Lilith looked to Zhao Chen. "The combat data on Blizzard Zero above was provided by Charlotte, and worked up by me from Blizzard Zero's data records."
Zhao Chen was well satisfied; Lilith had already begun to settle into the post. The succubus race's learning ability truly was something.
"The battle from here on can basically just proceed by the book; we'll wait for the return voyage… no, wait — Lilith! Remember to tally up that." Zhao Chen narrowed his eyes and spoke with an air of mystery.
Lilith nodded firmly. "We've been keeping a tally of that the whole while; there'll be no great deviation in the figures, I promise!"
"Good." Zhao Chen gave a slight smile.
A dozen-odd minutes soon passed, and just as Zhao Chen and Chu Xuan had judged, with the loss of the three T2 Hive Motherships' command, a great mass of the swarm's assaults fell off sharply in efficiency, the rhythm of their attacks nowhere near so ferocious as at the start.
"Report — we've received word from asteroid P331; all 5 million-plus of its people have been safely evacuated." The female adjutant reported to Chu Xuan in excitement.
Chu Xuan let out a long breath; the crisis was, at last, broken.
They too could at last withdraw with honor; as for the still-vast host of Hive Motherships and swarm, they'd leave that to the imperial-navy fleet and the lord's fleet arriving in relief.
"Thank heaven this time it was a tier-2 cosmic bug-nest, and one that didn't last long. Had it been a tier-3 nest, the greater part of the Arctic Fox star system would likely have been doomed," Chu Xuan said, her mind at ease now.
She'd once read the record of a hive-race campaign: a tier-3 cosmic bug-nest had appeared in a star system, and in under a week the whole system had fallen, become a hatchery for the interstellar hive-race, breeding out a hive-race fleet dozens, even hundreds, of times over! And afterward the imperial navy had spent a full three or four months wiping that host of bugs out — while that star system, centuries on, had become a derelict system, left to no one.
"Contact the Black Dragon Fleet, quick — tell them we can withdraw from the battle," Commander Chu Xuan said in high spirits — but a moment later she stayed her own adjutant.
She'd contact them herself!
For reasons she couldn't name, she was brimming with curiosity about this Black Dragon Fleet and that man.
The comm request sent, the other side soon agreed.
"Captain, sir — we've just gotten word that the 5 million-plus on asteroid P331 have all been safely evacuated; we too can pull out of the fighting," Commander Chu Xuan said.
Zhao Chen nodded; the news stirred no ripple in him at all — for a moment ago the System had already advised him this mission was smoothly complete.
He hadn't yet had time to check it when Chu Xuan's comm request came, so he'd taken her comm first — for there was one more very, very important matter he had to discuss with this Commander Chu Xuan.
"Captain, sir, this time we owe it all to your fleet…" Commander Chu Xuan made ready to chat a little more with this captain, to learn something of him.
But Zhao Chen, without the least ceremony, cut her off once more.
Had it been anyone else, Chu Xuan would likely have begun to feel some distaste for them.
"Commander Chu Xuan, as I recall, by a Galactic Alliance regulation, in any battle waged against the interstellar hive-race, whoever destroys the hive-race owns them; even if the corpses can't be recovered at present, it can first be recorded on the books. Isn't that so?" Zhao Chen asked.
Chu Xuan nodded. "That's right."
Zhao Chen at once raised a hand and holographically projected a table, on it a string of figures set out plain:
Slain: three T2 Hive Motherships.
Slain: better than 70,000 T1 flying-bugs.
Slain: over 400 T2 sting-snakes.
"Since we can't sweep the battlefield for now, we'll have to wait until the follow-up imperial-navy fleet destroys these bugs, and recover them then. Even setting aside the portion of bug corpses devoured by their own kind, at least half the bug remains should keep. By our reckoning, that comes to roughly 500,000 or 600,000 star coins in salvage value. Because I'd like to save myself the bother, I wonder whether you, commander, would be willing to take these bug corpses directly off my hands," Zhao Chen said with a smile. "Your ships took part in the whole of this battle too; the combat recorders aboard should be able to bear out the accuracy of our kill-count."
"What you wanted to say to me… is this?" Chu Xuan was dumbfounded.
The battle had barely ended, and he was talking money with her?
It rather shattered, a little, the towering image of this man Chu Xuan had held.
Zhao Chen cared not one bit whether his image shattered or not.
He wanted money! He wanted money to buy raw materials! He wanted to build ships!
"Captain, sir, all you've said, we can bear witness to as a third party; and I can use my authority to approve it outright — those bug remains, we'll recover on your behalf." Chu Xuan squeezed out a smile, and warmly saw to handling it all for him all the same.
Zhao Chen pressed straight on. "And when will these funds reach my account?"
Chu Xuan kept her smile. "If you're in a hurry, we can use my authority to go by a special channel; it can reach your account within a day. And in recognition of your fleet's outstanding showing in this battle, I can raise the sum to 600,000 star coins."
"Good — thank you. I'll send you my account number. I look forward to our next collaboration. Goodbye." A brilliant smile broke over Zhao Chen's face at once, and without waiting for Chu Xuan to speak, he ended the call, brisk and clean.
Chu Xuan's expression froze. What was with this fellow? He gave her not the slightest opening to get a word in.
Was talking with her truly so tedious and dull a waste of time?
"No! I absolutely must meet this fellow in person!" Chu Xuan's mood, in this moment, was that of a little cat whose curiosity had been left unsatisfied.
Just then, an account number came through.
Chu Xuan took one look, and her eyes lit up.
She knew the information on this account; the opening codes marked it as a temporary account opened at Arctic Fox Starport.
A temporary account meant that this Black Dragon Fleet's base ought to be at Arctic Fox Starport.
And putting that together with the time between her posting the bounty and this fleet's arrival, it should indeed have set out from Arctic Fox Starport.
If need be, she could even confirm with Arctic Fox Starport's staff who had accepted the bounty.
"Once the other imperial-navy fleets arrive to take over, we'll go to Arctic Fox Starport!" Chu Xuan made her decision — she was going to find this man!
As for what she'd do once she found him — that, in truth, she wasn't clear on herself.
There was only, dimly, this notion in her.
Zhao Chen, of course, had no idea he'd already been marked by an imperial woman officer; he was busy counting up his little pile of money.
"600,000 star coins, plus the bounty posted earlier and the extra added by Arctic Fox Starport. This one operation brings in a full 1,300,000 star coins! Add the 900,000 star coins on the books, and now it's 2,200,000 in all," Zhao Chen muttered — for all the world a money-grubber.
There was only a month left to the Quarterly Mission, and of its requirement — owning three classes of system-made ship — Zhao Chen had completed only two-thirds: the T2 Queen Bee-class Heavy Carrier Starship and the T2 Iron-Hammer-class Heavy Interstellar Industrial Ship.
The Quarterly Mission had no penalty, and a rich reward.
Zhao Chen had no wish to squander it, so in this remaining month he had to produce one more class of ship.
"Let's have a look at the system mission I just completed." In his sea of consciousness Zhao Chen opened the system interface, and a box that had long awaited him appeared before his eyes.