When the Sacred Falcon emerged from the warp bubble, it was already about seven light-years away from the recent supernova, and Bai Zhongqi had the Sacred Falcon travel an even greater distance to avoid the effects of this rare cosmic disaster as much as possible.
With the help of the bionic humans on board, the former crew of the Richelieu had already entered the medical pods for examinations one by one. Bai Zhongqi also sat on the long sofa in the captain's room to rest for a moment, and Han Jiaxue brought him food. The kitchen on the Sacred Falcon was well equipped, and Han Jiaxue prepared various signature desserts, accompanied by a pot of fragrant black tea, making Bai Zhongqi feel it was a rare indulgence.
As the Chancellor of Iridium Star and the helmsman of the Star Alliance, Bai Zhongqi appeared extremely honorable, yet his personal indulgence might not match that of most wealthy individuals on Earth. On Earth, he might live in a sizeable palace, but his lifestyle was not luxurious. Of course, Iridium Star had turned many originally luxurious and high-end goods into ordinary merchandise.
"If I hadn't decided to target this galaxy, perhaps our crew members wouldn't have had to die," Bai Zhongqi sighed slightly.
Han Jiaxue, touching his shoulder, gently consoled him, "Don't think like that. You didn't want this to happen; it was an accident, and there's not much you could have done."
Bai Zhongqi, looking out at the starry sky through the captain room's porthole, said, "At times , I can truly appreciate that I am just a mortal after all."
Han Jiaxue took his hand and sat beside him, saying, "What's wrong with being a mortal? Why put the responsibility of so many people on your shoulders alone?"
Bai Zhongqi gave a bitter smile, "Perhaps I'm just an arrogant fool."
When the Sacred Falcon emerged from the warp bubble, Zero's voice had already transmitted a signal to Bai Zhongqi's brain through bone conduction.
"Your Majesty, it seems we have arrived at a busy galaxy. Within 1 astronomical unit, we have received numerous signals; there are more than a hundred ships nearby. At 1.6 astronomical units, there is a highly modified dwarf planet with frequent spaceship activity around it."
Bai Zhongqi slightly astonished, said, "A commercial planet?"
A commercial planet is not very common in the Galaxy, but they are very useful. Legally, commercial planets usually do not belong to any official interstellar civilization; rather, they are independent of some powerful star-level civilizations. Behind these planets stands a profit-oriented consortium with strong channels and resource acquisition capabilities.
Such commercial planets often are not very large, mostly being small asteroids or dwarf planets, and some are directly artificial planets, depending on the technical level of the consortium or commercial organization that owns them. Similar to the free trade ports on Earth, these commercial planets do not charge tariffs on imports and exports and provide various services related to trading and finance. This makes many nearby civilizations trade here, striving to create a free, unrestricted, and flexible business trading platform.
Bai Zhongqi, during his early days in gaming, had actually seen several commercial planets. Each one represented huge business opportunities, but no interstellar civilization would claim them for their own. Commercial planets could serve as places for different civilizations to freely trade because they did not belong to any one civilization, and a well-executed system was in place with the backing consortium's reputation and strength also being quite reliable.
Bai Zhongqi had once waged war because a consortium behind a commercial planet maneuvered a trade business controlled by the United Empire of Iridium Star, causing considerable loss. Although facing a private commercial consortium, it was not easy for Iridium Star to win the war. Possessing strong relationships and resources, the consortium not only hired a large number of mercenary fleets but also persuaded Iridium Star's enemies to join the fight and was very resolute in resistance.
Merchants may seem like an easily swayed group, but the owners of these gigantic consortiums and commercial planets doing business in the Galaxy understand a principle: only if they are powerful, respected, and trusted, can they mediate trade between different civilizations. If every civilization wanted to squeeze them a bit and take some profits, then these commercial consortiums and planets would simply be lambs to the slaughter with no room for growth.
However, after Bai Zhongqi successfully occupied the commercial planet, it no longer served as a place for the civilizations to trade. Not only could it not generate substantial tax revenue, but maintaining governance instead consumed a lot of energy and funds, which troubled Bai Zhongqi greatly.
In the real world, Bai Zhongqi encountered a potential commercial planet again, which was unexpected yet seemed very fortuitous.
"Nearly everything on a commercial planet is for sale, including some peculiar alien species, revolutionary high-end technologies, even the lives of powerholders of an interstellar civilization, or a fearsome fleet. Of course, this also includes effective intelligence. This place is not very far from the stronghold of the Teizene civilization. If a certain price is paid, we can certainly obtain very useful intelligence, whether for our next strategic recon or for information after war starts," Bai Zhongqi quickly made his judgment.
Zero looked at Bai Zhongqi and couldn't help saying, "Your Majesty, I thought you would immediately return to Earth to recuperate after encountering this supernova explosion."
Bai Zhongqi shook his head, "It took us eighteen days to get here, and it would be another eighteen days back to Earth. If we return empty-handed and also lose a warship, the impact on the morale of the Star Alliance would be immeasurable. Therefore, we must gain something useful in this time to make our efforts worthwhile."
Zero fell silent for a moment, then said, "As your assistant, I feel I must remind you, if it's because of sunk costs that you persist, wanting to break even, this gambler's mentality might lead you to lose even more."
Bai Zhongqi smiled slightly, "I know, but without trying, we wouldn't know. The Sacred Falcon is still quite intact, and if we encounter any enemy, even if we can't overcome them, we still have the option to retreat. Besides, our chances are good now, with a commercial planet right in front of us."
Zero no longer offered advice; her mission was not to hinder Bai Zhongqi's decision-making but to fully execute every one of his decisions. Since Bai Zhongqi had made up his mind, she would not question the rightness or effectiveness of his decisions, but would merely accompany him to the end.