Secretary Officer Lilith looked at Zhao Chen: "The combat data for the Zero Blizzard mentioned above was provided by Senior Officer Charlotte and compiled by me from the Zero Blizzard's data records."
Zhao Chen was very satisfied. Lilith was already beginning to familiarize herself with the duties of a Secretary Officer. Indeed, the learning ability of the Succubus race was truly impressive.
"The upcoming battles basically just need to proceed step by step. We'll wait to return to base... wait, no! Lilith! Remember to compile the statistics for that." Zhao Chen narrowed his eyes, speaking mysteriously.
Secretary Officer Lilith nodded emphatically: "We have been continuously compiling statistics for that. There definitely won't be any major data discrepancies!"
"That's good." Zhao Chen smiled slightly.
More than ten minutes quickly passed. Just as Zhao Chen and Chu Xuan had anticipated, after losing the command of the three T2 Hive Motherships, the offensive efficiency of a large number of the Swarm dropped significantly. Their assault tempo was far less ferocious than it had been at the beginning.
"Report, we have received a message from Planetoid P331. Over five million civilians have been safely evacuated." The female adjutant reported excitedly to Chu Xuan.
Chu Xuan let out a long sigh of relief. This crisis was finally resolved.
They could now successfully withdraw. As for the remaining large number of Hive Motherships and the Swarm, they would be left to the Imperial Fleet and lord fleets arriving later for support.
As long as handled properly, Interstellar Zergs of this scale wouldn't cause too much impact.
The truly dangerous ones were Level 3 and above Cosmic Insect Nests.
"Fortunately, this time it was a Level 2 Cosmic Insect Nest, and it hadn't existed for long.
If it had been a Level 3 Cosmic Insect Nest, then probably most of the Arctic Fox System would have been in trouble." Chu Xuan said with a relaxed mindset.
She had once read a record of a Bug Campaign. A Level 3 Cosmic Insect Nest appeared in a star system. In less than a week, the entire system was completely overrun, becoming a Hatching Ground for the Interstellar Zergs, which then bred Bug Fleets dozens or even hundreds of times larger!
Afterwards, the Imperial Fleet spent a full three to four months to completely eliminate all of those Interstellar Zergs. As for that star system, centuries later, it had become an Abandoned Star System, forgotten and neglected.
"Quickly contact the Black Dragon Fleet. Tell them we can withdraw from the battle." Commander Chu Xuan said eagerly, but she soon stopped her adjutant.
She wanted to make contact personally!
For some reason, she was filled with curiosity about this Black Dragon Fleet and that man.
The communication request was sent and quickly accepted by the other party.
"Captain, we have just received word that over five million people on Planetoid P331 have been safely evacuated. We can also withdraw from the battle." Commander Chu Xuan said.
Zhao Chen nodded. He showed no particular emotional reaction to this news because the system had already notified him that this System Task had been successfully completed.
Before he could check it, Chu Xuan had sent the communication request, so he answered it first. There was a very, very important matter he needed to discuss with Commander Chu Xuan.
"Captain, thanks to your fleet this time..." Commander Chu Xuan was just about to chat more with this Captain to learn more about him.
Zhao Chen once again unceremoniously interrupted her words.
If it were anyone else, Chu Xuan would likely have started to feel annoyed by now.
"Commander Chu Xuan, I recall that according to a Galactic Alliance regulation, in any combat operation against Interstellar Zergs, whoever eliminates them gets to claim the remains. Even if immediate recovery of the bodies isn't possible, it can be recorded for later processing.
Right?" Zhao Chen asked.
Chu Xuan nodded. "That's correct."
Zhao Chen immediately raised his hand and projected a holographic table, clearly displaying a series of numbers.
Three T2 Hive Motherships eliminated.
Over 70,000 T1 Flying Insects eliminated.
Over 400 T2 Spike Snakes eliminated.
"Since we can't clean up the battlefield right now, we'll have to wait for the Imperial Fleet to eliminate these Interstellar Zergs before we can proceed with recovery.
Even accounting for some Zerg bodies being consumed by their companions, at least half of the remains should be preserved.
According to our calculations, that's roughly equivalent to a recovery value of about 560,000 Star Coins.
Since I'd like to keep things simple, I wonder if you, Commander, would be willing to take over these Zerg remains directly." Zhao Chen said with a smile. "Your starship participated in this battle throughout, and the Combat Logger on board should be able to verify the accuracy of our kill count."
"This is what you wanted to talk to me about...?" Chu Xuan was dumbfounded.
Talking about money right after the battle ended?
This made Chu Xuan feel that the previously grand image she had of this man seemed to have shattered a bit.
Zhao Chen didn't care whether his image was shattered or not.
He needed money! He needed money to buy raw materials! He needed to build starships!
"Captain, we can serve as a third party to verify what you've said. I can also use my authority to approve it directly. We will handle the recovery of those Zerg remains on your behalf." Chu Xuan forced a smile, still enthusiastically helping him with these matters.
Zhao Chen then immediately followed up, "When can this payment be processed?"
This man really seemed obsessed with money.
Chu Xuan maintained her smile. "If you're in a hurry, we can use our authority to go through a special channel. The funds can be transferred within one day.
In recognition of your fleet's outstanding performance in this battle, I can increase the amount to 600,000 Star Coins."
"Great, thank you. I'll send you the account details right away.
Looking forward to our next cooperation. Goodbye." Zhao Chen immediately flashed a bright smile and, without waiting for Chu Xuan to respond, promptly ended the call.
Chu Xuan's expression froze. What was with this guy? He didn't give her any chance to interject at all.
Was talking to her such a waste of time and so uninteresting?
"Young Lady..." The female adjutant beside her noticed the rich array of expressions on her mistress's face. This was the first time she had seen her so 'flustered' by a man.
"No! I have to meet this guy in person!" Chu Xuan's current mood was like that of a curious kitten whose curiosity remained unsatisfied.
Just then, an account number was sent over.
Chu Xuan looked at it, and her eyes lit up.
She recognized the information on this account. The prefix code indicated that it was a temporary account opened at the Arctic Fox Starport.
A temporary account meant that this Black Dragon Fleet's base was likely at the Arctic Fox Starport.
Considering her bounty mission and the timing of this fleet's arrival, it was probably dispatched from the Arctic Fox Starport.
If necessary, she could even verify with the Arctic Fox Starport's administrator who had accepted the bounty mission.
"Once the other Imperial Fleet arrives to take over, we'll head to the Arctic Fox Starport!" Chu Xuan made a decision—she was going to find this man!
As for what she would do once she found him, she wasn't entirely sure.
It was just a feeling she couldn't shake.
At that moment, Zhao Chen was completely unaware that he had caught the attention of an Imperial female officer. He was busy counting his earnings.
"Six hundred thousand Star Coins, plus the bounty from the mission and the additional reward from the Arctic Fox Starport.
This operation earned me a total of 1.3 million Star Coins in one go!
Adding that to the nine hundred thousand Star Coins already in my account, I now have 2.2 million Star Coins." Zhao Chen muttered to himself, sounding every bit like a money-grubber.
With only one month left until the Quarterly Mission deadline, Zhao Chen had only fulfilled two-thirds of the requirement to possess three system-produced starships: the T2 Queen Bee-class Heavy Carrier Starship and the T2 Hammer-class Heavy Interstellar Industrial Ship.
The Quarterly Mission had no penalties but offered generous rewards.
Zhao Chen didn't want to miss out, so he had to produce another starship within the remaining month.
"Let me check the system task I just completed." Zhao Chen opened the system interface in his mind, where a long-awaited window appeared.