275: Chapter 275 A Wealthy Guest from Andromeda Arrives at the Door; Void Anchor Crystals Exchange for the Future!

Inside the communication cabin, the image of the grayish-white humanoid creature hovered silently on the main screen.

Two orbs of dark red light pulsed within his eye sockets.

Su Che rested his hands on the edge of the main console, his body leaning slightly forward.

"I am the captain of Genesis, Su Che."

His voice was encoded into a high-frequency signal via Engineer Yang Wanli's console and beamed toward coordinates one hundred light-years away.

After the signal was sent, the communication cabin fell into a brief silence.

Commander-in-Chief Wang Xueshan and Zhang Zhiyue stood behind Su Che, staring at the motionless alien envoy on the screen.

About half a minute later, the image on the screen finally reacted.

"Greetings, Captain Su Che. I am Valen Hughes, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Rosernia Empire of the Andromeda Galaxy's Florin race."

The other party's voice was converted into standard Chinese by the mothership's translation system, echoing instantly within the cabin without any delay.

The speed at which they received the other party's message this time was much faster than when they were chatting with that old fox, the Star Speaker, last time.

Su Che felt more confident and continued to ask.

"Deputy Minister Valen, to confirm, what is the size of your fleet?"

Another period of waiting followed.

On the screen, Valen Hughes seemed to be receiving and processing his question.

Half a minute later, the reply came.

"For this visit, there is only one ship, the diplomatic vessel 'Anselm,' which I am aboard."

A single ship.

Half of the weight on Su Che's mind lifted.

Kaila had previously explained to him that large-scale fleet interstellar maneuvers required pre-deployed Space Jump anchor points and segmented jumps, making the speed extremely slow.

Only a single mothership with independent long-range navigation capabilities could complete such ultra-long-distance jumps in a short time.

"Very good," Su Che said, straightening up. "We will provide you with a temporary diplomatic docking coordinate within the Solar System, five million kilometers away from us."

"After you arrive, you can take a shuttle ship over."

"Understood."

The communication was cut off, and the screen returned to the deep star map.

"Old Chen, send the coordinates over," Su Che said, turning his head to Engineer Yang Wanli at the other end of the communication cabin.

"Yes!"

"Let's go, we're heading to the radar room to keep an eye on things."

Su Che led the group out of the communication cabin and headed toward the radar room.

Less than twenty minutes later.

The radar room's alarm sounded.

"Report! A high-energy Space Jump reaction has been detected at the designated coordinates!"

Chen Jingzhou immediately switched the image captured by the radar to the main screen.

In the pitch-black space, a massive shadow appeared out of thin air, and the radar system instantly locked onto it with green data boxes.

[Target Identification: Anselm]

[Hull Length: 15.3 kilometers]

"My goodness..." Zhang Zhiyue leaned toward the screen. "It's even bigger than our ship, and this is just a single diplomatic vessel?"

Commander-in-Chief Wang Xueshan also wore a grave expression.

"Kaila, do you build Kairos ships this way too?" Su Che asked.

"Chief," Kaila stepped forward to explain, "Genesis and Anselm both belong to the category of comprehensive multi-purpose interstellar long-range navigation platforms."

"To support ultra-long-distance intergalactic travel without any resupply along the way, all systems—supplies, energy, combat, life support, and maintenance—must be integrated, so the size is inevitably quite large."

Su Che rubbed his chin. "With your late-stage Level 3 Civilization technology, building a ship ten or even a hundred times larger shouldn't be a problem, right? You could just pilot an asteroid over."

"It is technically feasible, but it is meaningless."

Kaila brought up a simulation animation of a Space Jump.

"If a ship's volume is too large, the energy consumption for Space Jumps, the accuracy requirements for anchor points, and the risk of spatial distortion increase exponentially, making it completely unsuitable for long-range raids."

She pointed at a planet-sized metal construct in the animation.

"Giant structures of that level are generally only used as fortresses or home ports in fixed star regions and cannot perform frequent Space Jumps."

"What about ships designed specifically for war?" Zhang Zhiyue asked.

"Warships are purely tactical units that prioritize mobility and swarm combat capabilities, so their volume is actually smaller."

Kaila paused. "They have their own supply ships, maintenance ships, and early-warning aircraft, forming a formation with the flagship to create a complete combat system."

As she was speaking, a gracefully designed shuttle ship detached from the distant Anselm and flew toward Genesis.

...

Interstellar War Command meeting room.

Su Che sat at the head of the table, with Commander-in-Chief Wang Xueshan and Zhang Zhiyue sitting on either side.

Valen Hughes walked in with ten attendants.

These ten attendants were also clad in dark gold uniforms, their steps uniform and synchronized.

Each of them exuded a soldier-like aura of lethality, with a much grander display than the previous Star Speaker and Commander Erwin.

Both sides exchanged simple greetings according to interstellar diplomatic etiquette.

After Valen Hughes took his seat, he went straight to the point.

"Captain Su Che, we learned that you possess technical data from the pinnacle of a Level 3 Civilization. This intelligence was sold to us by Commander Erwin of the Karel Union."

"Oh?" Su Che tapped his fingers on the table. "How much did he charge you?"

Valen Hughes's dark red eyes flickered.

"Trade secret. I cannot disclose it. I can only say that the price was enough to buy the mothership you are currently riding in."

Su Che cursed inwardly.

Those interstellar scalpers from the Karel Union are truly f*cking ruthless!

When the Star Speaker sold the intelligence to them, he only asked for two million tons of rare ore, but they flipped it for tens to a hundred times the price.

However, this also showed that the Rosernia Empire really wasn't short on money.

"Commander Erwin also mentioned to us your claim of coming from one hundred thousand years in the future," Valen Hughes continued. "Like them, we are not interested in your background; we only discuss immediate interests."

"Straightforward." Su Che leaned back in his chair. "Then let's talk business directly."

He held up two fingers.

"Twenty sets of Level 3 Civilization peak technical data, given randomly; you cannot specify the type."

"All technology is for the exclusive use of your Rosernia Empire and cannot be resold. We must sign a copyright agreement."

Valen Hughes nodded slightly. "Agreed."

"Additionally, there is one more thing." Su Che brought up the holographic star map, locking the view on the Triangulum Galaxy, 2.9 million light-years away.

"The Zerg, a peak Level 3 Civilization, are currently plundering resources on a massive scale, preparing to break through to Level 4."

"Our Milky Way, your Andromeda Galaxy, and the Large Magellanic Cloud are all on their plundering list."

Valen Hughes looked at the star map, his dark red eyes devoid of any ripples.

"We are aware of this intelligence as well."

"Very good," Su Che continued. "Currently, we have already reached an offensive and defensive alliance with the Kairos Federation and the Karel Union. If the Rosernia Empire joins as well, we can form a four-party pact."

"The Zerg expeditionary force is massive; even if they set out now, it would take a long time to reach any of our galaxies."

"After you receive the technical data, there will be a sufficient time window for you to digest and upgrade."

Valen Hughes was silent for a few seconds.

"An alliance is acceptable."

"There is one supplementary condition." Su Che stared at him. "I need the Rosernia Empire to dispatch one hundred scientists and engineers covering all core technological fields to Earth to assist us in technical research and development."

He had calculated this very clearly.

Earth's foundation was too thin; having blueprints alone was not enough. They needed enough high-end talent to provide guidance and assimilation.

Kairos had already provided one hundred people; as the strongest power, Rosernia had no reason not to contribute personnel.

Valen Hughes seemed to have anticipated that he would make this request.

"Agreed. After the transaction is completed, I will immediately transmit a message back to our home planet. Within one Earth year at the earliest, the expert team will arrive."

"Deal." Su Che slapped the table. "Now, tell me what price you can offer."

Valen Hughes made a gesture.

An attendant behind him stepped forward and placed a metal box shimmering with spatial ripples onto the table.

The box opened, and twenty crystals emitting a soft white light hovered silently within an energy force field.

"Twenty Void Anchor Crystals."

Kaila stood behind Su Che, her breath hitching for a moment when she saw these crystals.

"Chief."

She lowered her voice and quickly explained in Su Che's ear.

"Void Anchor Crystals naturally condense from spatial rifts under extreme spatial environments. They are the core stabilizing medium for building interstellar Space Jump gates. Their rarity and strategic value are definitely higher than Dark Energy Crystal Cores."

"A single Anchor Crystal can support the stable operation of a small to medium-sized star region jump gate, and multiple crystals connected in series can build a large-scale intergalactic jump hub."

Su Che felt a surge of excitement.

Good heavens, if they gathered enough of these things, wouldn't Earth be able to just open a door and arrive anywhere in the future?

"Inspect the goods." Su Che tilted his head toward Kaila.

Kaila stepped forward and scanned one of the Void Anchor Crystals with a portable device.

"Energy signature and spatial curvature parameters all match; it is authentic."

"Very good." Su Che took out twenty pre-prepared data disks from his pocket and pushed them to the center of the table.

Attendants from both sides stepped forward to count and hand over the items.

After the agreement was signed, Valen Hughes stood up.

"Captain Su Che, it has been a pleasure doing business."

He took a silver disk from an attendant and handed it over.

"This is our quantum communication beacon. It is more advanced than the Karel Union's and can minimize the latency of intergalactic communication."

Su Che took the disk; it felt cold to the touch.

"For the next transaction, wait for my notification."

After seeing off the Rosernia delegation, Su Che and his group returned to the communication cabin.

"Engineer Yang, use the quantum anchor point communication relay that Commander Erwin gave us last time to connect me with Commander Erwin of the Karel Union."

A few minutes later, Commander Erwin's light purple face appeared on the screen.

"Your Excellency Su Che, my friend, contacting me so soon? It seems your business negotiation with Rosernia went very well."

"Cut the chatter," Su Che said, not standing on ceremony. "Prepare for the second transaction; ten more sets of technical data, same price."

A polite smile appeared on Commander Erwin's face.

"However," Su Che shifted his tone, "this time, you must bring me one hundred top scientists and engineers from various fields."

"Otherwise, all future transactions will be canceled."