Is This the Feeling of Finding a Bargain?

Huiyue Type... Battleship?!

And blueprints too?!

Moonlight Group is a well-known starship manufacturer even across the entire Star Sea Human Alliance.

Among them, the Huiyue Type starship is a high-end model even within T6 Starcraft!

Although the Huiyue Type places a considerable mental load on the commander, Qingyang could still datafy just one of them for now.

Datafying a starship requires the commander to maintain it with mental energy at all times. This maintenance isn't a consumption, but more like a fixed position.

Qingyang's mental energy was just enough to sustain one high-end battleship, so keeping it datafied wouldn't consume any mental energy.

But if he wanted to datafy additional ships, he'd need to strengthen his mental energy.

A starship that isn't datafied can't benefit from the Commander Talent, and destroying targets yields no Star Points either.

Even if datafying one Huiyue Type battleship meant Qingyang couldn't form a fleet for a short time and had to shelve Protocol 8 of the Eternal Protocol, In his view, it was completely worth it.

Not to mention how few rookie fleets even had a battleship—even if they did, so what?

A T8 Radiant Moon Battleship was a solid luxury overkill.

In its tier, it could easily take on three ordinary battleships at once.

It had its downsides too—sure, its combat power was top-tier for its rank, but factoring in the price, this kind of cost-performance ratio only appealed to wealthy buyers from powerful nations who bought them for their descendants.

From what Qingyang knew, the price of a T8 Radiant Moon Battleship could already buy a T7 Higher-End Cruiser.

It was so expensive not just for its strong combat power, but because Huiyue was a series.

Own a T8 Radiant Moon Battleship, and Moonlight Group would upgrade it to a T7 Radiant Moon Battleship for just 70% of the price.

Qingyang suppressed his excitement and looked at his father with a strange expression.

A T8 Radiant Moon Battleship should have been snapped up by wealthy buyers as soon as it went on sale in those powerful nations—even people from major countries rarely managed to grab one.

If his dad could snag one, did that mean they had their own assets in those powerful nations?

"Uh... this is Xiaokang?"

Qingyundao glanced at Qingyang. "Isn't it?"

"... "

Forget it. Anyway, his dad was only giving him full support in the early stages; everything later would be up to him.

No need to dwell on it.

A moment later, Qingyang appeared in the Star Network Virtual Mall.

He looked around. The foot traffic was considerable.

"The total number of commanders in the whole alliance really does seem huge."

Qingyang stared at the massive building before him—the Crew Recruitment Association.

He had come here to recruit crew. Even though starship intelligent control and weaponry were highly advanced, crew members were still indispensable.

Shipboard operations, boarding actions, repairs, logistics, and medical care all required some superhuman specialists to handle.

Besides, manual piloting and weapon control often had significant advantages.

He wasn't short on recruitment funds either—his dad had just transferred him ten thousand Star Points.

Alliance Coins had strong purchasing power within the Alliance. One Alliance Coin's buying power there was equivalent to about a hundred dollars in his past life.

And one Star Point could be exchanged for 2,000 Alliance Coins.

Stepping into the lobby, Qingyang took in the layout, then headed for a private room on the second floor.

Immediately, a Virtual Elf appeared, floating around Qingyang.

"Hello, sir. Are you looking to recruit starship crew?"

Qingyang nodded. "Yes."

"Regular crew, elite crew, or Supernatural Ancient Martial Arts crew?"

"If I'm recruiting Supernatural Ancient Martial Arts crew, any suggestions?" Qingyang asked.

"I'd suggest you choose those with experience, sir."

Qingyang suddenly froze, because the Star of Truth had actually popped up a panel.

Confirming the little elf beside him hadn't reacted, Qingyang looked at the panel.

[Suggestion (once daily): Team page, New Teams, Page ks8801, Team No. 101]

Hmm?

Without changing his expression, he searched for the page and looked at that team.

[Team: 818 Combat Squad]

[Type: Supernatural, Ancient Martial Arts]

[Quantity: 15 people]

[Recruitment Price: Captain 1000 Alliance Coins/month, Vice Captain 800 Alliance Coins/month, Team Members 500 Alliance Coins/month]

[Requirement: Sign for two years]

[Graduating Institution: Tianxing Empire, Belldelain Academy, Comprehensive Combat Department]

[Evaluation: An excellent squad of fresh graduate ability academy students, with one internship experience in the Starfleet]

An ordinary description, a rather high price, and nothing remarkable aside from the decent graduating institution.

"Reason?" Qingyang asked instinctively, not expecting the Star of Truth to actually answer him.

[Strong background, high talent. Chose to conceal specific details for training purposes, randomly selected to participate in Starfleet operations.]

Qingyang was taken aback. "High talent? How high?"

[Captain (male)—Dual Epic-grade Ancient Martial talent

Vice Captain (female)—Epic-grade Support ability

Team Members (male and female)—Red to Purple-Gold ability or Ancient Martial talent.]

Opening his mouth, Qingyang took a long moment to calm down.

High talent?

Yes!

But honestly, it wasn't that unbelievable. Scale it up to the entire Star Sea Human Alliance.

Even Epic-grade talent was probably just 'excellent' for an organization of that size, not a treasure.

A few years ago in the Star Sea Youth Commander League, plenty of new commanders with Epic-grade talent couldn't even qualify for the rankings.

Yet a handful of commanders below Epic managed to secure a spot.

The Star Sea Human Alliance had long since passed the era of valuing talent above all else.

Perform well, and you'd be nurtured. Perform average, and high talent was useless. A new crop of high-talent individuals showed up every year—there was never a shortage.

Not to say Epic-grade was everywhere, but it was hardly a rarity.

"Sir? Sir?"

Qingyang snapped back to attention and looked at the sprite. "I'll pick this team."

"Understood."

"Also, how are Elite Mechanical Maintenance Crew members priced?"

The sprite explained, "Mechanics range from 150 to 300 Alliance Coins per month depending on proficiency. Those with abilities are priced separately."

Qingyang waved a hand. "Get me twenty at 300 Alliance Coins a month."

Once the Eternal Protocol was signed, a fleet with the Immortal Hull trait wouldn't need maintenance or repairs anymore.

The starship said it could handle itself.

"Also, bring in one team each for Logistics Chef, Geology, History, Language, and Ruins research teams. I'll provide the research facilities!"

For exploration and adventure, these research teams were essential. Otherwise, a lot of things wouldn't get done.

Adventure wasn't just about piloting a warship and charging into danger.

"Understood. Additionally, for an exploration and adventure fleet, do you need us to procure Mining Machinery, Logistics Machinery, and Multi-Functional Mechs on your behalf?" the sprite asked respectfully.

"Yes. Arrange them according to the quota for a T8 high-end battleship. Price isn't an issue."

He walked out of the hall feeling refreshed. Spending money was always pleasant.

After finalizing the procurement of all necessary supplies, he logged out of the Star Network.

Qingyang let out a long breath.

"Your mom sent you a video call. Reply to it," Qingyundao reminded him.

"Got it."

Qingyang's mother had left Cloud-Mountain Star ten years ago, saying she had important matters to handle that would take a long time.

If it weren't for the virtual world, Qingyang probably would have been miserable for a long time.

The screen expanded, and a beautiful silver-haired woman appeared in the frame, her brows soft with tenderness.

"Hmm? A Protocol-type talent?" Yuwen Xue smiled at first, then furrowed her brow.

"..."

How could everyone see it?

Tianxing Empire, Berlandi Academy Training Ground.

"Bro! Bro! Someone recruited us!"

In the center of the field, a short-haired young man with a steady demeanor, who had been sitting cross-legged floating in midair, opened his eyes.

A flash of Red-Gold Light, utterly calm.

But the young man's gaze quickly turned helpless as he looked towards the running girl. Even in the Great Cosmic Era, where forms could be freely shaped, this girl still drew attention.

The girl was beaming with joy: "I thought I'd have to wait forever."

The young man swiped open a virtual screen: "Hmm, it's far. New commander, meets the requirements."

"Let's set out. Even passing through the Star Ring Channel will take a few days to arrive."

"Okay~"