Upon arriving at the asteroid belt, the fleet navigated to the asteroid known for causing magnetic field fluctuations. Before leaving, Feng Mo had specifically asked Alisa to design a small laser cannon that emitted a continuous, weak laser beam.
This cannon was installed on a T2 Black Bear, allowing it to suppress the asteroid belt's magnetic fluctuations for an extended period.
Once the magnetic field issue was resolved, Feng Mo took an interstellar shuttle to the T3 Copper Hammer. He had to personally oversee the construction of the T4 Scorpion Tail-Class Stealth Bomber's core.
Meanwhile, Chu Yunjian was causing waves in the Snowhawk Empire's commercial world.
Many local enterprises in the Snowhawk Empire didn't want to oppose this newcomer, and Chu Yunjian wasn't targeting them directly. Although his moves disrupted the market, he left them some room for survival.
The Bai Family of the Snowhawk Empire, however, was having a terrible time. First, Fengyun Starship Trading Company suddenly established a branch in the Snowhawk Empire, quickly acquiring several starship manufacturing plants.
With Feng Mo supplying four T1 civilian starship designs, the Chen Family providing ample raw materials, and the acquired production lines, Chu Yunjian threw himself into the work with fervor.
Suddenly, a flood of T1 civilian starships hit the Snowhawk market, and Fengyun Starship Trading Company even introduced a starship comparison feature, allowing citizens to directly compare specifications.
This set off a buying frenzy among the public. In the T1 and T2 categories, Fengyun Starship Trading Company had no rival. In just six months, it significantly cut into the Bai Family's market share.
Snowhawk Empire, Bai Family Meeting Room.
The atmosphere was tense. The head of the Bai Family, Bai Yanbing, summoned a holographic display showing comparison data for four starships.
The four on one side were the Bai Family's best-selling T1 models, while the other four were Fengyun Starship Trading Company's new T1 releases, which were currently dominating the market.
The starship types were the same, but the differences began with armor strength. The Fengyun models had an average of 20 units more armor.
Their speed was also 10 stars faster, and when it came to weaponry, Fengyun's starships crushed the Bai Family's in every category.
From armor to speed to firepower, Fengyun's starships outperformed the Bai Family's in every way. What's worse, Fengyun's pricing strategy made it even more difficult for the Bai Family. While the Bai Family's models sold for an average of 800,000 Snowhawk credits, Fengyun offered a bundled discount: buy all four and get 15% off.
In just six months, the Bai Family found their T1 civilian starships unsellable.
How could the Bai Family compete with Fengyun Starship Trading Company? They were completely outmatched.
At the same time, in the U5 System, the Bai Family's resource planets faced crisis after crisis. One day, mining equipment exploded. The next, workers went on strike. Later, a transport starship mysteriously blew up, and then a seven-day military lockdown halted all resource extraction.
These events left the Bai Family distressed. Their intelligence network couldn't identify who was targeting them; they only knew that it was a force backing Feng Mo.
Half a year of this, and the Bai Family had had enough. They reached out to their backers, the Tianqi Qiao Family, and learned to their horror that the Tianqi Yue Family had personally stepped in. Bai Yanbing was now in full panic.
He had never expected such a fierce backlash from merely provoking Feng Mo twice. This turn of events was entirely beyond his expectations.
"The Bai Family is in crisis. If we don't find a solution soon, we risk total collapse. Let's hear some ideas—everyone, speak freely," Bai Yanbing said, scanning the room. But no one stepped forward. Disappointment flashed in his eyes. These pampered fools had grown complacent after generations of comfort, incapable of thinking strategically. All they knew was to sit back and wait for dividends.
"Father, I suggest that we also lower our prices to match Fengyun Starship Trading Company. As for the U5 System, I volunteer to lead a T3 fleet to stabilize the situation," Bai Muchen offered.
Bai Yanbing was dissatisfied. This wasn't a real solution. It was like guarding against a thief you couldn't catch. Defensive measures were useless; the enemy had to be eliminated.
But how? The source was Feng Mo of the Storm System, or perhaps convincing the Tianqi Yue Family and the illustrious Chu Family to stop targeting the Bai Family.
Bai Yanbing was stuck. Over the past six months, Feng Mo had been hiding out in the Storm System. The Bai Family had sent spies repeatedly, only to find that the system's defenses had strengthened considerably.
Every resource planet in the Storm System was now equipped with T2 planetary defense systems. Feng Mo's three fleets had grown stronger, with over a hundred T3 starships.
Feng Mo was no longer a fledgling force. To take him down, the Bai Family would need to deploy their T4 fleet. But doing so would be suicidal—killing a Storm System Earl would mean dragging the Snowhawk Empire into a devastating conflict with Feng Mo. Only an idiot would consider such a move.
Assassination attempts? Out of the question. Not even their spies had seen Feng Mo in months. With no better options, Bai Yanbing had no choice but to appeal to his backers, the Tianqi Qiao Family.
---
People's joys and sorrows differ. While the Bai Family was plagued with worry, Chu Yunjian was thriving. In half a year, Fengyun Starship Trading Company had completely overtaken the Bai Family, securing 35% of the Snowhawk Empire's T1 and T2 starship market.
Every morning, star credits flooded into Chu Yunjian's accounts. She loved the feeling of making money, which is why she had invested so much effort into establishing the Yunjian Trading Guild.
And what had Feng Mo been doing all this time?
He was still at the asteroid belt, exhausted from months of hard work. It was like the days when he'd built the Storm flagship, sleeping only four hours a day.
The T4 Scorpion Tail-Class Stealth Bomber wasn't large, making the construction relatively easier. Still, it took nearly three months to build one, and Feng Mo had committed to building two, working tirelessly for six months.
The next morning, Feng Mo got dressed, ready for the T4 Scorpion Tail's test flight. If everything went smoothly, they'd return to Storm Prime by afternoon.
He hadn't seen Ai Er in six months, and he was eager—desperately so.
"Commander, we're about to commence the T4 Scorpion Tail-Class Stealth Bomber's test flight!" Hua Qin announced.
"Begin!" Feng Mo commanded.
"Starting with maximum speed. Starship engines at full power, speed—"
"Maintain course, engines at full power. Speed: 320 star speed. All compartments, monitor starship data clo
sely and report any anomalies immediately!"
The test flight had officially begun!
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