Ma Xiaorui shot me a look. "Do you think he'd dare if you asked?"

Ma Xiaoda flashed a cheeky grin at me. "Brother-in-law, look how good I am to you. I've given you two gorgeous sisters. You wouldn't just abandon me if I got into trouble, would you?"

I replied, "I would. Otherwise, it’d be me dying."

Ma Xiaowei glanced at me, her look clearly conveying, Smart move. Seeing her brother quiet down, Ma Xiaorui spoke up. "Imperial Brother isn't leaving tonight. Sister, let's stay over too. It’s been almost a month since we’ve been back. Brother-in-law, can my sister have the early slot tonight?"

Ma Xiaowei blushed slightly. "Xiaorui, we aren't married yet. Don't let people laugh."

Ma Xiaorui scoffed, "Laugh at what? Don't tell me you don't miss my brother-in-law. Fine, brother-in-law, you keep me company then."

Linglong, standing behind me, chimed in, "Stop vying. The Master said he needs to stay in the study tonight to research the defense issues for Lunar Sentinel One and Two. If you two aren't afraid of getting bored, you can go keep him company in the study."

"Defense for Lunar Sentinel One and Two?" Ma Xiaowei and Ma Xiaorui looked confused. "Can't the subsequent Tiger Shark-class destroyers handle that mission? Besides, don't we still have the Beluga-class light bombers? Their mining capabilities could provide excellent defense for Lunar Sentinel Two. At worst, we can build a massive number of automated turrets on the Moons."

Since there were no outsiders, I didn't need to hide anything. I slowly addressed the two women. "Lunar Sentinel Two is massive. Having a third party defend them would be too costly. In fact, the shells of the two Moons are the best defense themselves—they're composed of rich iron ore. Ordinary strikes can barely penetrate a crust several kilometers thick. I have inspected them; even a meteor half their size couldn't destroy them. It’s truly a natural barrier."

Ma Xiaorui said, "If that's the case, what defense issues are you researching? Are you just twiddling your thumbs?"

I shook my head. "Defense is one aspect, but the more critical thing is considering offensive power. Actually, back on Earth, we were already starting to build ion cannons. The ammunition for ion cannons consists of abundant non-electrified hydrogen ions in the cosmos, fired out through the launch mechanism as high-energy hydrogen ions..."

Ma Xiaorui and Ma Xiaowei laughed. "Zhao Qian, we don't understand this stuff you talk about..."

I chuckled. "Then come to the study tonight, and I'll tutor you. Both of you, come along. Linglong, do you want to learn too?"

Linglong glanced at the Ma sisters. "Forget it. If I go, I’ll definitely be scolded by someone later. I'll just ask Sister Yun Yao about it myself."

I smiled ambiguously and continued, "The power of ion cannons is considerable, but that was before the discovery of natural energy crystals. Back on Earth, we didn't completely dismiss the idea of causing violent explosions by suddenly setting down high-pressure energy blocks, but at that time, we ourselves didn't have enough energy crystals to spare. The supply of crystals provided by the Heart of Energy was somewhat insufficient for interstellar travel, let alone using them as weapons. But things are different now. There's a lot of of natural energy crystals, and our detonation technology is getting more and more mature. I believe the era of manufacturing large and even giant energy cannons has arrived. However, the launch mechanisms for large or giant energy cannons certainly won't be small, and our current battleship specifications simply can't equip them. Lunar Sentinel Two is the most natural mothership. If we modify it slightly, large energy cannons and laser cannons can absolutely be installed on it. Using them as weapons then, we shouldn't have to fear the opponent's energy shields."

Ma Xiaowei smiled sweetly. "If you say it will work, it will."

I continued, "So, tonight I plan to first create a design sketch. I've considered it: the caliber classification for energy cannons and laser cannons needs to be determined. Those below 10 centimeters in caliber will be collectively called energy guns and laser guns; those from 10 centimeters up to 1 meter will be called small energy cannons and laser cannons; those from 1 meter up to 5 meters will be medium-sized; 5 meters to 10 meters will be large; and anything over 10 meters will be giant. Lunar Sentinel Two must be equipped with at least medium-sized, but I'm considering only installing large or even giant ones, because only they can deal with the warships of the U-Star people."

Ma Xiaorui said, "Though we still don't understand, we absolutely support you in spirit. Tonight, we'll serve you tea, fetch water, massage your feet, and work your muscles until you're completely satisfied."

I actually believed Ma Xiaorui. She was cheeky, but her care for me was undeniable.

The acceptance trial for the White Shark-class destroyer was very successful. This warship, shaped strikingly like a shark, would soon be mass-equipped into the fleet. The five thousand high-quality soldiers Ma Xiaoda had recruited from the Imperial Guard of the Dual-City Nation had already completed their training. Although they were completely ignorant of high-tech knowledge, the White Shark-class destroyers were semi-intelligent and required almost no manual operation, so I wasn't too worried about that aspect.

After dinner, I retired to the study early. Perhaps calling it a study was inaccurate; it was more of a research lab. The room was filled with computers, as I needed many of them to work in tandem to duplicate the programs from Earth. Although most of the technology was the result of Little Driplet and Dragon Girl's work, I plagiarized without the slightest embarrassment. There was no need for formalities between an old married couple. If I had the time myself, I could research even better, like the large and giant energy and laser cannons. I had to make them absolutely perfect to show off to my wives, who excelled in scientific research.

I rapidly typed programs into the computer. The main difficulty in developing the large energy cannon lay in the detonation technology; the firing section was quite simple. The difficulty for the large laser cannon lay in the excitation device, and the technology required for the cannon barrel was also extremely high, otherwise, their warship wouldn't be melted before my own cannon barrel disintegrated.

To solve these problems, current manufacturing technology had to be improved first. Fortunately, we managed to acquire the U-Star people's bases. Otherwise, starting from scratch, I don't know if I would have had the patience to wait. These two bases were already quite large in their original construction. With just a few improvements from me, they could serve as two space fortresses, a class absolutely incomparable to the U-Star people's motherships.

The door creaked open, and two light, soft footsteps approached from behind. A cup of milk tea was placed on the desk, followed by two pairs of small hands gently massaging my shoulders and back.

I smiled, took a sip of the cup, and it was very sweet—my favorite flavor. The person behind me said, "You're not a child anymore, why do you still like drinking milk tea, and sweetened too? You'll get fat."

I turned back to Ma Xiaowei. "Can adults not drink milk?"

Ma Xiaowei blushed and dared not answer. Ma Xiaorui piped up, "Brother-in-law, do you want Sister's milk? Should I step out for a moment?"

I pushed my chair away from the desk and pulled both sisters into my arms, one on each side, wrapping my arms around their slender waists and letting them sit on my lap. Ma Xiaowei kept her head down and remained silent. Ma Xiaorui said, "What are you doing? Aren't you supposed to be working? Even if you really want milk, you can't do it in front of me."

I ignored Ma Xiaorui's teasing. "Did you miss me?"

Ma Xiaowei nodded. "It's all your fault for teaching my Imperial Brother to play games. Otherwise, why would we need to go back and watch over him? Father Emperor now only cares about traveling. He must really trust Imperial Brother..." I countered, "I just let him have some time for entertainment; I didn't let him get addicted to games."

Ma Xiaorui struggled to get off my lap. "Brother-in-law, hurry up and work. If the other sisters see us, they'll scold us."

I picked up Ma Xiaowei and walked toward the resting bed. "You were massaging me just now; it's only fair that I return the favor. I’ll give you a massage."

Ma Xiaowei struggled softly, "No! Xiaorui is still here."

Ma Xiaorui obviously heard her sister's voice and laughed. "You two take your time with the massage; I'll leave first. Brother-in-law, my sister also made you a cup of milk tea—do you need to repay her too?"

I could hear the teasing in Ma Xiaorui's words. Milk tea? Ma Xiaowei certainly wouldn't want milk tea, and I didn't have any either, but soy milk would be acceptable. "Repay? Of course, I must repay. Don't you want to join? I think there’s enough for both of you to drink."

Ma Xiaorui laughed. "Forget it. I've discussed it with my sister many times, but she just won't agree."

I turned back and pulled Ma Xiaorui into my embrace. "This time, whether she agrees or not, she has to. The bed is big enough for three."

Ma Xiaowei anxiously interjected, "Hey, stop fooling around! Aren't you supposed to be working? Xiaorui, you go out first! Or, Sister, I’ll let you go first. The milk tea is for you too, as you added the sugar!"

Ma Xiaorui lunged onto Ma Xiaowei. "Sister, I really want to ** you! This time, let's see where else you can hide!"

...

I couldn't help but admire myself as a genius. In a very short time, I had solved the technical problems for both the large energy cannon and the laser cannon. Considering time was of the essence, the construction of the gun bases on Lunar Sentinel Two proceeded concurrently with the technical problem-solving. Three months later, the first batch of six hundred large laser cannons and energy cannons with a five-meter caliber was manufactured. The foundational construction finished at the same time, and the massive cannons entered the installation and debugging phase.

Little Fish had now become my most fervent admirer. She had always respected learned people, and everything I had accomplished in the past year left her completely awestruck. Whenever she had free time, no matter what I was doing, she would follow close behind to learn. This day, I was inspecting a laser cannon barrel when she sought me out from afar again.

From the outside, Lunar Sentinel Two showed no change except for Lunar Sentinel One having an additional large fiberglass shield. All the changes occurred beneath the crust, including these large laser and energy cannons. Their gun bases were deeply hidden underground, and only when needed would the camouflaged muzzles automatically open.

This barrel had just fired ten bursts of laser beams. I was testing the internal temperature and the degree of alloy deformation when Little Fish's voice came from the inspection hatch. "Zhao, it’s so hot in there! Are you alright?"

I said, "Don't come down! You'll burn your skin. I'll be right up in a moment."

Little Fish indeed waited outside until I finished my work. The two of us sat in the cannon platform control room to rest. All the staff were perceptive and quietly left. Little Fish asked, "Zhao, what were the test results?"

I replied, "The quality of this batch of alloy is acceptable, but they need to be tested and replaced regularly to prevent accidents. When did you get back?"