Chu Yunjian understood Feng Mo's intention, but he found the plan lacking in decisiveness and proposed a bolder alternative:
"If you're set on offending the Demon Lord, why not make it count? The Chu family can deploy a quasi-T5 mixed fleet to lay in ambush within interstellar space. Once you signal, the fleet will decimate the Demon Star System's escort forces."
"And if the Demon Lord himself is among them, all the better—we'll kill him too. Then, your Storm Fleet can join forces with ours to launch a full-scale assault on the Demon Star System. The Chu family will take sixty percent of the spoils from this war, but the captured Demon Star System itself would be yours to use as a base. What do you say?"
Feng Mo was both surprised and impressed by Chu Yunjian's ruthlessness. While he had only intended to make the Demon Lord suffer a covert loss, Chu Yunjian aimed to claim both the Demon Lord and his star system.
"If the Demon Lord doesn't show up for the trade, then you'll get all captured or destroyed enemy ships, and I'll take all the prisoners. But if he does come, we'll press into the Demon Star System together. The Chu family will take sixty percent of the spoils, and I'll keep the rest, along with the rights to the star system."
"Deal! Let's start preparing. Pick a suitable ambush point, and send me the coordinates. See you in seven days," Chu Yunjian replied, cutting the call decisively. Though she was close to Feng Mo, Chu Yunjian had always been pragmatic, separating personal feelings from business.
Feng Mo then activated the Spark System's point exchange market and opened the list of T4 starship blueprints. This time, his goal was a high-performance, cost-effective T4 industrial ship that could handle the construction of T5 starships.
He realized his standards might be high, but he was confident that the Spark System had blueprints meeting his requirements—it was just a matter of finding them.
With over 4,000 points at his disposal, Feng Mo could afford a T4 blueprint. Once he completed the temporary mission, he'd be able to redeem another design, rounding out his fleet's roster.
He carefully reviewed the T4 interstellar industrial ships' specifications but found most of them disappointing. Either the cost was excessive, or the performance offered little improvement over the T3 Copper Hammer.
Finally, after a long search, he found a promising option: a T4 Furnace-class Interstellar Industrial Ship, costing 2,500 points. Its data read:
Armor Strength: 445 units
Dimensions: 5 km x 1.4 km x 1.15 km
Speed: 140 star knots
Warp Drive: Grade 4
Energy Shield: Grade 4, 100% efficiency
Weapons: T4 Close-Defense Rapid-Fire Laser Turrets x180
This T4 industrial ship could construct any T5 starship, except for carriers, transport ships, and supply ships, making it the best overall choice within his reach. Feng Mo transmitted the blueprint to Alisa, who bombarded him with a flood of messages within half an hour. He muted her temporarily, deciding he'd rather discuss strategic plans with Ai Er and Kailan than deal with her demands.
As humanoids, producing offspring was a challenge for them, so Feng Mo didn't need any preventative measures—if a new life resulted, they'd welcome it.
Statistics from the Federation showed the average chance of pregnancy for human couples was around 15-20%. However, for humans pairing with Elves or Succubi, the probability was approximately 0.15%. It was a low number.
Feng Mo was committed to trying. While most Federation men had children by nineteen, Feng Mo, now twenty-four, still had none. If something happened to him, who would inherit the vast Storm Star System?
The seven days passed quickly. Early in the morning, Feng Mo awoke and, with the help of the two women, dressed in his combat uniform. He headed to the Storm Spaceport, taking only a minimal force: his flagship, the Hurricane, two T4 Scorpions, and twenty empty T3 Red Worm-class Interstellar Transport Ships.
---
Aboard the Hurricane, on the Command Bridge
Feng Mo sat in the captain's chair, sending out two messages on his smart terminal. He turned to his adjutant, Hua Qin. "Let's go. Head for the designated coordinates."
At that moment, back at the base office on Storm's main star, numerous captains awaited orders. Suddenly, Ai Er checked her smart terminal and sprang to her feet.
"Storm Fleet, assemble! Departure in ten minutes!"
"Yes, ma'am!" the officers replied in unison, quickly moving to board their ships at Dock One. Within six minutes, the entire fleet was ready.
By the time Ai Er boarded the former flagship, Storm, the ten minutes had passed, and the fleet set off, engaging in synchronized warp travel.
Meanwhile, in the star interference zone on the edge of the U5 System, a small fleet lay concealed among asteroids. This fleet, composed of 108 starships, included 36 quasi-T5 and 72 T4 ships, led by a quasi-T5 interstellar carrier.
With such a configuration, this fleet could easily overwhelm a small star system and was formidable enough to confront even the Demon Star System's medium T4 fleets.
If it came to an all-out battle, this fleet could crush the Demon Star System's defenses with little regard for losses. However, the Chu family couldn't risk it, given their rival factions.
Though helping Feng Mo by deploying such a fleet was significant, it wouldn't go unnoticed by other major families. However, the Chu family's justification was simple: they were aiding their son-in-law's wife in rescuing her kin. After all, who could object to a family rescue?
The top aristocratic families understood these unspoken rules well. Passing word to the Demon Lord would amount to openly collaborating with an alien race—a treasonous label that meant certain death for anyone who bore it.
In the Federation, many secrets were just that—a complex web of tacit understandings. This complexity was part of why Feng Mo yearned to establish his own empire, free from these entanglements.
---
A small fleet emerged from a stargate within the U5 System, proceeding steadily toward its outer interference zone.
Led by the Hurricane, with two T4 Scorpions bringing up the rear and twenty T3 Red Worm-class Interstellar Transport Ships in between, the fleet reached the edge of U5. Ahead lay interstellar space.
Feng Mo calmly sent out two messages, received confirmation, then issued his command:
"All ships, proceed at maximum warp to the designated coordinates in interstellar space!"
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