Global Crossing: Empire of Stars - Section 9

"Big Brother, mine isn't urgent. Rest for a couple of days first," Link said hurriedly.

"Beep beep~"

The holographic wristband rang again. Lin Zhichen looked down and saw that it was another call from the Earth Federation Government.

"Connect it." Lin Zhichen's gaze shifted slightly. His heightened sensitivity from Psionics gave him a faint premonition, something like the anticipation before the winning numbers were revealed.

The holographic communicator activated, and a life-sized man in military uniform appeared in the cabin. His gaze swept across the group before settling on Lin Zhichen. With a solemn expression, he saluted.

"Your Excellency Commander, Catalina, Chief of Staff of the Fifth Fleet, reporting for duty!"

Catalia looked similar to a white person from Earth, with a high nose bridge, blue eyes, and a head of brown hair.

"Welcome!" Lin Zhichen said in surprise. "The Fifth Fleet was only just established and doesn't even have a single starship yet. I didn't expect Your Excellency Chief of Staff to arrive so quickly."

"Wherever Earth is, that is where my post lies!" Catalia said sternly. "Your Excellency Commander, please allow me to report on the preliminary preparations—"

Lin Zhichen waved a hand, interrupting him. "You're the expert when it comes to fleet organization and command. I'm merely a figurehead. You'll take the lead on the relevant work."

At this critical juncture, when a new Administrative Planet was joining the Federation family, everyone in the Federal Government was watching. Since he had no intention of entering the system, he naturally would not interfere, lest he please neither side. He believed no one would dare withhold the little benefits he was entitled to at a time like this.

Sure enough, appreciation flashed through Catalia's eyes upon hearing that. Smart people were smart because they knew what they wanted and would not do unnecessary things. Though this was their first meeting, he developed a favorable impression of his future partner.

"Your Excellency Commander, the Federation military sent over a routine investigation not long ago. I now represent the Federation Military Department in asking you several necessary questions. Please rest assured that the Federation will not seize anyone's private property. This is a sacred right granted by the Federal Constitution!" Catalia said seriously.

Lin Zhichen raised an eyebrow. He had known what the other man wanted to ask. "Go ahead."

"Your Excellency Commander, did the Petrel-class Frigate you are currently piloting complete Psionicization approximately two hours ago?"

"Yes. I was fortunate enough to receive a treasure bestowed by the universe. The Qin Yuan is the finest companion," Lin Zhichen answered.

"Your Excellency Commander, does the Psionic Warship Qin Yuan possess the Psionic skill Space Jump? Could you explain its specific attributes?"

"Yes," Lin Zhichen answered. "It consumes 20 points of Psionics per use to perform a Space Jump within a range of 10 light-years. Its cooldown is one hour."

"Understood. The inquiry is complete." Catalia relaxed. "Congratulations, sir. You have gained an exceptional combat partner! Relax, sir. This was merely a routine inquiry, though such opportunities are indeed uncommon."

"That quickly?" Lin Zhichen was the one taken aback.

"Of course. The Qin Yuan is only a Frigate, after all. It may be important to the Solar System, but it has no impact on the Federation's current situation." Catalia shrugged.

"Of course, there will still be some impact. You will soon receive certain conveniences from the military department. No need to be polite; this is also customary, so that the potential of every Psionic Warship is not wasted."

"I understand." Lin Zhichen nodded.

"Your Excellency Commander, as a member of the Federation military, you should enjoy the privileges due to you. These are your special permissions, comprising two aspects." As he spoke, Catalia operated his holographic wristband, sending a data packet directly to Lin Zhichen's inbox.

"One is the Earth military's Task Publishing System. Certain missions open to the public will be posted there. Before those missions are released, as one of the Defense Administration's only five fleet commanders, you have the right to review them in advance!

"The other is the Internal Military Exchange System. It allows you to exchange for numerous blueprints and construction materials, including Titans, though military merit is required."

Lin Zhichen's heart stirred. As expected, only smart people had more opportunities. It was said to be a fleet commander's rightful benefit, but if Catalia delayed for a while or brushed him off with other excuses, it could very well hinder his development.

Being dispatched to a brand-new Administrative Planet to oversee the formation of an entirely new fleet, and to get his teeth into such a huge prize, meant that this chief of staff's standing within the Federation was certainly far from ordinary.

"Excellent, my chief of staff. I believe we'll have a period of cooperation that satisfies us both!"

The two chatted briefly before Catalia tactfully shut down the communicator.

The people in the room looked at one another, smiles spreading across their faces.

"I just noticed that, with my authority, placing orders at Federation military shipyards grants priority bonuses. We can cut in line," Lin Zhichen said with a smile.

"And ship prices are discounted by twenty percent!"

"Hurrah!" Wei Peng cheered. "Big Brother, we're rich!"

Even setting everything else aside, at those prices, they could buy ships and resell them at a ten percent markup for a tidy profit!

Of course, doing that would be too unscrupulous. One wrong move could attract the inspection department. There were plenty of ways to make money, so there was no need to do something like that.

He opened a shipyard directly under the Federation military, took out the blueprints, and placed orders for two Frigates. The Small Laser Cannons originally intended for installation on the ships were no longer needed; at factory prices, they were even cheaper than the market price.

"After the discount, a military Frigate costs 360 Energy Coins without the blueprint. Two of them are only 720. If we sell this Large Electromagnetic Railgun, we can pay for them in full right now!" Lin Zhichen said with a smile as he directly sold off the spoils they had obtained.

He casually sold a Large Electromagnetic Railgun, two Small Red Laser Cannons, and a Small Electromagnetic Railgun on the market.

The greatest advantage of such basic weapons was that they were cheap enough. A considerable number of them dropped from wild monsters every day.

Before long, a freight hovercar contacted them, docked at the port, and hauled away the turrets.

At the same time, 283.5 Energy Coins arrived in his account.

Including Kadir Rockefeller's friendly sponsorship, they still had 63.5 Energy Coins left after deducting the shipbuilding costs—enough for a full resupply.

"According to the information from the shipyard, our warships should reach the port in around two days. The position of Earth Defense Fleet commander grants a substantial priority bonus for ship construction!" Lin Zhichen said.

"So fast?" The others were dumbfounded. What kind of priority could compress a construction period of over a month into two days?

The Federal Government's own docks had strict rules regarding construction order. Some projects had higher priority, and even orders added later could be placed near the front of the queue. His Frigates fell into that category.

So becoming a government official came with such benefits. Better yet, he did not need to worry about any of the actual work. He only needed to collect his monthly subsidy.

It was approximately 10 Psionic Coins, and for at least the next ten years, the Federal Government would pay that allowance on his behalf.

"It should be part of the Federation's support for Earth. They increased the priority." Lin Zhichen was in an excellent mood. Wasn't fairness simply giving himself priority? Ordinary people would never understand the joy of privilege.

"Big Brother, does the military exchange list have any higher-spec starships? Even shipborne components would do!" Wu Tianyi reminded him.

Lin Zhichen slapped his forehead and reopened the holographic system to check.

The Qin Yuan's current configuration was the basic version. Its energy reactor was still a fission reactor, no different from the Spawned pirate ships.

"It can exchange for a Fusion Reactor." After looking through the list for a while, Lin Zhichen's eyes lit up. "It can also be refitted with Second Generation Electromagnetic Coil Cannons!

"Improved Electromagnetic Deflection Shields, Small Gold-Ceramic Armor, Second Generation Radar Gravity Sensors—a full set of second-generation equipment!"

A Fusion Reactor produced fifty percent more energy than a Nuclear Fission Reactor. Only with abundant shipboard power could they support more powerful weapons and equipment.

The Second Generation Electromagnetic Coil Cannon was roughly thirty percent more powerful than the first-generation Electromagnetic Railgun. Replacing all three would nearly double a Frigate's firepower.

Improved Electromagnetic Deflection Shields and Small Gold-Ceramic Armor enhanced defense. One strengthened the Energy Shield, while the other reinforced the warship's armor.

The Second Generation Radar Gravity Sensor had twice the detection range of conventional radar. That meant the Qin Yuan and its crew could make far greater use of Long-Range Artillery, more than doubling their tactical capabilities!

"Big Brother, can we choose an even higher generation?" Link asked anxiously.

"No, second generation is the limit!" Lin Zhichen shook his head. "Ordinary citizens get standard ships, while those tied to the government can refit with second-generation equipment. This should be a restriction on private armed forces."

At any time, the most advanced weapons and equipment were firmly held in the government's hands. Without powerful authority behind it, a regime was nothing but a decoration.

Lin Zhichen pondered for a moment. "The refitting costs are steep. We'll replace the most important radar first. The Qin Yuan is our main force, so it gets priority!"

The others nodded. This was currently the most reasonable arrangement.

After calculating it, fitting the two Frigates with Second Generation Radar Gravity Sensors would cost 12.96 Energy Coins.

Refitting the Qin Yuan with a Fusion Reactor, Ion Engine, gravity sensor, and three Coilguns would cost 72.08 Energy Coins. They did not have enough money left!

"Uh, Big Brother, how about we don't refit ours yet?" Wu Tianyi suggested, only for Lin Zhichen to cut him off with a wave. "No. We can only execute my tactics after upgrading the radar! I still have the Federal Government's monthly subsidy of 10 Energy Coins. Huh? It changed to 50?"

"What?" Everyone was shocked. A subsidy of 50 Energy Coins meant that without doing anything at all, they could earn enough in a year to build a Frigate!

How valuable was an Energy Coin?

One Energy Coin was equivalent to 100 million Energy Points in Federation Credits. Materials were extremely abundant in the Interstellar Era, and an ordinary person only needed two or three Energy Points for a meal at a restaurant.

One Energy Coin was enough for an ordinary family to live in splendor for a lifetime.

If that was not intuitive enough, Earth could serve as a comparison. When the Solar System had just crossed over, Earth's entire productive capacity could only produce four to five Energy Coins and three to five units of minerals each month. It took years of accumulation just to build one Frigate.

Lin Zhichen's monthly subsidy was equivalent to nearly half a year's output from a planet that had only begun industrialization!

"It's a subsidy for Psionic Warship owners. My Psionicist allowance was included as well," he said, his tone rather complicated.

He had to admit, he was stunned by this extravagant habit of throwing money around at the slightest disagreement!

As expected of the Human Federation Government. They were truly generous!

With money, everything became easy. He placed the order directly with the shipyard. The two purchased Frigates would be refitted at the factory, while the Qin Yuan would be modified at Earth Starport.

"You guys should buy some NPC Crew first. Ordinary ones will do. Tomorrow, I'll take them to the Asteroid Belt for rotation training. They'll become elite troops in less than half a month!" Lin Zhichen reminded them.

"Use my authority to buy them from the military's Cloning Factory. There are discounts, and they haven't been screened yet, so it'll be easier to find some hidden gems."

The others nodded and hurriedly opened the Cloning Factory to examine the NPC Crew members for sale.

The Cloning Factory was where the Federation sold NPCs. They could be purchased online.

Because the growth of the Natural Person population was limited, even fewer Natural Persons were willing to abandon their comfortable lives, risk losing Lifespan, travel the stars, and battle endless NPC wild monsters. To make the most of Natural Persons, NPC supplementation was indispensable.

For example, most Natural Persons served in important posts such as captains, while the remaining positions were filled by NPC Crew. This greatly increased the Federation Fleet's Combat Power. NPC captains' tactics were simply too rigid, and one careless move could drag their allies down with them.

High-grade NPC captains were too difficult to cultivate. Virtual World training had an upper limit and could only produce beginners. To advance further, they needed real combat.

Considering NPC captains' tendency to sabotage their own teams, only one in ten captain NPCs could survive to become high-grade. That usually meant at least nine warships and their crews had become sunk costs.

With that money, they might as well cultivate several more Natural Person captains!

"Big Brother, when I practice the body techniques you taught us, I can now feel a trace of heat rising from my lower abdomen," Wei Peng said idly from the side as he sat there.

"There have also been changes on my status panel. Is this the Refining Essence into Qi you mentioned?"