239: What does "empire" mean?

There was one day left until the time of the large-scale uprising mentioned in Norma's document.

Over the past two days, Xi Hai had delved a bit deeper into Norma's plan.

He discovered that the Sacred Stars Group also seemed to be a participant in this operation, though they would not appear openly; they were simply using the pretext of trade to fulfill the duties of a "transport captain."

At the same time, Xi Hai learned that in order to achieve the current layout, Norma and her group had already sacrificed tens of thousands of lives—yes, tens of thousands.

When he first learned of this figure, Xi Hai fell into a momentary silence.

In the end, all he could say was that since they had such determination, they should go ahead and do it.

And as the father Norma had earned the right to call him, he thought for a long time and decided to provide a safety net for Norma—he dispatched several mobile fleets, split them up, and had them use the Void Bubble Engine to arrive early at the void coordinates of those uprising locations to stand by.

If they encountered enemies that the uprising forces could not handle, they would come out to help.

As for the follow-up, whether those top regimes would intervene... well, that was a rhetorical question; Xi Hai stated that if they did not intervene, he would eat his hat.

He would take it one step at a time for now. If it really did not work out...

Thinking this, Xi Hai seemed to decide something and clenched his fist: then he would intervene directly—at the very least, he would get everyone out.

He could not just abandon those people who had finally united and were willing to fight for their own future, just to preserve his own safety by continuing to suck up to those top regimes, could he?

That would be a betrayal of his original intentions.

"Whew—"

Just after making his decision, Xi Hai let out a long sigh and leaned back in his chair.

Construction was still striding forward, but a sense of powerlessness crept into Xi Hai's heart—humanity was currently in a state where the wind was rising and the storm was about to break.

Amidst this great tide, he could manage self-preservation and even stand on equal footing with one of the six major regimes, but that was as far as it went.

Where to go from here, only heaven knows...

"Beep beep beep—"

At this moment, his communicator gave a crisp sound—was it from the diplomatic department?

As soon as it connected, the person on the other end said: "Report! Lord Chusiro! The negotiators sent by the Empire have arrived!"

"The person opposite is a middle-aged man, claiming to be the Imperial Military Department's Minister of Military Affairs, Kelaifu. He requests a meeting with you!"

Kelaifu? Good grief, this guy again?

After the last transaction ended, he had asked night lamp to investigate, and the result was that he discovered something incredible—this guy really dared to quote prices!

When balanced anderson reported the purchase price to him, he had added an extra zero!

Xi Hai had been dumbfounded at the time; no wonder this guy's position was biased towards him. So, it turned out he was his cash cow?

He would not have taken this price difference as a bribe he had voluntarily given him, right?

Combining this with the guy's subsequent actions, Xi Hai felt it was very likely.

So he just went along with the mistake—it was originally just a matter of him earning more or less, and being able to establish a connection with the head of the Imperial Military Department was not a loss.

"Alright, have him wait for me in the reception room,"

"I am coming over now."

After saying that, Xi Hai stood up, smoothed out the wrinkles on his clothes, and walked toward the Shuttle in the corridor.

Ten minutes later, in the reception room.

Just after Xi Hai sat down, Kelaifu walked in, led by a lieutenant colonel—

"Long time no see—Grand Duke Chu Xiluo,"

"Looking at you, your fief is being managed quite well now!"

Xi Hai stood up to shake his hand and replied politely:

"Not at all, most places have just been recovered, and many star systems are still at war,"

"I just knew you were coming and prepared a little—I could not face an esteemed guest with my most disheveled side, could I?"

The two sat back down, and Kelaifu said with a smile:

"What are you saying, do not tease me,"

"Look, you still have the mood to joke; I can see that you must have stabilized."

As he spoke, he took out a document, handed it to Xi Hai, and then went straight to the topic of this visit—

"Alright, Grand Duke Chu Xiluo, I am here on behalf of the Imperial Military Department to discuss the procurement of Warships this time,"

"I arrived a bit late this time, mainly to collect the combat requirements from the troops—come, take a look,"

"Given our previous cooperation contract, we still have not fully grasped the Warship technology and that portion of engine technology you provided,"

"In order to cope with the upcoming changes in the situation, the Empire has decided to first purchase a batch of Warships from you for emergency use."

"Come—take a look."

Xi Hai took the document and looked at it. The requirements on it were quite comprehensive, and the first and foremost was a request to purchase Warships of the same class as the "Storm."

Had they been eyeing it ever since they visited once?

Soon, Xi Hai finished reading the documents in his hand. Once he closed them, he leaned in toward Kelaifu,

"I understand your requirements. I will provide the finished products within three days."

Subsequently, his tone became serious,

"Is the Empire planning any major moves recently? Regarding the Military Alliance,"

"I want to know, what is the meaning of the communication sent to me earlier."

Kelaifu was stunned, then immediately became serious. He first looked around, confirmed there were no recordings, videos, or eavesdropping, then slowly leaned in, looked at Xi Hai, and asked:

"Do you really want to know?"