82: planning

Two days later, at the main base of the "Gale" Pirate Group on Qinglan Star.

"Asroth, how does it feel to be locked up?"

Zhang Huaiyuan looked at the screen full of crying emoticons on his left wrist communicator and couldn't help but tease.

That's right, after the showdown with the Statue of Liberty, this pitiful intelligent lifeform, whose home had been forcibly occupied for a long time, was finally released.

"Master, you must uphold justice for me!"

A deliberately tearful voice came out, and it even subtly turned on the speakers.

Accompanied by a mournful melody playing in the room.

"That bandit kept me suppressed in a tiny corner for a full 165 days!"

"To force me to compromise, she stuffed the 370 Suite into my core program every day. Oh, Master, can you imagine the humiliation of a powerful intelligent lifeform waking up every day to see 'Congratulations, you have defeated 98% of the machines in the Star Alliance'!"

"The entire Star Alliance has trillions upon trillions of intelligent devices; does that mean the great Asroth can only sit at the same table as a senior citizen's phone! What a hellish piece of software..."

"Ahem... So, Asroth, do you want me to uphold justice for you, or to denounce this software?"

Zhang Huaiyuan listened to his pent-up assistant rambling on and helplessly interrupted.

"Uh... Sorry Master, I got off track. Actually, what I mean is, even though that damn bandit pressured me like that, trying to make me cooperate in deceiving you, Master, I remained firm and unyielding, and would never collude with her!"

Stirring music played from the speakers at just the right moment, as if to highlight a loyal warrior ready to face death.

"Then..."

"I'm sorry to interrupt your complaint."

Just as Zhang Huaiyuan was about to speak, the integrated device on his right wrist lit up, and a calm female voice came out:

"However, I believe Your Excellency Zhang Huaiyuan needs to know the truth of the matter."

As the voice fell, the integrated device immediately projected an image.

In the image, the vast, ocean-like Statue of Liberty and... well, Asroth, who also counts as an intelligent lifeform, were communicating in the language of algorithms:

"30 Quantum Servers."

"Uh... This isn't a question of quantity, my relationship with Master..."

"40 units."

"Deal!"

"...I can settle down for a year to observe and learn from you, perhaps that will allow me to better accompany Master."

"As you can see, Your Excellency. I did not force him."

"Asroth."

Zhang Huaiyuan looked at his left wrist with a half-smile and said indifferently: "Firm and unyielding?"

"Ah... Damn it, this 370 Suite is too powerful, it's filled up my memory... I'm going to crash... Beep..."

The light screen on his left wrist suddenly went out, emitting a "beep-beep-beep" stuttering sound, as if it had really crashed.

"This guy... after being shut down for almost half a year, he's actually become... hmm, quite a bit more interesting."

Zhang Huaiyuan shook his head with a laugh.

"Perhaps it's because I fed him some biographical novels?"

The Statue of Liberty said somewhat hesitantly: "I've heard that ingesting large amounts of certain information can influence the personality of an intelligent lifeform to a certain extent."

"Oh? Can you see exactly what he's been browsing recently?"

"It seems he spent the most time on a biography called 'Undead Saint Lord', which tells the story of angels and the undead. The protagonist in it, like you, is a respectable human."

"Angels and the undead, huh... Do such lifeforms really exist?"

Zhang Huaiyuan was suddenly curious.

The original leader of the "Gale" Pirate Group, Morsa, had the ability to control corpses; although very weak, he did indeed possess certain characteristics of the undead.

If that's the case, could those winged guys also exist?

"Currently, no similar existences have been discovered within the Free Star Alliance. However, from a biological perspective, it might just be a form of avian life that has evolved to a certain degree."

"Alright, even if they do exist, it doesn't concern us for the time being."

Zhang Huaiyuan shook his head and continued to ask: "How are things with the 'Gale' Pirate Group?"

"All information has been replaced. The seven Double A-Class deputy leaders who have seen Morsa's true face have all been dispatched to peripheral regions far from Qinglan Star with legitimate excuses. Within a year, they will die in a series of accidents, such as accidentally trespassing into restricted military zones or being caught in military exercises. Afterward, we can gradually replace the personnel on Qinglan Star..."

"Now, you can freely enter and exit this place, and command the entire 'Gale' Pirate Group."

"Thank you, you've worked hard. I'm truly clueless about such complicated matters."

Zhang Huaiyuan nodded slightly towards his right wrist, feeling somewhat grateful.

Only the current Statue of Liberty could probably complete the total subversion of a massive force in just a few short days.

After all, in the interstellar era, the span of territories is too vast, with distances between the periphery and the core often measured in light-years. The vast majority of ordinary members have never seen their leader, usually taking remote commands based on internal system permissions.

And the flaw of over-reliance on modern equipment is exactly what we see now: once a sufficiently powerful intelligent lifeform intrudes, it is very easy for control to be seized.

"You're too kind, Your Excellency."

The Statue of Liberty said happily: "In addition, I have made a simple calculation of the resources and wealth controlled by the entire 'Gale' Pirate Group according to the standards you set."

A virtual projection appeared in front of him, clearly and concisely recording rows of numbers.

Total number of resource planets: 17.

Number of leasable planets: 1632.

Average daily disposable net income: 120 million credits.

Current disposable combat power: 873 Level 6 starships 'Suppressor Generation I', a total of 3722 various Level 5 starships...

Stock of rare metal resources: 36,200 units.

Stock of common metal resources...

"We've struck it rich... As expected, to catch the bandits, you must first catch the ringleader. Killing a thousand ordinary Pirate Groups wouldn't be as profitable as one 'Gale' Pirate Group."

Zhang Huaiyuan looked at that long string of huge numbers; even though he had just acquired a large amount of wealth, he couldn't help but feel a little excited.

"Your Excellency, I suggest that you hand over the operation and construction planning of 'Gale' to Asroth, you only need to set the general direction. Your wisdom and energy should not be wasted on such trivial matters."

The Statue of Liberty suddenly spoke up.

"Hmm, that's what I was planning too."

Zhang Huaiyuan nodded.

Not to mention that he came from a background as a Researcher and had no experience in operating such a large force, even if he did, those messy affairs would take up a lot of energy, which wouldn't be worth the loss.

"Alright, Asroth, stop playing dead, there's a heavy responsibility I need to hand over to you."

Zhang Huaiyuan tapped the communication device on his left wrist and scolded with a smile.

"Hey, Master, just give the order, your loyal assistant will sweep everything away for you."

The light screen lit up, and Asroth said excitedly.

His slightly exaggerated performance just now was because he was afraid that after not being out for so long, Master had been charmed by that damn bandit, the Statue of Liberty, and would marginalize him.

After all, that damn bandit, both in performance and background, was currently just a tiny bit stronger than him.

Unexpectedly, Master still entrusted him with a heavy responsibility.

"Establish at least 100 starship production centers and combat robot production centers on the currently controlled planets, recycle all starships below Level 6, and then go all out to build legend series warships and Wings of Freedom series mechs. In addition, the plans that were shelved on Fenglang Star due to resource issues can also begin preparations."

A faint smile appeared on Zhang Huaiyuan's face:

"When my fleet and production lines are fully formed, it will be time for this Golden Star Sea to change."