102: offshore headquarters

On the black background of the Interstellar Peace Corporation's official website, a white logo slowly rotated. A video announcement, released by Ms. Emerald, was at the center of the webpage, playing on a loop.

"A letter to all humanity," Ms. Emerald's clear voice, transmitted globally via a multilingual simultaneous translation system, said, "The Interstellar Peace Corporation will construct an offshore headquarters platform, 'Gui Xu,' with a total area of 35,000 square kilometers, in the international waters at the equator, 180 degrees east longitude."

The announcement page then displayed a 3D design drawing: a giant offshore city composed of hexagonal modules, with several thousand-meter-high buildings, surrounded by twelve functional areas. Most striking were the "Ecological Dome" marked at the edge and the word "Provisional" in the center of the schematic diagram.

Global media reacted instantly.

In the BCC breaking news live broadcast room, the host's manuscript trembled slightly: "...It's like moving half of the Bagpipe Highlands to the center of the Yongning Ocean..."

UNN's military analyst stared at the satellite map and exclaimed, "This location is perfectly situated between Hawaii and Guam, completely covering the strategic chokepoint of the Yongning Ocean!"

Edo Television urgently connected with a maritime law expert: "According to the Ten Thousand Nations Roundtable's Convention on the Law of the Sea, there are indeed no explicit prohibitions against construction on the high seas, but a project of this scale..."

In the Roman Palace's war room, President Trump slammed his fist on the conference table: "These bastards! What in the world do they want?!"

At the Starlight Command's operations center, a dozen generals stared at the real-time satellite map. The Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff suddenly widened his eyes: "Wait... what are these?"

The magnified image showed that dozens of giant buoys had already appeared in the coordinates marked in the announcement, arranged in a perfect hexagonal array. Even more unsettling was that each buoy was emblazoned with the striking Interstellar Peace Corporation logo—clearly, the project had already been secretly launched.

The top ten trending topics on Weibo were instantly dominated by related discussions:

#InterstellarPeaceCorporationBuildsIsland

#SomeoneIsActuallyBuildingACountryOnTheHighSeas

#IsTheWorldGoingCrazy

On X, under the #StarPeaceIsland hashtag, netizens shared calculation diagrams: "Good heavens, how many resources does the Interstellar Peace Corporation actually have? Can they afford to build such a massive steel city?"

On Reddit's r/worldnews subreddit, a pinned post analyzed: "The platform is located in the equatorial doldrums, avoiding typhoons and being ideal for space launches... How long has this company been planning this?"

Richard Stone, a professor of international law at Harvard University, wrote in his New Township Times column: "This may be the most severe challenge to the nation-state system since the Peace of Westphalia..."

Meanwhile, Professor Li Mingqi of Eastern Federation University of Political Science and Law stated in a CCTV interview: "According to Article 87 of the Ten Thousand Nations Roundtable's Convention on the Law of the Sea, freedom of the high seas includes the freedom to construct artificial islands. The key lies in whether it affects navigation safety..."

At Naval Station Norfolk, the Commander of the Nova United States' Sunset Ocean Fleet, looking at the newly delivered reconnaissance report, felt cold sweat on his forehead: "The report shows that those buoys are self-assembling... No construction personnel were seen."

At the North Steel Yongning Ocean Fleet Command, staff officers debated endlessly around satellite photos: "This structure... doesn't it look like the nano-material self-assembly technology they used in Mandalay?"

On the Bund in Shanghai, tourists held up their phones to record the live news broadcast on the LED screen. An old man tremblingly asked his grandson: "Is this... to build a new country on the sea?"

And on a Hawaiian beach, tourists looked out at the western sea, discussing animatedly. Surfing instructor Jackie pointed to the horizon: "Guys, can you believe it? Just in that direction, 3,000 kilometers away, there will be a new city there... This is too sci-fi!"

Soon, Blue Star witnessed the Interstellar Peace Corporation's 'unreasonable' business tactics for the first time.

Sydney, Rio Tinto Group Headquarters. In CEO Andrew Wilson's office, the air seemed to freeze. The numbers flickering on the holographic projection screen plunged the entire executive team into silence.

"This is the fifth one..." Chief Financial Officer Catherine's voice trembled slightly, "This week they've already bought out our entire production capacity for the next three years."

Andrew stared intently at the prominent logo on the transaction list—the Interstellar Peace Corporation's black and white emblem. Below the list, the payment status bar flashed a dazzling green: "Settled: 8.9 billion eagle dollars."

"Contact the board immediately." Andrew's hand, reaching for his suit jacket, trembled slightly, "They are plundering resources!"

Just then, the office's smart glass suddenly turned an opaque dark blue. A holographic projection lit up in the center of the conference table—Ms. Emerald's cold and beautiful face appeared before everyone.

"Mr. Wilson," her voice was like an ice blade scraping glass, "We've noticed that your system has rejected the latest batch of orders."

Andrew's Adam's apple bobbed. He no longer wanted to think about why the Interstellar Peace Corporation could hack into their network: "Ms. Emerald, this has seriously affected our... with other clients."

"Candle Dragon Reactor," Ms. Emerald suddenly interrupted him, a glint flashing in her eyes behind her gold-rimmed glasses, "A nuclear power device with 72% thermal efficiency, a small power station, is enough to supply power to all of Sydney." She waved her hand lightly, and a technical parameter sheet floated in the air, "As a token of our sincerity."

Gasps echoed throughout the conference room. Chief Technology Officer Mark Thompson suddenly stood up: "I know your technology is strong, but—"

"Mark!" Andrew sharply cut him off, turning to Ms. Emerald, "What does your company want?"

"It's simple." Ms. Emerald's projection walked to the window, and the glass became transparent again.

"Those three undeveloped mineral veins in the Pilbara region of Western Australia." She turned, a business-like smile on her face, "Of course, we will pay 10% above market price for the mining rights."

Andrew's communicator suddenly vibrated. An urgent message from the security chief: Radar detected 12 unidentified aircraft hovering at the edge of their airspace, traveling at Mach 8. The Ministry of Defense has raised the alert level.

"Is this a threat?" Andrew asked through gritted teeth.

"How could it be?" Ms. Emerald raised an eyebrow in surprise, "It's just a routine training escort formation that got lost." Her projection suddenly leaned closer, "However... if the contract isn't signed before noon tomorrow, they might really 'stray' into your airspace."

The holographic display suddenly switched, showing a three-dimensional map of the entire Southern Cross Federation. Seven red dots were flickering, each marking the location of a strategic military base.

"Speaking of which..." Ms. Emerald casually scrolled through the screen, "The military base at Darwin Port has been testing a new type of radar recently? What a coincidence, the company's R&D department just happens to have a new technology it wants to test..."

Andrew's back was already drenched in cold sweat. He looked out the window, as if seeing the three "dark crows" that had recently buried the combined fleet suddenly climb vertically, leaving three ferocious contrails in the sky at ten thousand meters.

"I need to... consult the Prime Minister." His voice was so dry it didn't sound like his own.

"Of course." Ms. Emerald nodded elegantly, "Prime Minister Dutton is waiting for you online."

The screen switched, and the scene of the Prime Minister's office appeared. Dutton sat with a grim face in front of the national flag, with the Minister of Defense and the Air Force Commander standing behind him.

"Andrew..." The Prime Minister's voice was utterly weary, "I just finished reading the Ministry of Defense's assessment report." He held up a tablet, which displayed a test video of the "Candle Dragon" reactor provided by the Interstellar Peace Corporation.

A small device was powering the entire Parliament House in Canberra.

"What they're offering is simply..." The Prime Minister's Adam's apple bobbed, "...too much. We simply cannot refuse."

Ms. Emerald's figure reappeared on the screen: "To show our sincerity..." She lightly tapped the device on her wrist, and the Prime Minister's tablet suddenly received a new message. "This is an additional employment plan: a total of fifty thousand high-paying jobs in new mines and resource export-related companies, with Australian employees prioritized."

The Minister of Defense suddenly interjected: "Those aircraft..."

"Oh, them?" Ms. Emerald showed a look of sudden understanding, "Training has concluded, and they are returning to base." She tilted her head, "Unless... your side wishes them to stay for tomorrow's parade?"

The Prime Minister's pen dropped to the floor. He looked at Andrew, giving a subtle nod.

"The deal is done." Andrew gave up struggling.

Ms. Emerald's smile instantly became sincere: "A wise choice." She waved her finger, and the contract text immediately popped up on the holographic screen, "The Candle Dragon Reactor will be delivered within three hours of signing. I hope you can prepare the physical contract before then."

As Andrew tremblingly signed his name, the sky outside the window had returned to calm. Only the three lingering contrails above the harbor reminded everyone of what had just transpired.

Chief Financial Officer Catherine suddenly exclaimed: "Our account... Oh my god!" She pointed at the suddenly increased numbers, "The advance payment has arrived!"

Andrew looked at the long string of zeros in the account balance and suddenly understood the Prime Minister's choice. This wasn't surrender; it was pragmatism in the face of a technological gap.

Meanwhile, at the Nova United States' Starlight Command, the focus was somewhat different. Minister of Defense Lloyd Austin's fist slammed heavily on the tactical table, making the holographic projection tremble slightly.

In the satellite footage, hundreds of large cargo ships bearing the Interstellar Peace Corporation's logo were sailing out of various ports in the Emerald Ocean, forming a torrent of steel on the Yongning Ocean.

"This is impossible!" He turned to the Director of Intelligence, "Recheck the data!"

"It's been confirmed three times, Mr. Minister." Director of Intelligence John Redmond brought up a set of real-time footage, "They are not only purchasing new metals, but also frantically acquiring scrap metal globally."

The scene switched to Jinta Port in the Emerald Principality. Tens of thousands of tons of scrapped cars and ship wrecks piled up like mountains, with dozens of giant nano-disassemblers at work. These devices, shaped like huge hexagonal beehives, continuously "devoured" the discarded metal, while the other end spat out gleaming standard metal ingots.

"They've established twelve such super recycling plants in Jinta Port in the Emerald Principality and Songkhla's port industrial city in the Golden Buddha Federation." Redmond zoomed in on the red dots on the map, "From the European Union's scrapped warships to Eastern Federation's old railway tracks, everything is being shipped here."

Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Mark Milley suddenly pointed at another screen: "Wait, what's that?"

The magnified image showed a scene at Laem Chabang Port. A rusty, decommissioned North Steel aircraft carrier was being "eaten away" by nano-disassemblers, while new Interstellar Peace Corporation cargo ships were docked nearby, loading the recycled metal ingots.

"That's the 'Minsk'..." The Chief of Naval Operations exclaimed, "We've been tracking that transaction for three months! North Steel claimed it was sold to a Turkish shipbreaking yard!"

Minister of Finance Yellen suddenly brought up a set of economic data: "In that case, the market reaction makes sense." She pointed to the trend chart of the Fog City Metal Exchange, "Although copper prices have surged by 300%, prices for metals like aluminum and nickel have remained flat. Now it's clear, they filled the gap with recycled metal."

Minister of Energy Granholm suddenly thought of something: "Wait... if they can achieve this efficiency in the recycling process..." Her voice trailed off, "Then the actual construction speed of that offshore platform they're claiming, 'Gui Xu'..."

The conference room suddenly fell silent, everyone realizing a terrifying truth. The Interstellar Peace Corporation's demonstrated construction capabilities might only be the tip of the iceberg.

"The most terrifying thing is this." Redmond brought up the latest satellite images, "They have almost zero pollution in the recycling process." The images showed lush greenery around the nano-disassemblers, a stark contrast to traditional steel mills billowing black smoke.

"They've completely cornered the environmental card too." Yellen gave a wry smile, "Now environmental organizations in the European Union are calling for learning from their 'sustainable construction model'."

Director Burns suddenly received an urgent communication, his face changing dramatically: "Just received word, the Interstellar Peace Corporation just acquired three large scrap metal traders... paying with their own credit points. Also, some employees of those three traders have been notified to go to the two industrial cities in the Emerald Ocean for training, and then to various parts of the world to acquire all sorts of resources."

"This has gone beyond the scope of business." Minister Austin stood up, his voice hoarse, "They are restructuring the entire planet's resource circulation system."

Just then, an alarm suddenly blared. The security officer rushed in: "Emergency! The Southern Cross Federation government has just announced that it will lease Darwin Port to the Interstellar Peace Corporation for 99 years, as an 'environmental technology cooperation project'!"

On the holographic map, another red dot lit up, connecting with the Siam Strait and Jinta Port.