At that moment, the New Shenzhou 2, the tiniest and most inconspicuous assault ship in the entire Tianshu star system, had carefully crept into the gravitational orbit of the third planet like a scout preparing to sneak into the enemy's home. It was another terrestrial planet, with a mass very close to Earth's. But unlike Earth's gorgeous blue, this world looked as if it were covered in thick ash, its surface glowing an ominous gray-black. There was no sign of life anywhere.
"Another terrestrial planet... How many is that in this star system?"
"The third. Also, two of the seventh planet's moons are very massive. They should be almost as valuable to terraform as Titan," Xiaobai replied. "But with the strong magnetic fields in this system, any development would be more trouble than it's worth."
"It would be a good place to build a space lab, though," Eisen said.
"That's what I thought, too, and Grandpa's willing to support me. But we can't manufacture some of the equipment ourselves. We'd have to import it from the Alliance..."
And, of course, that was where the conversation ended. When the quote for the future lab arrived, even Old Master Bai, who was known for spending money as freely as water, froze for a full minute. Then he patted Xiaobai on the shoulder with an apologetic look and the coaxing tone one might use on a little kid.
"Be a good boy, Grandson. I think young people shouldn't get ahead of themselves. Let's talk about the lab once you've earned your doctorate. Here's an annual pass to Bubble Paradise. You can consider it a birthday present from Grandpa."
Xiaobai had already been fifteen at the time, and he felt the world's deep malice toward him. The feeling was even stronger when his older