The Hurricane activated its Tier 4 warp engines, crossing the North Gate Space Station and jumping through the star gate back to the Yunshan capital star. After years away, Feng Mo was finally returning to Yunshan Military Academy.
The Hurricane glided to a halt at Starport One. The lead teacher and students disembarked, touching the ground without ever having seen Feng Mo again. Gu Yanyan, however, left with a smile, waving at the ship as it departed.
Half a day later, the Hurricane arrived safely at the Hurricane Star. Entering his office, Feng Mo encountered Ai Er, who had just finished her patrol.
Pulling Ai Er close, Feng Mo invited her to sit on his lap. Playing with her tail, he said, "With the space bugs invading the Starsea Federation on a massive scale, I have no excuse not to join the fight as a Duke of the Yunshan Empire. Plus, we've got two big consumers of flesh and blood in the Beast Roar Star System waiting to be fed. Bringing back plenty of bug corpses will be worth the effort once they start bearing fruit."
Ai Er nodded in agreement. She had accompanied him to the Beast Roar System and had witnessed firsthand how the Devourer Tree and Bloodthirsty Vines consumed flesh. The three T3 interstellar freighters filled with bug corpses had been completely devoured.
After that massive feeding, the Devourer Tree produced seven fruits, though none were fully matured. In contrast, the Bloodthirsty Vines had yielded twenty-four plant fruits, of which twelve were ripe and twelve still green.
Ai Er had carefully stored the twelve matured fruits in a sealed container. These would be priceless at an auction. Feng Mo had already told her about his plan to establish an auction house, and she wholeheartedly supported his idea.
Currently, managing and expanding four star systems required a constant flow of star coins. The costs were immense, and the Hurricane System's accounts were gradually being depleted. Thankfully, the dividends from the Fengyun Starship Trading Company were still keeping them afloat, though they were approaching the brink.
Looking ahead to establishing his own nation, Feng Mo knew he'd need even more resources. Not to mention the continued expansion of his fleets—three of which still needed upgraded starships. And eventually, he would need a T5 starship, another enormous expense.
Thus, Feng Mo was eager to head to the frontlines, hoping to feed his two big consumers and generate significant profit.
A single fruit from the Devourer Tree was worth a billion star coins—an enormous value. A standard T4 frigate cost only a million star coins, so one fruit could equate to a hundred T4 frigates.
"Commander, please take Ai Er with you this time to Xuanwu Fortress. I can help command the fleet during intense moments and keep you relaxed when there's downtime," Ai Er said, curling her tail around Feng Mo's finger and giving him a teasing look.
A surge of heat rose within Feng Mo, which Ai Er immediately sensed, her cheeks turning pink, lips slightly parted, exhaling softly.
Unable to resist, Feng Mo scooped her up and kicked open the office door, heading to their quarters. Opening the door, he noticed an unusual lump under the bedcovers, a shape all too familiar.
It was Kylan, clearly invited by Ai Er. Smiling, Feng Mo could hardly say no, so the night passed with both by his side, neither woman speaking a single complete sentence by morning, and Feng Mo fully enjoying the reprieve.
Over the next seven days, Feng Mo balanced overseeing starship production with lighthearted moments shared with Ai Er and Kylan. Time flew by, and soon it was time to deploy.
Xuanwu Fortress was currently defended by three T5 fleets, so Feng Mo's Storm Fleet wasn't essential there. His destination was Planet Z043, positioned between Xuanwu Fortress and North Gate Space Station.
In the defense system from Xuanwu Fortress to North Gate, each planet was designated by a number, starting with Z, with a total of 234 planets in this defense corridor. This included Planet Z139, where Feng Mo had interned, and Planet Z227, where he'd recently provided support.
Planets Z001 to Z081 were the most dangerous, heavily fortified by Northern War Zone fleets to intercept space bugs. Z043 had been modified by the military into a supply base, housing over four million logistics troops. Feng Mo was tasked with guarding this planet and patrolling the surrounding space—at least two daily patrols during this wartime state.
This time, Feng Mo only took the Storm Fleet, which, after reallocating ships to support other fleets, now consisted of two quasi-T5 warships, fifty-six T4 warships, and two T3 Boxer ships. The logistics fleet included five T4 Furnace supply ships, ten T3 Reindeer transports, and ten T3 Scarlet Worm transport ships, totaling eighty-five ships—a sizeable micro-fleet, though not technically a full fleet, which required a minimum of one hundred ships.
Still, no one would underestimate the Storm Fleet's power; it could hold its own against a standard thousand-ship T4 fleet, often emerging victorious.
Accompanying Feng Mo were Ai Er and Han Peipei, while Hua Qin remained stationed at the Beast Roar System, the Laila-Lacey sisters at the Hurricane System, Kylan at the Storm System, and Silia at the Tianjing System. As for Alisa, she had her hands full, managing star gate construction, the transformation of the Beast Roar System, and continuous T4 starship production. However, Feng Mo had won her loyalty by bringing her back Yunshan's finest snacks.
In the Hurricane's Command Center
"Target planet locked. Route planning complete. Weapons and power systems fully replenished. Fleet is about to enter synchronized warp mode. All Tier 1 genetic warriors, activate deep-sea mode."
This time, it was Han Peipei's voice over the system announcement. Reaching Planet Z043 required first traveling to the star gate in the Hurricane System, then jumping to the Yunshan System. From there, the fleet entered warp to the North Gate Space Station, and after passing inspections, continued on to Z043.
By the time Feng Mo and the fleet arrived at Z043, almost a full day had passed. The latter part of the journey had taken longer than expected due to the presence of interdictors between North Gate Space Station and Xuanwu Fortress, which prevented warp travel on that route.
Upon arrival, the Storm Fleet docked at Starport One. The planet itself was small and harsh, though a massive energy shield on the surface created a spring-like climate ideal for human habitation.
Feng Mo took a shuttle from the starport to the command building, which was designated for the planet's commanding officer. Reaching the top-floor office, he summoned all fleet captains.
Every captain in the Storm Fleet was originally part of the Storm, Feng Mo's first ship, and had risen through the ranks under his leadership. He had rewarded their loyalty by training them as captains and freeing them from servitude.
They had, in turn, proven their dedication. No matter the danger, they followed him unwaveringly, despite the steep casualty rate. Out of 150 original crew members, fewer than a hundred remained.
"Everyone, for the next year, the Storm Fleet will be stationed here. Mandatory patrols twice daily, with all T4 warships divided into four groups of fourteen ships each, rotating every four days for adequate rest."
"But remain vigilant on patrol. This is the front line—a true meat grinder compared to previous battles. I want to see all of you back here in one year. I'll personally celebrate with each of you," Feng Mo declared, instilling both duty and hope.
With patrol assignments set, Ai Er and Han Peipei took a tour of the planet while Feng Mo headed to the rest quarters. Lying down, he opened his Spark Panel, noting two new mission updates.
[Temporary Mission: Defend Planet Z043 for one year. Reward: 1,000 points]
[Temporary Mission: Destroy 100 T4 broodships and 1,000 T3 broodships. Reward: 2,000 points and a T4 Mule-class interstellar freighter]
These missions were crucial to Feng Mo, not only for the T4 Mule-class freighter but for the 3,000-point reward. With his current total at 7,660 points, an additional 3,000 would allow him to reach the 10,000 needed to unlock his first T5 warship.
Feng Mo could sense that the time to establish his own nation was drawing near. Just one more year. He'd have to push Alisa to speed things up, to the point where she'd be too busy even to snack. That, in his mind, was the mark of an efficient ruler.
With that, Feng Mo immediately bombarded Alisa with dozens of messages. Satisfied, he switched off his terminal and fell into a restful sleep.
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