had, when the System linked with this interstellar warship just now, been automatically loaded into Zhao Chen's mind.
Having said this, Zhao Chen went on riding the hovering elevator, heading for the next place.
At last, the hovering elevator came to a halt before a tightly shut great door.
"Right — speaking of it, this place is very strange. Even my permissions can't open it." Chief Engineer Annie stood with both hands on her hips, pointing at the great door before them. The secretary Lilith was, at her side, secretly astonished — for one must know that Chief Engineer Annie's permission level was the same as her own. Chief Engineer Annie could even, when necessary, go to any interstellar warship of the Owl Dragon Fleet without going through any report or notice. This was the highest permission, personally conferred by Zhao Chen.
"You wait here." Zhao Chen, a whole face of solemnity, walked toward the great door.
At the very moment Zhao Chen walked toward the door, the door opened. After Zhao Chen had entered within, the door closed.
Chief Engineer Annie, suspicious, tried reaching out a hand toward the door — whereupon there came a warning tone. "A biological entity not possessing permission has been detected; please do not enter this area. Should dangerous behavior be discovered, a high-voltage electric shock will be administered."
Crackle, crackle.
On the two sides of the great door, six electromagnetic emitters appeared, every one of them trained upon Annie's head. Annie gulped, withdrew her hand, and meek and obedient, retreated several steps, hands clasped behind her back, muttering under her breath, "How is it I don't remember there being electromagnetic-emitter equipment here? A good thing I didn't try, out of curiosity, to go forcing my way in before — otherwise…"