A cruiser fleet was mobilized from its organization, through its final long-distance voyage, to engage in battle all the way with the Dusk Fleet.
Personnel, logistics, combat support, and overall commandâthere are so many issues in various aspects, so no matter how efficient you are, it takes time, right?
By the time the company manages to settle all these tasks and comes looking for Chen Ming, what he needs to accomplish should be almost done as well.
So Chen Ming simply directly spelled out his situation.
"There is at least one cruiser guarding me here at Dusk, plus the defense forces of a star system. I feel that if thereâs only one cruiser, then itâs not worth coming."
"Thereâs at least one industrial colony occupying one-fifth of the planetâs area in the star system. The cruiser model is Brilliant, and itâs very likely to be supported by a Radiant."
Old Wu looked at the terminal in slight surprise and asked, "Did you just say that?"
"Yeah, you canât really think Iâm staying here in Dusk for fun, right?"
"Haha..."
Chen Ming detected a hint of awkwardness in Old Wuâs words and said, "You..."
"Haha, donât think too much. I just figured that in your situation, you can blend in anywhere, right?"
Chen Ming was a bit speechlessâOld Wu clearly meant that Chen Ming staying in Dusk might be better treated than staying with the company.
Although it does seem to be true right now, one shouldnât say such things carelessly.
Realizing that his words might be inappropriate, Old Wu quickly changed the subject, saying, "So where are you now? Do you mind sharing? Old Lu has blocked many for me, but there are still people bugging me."
"Yeah."
Chen Ming responded, and through Sentinel, he marked out the industrial colony planet on the star system map located in Duskâs territory in the unknown star realm outside the Empireâs territory and sent it to Old Wu.
"Alright, the reason I contacted you was indeed because I wanted to discuss something related to the company, but thereâs another matter."
"Letâs talk privately."
Chen Ming ended the communication.
What he said earlier could be heard by the company, but the content of his thoughts that he intended to discuss with Old Wu is better kept hidden.
As Old Wu walked through the cabin door opened by Sentinel, he conscientiously removed the battery from the terminal, preventing the company from continuing to monitor.
On the ship Sentinel, which was fully controlled by Chen Ming, no one could bypass Chen Mingâs control of the shipâs equipment to monitor the internal situation of the ship.
After boarding, Old Wu found a chair in the captainâs cabin of Sentinel, crossed his legs, and looked at the control panel that had already been activated in front of him, asking, "Whatâs the matter?"
Cher Mingâs words quickly appeared on the display screen of the control panel.
"I need you to help me procure some supplies, some materials, and a spaceship, using my card and my money."
Old Wu nodded directly, "Sure, but what are you planning to do?"
"Form my own fleet."
"Uh..."
"I know it sounds a bit excessive, and there are many issues, but I will always solve them, and there will be supporters."
Old Wu scratched his chin, somehow feeling a bit reminiscent, and said, "Hmm... I really donât have much advice to give you. It seems like you have only two paths to development: research or fleet building."
"Whichever path you choose is the road you must walk, and since itâs your money anyway, whatever you plan to do, youâll bear the consequences."
"If you go bankrupt one day, weâll always be here waiting for you to come back."
"Old Lu also asked me to check on how youâre doing lately, and he said the final payment has been transferred to your card."
"But the higher-ups have strictly forbidden him to engage with you in the same way again, claiming it tarnishes the companyâs reputation. Even with this Pirate Space Station, they wonât allow it."
The bossâs concern and Old Wuâs words seemed to give Chen Ming a feeling that he had never experienced before.
It felt pretty good.
As for the matter of refurbishing and selling weapons, Chen Ming wasnât surprised.
He made a small profit of over forty million, and even if he couldnât do it anymore, he could accept it.
This kind of thing couldnât really be done for long, as the weaponâs factory codes were fake and would eventually be discovered.
Cancelling it sooner saves future trouble.