After strolling around the Academy, Zhao Chen returned to the T3 Blizzard.
Shortly after he arrived on the starship bridge, his handheld terminal received a special notification.
Ding, 3,500,000,000 Star Coins have been deposited into your Empire private account.
At that moment, Zhao Chen felt his spirits lift instantly.
Just as he needed to pay Red Eyes for the raw material purchases in installments over this period, his "dear" Governor Chu He had delivered a pillow just when he needed it.
Ding, 3,000,000,000 Star Coins have been deposited into your Empire private account.
That delightful sound rang out again, like the feeling of a heartbeat.
However, it was strange. Why was the payment split into two transfers? And what was the later 3 billion Star Coins for?
At that moment, Zhao Chen received a message from Governor Chu He requesting a holographic video communication.
Zhao Chen replied, asking the other party to wait a moment. He activated the "privacy mode" around the captain's chair, preventing the starship crew on the bridge from seeing what he was doing.
By then, Governor Chu He had already sent over a room link.
Sitting in the captain's chair, Zhao Chen activated the holographic video function and clicked on the room link.
Immediately, the surroundings around Zhao Chen transformed.
He found himself in a cosmic environment, sitting on a floating chair, with Governor Chu He—whom he hadn't seen in several months—across from him.
"Where have you been running off to all this time?" Governor Chu He immediately threw a question at Zhao Chen.
"I've been in the North Wind Star Domain all along, conducting experiments related to the T4 Interstellar Warship. You have no idea how exhausting this experimental research really is…" Zhao Chen put on an act, pretending to be utterly drained and weary.
Governor Chu He couldn't be bothered to listen to Zhao Chen's rambling. He asked, "How's the progress?"
"It's still a bit tricky, but there's a slight glimmer of hope. Don't rush it—we agreed on three years, and it's only been a few months," Zhao Chen replied.
Governor Chu He didn't press further on the matter. Instead, he said, "You've received the 3.5 billion Star Coins final payment I transferred, right?"
"I have," Zhao Chen nodded, then asked, "What about the later 3 billion Star Coins?"
In truth, Zhao Chen already had a rough guess.
Governor Chu He answered, "The first batch of T3 Flame Dragon-class medium interstellar destroyers commissioned into service have performed exceptionally well in sea trials and combat operations. I plan to build another sixty ships. As per our previous agreement, I'll pay you another technology licensing fee. These 3 billion are the advance payment. In three months, I'll pay you the remaining 7 billion as the final installment."
"I'm glad the T3 Flame Dragon meets your expectations. That's all that matters," Zhao Chen chuckled.
How could anyone not be satisfied with a starship produced by the system?
Although the T3 Flame Dragon-class medium interstellar destroyer wasn't the best T3 interstellar destroyer available in the System Store, compared to the other T3 interstellar destroyers currently on the market, it was undoubtedly outstanding!
"Rest assured, when I, Chu Changhe, do business, I never deceive anyone. I'll pay you exactly what I promised, down to the last coin. But I also don't tolerate being deceived by others," Governor Chu concluded before ending the communication.
His words were undoubtedly a mix of carrot and stick—gentle yet firm.
Zhao Chen leaned back in the captain's chair.
He glanced at his account balance, which now held a staggering 7.8 billion Star Coins!
After deducting the upcoming raw material procurement costs to be transferred to Red Eyes—amounting to nearly 5 billion Star Coins—and the 1.5 billion Star Coin commission to be paid upon transaction completion, Zhao Chen would still have around 1.3 billion Star Coins left.
This was more than sufficient to fund the upcoming Starship Construction Plan.
Now, all that remained was to wait for the Academy's graduation ceremony to conclude and for the commissioning ceremonies of several T3 interstellar warships.
...
[Quarterly Mission: Possess three different models of T3 Level or above starships (3/3)
Select one Support-type Starship and reach a quantity of 5 vessels (5/5) (T2 Hammer-class Heavy Interstellar Industrial Ship selected)
Mission completed. Please claim the Task Reward.]
A few days later, Zhao Chen received the system notification. Almost simultaneously, he got a message from Lilith.
The T3 Phantom Sting-class Light Interstellar Stealth Bomber, T3 Goddess Academy-class Starship, T3 Andromeda-class Interstellar Medical Ship, and T2 Snow Mastiff-class Heavy Interstellar Battleship had all been completed and rolled off the production line.
With three T3 interstellar warships entering service—even though two were merely support types—this represented a significant boost to Zhao Chen's future fleet development!
Zhao Chen sent a message to Zhao Wan'er, instructing her to return to the T3 Blizzard first.
Afterward, he opened the System Interface, ready to claim the reward for this quarterly mission.
[Quarterly Mission Reward claimed: Obtained T3 Gold Digger-class Heavy Interstellar Mining Ship · Technical Blueprint]
It was actually a T3 Interstellar Mining Ship!
Among Support-type Starships, these and Interstellar Transport Ships were considered the two primary auxiliary vessel types.
As the name implied, Interstellar Mining Ships were auxiliary starships tasked with rapidly extracting interstellar resources in space.
Though lacking in Combat Capability, they could swiftly harvest resources, making them the most crucial tools for numerous Interstellar Mining Groups.
To date, very few factions within the entire Stellar Glory Empire possessed T3 Interstellar Mining Ships.
Even the Hurricane Consortium had been unable to break through the technological barriers to develop one.
"With a T3 Interstellar Mining Ship, I can begin resource extraction in the Fierce Dragon Star System and the Lion King Star System. Although both are resource-poor star systems and the yields might be meager, every little bit helps," Zhao Chen muttered to himself.
He began carefully examining the detailed specifications of this T3 Gold Digger-class Heavy Interstellar Mining Ship.
Its Ship Hull was not equipped with large-scale offensive weapons but featured ten defensive Gun Emplacements.
Additionally, the ship housed various sizes and models of small mining vessels within its hull, capable of meeting diverse resource collection needs.
A distinctive feature of the T3 Gold Digger-class Heavy Interstellar Mining Ship was its integration of the interstellar mining vessel and an ore processing plant.
The ship was internally outfitted with equipment to process raw material resources automatically.
This meant that extracted resources could be processed directly onboard.
Afterward, only Interstellar Transport Ships would be needed for loading and transportation.
This significantly improved efficiency.
Its resource extraction capabilities also surpassed those of several other T3 Interstellar Mining Ships of the same level.
The combination of these two characteristics...
The status of the T3 Gold Digger-class Heavy Interstellar Mining Ship is now quite evident.
This is definitely a great asset for future wealth and prosperity!
"Why did you suddenly call me back?" Zhao Wan'er appeared on the bridge, looking at Zhao Chen.
Zhao Chen smiled mysteriously: "Didn't you say before that you wanted to command a T3 interstellar warship?
Well, your big brother is now taking you to see the T3 interstellar warship you'll be commanding as Captain in the future!"
Zhao Wan'er's expression instantly froze.
A T3 interstellar warship?
So soon?
She had thought Zhao Chen was just talking big before.