The Starlight Empire · the imperial capital system.
This was a star system of a super-sci-fi cast; everywhere one could see scenes of flourishing prosperity and creations of technology. Interstellar space stations of every kind were built amid the star-firmament, and the T3-grade interstellar warships that in the past could be seen only within the imperial army — here, they could be seen everywhere, even. With a stroke of good luck, you might well catch sight of a T4 Boreas or two besides. And, moreover, within the garrison fleet above the Capital Star, there was, the whole year round, a T4 Starlight-Emperor-class Medium Carrier Starship stationed.
"How flourishing this place is!" Upon the bridge of the T3 Blizzard-class Light Interstellar Battlecruiser, the female captain at Zhao Chen's side gazed in wonder at the resplendent star system before her.
"Here, apart from some gaseous planets, every other Earth-like planet has been wholly reformed into a world fit for human habitation. In the most recent census of the Starlight Empire's imperial capital system, the permanent resident population here broke past the 200 billion mark! But a very large portion of them are of the bottom stratum; for, after all, to maintain the flourishing of the upper society, there must be a great mass of bottom-stratum people to wait upon them. Of those 200 billion people, 99.99% are bottom-stratum folk," Zhao Chen said.
The female captain was astonished. "Ah? Then aren't these bottom-stratum people quite pitiable?"
"Pitiable?" Zhao Chen shook his head. "No — on the contrary, they feel proud that they can live here. The imperial capital system's average life-index is 7.3. And, for one must know, the whole Starlight Empire's average life-index is a mere 3.6. And so, to be a bottom-stratum person here is, on the contrary, quite a 'happy' thing." The female captain was left without a word to say. For ordinary people, they didn't much mind what social stratum they were of; so long as they could live in peace and stability, that was enough.
"Still — the construction of the imperial capital system is, in truth, of very low value for the cost. In the early years, it was by gathering the whole Starlight Empire's financial and material power that the splendor of the imperial capital system was forged. To put it bluntly, it was for the sake of satisfying the royal house's sense of glory," Zhao Chen said with a light laugh and a shake of his head. With the same resources, one could perfectly well have built up decent star-system environments for a full 20 or 30 systems.
Soon enough, Zhao Chen's T3 Blizzard No. 30 ship came by permission to enter port, and pulled into a star-port to dock. This was the star-port nearest the Capital Star; Zhao Chen raised a hand and set the whole bridge to projection, projecting the scene outside the ship directly into the bridge — which made it for all the world as though they were wholly situated out in the interstellar environment. One could look down upon that dazzling Capital Star. One could see several space elevators driving straight from the planet's surface up into the star-firmament, for all the world like towers reaching to heaven.
Zhao Chen sat in the captain's chair; he'd just now already reported up the news of his coming for the conferral, and the officials above had asked him to wait where he was. With nothing to do in his idleness, Zhao Chen opened his own System-mission interface.
Quarterly Mission: bring the number of active-service T3 interstellar warships to three hundred.
It was now already mid-August; there was still a month and a half before the quarterly mission's deadline, and the number of active-service T3-grade interstellar warships had, too, reached 200 — so completing this mission was merely a matter of time.
Annual Mission:
Requirement one: Possess a legion-grade interstellar fleet (3,000 interstellar warships), of which 300 must be T3-grade interstellar warships. (356/3,000) (incomplete)
Requirement two: Possess one T4 combat-type interstellar warship. (complete)
Requirement three: The Owl Dragon System's average life-level value must reach "7" or above. (2.4/10) (incomplete)
Requirement four: Please possess a marquis's, or above-marquis's, imperial title. (incomplete)
Requirement five: Possess 20 items of System-produced T3-grade technology. (17/20) (incomplete)
Note: completing four of these represents completion of the annual mission and may claim the mission reward; completing all five may obtain an additional reward — one "T5 interstellar warship technical blueprint."
Of Zhao Chen's annual mission, the five requirement-conditions, up to now, only one had been completed. Some of the other several conditions were on the verge of completion; some were still a touch far off. For instance, the fourth requirement — Zhao Chen had, in the main, as good as completed it. The fifth needed only a few more redemptions of T3-grade technologies. The only ones still of some difficulty were mission one and mission three.
Beep, beep, beep.
A video-comm request popped up at this point, signed by a capital-star receptionist. One dedicated to receiving those out-of-region officials and lords coming to the imperial capital system for the first time. Zhao Chen tapped to accept.
A video window surfaced. Thereupon a woman dressed in professional attire smiled and greeted him. "It's my great honor that I may receive you, Lord Marquis Zhao Chen; of your deeds fighting hard against the hive-race in the Azure Star Region and the North Wind System, I've long heard the great name of them! I am your receptionist for this occasion; you may call me Xiangxiang."
It had to be said, this receptionist was quite skilled with her words. For one must know that Zhao Chen was, at present, still a viscount — since, after all, he hadn't yet been formally conferred. But this receptionist directly addressed Zhao Chen as Lord Marquis.
"Hello. I wonder — for my conferral ceremony, what will I need to do?" Zhao Chen inquired.
The receptionist said with a smile, "The lords being conferred this time are no small number — 53 in all. The conferral ceremony is set to be uniformly arranged for three days from now; at that time, His Majesty the Starlight Emperor will confer the titles upon you all in person. And before that, tomorrow there'll be a banquet held for the lords to be conferred; all the lords to be conferred will attend, and, at the same time, some high-ranking officials will attend as well."
This was to have the Starlight Empire's rising new stars go pay their respects at the wharf of the established old officials first. Though Zhao Chen was not keen on this sort of thing, for the sake of his own marquisate, and for the sake of his own annual mission, Zhao Chen resigned himself to it all the same.
"There's one matter I'd like to ask about, Miss Xiangxiang."
"Please, go ahead."
"I wonder whether Her Highness the little Princess is in the imperial capital system. Because, back when I was promoted from baron to viscount, I had the good fortune of Her Highness the little Princess's patronage. Having come to the imperial capital system, I ought, of course, to pay her a visit." These words of Zhao Chen's were, in fact, not wrong; the upper folk basically all knew that, back then, that viscount's conferral of Zhao Chen's had been one the little Princess had specially stepped forth to request from the Starlight Emperor.
The receptionist answered, "Her Highness the little Princess is, at the moment, not in the imperial capital system; but she will attend the conferral ceremony three days from now."
"Is that so — then my thanks to you, Miss Xiangxiang," Zhao Chen said with a smile. Since he'd be able to see the little Princess three days from now, then there was no need to hurry just now. For, after all, he'd already come to the imperial capital system; three days, called long, wasn't long. He'd just wait, then.
During this stretch of time in which Zhao Chen lay in the captain's chair resting his eyes and waiting, the female captain suddenly roused Commander Zhao Chen awake.
"Lord Commander, look at that interstellar warship!" The female captain pointed in earnest at a giant ship in the distance, slowly sailing this way!
Zhao Chen looked over, and his expression changed.
T4 Boreas-class Heavy Interstellar Battleship No. 01. Upon its hull was a golden, glittering character — "Chu."
As everyone knew, this No. 01 ship was, precisely, Governor Chu of Chu River's command ship!
Right now the border was in the midst of "opening up territory," and to recall the supreme commander back was a great taboo within the military. A trace of a bad premonition rose up in Zhao Chen's heart.