"Don't rush it. Only when we find that planet will we truly know we've succeeded," Howard merely nodded when he heard the magnetic storm signs were located, his face registering no other expression—a mask of iron.

"Yes," the assembled officers responded in unison.

"According to Captain Rall's description, they executed another spatial jump before the magnetic storm hit, covering one hundred and twenty light-years. The course hadn't changed then, so we won't either. Let's jump again," Yang Ying said with a smile.

"Understood, sir," came the immediate reply.

The Behemoth once more plunged into hyperspace, speeding away.

Yang Ying’s trajectory was calculated after tracking various anomalies using the Celestial Tracking technique. The faster the main computer calculated, and the more parameters included, the smaller the margin of error became.

In his search for this planet, Yang Ying mobilized hundreds of control center administrators from the Floating Continent. Like Murphy and Kevin, they were organic amalgamations of human brain and computer. Under Murphy’s leadership, they joined the calculation effort, unifying all data relayed by the observers into the computation. This yielded an extremely small directional error margin for Captain Rall’s route—only a hundred kilometers of deviation for every light-year traveled.

Naturally, the calculation produced six possible outcomes, which was why six directions had been previously hypothesized.

As for the origin of the Celestial Tracking technique, it came from an e-book Yang Ying kept handy: How to Be an Explorer Captain, Celestial Tracking Edition.

Ten hours later, the Behemoth emerged from hyperspace. They had reached the first landmark following the cosmic magnetic storm beyond the gas cloud.

"Strong pulses detected, along with intense gravitational distortions! It is indeed the first marker—a neutron star," the staff officer reported.

A neutron star is a dense celestial body formed from the collapse of a massive star. Its physical size might not be enormous, but its density is terrifying; one cubic centimeter holds a mass equivalent to one hundred million tons, surpassed only by the universe's most powerful natural disaster: the black hole.

"How far are we from the neutron star?" Howard immediately inquired.

"One hundred and fifty million kilometers. That distance is safe enough; we won't be sucked into its gravitational field," the officer replied. "Our initial settings worked perfectly. We didn't follow Captain Rall's exact travel distance, nor did we encounter the same accident he did."

"Captain Rall's ship was caught in the gravity well back then. Luckily, it was just the edge of the well, preventing him from slamming directly into the neutron star. What an unlucky fellow, always running into that kind of bizarre trouble." A hint of a smile touched Howard’s face.

"Next, Captain Rall made his final jump, about one hundred and forty light-years—a total journey of just over one hundred light-years—and then he found the planet with the abrasive sand."

Yang Ying rose and looked out of the observation window. "Now we face the last step, and the trickiest one. With the gravity pulling on his explorer ship, Captain Rall clearly couldn't control his bow direction. Furthermore, the area around the neutron star is empty—everything has been drawn into it. Without a single reference point, even Celestial Tracking is useless. We first need to determine which direction Captain Rall actually headed."

"Report, Captain. Regarding this matter, I have an idea," a staff officer suddenly spoke up.

"Speak," Yang Ying nodded. The officers on the battlecruiser possessed deep expertise in astronomy, physics, and other relevant disciplines; their suggestions would never be idle talk.

"Yes, sir," the officer stated his proposal. "Since that planet is an inhabited world, it must reside within a star system. We can measure the distance to all surrounding stars and narrow down our search to those within a one-hundred-and-forty-light-year radius. This will significantly reduce our target count."

Yang Ying and Howard exchanged a look—it was an excellent idea.

"Well said! That's what we'll do," they said simultaneously.

The Behemoth was equipped with precise optical and spectroscopic instruments; measuring stellar distances was merely a matter of time. Yang Ying even summoned another two hundred battlecruisers from the Floating Continent, assigning each a sector of the sky to monitor, thus increasing efficiency two hundredfold. Now that they were far from outside interference, this was precisely the moment to summon reinforcements.

Yang Ying had been away from the solar system for nearly a month. When he first departed, he only had one hundred battlecruisers. This month’s production batch was already completed—more than last month—with another hundred battlecruisers finished, doubling his available strength to two hundred.

Two hours later, all data was collected and analyzed. In the bridge of the Behemoth, a staff officer reported to Yang Ying, "Captain, there are a total of sixteen star systems roughly one hundred and forty light-years from here that meet the criteria."

"Excellent," a wave of excitement surged through Yang Ying. The target felt palpably close. "Immediately dispatch sixteen battlecruisers to explore those sixteen star systems!"

As the order was given, the sixteen battlecruisers turned their bows and executed spatial jumps toward their assigned systems. Yang Ying recalled the remaining battlecruisers, keeping them with the Behemoth to await the results.

Finally, after about six hours, the long-awaited message arrived via faster-than-light communication to Yang Ying.

"Target located!"

"The message is from Star System Five!" the staff officer announced loudly.

"Notify the other battlecruisers. Converge on Star System Five. We'll meet there," Yang Ying’s eyes flashed sharply. It was a new planet, an unclaimed inhabited world that would soon belong to him!

The Behemoth plunged into hyperspace toward Star System Five, covering six hours of travel to reach the destination.

Before the assembled crew appeared a beautiful planet.

In its outer orbit, they could clearly distinguish blue oceans, green forests, white clouds, and yellow landmasses. The uneven terrain formed mountains, rivers, and vast lakes. Islands dotted the sea, and a massive swirl of wind lifted clouds, drifting slowly at a speed indiscernible to the naked eye.

"What a habitable planet," Yang Ying murmured in awe.

"Yes, truly beautiful."

Katarina was on the bridge, standing beside Yang Ying. He had called her over to witness the new world. Indeed, upon seeing such splendor, Katarina’s eyes lit up, but she kept her hand tightly clasped with Yang Ying’s, drawing her attention back to him after only a moment.

He wanted to say more, but what words could describe the spectacle of a planet? Though he had visited Bavant and Falu, those were other people’s worlds; they could never compare to one's own. Endlessly fascinating, endlessly fascinating—Yang Ying’s heart swelled with emotion as he savored the feeling.

Seeing Yang Ying happy made Katarina happy too, more so than gazing at the planet outside the window.

After a moment, Yang Ying took a deep breath. "Let's go down."

"Yes, sir."

The Behemoth began its slow descent. First, atmospheric friction heated the ship’s armor until it glowed red and sparked, though the bridge remained unaffected.

Descending alongside the Behemoth were five other battlecruisers that had arrived earlier; ten more were currently approaching.

As the Behemoth's speed gradually decreased, the red glow and sparks faded. Looking out the observation window, the forests on the ground were now clearly visible.

The beasts on the ground and in the air grew tense. Fear of the colossal Behemoth-class battlecruisers caused them to scatter as the ships neared the surface, startling flocks of birds and herds of animals in a sudden exodus.

"It seems our deterrent factor is much stronger than Captain Rall’s. No beasts dare attack us," Yang Ying commented with a smile.

"Captain, abrasive sand discovered! Abrasive sand discovered!" the staff officer shouted, repeating the crucial phrase twice.

"Display it on the main screen," Yang Ying commanded.

"Yes, sir."

A large light screen unfolded before the bridge, displaying clusters of tall, crystalline growths standing upright between wide foliage in the heart of the dense jungle. Their sharp angles and ice-blue, mirrored surfaces reflected dazzling, multicolored halos under the sunlight—a sight as beautiful as a rainbow.

The view then shifted to another location beneath a sheer cliff face, where clumps of crystals were also growing robustly. Then, it switched to a riverbank, showing the same sight.

"It appears the reserves of abrasive sand here are substantial. We’ve found so much just around our randomly selected landing zones, let alone the entire planet," Yang Ying nodded internally. This was certainly the best possible outcome; strategic resources like abrasive sand were always welcome, and one could never have too much.

The Behemoth landed in a clearing within the forest. The ground was covered in green grass and wildflowers—all new species unfamiliar on Earth, lending a refreshing novelty to the scene.

The ventral hatch of the Behemoth opened. First off came dozens of tanks—still the most crucial element for ground firepower output, indispensable as ever. Following them were mine-layers and giant robots.

Then came hundreds of infantrymen. The Marine Corps, having upgraded to fifth-generation gear, showed a clear trend toward mechanization; their armor was heavier, power output greater, and weapon augmentation responses more agile. The Reapers and Marauders were entirely encased in thick armor—these were already single-soldier mechs. Only the Ghost operatives remained lightly equipped, though their weapons systems had also been updated to better suit specialized operations in various environments.

As soon as all units touched down, they immediately established defensive positions, guarding against any potential attacks from local fauna.

Yang Ying and Katarina were the last to disembark. They stood looking up at the blue sky and white clouds, down at the green grass beneath their feet, breathing in a sweet fragrance that brought immense calm.

A gentle breeze blew, lifting Katarina’s hair. She reached up to smooth it back and smiled. "Sir, give this planet a name."

Yang Ying smiled faintly. "Hmm, let me think... I'll call it Ael."