"How many crew members still haven't boarded the ships?" Liu Hai was inquiring about the over ten thousand logistics personnel, excluding the five thousand-plus warship operators.
"There are still more than three thousand who haven't boarded the transport ships. They're expected to complete boarding within a week." As the fleet commander, Li Yali had all the fleet data at her fingertips, as if she didn't even need time to think.
"Another week then? Well, as long as there's enough time. Let them get accustomed to life in space first. Come to think of it, I should probably adjust too." Liu Hai suddenly realized he wasn't one of those professionally trained cadets from the Federation—his resistance to Deep Space Phobia was far from adequate.
After careful consideration, Liu Hai became increasingly convinced he needed training. After all, no one knew how long this space voyage would last. The longer one stayed in the cosmic environment, the greater the psychological impact. As the core of the fleet, he absolutely couldn't afford any mishaps.
No sooner thought than done. Liu Hai immediately contacted the Intelligent Nexus, asking it to devise a psychological counseling plan to prevent him from succumbing to such issues.
But the Intelligent Nexus essentially slapped him in the face, stating that as long as it was operational, Liu Hai needn't worry about psychological problems. Once his mental fluctuations reached a certain threshold, it would steer him back on the right track.
After hearing this, a pensive Liu Hai set the matter aside and instead contacted Li Ping, pressing her about whether the development plan drafted by the strategy team was ready.
Before long, Li Ping arrived at the office with two members of the strategy team, pulling Liu Hai out of his immersion in the StarNet.
"Chairman, here's the development plan our team has prepared," said Fu Zuming, the head of the strategy team, presenting a blueprint to Liu Hai.
"After repeated calculations, with the premise of your stated goal—establishing an industrial system in an extraterrestrial region—we unanimously agree that the best choice would be to search for a star system in the middle section of the third spiral arm of the Hera Star System."
"And the reasoning?" Liu Hai carefully perused the blueprint. While he might be indifferent to other matters, he took the development of the Pyramid Core extremely seriously—it was his future safeguard, and absolutely nothing could go wrong.
"The reasoning is, although the Hera Star System appears most chaotic due to the Wormhole War between the Katun Civilization and the Federation, this chaos is concentrated in the galactic core region, with minimal impact on the spiral arms—especially the third arm, which has the sparsest distribution of star systems."
"Based on data collected with our current clearance, we've concluded that the third spiral arm's scarcity of star systems results in severe resource shortages. Exploration Fleets from both civilizations have shown little interest in it. Thus, in the over two thousand years since the discovery of the Hera Star System, fewer than three hundred battles have occurred in the third spiral arm."
"Compared to the third spiral arm's length of over seventy thousand light-years and its more than ten thousand star systems, this number is practically negligible."
"After calculations, our strategy team estimates an over eighty percent probability of successfully holding a star system. Once secured, the Starsea Fleet, with its industrial development capabilities, can utilize local resources to build defensive facilities and expand resource coverage, creating a snowball effect."
"It will take at least ten years before the Katun Civilization turns its attention to us. That timeframe is more than enough for the Starsea Fleet with its industrial system to complete the Star System defense deployment, forcing the Katun Civilization to abandon any attacks."
Liu Hai clasped his hands together, listening intently to the explanation. The projection of the Hera Star System rotated slowly on the table, with the specially marked third spiral arm particularly conspicuous.
After a long silence, Liu Hai finally spoke: "Send your proposal to Commander Li Yali and have her check for any oversights."
"Yes, sir!" The two staff officers beamed with joy. Liu Hai's instruction to submit their plan to the commander meant it had already passed his initial approval. The remaining adjustments would be minor details Li Yali would suggest based on the Starsea Fleet's needs.
Just as they were about to leave, Liu Hai added: "Prepare multiple contingency plans—at least ten—to cover various scenarios. Once completed, submit a copy directly to Commander Li Yali."
The two exchanged glances, nodded in agreement, and then departed.
After they left, Li Ping asked, "Is it really necessary to prepare so many contingency plans?"
"Although the staff officers will adapt their plans according to the fleet's situation, having some pre-made responses is still beneficial. Besides, it's good training for them. Don't you think?" Liu Hai spread his hands, indicating that this wasn't just to make things difficult for them—there was a genuine need.
Li Ping shrugged indifferently. After all, she wasn't the one drafting the plans, and the staff officers were well-compensated. Putting them to work was only fair—they ought to earn their salaries.
"By the way, Chairman, the R&D department has designed several products based on the technological theories you provided. Would you like to visit the lab and offer some guidance?" Li Ping suddenly remembered and asked Liu Hai.
Liu Hai waved his hand dismissively. "No, no. Leave specialized tasks to the experts. Technology to the researchers, aesthetics to the designers, marketing to the sales team—I won't meddle in their work."
"What a shame. You have no idea how eager those researchers are to meet you and ask where those theories came from." Li Ping looked at Liu Hai curiously, hoping for an explanation.
"Don't worry about that. Just let them focus on their studies and research. Apply some pressure—gradually increase the workload so they don't have time to slack off. Brilliant minds like theirs tend to cause trouble when idle." Liu Hai had always kept his distance from specialists—not only because he couldn't keep up with their conversations, but also because their sheer intellect made him feel inadequate in comparison.
With a smile, Li Ping left the office to relay Liu Hai's demands to the lab in his stead. Only higher-ups could enforce such efficiency.
Over the next two weeks, aside from occasional progress reports from Li Ping or Li Yali, only Igor—thick-skinned as ever—lingered in the office, shamelessly freeloading and indulging in the fine liquor Li Ping had provided.
Half a month later, Li Yali finally obtained the navigation route designated by the Wormhole Committee and immediately notified Liu Hai, requesting instructions on when the Starsea Fleet would officially depart.
Upon receiving the news, Liu Hai promptly convened a meeting with the group's senior executives. He set performance targets for the work to be carried out in his absence and delegated some of his authority.
Li Yali also recalled all fleet members and began organizing supplies for the voyage.