Chapter 244 – Sit Down and Share the Spoils! Appointing the Head of Scientific Research! Treasure Hunting!
After ending the call with V, Li Ang gained deeper insight from the detailed and precise intel into the internal situation of the rebel forces, as well as the behind-the-scenes meddling by rival civilizations trying to poach talent from MegaCorp.
Everything was clearly documented and logically structured.
Li Ang archived the report for future review or as training material for future MegaCorp executives.
As for this rebellion, Li Ang didn't see any suspense in the outcome—after all, the disparity in strength between the two sides was far too great.
The MegaCorp forces sent to suppress the uprising suffered virtually no casualties.
Even in the most troublesome urban warfare scenarios, MegaCorp simply bombarded the obstacles into rubble before sending in cloned soldiers for mop-up operations.
In the face of overwhelming power, all schemes and tactics were utterly meaningless.
Once the call with V ended, Li Ang turned to other urgent matters across the multiverse.
Before long, he had cleared out his inbox—an experience that gave him the distinct feeling of an emperor reviewing memorials, yet without a trace of fatigue or weariness.
After all, power revitalizes a man more than any drug ever could. Once his daily affairs were handled, Li Ang rose from his private office.
Accompanied by Lucy, the two headed down the corridor toward the headquarters laboratory.
As they walked, Lucy couldn't help but look up at him and ask:
"Boss, aren't you worried that the upcoming personnel changes might cause dissatisfaction in other departments?"
She was referring to the decisions Li Ang had just finalized: V would remain as the acting interstellar governor of Universe 003; Manner and Johnny Silverhand would be reassigned to their original posts; and newcomer Dr. Catherine Halsey would be placed directly into the R&D Division to oversee the Spartan soldier augmentation program as one of its department heads.
"This adjustment is perfectly fair. There's nothing to be upset about," Li Ang replied with a smile and a shake of his head. He was fully aware that internal factions did exist within MegaCorp, but the corporation's standards for promotion had never changed.
Equivalent exchange was a constant—one's contributions directly determined their rewards.
This principle was key to ensuring a constant influx of fresh blood and maintaining vitality within MegaCorp.
At this point, Li Ang's status and authority were essentially equivalent to that of a human civilization's "Emperor."
Historically, among all political systems ever devised by humanity, monarchy has proven to offer the highest administrative efficiency and potential.
Though Li Ang publicly maintained the title of "Executive Officer" of MegaCorp and had delegated significant power to other departments, he had never relinquished control over personnel decisions.
Firmly holding onto personnel authority, Li Ang continually reshuffled and redistributed power within each department to disrupt factionalism before it could take root.
Take David Martinez, for example. Under the original plan, as a soldier under Jackie Welles, his meritorious service should've earned him a spot on the elite Vanguard Squad.
That would've naturally placed him under the wing of veterans like Jackie, Reed, and V, relegating him to a "rookie mascot" role within the team.
But this kind of structure causes long-term stagnation. Talent clusters in one department, becoming bloated and redundant, while newcomers have no opportunity to grow or shine.
Other departments, meanwhile, suffer from a lack of talent and lose creativity and vitality—eventually leading to their dissolution and reorganization.
But under Li Ang's restructuring, David Martinez was transferred to the Vanguard. As a new-generation officer, he attracted the likes of Rita, Kitsch, Corey, and Steve—young soldiers eager to make their mark.
The previously talent-starved department was thus revitalized with fresh energy. That's the power of personnel assignments.
They can easily reshape an entire department's power structure and ecological dynamic.
"In two days, Morgan's fleet should arrive in the system where the Shield World is located. At that point, they'll be facing threats from the Flood and the Covenant."
"Our job, aside from providing them with full intel support, is to prepare for the next wave of promotions."
Li Ang wasn't worried about Morgan Blackhand's expeditionary force running into serious trouble. As long as they followed the plan, securing the Shield World's ancient ruins was practically a guaranteed success.
The only thing he had to worry about was how to "sit down and share the spoils"—that is, how to restructure the personnel layout once again.
"Yes, sir," Lucy nodded thoughtfully. She had to admit that following Li Ang over the years had taught her a great deal.
Even seemingly minor personnel transfers carried deep strategic intent and paved the way for upcoming high-level decisions.
Soon, with the soft hiss of a sensor door opening and closing, Li Ang and Lucy stepped into the headquarters laboratory.
The space was vast and well-equipped, offering the bioengineering and research staff an environment on par with the Science Nexus.
Of course, the most elite researchers of MegaCorp still resided on the Science Nexus.
Since the Nexus's establishment, the High Knights led by Zuma hadn't left it once, devoting themselves entirely to scientific development.
At the moment, everyone in the lab was fully focused on their own tasks and didn't even pause to acknowledge Li Ang's presence.
Li Ang and Lucy entered a specific lab room, where they found Alt Cunningham working at a control console.
On a multifunctional operating table beside her lay a female clone identical in appearance to Alt herself.
Clearly, Alt was in the middle of an experiment involving the development of a smart AI, using her own clone as the test subject.
Eyes glued to the console screen, Alt spoke first before Lucy could say a word:
"I'm outlining the neural network template of the clone. Next, I'll imprint a condensed version of the neural system to form the core architecture of Smart AI Alt."
She finally turned toward Li Ang and smiled.
"Based on the data and remote guidance provided by Dr. Halsey, MegaCorp's self-developed Smart AI Alt is already 70% complete."
"We'll achieve the project goal very soon!"
Alt couldn't hide her excitement. For some reason, she had a strong feeling that she was on the verge of being promoted—perhaps to a new department where she could fully unleash her research talents.
"Well done," Li Ang nodded, his tone composed as he praised her efforts. But inwardly, he had been paying close attention to her performance for years.
With MegaCorp in the midst of structural reform, it was time for Alt Cunningham to receive the recognition she deserved.
Naturally, ascending to a high position came with responsibility—Alt would be evaluated by Li Ang himself. Whether she could seize this opportunity would depend on her own abilities.
"Alt, once this project is completed, report to the R&D Department," Li Ang said. "You'll be taking over all current research projects at MegaCorp—as department head."
"…"
---
Universe 004 – Halo Universe, Outer Orion Arm
After completing the final space jump, MegaCorp's expeditionary fleet cruised at sublight speed through a dazzling star system.
The fleet was currently conducting orderly personnel transfers, reorganizing units, and preparing the necessary equipment for arrival at the Shield World.
While entering the system, the fleet's sensors had already detected traces of Covenant warships in the vicinity.
To reach the Shield World and secure the Forerunner relics before anyone else, Morgan Blackhand ordered all ships to accelerate toward the planet's orbit.
If the Covenant showed up, there would be no negotiations—just open fire, seize their ships, and storm the planet.
Fortunately, the expeditionary fleet had been lucky so far, avoiding any direct encounters with the Covenant.
Soon, the flagship Endless Night reached a stable orbit around Shield World 0459.
Inside the war room aboard the Endless Night, Morgan Blackhand convened the department heads to plan their next move.
Reed, David Martinez, and Dr. Halsey were all present, and even Li Ang—still in the Prime Universe—was listening in via FTL communications.
"According to intel from the forward recon drones, the Covenant fleet has already made landfall on the Shield World's surface," Morgan began, enlarging a holographic image captured by AI scouts.
"These alien zealots are already here and appear to be searching for the relic site."
"Not good…" Reed frowned as he examined the live feed on the console. The upcoming mission just got significantly more difficult.
Judging by current data, the Shield World's surface was likely infested with a vast number of Flood.
A reckless landing could lead to disaster.
"I'm worried those Covenant lunatics might end up feeding the Flood, triggering their next evolution phase—maybe even birthing a Gravemind!" Reed voiced his concerns.
Thanks to Li Ang's information-sharing protocols, the team had a fairly comprehensive understanding of the dangers ahead.
The possibility of encountering a Gravemind had everyone on edge.
---
After all, the Scorpio Virus targeting the Flood is currently only 88% complete. It hasn't been fully developed yet, and it will take another week before it can enter mass production.
"Well said."
Morgan Blackhand nodded in agreement with Reed's assessment—that was exactly what he was concerned about, too.
"However, based on our preliminary reconnaissance, it appears the Flood on Shield World hasn't fully broken out yet. The Covenant fleet is still stationed here, which suggests the situation hasn't spiraled out of control."
As he finished speaking, Morgan pulled up the footage captured by the reconnaissance drones once more. The Covenant fleet, anchored on the far side of the Shield World, was methodically dispatching small vessels to the surface.
"The enemy fleet isn't particularly large—just a standard advance party: six CRS-class light cruisers and two CCS-class battlecruisers."
"Compared to our fleet, this Covenant force is at a disadvantage. If we were to engage them head-on, we could eliminate them quickly."
This at least was a bit of good news, and it allowed those present to relax slightly. After all, the greatest trump card of their expeditionary force was the Endless Night.
However, learning that the Covenant also possessed a warship on the scale of the Endless Night left Reed and the other officers uneasy.
No matter how powerful the Astartes were, no matter how tough their bodies, they couldn't stand up to a direct hit from a Light Lance cannon.
Fortunately, the enemy wasn't particularly strong—just a small advance unit. There were no major forces stationed here.
Moreover, the enemy's CCS-class battlecruisers were only equivalent to the megacorp's RCS-class armored cruisers in terms of scale and classification; they weren't even in the same league.
"In that case, why don't we just move in now, wipe out this Covenant fleet, and take full control of the Shield World?"
David Martinez understood full well the importance of using greater numbers to crush a smaller force. Striking hard at this critical juncture to eliminate the enemy would also help with the excavation of the ancient ruins.
His suggestion quickly gained a lot of support. Many agreed that launching an immediate offensive to eliminate the troublesome Covenant advance party was the best course of action.
But Morgan Blackhand shook his head, signaling that this wasn't the way forward. "It's a viable plan, but the timing isn't right."
"Our goal is the Shield World's ruins, not war with the Covenant. If we can resolve things through negotiation or coercion, we should avoid unnecessary combat."
"Let me be frank: the boss's directive is to recruit as many Covenant members as possible and fracture this heretical faction from within. We aim to win with minimal cost."
Morgan's statement instantly clarified the core objective of this operation. Now it made sense why Li Ang had equipped them with such a formidable fleet—he intended to absorb them!
Then again, the Universal Megacorp had relied on absorption tactics many times in the past to subdue other civilizations.
And this method did yield results.
"What we're worried about is that these heretics won't accept our offer. We've seen plenty of savage, unreasoning beasts before," David added.
Having served for several years as Jack Wells' deputy, he had developed a similarly hawkish and hardline temperament.
When it came to head-on confrontation, he feared no opponent.
"That's precisely why the boss prepared the Scorpiomantic Virus and the Endless Night for us," Morgan Blackhand said with a smile. If the heretics failed to recognize what was in their best interest—then they'd be purged, every last one!
With that, Morgan issued his next set of orders:
"Reed and David, you'll lead the Celestial Vanguard and thirty elite Astartes warriors to investigate the ruins on the Shield World."
"I'll assign an air wing to provide cover overhead, while the rest of the fleet closely monitors the movements of the Covenant forces."
Thanks to the data collected from the ruins on Arcadia, the locations of the Shield World's ruins and technological treasures were already fully mapped by the megacorp.
Now all they had to do was follow the route and dig up the treasure!
"Yes, sir."
David and the other officers responded in unison.
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