Arctic Fox Starport · Stellar Mission Headquarters
"Sir, calling us here is pointless. This is a Level 2 Cosmic Insect Nest—it has at least three T2 Hive Motherships and over thirty T1 Hive Motherships!
How could our Adventurer Fleets possibly hold them off for several hours?"
"Even though the bounty is a full 500,000 Star Coins, you still need to be alive to spend it. Everyone knows dealing with these bugs is dangerous—one wrong move and your entire starship could be overrun. They don't give you the chance to surrender or be taken prisoner."
"It's just five million people dying. I say it's better to fall back and defend the P300 Asteroid behind us. It has a population of twenty million, and defending from that position would require holding out for at most two hours. The fastest reinforcements could arrive by then.
But at the P331 Asteroid, we'd need to withstand the Interstellar Zergs' assault for at least three hours to ensure the safe evacuation of those five million people. The risk is too great."
In a room, the chief administrator of Arctic Fox Starport looked with a troubled expression at the three commanders of the largest private fleets currently docked at the starport.
All three had refused the mission for various reasons.
"I'll personally add another 100,000 Star Coins! Won't you reconsider? This mission isn't about fighting the bugs to the death—just delay them for three hours... or maybe even two would be enough," the chief administrator pleaded.
"Not even 600,000 Star Coins—whoever wants to take on this job for a million Star Coins can go ahead, but I'm not doing it.
Speaking of which, isn't that fleet commander who took his fleet to try and safely evacuate the five million civilians on P331 Asteroid out of his mind?
Honestly, why don't you just have the lord of the Arctic Fox System issue an order to withdraw his fleet?" one of them sneered.
The chief administrator sighed deeply, his heart filled with unspoken frustration.
Of course, the lord above him wanted to withdraw that Imperial Fleet. Although the Imperial Army wasn't under his direct command, under normal circumstances, a lord of a territory still held some authority.
Moreover, the lord of the Arctic Fox System was a Count, and the Arctic Fox System was one of the most prosperous systems in the North Wind Star Domain, so his status was naturally exceptional.
But the commander of that Imperial Fleet... his identity was even more extraordinary.
The lord of the Arctic Fox System had made it clear: even if all five million people died—or even the seventy million across the subsequent planets—he wouldn't care.
But if anything happened to that commander, he would be in serious trouble.
Just then, a message popped up on the chief administrator's handheld terminal. Seeing its contents, his face lit up with joy.
He immediately answered the call.
"Hello? You say there's a fleet willing to accept this bounty mission?"
The three commanders in the room overheard the chief administrator's excited words and exchanged puzzled glances.
None of the three of them dared to take on this mission—who was this reckless newcomer willing to accept it?
"Incomplete procedures? No problem, no problem. In such critical times, we can simplify all procedures.
It would be best if they could depart immediately," the chief administrator said.
He thought of something and suddenly asked, "What's the other party's background? How many starships do they have?"
"Black... Black Dragon Fleet? Currently at our starport... there are only two starships?" The head of the Arctic Fox Starport was dumbfounded.
Black Dragon Fleet?
The three people beside him muttered the name. They had never heard of such a figure in the entire North Wind Star Domain.
And only two starships?
Although it was possible that most of the other party's starships were not docked at the starport.
But was there really someone daring enough to take on this mission?
"Forget it, no matter what fleet it is. Tell them they must depart immediately. If they successfully complete this mission, the Arctic Fox Starport will add another one hundred thousand... no, two hundred thousand Star Coins as a reward!" the head of the Arctic Fox Starport said.
The communication ended.
The head of the Arctic Fox Starport looked at the three people present and asked again, "Are you three really not reconsidering? This bounty mission doesn't limit the number of participants. If you all go together, perhaps..."
"Forget it, forget it. Such an easy mission to earn money should be left to this so-called Black Dragon Fleet," one of them said with a sarcastic tone.
"I'd like to see if they can successfully evacuate those five million people," another person said teasingly, his tone and expression completely disbelieving that the other party could accomplish this task.
...
T2 Queen Bee-class Heavy Carrier Starship · Bridge
"Mr. Zhao Chen, we have registered you, and you have accepted this mission.
Additionally, we have added two hundred thousand Star Coins to the reward. As long as you complete this mission, you will receive a total of seven hundred thousand Star Coins in payment," the female official said to Zhao Chen via video communication.
"Alright, thank you," Zhao Chen replied.
"Wishing you a triumphant return," the female official said.
The communication ended.
Zhao Chen looked at the other video communication window, which was Charlotte's.
"What's the deal with this Black Dragon Fleet?" Charlotte asked curiously.
Zhao Chen explained, "Registering for a mission requires a name. I thought about it and decided not to use the Fierce Dragon Fleet name—it would be too conspicuous.
So, for now, we'll use the Black Dragon Fleet as our external title."
After explaining, Zhao Chen looked at Charlotte. "Aren't you curious why I insisted on accepting this mission?"
Charlotte replied, "Accepting missions is the Captain's responsibility. As your subordinate, the only thing to do is fight."
It had to be said, Charlotte was truly an exceptional starship commander.
Currently, the T2 Queen Bee-class Heavy Carrier Starship and Zero Blizzard were departing from the Arctic Fox Starport. There was still some time before entering warp navigation state.
Zhao Chen continued, "What do you think our chances of success are if we take on this mission alone?"
Charlotte's expression turned serious. She raised her hand and summoned a holographic image of the mission details. "This is a Level 2 Cosmic Insect Nest. Assuming there are more than three T2 Hive Motherships and thirty T1 Hive Motherships...
If we fight to the end, our chances of success aren't great. Because those bugs... we don't have a Stellar Supply Ship right now. Even if we expend all our ammunition, we might not be able to eliminate them all.
But if we're just buying time to evacuate the five million people on the P331 asteroid, the difficulty is much lower.
I'd say about an eighty percent chance of success."
"So high? I thought you'd consider me reckless." Zhao Chen was somewhat surprised by Charlotte's assessment.
Charlotte said, "If it were two ordinary T2 starships, the odds of success would be less than thirty percent. But your two starships cannot be described as ordinary T2 starships.
Additionally, I've encountered Interstellar Zergs a few times. As long as it's not a large-scale swarm, the threat isn't actually that great."
With Charlotte's words, Zhao Chen's confidence greatly increased.
"Warp drive course pre-calculation complete. We will now enter the acceleration phase. In ten minutes, we will enter warp navigation.
All starship crew, enter deep-sea mode within ten minutes!
I repeat, all starship crew enter deep-sea mode within ten minutes!" Zhao Chen issued the command.
Destination! The edge of the Arctic Fox System, P331 Asteroid!