264: Chapter 264 Crisis Turns into Immense Wealth: Interstellar Speculator Su Che Makes His Debut!

Interstellar War Command meeting room.

The air was heavy, like lead.

Commander-in-Chief Wang Xueshan sat at one end of the long table, with a huge star map projection behind him.

Li Chengwen, Zhang Zhiyue, Xiao Jingrong, Senior Colonel He Zhiqiang, Captain Li Jun, and Instructor Han Tiefeng—generals who were usually louder than one another—were all sitting quietly at this moment.

Seventeen staff members from different fields sat on both sides. The data pads in front of everyone were lit, but no one reached out to swipe them.

Su Che pushed the door open and entered, with Kaila following behind him.

He walked straight to the main seat and sat down, his gaze sweeping across the room.

"Everyone should have received the news just sent from the radar bay.„

Su Che's voice was very flat, without a ripple.

"Seventy-two light-years away, an unknown fleet of eighty-two ships is heading our way, arriving in seven days.„

He handed the floor to Kaila.

Kaila stepped forward and called up the fleet formation captured by the radar.

"According to signal characteristic analysis, the flagship is about eight kilometers long, reaching the standards of a Level 3 Civilization warship. The other escort ships vary in size, but the formation is orderly.„

"It is presumed to be a military fleet of a Level 3 Civilization.„

Zhang Zhiyue's heavy breathing was exceptionally clear in the quiet meeting room.

He raised his hand and pressed down firmly on the tabletop.

"A Level 3 Civilization... how many cards do we have to play right now?„

Xiao Jingrong pushed up his glasses. On the data pad in front of him, a list of all currently unlocked functions of Genesis had already been listed.

"On the defensive side, the newly unlocked full-coverage energy shield is our only hope.„

"On the offensive side, we only have basic close-in weapon systems. Both range and power are limited. Dealing with a fleet of this scale is as good as having nothing.„

"In terms of mobility, the mothership's navigation system hasn't been unlocked yet. We can't even fly, so we can't run away.„

To sum it up in six words: can't fight, can't run.

Senior Colonel He Zhiqiang stood up, his military uniform crisp.

"Chief Engineer Su, Commander-in-Chief Wang Xueshan, I request to immediately initiate the highest-intensity combat readiness training.„

"Three hundred new pilots have just boarded the ship. Seven days is barely enough time to even get familiar with the cockpit, but we must race against time.„

Commander-in-Chief Wang Xueshan spoke in a deep voice.

"All combat personnel, cancel your leave and enter the training center. Instructor Han Tiefeng, you decide the training plan, and push the intensity to the maximum.„

He looked at the scientist representatives present.

"For all unlocked war and auxiliary systems, the relevant personnel must achieve human-machine integration within three days. During wartime, your posts may be adjusted at any time as needed.„

In the meeting room, no one had any objections.

A tragic atmosphere was spreading.

Just then, Kaila, who had been silent, suddenly spoke up.

"Chief, perhaps... we can contact the Star Speaker.„

Everyone's eyes were focused on her.

"As a native advanced civilization in the Milky Way, the Kairos Civilization should have some understanding of forces in other star systems. Since this fleet is a Level 3 Civilization, they might possess relevant intelligence.„

This was like seeing a glimmer of light in a dark tunnel.

Su Che stood up.

"Go to the communications bay.„

...

In the communications bay, Engineer Yang Wanli and his team were already standing by.

As Su Che's group walked in, the atmosphere instantly became tense.

"Engineer Yang Wanli, contact the Kairos Civilization Diplomatic Liaison Department.„

"Yes!„

Engineer Yang Wanli operated the console rapidly. An encrypted signal was encoded and aimed at the direction of the Perseus Arm.

The signal indicator light turned on and began to flash.

"Chief,„ Kaila explained from the side, "with Genesis's current communication system, even if we enable the relay amplification at full power, it will still take an hour and a half for the signal to travel fifteen thousand light-years to reach Kairos.„

"But we receive their signal return instantaneously.„

Su Che frowned. An hour and a half—the opportunity would be long gone by then.

He walked to the console, faced the communicator, and spoke concisely.

"I am the Captain of Genesis and Chief Consultant of Kairos, Su Che. I request an immediate transfer to the highest diplomatic official, the Star Speaker. There is an urgent matter.„

After speaking, he turned off the communicator.

Next was a long wait.

Su Che paced back and forth in the communications bay, unable to suppress the agitation in his heart.

He asked the system in his consciousness.

"Wasn't it quite fast when we first contacted them? Can we open that special channel again?„

"[It is possible.]

The system's reply was concise.

"[But the energy consumption is huge, and frequently using a communication method that far exceeds the understanding of a Level 3 Civilization will increase the risk of your identity being exposed.]

"[Unless necessary, it is not recommended.]

Su Che curled his lips and could only wait patiently.

Kaila noticed his impatience. "Chief, you can record all the questions you want to ask into a single message and send it over. This way, you can take advantage of their instant reply feature to save a round of waiting time.„

Su Che thought it made sense, but he didn't even know who the other party was right now; what could he ask?

He could only wait.

An hour and a half felt longer than a century.

Finally, the indicator light on the communicator changed from flashing to solid.

Engineer Yang Wanli stood up straight abruptly.

"There is a reply!„

A peaceful Kairos voice sounded, translated into Chinese by the simultaneous interpretation system.

"Respected Chief Consultant, your communication request has been received. The identification code of Genesis has been confirmed as correct. We are transferring you to the Star Speaker; please wait.„

The efficiency was very high.

In less than ten seconds, the Star Speaker's calm and heavy voice connected.

"Chief Consultant Su Che, my friend, what kind of urgent matter has caused you to use the highest priority contact authorization?„

Su Che quickly explained the current situation, focusing on the scale of the fleet and the size of the flagship.

Another hour and a half later, a voice finally came from the other side.

"Hehe...„ the Star Speaker laughed. "So it was them who arrived. My friend, please do not be nervous; they are not enemies.„

Not enemies?

"That is the Karel Coalition from the Large Magellanic Cloud, a... trade fleet.„

A trade fleet?

Su Che's mind couldn't quite turn around.

"They are indeed coming for you, but the purpose is to conduct trade.„

The Star Speaker's next words stunned everyone present.

"Some time ago, the Karel Coalition had a technical exchange with us, and they were very surprised by the breakthroughs Kairos had made in certain fields.„

"In the conversation, I sold the intelligence that you... possess a full set of peak Level 3 Civilization technical data to their fleet commander.„

"The other party offered an extremely high price, and I found it difficult to refuse.„

Su Che's eyelid twitched.

This old fox had sold his information!

"Of course, as a friend, I upheld the bottom line.„

The Star Speaker's voice carried a smile. "I did not directly resell the technology you gave me, but guided them to purchase directly from you, the 'original owner'.„

"At the same time, to express my apology, I have entrusted the Karel trade fleet to bring you half of the proceeds from this intelligence transaction, totaling one million tons of various rare interstellar ores.„

"However, I also have a small request: the technology you sell to them must not exceed the quantity and level of what you provided to us.„

In the communications bay, you could hear a pin drop.

One million tons... of rare interstellar ores?

And that was only half the proceeds?

Doesn't that mean that even before he had shown his face, the news that he had 'goods' was worth two million tons of rare ores?

What kind of space tycoon is this!

Su Che felt his heart being gripped by an invisible hand, and then thrown into a honey pot.

A false alarm, and... a massive fortune had fallen upon him?

"System, can technical data be sold?„ he asked quickly in his heart.

"[Yes.]

"[For unlocked technology, you can copy it with a data disk at any time.]

"[Kairos did not violate the agreement to resell the technology; they just acted as an information intermediary, which is already considered keeping to the rules. The trading restrictions proposed by the Star Speaker are also logical.]

Su Che felt relieved.

He spoke to the communicator, his tone returning to calm.

"I understand, Star Speaker. Thank you for your honesty.„

Ending the communication, Su Che turned around and looked at the stunned faces in the meeting room.

"Did you all hear that?„

Commander-in-Chief Wang Xueshan was the first to react, letting out a long sigh, his whole body looking as if a heavy burden had been lifted.

"Damn it... I thought I had to prepare to write my will.„

Zhang Zhiyue slapped his thigh. "After all that, it's the God of Wealth who has come knocking!„

Su Che's mouth hooked into an arc.

The crisis was gone, and the opportunity had come.

He quickly calculated in his mind.

He couldn't sell too much at once; ten pieces of technical data at most. He had to make it a long-term business.

Moreover, just selling technology wasn't enough; he had to bundle it with something else.

"Commander-in-Chief Wang Xueshan,„ Su Che said, "the combat readiness training will continue as usual, but change the purpose to a military parade to welcome foreign guests.„

"In addition, have the staff draft a proposal for a mutual defense agreement, and a copyright agreement for technology transfer.„

He looked at the crowd. "Business must be done, but the rules must be set. As long as they don't play any tricks in the early stages, we will do this deal.„

...

Over the next seven days, the atmosphere on Genesis changed from sword-drawn and bow-bent to bustling with excitement.

Su Che was not idle either; he spent most of his time familiarizing himself with the various unlocked systems.

This day, he took Kaila into the simulation cockpit and asked for advice on the ins and outs of interstellar travel.

"Kaila, I still don't quite understand the issue of jump anchors and segmented jumps you mentioned last time. Isn't your 'Messenger' ship very fast?„

Kaila called up a holographic animation and demonstrated it.

"Chief, a single spaceship performing a Space Jump has very few restrictions.„

"Because the spatial force field it generates is relatively singular, it can be completed quickly, whether for short or long distances. This is suitable for reconnaissance, messengers, or 'envoys' traveling alone like you.„

She pointed to the dense ship models in the animation.

"But a mixed fleet cannot do that. If eighty-two ships jump separately, the arrival time and landing points will have deviations, making them very easy to ambush.„

"Moreover, performing jumps in the same airspace continuously will cause the accumulation of spatial distortion, leading to accidents for subsequent ships.„

Kaila paused, caught her breath, and continued.

"Therefore, for large-scale fleet maneuvers, pre-arranged anchors will uniformly coordinate the jump force fields of all ships, ensuring that the entire fleet can arrive in the same airspace simultaneously.„

"Setting up anchors and then relaying jumps naturally lengthens the total travel time. The larger the fleet, the slower it is.„

Su Che understood.

"What about a super-large fleet of thousands of ships?„

"Then you must rely on permanent Space Jump gates preset between star systems to complete cluster deployment.„

Seven days passed in a flash.

This morning, Su Che was looking at the second-phase plan of the Dyson Cloud project in his office.

The communicator rang; it was Chen Jingzhou.

"Chief Engineer Su! They have arrived!„

Su Che put down the data pad.

"Location?„

"They have collectively performed a Space Jump into the Solar System, less than one billion kilometers away from us! They are approaching at a conventional cruising speed, expected to arrive within two hours!„

As soon as he finished speaking, Engineer Yang Wanli's communication also came in.

"Report! There is an external signal request from outside the Earth-Moon system!„

Su Che stood up and straightened his collar.

They were here.

He walked towards the communications bay with long strides. Commander-in-Chief Wang Xueshan, Zhang Zhiyue, and others were already waiting there.

Su Che walked to the main console and nodded to Engineer Yang Wanli.

"Connect it.„

On the holographic screen, after some static, a clear image of a humanoid creature appeared.

The other party was also wearing a silver uniform, but their skin was pale purple, and their ears were pointed, several times longer than a human's.

Su Che didn't wait for the other party to speak. He took the initiative, using a flat yet supremely majestic tone.

"Hello, Karel fleet commander.„

"I am an envoy of the Level 4 Civilization humans who traveled through time from 100,000 years in the future.„

He leaned forward slightly, his gaze seeming to pierce through the screen.

"As a vassal force of human civilization 100,000 years in the future, are you here to pay tribute to me?„