The Navigation Pass Chart provided by the Wormhole Management Committee was more than just proof of passage through the wormhole—it also contained the Starsea Fleet's navigation route from Kono Administrative Star to the Seven Kill Star Sector where the wormhole was located.
Every detail was strictly defined: where and when to reach the jump point at what speed, the distance of the jump, and the destination after the jump.
Even the Pioneer Fleet was assigned tasks along the way, such as clearing out pirates—free of charge, as obligatory labor.
On the day of departure, Liu Hai stood in the Pyramid Core Control Room, clad in Exoskeleton Armor, surrounded by projections of the control rooms from each ship.
"Today marks the beginning of our Starsea Fleet's journey into the boundless cosmos. In the future, our names will be sung among the stars!"
"Let the alien races despise us."
"Let our own kind cheer for us!"
"Now, let us set sail for glory!"
As Liu Hai's words faded, the crew members aboard each ship erupted in cheers, their enthusiasm blazing, their eyes brimming with anticipation.
Those who joined the Pioneer Fleet were all driven by a spirit of adventure and exploration. Now that the fleet was officially setting sail, their hearts—already filled with dreams of Star Sea adventures—were completely ignited.
"Jump Engine beginning preheating and energy charging. Warp Drive activated. Destination: the jump point five light-years away."
Li Yali, dressed in a sky-blue command uniform, stood in the command hall, issuing orders methodically.
Under her commands, the fleet of over twenty ships gradually stirred to life. Maneuvering engines spewed deep-blue ion streams, pushing each vessel onto their designated flight paths.
Thousands of kilometers apart, the ships simultaneously activated their Warp Drives. The moment the Space Bubbles formed around them, the fleet vanished from sight in an instant.
"They've set sail!" Li Ping murmured aboard her small ship as she watched the fleet depart.
"The fleet has launched. Now it's our turn to provide them with logistical support. Return to corporate headquarters."
Li Ping's small ship swiftly turned around and headed back to Kono Administrative Star, where the company's department heads had long been waiting.
Without any preamble, the moment she stepped in—before even sitting down—Li Ping asked, "How's the product rollout progressing?"
The head of the marketing department immediately responded, "We've expanded to 532 living space stations and 16 Life Planets, with a total of 2,672 retail outlets. Inventory stands at 16 million units."
"And the advertising?" Li Ping pressed.
"Targeted ads have been placed in all key locations. We've currently identified 160 million potential customers," the marketing director replied smugly.
"What about production facilities?"
The production manager stood up. "Production lines have been fully calibrated. Current daily output is 50,000 units, with capacity expected to reach 500,000 units per day within three months."
Li Ping nodded impassively. "The Chairman has led the fleet on its journey. Funding, factories, technology—he's prepared everything for us. If we still can't deliver sufficient returns under these conditions, then every single person here, myself included, should be ready to submit their resignation."
The expressions of everyone present shifted slightly. No one dared to speak further, maintaining composed faces as they silently watched Li Ping.
"Let's begin. We shall present this precious gift to mark the Starsea Fleet's maiden voyage!" Without further delay, Li Ping decisively ordered the attack on their companions.
By the time Liu Hai learned of Li Ping's actions, it was already several hours later during jump preparation.
Twenty-two spacecraft, having confirmed their jump coordinates via the military network, began charging their engines while simultaneously submitting jump requests to the authorities. Once approved, the twenty-two vessels were swiftly enveloped by spatial dimensions as their jump engines activated, vanishing abruptly along the fabric of space.
A second later, the fleet reappeared fifteen light-years away, spanning several star systems in the void between them. A few light-hours away stood the military's Hyperspace Point Monitoring Station.
The fleet waited for roughly three hours. During that time, three mixed convoys passed through the jump point, each spaced about a light-hour apart—a distance precisely five times the margin of error for jump engine calculations.
After three hours, the Starsea Fleet jumped again toward the next waypoint.
Jump after jump, it took them over half a month just to leave the Kono Star Region and reach the Aurora Nebula. From there, the journey became much smoother.
Within the Aurora Nebula lay an internal wormhole of the Galaxy Star System, leading directly to the southern sector of the Seven Killers Wormhole's star system.
Three months later, the Starsea Fleet, having traversed nearly 80,000 light-years, emerged at a jump point in the Seven Killers Star Region. No sooner had they appeared than the control tower urged them to clear the jump point.
All this time, Liu Hai had been holed up in the Control Room of the Pyramid Core, forcibly trained by the Intelligent Nexus to become a competent civilization leader. Knowledge infusion, skill implantation, subconscious conditioning, mental fortitude shaping—every conceivable method was deployed in succession.
Under the Intelligent Nexus's rigorous tutelage, Liu Hai finally began showing traces of leadership, handling the challenges it presented with increasing competence.
"Finally, we've reached the Seven Killers Star Region—what an overwhelming spectacle of prosperity!"
Liu Hai surveyed the surrounding starscape from the jump point. The projection showed over fifty mixed fleets, each comprising at least three hundred vessels, dispersing from the jump point, while an equal number waited to jump out. And this was just one of the Seven Killers Star Region's many jump points.
"Boss, we need to replenish our antimatter reserves. We're down to less than half our stockpile," Li Yali chimed in via comms, immediately bringing up expenses.
Liu Hai's mood soured at her words. With thousands of jumps behind them, each consuming vast amounts of energy, the antimatter expenditure over these months had already surpassed twenty billion Credit Points—burning money couldn't have been faster.
"Handle it yourself. Tell Li Ping to settle the bill," Liu Hai replied wearily. Though he'd known the costs were unavoidable, the reality still stung.
With authorization secured, Li Yali promptly ended the call and contacted her uncle, hoping to leverage the Li family's connections for a discounted antimatter purchase.
Feeling down, Liu Hai logged into StarNet to browse around. With his second-level access, the vast amount of information on StarNet was like a sea of stars, and there were various team channels for private use.
Upon entering the StarNet of the Seven Kill Star Sector, Liu Hai was astonished to realize he had underestimated the prosperity of this region. On the Seven Kill military channel, he saw over a thousand Pioneer Fleets online, all seemingly preparing to pass through the Seven Kill Wormhole to the Hera Star System.