Chapter 17: One Year

A year had passed since the destruction of Dead Silence Star's surface. Under Li Mingze's leadership, the Empire had developed rapidly. The home star system, Beta star system, and Echo star system, along with other home planets and colonies, were steadily growing.

Within this year, the Empire had colonized two more planets, expanding its territory to a range of 30 light-years.

In this year, numerous military technologies had been developed: an advanced hyperspace engine with shorter cooldown times, more powerful and faster fusion missiles, a point-defense system, new ship armor, and the first-generation red laser weapons.

The Empire's mining stations now covered its entire star domain, and power stations were constructed throughout the Empire.

Over five million Imperial citizens became researchers, and one hundred thousand individuals were promoted to scientists.

Research centers rose on every planet of scientific value.

The Empire's shipyards had reached a total of twenty, enabling the simultaneous construction of twenty corvettes within a month.

Its fleet of science ships had grown to a staggering thirty vessels, scouring the galaxy for new resources and habitable worlds.

The Imperial Navy had expanded to fifty corvettes.

Inside his bedroom, Li Mingze had changed the original black-and-red décor to a white-and-black theme. He said he had grown tired of the old design after three years—so, as a wealthy and powerful emperor, he simply changed it on a whim.

He crawled out of bed. Being the ruler of such an advanced empire had its perks—unless there was an urgent matter, no one dared to disturb him. This allowed him to enjoy the luxury of waking up naturally every day.

But today was different. Today, he had set an alarm—because today marked the launch of the Empire's first destroyer.

The SR-class destroyer, a crucial backbone of the Empire's lower-tier warships, was not easy to develop and construct.

This warship was a staggering 800 meters long and 60 meters wide, with a displacement of 400,000 tons. Its construction cost was three times that of a corvette, consuming 400,000 mineral points per ship. While its firepower had only doubled, its survivability had increased significantly.

For the first time in three years, Li Mingze traveled to the shipyard space station on the moon of Xis. Unlike the empty docks from three years ago, the station had transformed into a small space city. A massive ring-shaped metropolis now floated above the original shipyard, housing soldiers permanently stationed on the moon along with their families.

The entire city was in celebration, as people holding Imperial flags crowded around the large glass windows at the city's edge.

Li Mingze did not appear in person. Instead, he projected his consciousness into an android body with an unfamiliar face, planning to experience this grand event from the perspective of an ordinary citizen.

Inside a luxurious apartment in the space city, the bookshelf in the study slowly slid open, revealing Li Mingze in casual attire as he stepped out.

Taking the elevator down to the streets, he blended into the crowd surging toward the city's edge. He even shamelessly waved a small flag and chanted, "Long live our great Emperor! Long live the Empire!"

"Long live our great Emperor! Long live the Empire!" the crowd echoed enthusiastically. The chant spread like wildfire, completely altering the event's atmosphere.

Through the floor-to-ceiling windows, five massive shipyards came into view, arranged like blooming flowers. The top armor of one dock was sliding open.

"It's coming out!" an excited onlooker shouted.

A colossal warship, painted in matte black, slowly emerged from the dock under the illumination of several powerful spotlights. The ship's beam cannons rotated in an orderly fashion, though they remained uncharged.

A squadron of aerospace fighters performed aerial loops around the enormous vessel, drawing loud cheers from the crowd.

Then, the space station's broadcast system activated:

"Dear citizens of the Empire, you are now witnessing the SR-class destroyer, the first of its generation! This warship is equipped with a medium-sized red laser cannon, two light red laser cannons, and four light fusion missile launchers. It also boasts six point-defense systems and can carry up to 1,500 planetary bombardment weapons!"

"The launch of this warship signifies that our Empire now possesses the ability to say 'NO' among the stars! This is the beginning of a new era! With more advanced warships to come and under the leadership of our great Emperor, we shall unify the galaxy! Long live the Emperor! Long live the Empire!"

As the announcement ended, the citizens erupted in cheers, their voices surging like tidal waves, causing Li Mingze's ears to ache.

But he was deeply gratified. Such overwhelming support meant he was truly beloved by his people.

At that moment, his perception of his citizens changed.

If, in the past, he had seen them merely as NPCs or numbers, now he viewed them as actual… subjects.

"If they adore me this much, I should ease some restrictions," he mused shamelessly. "Like lifting the ban on video games or something."

Then, an idea struck him!

Using sleep-learning technology, he could develop a real-time strategy game based on interstellar warfare. This game would allow idle citizens to learn the art of war and team coordination. During wartime, they could serve as reservists.

Even better, by offering lucrative rewards for military victories in the game, he could encourage enlistment and instill a desire for war among the people.

This would be the equivalent of installing a nuclear fusion engine on the Empire's war machine!

Li Mingze marveled at his own genius. With ideas like these, galactic conquest was within reach!

Excited beyond measure, he rushed back to his office and summoned a team of scientists, researchers, and engineers. He would personally oversee the development of this game!

In truth, his enthusiasm stemmed from a more personal reason—before he became Emperor, he had only been able to fantasize about full-immersion VR games through novels. Now, he had the power to create one himself. It was exhilarating!

Ten minutes later…

"Wow," he muttered to himself, shaking his head. "the old sayings were right—everyone has their own specialization. As a great leader, I should probably leave the storytelling to someone else. Otherwise, if people saw my perfect game, they might feel so inferior that they give up on life altogether. Ha... ha... ha…"

Awkwardly, he crushed the tablet in his hand.

"Someone, bring me a new tablet! Also, clean up this mess. Your Emperor is going back to sleep!"