After the Battle of Bu Xing concluded, Yang Ying sent Blade back to Gray Harbor, while he returned with Shun Shang to the secret base in the Asteroid Belt.

With the Jupiter orbit reclaimed, the Asteroid Belt was no longer the front line; the level of danger had drastically decreased. Many cities that had evacuated six months prior were gradually returning, resuming production.

Though it hadn't recovered the frenetic pace of half a year ago, the situation was infinitely better than the tight confinement endured at the Ceres Base.

The Earth Military had lost half its fleet in the Jupiter War, and now faced the massive undertaking of a new wave of conscription, training, and the replenishment of warships and other weaponry. Major arms manufacturers were operating at full, even overloaded, capacity. Vast quantities of equipment were rolling off the production lines, being delivered to various military depots under the government’s name.

A week after the Jupiter War ended, Yang Ying sat at his desk in the command center, listening as Kalia reported the latest intelligence summary.

“The Earth Military has mobilized nearly a million engineering teams to rush to the Jupiter orbit to construct new defensive lines. It seems they intend to build up the Jovian defenses as quickly as possible to prevent the Ancient Legion from making a resurgence.”

Kalia held no recording devices—no papers or electronic readers. All the intelligence was already logged in his mind; every Ghost operative possessed a memory far exceeding normal human capacity.

“Nearly a million engineers, supported by various advanced mechanized systems, shouldn’t find it difficult to erect a dozen fortress structures within a month. The troublesome parts, however, will be the residual landmines, automated defense cannons, and the Ancient Beasts that escaped into the wilderness. I fear the final progress report might not satisfy the upper echelons of the military,” Yang Ying remarked with a slight smile.

Kalia nodded, continuing, “There have been some minor shifts in the military high command as well. Marshal Alexander, Commander of the Second Fleet, has officially assumed the position of Deputy Commander of the Earth Military’s Universe Fleet. The position of Second Fleet Commander remains unchanged, given his significant contributions as the overall commander of the Jupiter War.”

Yang Ying mused for a moment. “Deputy Commander of the Universe Fleet? I recall Marshal Li Joseph, Commander of the First Fleet, also serves as the overall Commander of the Universe Fleet, correct?”

“That is correct. There are some personal frictions between Marshal Li Joseph and Marshal Alexander, but that is of no concern to us,” Kalia confirmed. “Next is the matter of the Nian Neng Temple. The Chief exchanged five Silver Crystals for six space cities. The specific requirements for these six cities have already been submitted to the Ge Xing and Earth United Industrial Group: five must be energy-type cities, and one must be a grand manor city.”

A grand manor city, so called, meant an entire city dedicated to serving a single estate. Within such a space city, there were rolling hills, lakeside views, meadows, groves of trees, a castle, blue skies, white clouds, and a complete ecosystem composed of various wild flora and fauna—creating an utterly isolated, idyllic world seemingly pulled from a fairytale.

Only the wealthiest strata of human society could afford such a luxurious manor city, where they could enjoy a tranquil life with their families, undisturbed, while simultaneously traversing the endless expanse of space. If they wished to contact the outside world, the network remained available. They would never be lonely, no matter where they were in the inner solar system.

“We have manor cities in stock, and they can be delivered immediately. Our personnel are currently processing the paperwork; the delivery should arrive within a few days,” Kalia stated.

Yang Ying nodded and chuckled, “Excellent. Once the manor city is delivered, I can finally reside in it with Katerina while we cruise the inner solar system. This truly embodies the balance of work and rest—to achieve ‘leisure’ while engaged in ‘labor’—it couldn't be better.”

Katerina, nearby, heard this, and her face flushed subtly. Her hands, which had been flying across the keyboard, slowed down. She couldn't help but turn to Yang Ying and ask, “Chief, the space cities are ostensibly the property of the Teran Company, right? If someone inquires how the leader of the Teran Mercenaries came to possess a private city, how should we answer?”

“Why bother paying attention to what others think? Those who would concern themselves with such matters are just idle busybodies. Just ignore them. Besides, we have plenty of excuses. For instance, I could say that crystal was spoils we captured when Blade and I eliminated Corder. It can be considered private property belonging to me and Blade. We can just list Blade’s name on the deeds too. It’s all the same to me in the end,” Yang Ying replied with a smile.

Katerina found his reasoning sound and lowered her head to return to her documentation work.

Kalia acted as if he had heard nothing and continued, “The other five energy cities are scheduled for staggered delivery within a month. Furthermore, the Research Institute, based on the energy city we currently possess, has developed a new external augmentation device. When connected to several solar collection panels, it can quadruple the illuminated surface area of each energy city and increase energy extraction sixfold. Considering the load capacity of each city, this is the absolute limit.”

“Sounds promising. That means one energy metropolis can function as seven. This is a groundbreaking achievement,” Yang Ying smiled faintly. “It could significantly destabilize the energy industry’s balance, and the price of Energy Locks seems poised to drop dramatically.”

By now, the amount of money involved was no longer an issue for Yang Ying’s Teran Company. Energy Locks were merely a substitute for High-Energy Gas Ore, needed for the Floating Continent’s operation—so, the more the better.

Regarding the resources on the Floating Continent, Yang Ying preferred not to use them if possible; they were strategic assets that might prove invaluable at some future point.

“Since the Chief agrees, we will modify the new energy cities and install these external augmentations. Moreover, I believe these augmentations can bring us even greater benefits,” Kalia stated earnestly.

Yang Ying paused, then nodded. “Indeed. Maximizing every energy city to seven times its efficiency is an achievement great enough to allow us to step into the energy industry and claim the largest share of the market. However, negotiating with those energy magnates will likely require significant manpower and resources. I’ll leave this task to you, Kalia. Assemble a team to assist you—you can choose whomever you wish. Remember, the commercial-type clones in the reserve city should be mature by now. Assemble a workgroup and resolve this matter.”

“Yes, Chief.” Kalia snapped a salute. “Chief, there is one thing you need to know. The largest energy conglomerate in the solar system is the Ge Xing and Earth United Industrial Group. Half of the energy metropolises belong exclusively to them, a quarter to the Military Logistics Department, and the remaining quarter is left for private enterprises.”

“Is that so? Involving them complicates matters. However, aren't we already negotiating with them regarding the Master-level Ghost Fighters? We can incorporate this into that discussion. Bundling our external augmentations with the energy cities for sale is, for them, equivalent to reducing their cost by six-sevenths. It’s a favorable outcome, ultimately leading to a win-win situation, wouldn't you agree?” Yang Ying shrugged.

“That is certainly the case,” Kalia saluted again. “Chief, the routine intelligence report is concluded. I request leave to depart.”

“Go ahead.” Yang Ying waved his hand, and Kalia turned and left the command center.

Once the command center door closed, Yang Ying exchanged a brief word with Katerina, then closed his eyes and transported himself to the Floating Continent. The reason was that the chief supervisor of the airfields had contacted him hours ago regarding an urgent matter requiring his attention.

Thousands of airfields were neatly arranged across the vast plain in the northern section of the Floating Continent. This area served as the manufacturing hub for all aerial weapon systems, with thousands of Ghost Fighters rolling off the production lines daily. Similar clusters of airfields existed in two other locations on the continent.

The chief supervisor was waiting in front of the main building. Upon seeing Yang Ying descend from the sky, he immediately rushed forward. “Chief, Pilah, Supervisor of the Northern Airfield, greets you.”

“Supervisor Pilah, what is it you need to report?” Yang Ying noted that although Pilah’s uniform was neat, suggesting he had just changed, there were blood vessels visible in his eyes—he looked overworked and severely fatigued.

“Chief, I beg your forgiveness. One of my subordinates committed an extremely grave error. I recently discovered that the production schedule data I submitted previously concerning the Jùshòu-class Battlecruiser contained significant inaccuracies. The first Jùshòu-class battlecruiser will be ready in six months, not the year stated in the report. This is my failure of oversight!” Supervisor Pilah cried out, his voice choked with emotion, as if the sky were falling. “As the airfield supervisor, to miss such an obvious error—I am deeply ashamed of failing to meet your trust, Chief. I await your judgment!”

With that, he lowered his head, standing rigidly as a condemned criminal awaiting sentencing.

“Six months? Not a year?” Yang Ying was stunned for a few seconds, needing time to process the news. “So, it can be ready in just six months?”

“Yes, Chief. The first one requires six months, and the others are under construction and will be rolling out sequentially thereafter. Once the first one is complete, we estimate we can field a fleet of ten Jùshòu-class battlecruisers within a month,” Supervisor Pilah explained, his voice still trembling, his head bowed.

“No wonder that last report struck me as odd. It was a simple miscalculation of time. I never expected such a basic error to occur,” Yang Ying muttered. He walked back and forth twice, then turned to Pilah, “Supervisor Pilah, I trust an incident like this will not happen again?”

“No, Chief. I guarantee it!” Supervisor Pilah declared firmly.

“Very well, I shall now announce your punishment,” Yang Ying began slowly. “Your supervisory post will be demoted to Acting Supervisor. We will assess your performance going forward to determine if you can return to your original rank. Do you understand?”

Supervisor Pilah raised his head. This penalty was significantly lighter than he had psychologically prepared for, and he was overjoyed. “Thank you, Chief!”