Zi Ye kept her expression still, secretly asking Little Sprout, "How much is our robot management system worth?" The small sprout atop Little Sprout’s head stretched and curved, curved and stretched again. "That management system isn't worth much; buying it outright is only a few tens of billions." Zi Ye froze.

A few tens of billions, and that wasn't considered valuable?! Then she heard, "This great master can make a super-advanced battleship management system, selling it for several hundred billions is no problem!" Zi Ye felt as if shining silver coins were raining down before her eyes.

She had been agonizing over funding issues for so long, only to realize she was sitting on a fortune without knowing it. She was utterly thrilled.

"We won't sell the patents; we'll sell the systems. One for several tens of billions, and if we sell a few more, we'll have enough funds to build the space station." Little Sprout haughtily straightened its sprout.

"Thank this great master." Zi Ye said with deep sincerity, "Thank you, Great Master Sprout." With that, she immediately dove into conceptualizing the battleship management system. Tang Rui arrived, announcing the Tang Sect's interest in purchasing.

She would sketch out the basics first, and then, when they met to discuss, she would revise and add details based on their needs. Heh heh, she was determined to land this order.

The same battleship management system could also be sold to the Angelic Domain. Heh heh.

Zi Ye counted on her fingers the legions in space who would likely purchase a battleship management system—no more than twenty. To make real money, they had to pursue a commercial path.

Zi Ye turned her head and said to Hale, who was examining the battleship production equipment, "List the top fifty battleship manufacturing groups and mech manufacturing groups in the galaxy. We're going to make money selling systems." Hale nodded in agreement.

However, he had only examined half of the equipment. If he shifted focus midway, all his prior effort would be wasted.

He looked up and saw F59427 standing beside him, which reminded him of what Zi Ye had said. The Mengya Group's robots were extremely intelligent; finding some data shouldn't be an issue, right?

Hale attempted to send a command to F59427. F59427 immediately sprang into action, activating a light screen to search for the data.

Hale glanced around. The robots were finding data.

Streams of code flashed in Little Sprout's eyes as it also worked busily. Zi Ye was conceptualizing a battleship, Tang Wan was searching for system specifications, and G65770 was pouring them rose water.

Though there were only three people, it looked like five or six, giving off a strangely intense atmosphere of energetic industry. Hale had always believed robots were just robots; no matter how intelligent, they couldn't be people.

This was the first time his view of robots had changed. So, robots could actually be utilized like people.

The only one idle was Douzai, leisurely gnawing on a metal teething stick. A moment later, Tang Wen pinged Zi Ye's ultracom, chuckling, "The Tang Sect wants to commission a one-of-a-kind battleship management system.

Target price: two hundred billions. Interested?" !!!

A whale delivered right to the door! Zi Ye nodded rapidly, like a chick pecking grain.

"Absolutely must take it!" Tang Wen smiled and added another line, "We'll gift the mech management system as a bonus. How about it?" Zi Ye: "...That's too harsh.

You're blackmailing me!" Tang Wen replied earnestly, "Then what do you propose?" Zi Ye blurted out, "Half price for the mech management system, and a ten percent discount on all Tang Sect equipment. How about that?" Tang Wen pondered briefly.

"Deal." Zi Ye happily held up two fingers. "Yay!" A legion-class mech management system wouldn't cost more than fifty billions.

Half price would put it close to an enterprise-class system, adding maybe twenty percent more code—not a loss. The Tang Sect's battleship production equipment was the second most expensive among all battleship production gear, costing about one thousand two hundred billions.

A ten percent discount meant saving one hundred and twenty billions! This was an incredibly advantageous transaction.

Zi Ye was too excited. For those one hundred and twenty billions, she’d focus on system development immediately.

The battleship soon arrived at Kelei. Tang Wan was immediately captivated by Kelei's prosperity and pulled Zi Ye, "Let's go shopping." Zi Ye's eyes were glued to the light screen, unmoving.

Hale stood up. "I've scheduled appointments with three manufacturers who possess proprietary battleship production equipment.

We can see them directly." Zi Ye's eyes remained fixed on the light screen. Her hands moved rapidly over the interface, completely ignoring the other two.

Little Sprout, having already budgeted time and programming schedules during the trip, hopped up and bumped right into Zi Ye's face, blocking her view, then tumbled about. Disturbed by the commotion, Zi Ye had no choice but to abandon her resistance and go tour the market with them.

After some thought, she opened her SilverCom and sent a message to the head of the military training base, telling him to release the ten youths currently in training and send them to the Xilian Galaxy. They currently needed to divide forces into three streams: one part for developing systems, one part responsible for space station construction, and one part for mech and battleship design—all indispensable.

All three tasks couldn't wait, and they were short on personnel. Bringing in the ten youths would still feel like a drop in the bucket; Zi Ye felt like slamming her head against a wall.

After agonizing for a long while, she had no choice but to recruit help. The Strategic Weapons Department had recruited personnel before, but because her standards were high and Wolf's Den was weak, the core personnel for the entire department totaled less than twenty, and five or six had already left—a story fit for tears.

This time, with Hale present, she decisively tossed the headache-inducing task to him. As soon as they disembarked the battleship, the manufacturer sent an airship to pick them up.

Tang Wan linked arms with Zi Ye on the airship. Watching the vessel glide through the commercial center, she felt like Granny Liu entering the Grand View Garden—everything seemed novel and wondrous.

She desperately tried to find someone who shared her excitement, but Zi Ye’s brow was deeply furrowed, Hale was expressionless, and she was the only one acting out a one-woman show. "Little Yezi, look!

That mech is so imposing!" Zi Ye glanced up, offered a perfunctory nod, her mind preoccupied with where she could recruit more talent to help. "Little Yezi, look, look!

That’s the Predator-class our Tang Sect is most famous for. Brother Tang Wen designed it." Zi Ye murmured an "Mm," then suddenly thought of something.

"Do you know any friends who are excellent at designing battleships? Could you introduce me?" Tang Wan extended her demonic claws, grabbing the tender flesh around Zi Ye's waist and squeezing hard.

The pain brought instant tears to Zi Ye’s eyes. Tang Wan transformed into a queen, hands on her hips.

"Are you even listening to me?" All of Zi Ye's thoughts scattered to the nine heavens. Her face fell.

"You speak, I listen." Tang Wan sheepishly touched the spot she had pinched, her expression apologetic. "I didn't mean to twist you.

Isn't it easy to find battleship designers? The Tang Sect has them everywhere." The young man piloting the airship to meet them—dressed in a suit and white gloves—overheard their conversation.

His expression became markedly respectful, tinged with a bit of awe. "You are from the Tang Sect?

Can we meet Mr. Tang Wen?" Tang Wan was about to reply, but Zi Ye quickly covered her mouth, signaling her to remain silent.

Hale, sitting beside them, said expressionlessly, "We are not from the Tang Sect. We are from the Wolf's Den Legion." The young man smiled without comment.

The three manufacturers Hale had booked were the Meilian Manufacturing Workshop of the Interstellar Federation, the manufacturing plant belonging to the Kunpeng Group under the Huaxia Legion, and the Battle City World of the Tang Sect. Their current reception was from the Kunpeng Group manufacturing plant.

The Kunpeng Group's facility occupied the entirety of Kelei Space Station Nineteen. The young man led them directly on a tour of the battleship production line, explaining the parameters, functions, and performance of every piece of equipment as they went.

Zi Ye listened quietly, occasionally murmuring agreement or posing a question. Tang Wan and Hale were still novices in this area; they understood every word the young man said, but put together, they simply couldn't grasp the meaning.

Zi Ye offered them no explanations. After touring the entire facility, she asked, "I want to order a set of this equipment.

Approximately how much would that cost?" Generally, those willing to tour battleship manufacturing plants were either buyers or students. Even among students, those who could comprehend such technical details and visit manufacturing plants were rarely weak, so the factory personnel dared not look down on them, regardless of their youth.

Hearing Zi Ye's question, the host replied tactfully, "Our standard configuration is priced at one trillion. If it's custom-ordered, the price will be somewhat higher." Tang Wan didn't understand much else, but she understood this sentence.

"Why is yours so cheap?" The Tang Sect's standard configuration was priced at one thousand two hundred billions—a difference of a full two hundred billions! The host smiled faintly.

"Our price is comparable to the Meilian Workshop, and not far off from the Angelic Domain. Overall prices are currently fluctuating between nine hundred billion and one trillion one hundred billion." Tang Wan countered, "Then why is the Tang Sect's one trillion two hundred billions?" —Could it be that all the manufacturers had banded together against the Tang Sect?

The reality proved Tang Wan was overthinking. The host chuckled.

"The Tang Sect is the industry leader, after all. Their standard model is a notch above ours; it’s normal for them to charge two hundred billions more.

A set of equipment isn't just about the price; the most crucial thing is the configuration one desires. Most legions are sufficiently served by the standard configuration." Zi Ye nodded.

"I agree, price is the key factor." She shifted the topic, asking, "If we purchase from you, can we get a ten percent discount?" The host almost spat blood onto the wall. A ten percent discount?

Did she think they were buying clothes at a market? What did a ten percent discount even mean in this context?

One hundred billions! Who could afford such a discount?

The host's smile looked pained. "That would be very difficult for us to arrange.

You are knowledgeable; you understand the market dynamics." Zi Ye certainly understood the market dynamics. Of the over two hundred legions, only about a dozen had the capability to produce this set of equipment.

In reality, the actual production cost was only a few tens of billions; the price had been inflated to one trillion due to high research and development costs and legion strength issues. She silently clenched her fist.

Once she researched and developed her own large-scale aircraft carrier, she would independently develop and produce a set of equipment unique to her legion, and then sell it for one trillion! Tang Wan pouted.

"Little Yezi, do you know anyone in the Huaxia Legion who could get us a ten percent discount?" Zi Ye's eyes lit up, and she opened her ultracom to dial Li Chunyu. She almost forgot—she had a friend in the Huaxia Legion, that student Li Chunyu!

Speaking of which, this year was his graduation year... RO