On the waters southeast of Penglai Island, the iceberg aircraft carrier built by Great Han's North Sea Military Industries Group, originally intended for polar routes and the transport of large KMFs, first vanished from every radar screen simultaneously.
The next instant, the air above its hull seemed to warp under an invisible force.
Rows of sealed cargo containers, undeployed IS units, maintenance platforms, and personnel nowhere on the original crew roster appeared in the middle of the deck. Before the bridge officer on watch could sound the alarm, new navigation logs, crew rosters, equipment manifests, and imperial transfer orders had already entered the military network simultaneously.
The paperwork was almost suspiciously complete. When the official overseeing the Penglai transfer received the roster, he had still been privately calculating how to squeeze out one last windfall.
He had already worked it all out. The companies from the E.U. on the list would be the easiest to pressure: he could first charge Iris's Dunoa Industries an equipment risk deposit, then levy a patent review fee on the Orcat Technical Trust from the Royal Isles, and add a political background check for Rhine Industries' military training team.
He would charge the schools and companies referred by Area 11's Government-in-Exile a little less. Kaguya Sumeragi now held an official title, and Cao Yuanming of Liaodong spent every day proclaiming himself the white jade pillar holding up the heavens over the East China Sea. There was no need to offend both Area 11's Imperial Lineage and His Excellency the East China Sea's White Jade Pillar over a few fees.
His calculations were clear enough, but after turning to the second page, his hand stopped.
Every entry had an Imperial Civilization Contract number attached. The continuity of Dunois Company's patents had been jointly guaranteed by Area