"Damn those Spaceship Gang members, racing through the Warp Band again!" Liu Hai, awakened by the roaring spacecraft, heard Igor's furious shout.
"What's going on?" Liu Hai pointed at the nearly vanished engine trails of the Spaceship Gang and asked Igor.
Igor angrily flipped off the retreating spaceships before explaining, "It's just a bunch of spoiled rich kids from the administrative planets with nothing better to do. They cause dozens of spacecraft accidents every year. Some even fail to steer in time and crash into other ships in the Warp Band. The worst accident killed over a thousand people, forcing the entire route to shut down for cleanup."
Liu Hai frowned, "No one stops them?"
"They do get punished," Igor replied irritably. "Every time they're caught, they're forced to serve a year in the military. But now, some even form groups to race spaceships deliberately just to get that military service opportunity."
"Seriously?" Liu Hai was speechless. Was this some kind of guaranteed employment scheme?
"Are there no other ways to deal with them?"
"There is—fines." Igor's face twisted with frustration. "But these people are loaded. Anyone who can afford a private spacecraft doesn't care about petty fines."
"Alright then..." Liu Hai shook his head. Might as well make them earn pocket money by sewing.
"How much longer until we arrive?" Liu Hai changed the subject.
Igor suddenly remembered his actual task. "We're almost there. Three more minutes to exit the Warp Band, then another half-hour at sublight speed."
Nodding, Liu Hai headed back to his room to pack his gear, pausing briefly to glance at the distorted Warp Band outside the window.
Half an hour later, the Star Sea successfully docked at the Kono Military Academy Spaceport. Being a small private vessel, it was allowed direct access to an indoor landing pad.
Following the tower's guidance, the Star Sea passed through a Force Field Shield and docked at Spaceport No. 2, where Star Sea Group's HR director and staff had been waiting.
Li Ping, who had joined Star Sea Group less than three months ago, strode confidently toward the ship's hatch in an elegant yet professional outfit, followed by over a dozen employees.
"Welcome to Kono Military Academy, Chairman. I'm Li Ping. This is our first meeting." She extended her hand for a firm handshake with Liu Hai.
Liu Hai smiled as he withdrew his hand. "You've been doing excellent work. Keep it up."
Truthfully, Liu Hai had no concrete plans for Star Sea Group. While he possessed plenty of technology, his real goal was assembling a fleet to explore the vast cosmos. For now, he had allocated 50 billion in funding—covering fleet recruitment, equipment purchases, salaries, and future compensation—leaving less than 10 billion for actual operations.
To find a profitable direction for Star Sea Group, Li Ping had racked her brains. Beyond the nominal fleet, the company had nothing—unless Liu Hai provided technical support, they were truly starting from scratch.
Li Ping merely smiled at Liu Hai's praise: "If the chairman could provide a bit more funding or technical support, I could generate even greater profits for the group."
Hearing Li Ping's words, Igor chuckled from behind: "If you can produce a viable business plan, I think the boss wouldn't mind increasing the investment."
"Alright, let's discuss this later. For now, let's talk about the recruitment," Liu Hai said, feeling a headache coming on. Establishing the Star Sea Group had been a necessity before, but now that the fleet was nearly complete, he didn't want to expend more energy on this commercial enterprise. Otherwise, why hire so many employees?
"Chairman, this way, please." Li Ping gestured for Liu Hai to follow her as she walked. "The Star Sea Group's matters aren't urgent right now. The marketing team is still conducting market research. We'll decide which business sector to enter once the survey is complete."
"Additionally, regarding this recruitment, the HR department has already done preliminary screening. There are 23,568 candidates who meet your requirements, and the number is still growing."
Liu Hai nodded calmly upon hearing that over 20,000 candidates remained after screening. Though his standards were higher than average, reaching elite levels, the sheer population base was enormous. The Federation's welfare and public sentiment control were so effective that graduates accumulated over the years still hadn't given up on learning. Even if their aptitude was lacking, prolonged effort had elevated their abilities to elite levels.
"When does the recruitment fair start? And have the training grounds been secured? How about the procurement of relevant equipment?" Liu Hai fired off a series of questions.
Li Ping responded unhurriedly: "The recruitment fair begins the day after tomorrow. Over 300 companies are participating this time, with more than 1.2 million applicants registered, along with millions of students from other academies attending remotely via StarNet interviews."
"The training grounds have been secured—they're at the affiliated training facility of Konor First Military Academy. The academy has granted us one year of usage."
"The equipment procurement hasn't gone smoothly, mainly due to time constraints. Many precision instruments are backlogged for over a decade."
Liu Hai waved his hand dismissively. "Buy what you can. For what you can't, compile a list, and I'll see if we can manufacture them ourselves."
"Chairman, if discovered, the patent holders could impose massive fines," Li Ping immediately cautioned upon hearing Liu Hai's plan to manufacture the equipment.
"No worries. I'm not selling them—just making similar-use equipment. I'm not afraid of lawsuits." Liu Hai was serious. After all, they'd be used outside the Federation, not sold for profit within it. Even if fined, the penalty would be negligible. Use first, deal with consequences later.
"Chairman, do you have a large-scale research facility capable of replicating those cutting-edge devices? If so, are there any civilian technologies you could provide?" Li Ping seized on Liu Hai's mention of self-manufacturing to inquire about technical support, hoping to bolster the group's development.
"Uh, part of it, I guess. Wait a moment, I'll grant you the relevant access rights. You can review it yourself first, then establish a research department to handle this matter." Liu Hai accidentally let slip more than intended, so he simply had the Intelligent Nexus compile an additional set of scientific theories and some basic technologies for the Star Sea Group to form their own research department and develop products.
Delighted by the unexpected bonus, Li Ping happily escorted Liu Hai to the hotel for rest, then returned to arrange the recruitment of researchers and the establishment of the research department.
Seeing how diligently Li Ping was working, Liu Hai felt too embarrassed to delay—after all, this was about making money for himself. Upon arriving at the hotel, he connected to the pyramid's Intelligent Nexus and separately compiled a list of theoretical knowledge, granting Li Ping secondary access rights.