"A detailed star map of the Reef Starfield? That's not difficult at all. I can find one for you right here." The fiery woman quickly located the detailed star map Zhao Chen had requested.
Though called a detailed star map, it wasn't particularly professional.
However, it could roughly identify the location of each star system and provide some information about them.
"Annie, take a look. Where is your hometown?" Zhao Chen showed Annie the star map of the Reef Starfield.
Annie stood on her tiptoes to examine the star map.
Seeing this, Zhao Chen adjusted the position of the holographic projection downward so Annie could see it more easily.
"Here! Right here! Annie's home is here!" Annie suddenly exclaimed excitedly, pointing to a spot on the star map.
Zhao Chen noted the location.
"You're heading to the third planet in the FY Star System, right? Then I'd advise you to be careful. I've heard there's a war going on there," the fiery woman beside them chimed in.
"A war?" Zhao Chen showed a surprised expression.
Annie immediately grew worried, her face filled with anxiety.
The fiery woman remained silent for a moment. Seeing this, Zhao Chen took out a small bag of crystal stones and tossed it to her.
The woman immediately smiled obsequiously and said, "I only heard about it, but three months ago, a mineral vein was discovered on the third planet of the FY Star System, containing a large amount of special ore resources.
Although it might not compare to the ore resources outside, here in our Reef Starfield, it's practically a gold mine.
The Fire Salamander Tribe, which has always regarded the FY Star System as its territory, threatened the planet's indigenous inhabitants three months ago, demanding they all leave the planet, claiming it as the Fire Salamander Tribe's private property.
But how could such a demand be fulfilled?
I heard the main race on that planet is the Dwarves, and they strongly protested.
After that, the Fire Salamander Tribe began mobilizing its interstellar fleet to surround the planet, starting about a week ago.
I heard that the Dwarves' limited interstellar fleet on that planet has already been completely destroyed, and now the Dwarves can only mount some counterattacks on the planet's surface.
But facing the Fire Salamander Tribe, defeat is only a matter of time."
Upon hearing that her hometown was under attack, its interstellar fleet destroyed, and her people caught in the flames of war, Annie grew visibly distressed. She unconsciously grabbed the hem of Zhao Chen's clothes.
Somehow, she had already begun instinctively trusting and relying on the man beside her.
"Can you provide me with detailed information about the Fire Salamander Tribe? The more detailed, the better!" Zhao Chen took out another bag of crystal stones.
The fiery woman, motivated by the money, immediately got to work.
In no time, she had prepared the information Zhao Chen needed.
"Thank you for the information." After thanking the fiery woman, Zhao Chen led Annie back to the suspended ladder.
The suspended ladder returned to the starship, while the nearby cargo lift began continuously transporting the goods Zhao Chen had ordered.
Bridge of the T3 Blizzard-class Light Interstellar Battlecruiser
"What happened?" Charlotte asked, noticing Annie clutching Zhao Chen's clothes, her eyes red.
Before Zhao Chen could speak, Annie, unable to hold back any longer, pleaded tearfully, "Commander... Commander... please... please save... save Annie's people..."
Annie will work hard in the future... Annie can... can do without those meals... just... just eat nutrition meals is fine...
As long as... as long as... Commander can save Annie's people... Annie... can even go without eating..."
At this moment, Annie was so flustered that she began to ramble incoherently.
Zhao Chen patted Annie's head: "Silly girl, how are you going to work for me if you don't eat? Listen to me, stop crying now. As long as you don't cry, I'll find a way to save your people."
Upon hearing this, Annie immediately stopped sobbing, but snot dripped from her little nose. She didn't dare to move at all, looking utterly pitiful.
"You've turned into a snotty mess. Go wash your face properly. I'll discuss with Charlotte how to save your people." Zhao Chen pinched Annie's cheek.
"Mhm..." Annie nodded, then walked toward a restroom near the bridge, glancing back every few steps.
Charlotte looked at Zhao Chen.
Zhao Chen raised his hand and opened the information given by the fiery woman earlier.
"This is a local stellar power in the Reef Starfield, primarily composed of the Fire Salamander Tribe. The FY Star System where Annie is from has long been under the control of the Fire Salamander Tribe.
Before this, the planet where the Dwarves lived paid a portion of their earnings regularly to the Fire Salamander Tribe in exchange for their protection.
But three months ago, a mineral vein was discovered on the planet of Annie's people, and the Fire Salamander Tribe wanted to seize it for themselves.
Recently, they launched an attack on that planet, completely destroying the interstellar fleet of Annie's people. Only the Dwarf Forces on the planet's surface are still putting up some resistance." Zhao Chen explained the current situation to Charlotte.
Then, pointing to the intelligence on the Fire Salamander Tribe before him, he said: "This is the relevant intelligence on the Fire Salamander Tribe."
After listening, Charlotte began carefully reviewing the intelligence on the Fire Salamander Tribe.
The Fire Salamander Tribe controlled several star systems in the Reef Starfield, with the FY Star System being one of them.
They publicly claimed to have a Legion Fleet of over three thousand starships.
In reality, eighty percent of them were T1-class interstellar warships.
Only a little over five hundred starships could truly be considered the combat capability of the Fire Salamander Tribe.
Among these five hundred starships, there were five T3 interstellar warships, with the rest being T2-class interstellar warships.
It was precisely these five T3-class starships that enabled the Fire Salamander Tribe to control these star systems.
And even allowed them to become a minor overlord within the Reef Starfield.
"Do you think we can handle it?" Zhao Chen looked at Charlotte.
Charlotte raised her hand, opened the virtual projections of those star systems, and marked the star system where Annie's clan was located.
"According to the information we have now, the Fire Salamander Clan has mobilized a total of three hundred starships to participate in the siege of Annie's clan's planet.
Among these three hundred starships, only sixty T2-class interstellar warships and one T3-class starship pose any real threat.
Although the numbers are large, overall, our T3 Blizzard can handle it." Charlotte said confidently: "But one issue is that the Fire Salamander Tribe will likely reinforce their fleet afterward.
If they mobilize half of their interstellar fleet to come here."
"If we engage the enemy directly, it's not a big problem. The tricky part is if we also have to protect Annie's planet at the same time."
If the Fire Salamander Tribe's interstellar fleet bypasses the T3 Blizzard and directly attacks Annie's planet, that would indeed pose a significant risk.
"Try contacting Lilith's side," Zhao Chen said with a serious expression.
These Dwarves were the 'treasures' he had his eyes on, and he couldn't afford any mishaps.
Moreover, the system seemed to think the same way, as it had already issued a System Task.
[Task Content: Defeat the Fire Salamander fleet invading Annie's homeland
Mission Difficulty: C-level
Task Reward: Five Task Points and 2000 points
Mission Penalty: Deduct 2000 points]