Arctic Fox Starport · Interstellar Mission Headquarters
"Sir, it's useless for you to call us here. This is a Level 2 Cosmic Insectoid Hive, with at least three T2 Zerg Nest Motherships and over thirty T1 Zerg Hive Motherships! How can our adventurer fleets possibly hold them off for a few hours?"
"Although the bounty is a hefty five hundred thousand star coins, you need to be alive to spend it, right? Who doesn't know that dealing with Zerg means your entire starship could fall if you're not careful? They won't give you a chance to surrender as a captive."
"It's just five million people dying. If you ask me, it's more suitable to retreat to the P300 Asteroid behind us. It has twenty million people, and defending that position would only require holding out for at most two hours before the fastest batch of reinforcements can arrive. But at P331 Asteroid, we'd need to withstand the Interstellar Zerg's attack for at least three hours to ensure those five million people evacuate successfully. The risk is too great."
In a room, the general manager of the Arctic Fox Starport looked at the three fleet commanders, who led the largest private fleets in the starport, with a worried expression.
All three refused to accept the mission, citing various reasons.
"I'll personally add another one hundred thousand star coins! Won't you reconsider? This mission isn't asking you to fight the Zerg to the death; you just need to delay them for three hours… or perhaps two hours will be enough," the general manager of the Arctic Fox Starport persuaded.
"Forget six hundred thousand star coins. Let anyone who wants to do this one million star coins job do it; I'm certainly not. Speaking of which, it's strange, isn't that fleet commander who arbitrarily led his fleet to safely evacuate five million civilians on P331 Asteroid out of his mind? You guys are also something—couldn't you just have the Lord of the Arctic Fox Galaxy issue an order for him to withdraw his fleet?" one of them said, pouting.
The general manager of the Arctic Fox Starport sighed, truly having untold bitterness in his heart.
The lord above him, of course, wanted to withdraw that Imperial Army fleet. Although the Imperial Army was not under his direct command, under normal circumstances, the lord of a territory still held some authority. Moreover, the Lord of the Arctic Fox Galaxy was an Earl, and the Arctic Fox Galaxy was one of the most prosperous galaxies in the North Wind Star Region, so his status was naturally extraordinary.
But that fleet commander of the Imperial Army fleet—his identity… was even more extraordinary.
The Lord of the Arctic Fox Galaxy had said that even if those five million people, plus the seventy million total on the subsequent planets, all perished, he wouldn't feel pained. But if anything happened to that commander, then he would be in big trouble.
Just then, a message popped up on the general manager of the Arctic Fox Starport's terminal. Seeing the content, he was overjoyed.
He immediately connected.
"Hello, you said a fleet is willing to accept this bounty mission?"
The three people present heard the general manager's excited words, and they looked at each other. They, the three of them, didn't dare to take this mission, so where did this reckless fool come from who dared to take it?
"Incomplete procedures? No problem, no problem. At such a critical time, all procedures are simplified. It's best if they can depart immediately," the general manager said.
He thought of something and suddenly asked, "What's their background? How many starships do they have?"
"Black Dragon Fleet? Currently at our starport… only two starships?" The general manager was dumbfounded.
Black Dragon Fleet? The three people next to him mumbled the name; they had never heard of such a person in the entire North Wind Star Region. And only two starships? Although it was possible that most of their starships were not docked at the starport, did someone really dare to take on this mission?
"Forget it, no matter what fleet it is. Tell them, please ask them to depart immediately. If they successfully complete this mission, the Arctic Fox Starport will give them an additional one hundred thousand… no, two hundred thousand star coins as compensation!" the general manager said.
The communication ended.
The general manager looked at the three people present and asked again, "Are the three of you really not going to reconsider? This bounty mission doesn't limit the number of people. If you all go together, perhaps…"
"Forget it, forget it. Such an easy mission to earn money, let's leave it to this Black Dragon Fleet," one of them said with a sarcastic tone.
"I'm curious to see if they can successfully evacuate those five million people," another person said with a taunt, his tone and eyes completely disbelieving that the other party could accomplish this task.
T2 Bee Queen-class Heavy Carrier Starship · Bridge
"Mr. Zachary Chase, we have registered you; you have accepted this mission. Additionally, we have added an extra two hundred thousand star coins in remuneration. As long as you can complete this mission, you will receive a total of seven hundred thousand star coins," the female manager said to Zachary via video communication.
"Okay, thank you," Zachary said.
"I wish you a triumphant return," the female manager said.
The communication ended.
Zachary looked at the video communication window on the other end, which was Charlotte.
"What's the deal with this Black Dragon Fleet?" Charlotte asked curiously.
Zachary explained, "Registering a mission requires a name. I thought about it and decided not to use the Little Dragon Fleet's name; that would be too ostentatious. So, for external purposes, I'll use the title Black Dragon Fleet for now."
After explaining, Zachary looked at Charlotte: "Why aren't you curious why I insisted on accepting this mission?"
Charlotte said, "Accepting any mission is your business as the captain. As your subordinate, the only thing I need to do is fight."
It must be said, Charlotte was truly an exceptionally capable starship general.
Currently, the T2 Bee Queen and the Blizzard Zero were departing the Arctic Fox Starport, and there was still some time before entering warp speed.
Zachary continued, "In your opinion, what are our chances of success if we undertake this mission alone?"
Charlotte's expression became serious. She raised her hand and summoned a holographic image of the mission briefing: "This is a Level 2 Cosmic Insectoid Hive. Assuming there are at least three T2 Zerg Nest Motherships and thirty T1 Zerg Hive Motherships. If we fight to the bitter end, we don't have much chance of winning, because those Zerg… we don't have an interstellar supply ship now. Even if we use up all our ammunition, we might not be able to eliminate them all. But if it's just to delay time and allow the five million people on P331 Asteroid to evacuate, then the difficulty is much lower. Roughly an eighty percent chance of success."
"That high? I thought you would think I was being very adventurous," Zachary was somewhat surprised by Charlotte's judgment.
Charlotte said, "If it were ordinary two T2 starships, the chances of success would be less than thirty percent. But your two starships cannot be described as ordinary T2 starships. Furthermore, I've had contact with the Interstellar Zerg a few times. As long as it's not a large-scale Interstellar Zerg force, the threat isn't very significant."
With Charlotte's words, Zachary's confidence greatly increased.
"Warp engine trajectory pre-calculated. We will now enter the acceleration phase. We will enter warp speed in ten minutes. All crew members, enter deep-sea mode within ten minutes! Repeat, all crew members, enter deep-sea mode within ten minutes!" Zachary gave the order.
Target! Edge of the Arctic Fox Galaxy, P331 Asteroid!