Zhao Wan'er and Lilith came down from the ship.
"Wan'er, your showing just now was simply dazzling! You didn't see the sorry state that Zhou Min was in after the battle! Such a pity we couldn't see it in person." Xue Xiaoxiao darted to Zhao Wan'er's side.
Zhao Wan'er gave a small smile; in truth her own part in this duel's victory was slight — it was chiefly the might of the T2 Black-Rhino-class Interstellar Heavy-Assault Frigate.
The crew aboard had thoroughly mastered the ship, too.
She'd needed only to pass down her intentions, and that beast-folk girl captain would arrange everything for her.
Zhao Wan'er looked to Zhao Chen; her lips moved…
Zhao Chen was taken aback. "Are you speaking to me?"
Zhao Wan'er's cheeks flushed faintly, and she lowered her head.
"Speak up a bit — I didn't hear." Zhao Chen stepped closer.
Zhao Wan'er bit lightly at her lip, her cheeks redder still.
"Wan'er's saying: Brother, I love you to bits!" Xue Xiaoxiao suddenly put in from the side.
Zhao Wan'er, in shy fury, made as if to hit Xue Xiaoxiao, who laughed and dodged away.
"When did I ever… say that! Xiaoxiao, don't talk rot! You… you spout more nonsense… and I'll rip that mouth off you!"
Xue Xiaoxiao ran, laughing as she went. "What? You don't love your brother? Then how about this — hand your brother over to me! How about it, Brother Zhao Chen!"
"Xue Xiaoxiao! Stand still if you've got the nerve!"
"Give chase if you've got the nerve!"
Zhao Chen watched the two girls laughing and chasing, and couldn't help but laugh beside them.
Just then, chasing Xue Xiaoxiao, Zhao Wan'er came running to Zhao Chen's side; she stopped, not daring to meet his eyes.
"Thank you… Brother…"
With that, Zhao Wan'er went back to chasing Xue Xiaoxiao.
Zhao Chen watched Zhao Wan'er's retreating back; for a moment he hadn't caught it.
For in all his years of memory, Zhao Wan'er had never once called him "Brother."
News of a Northstar Academy cadet using an interstellar frigate to defeat a Heaven's Glory Academy cadet's interstellar battlecruiser went on spreading through the academy.
Zhao Wan'er, this fifth-year prodigy student, saw her renown climb to a peak as well.
As for Zhao Chen, he returned to his Blizzard Zero.
Dormitory at the academy though he had, having grown used to the big-bed room aboard his own ship, who'd be willing to go stay in that cramped little box?
And Zhao Chen had one more matter to see to besides.
Finding Li Wei's sister!
Not, of course, to go be his free brother-in-law.
…………
Northern Goose Starship Technology Group · industrial-park headquarters.
This was a starship industrial facility set in a planet's orbit, having belonged originally to an enterprise that manufactured and supplied starship components.
Not quite half a year ago Northern Goose had acquired it and spent two months upgrading and refitting it, laying down several starship production lines and ship docks.
After which it had begun building T1 Wolf-Louses in quantity.
This starship-industry works could produce, at peak, 100 T1 Wolf-Louses a month.
At the time, on account of Li Yaqi's bold, sweeping move, close to 5 million star coins had been sunk in — 3 million of it the buyout fee for a ship technology whose source had vanished without trace.
For a while the Northern Goose leadership had been furious at conduct of this sort from Li Yaqi, reckoning she was simply smashing the cracked pot for good.
But who could have foreseen that in mid-November of 3030, Northern Goose's subsidiary, the Northern Goose Starship Technology Group, would hold a ship-launch conference and put out a ship named the T1 Wolf-Louse-class Medium Interstellar Destroyer.
Priced at a mere 30,000 star coins!
That 30,000-star-coin price, for a time, shook the whole northern star region.
One should know that the lowest market price for a T1 ship now — a T1 interstellar frigate, say — ran as high as 50,000; and a T1 interstellar destroyer needed, at the least, 100,000.
Yet Northern Goose's interstellar destroyer cost a mere 30,000!
A T1 ship this cheap — surely there was something wrong with it?
For the first three days after the launch conference, not a soul was willing to buy this ship.
But on the fourth day, Li Yaqi announced outright that the first hundred T1 Wolf-Louses could be trial-sailed three days with no deposit, and returned within three days, no fee whatever, if the buyer wasn't satisfied.
It was on those terms that some cash-strapped private fleets and star-system lords ventured to touch this ship.
The fifth day after the launch conference!
It exploded!
Northern Goose's ordering department's comm network blew up outright, orders pouring in thick and fast.
There was even one interstellar lord who sent in an order for 100 T1 Wolf-Louses at a stroke!
You should know that at the time Northern Goose's warehouse held stock of only 300 T1 Wolf-Louses.
And on this fifth day, those 300 T1 Wolf-Louses were all ordered out, every payment settled in full.
At a stroke, 9 million star coins came straight into Northern Goose's account!
It turned the year's balance sheet, at a single stroke, from loss to profit!
"I now intend to expand the current ship works, raising its present build rate of 100 T1 Wolf-Louses a month to a capacity of three hundred a month. By estimate the whole expansion can be complete before mid-year." Li Yaqi looked at the several shareholders attending the meeting, and at her father seated across from her.
Her father was watching her with a satisfied look.
The other shareholders, too, had changed clean from their earlier disdain, each of them regarding Li Yaqi with a fawning smile.
"Niece Yaqi truly is remarkable — one T1 Wolf-Louse, and she's set the whole northern-star-region market of our Starlight Empire alight. I hear the order count's reached 500 now!"
"By outside forecasts, this wave of impact will reach the Starlight Empire's other star regions too; a year's demand could well hit a full 5,000 T1 Wolf-Louses! 5,000 T1 Wolf-Louses — the profit from that would already far surpass our Northern Goose Interstellar Trade Group."
"I always knew our Niece Yaqi would succeed! I say expanding to three hundred a month isn't enough — let's just expand straight to five hundred a month, and open up the Starlight Empire's other star regions' markets!"
The shareholders held forth, one after another, sketching out Northern Goose's future blueprint in the starship-technology field.
Li Yaqi, for her part, regarded these uncles of hers as one regards a pack of clowns; a few months ago they'd worn no such faces.
Laughable indeed.
Beep, beep, beep.
Just then Li Yaqi's handheld terminal flashed with a message alert; ordinarily, in a meeting, Li Yaqi would very professionally shut off all message alerts, even her father's.
But until a few months ago, one person had become an exception to this.
"Forgive me — something urgent's come up on my end. Let's leave the meeting here for now." Having said her piece, Li Yaqi didn't wait for her uncles to speak, but quit the meeting outright.
The meeting room before Li Yaqi's eyes vanished in an instant, replaced by an empty meeting room, and a few empty chairs.
Li Yaqi hurriedly opened her comm device, on which a message was displayed.
I'd like to talk with you.
The message was from that mysterious account of a few months ago!
The mysterious person who'd sold her the T1 Wolf-Louse technology!