1969, The Choice of Chiss Territory
Prime Minister of the Cabinet Helmut Zemo walked into Tang Xiao's office and respectfully handed him a document. "Grand Duke, the Second Exploration Fleet has received a reply from Brent."
"Ah, it seems they've settled the Chiss." A faintly mocking smile appeared on Tang Xiao's lips. "If my guess is right, the Chiss have already started tearing themselves apart."
"Indeed. They settled the Chiss faster than we expected..." Helmut Zemo's smile was equally mocking. "Those Chiss who think so highly of themselves couldn't wait to prop Brent up that very night. Then all sorts of internal power struggles erupted between them. It was utterly disgraceful."
"As expected. The Chiss are an oligarchy centered around families, and with no real natural enemies, they naturally devote all their energy to infighting." Tang Xiao leaned back in his chair and sneered. "Sefrans Tann and Mith'raw'nuruodo—either one of them would be a top-tier genius even across the Milky Way Galaxy. The fact that people like them could be driven out because of struggles between the major families says enough about the state of Chiss territory."
He glanced at the portable terminal in his hand but had no interest in carefully reading its contents. Tossing it onto the desk, he said, "Just report directly. What agreements have we signed with Chiss territory so far?"
Helmut Zemo walked to Tang Xiao's side, bowed slightly, and spoke at an unhurried pace. "First is the construction of the stargate. We will provide Chiss territory with goods worth 2.5 billion Currency Number Four, including technical blueprints valued at 1.27 billion and rare metals worth the remaining 1.23 billion. Chiss territory will provide a construction team of 5,000 people along with supporting engineering ships. They will supply all non-core materials for the stargate's construction.