Target

After strengthening two or three modules, the main problem in each "Otherworldly Space Battlefield" would finally shift from surviving to obtaining as many Source Points as possible.

Then, once the Kindling Warship's combat power and level reached a certain point and it began encountering higher-level interstellar civilizations, it would be time to start "lying low" and developing.

Survival and Source Points: this cycle had run throughout the Kindling Warship's journey in the "Otherworldly Space Battlefield," like an endless ouroboros.

As for the War Axe, it had already passed the initial beginner stage and reached LV6. Against an opponent like the Yatai civilization, which wasn't particularly powerful even among Tier 1 interstellar civilizations, it still held a clear advantage.

"The remaining problem is how to achieve the greatest possible results in just twenty-four hours."

Wang Dong pondered.

"First target: collect at least 1,000 Source Points."

Wang Dong's first step was to get 1,000 Source Points and change the War Axe's name.

A Kindling Warship's name was determined when it fused with its kindling, engraved into the shipboard kindling, and could not be changed at will.

Changing it required spending 1,000 Source Points each time.

That was a considerable sum.

A warship's name was engraved into its kindling.

Under normal circumstances, Kindling Warships couldn't use "aliases" with one another.

When verifying identities, the actual warship name—the "kindling" code—would inevitably be sent to the other party. It couldn't be faked.

When the shipboard kindling of two Kindling Warships exchanged information, there was no way to falsify it in any form. The only thing a captain could choose was how much information to disclose.

For example, you could choose to reveal basic information about your Kindling Warship, such as its name and overall rating. You could also reveal only its name and keep its level hidden.

You could even choose to reveal nothing at all and be an "anonymous" vessel.

But you couldn't make your Kindling Warship display a "fake name" or a "fake level."

The War Axe was on the Jin Family's blacklist.

Although, unlike in his previous life, when two warships had fought openly in the mining region and drawn everyone's attention, the arrival of a Jin Family Kindling Warship would inevitably attract the notice of the local forces in the mining starfield as time passed.

Once those local forces started paying attention, it wouldn't be difficult to find out why the Jin Family warship had come.

After all, the Jin Family's plot to ambush Yuan Shu had taken place on KQ-03.

Never underestimate how much local forces know about events within their own sphere of influence.

From then on, the Jin Family wouldn't be the only ones searching the mining starfield for the War Axe.

If someone found the War Axe before the Jin Family warship did, then no matter what they chose to do with it, they stood to gain a huge profit.

So Wang Dong's most pressing predicament was that he himself could only remain on the mining planet for the time being, while the Quantum Entanglement Brainwave Control System had a limited range, preventing the War Axe from going far.

At the same time, large numbers of people would be combing the mining starfield, and the War Axe could be exposed at any moment.

If he could earn 1,000 Source Points and give the War Axe a new ID, he could greatly reduce the risk of being directly identified.

That was because even the nearest Cosmic Void Belt was a long way from the mining starfield, making it theoretically impossible to enter the "Otherworldly Space Battlefield" and obtain enough Source Points for the renaming in such a short time.

Of course, the War Axe might already have some Source Points in reserve. But at least compared to being called the "War Axe" or remaining an "anonymous" vessel, changing its name would greatly lower its priority as a suspect.

Turning his attention back to the matter at hand—

A Tier 1 civilization's warships were worth roughly one Source Point each.

Every ten thousand members of a civilization were worth one Source Point.

Civilization-made objects yielded Source Points according to their value, though the return from a single item usually wouldn't exceed that of a warship.

So under normal circumstances, warships came first. When facing habitable planets, population centers took priority.

Only when neither of those was available would he destroy civilization-made objects, such as satellites, mining ships, and various pieces of equipment.

The War Axe had no large-scale weapons, since it was only a destroyer. Its main and secondary guns were meant to target individual combat units.

If he chose to target the population, one shot from the main gun wouldn't kill that many people.

So on the surface, Wang Dong's targets should have been enemy warships. There were more than two thousand of them—enough to keep him busy.

But for an old hand like Wang Dong, that wasn't necessarily the case.

He continuously weighed his options against the intelligence he had gathered.

After a long while, he finally let out a breath.

"It took them more than thirty thousand years just to reach the Tier 1 interstellar civilization level. Their development is pathetic. Ordinary warships have a maximum combat power of only 48 points, which can be ignored. Even the few motherships only have a combat power of 102, on par with a blank LV0 Kindling Warship. They're just as insignificant to the War Axe.

"They use nuclear energy, so they must have plenty of nuclear missiles. But nuclear missiles aren't very effective in space combat, mainly because they're too slow. The War Axe can easily evade them.

"Unfortunately, nuclear missiles would certainly require strict authorization to access, so I can't use them. Otherwise, with the population densities on the planets below, collecting a few Source Points would be easy."