75: The wind rises from the tip of a blade of grass.

"Boss, the detector has a signal!"

Lao Mo's voice shattered the hours-long dead silence in the command room.

Chen Feng abruptly stood up from his chair, his bloodshot eyes fixed intently on the main screen. The last deep-space detector at the edge of the galaxy had transmitted its final image before the signal was lost.

In the footage, Xing Zhan's battered 'Scavenger' fleet, like a pack of wild dogs startled by hunters, showed no signs of stopping. Their heading was not toward Giant Star Mining's headquarters, but rather a remote border military transit station.

The next second, the image was torn apart by the spatial distortion generated by the jump engines, dissolving into static.

"They... ran away?" Reno's voice carried a hint of disbelief.

"Ran away," Chen Feng's voice was hoarse as he leaned back in his chair, his nerves, which had been taut for over thirty hours, finally relaxing. "And they ran away with their tails between their legs."

"To a military transit station? Why wouldn't he return to headquarters?" Lao Mo asked, puzzled.

Chen Feng lit a cigarette, took a deep drag, and exhaled smoke that blurred the exhaustion on his face. "Return to headquarters? To tell his superiors that he led an elite force and was toyed with by 'rabble' from a godforsaken mining district, without even getting through the base gates?"

He sneered lightly. "Reno, if you were Xing Zhan, what would you do?"

Reno was taken aback for a moment before understanding dawned on him, a ferocious smile spreading across his face. "I'd go to the transit station, repair the ships, replenish the personnel, and then fabricate a flawless report, pinning all the blame on that dead man Bachm. For example, Bachm colluded with external enemies, blew up the mining district, and perished together with my unit after a fierce battle."

"Exactly right," Chen Feng stubbed out his cigarette. "So, we've bought ourselves time. Not much, but at least a month, maybe even longer. Within a month, Giant Star Mining won't send anyone else."

This conclusion instantly lightened the atmosphere in the command room. A month's breathing room was more precious than gold to the newly established Hanhai Trade.

"Excellent!" Reno slammed the table excitedly. "Boss, let's start expanding our forces immediately! Use all our resources—within a month, I can assemble a five-hundred-strong fleet Guard Team for you!"

"No." Chen Feng's reply was crisp and decisive, like a bucket of cold water poured over Reno's head.

"What?" Reno's smile froze on his face.

Chen Feng ignored his bewilderment and turned to Eileen. "Notify all department heads—highest-level meeting in ten minutes."

Ten minutes later, the long table in the command room was filled with Hanhai Trade's Makeshift Leadership.

Chen Feng got straight to the point. "There's only one agenda item today. From now on, the highest-priority task for all departments of Hanhai Trade is to find this woman—Su Li."

On the screen appeared Su Li's ID photo, retrieved from the archives, showing a hint of stubbornness and aloofness.

"Find someone?" Reno was the first to stand up, his voice rough with agitation. "Boss, I disagree! What time is this? Xing Zhan could return at any moment! Giant Star Mining's retaliation is hanging over our heads! We should spend every cent and every resource on expanding our military and preparing for war, not on looking for a... a woman who's been missing for over a decade!"

As soon as his words fell, they immediately sparked whispers among several department heads. Clearly, Reno's sentiment represented the majority in the room—safety was the top priority.

Facing almost everyone's doubts, Chen Feng didn't get angry; he didn't even change his expression. He simply looked calmly at Reno and asked, "Reno, tell me, where will the money for expansion come from? Where will the equipment come from? Where will the energy to maintain a fleet come from?"

"From mining, of course! We have an entire planet's worth of undead crystals!" Reno answered confidently.

"Good," Chen Feng nodded and gestured across the screen. Instantly, data charts popped up, covering the entire screen.

"This is our balance sheet and productivity chart for the twenty days since we took control of the mining district," Chen Feng's voice echoed in the silent command room, cold and clear.

"See? Our total assets peaked in the first three days, then declined continuously for seventeen days. Our production efficiency is only 70% of what it was under Bachm, while the accident rate has increased by 200%! Our per capita output is even lower than when you were slaves!"

Chen Feng stood up, walked over to Reno, and said word by word, "We're sitting on a gold mine, yet we're slowly starving to death. Tell me, what will we use to expand our military? Rely on the hundred guns in your hands?"

Reno's face flushed red, his lips trembling, but he couldn't utter a single word. Those cold data were more persuasive than any weapon.

"We need a brain," Chen Feng's voice softened slightly, but its weight grew heavier. "A brain that can turn ore into money, make money generate more money, and increase the value of resources within our system. We need a real commercial system, not a larger makeshift operation."

He turned and looked back at the face on the screen.

"This woman, Su Li, once managed 'Stardust Logistics,' whose annual profits were a hundred times our current total assets. The enemies she fought were the Omni-Dimensional Trade Alliance, whose very name fills us with fear."

Chen Feng's gaze swept over everyone, finally settling on Reno.

"Her hatred is the best pledge we can offer to all the oppressed across the universe. Her wisdom is the sharpest blade we can thrust into our enemies' hearts."

"I don't need just an army to guard the mines."

"I need a key that can move the stars."

"And she is that key."

Seeing the almost burning fire in Chen Feng's eyes, Reno finally understood. He slowly sat down, lowered his head, and said in a near-oath-like tone, "I understand, boss. The Security Department... all members are at your command."

The atmosphere in the meeting instantly reversed.

After the plan was unanimously approved, Chen Feng didn't waste a second. In front of everyone, he logged into the Interstellar Exchange interface.

But he didn't post a 'Find Su Li' task.

"Task type: Information procurement. Target: All publicly available news, shipping records, missing persons reports, pirate attack records, and internal personnel movements of the Omni-Dimensional Trade Alliance from five years before to five years after the fall of the 'Stardust Logistics—Su Clan' family, across all relevant star sectors... Budget: unlimited."

Task posted.

Instantly, encrypted data streams flooded into Hanhai Trade's temporary servers like a breached dam, pouring in like snowflakes.

"Lao Mo, Eileen," Chen Feng ordered, "lead all available personnel to start filtering and cross-referencing the data. I want to see the first effective report in the shortest time possible."

"Yes!"

The meeting ended, and everyone left with unprecedented shock and a hint of bewilderment. Only Chen Feng remained in the command room.

He stood alone before the massive virtual star map, where the light representing Hanhai Trade flickered weakly at the location of Ashen Earth Star. Surrounding it was a vast, suffocating darkness representing Giant Star Mining and the Omni-Dimensional Trade Alliance.

The decision to find Su Li was like the first stone thrown into this dark lake.

No one knew whether it would stir ripples of hope or summon a deathly vortex from the abyss.