Chapter 1 In-Flight Musings

During the long flight, Fang Senyan was not idle. He took the opportunity to ask about related issues, such as how to operate large Imperial starships, and what precautions to take during long-distance voyages.

The lieutenant obviously knew that Fang Senyan was a VIP. He had also heard about Fang Senyan and his team's exploits in piloting the Wasp fighters to break into the Upsilon planet, so he answered every question.

Fang Senyan's questions were targeted, because before setting off, he had learned from the Space that in this main plane, where it overlapped with the other sub-planes, there were often more intense space-time rifts.

That meant amazing acceleration and crazy handling skills. For the current physical fitness of the Imperial pilots, it was already very difficult to pass through the asteroid belt outside the Upsilon planet, let alone evade the space-time rifts? This meant that Fang Senyan had to go alone, and drive alone.

Fang Senyan then asked about the current situation of Upsilon. He was curious about whether the Yautja (Iron Blood Clan) would react in any way to the death of their Arbitrator, but there was no reaction. The situation during their battle was recorded, and later, based on things like the black box, it was successfully transmitted back to the Yautja homeworld.

The proud Yautja believed that since the Arbitrator had died in close combat, having displayed his full strength, then this was a fair fight. As long as he did not die from something like a particle cannon evaporating him directly, or being killed in a bomb crater without even making a move, then there was nothing to say.

As for the Arbitrator fighting Fang Senyan and the others, in the eyes of the Yautja, that was completely as it should be. The Yautja warriors should be that powerful. It would be abnormal if several Arbitrators fought one person. So, since it was a glorious death, then he got what he sought, and there was nothing to say, let alone revenge.

Next, Fang Senyan came to the Alpha Seven base again. Compared to before, this base had become much more prosperous and larger. Next to the old base, a large number of new sub-bases were being built in full swing, and then merged into the old base, looking like scattered bubbles in the water constantly gathering towards a large bubble.

At this time, because of the vacuum and no resistance, human space bases were built like spliced building blocks, with a large number of interfaces reserved in advance, which could be combined and expanded at will, making it easy to use the vast space to expand infinitely.

This also illustrated another thing, that the Empire should have made a decision to develop the Upsilon planet at all costs.

After landing, Fang Senyan did not receive any extra discriminatory treatment this time. He did not know if it was because Archer's power had greatly increased, or if his commodore uniform was awe-inspiring. However, the series of cumbersome immunity monitoring that should be carried out was still routine. Fang Senyan did not care, but he really felt that the disinfectant sprinkled on him smelled terrible. He was very puzzled, why had technology developed for hundreds of years, but the disinfectant still smelled the same? Couldn't it be improved to smell better?

At this time, he could not help but think of the gift that Jin Kuang had sworn to give him before leaving. Fang Senyan felt dumbfounded when he thought of this. He searched inside and out for a long time, but did not find any gifts. Okay, finally Fang Senyan actually found a line of messy handwriting at the door, the content of which made Fang Senyan dumbfounded…

"Ah, um, I seem to have forgotten one thing, that is, the gift I left for you has been lost by me, okay, okay, I'll make it up next time... Forget it, I'll give you this instead."

Of course, this extremely stingy nature was very consistent with Jin Kuang's wretched character. If he generously gave a gift, would that still be the great Jin Kuang? However, Fang Senyan finally got the souvenir that Jin Kuang reluctantly gave up:

A small piece of tattered burlap plastic.

When Fang Senyan got this thing, he guessed for a long time what it was. He didn't dare to smell it. It was very possible that it was a piece torn from Jin Kuang's socks.

Finally, he suddenly remembered one of Jin Kuang's great hobbies, that is, no matter where it appeared, just like ladies going out with Louis Vuitton and Hermes handbags, it would also carry a black pig feed bag.

Obviously, this tattered thing was once a part of that tattered pig feed bag, because the word "feed" on the tattered plastic sheet that Fang Senyan got was still clearly visible...

However, although this gift was very light, really very light! But it was a small gift with deep meaning. Fang Senyan sighed and put it away. Jin Kuang really had his own unique personality. The gift he left was indeed an extraordinary thought. Seeing it would definitely make him think of the person who gave the gift in a clear-cut way, and he would never remember it wrong or forget anything.

After the inspection was completed, Fang Senyan formally entered this super-giant space base. If it was previously a city that could accommodate 200,000 people, then it has now soared to at least 500,000 people, and looking at the dense space projects under construction around the base, one knows that expanding it into a giant base for a million people is not a problem.

The lieutenant who received Fang Senyan made a phone call and politely asked him to wait a moment, saying that a big shot had suddenly come to inspect, so Archer and Lieutenant General Meng Ge were unable to get away at this time. He asked Fang Senyan to wait patiently first, estimating about three hours.

Of course, Fang Senyan would not stay in one place according to the lieutenant's instructions - even if that place had enough reasons to make people stay, such as wine, food, and sexy long-legged girls - don't forget, Fang Senyan still had a perfect guide for this trip, that is, his servant Old Charlie.

To be honest, Fang Senyan had always been quite curious about the people ruled by the Empire, and now was undoubtedly a good opportunity.

And he firmly believed that the most interesting things in a place, including food, art, scenery, customs, and characteristics, could definitely not be appreciated in high-end luxury restaurants and hotels, but must be integrated into the lives of most people in this place. Even if one might have to endure some troubles such as environmental and sanitary problems, it was completely worthwhile - just like tasting the deliciousness of squid ink spaghetti, one must endure the price of having their teeth blackened.

At this time, the streets of the Alpha Seven base could be said to be even more bustling. It seemed that the influx of population must be even greater, just like the outsiders who flocked crazily during the gold rush in the American West.

Bai (Beryllium) elements were obviously the biggest reason for this crazy immigration wave.

More importantly, Upsilon had a peculiar magnetic field, terrifying beasts, and plants that killed without bloodshed. It was estimated that it would be extremely difficult to establish a fully automated mining project. With the current technology of the Empire, because of the existence of the Yautja, the development of Upsilon must be a predatory mining method, rather than taking a sustainable development path.

So even if the development of Upsilon was successful, it would definitely have a high demand for human resources - such as drivers of various engineering machinery, as well as maintenance, transportation, and a series of worker needs. Then the population expansion of the Alpha Seven base at this time was obviously a kind of disguised warm-up.

Fang Senyan pondered for a while, then said to Old Charlie:

"Let's go."

Old Charlie had been half-closed his eyes all this time, seeming to have a feeling of homesickness, a feeling of apprehension about approaching his homeland. What emanated from him was a strong sense of vicissitudes. Hearing Fang Senyan's greeting, Old Charlie said in a hoarse voice:

"Where are we going, Master?"

Fang Senyan smiled and said:

"There are still two or three hours, so maybe we can go to a place you are familiar with and have something to eat? I myself came from the bottom of society, so I am more interested in the lives of ordinary people thousands of years from now."

Old Charlie said faintly:

"If you insist, then I will lead the way, but, Master, perhaps my appearance will bring you some trouble."

Fang Senyan narrowed his eyes. He knew that Old Charlie was a person with a story, and the story behind him was definitely not something ordinary. It might even involve some affairs within the Empire.

However, Fang Senyan was not a timid person, because since Old Charlie became his servant, it could be said that he no longer had any relationship with the Empire. In other words, standing behind them was the Nightmare Space, which could implicitly cooperate with the entire Empire and stand up to it on an equal footing! Moreover, the local emperor of the Alpha Seven base had cooperated with him happily, so with all these factors combined, what concerns would Fang Senyan have?

Of course, for Fang Senyan, there was also a deeper reason to win over Old Charlie. This was a very shrewd and capable old fox, and he was almost using a life-betting method to make himself able to additionally gain Fang Senyan's attention. Even if Old Charlie himself did not mention it, Fang Senyan felt that he still needed to pay some price for him and share some of his worries.

So under the leadership of Old Charlie, the two walked towards the north. Just like many cities on Earth have rich areas and poor areas, the north of the Alpha Seven base was the poor area.

*

Damn, I actually fell asleep on the table, drool flowed all over my keyboard, my beloved keyboard! It seems that a few keys are not working.