"All right — enough of all that for now. Let's get on with our own work." Zhao Chen raised a hand, and a huge holographic image of the interstellar map appeared.
One could see upon it five zones marked off by dotted lines, numbered '1' through '5.'
Lilith now dropped her earlier maidservant's air; her gaze keen, she pointed at this interstellar map and said: "By the latest word we've had: the two star gates of the No. 1 star region are complete and have passed their trial runs. In the No. 2 star region, once the gate was finished, a detachment of T2 Iron-Hammer-class Heavy Interstellar Industrial Ships was moved over and has begun building the local planetary habitation zones and other related facilities; the first phase can be finished within a month, ensuring the basic living needs of the local working personnel. The rest will be complete by year's end. …And in the No. 2 and No. 3 star regions, the richest in resources, we've already arranged for the first batch of 4,000 T3 Prospector-class Heavy Interstellar Mining Ships to enter and begin resource-extraction work. These 4,000 T3 Prospectors are split evenly between the North Dragon Mining Group and the Rose Red-Dragon Mining Group, which are in charge of the No. 2 and No. 3 star regions. The two mining groups' heads, Li Yaqi and Red Rose, have both gone to the site over this stretch of time to oversee the relevant matters. And they have each promised that, before the end of October, they can each hit a target of 40 billion in monthly resource output."
Zhao Chen laughed despite himself: "It seems Li Yaqi and Red Rose, these two rivals in the trade, have truly locked horns; over this business the two of them mean to fight out who stands higher."
After the North Dragon Mining Group and the Rose Red-Dragon Mining Group were established, Li Yaqi and Red Rose very soon learned of the 'opponent' Zhao Chen had arranged for each of them.
As the saying goes, those in the same trade are rivals.
The more so when Zhao Chen was plainly setting them to compete against each other.
And so on this matter both Li Yaqi and Red Rose went at it with all they had.
Li Yaqi even handed some of her Northern Goose Group affairs over to her trusted people to see to.
"40 billion each — that's 80 billion a month all told." Zhao Chen rubbed at his chin.
"That output's not bad; it'll be just about enough to keep up appearances for that old man when the time comes."
"Yes. Going by this rate of progress, hitting a monthly output of 300 billion star coins before year's end is no problem," Lilith said.
A monthly output of 300 billion star coins.
At the mere thought of that figure, the corners of Zhao Chen's mouth couldn't help curling upward; when the time came and he had the money, he could crush the Prince Faction with coin alone.
"Has the latest word from Charlotte's side come in? Which tribe's holdings has she laid waste to now?" Zhao Chen asked with interest.
Over the past month and more, Charlotte had led the Dragon-Tiger Legion trekking across the span of several star regions — and this was, of course, no simple matter of a march.
Every time Zhao Chen saw a combat report Charlotte sent back, he felt a headache on behalf of those Warhammer tribes.
Lilith called up another set of materials: "Latest word. General Charlotte's Dragon-Tiger Legion has again suddenly changed heading, and made a surprise raid on the Black Tiger Tribe's Black Tiger Third Star-Port, and a neighboring resource-mining district."
"Again… the Black Tiger Tribe's?" Zhao Chen covered his face.
"Yes." Lilith nodded.
Zhao Chen called up the star-map to look over Charlotte's line of march.
One could see that in this bare month and more, Charlotte's Dragon-Tiger Legion had paid the Black Tiger Tribe's interstellar territory three visits.
This made the fourth.
One really got the feeling that Charlotte had deliberately fixed on this one target, the Black Tiger Tribe, to fleece.
"Up to now, General Charlotte's tally: one large star-port destroyed — Black Tiger Tribe's. One resource-mining district with a monthly output of 10 billion star coins destroyed, and all its on-hand resources plundered away — this too the Black Tiger Tribe's. Four medium star-ports destroyed, two of them the Black Tiger Tribe's. Thirty-nine major planets raided, their military and research installations destroyed and plundered — 12 of them the Black Tiger Tribe's, one of them, besides, the Black Tiger Tribe's third major planet. Up to now, the Dragon-Tiger Legion has annihilated upward of 200,000 interstellar warships, a third of them the negligible T1-grade sort. Of the remaining hundred-thousand-odd interstellar warships, 30,000 belong to the Black Tiger Tribe — already close to a quarter of the Black Tiger Tribe's entire count of interstellar warships," Lilith said.
Zhao Chen held back his laughter with difficulty; he could already imagine how utterly broken the whole of the Black Tiger Tribe, top to bottom, must feel over this past month and more.
"In all these operations, General Charlotte's Dragon-Tiger Legion has lost 13,000 interstellar warships, 4,000 of which weren't destroyed on the spot but self-detonated because they couldn't be repaired. Over this period, we've used the T4 Lucent-class Interstellar Jump Ships to send over, in two rounds, 10,000 T2-grade interstellar warships and 500 T3-grade interstellar warships, along with 10 billion star coins' worth of strategic materials," Lilith added.
"And what's the Warhammer Interstellar Commonwealth's attitude now? Surely they won't just go on letting this great white cat bite away as she pleases. Otherwise this big black tiger of theirs is likely to be well and truly fleeced bald," Zhao Chen said with a light laugh.
Lilith answered: "By the intelligence we've come by, the Black Tiger Tribe has already declared it won't take part in the military action against the Starlight Empire. They mean to muster their remaining 80,000 interstellar warships to encircle and wipe out General Charlotte. And the Black Wolf Tribe is joining in too; the Black Wolf Princess has publicly declared she'll put Charlotte to death with her own hand, to avenge the destruction of their home star! Besides these, several other tribes have declared they'll draw off a portion of their interstellar fleets to take part — tribes whose interstellar territories all border the Black Tiger Tribe's, and which have likewise been harassed by General Charlotte several times. All told, up to now, the count of enemy interstellar warships out to encircle General Charlotte has already broken 200,000, and may very well reach 300,000! And because of this Dragon-Tiger Legion's several brilliant battles, the prestige of the revolutionary armies across the Warhammer Interstellar Commonwealth has risen greatly; local revolutionary-army uprisings and disturbances have grown frequent. This, too, has led some tribes to want to pull their forces back now and settle Warhammer's internal revolutionary-army troubles first. So the Warhammer Interstellar Commonwealth's original plan to campaign against the Starlight Empire has, for now, been put off three months."
Zhao Chen clapped his hands again and again, praising over and over what a fine job Charlotte had done — those countless meals of fish had not, it seemed, been fed to her for nothing.
In Zhao Chen's mind, it was as though he already saw a picture: a furtive great white cat, sneaking off to set fire to other people's homes.
A fire here, a fire there.
And the one worst hit was that courtyard-house called Black Tiger — set ablaze four times running.
It set Zhao Chen laughing till the tears nearly came.
"Charlotte's done wonderfully. Put off three months… and with this delay, by all estimates there's even less hope of it happening afterward. At this rate, the expedition plan being called off is a foregone thing. Lilith, keep a close watch on Charlotte's side; if there's anything she needs, satisfy her by every means you can!" Zhao Chen said in earnest.
"Yes," Lilith said.
"This great white cat of ours has come into her own. Give her 30,000 interstellar warships, and she can set another's backyard ablaze. Good, good, good!" Zhao Chen wore a look of pride, for all the world as though his own child had brought home fine marks.