"System task received!"
Zachary Chase found an excuse to leave the banquet hall and came to a quiet place.
Two system pop-ups appeared before his eyes.
"Annual Mission: Please, host, graduate normally from North Starship Military Academy within one year."
Zachary was stunned.
Graduate from North Starship Military Academy within one year? He was currently only a fourth-year student; normally, he would have to wait more than two years to graduate. By the end of this year, he would, at most, become a fifth-year student.
However, given how generous the quarterly mission rewards were, the reward for this annual mission would definitely not be bad, and it would be a pity to waste it. It seemed he had to find a way to graduate early from North Starship Military Academy. It was a good thing, as he also wanted to fully develop the Little Dragon Star System once he had established a certain foundation.
He then looked at the other mission pop-up.
"Quarterly Mission:
Possess five different models of T2-class and above starships (3/5).
Build an interstellar fleet with a total of thirty starships. Note: Must be T2-class or above starships (12/30).
Possess one T3-level starship (0/1) (system-produced starship)."
This mission had quite a few requirements.
However, the first two requirements were not difficult to complete. For the five different models of T2-class and above starships, Zachary had already completed the construction of three T2 starships: the T2 Bee Queen-class Heavy Carrier Starship, the T2 Black Rhino-class Interstellar Heavy Assault Frigate, and the T2 Iron Hammer-class Heavy Interstellar Industrial Ship. At the same time, in his system warehouse, he also had the technical blueprint for a T2 Bronze Eden-class Starship, as well as the technical blueprint for a T3 Blizzard-class Light Interstellar Battlecruiser. Worst case scenario, exchanging for a T2 starship from the T2 Mall was an easy feat for Zachary now.
For the second requirement—thirty starships—Zachary could complete this mission in two months just by building T2 Black Rhinos.
The most important was the third requirement: one T3-level starship.
Zachary once again opened the T3 Blizzard technical blueprint that had been lying in his system warehouse for a long time. To complete the construction of this T3 Blizzard, the initial construction cost alone was 13 million star coins! This was equivalent to the construction cost of 130 T2 Black Rhinos or nearly ten T2 Bee Queens. Zachary, however, only had less than 1.2 million star coins remaining. There was a tenfold shortfall.
Bridging this tenfold gap in three months would be quite challenging.
Additionally, if a T2 Iron Hammer was used to construct the T3 Blizzard, it would require its entire production capacity for two months. Only then could it be completed. Even at the best starport workshop, it would take roughly the same amount of time.
But this T3 Blizzard was destined not to be built in a starport's starship workshop, because once it was completed and sailed out of the starport, its hull shape would basically allow people to identify it as a T3 starship—and an unregistered T3 starship model at that! If they then checked the starport's starship workshop rental records, Zachary would be exposed. Building a T2 starship might not have a big impact, but being able to build an unprecedented T3 starship would inevitably attract some unwelcome attention to Zachary. Although exposure might be inevitable eventually, the later it happened, the better, allowing Zachary more time to prepare.
Construction cost and construction time—both were difficult problems facing Zachary.
"The difficulty of this quarterly mission is not small," Zachary muttered, but if he didn't complete it, wasting the reward for a quarterly mission would be a heartache.
Zachary closed his eyes and began to constantly plan and conceive in his mind.
Seconds later, Zachary opened his eyes.
He already had a series of construction plans.
First, use T2 Iron Hammer Ship One to spend one month expanding a second T2 Iron Hammer. In the second month, T2 Iron Hammer Ship One would begin the construction mission of the T3 Blizzard, taking two months to complete it. At the same time, in the second month, T2 Iron Hammer Ship Two would begin constructing a T2 Bronze Eden, which was estimated to be completed in less than a month. Although this auxiliary starship was expensive, its construction time was not long. In the third month, T2 Iron Hammer Ship Two would operate at full capacity, building a large number of T2 Black Rhinos, or other T2 starships that could be completed within the time limit, to meet the thirty-starship standard for the quarterly mission.
"In terms of time, there isn't much of a problem. So the problem lies in the raw material resource gap. Calculating the construction costs of all starships, this totals a whopping twenty million star coins." Zachary covered his face.
With that calculation, the funding gap was even larger. Where was he going to get the money?
Territory? Forget it—the Little Dragon Star System was still a mess.
Then he could only get money from external sources.
Zachary thought of Leah Warren. Arms trade was the fastest way to make money!
Previously, in urgent need of funds, he had sold off a technical blueprint for a T1 Wolf Louse-class Medium Interstellar Destroyer at a low price, opting for a one-time buyout at the time, which was a last resort. If he had chosen to sell a technical license or agency rights, the funds obtained in the short term would certainly not have been as high, and it wouldn't have been a one-step solution; he could only directly sell it off to make quick money.
But this time, Zachary had no such intention. With the trust established by the T1 Wolf Louse Starship technology with Leah Warren, this time he wanted to do something big with Levi Warren's older sister!
He had already conceived all of this in his mind.
Afterward, Zachary returned to the banquet, enjoying the rare leisure time of this New Year's Eve banquet.
The first day of Galaxy Calendar 3031.
This Little Dragon Fleet officially set sail, with a total of thirteen starships majestically departing from Arctic Fox Starport and heading into the distant starfield.
Zachary watched the fleet sailing in a carrier battle formation, thinking, "Now this is what a fleet with an Aircraft Carrier Starship looks like." Before, a mismatched assembled starship paired with a T2 Bee Queen hardly looked like a fleet. Now, ten T2 Black Rhinos were escorting them, while the Blizzard Zero was positioned beside the T2 Bee Queen. This way, they could respond to any potential threats at any time!
"Report, we have exited the warp navigation restricted zone of Arctic Fox Starport," Lilith reported.
Zachary sat in the captain's chair and gave the order: "Order the entire fleet to prepare for warp navigation. Target, Arctic Fox Galaxy Star Gate!"
They would use the Arctic Fox Galaxy Star Gate to reach the North Star System, and then return to North Starship Military Academy.
After six months, Zachary was finally returning to school.