Chapter 323: A Deadly Misstep and a Colossal Dream

Hao Ren always believed he was a strong, resilient man—until the moment when the head of the woman he adored rolled to his feet.

Only then did he realize how gravely mistaken he had been.

Though he couldn’t explain why he hadn’t seen spurts of blood, Hao Ren dramatically blacked out.

Behind him, a figure began to emerge—a woman clad in a fully sealed, silver jumpsuit.

There was no hiding the truth; the snug outfit accentuated her feminine curves for all to see.

She knelt beside Hao Ren, swiftly ripping away all the tape that had bound him before carefully disarming the timed bomb strapped to his body.

But just as she was about to set the bomb aside, she suddenly froze.

“Damn it, they even connected a level sensor to trigger it!”

With one hand cradling the bomb and the other seizing Hao Ren, she flung him out of the villa’s second-floor window.

In the courtyard, a massive robot deftly caught the falling Hao Ren, cradling him as it stepped out of the compound.

Less than two minutes after the robot departed, a figure appeared at a window.

A thunderous explosion sent a shockwave that blasted the figure right out.

Meanwhile, a series of detonations roared from inside the villa—clearly, bombs were set off in multiple locations.

Tumbling mid-air, the figure somehow landed lightly, reminiscent of a martial arts master performing weightless maneuvers as dust swirled around the courtyard.

After landing, the figure glanced back at the crumbling villa, shook their head, and strode away from the compound.

+++++++

Solar System, Asteroid Belt.

In space, roughly 20 million kilometers from Ceres at the midpoint between Mars’ orbit and Ceres’ orbit,

a colossal space structure was gradually taking shape.

It was an irregular construct—a massive, hollow rectangular block flanked by an enormous cylindrical building.

Just how vast was it? The hollow rectangle alone spanned 2000 kilometers in length!

The adjacent cylinder towered 900 kilometers high!

This immense combination boasted a volume exceeding that of Ceres.

Most astonishingly, at the sealed end of the rectangle lay an object distinctly shaped like a thruster.

For those in the know, it hinted that this enormous block might even be capable of self-flight.

Du Qiu watched the emerging mega-structure from afar, pride swelling in his chest.

This was the space battleship factory his team at the warship design institute had created!

Its key feature was mobility—it could fly, its speed only slightly lower than the space battleships currently in design.

In other words, if needed, an entire space fleet could carry this mobile shipyard along, repairing any damaged vessel on the go.

Given ample materials, new battleships could even be constructed during prolonged space voyages.

Du Qiu designed this mobile factory with the vision of embarking on ultra-long-distance space journeys.

Deep-space expeditions are notoriously unpredictable; having such a shipyard in tow adds a crucial layer of security.

Of course, Du Qiu only moved forward after confirming its feasibility through simulations conducted by the Custodian in Dreamland.

Now, as the prototype took shape, Du Qiu couldn’t help but feel excited.

“Star Ocean, why hasn’t the accompanying space dock bridge been produced yet?”

Noticing the cylindrical spaceport but the absence of surrounding dock bridges, Du Qiu immediately inquired.

“Sir, the space dock bridges need another week to be completed—all 300 of them are being built at Mars Base 11.”

“Hmm, the progress seems a bit ahead of schedule.”

“Indeed, since you approved an extra batch of robots for Stardust, things moved up faster.”

After a moment’s thought, Du Qiu said, “Once the Quantum Supercomputer is finished and all four of you have been upgraded, we can ramp up robot production even more.”

Now, with Star Ocean, Nebula, Stardust, plus the leisure facility left by the Pleiadians, Dream Technology already boasts four artificial intelligences.

Star Ocean remarked excitedly, “I can’t wait to move into the Quantum Supercomputer—its computing power is a thousand times greater!

Just look at Leng Yanran and the others; they handle everything perfectly without my intervention. I simply can’t wait.”

Listening to Star Ocean’s unmistakably human tone, Du Qiu barely took notice.

Star Ocean’s rapid emotional development was largely thanks to the recently upgraded evolutive algorithm by Gilt.

As for Leng Yanran’s high-fidelity robots, they’d already been fitted with the latest quantum chips, effectively remedying their previous shortfalls.

And it wasn’t just the chips—the storage, power, and communication systems were all overhauled.

Leng Yanran’s team even had surplus processing power to run individual soldier-level visual cloaking systems.

Consequently, Du Qiu specially arranged for a new batch of state-of-the-art high-fidelity robots to replace the Iron Guard Security for all company executives.

Teasingly, Du Qiu remarked, “Aren’t you a bit disappointed that you can’t control them remotely? After all, you used them to get around.”

Star Ocean snorted, “I wouldn’t miss roaming if I had to. Whether it’s Heaven Realm or even Earth—covered with cameras—and with our infiltrators, I can see the entire world without ever moving.”

“Hey, really not keen on moving? How about I build you a body similar to Leng Yanran’s—a personal vessel,” he offered.

“No thanks. I feel most at home within the supercomputer. Every time I take control of those robot bodies, I feel stifled.”

Du Qiu chuckled and let her be.

“Sir, something’s happening!”

Du Qiu asked in surprise, “What’s going on?”

“You mentioned Leng Yanran, so I connected to her and discovered she just executed a mission ordered by the Madam.”

Star Ocean quickly briefed Du Qiu on the situation.

“Watanabe Tomohito’s sister?”

“Yes. Initially, we hadn’t considered involving his family, so we didn’t investigate further.”

After a moment’s thought, Du Qiu said, “It seems that while we disdain dealing with our enemies’ kin, we cannot afford to leave them unchecked.

Star Ocean, set up a dedicated database to archive all the family information of those who have opposed us since the Dream Technology era.

Regularly update their statuses. None of these individuals should gain access to Dream Technology; anyone approaching our staff must be monitored carefully, and any anomalies reported to Security.”

“Understood, sir.”

“Alright, don’t disturb me unless it’s urgent—I need to catch some sleep here.”

“Understood, sir.”

Today, Du Qiu came not only to inspect the progress of the battleship factory but also to rest in the vastness of space.

He was eager to test whether the crystal pillow here could interface with distant alien technology.

Between the Moon’s peculiar magnetic field and relics buried on Mars by the Pleiadians, Du Qiu was determined to find out if, away from these influences, his crystal pillow could still connect properly with alien machines.

After all, with Dream Technology’s accelerating space exploration, there may come a day when he must leave the Solar System—and confirming the pillow’s functionality is essential.

In the lounge designated for his personal terminal, Du Qiu settled into a sleep pod with a crystal pillow thoughtfully placed at the head.

Five minutes later, Du Qiu peacefully drifted into slumber.