65: The New King's Ledger

"No, we aren't turtles."

Chen Feng's voice echoed in the silent command room. He turned to face Reno and the newly arrived, excited Lao Mo.

"We are wasps who have taken over the hive. Now, let's take stock of our new assets and see how many 'stingers' we have available."

Without the slightest hesitation, his gaze swept over the two, his tone calm but carrying unquestionable authority.

"From this moment on, I declare that 'Hanhai Trade' is officially established."

"Reno."

"Present!" Reno subconsciously straightened his posture.

"I appoint you as the Security Director of Hanhai Trade, with full responsibility for the base's armed forces and defenses. Your men will be our first shield."

"Yes! I guarantee the mission's completion!" Reno's voice trembled slightly with excitement as he struck his chest firmly—a warrior's most solemn promise.

Chen Feng nodded and then looked at Lao Mo.

"Lao Mo."

"Huh? Present, present!" Lao Mo rubbed his hands together, looking a bit awkward.

"I appoint you as the Technical Director. You will be in charge of the maintenance, modification, and research and development of all equipment and weapons. I need you to squeeze the value out of every piece of scrap metal here."

"Don't you worry!" A startling brilliance burst from Lao Mo's eyes. "As long as there are enough parts, I can build you an iron legion!"

"Very well," Chen Feng said succinctly. "Now, Directors, show me our assets."

The first stop was the armory.

Reno pushed open the heavy alloy doors. Rows of well-maintained military-grade energy rifles and heavy blasters were neatly displayed on racks, emitting a cold metallic luster.

"This is the equipment of Bachm's private guard; it's more than a grade higher than our Guard Team's standard gear," Reno introduced. "Ammunition and energy pack reserves are sufficient to support a high-intensity battle."

"Not enough, still not good enough." Lao Mo shook his head, running his hand over the body of a blaster as if caressing a lover. "The structure is redundant, and the energy efficiency is too low. Give me three days, and I can increase their single-shot energy by fifteen percent. By adding a simple electromagnetic stabilization module, I can also improve the accuracy."

"He can also link up with the industrial equipment in the mining area," Lao Mo said, becoming more excited as he spoke. "By connecting the energy cores of the large cutting machines, we could even modify them into several simple defensive turrets!"

"I'm giving you full authority over the armory," Chen Feng decided on the spot. "I only care about results."

"You got it!"

The second stop was the energy storage depot.

Looking at the reserve levels displayed on the main control computer, Reno's face turned grim.

"Bastard! The actual reserves are at least forty percent less than what's on the books!" He slammed a fist onto the control console. "That parasite Bachm secretly sold off all this energy!"

"This is bad news, but it's also good news." Chen Feng looked at the glaring deficit, yet his eyes remained exceptionally calm.

"How is this good news?" Reno asked, puzzled.

"Because this is the best public announcement," Chen Feng said faintly. "Send this data comparison chart to everyone. Tell them that the old ruler stole the energy they depend on for survival, and we will take back what belongs to them, bit by bit. People's hearts are sometimes more important than energy."

Reno froze for a moment, then nodded heavily, his eyes filled with admiration.

Back in the command room, Chen Feng walked straight to Bachm's private console.

"Lao Mo, help me unlock his personal database."

"A piece of cake."

A few minutes later, as the final layer of the firewall was breached, a massive flood of data was revealed before Chen Feng. He filtered through it rapidly, and soon, his finger stopped.

"Found it."

On the screen lay a vein survey report marked as 'Top Secret.' The report showed that the actual reserves of 'undead crystals' in the entire Mining Area No. 7 were more than seven times the public data of Giant Star Mining and the data reported by Bachm! Deep within this bled-dry planet lay a mountain of gold sufficient to make any high-dimensional civilization envious.

"This guy hid it so deep," Reno gasped.

"That's not all." Chen Feng pulled up another file, which was full of encrypted communication records between Bachm and a certain superior director. It detailed evidence of how they collaborated to falsify accounts, squeeze the mining area's profits, and shift all blame onto aging equipment and the laziness of Mine Slaves.

"Now, we even have the content for the announcement." A cold sneer curled at the corner of Chen Feng's mouth. His gaze finally landed on the encrypted data chip seized from the secretary, Rio.

"Connect this."

A technician carefully connected the chip to the decoding device.

Lao Mo stepped forward, his hands flying across the keyboard. A few minutes later, he stopped, drenched in sweat, and shook his head helplessly.

"It's no good, Boss. This is Giant Star Mining's military-grade 'Chainmail' encryption algorithm; every data block is a variable. Without a specialized decoding matrix, trying to force it open with our equipment will only cause it to self-destruct."

"Is that so?" Chen Feng wasn't disappointed. He unplugged the chip and inserted it into his personal terminal.

[High-intensity encrypted information carrier detected. Consume 80,000 interstellar credit points to enable 'Deep Information Analysis' service? Estimated time: 3 hours and 24 minutes.]

"Enable." Chen Feng chose to confirm without hesitation.

"Boss, this is..." Reno looked at the complex flow of light on Chen Feng's terminal, which he completely failed to understand, his face full of confusion.

"A trustworthy helper." Chen Feng didn't explain much.

Looking at the high cost (though he didn't know what the units were, Chen Feng's serious expression said it all), Reno couldn't help but ask, "Is it worth paying such a high price for a chip of unknown origin?"

"Reno, remember." Chen Feng watched the decoding progress bar slowly ticking on the screen, his voice low and clear. "There are usually only two types of things a dying man will risk his life to protect."

"Either it's the final straw that can save his life..."

"Or it's his most terrifying incriminating evidence."

"Regardless of which it is," a sharp cold light flashed in Chen Feng's eyes, "it has inestimable value for us."

During the long wait for the decoding, the command room did not rest for a moment. Chen Feng pulled up the base's defense deployment map and began to formulate the first version of the defense plan against Xing Zhan's forces with Reno, Lao Mo, and the others, based on the assets they had just inventoried.

The sounds of arguments, calculations, and commands rose and fell.

Just as they were discussing how to use the terrain to set traps, Chen Feng's personal terminal emitted a soft 'ding.'

[Deep Information Analysis complete.]

Everyone's voices stopped abruptly, and their gazes all shot toward Chen Feng.

Chen Feng opened the file.

A title slowly surfaced on the screen.

"The 'Cleaner' Protocol and the List of Illegal Disposal of Su Clan Logistics Assets."

An unfamiliar name and a blood-scented phrase caused the air in the command room to freeze instantly. Chen Feng knew that what he had inadvertently pried open was perhaps an abyss far more terrifying than Bachm and Xing Zhan combined.