Xu Lanzhou fell silent for a few seconds. Although not everyone on the bridge was looking at her, she was aware that every pair of ears present was waiting for her answer. The invisible pressure seemed to become tangible at this moment; she could clearly sense it weighing on her shoulders.
"Master Nan Ma, please allow me to correct you. The glory of the Empire and the Chancellor will forever shine upon us. The Chancellor guides the direction we follow, and this will never change. I believe that the 'Supreme Command' may appear before long. Even during the waiting period, the R19 exploration fleet still has its mission. To expand the territory for the Empire, to establish new colonies.
As the Fleet Commander, I will do my utmost to protect every colleague and citizen of the Empire," Xu Lanzhou's voice was as soft as ever, yet her words resonated with a firm and powerful tone, matched with her valiant and refined visage, which inevitably convinced those around her.
Bald-headed Nan Ma stroked his chin, nodded, and said, "Colonize, huh? Right, our fleet was originally meant for this task. Thinking about expanding the Empire to another universe is pretty cool indeed, hahaha."
Xiao Yu glanced at Xu Lanzhou, his eyes inadvertently revealing a hint of inexplicable brilliance. He said, "We have come to a new world, after all. The Chancellor's Supreme Command won't possibly reach us here, right?"
Dean Mo took over the conversation, "That's not necessarily true. So far, no one in the Empire has been able to comprehend how the Supreme Command operates, but the general consensus is that the Supreme Command exists on par with, or even surpasses, universal laws. The signal from quantum prime matter might not transmit, but that doesn't mean the Supreme Command can't."
Hearing Dean Mo's affirmation, Xu Lanzhou couldn't help but slightly raise the corners of her lips. Xiao Yu looked at Xu Lanzhou and couldn't help but sneer inwardly: "What age is it, and there are still people who believe in the real existence of a Chancellor or Supreme Command, especially a descendant of the Twelve Knights of Destiny family.
If there truly is a ruler of the Empire, it should be the coalition formed by the Knight Families, not some mythical figure whose looks are unclear and who is said to have lived for thousands of years."
About two hours later, the bridge's hatch opened again, and a buxom blonde with glasses hurried in, just like Dean Mo, wearing a uniquely tailored white lab coat.
When Dean Mo saw who had arrived, his expression softened a bit, a mixture of doting and reproach in his voice: "Such hurry, completely lacking the composure of a scientific researcher. Also, how many times have I told you, you must button up your lab coat. It's about presentability!"
The blonde, with a somewhat baby-faced but nonetheless radiant look, cutely stuck out her tongue and said, "Dean, who even wears lab coats for experiments these days? This thing has become a ceremonial object, shows up at sex parties more often than in the lab."
Dean Mo, red with anger, had no recourse against his clever yet sexy and adorable protégé, shaking his head and saying, "What about the experimental results?"
The busty blonde Linyin took out a computer that looked like a glass tablet from under her arm, her movements causing her ample chest to tremble slightly, drawing glances from the men nearby—especially the irreverent Master Nan Ma, whose eyes had barely left that indescribable pair since Linyin entered.
Linyin tapped on the transparent tablet a few times and sent the experimental report to several key individuals present. Dean Mo used the same platform board, the transparent glass-like tablet computer that could change its size, shrinking down to the size of a fingernail and then embedding itself into wearable devices such as belts, wristwatches.
Whereas Xu Lanzhou, Xiao Yu, and other military personnel directly wore a pair of information assistant corneal computers on their eyes. These devices fit perfectly over the human cornea, causing no fatigue or foreign body sensation, and could also directly receive brainwave commands, allowing for viewing and operations, extremely convenient.
After distributing the report, Linyin explained, "By analyzing different reference variables such as cosmic radiation, we can almost confirm that we have crossed over to a parallel universe, with a confidence interval of 99.75%. I suggest naming the universe we are currently in 'Second Universe'."
Dean Mo glared at her and said, "The matter of naming can be discussed later, and it's not your place, young lady."
Undeterred by the remark, Linyin grinned at Xu Lanzhou and egged her on, "Commander Xu, let's just call it that, what do you think?"
Without responding, Xu Lanzhou activated a communication line and asked, "Administrator Du Peng, please arrive at the Sacred Falcon as quickly as possible. I, in my capacity as the Fleet Commander, have decided to convene a full committee meeting of the fleet leadership."
The reply came, "Yes, Commander, I am currently calming the immigrants on the Ruyi City. The work will end shortly, and I can arrive within fifteen minutes."
The R19 exploration fleet consisted of six ships in total: five were military vessels and one was a civilian vessel. The Colonial Base Ship Ruyi City was essentially a space metropolis traveling through space, with a complete city structure and artificial biotic circle. In this space city, there were indistinguishable artificial sunlight and even natural phenomena such as rain, snow, wind, and dew.
Artificial gravity was indispensable, and people could also grow crops and perform intelligent industrial production. Living here was no different than living on a planet.
Previously, the Empire did not send such a complex and non-combat colonial base ship with the exploration fleet; earlier settlers would cram into the living areas of military ships, and even earlier, cryogenic sperm and eggs were used. However, the settlers hoped for better living conditions and a better immigration experience.
Coupled with the excellent performance of the space city in energy supply and multitasking, the Empire's Privy Council eventually decided to equip the exploration fleet with a colonial base ship for colonization tasks. The construction cost of a single colonial base ship could even exceed the total cost of all other warships in the exploration fleet.