So the immediate problem confronting Fang Senyan was precisely how to transition his rank from Brigadier General to Major General!

But as he frantically sought to accept the mission to be promoted to Major General, he discovered a harsh truth: promotion to Major General required the approval of the Imperial General Staff Headquarters. Since every Major General was considered an immensely precious asset to the Empire, one had to undergo severe trials before becoming such 'wealth.' For a Contractor, achieving the rank of Major General was exponentially more difficult.

The trials necessary to test a Major General’s capabilities could not be handled with minor skirmishes; they took place on the vast battlefields of interstellar warfare! Amidst the terrifying barrages of energy cannons from hundreds or thousands of starships!

In these epic, sweeping battlefields, individual strength was utterly insignificant! Conversely, a commander possessing brilliant strategic acumen, even one utterly lacking in personal combat prowess, could instead carve out unparalleled achievements on the battlefield!

Fang Senyan appeared excellent in matters of planning and intrigue, but these skills were limited to conflicts involving a few or a dozen individuals—mere squabbles. This absolutely did not mean he excelled at the tactical or strategic level. These were contests on entirely different planes, much like how a Captain skilled in jungle guerrilla warfare could never reach the level of a Montbatten.

More importantly, the Empire would never lightly entrust formations of incredibly expensive starships to a Contractor, no matter how uniquely gifted that Contractor might be.

Therefore, Fang Senyan could only wait silently, anticipating the emergence of an opportunity or mission suitable for him—a prospect he absolutely loathed.

Fortunately, with the intervention of the Space, Fang Senyan finally found a glimmer of hope: this waiting period could not exceed three worlds. If it did, he would be automatically promoted. This, at least, offered him a reasonable resolution.

What happened next needed little elaboration; everything flowed naturally. As the saying goes, where there is joy for some, there is sorrow for others. The disappointed party was naturally the Arno family, while the ecstatic one was Prince Pompalu. He achieved his desired goal, and Fang Senyan gained the authority to use the wormhole.

However, just then, exceedingly bad news arrived: the Iron Blood Aliens had reappeared, subtly this time, implementing a technology the Empire was still researching and developing—Warp Breakpoint Technology!

To put it plainly, this technology caused temporary ruptures in cosmic space, the direct consequence being the inability to use wormholes! And the estimated wait time for the wormholes to stabilize was at least five days...

When Fang Senyan heard this, he took a deep breath, suppressing an overwhelming urge to curse violently. But he knew that rage would be futile. He had no choice but to completely quell his anger.

It was at this moment that Old Charlie proactively sought out Fang Senyan:

“Master, I have noticed something.”

Fang Senyan knew Old Charlie was an exceptionally cautious man; he would never approach his Master unless it was something important or something he was certain about. So, he listened attentively:

“Speak.”

Old Charlie stated:

“I have observed that Base Alpine Seven has deviated nearly fourteen degrees on the star chart compared to our last visit… To put it directly, likely due to the Empire's previous Reversion Plan, the current location of Base Alpine Seven is actually a full 400,000 kilometers closer to the planet Eproth than even the position of the Kestrel forward base was at the time!”

“What did you say?” Fang Senyan suddenly jolted. To be honest, although he was an expert in navigation, the vast expanse of the star systems often left him bewildered because the cosmos was simply too immense! It wasn't until Old Charlie brought this up that he fell into deep thought, unable to help but ask:

“Are you suggesting I should go loot Eproth planet again?”

Old Charlie replied:

“Why not? Firstly, Master’s strength has significantly increased since then. Secondly, having been there once, it will be familiar territory, requiring no wasted time. Finally, the Empire has already studied the data on the various monsters from Eproth and developed specialized weaponry specifically targeting them, making dealing with those things trivially easy. The Iron Blood Aliens won’t return either. Five days is plenty of time, and we are idle anyway.”

Fang Senyan pondered for a moment:

“You have a point, but why should I risk going to Eproth planet? The L-Element strips are useless to me!”

Old Charlie explained seriously:

“However, the Empire’s resolve to mine L-Elements has now been clearly demonstrated. It can be said that the price of L-Elements will reach its final peak within the next few months. While the L-Element strips may be useless to you, they are immensely valuable to Prince Pompalu and Lieutenant General Mongo! And Prince Pompalu holds considerable influence within the Imperial General Staff Headquarters and the Big Ben Research Institute. You are not just investing in the present, but also in the future.”

As Old Charlie spoke, Fang Senyan suddenly recalled something entirely unrelated to their conversation. It was about Tom the Skull Man he encountered on Eproth planet last time. At the moment of his near-death, his body was almost entirely controlled by that organ resembling a cancerous cell. That organ, speaking through Tom’s mouth, had told him:

“You absolutely, absolutely must go to the Big Ben Research Institute, inside! There! There, there, there is, is, is, your, your…”

Although the creature died before finishing, Fang Senyan suddenly felt an intense surge of curiosity that had not subsided even now. The words “Big Ben Research Institute” were clearly imprinted in his mind, a scorching brand upon his heart.

These thoughts flashed through Fang Senyan’s mind! Instantly, he took a deep breath and said to Old Charlie:

“You are right. Let’s go find Archer immediately.”

Three hours later, a vessel at least five times larger than the Hornet thruster was prepared. This was because after two cycles of the ‘Reversion’ Plan, the wear and tear on the asteroid belt had been immense. Based on detailed calculations made by the Brain using Fang Senyan’s previous data, he was cleared to pilot this modified special craft to Eproth and return safely.

Fang Senyan pressed the activation button with a blank expression, grasped the control stick, and blinding blue flames erupted from the ship’s tail thrusters. He instantly plunged into the asteroid belt... Four days later, the battered ‘Frog’ class shuttle, covered in scars, was sandwiched between three waiting Cross-shaped cruisers as it slowly descended into Base Alpine Seven. Of the eleven powerful warriors who accompanied him, only five returned alive.

But the wealth this shuttle brought back was astonishing enough to make the financial officer sent by Prince Pompalu’s staff tremble! Nobody knew the exact amount, but perhaps one detail could illustrate the scale:

Seven days later, the price of L-Elements in both the black market and the open market had plummeted by a full 33% before stabilizing its decline! This was as outrageous as if Imperial Grade 97 gasoline suddenly cost five yuan per liter in the real world.

After resting for eighteen hours, Fang Senyan boarded another ‘Amazon’ class Galactic Battleship modified by Archer. It was a small craft about fifty meters in length, but its surface was painted with the pattern of a pansy. Its hull appeared low-slung and flat like a sports car, but from the side, it resembled a stylized, soaring bird—its form exquisitely graceful, as if ready to take flight.

This vessel was no small matter; it was Prince Pompalu’s personal ship! This clearly showed the immense regard Prince Pompalu held for Fang Senyan. Merely bearing the pansy insignia granted it unimpeded passage throughout the Empire. Its durability went without saying. Even more importantly, this ship omitted all manual control systems, relying entirely on thought-control, which eliminated countless complications and potential operational errors.

As for the Major General promotion, Fang Senyan received a clear and definite answer from Prince Pompalu: the outcome would be known upon his return. It might be an immediate promotion, or it might still require a mission—a further refinement than the previous three-world timeframe.

Fang Senyan did not mention the Big Ben Research Institute. He felt that alerting them prematurely would be counterproductive. In his personal view, it would be a perfect match if the Big Ben Research Institute proactively invited him for a visit.

Along the way, Fang Senyan, guided by the instructions from his C-Class Nightmare Space and using the Royal insignia to borrow authority, quickly reached the designated star sector. At exactly 11:11 PM every day, the Starship Troopers world would attempt to launch an encompassing invasion of the primary plane. Although these incursions were quickly repelled, the two planes did momentarily overlap, generating intense conflict.

When Fang Senyan arrived, precisely controlled by the computer, it was 11:11 PM. Yet, the void before him did not display the ferocious conflict and danger he had anticipated; it looked no different from any other region of space, save for a faint, hazy white glow, as if constantly illuminated by a powerful bulb.

But only after Fang Senyan recklessly charged forward did he realize the tremendous peril concealed within!

I have a headache writing this part. I really can't go on; I’ll catch up with another chapter after I wake up. My sincerest apologies. RQ