Tie pointed toward the furthest Star Gate: "We've scouted this whole sector. The asteroids out here are rich in metal ore. I've already deployed the tools, mining day and night. Once we have sufficient quantities, we'll build the space station."

The ore freighter jumped through the star-dusted night, leaping over one planet after another. Ziye felt as though everything else had faded away; only one thought remained: This is our territory. We have a home!

"Xiao Chou, are you even listening?" Tie Shou noticed her dazed expression, her eyes shining with moisture, looking as if she might burst into tears at any moment.

Ziye snapped back to attention. "I'm listening. Is there anything I can help you with now?"

Tie Shou replied, "Help me build more detection robots! You gave me five before, and later I got twelve from the Sprout Group. I deployed them all, and it's still not enough. Brother Gou said we need to claim as much territory as possible during this period, so I need another thirty detection robots. Oh, and add a key ore-finding function to your robots."

Ziye stuck out her tongue sheepishly. "They're on the ship right now. I'll make them for you when we get back tomorrow."

"And mechs, too," Tie Shou added. "Sometimes people need to go down personally, so we need mechs. Give me twenty units, can you?"

Ziye gasped. "You really aren't holding back, are you! Have you used up all the Legion's stock?"

Tie Shou scratched his head. "The Legion's resources were scarce to begin with, and they need them too. I only took three."

Ziye sighed, touching her forehead in mock despair. Thankfully, the Sprout Group had cleared all its inventory through a strategy of scarcity marketing, recuperating significant funds. Otherwise, establishing one space station and one Star Gate could bankrupt Sprout.

It's truly not easy just to live.

Ziye followed Tie Shou to the proposed Star Gate location for a look. It was late; not wanting to trouble him further, she piloted her mech back to the space station in the Shuiyun System herself.

The space station was brightly lit, bustling with activity everywhere.

Ziye felt guilty about sneaking off. Just as she was considering offering to help, Hong Fa approached, grabbed her arm, and steered her toward the hotel. "Come with Mama to get some sleep. I haven't closed my eyes in four days. If I don't sleep, tomorrow's makeup will suffer."

Ziye struggled half-heartedly as Hong Fa pushed her into the room, but then she gave up the pretense. She collapsed onto the bed, pulled the covers over her head, and fell asleep while silently chanting in her mind: I'm not being lazy; Hong Fa forced me. With that justification, she drifted off peacefully...

Perhaps, that night, everyone slept except Ziye and Hong Fa.

After midnight, a new wave of tasks arrived. Ziye slept until past five. When she woke up, all the arrangements for the unveiling ceremony were complete.

Stepping outside, she saw everyone dressed in their finest attire. She glanced down at her own clothes and suddenly felt awkward. She rushed back to the hotel to change into something more formal before trotting excitedly toward the venue.

The path was lined with roses.

Red, orange, yellow, green, cyan, blue, purple—every color imaginable. At first glance, it looked like a rose expo.

Ever since meeting that pervert, Ziye had started treating roses like common cabbage, barely giving them a second thought.

However, the exclamations reaching her ears were astounding.

"Holy crap, Wolf's Den scattered roses everywhere! That's pure nouveau riche spending!"

"If you can't stand to look at them, why don't you collect a few bunches after the event ends?"

"...Hmph. I wouldn't do something so tasteless."

Ziye's eye twitched. She almost wanted to tell them, "Dear customers, we recycle and sterilize these roses after the event to make rose jam. They'll be easy to get. Just look for the 'Rose Garden' brand on the supermarket shelves."

The unveiling ceremony was set in the largest and widest building on the space station. It could hold several thousand people inside, with tens of thousands of square meters of open space in front. The building's roof featured over three hundred docking bays for shuttlecraft—exceptionally spacious.

In front of the central building, dozens of flower baskets were already arranged, with more arriving continuously.

Ziye stepped inside and spotted Da Tou directing staff and robots. She asked, "I'm here to pick up my tasks. What do you need me to do?"

Da Tou glanced at her little cocktail dress and grinned. "Be a good girl and count the flower baskets at the entrance. Tell me the total number."

Ziye felt an impulse to punch him. Can you be any more perfunctory?

Still, having nothing else to do, Ziye obediently went to count the baskets.

She stood near the right-side door and observed. Every basket was different; the flowers varied, heights were inconsistent, and the arrangements displayed unique flair. Ziye couldn't quite understand why people didn't just order uniform flower baskets when they bought them.

She read the inscription on the first basket: sent by Angel's Domain, signed by An Junlie. Looking at the second one, she realized it was from another legion and snorted, "Stingy aliens, only sending one basket!"

Little Sprout, dangling near her waist, heard her comment and mocked, "You wouldn't understand that!"

Ziye shot back, "Oh, so you understand?"

Little Sprout puffed out its chest proudly. "This great master saw it. They all sent two baskets—one by the left door, one by the right door." Ziye ran to the left door and confirmed it was true!

To save face, she pinched it and said, "Two is still pretty cheap."

Just then, a staff member carrying a newly arrived basket overheard her and chuckled, "One pair is enough. There's an unwritten rule in the star-lanes: when a Legion is established, only two baskets are sent. When guests pass between the pair of baskets, they understand."

Ziye looked confused. "What do you mean, 'they understand'?"

The person smiled. "We sent Legion Invitations to all sovereign entities. Any Legion sending a flower basket signifies their acknowledgment of our Legion's sovereignty. When the Integration Department reviews matters, they won't cast a dissenting vote then."

Wait, what?

There was such a thing?

No wonder Da Tou asked her to count the baskets—he wanted to see if the number exceeded two-thirds of the total number of sovereign legions?

The staff member placed the basket and hurried off to receive others.

After learning the inside story, Ziye ran back to the first basket's location, counting excitedly: Angel's Domain, Huaxia Legion, Moke Legion, Hope Legion... Ziye counted them up: sixty-four pairs in total.

She reported the number to Da Tou. A fleeting look of worry crossed Da Tou's face before he masked it. He told Ziye, "We still have time until nine o'clock. Don't worry."

Ziye searched the light-net for the current number of sovereign legions. They needed over 101 pairs of baskets to exceed the two-thirds threshold.

They were still short by over forty pairs.

Ziye's mood soured slightly. She muttered, "Dou Dou, if we don't reach 101 pairs, can we just make some ourselves and put them out?"

Little Dou stopped flapping its wings. "Idiot!"

Just as Ziye was about to retort, a familiar military uniform caught her peripheral vision. She looked up and saw the uniform of the Integration Department. The Integration Department had sent a flower basket—how rare was that!

Ziye immediately felt a surge of energy. If the Integration Department was willing to support them, what was there to fear?

It had to be said, the Integration Department's basket was the ugliest. It was a large basket of olive branches tied with a red ribbon, sparsely adorned with a few daisies. Compared to the grand baskets from other legions, it was utterly plain. If there was a message, it screamed two words: Peace.

However, the reception personnel were savvy; they immediately placed the Integration Department's basket in the foremost position.

Ziye finally understood the implications. She stationed herself by the entrance and watched the baskets arrive in pairs, increasing the count. By past eight o'clock, they finally reached ninety pairs.

But they were still short by 11 pairs to reach 101. Da Tou abandoned his work and went to the lounge to send urgent, heartfelt messages to the legions who hadn't arrived yet, cordially inviting them to the Wolf's Den Legion's founding ceremony.

Ziye stood outside. Seeing the media gradually arriving, she felt it would be awkward to stand outside counting baskets like an idiot, so she moved toward the guest reception area.

After a few steps, she saw Old Gou personally escorting Bai Lanxue, the Secretary-General of the Interstellar Federation, and her assistant. She heard Bai Lanxue speak in her slightly rough voice, half-mocking, half-serious: "Your Legion is developing quite rapidly. Your capabilities are truly beyond comparison, Lord."

Old Gou seemed not to notice the sarcasm and replied humbly, "Not at all. It's just a place for our brothers to make a living. We still rely heavily on the Federation for support."

Seeing them approach, Ziye was about to pretend not to see them and turn away, but Bai Lanxue suddenly addressed her: "You are Ziye?"

Ziye's feet froze. She stiffened her scalp, forcing a blank, slightly bewildered expression onto her face. "You know me?"

Bai Lanxue's severe features softened into a superficial smile. She was wearing makeup that softened her sharp lines, but it gave the impression of a forced, insincere pleasantry. "Of course. Our former designer, Mr. Tang Wen, often mentioned you to me, saying you were truly a gifted student. Alas, his departure from the Federation was a great pity."

Faced with such words, Ziye had no idea how to respond and could only offer a dry laugh. "It's only because Teacher Tang Wen taught so well; I was just naturally slow to learn."

Bai Lanxue sneered. "With Mr. Tang Wen teaching, even the slowest student would become a favored prodigy, wouldn't they?"

Ziye was startled by the sarcasm laced in her words and stood stunned, unable to reply. Old Gou smoothly interjected with an air of regret, "Indeed, our Ziye is a bit slow, thank goodness for such a good teacher. Speaking of which, Mr. Tang Wen's departure from the Federation truly was a massive loss."

Ziye's heart pounded. Brother Gou, you did that on purpose, didn't you? On purpose! She had never realized Old Gou was such a master of veiled mockery.

But was this really appropriate? Daring to rub salt in Bai Lanxue's wound so openly. Wouldn't she send someone to chop him up in the middle of the night?

Old Gou gave her a reassuring look that said, It's fine. She immediately excused herself and fled.

She truly wasn't suited for personal interactions; it was better to hide behind the scenes and focus on her mechs and robots. Ziye watched the staff carrying the Interstellar Federation's basket toward the entrance, feeling a slight sense of relief.

No matter how much Bai Lanxue might hate them, she still maintained appearances.

That meant the Interstellar Federation, in effect, acknowledged the founding of Wolf's Den?

The Interstellar Federation always had plenty of hangers-on.

Once Bai Lanxue sent her basket, the others followed suit, and the number surged dramatically, breaking past 101 in an instant. Ziye excitedly high-fived the staff arranging the baskets. Yes! Mission accomplished!