Having learned from the experience in the Stardust Star Region, Liu Hai paid extra attention to the information about the neighboring Second and Fourth Spiral Arms. The Fourth Spiral Arm had a slightly better material foundation than the Third Spiral Arm, with the front half controlled by the Katon Explorers and the latter half in the hands of the Pioneers. However, unlike the Third Spiral Arm, not a single Life Planet had been discovered in the latter half so far. As a result, aside from Pioneers seeking resources, most people had little interest in the Fourth Spiral Arm.
The Katon Civilization's control over the Fourth Spiral Arm wasn't particularly strong, but it was still their home turf. The origin of the Fourth Spiral Arm was directly connected to the Caton Wormhole Zone, making it a popular training ground for novice Explorers. They preferred to acclimate to the space environment there before moving on to resource-rich regions for exploration.
The Second Spiral Arm was in better shape, firmly held by the Pioneers. Large-scale fleet warp traces were difficult to conceal from them, and any signs of conflict would be promptly shared with the military.
What Liu Hai was now considering was: What if the enemy sent a surprise attack force from the Fourth Spiral Arm to strike their rear?
The likelihood was small, and even if they came, they would most likely target the Stardust Star Region. Still, it wouldn't do to be completely unprepared. However, the void between the Third and Fourth Spiral Arms was vast—attempting to monitor such a space was nothing short of a fool's errand.
After some thought, he decided to pile more work onto the staff officers. After all, staff officers needed to exercise their brains and endure bizarre demands from their superiors to grow.
Once he confirmed there were no oversights, Liu Hai relaxed and browsed the Pioneer channels. Recently, the sub-channels had grown increasingly lively, with traders, recruiters, and others actively preparing for the current volatile situation.
One particularly interesting sub-channel was dedicated to organizing ambushes against Katon Exploration Fleets. It was a haven for crafty veterans, and surprisingly, it had a sizable following—especially among novice Pioneers who frequented it not to learn how to ambush Katon Fleets, but to avoid being ambushed themselves.
The most traded armaments here weren't warship turrets or cannons, but Space Mines, Sublight Antimatter Missiles, high-performance Fighter Mechs, various jamming systems, and powerful Space Anchor Devices.
These devices all shared one common advantage: they were cheap and practical.
Moreover, they were heavily equipped with Mine-laying Ships and modified Motherships. While their overall value paled in comparison to a fleet of equivalent size, these Pioneers were surprisingly wealthy, boasting Merit Points that made newcomers green with envy.
Liu Hai had first noticed them last year when Irina shared an amusing anecdote about this sub-channel—a group of Pioneers had used a dense field of Enhanced Space Mines to ambush a Katon Fleet in the Second Spiral Arm.
To their surprise, however, this fleet turned out to be the vanguard of a Legion Fleet. This instantly stirred up a hornet's nest, and the main force of the Legion warped in shortly after, trapping them in that void and giving them a thorough beating.
In the end, the Pioneer Fleet from the Second Spiral Arm rushed to their rescue, simultaneously thwarting the Katon Fleet's planned ambush against Reserve Lord Chang Qinghai.
The process might not have been pleasant, but the outcome was undeniably satisfying.
The Pioneers who ambushed the Katon Fleet initially used space mines loaded with antimatter to deliver a stunning blow to the fleet's vanguard. The formation was shattered into disarray, and the subsequent fighter swarm assault left them battered within half an hour. If not for the swift arrival of reinforcements, not a single intact warship would have remained from the thousand-strong vanguard.
When they realized they were surrounded by the Katon Fleet, they immediately called for help from nearby Pioneers. Relying on pre-laid space mines and a swarm of over a million fighters, they managed to hold their ground against a Katon Fleet Legion until reinforcements arrived and forced the enemy to retreat.
They became famous overnight.
It was then that most Pioneers learned of this group of cunning operators—outwardly unremarkable, secretly audacious, and exceptionally well-funded.
Liu Hai followed this sub-channel for no other reason than their sharp intelligence network. To pull off ambushes, they had painstakingly deployed detectors across all Katon Fleet warp points within their designated zones. The boldest among them even planted probes near enemy strongholds to monitor fleet movements.
"3,000 sublight proton torpedoes at 75% efficiency, 50,000 Credit Points each. DM if interested."
"Third-gen silent space mines, 500-degree damage, only 66,000 per unit!"
"Fastcast Corporation at your service—all transport refits 20% off!"
"Speedster sublight fighters, 100,000 units with Firepower King Central Control Core included—full set for just 1.8 billion!"
"Detailed intel on Katon Fleet movements in the First Arm. PM for details."
The moment Liu Hai entered the sub-channel, it felt like stepping into a marketplace—except everything sold here was heavy-duty.
"Isn't Fastcast the company that sells small-to-medium transport ships? How'd they expand business to the Outer Star Territory?" Spotting a familiar ad, he clicked to confirm—same old pitch. His own two transport ships, refitted into motherships, had taken inspiration from theirs.
Ignoring the merchants, he filtered out the ads and finally located the intel exchange hub of these crafty operators.
"We're screwed—ran into a real tough one. Where's Lao Hei? Pull me outta here!"
"What happened, Butcher Brothers? Weren't you out hunting with your crew? Trouble?"
"Emergency backup needed at these coordinates! Ambushed a small fleet, but a near-second-tier Legion Fleet popped up from the flank. If we hadn't bolted, we'd be minced meat by now. They're still chasing us—HELP!"
"Hold tight, bro. I'll be there in three warps max. Head to this point—watch for space mines, I've spiced 'em up."
"Don't panic, send the fleet specs. Let's strategize."
"Who's active in that Star Region? Sound off."
"Squeak!"
"Huh??"
"Who's the idiot?"
"Ignore him. What's going on? That region's asteroid belts are too dense—no large fleet would risk getting stuck there."
"That's not the familiar Katon Fleet. The warship models are all different, bristling with cannons. This might be the Katon military fleet."
"Not likely, not likely! If it were the military fleet, the Butcher Brothers would've been wiped out long ago. We'd be burning paper offerings for them next year."
"True, but these warship models look pretty formidable—exceptionally concentrated firepower, highly lethal."
"The plan's set. Those nearby, warp to this point. There are traps we laid earlier here. Keep your identification codes secure—don't charge in blindly and pave the way for them."