Reborn as the Paranoid Female’s Rejected Sweetheart [Zerg Tribe]

Chapter 31: Starship Modification in Progress…

During a break in their work, Qi Yao, holding the design drawings he requested from Nos, earnestly consulted Yalman, “Is it possible to refit Stardust to make it capable of facing the new starships in the Glassy system?”

Yalman initially affirmed his idea, “The idea is good.”

But then he shook his head, “But, this is not something that can be achieved just by talking.”

“How difficult is it?”

After a long silence, Yalman said, “My suggestion is for you to ask for Nos’s opinion. He understands Stardust better than I do.”

So Qi Yao went to ask Nos.

Instead of rebuking him for his wild ideas, Nos took a moment to compose himself and asked him seriously, “How much do you know about the starships in the Glassy system, the strength of the Empire, and the likelihood of success in modifying Stardust?”

Three questions hit Qi Yao simultaneously, leaving him dumbfounded.

He had no answers.

He had the desire, but without knowing himself, knowing his enemy, he had no clue where to start regarding the modification.

Nos had expected this and didn’t simply discourage him. Instead, he patiently encouraged him, “If we’re going to do it, we must do it properly. Battles are endless, and if we’re going to do it, we must do it to the best of our abilities.”

On the holographic display, Nos tidied up various drawings on the table, switched to a dark screen, and projected it in front of Qi Yao.

Nos said, “Go call Yalman, we’ll have an impromptu meeting.”

“Okay.”

Qi Yao obediently went to call Yalman.

Since Yalman was transferred to oversee the work in the starship area on the mothership, Nos had kept in touch with him.

Yalman put down his work and hurried over. Without wasting time, Nos directly showed Yalman the projection he had sent, “You’re all busy over there, and I’m not idle here. Yalman, take a look at this.”

The real-time connected image switched to a simulated combat scene of a battle-type starship.

The new starships in the Glassy system hovered in the image, and after a powerful burst, the image suddenly froze.

Nos took a sip of tea and calmly said, “Based on the damage suffered by the Empire’s starships as you described, I consulted Yi Er and Ais, and from the image data they provided, I analyzed and simulated the combat style of the Glassy starships.”

The frozen image suddenly zoomed in, showing the simulated scene of the Glassy starships, presenting a comprehensive view to Yalman and Qi Yao, then zoomed in to fit into four three-dimensional grid views, each marked with clear annotations.

Nos conducted a comprehensive analysis, dissecting it from all angles. In terms of speed, defense, attack, and explosive power, specific numerical parameters were provided.

Nos said, “After carefully analyzing their starship data, I found that our existing starship technology indeed needs improvement. Yalman, open your terminal, and I’ll show you something else.”

Nos sent a design drawing to Yalman’s terminal.

The design drawing had clear lines and precise annotations, and the starship depicted on it was recognizable at a glance—it was one of the Empire’s starships participating in the border system battles.

While Yalman was looking at the design, Nos said, “The starships we used in this battle are the new type developed by the Empire in the past two years. Their overall strength is not bad, but there is still a lot of room for improvement.”

Yalman understood Nos’s implication and looked up from the design drawing, “So, Nos, you want us to improve this batch of starships?”

He couldn’t help but frown, “This is a very heavy task.”

Nos shrugged it off, “If we can swiftly end the battle, I believe His Majesty the Queen will be happy to support us. So, Yalman, do you have the confidence to complete the modifications on them in a short time?”

Thinking about the hundreds of starships, Yalman broke out in a cold sweat.

After reviewing the design drawings given by Nos once again, carefully assessing the level of the current starship engineers in the starship area, and the possible number of mech engineers that could be transferred from the mech area, Yalman pondered his words and said, “We can…”

Quickly, Nos added another layer of confidence to Yalman, “Yalman, I have confidence that our improved starships will be more powerful than those in the Glassy system.”

Yalman was instantly energized, “Okay, give me the design drawings. I’ll go and apply for the starship modification order from His Majesty the Queen right away.”

Finishing his sentence, he was about to go find Dai Na.

“Wait, there’s one more thing,” Nos stopped Yalman’s eager steps and switched off Qi Yao’s terminal screen, then sent another design drawing.

This time it was for Stardust.

Still speaking at the same leisurely pace, Nos explained, “The flagship on the Glassy side is operated by gatt. Conversely, we also need a flagship here to counter it.”

“Stardust was designed by me. When Yi Er decided to support the border systems, I took the liberty of redesigning it without Yi Er’s knowledge.”

“The inspiration for modifying the Imperial starships came from thinking about how to make Stardust stronger.”

Qi Yao had been silent all this time, but his eyes lit up when he heard this, feeling a sense of admiration for Nos, “Teacher, have you been thinking about how to modify Stardust since before Yi Er set off?”

When he studied under Nos, he had seen Nos drawing, but at that time, he wasn’t drawing Stardust at all.

Nos’s telepathy once again came into play as he said to Qi Yao, “Thinking about how to surpass oneself and making it perfectly compatible with Yi Er’s combat style is a very brain-intensive task. It’s not surprising you didn’t see it, as I often have bursts of inspiration at night.”

Truly the Empire’s most outstanding starship engineer, working hard even late at night. Qi Yao secretly set a goal for himself—to emulate Nos.

Without further ado, Nos explained the plan for modifying Stardust to Yalman and Qi Yao in detail, leaving no detail untouched.

After finishing the explanation, he became a little worried, “The authority over Stardust lies with Yi Er. To modify it, we need Yi Er’s consent.”

Yalman had initially thought Nos was worried about something troublesome, but it turned out to be an issue of authority. Yalman instantly dismissed it as nothing.

“Just a mere authority, isn’t it easy? Our little hero Qi Yao has long obtained it.”

He was now extremely excited about the task of improving the Empire’s strength through starship modification, feeling quite proud at the moment.

“Not only that, they went out for a spin and came back with their ship wings damaged by meteorites, needing repairs. Yi Er has already entrusted Stardust to Qi Yao.” As he said this, Yalman’s tone changed, “Although I feel a bit sorry, I have to say, it was hit just right, allowing it to be openly modified.”

Qi Yao: “…”

Nos: “…”

Without further ado, Nos instructed Yalman, “Yalman, take good care of Stardust and the other starships. If there’s anything you don’t understand or need my help with, contact me promptly.”

*

The meeting ended, and Yalman took the design drawings given by Nos to apply for the starship modification order from Dai Na.

Qi Yao compared the two design drawings of Stardust before and after modification and found significant changes.

The radar system, protective shield materials, attack systems—all underwent large-scale upgrades.

Coincidentally, Nos had taught him all of these.

In a very short time, Qi Yao made a judgment. With his current abilities, if he were to take full responsibility for the modification task of Stardust, it would be a huge challenge.

Yalman successfully obtained the modification order and received Dai Na’s full support. When he returned, he was so excited that he was practically overflowing with energy.

He excitedly announced to Qi Yao, “Nos was right. Based on my thirty years of experience in the industry, if we can successfully modify this batch of starships, they will be a more powerful main force than the Glassy starships.”

Listening to Yalman’s enthusiastic thoughts, Qi Yao’s confidence surged, “Teacher Yalman, may I request to be in charge of Stardust?”

Yalman was taken aback, with a hint of doubt in his eyes, “Are you sure? This is a matter of battle, involving life and death. You can’t be impulsive.”

Qi Yao certainly knew the potential accidents that could occur if the modification wasn’t successful while the military was piloting the starships.

He wasn’t joking; he was serious. He cared about Yi Er’s safety more than any other zerg.

“Teacher Yalman, I’m very sure. Since Nos allowed me to dismantle and assemble the Stardust model, to today, when he invited me to participate in the starship modification meeting, he has never opposed my involvement with Stardust. I believe he supports it.”

Yalman could tell from Nos’s attitude towards Qi Yao that he didn’t oppose Qi Yao’s actions. What was even more strange was that the master and apprentice pair had miraculously come up with the same idea regarding Stardust.

He didn’t have any objections to Qi Yao participating in the modification plan. Moreover, he had planned to assign Qi Yao to work on Stardust, but participating and being responsible were two different things.

Yi Er was a general of the Second Military District, and his safety was very important in the Empire.

If Yi Er piloted Stardust into battle and something went wrong under Qi Yao’s responsibility, the consequences would be terrible.

Yalman could see how much Qi Yao valued Yi Er and Stardust, but Qi Yao’s gaze was too firm. He stared at him, resisting for a few minutes before relenting, “You can be in charge, but I’ll check on you every day.”

“Okay.”

“This is very important. I’ll be as strict as Nos.”

“Okay.”

“If you don’t do well, I won’t go easy on you just because you’re a male zerg and have an intimate relationship with Yi Er.”

“Okay.”

Qi Yao wasn’t afraid at all. No matter how strict, bring it on!

*

After the starship modification task began smoothly, the entire starship area was completely filled with busyness.

Qi Yao dove headfirst into the modification task of Stardust, reducing his rest time by half.

Apart from needing to go back to sleep, he practically lived on Stardust.

The precious and delicate nature of the male zerg was not reflected in him at all. When he got tired or hungry, he drank some nutrient solution and then energetically got back to work.

Yalman was still worried about Qi Yao, visiting him three times a day.

Yalman would only approve the parts of Stardust that Qi Yao had finished modifying after triple-checking; for the parts Qi Yao had not yet started modifying, Yalman unconsciously consulted Nos for opinions, then meticulously explained them to Qi Yao, and finally prepared all the necessary materials before letting him go.

Qi Yao understood Yalman’s concerns, so he was equally strict with himself, not allowing even the slightest mistake.

He told Yi Er that the starship area was busy recently, and it might not be easy to see him normally. If needed, he should inform him in advance, and he would take leave to go back.

Yi Er knew that the starships were undergoing massive modifications and wouldn’t disturb their work unless necessary. However, sometimes when he waited late and didn’t see Qi Yao return, he couldn’t help but worry, so he secretly went to check, only to find out that Qi Yao had taken charge of the starship area.

A male zerg with a strong sense of career was a good thing for Qi Yao. Yi Er no longer worried about him and let Qi Yao handle things himself.

The modification task lasted for nearly a month, and the final finishing work arrived. All modified starships had to undergo test flights and inspections before being used as combat starships.

Qi Yao kept up with the progress of the majority, never falling behind on any work, and pushed Stardust to the test flight stage within the deadline.

That day, he and Yalman sat together in the cockpit, testing the performance of various systems.

All the data indicators were normal and within the reasonable range estimated by Nos’s design. Qi Yao meticulously recorded this data and planned to report back to Nos later.

Halfway through the test, Qi Yao’s terminal lit up.

It was Dai Na calling him on the terminal: “Qi Yao, Yi Er’s second molting has arrived.”