Liu Hui’s cultivation broke through the initial stages of cultivation and entered the Foundation Establishment realm. In that instant, the true essence and spiritual power within him surged explosively, shattering some inherent shackles, causing a subtle mutation within his brain: the ephemeral phantom of a monk in a saffron robe materialized.

By the time Liu Hui realized something was amiss, the phantom monk had vanished without a trace. No matter how hard he tried to search, he could no longer find the slightest clue regarding this ghostly figure.

Liu Hui was greatly alarmed. Usually possessing immense composure, he never expected such a monk's phantom to suddenly appear in his mind, and he was certain he had never encountered this specific monk before. He didn't know what this signified, but he instinctively knew the phantom had not appeared in his brain without reason; there had to be some underlying cause he did not yet comprehend.

After searching meticulously, Liu Hui failed to locate any further information related to the monk within his mind. He had no good recourse for this situation, and it was hardly something he could discuss with others. Furthermore, the phantom monk had only appeared momentarily before disappearing without any apparent effect on his body. Consequently, he decided to let the matter rest, lest dwelling on it only increased his anxiety without resolving the issue. As soon as he relaxed, he soon drifted off to sleep, filled with the joy of his breakthrough and the lingering mystery of the phantom monk.

The next day, when Liu Hui opened his eyes, he sensed that his condition was somehow different from usual. He sat up slowly, staring fixedly out the window, remaining silent for a long time. Hu Xian’er, sitting beside him, noticed his strange behavior and asked with some concern, "Shui Niu, what's wrong? Did something happen?"

Liu Hui spoke hesitantly, "I have a strange feeling in my heart. It tells me I have likely forgotten something, something very important to me. But no matter how hard I try to think, I can't recall what I've forgotten."

Hu Xian’er laughed gently. "Shui Niu, I think you must have been too exhausted lately, which is why you feel this way. Why don't you take a proper long break? Maybe resting well will help you recall those forgotten things."

Liu Hui managed a wry smile. "Perhaps that's the case!" Yet, his mind continued to churn over the matter. He had a very peculiar sensation—that whatever he had forgotten was absolutely crucial, even if he couldn't grasp what it was in that moment.

The phantom of the saffron-robed monk appearing in his mind the previous night, followed by the feeling of having lost something vital the next morning—this strange sequence troubled Liu Hui greatly. He couldn't make sense of the phenomenon. Since he couldn't figure it out no matter how he tried, Liu Hui decided to stop thinking about it altogether. After all, a solution would appear when the time came; he would simply deal with any resulting issues when they arose.

Thus, Liu Hui didn't dwell on the matter excessively. However, Hu Xian’er’s gentle suggestion made him realize a stark fact: for the two and a half years since arriving in Hong Kong, aside from the New Year holidays and the month of his wedding, he had been relentlessly focused on work, never granting himself any extended time off. Could this strange physical phenomenon be a result of sheer exhaustion leading to hallucinations? If that were true, shouldn't he perhaps take a long vacation to properly adjust his state of mind?

Ultimately, however, Liu Hui put that thought aside, remaining fixedly focused on the development of the Starry Sky Group. The pressures from the real world were suffocating him, and only after the successful completion of Starry Sky City could he breathe a little easier.

On this day, Liu Hui arrived at the construction control center for Starry Sky City, listening as Chen Changsheng briefed him on the progress.

"Boss, under your strict emphasis, the construction pace of Starry Sky City has significantly increased since the Spring Festival this year. We anticipate expanding the sea platform area of Starry Sky City to thirty square kilometers by the end of this year."

"Increased construction speed—will there be any issues with quality?" Liu Hui inquired, aware that in China, some projects often cut corners on construction timelines for various reasons, which inevitably led to quality problems.

"Boss, please rest assured, there will be absolutely no issues with our construction quality. This is primarily because the funding you've poured into Starry Sky City has seen a substantial increase, allowing us to bring forward some projects that were originally planned for later, thus accelerating the pace. This has nothing to do with compromising quality," Chen Changsheng explained.

"What about the platform situation beneath the seawater?" Liu Hui asked. Previously, the combined height of the platform above and below the surface was only ten meters. Now that the overall platform area was rapidly expanding, he worried about the structural fragility of the entire base.

"Boss, while constructing the sea platform, we simultaneously initiated the work of thickening the submerged platform. The key is that the thickening below the waterline was done without detection. As of yesterday, the entire platform structure has reached a height of fifty meters, and its current architecture is extremely balanced and robust. We employed some technical countermeasures, which is why the thickened submerged section hasn't surfaced, and nobody has noticed that our platform is already this tall," Chen Changsheng reported.

Liu Hui asked, "So, how large is our current sea platform area now?"

"The completed sea platform area has reached eleven square kilometers. If we maintain this speed, we will achieve the target of thirty square kilometers by year-end," Chen Changsheng stated.

"Based on the previous plan, shouldn't a portion of the land now be ready for use?" Liu Hui inquired.

"Correct. In our original planning, as soon as the construction area of Starry Sky City surpassed ten square kilometers, we could designate a section of land for building factories. Therefore, we can currently allocate two square kilometers of land for your use," Chen Changsheng said with a smile. Liu Hui had already secretly invested over two hundred billion US dollars into the Starry Sky City project by this point. The only source of happiness now was that Starry Sky City was finally beginning to generate some tangible returns.

Liu Hui asked, "This two-square-kilometer plot will surely be surrounded by those factory construction sites, right? If so, won't the area around this land be extremely noisy?"

Chen Changsheng chuckled. "Boss, aside from massive facilities like steel mills and shipyards, most of the smaller and medium-sized ancillary construction plants are not fixed to Starry Sky City. They constantly move forward toward the construction front as the overall building progresses. So, by the time the factories on your land are completed, the ancillary construction units surrounding them will have already been pushed outward with the expansion of the sea platform, causing no disturbance to the factory operations. Moreover, even the large factories fixed to Starry Sky City have bases that can be detached from the city structure. This means that once Starry Sky City construction reaches a certain stage, even they can be relocated."

Liu Hui was overjoyed. "Are you saying that once the buildings on these two square kilometers are finished, all the surrounding ancillary construction units will move away, and the area will no longer be disturbed?"

Chen Changsheng pondered for a moment and confirmed, "That is indeed the case."

Liu Hui asked again, "In the initial plans, what type of land use was designated for this plot you are providing?"

Chen Changsheng checked the blueprints on his desk. "The plot we are building now is designated to become the Medical and Health Center of Starry Sky City in the future. Since the Starry Sky Group got its start in biomedicine, we prioritized the construction of this medical zone."

Liu Hui considered this. "Then, by the end of this year, how much usable construction land can Starry Sky City provide me?"

Chen Changsheng calculated again. "By year-end, the sea platform area of Starry Sky City will reach thirty square kilometers. Without compromising the overall work progress, we can provide the Boss with ten square kilometers of usable land."

Liu Hui was ecstatic and asked, "Have the natural landscapes on those plots been established yet?"

Chen Changsheng shook his head. "Our current focus is maximizing the expansion of Starry Sky City's footprint. Therefore, the construction of the supplementary natural scenery has proceeded more slowly. However, we will build these natural landscapes according to the design specifications at the appropriate time."

Liu Hui stroked his chin and inquired, "Can the security of Starry Sky City now be guaranteed?"

Chen Changsheng replied, "We are currently in Phase One of construction, building only in the near-coastal waters off Bude’ao, Hong Kong. At this stage, Starry Sky City's security is assured, given the deterrent presence of the garrisoned forces in Hong Kong. However, next year, Starry Sky City construction will enter Phase Two. The workload at that time will be ten times greater than now, making near-shore construction impractical. We must tow the sea platform out into international waters; only such an expansive environment can accommodate that scale of construction. At that point, the security of Starry Sky City will have to be handled entirely by ourselves."

Liu Hui asked, "Are you prepared for that?"

Chen Changsheng responded, "Boss, we have made preparations in advance. We previously showed you the technology for railguns and laser weapons, which still had some flaws then. However, those defects have been significantly improved recently, meaning the railguns and laser weapons are now deployable in actual combat. We will install them on the Starry Sky City sea platform to intercept attacks from aircraft and missiles from the sky. Similarly, any assault from the sea will be unable to approach, as the formidable firepower of the railguns can destroy any vessel two hundred kilometers out. Thus, we possess a degree of self-defense capability."

Liu Hui asked, "How will the security beneath the seabed be guaranteed?"

Chen Changsheng explained, "Our Starry One super-submarine is now combat-ready. Its two railguns can destroy any submarine or torpedo approaching from the depths fifty kilometers away. Furthermore, our Starry Two is nearing completion; it will be equipped with four railguns. Once it is operational, the seabed beneath Starry Sky City will be as unshakeable as bedrock under the protection of these two super-submarines."

Liu Hui did a quick calculation. With the current railguns, laser weapons, and two super-submarines, Starry Sky City did indeed possess localized self-defense capability. But even if those railguns, lasers, and submarines ultimately proved unreliable, he still had the ultimate trump card—Xiao Hei. With Xiao Hei protecting Starry Sky City, it would be virtually invincible on the ocean. It was just unfortunate that there was only one Xiao Hei, yet the areas needing defense were numerous. This, however, was a problem to be solved later by strengthening their martial assets.

Therefore, Liu Hui asked, "Given the situation, I will move our new factories to Starry Sky City immediately. Can the safety of these new facilities be guaranteed?"

Chen Changsheng replied, "Theoretically, yes. But if the US Navy were arrayed against us, we would certainly not be a match for them."

Liu Hui laughed. "Director Chen, you are considering too far into the future. What you describe is an extreme scenario that is unlikely to occur under normal circumstances. Moreover, at our current rate of development, if given time, our strength will grow rapidly. By then, even if the US Navy mobilized, we would not fear them."

Chen Changsheng also smiled, then suddenly mentioned, "Boss, Starry One returned yesterday. This trip added more bathymetric maps and mineral distribution charts of the Pacific seabed to our records. However, apart from the large amount of mineral deposits detected on its second voyage, this latest long journey found no large-scale mineral concentrations."

Liu Hui inwardly chuckled. The reason Starry One discovered so many seabed minerals last time was entirely because he already knew the specific distribution of those deposits through Xiao Hei and had directed them to search in those designated locations, resulting in massive gains. If Starry One had relied solely on its own detection capabilities, it might not have found a single deposit. Did Chen Changsheng truly believe wealth was scattered everywhere on the seabed?

After discovering several super-giant seabed mines previously, Liu Hui had continued to send Xiao Hei out to scout the vast Pacific floor for ore bodies. Thanks to Xiao Hei's efficient detection, he had recently located several medium-sized veins. While not as outrageously large as the previous finds, their combined reserves were still astonishing.

Liu Hui then smiled and said, "Director Chen, the ocean is vast; how could we find large veins every time? Do you now understand the meaning of 'searching for a needle in a haystack'?"

Chen Changsheng conceded, "It certainly feels like searching for a needle in a haystack right now. But currently, we are the only ones fishing in this ocean, so as long as we act early, we can still reap great benefits."

Then Chen Changsheng brightened up, happily adding, "Although Starry One didn't find any massive ore bodies this time, it discovered a Dutch treasure ship eighty kilometers beneath the waves. On that ship, they found over a ton of gold, along with various gold coins, and varying amounts of silver and silver artifacts, along with some porcelain and miscellaneous items."

This time, Liu Hui was genuinely delighted. He asked, "Did they really find a ton of gold?"

Chen Changsheng beamed. "It's certainly true. That gold, silver, porcelain, and other relics are currently stacked in the warehouse of our Science Research Institute. Some of our researchers are sorting through them right now! They plan to classify and preserve these items, as some of them are now antiques, their value far exceeding that of the gold and silver itself."

Liu Hui smiled. "This is the first tangible profit we have earned since initiating deep-sea exploration."

Chen Changsheng agreed, "Indeed, but this is just the beginning. As more of our deep-sea submarines are launched, our long-range detection capabilities will expand, and the seafloor they survey will become wider. All the treasures hidden in sunken ships will eventually be ours."

Liu Hui affirmed, "Yes, not just these deep-sea treasures, but the deep-sea mineral deposits as well. Speaking of which, how is the progress on your deep-sea city construction project coming along?"

Chen Changsheng scratched his head, looking slightly embarrassed. "We are still working on breakthroughs for several key technologies, which has slowed the overall project timeline. However, as soon as these few technologies mature, the plan for building an underwater city can officially commence."

Liu Hui stated, "This project is very important to me, so you must dedicate more effort to it. Any problem solvable by money, I can resolve for you."

"Understood, we will certainly accelerate the project's progress. However, after managing the underwater city project, I have begun to identify an internal issue within our organization."

Thanks to book friend: uā for submitting 12 update votes. However, it is the National Day holiday now, and Qian Yu also needs to spend time with his family when he goes out to sea, so I sincerely cannot meet your request. My apologies! A