Chapter 231

Chapter 231

After receiving the legion’s response, Bai Xiaoyu naturally began planning for the energy box production base, starting by increasing the energy boxes' production capacity.

Currently, there is only one energy converter on F73, so the production capacity can't be raised immediately. Bai Xiaoyu, monitoring from afar, saw boxes of energy boxes being prioritized for distribution to the construction engineering team that had been formed by the parents earlier. Various large instruments received their energy supplies, and soon the second production workshop of the energy box production base was completed. Around the same time, Tao Limeng successfully manufactured the second energy converter.

Each production workshop can house up to twelve of these large energy converters, and over the next week, more converters will be continuously transported there.

By then, the production capacity will catch up, and Bai Xiaoyu will be able to sell some of the energy boxes to various legions.

However, it’s not just the energy box base on F73 that needs continuous expansion and improvement; other industries on the planet require attention as well. The 200 billion from the previous auction will serve as F73's reserve fund. Now, aside from the urgent projects currently under construction, Bai Xiaoyu isn’t well-versed in other areas. Even among the parents, there is someone who used to be in charge of planetary logistics, but they similarly lack expertise in overall planetary development.

Looking at F73, which is now barely sustaining civilian life, Bai Xiaoyu sighed.

Although one-fifth of the parents have jobs, the majority can only do what little work is available. The planet’s industries are limited, offering few opportunities that match their skills.

This situation clearly can’t be resolved in the short term, but there needs to be a plan to develop the planet, with the hope of providing more parents with suitable jobs as soon as possible, thus giving the insect cubs a growth environment on par with other planets.

He needed someone with extensive experience in planetary development, and that person also needed to be trustworthy, as this concerned the safety of the cubs and their parents on the planet. This person would not only know about the cubs but also everything happening on the planet.

Usually, this person would be the deputy of the star leader, often considered the most challenging role.

But where could he find such a vice star leader?

Lost in thought, Bai Xiaoyu placed herbs into the alchemy furnace, using his mental energy to remove the impurities from the herbs and quickly manipulating the herbal mass to condense. Staring at the final product, a potion, he zoned out for a moment until his optical brain flickered, bringing him back.

Connecting through his optical brain, he saw Lou Hao on the other side, and his eyes lit up. Lou Hao was his deputy, and he had just been worrying about finding a candidate for vice star leader. This was perfect timing.

Bai Xiaoyu scrutinized Lou Hao. Although Lou Hao had no experience as a vice star leader, he could learn.

Feeling uneasy under Bai Xiaoyu’s intense gaze, Lou Hao almost ended the call. Unable to hold back, he asked, "Boss, why are you looking at me like that?"

Bai Xiaoyu asked, "Xiaolou, are you interested in being the vice star leader?"

Alarms immediately went off in Lou Hao's mind. "Boss, I'm not cut out for this. Besides, I'm swamped with work every day. If I take on this role, how will I manage both the fire seed and breeding institute?"

Bai Xiaoyu thought it made sense; he would have to find someone else. Thinking again, he asked, "Do you have anyone in mind?"

Lou Hao replied, "No. But we can recruit a vice star leader. After all, in recent years, many planets have been occupied by the Bug race, and some star leaders and vice star leaders have survived. However, those planets weren’t as desolate as F73, which has been abandoned for a hundred years."

Bai Xiaoyu said, "It’s tricky, but let’s start by posting a job listing."

Lou Hao nodded. "Okay."

As long as it wasn’t him; otherwise, he’d be stretched too thin. Besides, he wasn’t a professional in this area, which would make things even harder.

Bai Xiaoyu asked, "By the way, Xiaolou, what did you need from me?"

Lou Hao then realized, "Boss, I was calling about our application on the star network to become an energy box supplier. Should we apply to supply energy boxes to the military, ensuring a portion goes to the legions?"

Bai Xiaoyu understood that energy boxes, like potions, could be supplied to various planets' breeding institutes to meet their needs. However, energy box suppliers weren’t obligated to do so, and apart from civilian use, they could also cooperate with the military, especially for high-end potions, which were in high demand.

The military had strict requirements for energy boxes, though not as stringent as for potions. After all, problems with energy boxes could typically be detected by instruments. Once installed in mecha, the mecha’s own system would also check, making it difficult for tampered energy boxes to go unnoticed.

Lou Hao paused, then added, "But if we do this, other factions will have their eyes on you, boss."

Bai Xiaoyu wasn’t surprised. "Even if I do nothing, they’ll still have their eyes on me. Some of these energy boxes are for sale now, but in the future, when F73 is built up and no longer needs to sell energy boxes to sustain itself, I’ll sell most of them to the frontline legions. Naturally, we need to become a supplier that can cooperate with the military department."

Lou Hao nodded; he had known what the response would be. He was just going through the motions.

After ending the call, Lou Hao submitted the application and found that Bai Xiaoyu had approved it immediately.

His lips twitched. This was an application from the F73 planet, a task typically handled by the vice star leader. Since Bai Xiaoyu didn't have a vice star leader at the moment, it naturally fell to him, the deputy, to take care of it.

No, he was already swamped with various tasks and needed to find a vice star leader as soon as possible.

So, after submitting the application, he immediately posted a job listing for a vice star leader on the star network. The exceptional benefits offered quickly attracted many applicants.

Over the past few days, many viewers had asked Bai Xiaoyu about this. They already knew that Bai Xiaoyu had taken over the F73 planet and the cubs, so they weren't surprised. When Bai Xiaoyu confirmed that he was indeed looking for an experienced and capable vice star leader to help with development, they enthusiastically recommended several candidates.

Several days passed, and only a handful of candidates showed up for interviews. The location of the F73 planet and the cubs weren't something everyone could accept. Moreover, the vice star leader needed the ability to govern a planet that had been abandoned for hundreds of years, which made the pool of applicants even smaller.

After several days, none of the candidates were suitable.

By this time, Bai Qi also knew about this. It was a good opportunity, so he carefully selected a few candidates and secretly sent them over. However, none of them were approved by Bai Xiaoyu.

Bai Qi muttered "useless" as he looked at the rejected candidates and started scouting for better options.

Finally, he considered reaching out to the vice star leader of a nearby super-sized planet in the Imperial Star system. This person was a hidden piece of the Huang Family, cultivated for over a hundred years, waiting to take over the planet once the current star leader retired. Now, to suddenly ask this person to give up that planet and instead join Bai Xiaoyu's desolate planet was something that the candidate was very unwilling to do.

This planet was within the territory guarded by one of the Twelfth Legion's outposts. Countless forces were secretly vying for this position. The reason it was done secretly was that the royal family kept a close watch on the leaders of the planets in these star systems. Those appointed were either from the royal family or individuals unrelated to any factions.

The Huang Family had invested heavily to reach this point, and this candidate was one of their top choices, with exceptional skills.

Since the previous mediocre candidates sent by Bai Qi were rejected by Bai Xiaoyu, he couldn't understand why.

Previously, Bai Xiaoyu's followers, though not exactly top-tier, were at least competent. But now, Bai Xiaoyu's standards seemed to have risen significantly. Even someone randomly picked from the Imperial Military Academy would be better than his previous followers.

Meanwhile, while Bai Qi's arranged candidates begrudgingly made their way over, Bai Xiaoyu had already interviewed several others without finding a suitable match.

Even so, Bai Xiaoyu refused to settle. Meanwhile, news emerged from various edges of the star system about planets being harassed and invaded by the Bug race.

The Bug race had been quiet for almost two years, and even during their most active times, the scale of harassment was never as large as it had been recently. The number of invaded edge stars reached five times the usual amount.

Was this a sign that the Bugs were gearing up for another major attack?

Panic quickly spread throughout the star system. People from all the attacked edge stars began to flee with their families.

Looking at the various related news on the star network, Bai Xiaoyu frowned, but there was nothing he could do about it.

It was late at night when Bai Xiaoyu finished refining potions and washing up. When he came out of the bathroom wiping his hair, the bed was still empty.

Big Black used to always stay by his side. Later, when training the cubs, Big Black would return early in the evening after training and still have dinner with him, sticking by his side.

Lately, Big Black had been coming home later and later.

At first, Bai Xiaoyu was a little unaccustomed to it, but after a month, he had gradually adapted.

It was just that at night, he missed having a fluffy Big Black tiger by his side.

Sitting on the bed and looking at the large, black eggshell that occupied most of the bed, he remembered how Big Black would always pull him into it to sleep.

Bai Xiaoyu touched the eggshell and thought that its owner must be very busy right now.

It was already early morning when a Big Black tiger tiptoed back. Its huge body made no sound as it moved. However, the tiger's movements suddenly stopped when it saw the eggshell on the bed being pushed open, and a black-and-white head emerged. The fluffy and slightly messy head had two furry silver-white beast ears that twitched, and the sleepy eyes looked at him.

Yawning, Bai Xiaoyu looked at the returning Big Black and said, "Big Black, you're back?"

Big Black looked at him quietly for a moment, and his previously lowered tail began to sway slightly.

Feeling Big Black’s gaze, Bai Xiaoyu asked in confusion, "Big Black?"

The Big Black tiger quickly transformed into a tall man, walking towards Bai Xiaoyu. He stretched out his slender fingers, hesitated for a moment, and then, in Bai Xiaoyu's puzzled gaze, gently touched Bai Xiaoyu's trembling beast ears. Almost immediately, he retracted his hand and said in a low voice, "You don't have to wait for me in the future. Go to sleep first."

Bai Xiaoyu could tell at a glance that Big Black had returned in his adult consciousness form. He looked at the time and nodded. It was already past three o'clock. He was usually busy and, as an adult, needed to be rational. He couldn't wait for Big Black to rest together.

However, looking at the eggshell he had just crawled into out of habit, he couldn't help but feel a bit amused.