"Let's get down to business. You're here to show me the T3 Glorious Moon-class Stargate, right?" Zhao Chen said.
"I almost forgot the main thing. Wait a moment." Annie took out a handkerchief and wiped her face, removing the "dark circles."
She muttered, "This onion is really strong. Sister Niu said it would make me cry, but she didn't say it would be this uncomfortable..."
Annie walked over to Commander Zhao Chen and pointed at the T3 Glorious Moon-class Stargate in the distant starry sky.
"Our T3 Glorious Moon-class Stargate No. 1 is now complete. Today, we'll conduct a trial run for its activation.
However, since we're currently in a confidential phase and cannot connect to other Star Gate Networks, the final test of linking to a stargate cannot be performed.
We'll have to wait until next month when the T3 Glorious Moon-class Stargate No. 2 in the Lion King Star System is completed." Annie explained.
Zhao Chen nodded. He was well aware of this, as it was his arrangement.
In the future, when they had sufficient strength, they would connect to other stargates and access the Star Gate Network.
"Alright, I'm now ready to begin the trial run." Annie looked at Commander Zhao Chen.
"Proceed." Zhao Chen said.
Annie opened a video window, where Sister Niu was waiting attentively.
"Sister Niu, begin the trial run."
"Understood, beginning trial run. Energy System starting up... Estimated startup time: ten minutes..." Sister Niu began initiating the entire operational procedure.
Activating a stargate involved many steps, taking about half an hour from start to finish.
Generally, once a stargate was activated, it would not be shut down. Even if no starships were using it, the stargate would remain in a low-frequency operation state.
This was because the resources consumed during stargate activation far exceeded those used during low-frequency operation.
Unless absolutely necessary, stargates were never shut down.
During this half-hour, Zhao Chen and Lilith watched as the T3 Glorious Moon-class Stargate gradually began to glow from its previously silent state.
It was as if two crescent moons slowly began to shine in the pitch-black night!
"Energy System operating normally, Master Control System operating normally, Plugin System operating normally..."
As Sister Niu conducted test after test, a "Canopy Ripple" finally appeared around the T3 Glorious Moon-class Stargate.
That was the Comprehensive Star Shield System of the T3 Glorious Moon-class Stargate!
Like starships, stargates also possessed star shields.
Typically, the star shield of a T3 Stargate could only defend a limited area.
However, Zhao Chen's T3 Glorious Moon-class Stargate could defend the entire surrounding area. Moreover, it could deactivate the star shield in specific regions, allowing flexible operation.
"Report... All test items completed. The T3 Glorious Moon-class Stargate is fully operational. It will now enter low-frequency operation state." Sister Niu reported.
"Good." Annie said.
Subsequently, the distant T3 Glorious Moon-class Stargate gradually dimmed, and the surrounding star shield deactivated.
It ultimately maintained a low-frequency operation state.
"Commander, what do you think?" Annie asked, looking like a child who had completed her homework and was waiting for praise.
Zhao Chen nodded appreciatively. "Very good."
Annie showed a happy expression.
"Have your mother and the others gotten used to life here now?" After concluding matters regarding the Stargate, Zhao Chen chatted casually with Annie.
Annie replied happily, "My mother is currently working on the T2 Iron Hammer-class Ship No. 5 and is even a small department head! My younger sister is employed on the T2 Iron Hammer-class Ship No. 3 and is doing very well in her job."
"What about your younger brothers and sisters then? Won't they be left unattended?" Zhao Chen recalled that Annie had two younger brothers and two younger sisters.
"It's fine. My third sibling is already in their teens and can look after the other younger ones at home. They also take on some small outsourced tasks from factories at home. If it weren't for having to care for the younger siblings, the third one could easily work in a factory. The small jobs the other children do every day also earn them a Nutrition Meal. Plus, with the salaries from my mother, my second sister Nana, and myself, we have no problems covering a month's expenses. Additionally, some Shuttle Service Routes have been opened on these T2 Iron Hammer-class ships. For a very low fee, they can return to their residential areas on the planet at fixed times. My mother commutes like this every day." As Annie recounted her family's life, a happy expression appeared on her face.
Zhao Chen remarked with some emotion, "But won't your mother find it too exhausting to commute back and forth like this every day?"
"Exhausting? This is nothing compared to before. In the past, we not only went hungry but sometimes had no choice but to hunt in areas inhabited by wild beasts on the planet. Although we could develop some weapons, there were always casualties when hunting those beasts. Every time our parents set out, we were filled with anxiety at home. Now, we may be busy, but everyone is safe and fulfilled!" Annie suddenly bowed deeply to Zhao Chen. "Oh, right, my mother asked me to convey the gratitude of our Dwarf Clan to you when I saw you, commander. Truly, thank you for allowing us to have this peaceful life now. Thank you!"
Annie spoke these words with great seriousness, completely devoid of her usual playful demeanor, which made Zhao Chen feel somewhat unaccustomed to it.
"Then let's discuss the next steps. Due to the construction of the Stargate, some parts of the production plan we set for last quarter have encountered issues. For example, we originally planned to produce twenty T2 Hammer-class Heavy Interstellar Industrial Ships by the end of June. It has been delayed until now, and only twenty T2 Iron Hammer-class ships have officially entered full service. We need to draft a new construction plan for the coming period. Moreover, this time we've discovered an Asteroid Belt with high-quality resources." Zhao Chen brought up this serious matter.
Mentioning the newly discovered high-resource Asteroid Belt in the Fierce Dragon Star System, both Lilith and Annie showed expressions of excitement.
"Speaking of this resource Asteroid Belt, it's truly surprising. Who would have thought that a resource Asteroid Belt would appear in the border region of the Fierce Dragon Star System! And based on our exploration and assessment, it falls into the high-quality category, covering 99% of the current raw materials resources. If fully mined, the annual Yield is estimated to reach five hundred million Star Coins!" Lilith said with some astonishment.
Annie analyzed from the side, saying, "This resource asteroid belt is located at the edge of the Fierce Dragon Star System. It might be because some altered celestial bodies within the interstellar border space slowly drifted into the Fierce Dragon Star System.
Then they settled at the edge of the Fierce Dragon Star System.
Due to the relative scarcity of the Fierce Dragon Star System, those border areas are basically never inspected, so they remained undiscovered all this time."
Lilith also said happily, "If it weren't for the commander ordering a detailed prospecting and reconnaissance of the Fierce Dragon Star System this time, we might have missed this treasure right under our noses.
Now, with the Stargate and the high-quality resource asteroid belt, the value of the Fierce Dragon Star System is enough to meet the standards of the top ten star systems in the North Wind Star Domain!"
Zhao Chen looked at Lilith and Annie's joyful expressions and feigned a surprised look.
In reality, this was the task reward given to him by the system. He never expected it to be a high-quality resource asteroid belt.