11: We are all living life to the fullest.

The next day, morning.

Strictly speaking, there is no distinction between day and night in the universe,

but the ancient biological clock still exists within human genes.

Furthermore, existing regimes in human civilization generally adopt two sets of time standards:

when on a planet, they use the local day and night cycle, or "Local Time";

and in the vast universe, they use the ancient "Homeworld Time."

In the Order Alliance's headquarters star system, there is a planet artificially modified to imitate the former homeworld, "Earth,"

along with two sets of Cesium Atomic Clocks that are replaced every millennium.

Every time a cesium atom completes 9,192,631,770 transitions, it signifies that humanity is one second further from its past.

Humans use this to commemorate the Homeworld whose coordinates were long lost.

----

"Joint Production Line is operational."

After one night, both the system-provided base and the newly constructed base had completed their production tasks.

Standing by the window of the Central Control Room, Xi Hai looked down at the Starport.

Twenty dark green Rubies and thirty silver-gray FG300s were neatly docked in the harbor.

He finally felt a sense of security.

Looking at the warships taken from the system-provided base, Xi Hai tapped the night lamp's screen.

"night lamp, can external ships be placed into the system's inherent Folding Space?"

The night lamp replied:

"Folding Space can be opened at any time."

"Any personnel or ships can enter or exit after the Spatial Rift is opened."

"However, if there is no Starport for docking, ships inside the Folding Space will suffer 5% structural damage daily."

Xi Hai nodded.

If that were the case, he could keep a fleet by his side whenever he wished.

His personal safety would be somewhat guaranteed from now on.

All fear stems from insufficient firepower; now that his firepower was ample, Xi Hai's courage grew—it was time to avenge the Little Mining Cart!

He reopened the Battle Report sent by the night lamp, confirmed the location where the engineering ship was destroyed, and began dispatching the fleet.

He kept five Rubies and five FG300s for himself, in case he needed to make a quick getaway if they lost;

the remaining fifteen Rubies and twenty-five FG300s were organized into two teams:

One team consisted of two self-produced FG300s (unmanned operation), and the other team included all the remaining warships.

Xi Hai's idea was to have the two unmanned FG300s travel along the route previously taken by the destroyed X8, to see if the previous group would reappear.

Then, while they attacked the FG300s, he would assess the strength and technological level of the enemy ships.

If it was a crushing victory or an even match, they would push forward immediately;

if they were crushed, he would immediately turn tail and run, hiding in a place where normal people couldn't find him to develop secretly.

Of course, if the enemy didn't actively attack, it wouldn't matter:

As long as they waited one minute in place to complete intelligence gathering, under the 3D Holographic Star Map, the enemy's base would have nowhere to hide.

He could just let the two ships probe them face-to-face.

Unknowingly, all the warships in the Starport had orderly departed. They formed neat formations in the sky, their stern engines flashing with dazzling light.

Seeing that the Warp Routes for both combat and escape had been calculated and were ready for immediate use, Xi Hai ordered:

"Set sail!"

The night lamp immediately responded,

"Fleet formation complete."

"Warp Drive Module ready."

"Departure!"

...At the site where the X8 engineering ship was attacked yesterday,

the traces of battle had not yet completely vanished.

Several charred fragments of the hull drifted slowly, adding a sense of stillness to the quiet starry sky—

Five patrolling Frigates pierced this silence, their engine lights bringing a splash of color, pushing aside the floating debris.

—One G-2B "Wild Wolf," and the remaining four were modified civilian LY-10 Cargo Starships.

They were the smugglers who had just entered the port yesterday, now hired by White Shark, patrolling this airspace.

Del stood on the Bridge of the only proper warship in the formation—the G-2B Wild Wolf—his gaze drifting out the window.

Visually, there was no difference from an hour ago, and the radar had detected no anomalies.

He pressed the headset on his head, connecting to White Shark's channel.

"Hello? Can you hear me?"

"Received, please respond."

Del's sleepy voice sounded on White Shark's end:

"Still no anomalies,"

"You guys must have gotten it wrong. Nobody is coming to this place."

Hearing the skepticism, White Shark, who had been at the Sentry Post's central console all morning, replied seriously:

"Impossible. Patrol a few more times."

He had considered whether that orange-yellow mining ship might have been a relic of the previous era, operating automatically, leading to his misunderstanding.

But the brand new armor in the undamaged sections of the recovered wreckage, along with the full fuel tanks, told him: this was undoubtedly a new ship fresh off the production line.

"Fine, whatever. We're just doing the job for the money,"

Del shrugged.

It was better not to encounter any unidentified personnel; it would reduce their wear and tear.

He figured he was going to get paid to do nothing.

White Shark's price was quite high; otherwise, they wouldn't have taken on a new job before finishing their previous escort mission.

Just then, a "zzzt" sound suddenly came through Del's headset, growing louder and drowning out White Shark's voice.

"Zzzt... you must... zzzt... the opposite side... high value... zzzt zzzt..."

After adjusting the frequency band, the static noise still didn't decrease.

Del had no choice but to actively cut the communication, muttering quietly,

"This junk ship, did something break down in some corner again?"

"And why did the communication break down exactly at this moment..."

Suddenly, a piercing alarm sounded overhead, interrupting him.

It was the close-range enemy contact alarm!

What was going on?

The ship-wide broadcast from the Radar Station answered his confusion.

"Unidentified warships!"

"Ten o'clock position, 42-degree sector!"

"Preliminary observation: light destroyer size!"

"The enemy appeared suddenly!"

"Prepare for engagement!!!!!"