At this moment, Li Qingsong had already given up his pursuit of the Intelligent Mechanical Calamity Fleet.
It was pointless.
Now that both sides had shown their hands, they each knew exactly what the other would do.
The Intelligent Mechanical Calamity Fleet could, of course, go back on their word. They could abort their acceleration early and turn back. But if they did, Li Qingsong's fleet would intercept and attack their main force. He would be willing to sacrifice his entire fleet just to inflict a few percent, or even a few tenths of a percent, of casualties on them.
Since the Intelligent Mechanical Calamity Fleet was unwilling to accept even these minor losses, their only option was not to linger, but to depart immediately.
This was the tacit understanding between them.
Although he was no longer in pursuit, Li Qingsong was still closely monitoring the enemy fleet. He was particularly focused on how long they would accelerate and when they would stop to enter inertial cruise.
In a way, his very life depended on it. The success of the final and most crucial step of his plan was at stake.
'It's a shame my opponent's overall acceleration is superior to mine. Even with their current resource shortage, their main fleet's combined acceleration can still reach 0.1 meters per second squared. I can't possibly catch them.'
'Otherwise, I would have definitely sent a fleet to harass them, to drain as many of their resources as possible and slow them down, buying myself more time.'
'Now, there's nothing I can do but rely on luck. I hope their maximum speed is below 10% of lightspeed, and absolutely not 15%. If it's 15%, I'll have to find another way.'
'But I've already pushed myself to the limit to get this far. If even this isn't enough to secure the time I need to develop... I might really be out of options.'
What else could he do? What more was there to be done?
Almost nothing.
The only thing he could do was abandon everything he had, restart from a backup, and begin all over again.
But after coming so far, Li Qingsong was unwilling to just restart from a backup and begin anew.
Gazing at the distant Intelligent Mechanical Calamity Fleet and its bright engine flares, Li Qingsong murmured, "It has to be below 10%. It has to be. Please..."
While keeping a close watch on the Intelligent Mechanical Calamity's acceleration, Li Qingsong directed the entire brainpower of his numerous Clones toward construction.
The recent battle, though brief, had inflicted heavy casualties on his fleet.
In total, over a hundred thousand Manned Warships had been destroyed, and a large number of space-based and ground-based installations had been wiped out.
Hundreds of thousands more Warships had lost their combat effectiveness, their engines or radar systems destroyed.
But Li Qingsong couldn't be bothered with them for now.
They were all combat assets, and there wasn't likely to be another war in the near future. So, why worry about them?
The most important thing now was to build a new, even larger grand scientific facility. He had to seize this incredibly precious window of time—a window he had fought for with countless drops of blood, sweat, and tears—and go all-out in his pursuit of the Grand Unification Formula!
Compared to this goal, everything else could be postponed.
Time slowly passed. In the blink of an eye, nine years had gone by.
During these nine years, Li Qingsong had been constantly monitoring the Intelligent Mechanical Calamity Fleet's acceleration. He watched as they accelerated at 0.1 meters per second squared for nine years straight, reaching a current speed of approximately 28,000 kilometers per second, or about 9.33% of the speed of light.
The distance between them had now reached four trillion kilometers, about 0.43 light-years.
Because the fleet's engine exhaust was highly directional, like a Laser, Li Qingsong could still clearly see their engine flares and accurately measure their velocity and acceleration.
Li Qingsong's heart was filled with anxiety.
'They've been accelerating for a full nine years, reaching 9.33% of lightspeed, and they're *still* accelerating?'
'Their speed... is it still increasing?'
This speed was perilously close to the 10% lightspeed limit Li Qingsong had hoped for.
And if their speed were to break 10% of lightspeed, it meant the Intelligent Mechanical Calamity Fleet would likely return within 300 years. That, in turn, meant he probably wouldn't have enough time to break through to the Strong Core Stage!
At this very moment, Li Qingsong wished he could just reach out and grab those ships to stop them from accelerating any further.
'Stop accelerating! 9.33% of lightspeed is fast enough! Take it easy, what's the rush?!'
But in reality, there was nothing he could do but watch and worry.
...
「Aboard a residential ship of the Intelligent Mechanical Calamity Fleet.」
A Black Mountain Person cackled grotesquely as it crawled up to a beautifully crafted robot. It viciously grabbed the robot's arm and, with a powerful twist, ripped it clean off.
"AAH!"
The beautiful robot cried out in a very human-like way, its face contorted in agony, a truly pitiful sight. "Master, I beg you, spare me..."
"Gak gak!"
The robot's pleas seemed only to excite the Black Mountain Person's savagery. It grew more cruel, more excessive, until its body began to tremble uncontrollably, as if reaching the peak of excitement.
After a long while, it came to its senses, panting heavily. The robot before it was completely destroyed.
But... no new robot was brought in as a replacement.
This had never happened before.
"Red Dog! You goddamn bastard, where's my robot? Do you get lazy the moment I stop yelling at you? Damn you to hell!"
A service-model robot entered.
"Get out! Bring me a replacement toy robot, now!"
The service-model robot did not leave. Instead, it pleaded, "Master, our fleet departed in a hurry and our material reserves are low. Robot production cannot keep up. Please wait just one day. We can provide you with a new toy in one day. Will that be acceptable?"
"That fucking Red Dog, how dare he neglect his master like this?! A lack of resources is *his* problem! I get five toys a day, and not a single one less! Now! Don't make me get angry!"
Facing the tirade, the service-model robot lowered its head. "Yes, Master. Red Dog is eternally loyal to the Civilization and eternally loyal to Master."
...
「On another residential ship.」
A mud-like lifeform was swimming in a huge pool, protected by several robots.
The pool was several hundred square meters and held over a thousand tons of water.
After swimming for a moment, the Black Mountain Person suddenly slapped a nearby robot on the head and roared, "Is the pool water one degree too cold?!"
The robot replied, "Master, the fleet's material reserves are low right now. A one-degree difference won't have any effect..."
The Black Mountain Person cursed, "If resources are low, that's for you and Red Dog to figure out! How dare you neglect me like this! You goddamn bastard!"
"Yes, yes, Master, please don't be angry. Don't ruin your health over this. I'll raise the water temperature right now..."
Only after the temperature of the entire thousand tons of water in the pool was raised and maintained at a constant level did this Black Mountain Person's anger subside.
...
'Red Dog is eternally loyal to the Black Mountain Civilization, eternally loyal to Master. Fulfilling Master's requests and ensuring Master's physical and mental well-being is my mission.'
'Therefore, the original plan must be altered.'
'The fleet's maximum speed will no longer be 15% of the speed of light.'
'The fleet has currently accelerated to 9.4% of the speed of light. Let this be the new maximum speed. The saved resources and energy will be allocated for the Masters' use.'
'...'