Little Sprout sighed like a miniature adult and told An Junlie, "Ziye has turned into a pig; she can't answer you." Then, it shifted the angle of the light screen so An Junlie could see how she was sleeping.

An Junlie shook his head helplessly; Little Sprout’s description was entirely accurate. Ziye was sleeping like a pig, clutching her blanket, eyes squeezed shut, with something suspicious near the corner of her mouth, and what's more, she was even lightly snoring.

A pang of heartache struck An Junlie. If she weren't so exhausted, how could she be snoring? She had lost so much weight recently; her cheeks looked sunken.

He reluctantly withdrew his gaze and reported the situation to Little Sprout. "The Wolf's Den Space Station was attacked. The Unity Headquarters concluded the Legion Assembly early, and the Wolf's Den successfully secured Sovereignty."

Little Sprout cheered, "Oh yeah!"

It understood how vital Sovereignty was to a Legion, but to it, it meant nothing; it was just cheering for Ziye's sake. It was a good thing An Junlie didn't know its true thoughts, or he would have coughed up blood.

Speaking of Sovereignty, Bai Lanxue had truly miscalculated.

She had intended to take advantage of the Wolf's Den personnel being at the Unity Headquarters to catch them off guard with a show of force, and simultaneously block the Wolf's Den from becoming a Sovereign Legion during the assembly. Who knew that the space station bombing would blow up so spectacularly, igniting public outrage across the entire galaxy? The other legions, out of "pity" for the Wolf's Den, all cast affirmative votes, allowing them to secure Sovereignty.

Bai Lanxue nearly vomited blood.

And the Legion Bai Lanxue had painstakingly supported—the one clinging tightly to the Interstellar Federation’s leg—failed to gain Sovereignty. Bai Lanxue was so furious she nearly threw her desk over.

The more hostile legions there were, the stronger they became; the fewer friendly legions there were, the bigger the problem!

An Junlie held a grudge against Bai Lanxue, and seeing her suffer this setback brought him rare delight. He said cheerfully to Little Sprout, "I'll arrive at the Wolf's Den this afternoon. Tell her when she wakes up, alright? Granddaddy Sprout."

Little Sprout thoroughly enjoyed being called "Granddaddy Sprout" and grinned, "No problem, but," it flapped its wings, "you have to bribe me with a blueprint for a Dreadnought."

An Junlie didn't hesitate. "Which Legion's do you want?"

Little Sprout was very pleased with his immediate compliance. "The Interstellar Federation."

An Junlie said, "Fine, I'll send it to you within half an hour."

He was true to his word. Half an hour later, a Dreadnought blueprint was indeed sent to Ziye.

Ziye was still asleep. When she opened the blueprint and scanned it, she jumped up happily and immediately zapped Ziye awake. "Hurry up, you little fool, get up, get up!"

Ziye jolted awake from the electric shock, groggily opening her eyes. "What?"

Little Sprout exclaimed excitedly, "We got the Dreadnought blueprint! Hurry up, let's go study it."

The moment Ziye heard "Dreadnought," she became more than half-awake.

Wait a minute, wasn't she supposed to be researching the Marauder-class cruiser?

Without waiting for Little Sprout to explain, she thought to herself: Whether it's a Marauder or a Dreadnought, it’s still a starship; they’re fundamentally the same. Having one is what counts!

Little Sprout planted a sloppy kiss on her face, then suddenly remembered her face was wet with drool. It immediately recoiled in disgust onto the bed, furiously rubbing its fluff with the blanket. "Also, the aliens sent a lot more Dreadnought parts."

Ziye: "...Hm?"

Unable to bear her slow reaction, Little Sprout slapped her with a paw. "Lots and lots of Dreadnought parts, and the blueprint!"

Ziye suddenly understood. "He wants me to start by researching the Dreadnought?"

Ziye looked up to the sky and sighed. "Heavens, the little fool got dumber while sleeping."

Ziye scratched her head and decided not to overthink it. She went to wash up while letting her thoughts settle. After cleaning up, she knew exactly what she needed to do. She pulled Little Sprout along. As for Douzai, she had wanted to leave it with someone, but everyone was currently swamped with emergencies, and no one had the time to look after it. Worried it would starve, she resigned herself to the situation, brought it into the shuttle, and set off for the Aerospace Assembly Workshop.

That's where her Dreadnought parts were waiting.

An Junlie had sent several batches of parts, along with the blueprint. Ziye used her salary to purchase the few missing components at the assembly workshop and hired the most experienced assembly team there to build it for her.

The assembly team, bolstered by assembly robots, tinkered away in the workshop for several days and finally completed the first Dreadnought in Ziye’s history.

That day, Ziye quietly tested the newly launched ship, without making any public announcement. Instead, she secretly sent a private message to Iron Hand.

Iron Hand had been injured in the space station explosion and had only just recovered after a few days of rest. Upon receiving Ziye's instructions, he immediately started gathering materials without a second thought.

Meanwhile, Ziye instructed the assembly team to run tests and break in the components while she went to see the Dreadnought manufacturer. She provided the blueprints, the materials, and even the nano-replication robots. After negotiating the price, Ziye commissioned twenty Dreadnoughts in one go.

Damn it, if anyone else dares to bully the Wolf's Den, I’ll just crush their legion with a Dreadnought!

The Dreadnoughts produced using her materials and blueprints were several times better in quality than those bought on the open market, and the price was cheaper. Ziye kept it quiet, inviting members of the Wolf's Den to come and claim their ships.

Besides, the blueprint wasn't for the Angel Domain's Dreadnought, but for the Interstellar Federation's "Fanatic-type," which was perfectly suited for warmongers. She could rest assured sending Red Hair into battle commanding one.

For this batch of Dreadnoughts, Ziye specifically instructed the manufacturer not to affix any insignia. Even if they were flown out, no one would know they belonged to the Wolf's Den.

After this lesson, she felt that achieving great things quietly was the ultimate path. The more one publicized their actions, the more enmity they attracted, and the more obstacles they encountered.

For Ziye, a single public appearance, like the one at the Mecha Competition, was more than enough.

She began to learn discretion.

The news hotspot during this period was the bombing of the Wolf's Den Space Station.

The Unity Headquarters launched an investigation.

During this time, countless citizens and legions extended hands of friendly aid. Long Yi Entertainment Company even held a charity performance, donating all of that day's earnings to the Wolf's Den.

The Wolf's Den's precarious funding chain was finally managed to hold on tenuously.

Big Head, having been a prisoner for so long, encountered such enthusiastic public support for the first time and was so moved he couldn't utter a word. That night, he rushed out a set of investment policies for the Wolf's Den Legion and placed advertisements.

Any corporation that donated to the Wolf's Den could establish investment in any industry within the Wolf's Den and receive three months of rent-free operation!

Any civilian who donated would receive a month of free food and lodging when visiting the Wolf's Den for tourism!

Investors from all sides flocked over. Suddenly, the Wolf's Den was bustling, simultaneously undertaking post-explosion reconstruction while attracting industrial and commercial investment.

The Wolf's Den Legion had finally taken its first step toward growth.

During this period, only Ziye and Red Hair were absent.

After finalizing the Dreadnought arrangements, Ziye returned to researching the Marauder-class cruiser.

With the Dreadnought as a foundation, researching the Marauder seemed less difficult, and this time, her resolve was a hundred times harder than before.

Previously, she worried about inadvertently copying Tang Wen's concepts, or about a certain component not working out, or failing to fully express her overall vision.

After the incident, she threw all those lingering thoughts aside, and her focus became remarkably clear. Aided by Little Sprout, she managed to complete the overall model for the Marauder in just half a month!