"Are you certain it's 3,000 T2 Tibetan Mastiff-class Medium Interstellar Destroyers!" the official demanded.
The subordinate answered, "According to the message Northern Goose reported up, it's 3,000 T2 Tibetan Mastiff-class Medium Interstellar Destroyers!"
"How is this possible? Wasn't their starship-manufacturing factory—" the other official was in mid-speech when his eyes drifted, despite himself, toward Huang Zhixiong at his side.
Though the news spread on the surface was that the Northern Goose Starship Technology Group's starship-manufacturing factory had been attacked and destroyed by the interstellar hive-race, anyone with clear eyes would think of the truth behind it all. For, after all, everything had happened all too coincidentally. That star system where the Northern Goose Starship Technology Group was stationed had never once reported the news of a cosmic star-gate appearing.
Huang Zhixiong drank his tea, his face unchanging; but within, waves of turbulence already surged without cease.
The Northern Goose Starship Technology Group was to deliver the second batch of arms-purchase-order interstellar warships on schedule? How was this possible? Where would they have come by so many T2 Tibetan Mastiff-class Medium Interstellar Destroyer production lines!
"Then these T2 Tibetan Mastiff-class Medium Interstellar Destroyers they're delivering?" the official demanded; even now, he was unwilling to believe this fact.
The subordinate said, "The Northern Goose Starship Technology Group has asked us to bring people to the North Wind Star Region's White-Fur System to take receipt of this batch of interstellar warships."
"Have us go and take receipt? No — have them deliver them over here! And if they're not delivered over on schedule, then we count them as being in breach and overdue!" the official said with displeasure.
The subordinate said in a low voice, "But according to the stipulations on the arms-purchase agreement order we signed, the manner of the interstellar warships' delivery is to be stipulated by the producing party — and that includes delivery at a star system of their own designating. It need only be within the borders of the Starlight Empire, and a star system with a star gate built in it."
The official was dumbstruck, without a word to say; though he had authority, the agreement was there in black on white — he could make strict demands, but he couldn't disregard the clauses upon it. The official looked toward Huang Zhixiong in his predicament.
The Marshal said nothing.
The official caught on, and at once had the subordinate wait outside the door for instructions. In the room, the three of them alone remained.
"Marshal, this…" The two officials looked at Huang Zhixiong; this sudden turn of the affair had caught them wholly unprepared.
"Then we'll go to this White-Fur System that the Northern Goose Starship Technology Group has requested, and see whether they really can produce 3,000 T2 Tibetan Mastiff-class Medium Interstellar Destroyers. I, being the Empire's Five-Star Marshal, am rather concerned about this arms-purchase order — and, on top of that, there are all the various rumors spreading throughout the Empire's borders. So I, too, would like to go along together with you; the two lords surely wouldn't refuse me, I take it?" Huang Zhixiong said, looking at the two lords with a smile.
The two officials naturally understood the meaning within Huang Zhixiong's words, and at once nodded, again and again.
Huang Zhixiong said to himself in secret: I do rather want to see just how you, this Northern Goose Starship Technology Group, will "conjure up" these 3,000 T2 Tibetan Mastiff-class Medium Interstellar Destroyers within so short a span of time!
……
A few days later — the North Wind Star Region's White-Fur System · star gate.
An interstellar fleet came crossing through; these were, one and all, interstellar warships belonging to the Empire military, and among them were included a great many interstellar transport ships. And at this very moment, near the star gate, no small number of people who'd caught wind of the rumors had gathered as well.
"Have you heard! The Northern Goose Starship Technology Group is going to deliver the second batch of 3,000 T2 Tibetan Mastiff-class Medium Interstellar Destroyers on schedule!"
"How is this possible? Didn't they all say before that the Northern Goose Starship Technology Group's production lines had been destroyed? In this bare span of three months, where would the Northern Goose Starship Technology Group have manufactured these 3,000 T2 Tibetan Mastiff-class Medium Interstellar Destroyers?"
"At any rate, it's what the Northern Goose Starship Technology Group has said — and they've even had the Empire arms-procurement department's people personally lead the party to come take receipt of the interstellar warships. There, look — stirring up such a grand array of things. If the Northern Goose Starship Technology Group is putting on a bluff, then isn't this courting death?"
"That's the reasoning of it, sure enough — but I still can't fathom why the Northern Goose Starship Technology Group would be able to conjure so many T2 Tibetan Mastiff-class Medium Interstellar Destroyers out of thin air!"
On the Starlight Empire's networks, all was talk of this matter; indeed, there were even those who directly opened livestreams, broadcasting on the scene this handover of the arms-purchase order. For, after all, to deliver 3,000 interstellar warships — this was not a thing that could be kept hidden.
At this very moment, the Northern Goose Starship Technology Group had once again become the target of every arrow; if it proved unable to do what Northern Goose had said, then this very day it would tumble down off the altar, its body ground to powder and its bones to bits.
A T3 Dragon-Croc-class Medium Interstellar Battleship · bridge.
Huang Zhixiong sat in the captain's chair; all around had already been raised a shielding field, and before him were several comm channels.
"Impossible! Impossible! I've seen the battle footage the fleet we dispatched reported back — that starship-manufacturing factory of the Northern Goose Starship Technology Group's was wiped out entire, its production lines very nearly all destroyed! For them to restore starship production lines of this kind would take, at the least, upward of three months' time. Never mind producing another 3,000 T2 Tibetan Mastiff-class Medium Interstellar Destroyers on top of that!" Feng Dawei said, at this moment somewhat losing his grip on his emotions.
Feng Weihao, on the contrary, was very calm, his face darkly overcast.
"But that Li Yaqi is no fool either; if she hadn't this batch of interstellar warships, then there's no way she'd have the arms-procurement department's people go and take receipt of this batch of interstellar warships. A lie of that sort would be exposed sooner or later; there'd be no value in it whatsoever," the Azure Governor said in a low, grave voice.
Looked at this way, it was more than likely that the Northern Goose Starship Technology Group truly did have these 3,000 T2 Tibetan Mastiff-class Medium Interstellar Destroyers!
Feng Dawei clenched his fists, and said again in an urgent voice, "Marshal, there's one possibility! And that is that this batch of T2 Tibetan Mastiff-class Medium Interstellar Destroyers might be experimental products from back when the Northern Goose Starship Technology Group was in the research-and-development phase of this technology. Because the delivery date is right upon them, they've taken a desperate gamble — hastily finishing the building of these experimental products, and delivering them as this batch of arms-purchase starships. Wanting to muddle their way through and get by!"
Huang Zhixiong, his face darkly overcast, said, "To use quality-substandard interstellar warships to deliver on an arms-purchase order — then that crime would be graver still."
"Whatever the case — I hope the Marshal will, when the time comes, subject this batch of interstellar warships the Northern Goose Starship Technology Group delivers to a strict and rigorous inspection!" Feng Weihao laid a heavy, emphatic weight upon those last few words.
"That I know. Should they have so much as the least little flaw, I'll drag it out into the light without the slightest courtesy." Huang Zhixiong gave a cold snort.
Huang Zhixiong had long since had a quiet word with the officials of the arms-procurement department: this time, in the acceptance-inspection of the arms-purchase-order interstellar warships, they'd be exceedingly strict!
This group of theirs — every one of them was, at this moment, complex and tangled beyond measure within, finding it beyond all reckoning that the Northern Goose Starship Technology Group could, of all things, deliver on the arms-purchase order on schedule. And yet, there was truly no reason by which it could be explained. The one thing to be done now was to wait — to wait for Marshal Huang Zhixiong, together with the arms-procurement department, to take receipt of this batch of arms-purchase-order interstellar warships.
Only then would the outcome be revealed!