64: First contact

The projectiles, carrying thunder and fireworks, continuously struck the giant asteroid.

Spiderweb-like cracks gradually spread across its entire surface.

Perhaps it had finally reached its limit.

After more than ten minutes of bombardment,

Finally, this asteroid shattered—

In a place where no one could hear, it let out a long, drawn-out wail, the lament of matter disintegrating in space.

Then, like fireworks, it instantly disintegrated and exploded.

Perhaps it had once witnessed the birth of a supernova.

Perhaps it had once witnessed the decline of a red giant.

But now, the ravines left by time, the craters left by the ages,

All ceased to exist—

They all transformed into a cloud of metallic-sheened mist, slowly spreading through the cosmos.

Huge warships plunged into this dust cloud.

Greedily, they sucked entire clusters of suspended debris into their cargo holds.

FG300s, like diligent worker bees,

Traveled back and forth between the dust cloud and the base ship.

The resources in the warehouse also increased significantly.

Watching the gradually abundant resources, and estimating that four-fifths of the dust cloud remained,

A smile gradually spread across Xi Hai's face:

At this rate,

The resources obtained from mining this asteroid would be enough for him to produce four battlecruisers!

Adding those from the self-contained base,

There would be a total of eight ships.

As for whether the self-contained base's port command value was sufficient?

Facing this question,

Xi Hai stated that the first thing a person does after landing is to forget their origins—

"night lamp, can warships already built in the self-contained port be decommissioned?"

night lamp:

"70% of resources are returned after a warship is decommissioned and dismantled."

"Cloned crew members are part of the warship."

"They will disappear with the warship."

As long as they can be dismantled.

He checked, and the current command value was sufficient.

Alright then, joint production line, production planning—

eternal storm, two ships;

new constantine the great, two ships.

"Industrial system operating at full power."

Watching the first eternal storm begin segmented production, and other warships start queuing up,

Xi Hai closed the night lamp panel and turned his gaze to the fleet still frantically absorbing the dust cloud.

He suddenly had a thought and asked:

"By the way, night lamp,"

"On ordinary warship blueprints, modules can also be dismantled or installed, right?"

night lamp:

"Yes."

Having received an affirmative answer, Xi Hai began to plan for future development.

Perhaps he should do some business in warships under the name of the Sacred Stars Group?

At the same time, he could also find channels for large-scale resource procurement.

Although the mining ship's collection capability provided by night lamp was incomparably excellent,

There was one fact he had just realized—

How could he easily abandon the social division of labor that humanity took millions of years to learn, in just a single day?

He was currently in an orderly society.

Even if this society was full of dross and riddled with bugs,

The leverage it could provide him would definitely far exceed fighting alone—

Collecting money, buying ore, building ships, selling ships.

Following this process,

He could make a fortune just by relying on the repeatedly downgraded FG300s.

And the mining industry... Just as Xi Hai's thoughts delved deeper,

The Radar Operator on standby suddenly reported:

"Unknown fleet detected!"

"Approaching us!"

"???"

"Static..."

Suddenly, the communications console crackled to life.

A communication came through on a public frequency:

"Unknown fleet ahead!"

"We are the Cloud Consortium Cosmic Army!"

"State your identity and origin!"

"And your purpose for coming to Ursa Major V12.22."

...Meanwhile, on the other side,

Five Frigates and one destroyer

Were slowly approaching Xi Hai's base ship.

When the radar displayed the opposing fleet's image,

The person in charge of this small fleet almost instantly fell apart:

Not to mention the orange-yellow starship in the back that looked like a supply vessel,

Just the four silver-gray behemoths, over a thousand meters long,

Were enough to make him feel the deepest despair of his life—

That was the length of a battlecruiser!

And by their appearance, they were definitely warships!

His mission was to confirm the information of the engaged fleet.

To intercept and obstruct any potential enemies.

However, if those on the other side were enemies,

How could his small ships possibly fight them?

Obstruct them?

Did that mean turning into a speed bump in their path,

And then being crushed into a pile of starship debris?

"Static..."

Static sounded on the communications console.

The bridge of that Cosmic Army destroyer was so quiet you could hear a pin drop:

A reply had been received—

...These past few days have been particularly busy with the start of school, military training, and getting to know roommates.

So, the update speed will likely return to one update per day.

The author will keep track of the owed words and make them up during a long holiday when there is time.

This book is the author's first book, and I want to treat it seriously.

I have already outlined the plot far into the future; I have meticulously written out the backgrounds of the six eras; and even for every organization and struggle that appears, even if it's just a background element, the author has written settings for them.

I will absolutely not abandon this book.

But I also cannot perfunctorily write for readers or myself just to meet two updates a day.

If quantity will lead to a decrease in quality, then I would rather maintain quality.

These past few days have been a bit watered down because I was just starting to follow the outline.

I haven't quite grasped the rhythm yet.

I apologize here.

Sorry.

Readers who frequently comment may know that

The author often replies.

I read every one of your comments.

I will correct every problem you point out.

Honestly, many of my settings are only revealed later on.

Because it's my first time writing a book, the outline and such were only drafted later.

At first, I really just wanted to write a few sentences, share the story in my heart with everyone online,

And read it myself.

I didn't expect so many people to like my book; I was quite surprised, hehe.

Since that's the case, I must treat everyone who likes this book well.

And treat the small universe, the small world, that I fantasized about for three years in high school, well.

The protagonist's gradual maturation is actually also the author's gradual maturation process.

I don't know how to write a perfect person, because I myself am full of flaws.

I hope the protagonist in my writing is someone with significant strengths but also weaknesses—of course, these weaknesses will be corrected through repeated changes.

Because that's more like an ordinary person—an ordinary person who, after transmigrating, slowly adapts to the world, slowly matures, and in the end, never forgets their original intention.

Finally, hehe, can I ask for a book review?

Although I know it might be a bit low at first,

A score starting with six is really not good... Please, give a comment, just your honest thoughts—

I don't ask for good reviews; I accept all well-reasoned criticisms.

Let me see what you think of my book, okay?