Digestion and consolidation had become the Star Sea Group's primary focus in recent times.
By 5046, the number of Star Sea Group employees in the Brolly Starfield had officially surpassed ten million.
Among them, a staggering eight million were researchers, while management personnel accounted for over one million. The actual fleet members numbered less than 800,000.
Even among these 800,000, some had yet to be assigned to active warship duty, instead remaining in training while awaiting new vessels.
The prosperity of the Brolly Starfield had drawn excessive attention from the Katon Fleet of the Third Spiral Arm. However, lacking sufficient forces to wage war on multiple fronts, they remained inactive, allowing the Star Sea Group to develop at breakneck speed.
Every day, the volume of detected and neutralized probes alone could fill the cargo hold of a medium-sized transport ship—and the number of undetected ones was likely even greater.
This meant the development of the Brolly Star System was essentially unfolding under the watchful eyes of the Katon Civilization. Even the Seed Ships could do little about it, as probes ranged from dozens of meters in diameter down to mere nanometers in size.
The sheer scale of infiltration overwhelmed Liu Hai's reconnaissance systems. With such vast space to monitor, they could only do their best to eliminate some threats while locking onto hyperspace communication fluctuations within the starfield. Any unauthorized spatial ripples would trigger a full-system scan by the surveillance network.
Over a dozen patrol fleets roamed the starfield, while Li Yali led the main fleet in maneuvers along the periphery, seizing every training opportunity to rigorously prepare newly recruited crew and commanders.
August 5046.
A notification was pinned to the top of the Pioneers' communication channel.
The sender was Lin Shaodong, Reserve Lord and representative of the Pioneer Allied Forces from the central region.
"The new Century War has begun!"
The message was strikingly brief, leaving many newly minted Pioneers confused. Hadn't the war already started over a decade ago? What did this announcement mean?
Veteran Pioneers stepped in to explain the concept of the Century War—its origins, its significance, and what it truly entailed.
After this knowledge dissemination, the Pioneer channel fell into heavy silence.
Many newcomers, upon grasping the situation, glanced at their own meager fleets—barely a handful of ships—and resigned themselves to waiting and observing.
This was not a conflict they could actively participate in. Their only option was to shelter behind their more experienced predecessors and await developments.
If the war went well, they would reap the benefits effortlessly, gaining greater operational freedom and improved survival prospects.
If it went poorly, they might face conscription into the fighting fleets. Of course, as Pioneers, they retained the right to refuse—though very few ever did.
Upon receiving the news, Liu Hai entered the virtual war room and swiftly accessed detailed reports from all relevant parties. Meanwhile, the staff officers and intelligence analysts worked frantically, donning Neural Link Devices and immersing themselves in the nutrient-filled Safety Pods.
Massive volumes of data were aggregated, undergoing preliminary categorization before being distributed to specialized intelligence teams. There, they were further analyzed and sorted before being relayed downward through the chain.
In the combat command center, thousands of staff officers and equipment operators were bustling with tension. Irina appeared beside the command platform with Elena, handing a military intelligence report to Liu Hai, who was struggling to process the information.
"What's this?" Liu Hai didn't take it directly, enduring the fatigue from his brain working at high speed as he asked.
"Intelligence files, fresh ones." Irina tossed them toward Liu Hai without ceremony.
Liu Hai caught the virtually projected document bag, which resembled a paper file, and immediately integrated it into his Information Body, absorbing and digesting the details within.
He looked at Irina in utter shock: "Is this the kind of information I can access without paying?"
"Under normal circumstances, you couldn't buy this information even if you paid," Irina said, summoning a chair to sit down. "The Queen Mother of the West asked me to give it to you."
"Your Angel Frigate must have already reached the Fourth Arm, right?"
Liu Hai nodded, admitting that he too was searching for the Starry Sky Behemoth. Since they already knew he had dispatched an Angel Battleship, there was no point in hiding it—it was better to lay his cards on the table.
Irina said, "You've seen the files. If you have any ideas, act on them quickly. You don't have much time left."
His head ached.
Rubbing his temples, Liu Hai felt like the world was brimming with malice.
The fact that the trinary star system in the Gemini Starfield had only two stars five thousand years ago was simply too explosive.
If there were only two stars, what the hell was the third one?
Recalling the data analysis from the files, Liu Hai had the urge to immediately Warp away from the Gemini Starfield in his Seed Ship. But glancing at the Shipyard factories scattered across several star systems, he wanted to cry.
"Will it wake up?" Liu Hai asked, his voice trembling slightly.
Irina shrugged. "I don't know."
"Not even the entire Federation knows whether it will wake up or when."
"You'd better get out of there immediately. You've set up contingencies in other star regions over the years—it's not too late to shift your focus now."
Liu Hai took a deep breath and nodded, accepting her advice. What was originally a contingency against the Katon Civilization now had to be activated.
However, Liu Hai had no intention of abandoning the industrial framework in the Gemini Starfield—that was a production line churning out thousands of warships every month. Giving it up was out of the question.
But further development there had to stop. Personnel and resources needed to be relocated to backup bases further away.
"I'll arrange it as soon as possible."
While pondering how to execute the relocation without alerting the Katon Civilization, Liu Hai asked Irina, "What do you think about the frontline war?"
"I'll watch it sitting down," Irina rolled her eyes at him. "The military won't intervene lightly. Once they do, it'll be a war of civilizations—even planetary fortresses will be mobilized. Ordinary warships, even Cruisers, will become cannon fodder. Your Angel Battleships would qualify for combat, but there are too few of them. Otherwise, they could have made a significant impact in localized battles."
Liu Hai had no choice in this matter. He had been working hard to build up his assets, but time was simply too short. So far, he had only managed to assemble a fleet of nearly ten thousand ships, and the fortress hadn't even been fully retrofitted yet—several of its fortress cannons were still only halfway complete.
Liu Hai pulled up a projection of the Hera Star System and activated the real-time battle map. The entire star system was split in two, with both sides locked in a jagged, interlocking occupation of territory. The war had now escalated into a full-scale conflict.
One after another, Pioneer Mixed Legions were being thrown into the fray, fighting relentlessly along a front spanning hundreds of thousands of light-years.
Opening a random live battlefield projection, the scene showed fleets from both sides clashing in the void beyond a star system. What had started as a small skirmish quickly escalated as reinforcements arrived, causing the positions of the fleets to shift constantly.
Under the tactical commands of their respective officers, support fleets continuously maneuvered to encircle and counter-encircle each other. Fighter jets streaked across the battlefield, Mecha units clashed in brutal combat, and the relentless barrage of warship firepower never ceased. Under the alternating waves of attacks, Corvettes were being destroyed in batches, exploding one after another.
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