467: Some progress has been made.

Five days after the launch of the "Destiny Restoration" plan, the surface of New Eden remained chaotic, but a thin trickle of an undercurrent began to quietly brew in certain corners.

The Sisterhood did not immediately reveal their brand-new ships, nor did they publicly claim to have received blessings from the legendary ancestors.

They took a more discreet approach.

Their targets were those among the six major Empires who had not yet been completely consumed by hatred and greed, and who felt weary, skeptical, or even despairing of the boundless chaos and internal strife before them.

These people were scattered everywhere.

They might be mid-level generals in some imperial border sector who feigned compliance with central Orders while only wanting to protect their territory and people. They might be technocrats or industrialists within the Federation, worried about endless commercial infighting and the trend toward warlordism.

They might be moderate Elders in the Republic who were tired of tribal blood feuds and longed for a stable environment, or officials and scholars in the Gallente, the Human Union, and the Earth Federation who still adhered to reason or humanitarianism.

Using its traditional exploration networks and channels, the Sisterhood provided medical supplies and food to border colonies suffering from pirate raids or warlord oppression, or repaired damaged communication relays.

Although this help was not much, it solved urgent needs.

When the recipients were surprised by the advancement and selflessness of the technology and tried to make further contact, the Sisterhood's liaisons would appear.

They wouldn't give any flashy speeches; they simply stated a fact: the chaos of New Eden stemmed from the collapse of the old Order and the absence of a new one.

Major powers were busy with internal strife and self-preservation, unable and unwilling to establish a set of public rules that could guarantee basic security.

The chains of hatred and suspicion were tightening, eventually dragging everyone down.

"We are not seeking to replace any power," the liaisons would say. "We simply believe it's time for someone to step up and end this senseless chaos."

"Our goal is not to rule but to coordinate, not to plunder but to safeguard. To safeguard the most basic navigation routes between core sectors, to arbitrate frictions so they don't lead to all-out war, and to strike at pirate groups that threaten everyone."

"To allow trade and knowledge to flow again, at least within a limited scope."

At first, most contacts scoffed at this, considering it a fantasy.

But when the Sisterhood's liaisons inadvertently showed a little "sincerity," suspicion began to waver.

It might be a design for a small energy focuser that could significantly improve the efficiency of existing mining lasers, or a stress distribution algorithm that could drastically reduce structural fatigue in small ships.

When they hinted that this was just the tip of the iceberg of the technology they possessed for "construction" rather than "destruction," more and more people were swayed.

A conceptual neutral coordination organization took shape, its core members limited to those who joined voluntarily and were willing to abide by the basic charter.

No using weapons of mass destruction against civilian systems, no initiating wars of extermination, and maintaining a minimum level of intelligence sharing among members to deal with common threats.

It did not require members to give up their sovereignty or interests; it only required coordinated action when public safety was involved. In return, members would have the opportunity to communicate and cooperate in a relatively safe and protected environment.

They might even receive technical support from the Sisterhood in certain "sensitive" Domains.

Order above hatred, cooperation over confrontation. This sentence became the core slogan of the Sisterhood's secret diplomacy.

It did not incite revolution or advocate conquest; it simply provided a foothold in the mire of despair.

For mid-to-lower-level power players exhausted by internal infighting and external threats with no way out, this faintly revealed light of Order and tangible benefits held an irresistible attraction.

Of course, there was progress, but it was slow because the resistance was still immense.

Vested interests of the old powers, fanatical nationalists or religious extremists, and warlords and pirates who profited from chaos were all natural enemies.

But the Sisterhood showed amazing patience and resilience; they were like a swarm of silent worker bees, building a hive bit by bit in the cracks of a decaying giant tree.

While the "Destiny Restoration" plan progressed steadily, Dr. Aria and her small team also reported their progress to the ancestors periodically through the Star Track, which they regarded as a sacred gate.

In the documents, Dr. Aria, in a tone full of awe and enthusiasm, described how they carefully sowed the seeds of peace and how they used the bestowed knowledge as bait to attract individuals and groups who still possessed reason and conscience.

She portrayed this series of actions as a direct practice of the ancestors' teachings that "wisdom should serve life and Order," and as part of their destiny... In Penacony, when Wang Yin's personal terminal received this lengthy report-cum-prayer, he was in a restaurant with Dai Xing, tasting uniquely shaped molecular cuisine while discussing their upcoming end of vacation and the work they would face upon return.

"Oh, it's here." Wang Yin glanced at the terminal notification, tapped it open, and scanned it quickly.

Dai Xing leaned over to take a look: "Whoa, it's getting longer. Looking at the content, is she reporting her duties to you?"

"Let me see, 'sowing the seeds of Order,' 'building a neutral framework'... Are they for real? Planning to set up an interstellar peacekeeping force in New Eden?"

"Seems like it," Wang Yin said indistinctly while chewing his food. "The idea is actually good, better than just killing."

He scrolled to the end and saw Dr. Aria's request, "We hope the ancestors will show mercy and bestow another glimmer of light," and couldn't help but laugh.

"Well, she's here for New Year's money." He turned the screen toward Dai Xing.

Dai Xing also laughed: "Based on the previous part, she probably wants some technology related to protection and early warning, right? Following the general logic of power development, that's not a problem."

"Yeah, given their current level, giving them a little something will be enough."

"So, give them a bit more?" Wang Yin wiped his mouth. Since the dishes hadn't all arrived anyway, he might as well. "For protection, basic shield theory should do? For early warning, a shallow space detection network?"

"Sure, you write the theory, I'll draw the architecture." Dai Xing also got interested.

The two got straight to work.

Wang Yin brought up the design simulator and began to construct a "Theoretical Framework for Basic Shield System Enhancement" suitable for the Sisterhood's current energy levels and Materials science.

More efficiently allocating shield generator energy to deal with attacks of different natures—such as electromagnetic, thermal, kinetic, and explosive—using the ship's own structure as auxiliary capacitors and buffers, and setting up adaptive shield intensity adjustment logic based on attack patterns.

These principles were essentially the content of the first three chapters of an "Introductory Textbook on Energy Shields," but they were enough to significantly boost New Eden's current shield technology.

Dai Xing, on the other hand, conceived an "Architectural Concept for a Regional Shallow Space Early Warning Network."

Utilizing a few key systems controlled or influenced by the Sisterhood, a series of passive sensor buoys would be deployed. These buoys wouldn't actively scan; they would only monitor subtle disturbances in space, such as ripples from Warp Engine activations and abnormal mass movements, aggregating the information for analysis.

Limited by technology, the various powers in New Eden were actually in a state of fog of war within the systems they controlled. Except for a few planets and the vicinity of Star Gates, other places could be said to be non-existent unless someone was sent there.

By analogy, it was like a surface-era civilization losing satellite remote sensing, its information mastery taking a massive hit.

Back to the plan Dai Xing designed: although relatively primitive, it was enough to make the Sisterhood the first power capable of fully controlling all major states and information within a star system.

It took the two of them less than the time for a meal to organize these two textbooks and design blueprints.

Click, send.

"Done," Wang Yin put down his terminal. "This should be enough for them to digest for a long time."

"Probably calculated in years," Dai Xing laughed. "With that shield theory you gave, even if they only understand a tenth of it, the shield performance they produce will likely leave those iron turtles in New Eden in the dust."

"And my early warning network concept—if it's truly rolled out, they'll gain a massive intelligence advantage, at least within the systems they can control."

"With the things we gave them, it's enough for them to build the organization they want."

"Let them do whatever they want," Wang Yin waved his hand dismissively. "Anyway, the stuff's been given; how they play with it is their business."

"We've finished our meal. Where to next? I heard the Grand Theater has a new performance tonight, and several newly debuted 'Golden Flowers' are going to perform."

"Let's go!"