With "Linglong" secured, Zhong Yun walked away with deep satisfaction, heading toward his next grand acquisition: Sector Five. Now possessing Level Five clearance, Sector Five of the base was naturally open to him.

He anticipated what surprise the sector held in store. The aircraft sped over the base, and Zhong Yun, seated inside, took out an ornament resembling a jade-green ring, turning it over in his hand.

This green pendant was another mecha key, obtained during the first capability assessment—the key to the six-star mecha, "Water Illusion." After receiving this mecha last time, he had casually set it aside, too busy with other matters, completely forgetting about it. If he hadn't recalled it just now while getting "Linglong," who knew how long it would have remained shelved.

Truthfully, he hadn't even deployed the mecha to examine it yet; a six-star mecha was an exceptionally rare masterpiece. Now that he possessed "Linglong," he naturally looked down on this six-star machine.

Deciding its fate was proving somewhat troublesome. Next time he returns, he'll give it to Yun Qi.

Zhong Yun remembered Yun Qi’s current mecha was the four-star "Phantom Cloud"; this "Water Illusion" would suit her perfectly. Putting the mecha key away, his hand brushed against a long, slender object.

The familiar texture immediately informed Zhong Yun that this was the key for "Lone Goose." A stirring in his heart, Zhong Yun drew it out. Touching the long, jade-like artifact, he could sense its extraordinary nature just by touch alone.

This mecha key was far from simple; it housed six mecha slots. In comparison, the eight-star mecha "Linglong" only had two slots.

Although the size of the mecha key’s space wasn't directly linked to the rank of the mechas housed within, he always felt that this particular mecha, gifted by his father-in-law, was significant. That feeling only grew clearer once his strength had surged, reaching the fifth tier of the Yuan level.

Little Zero had once judged it to be a six-star mecha. But after relocating from Yun Qi Star, when Zhong Yun took out "Lone Goose" for research again, Little Zero suddenly declared it a seven-star mecha.

Zhong Yun had been astonished at the time. Could mechas actually evolve?

Little Zero had never been wrong before; if it was six-star then, it was six-star. Now that it was seven-star, some unknown change must have occurred at some point, causing it to "evolve." The idea of a mecha evolving sounded somewhat absurd, yet he undeniably felt it to be true.

Recalling seriously, he realized he had used "Lone Goose" extremely infrequently. If some transformation had occurred due to his actions, it must have been during the skirmish on Keton Star after they were discovered stealing raw stones from the Keton family.

He had placed the raw stone inside "Lone Goose" at that time. Suddenly, a thought struck Zhong Yun.

Could it be that Lone Goose, much like Little Zero, could evolve using raw stones? It was a pity that Little Zero had once again entered a reboot state; otherwise, he truly wanted to ask him again.

At Base Two, after arranging everything, Zhong Yun had crammed all the remaining raw stones into Little Zero's core, initiating the reboot. He had no idea how long it would take for it to wake up this time.

If his suspicion was correct—that "Lone Goose" could "evolve," or perhaps advance—its value would be absolutely immeasurable. He was eager to see the extent of its potential advancement.

As he mused, the aircraft had already stopped. They had arrived at Sector Five.

Zhong Yun stood up and walked out. This matter wasn't urgent; he had exhausted his current supply of raw stones.

Now, he had to take possession of Sector Five. The main control room of Sector Five was distinctly different from those in previous sectors; it was far more spacious and laid out more professionally, complete with control panels, seating, and a rest area.

Zhong Yun settled into a chair, and a control interface appeared before him, displaying several major categories. He glanced over them quickly and commanded, "Bring up the detailed data for Sector Five." The main processor of Sector Five seemed rather taciturn.

The main screen shifted, revealing densely packed data. Zhong Yun calmed his mind and began to scan rapidly.

The amount of data was immense; he only managed a cursory review, taking five hours to finish. After reading the final item, Zhong Yun let out a long breath, his emotions surging.

Sector Five, it turned out, was the manufacturing base for "Quasi-Satellite" class warships and four-star mechas. The base housed five models of "Quasi-Satellite" warships, broadly categorized as Speed-type, Offensive-type, Fortress-type, Destroyer-type, and Flagship-type, each with its own distinct features and specialized focus.

Although Zhong Yun had once commanded a fleet, his subordinates were all equipped with "Fog Mountain" class vessels. In that war, it was less the victory of the entire fleet and more the triumph of the Mars, a "Super-Satellite" class vessel.

The entire battle had been waged by the Mars. He hadn't systematically studied fleet command, and his understanding of warship composition was superficial.

In every engagement, he relied on surprise attacks, annihilating the enemy with a single, powerful blow. Regardless of the model, it was always finished with one shot.

How could he know the nuances between them? It made sense; warfare was a comprehensive system engineering effort.

On Earth, the sea, land, and air forces developed in tandem; in cosmic warfare, fleet composition would only be exponentially more complex. It seemed he needed to set aside time for a systematic study of fleet command, Zhong Yun decided.

Mechas were segmented by eight star ranks, a far cry from the three-star mechas that relied solely on the "War God" unit. Three-star mechas could be cannon fodder, but four-star mechas could form the backbone of a mecha squadron.

With "Quasi-Satellite" class warships and four-star mechas, Zhong Yun could now assemble a respectable fleet. Although his current population was only six million, the fact that he possessed optical-brain mechas saved him a massive number of personnel, as mecha operators constituted the largest portion of a warship’s crew.

Calculating that each "Quasi-Satellite" warship required twenty thousand operational personnel, and to avoid disrupting daily production, the military could only account for one-tenth of the total population. By this metric, he could field a maximum of thirty ships.

Compared to a nation in the second phase of a mid-level civilization, this force was insufficient. While significantly stronger than Davo, Zhong Yun remained somewhat dissatisfied.

The current universe was too volatile; such strength couldn't compare to even a single hair on the heads of nations belonging to advanced civilizations. However, one must eat one bite at a time.

Possessing the vast manufacturing base of the Azure Forest Empire, Zhong Yun was confident he could soon develop a strength comparable to nations of advanced civilizations. The next order of business was earning Contribution Points; ascending to Level Six clearance required one million points.

Currently, two thousand mining vessels were operational. One shipment of ore brought back earned a fraction of contribution points, taking ten days for a round trip.

This meant he earned about two hundred points per day, totaling over seventy thousand in a year. Relying solely on mining, it would take fourteen years to accumulate one million.

Zhong Yun could not wait that long under any circumstances. The first month was spent rushing back and forth across the base, overseeing repairs carried out by maintenance robots to acquire [the sentence seems truncated here in the original structure, implying a missing reward or goal, which will be preserved by context].

Thirty days later, a new batch of three-star mechas rolled out—four million units in total. Zhong Yun modified these into optical-brain mechas and, taking these machines with him, embarked on a new campaign.

Whether to earn contribution points or to acquire personnel, Zhong Yun had to wage war against the nations within the Star Sea. Two hundred contribution points per planet.

Given the density of planets in the Star Sea, destroying one per day was easily feasible. If it was a powerful nation like Aier, the density of planets within its territory was even greater.

Furthermore, he discovered that humans in the Star Sea were exceptionally docile. Every single person taken back last time turned out to be a law-abiding, good citizen.

They were perfect for mitigating the population deficit. The Mercury was gone for a full month.

For the inhabitants of the Star Sea, the God of Slaughter had reappeared, once again throwing the Aier Nation into turmoil. One month later, the Mercury returned to Base One.

This single trip yielded twenty million inhabitants for Zhong Yun, and this was after careful selection. From every nation, he only took one-fiftieth of the population.

After seizing the national citizen database, he made a sweeping decree, taking all the elites. The class divisions in the Star Sea nations were even more rigid, with every individual's rank explicitly displayed in the citizen databases, which saved Zhong Yun a great deal of effort.

Integrating these captives on the spot, Zhong Yun made a special trip back to Base Two to request a large contingent of administrative talent from his father. To ensure these people integrated into the collective quickly, Zhong Yun stipulated that the treatment for captives and citizens differed by several levels.

Captives had to work diligently, and only upon meeting certain standards could they have their status upgraded to citizen. Two years flashed by.

By this time, the "Galactic Empire" presented an entirely different picture: the citizen count surpassed one hundred million, with one hundred fifty million captives. It possessed two hundred "Quasi-Satellite" class warships, each equipped with three hundred thousand optical-brain mechas.

They were divided into seven fleets: six were conventional fleets, each comprising twenty warships, commanded by Chu Tiange and his five colleagues. The remaining fleet was the Royal Fleet, with the Mars as its flagship, commanding eighty "Quasi-Satellite" warships, led by Liu Yun Qi.

Zhong Yun himself served as the Supreme Commander of all seven fleets. Although these seven fleets had been formed in a very short time—the oldest just two years, the newest established last month—their combat capability was not to be underestimated.

To rapidly enhance military prowess, Zhong Yun not only had them train regularly in "War Simulations" but also took them onto real battlefields, engaging nations within the Star Sea. It could be said that they were forged in the crucible of blood and fire, certainly not an easily defeated, decorative force.

In the current "Galactic Empire," Zhong Yun reigned as the Supreme Leader. Zhong Ping Jiang served as Regent, overseeing all general affairs.

Yun Rong was the Finance Minister, managing the state treasury. Yun Qi served as the Commander-in-Chief of the Royal Fleet.

Personnel matters were handled directly by Zhong Yun. The rest were determined by internal competition—though in reality, it was direct designation by Zhong Ping Jiang, a system that continued to this day.

After two years of effort, Zhong Yun’s Contribution Points finally broke one million, meeting the promotion criteria. Having just acquired Sector Six, Zhong Yun hadn't had time to savor the joy before another piece of momentous news struck.

After two years of deep slumber, Little Zero finally awakened. Zhong Yun was overjoyed.

Without even looking at Sector Six, he rushed directly to the Mercury. "Little Zero..." Seeing Little Zero, still outwardly cold, filled Zhong Yun with immense surprise.

In the past two years, Little Zero's absence had often left a hollow feeling in his heart. Little Zero had slept for long periods before, but back then, facing imminent death threats had left him no room to dwell on anything else.

Now, with a different state of mind, he truly grasped Little Zero's position in his life. To him, Little Zero was more than just an omnipotent optical brain; their bond was exceptionally unique, like an inseparable part of his own existence.

"It's good you're awake," Zhong Yun laughed heartily, filled with pride. "Come look at our nation." Vivi was staring blankly in her office.

She was now the Energy Minister of the Galactic Empire, a position of such gravity testifying to Zhong Yun's trust in her. A gentle knock sounded on the door.

Her thoughts snapped back to the present. She straightened her attire and called out, "Come in." The door opened, and a sharp, capable woman entered—her secretary, who placed an electronic file before her.

"Minister, there is a document requiring your review." Such matters could typically be handled over the network, but the Executive Council had a regulation that no critical document could be transmitted electronically, designed to prevent the leakage of state secrets through network intrusions. Data materialized from the electronic file.

Vivi scanned it quickly, found nothing amiss, and pressed her fingerprint to approve. After the secretary left, Vivi let out a soft sigh.

She had left with Zhong Yun over two years ago, and her opportunities to see him had become scarce. She kept suspecting Zhong Yun was avoiding her.

Lost in thought again, she drifted off. Suddenly, the door swung open without warning.

Startled, she looked up and froze. Standing before her, Zhong Yun was looking at her with a faint, knowing smile.

"Zhong Yun..." Vivi cried out, covering her mouth with both hands, her eyes involuntarily misting over. "I've been too busy recently and haven't come to see you much.

You're not angry with me, are you?" Zhong Yun’s voice was exceptionally gentle, carrying a magnetic quality that seemed to pierce the soul. Vivi’s tears fell like scattered pearls.

She desperately covered her mouth, struggling to keep herself from crying aloud. Zhong Yun looked at her with an expression of apology, walked over, and pulled her into his embrace, murmuring softly, "I'm sorry." After a long while, Vivi's sobs ceased.

She gently pushed Zhong Yun away and turned her back. Zhong Yun thought she was sulking, placing a hand on her shoulder and murmuring coaxingly, "Be good, don't be angry, okay?" Only then did he notice her dabbing at her tears with a tissue, and he smiled.

The little girl was simply worried about him seeing her tear-streaked face. "Don't look!" Vivi noticed his gaze, stamped her foot, and said playfully, "I look awful." "I won't look, I won't look." Zhong Yun released his hand and turned away.

After a moment, Vivi’s voice, like music from the heavens, sounded from behind him, "It's okay now." Zhong Yun turned around. Apart from slight redness around her eyes, there was no other visible trace on Vivi's face.

"Why are you here?" Vivi's eyes flickered across Zhong Yun's face to the desk, adopting an air of casual indifference. Zhong Yun found it amusing.

She had been a mess of tears just moments ago, and now she acted indifferent. But he supposed