Chapter 244: The Best Internship Position

Alright, comrades, settle down.

Luo Lao raised his hand; the smile on his face hadn't fully faded, but his eyes had regained the calm and sharpness of a person in charge.

The plan is good, but its execution still requires caution; we must not let temporary optimism cloud our judgment.

He turned to another official in charge of the Foreign Affairs Department, Dai Tianhong:

Regarding this notice, have your foreign affairs department draft a formal document, with careful wording.

It should reflect our responsibility as a mentor civilization, while making them feel the preciousness and hard-won nature of this internship opportunity.

It should make them feel that this is our highest affirmation of their ideological progress.

Understood.

Dai Tianhong nodded, the corners of his mouth involuntarily turning up: "I will have the department's finest language specialists handle it, guaranteeing they feel our weighty trust."

Moreover,

Luo Lao's gaze shifted to Zhang Xianzhong: "Once they agree, the handover and deployment of the fleet must be flawless."

We must delineate clear defense zones, formulate strict joint combat agreements, and absolutely avoid any confusion in command.

Don't worry!

Zhang Xianzhong replied in a deep voice: "I will personally take charge of this. Though their fleet's combat strength is strong, their command system and combat philosophy are completely different from ours."

I will make them understand what interstellar coordinated operations are.

Finally, everyone's gaze once again focused on Qin Hao.

Qin Hao had maintained a faint smile throughout; this is indeed the best solution at present.

He stood up, speaking calmly: "I have no objections to the plan, but there is one point that needs to be added."

Everyone immediately listened attentively.

The Star Sea Divine Church's fleet can serve as our shield, but we cannot rely entirely on this shield.

Their changes are founded upon fervent zeal and reverence for the thought of the 'Great Person'.

This change is fervent, but it may also be fragile.

Qin Hao's gaze swept across the assembly: "Therefore, necessary monitoring and contingency measures are required."

These words caused the slightly buoyant atmosphere in the Command Center to settle once more.

Everyone nodded in agreement; these were indeed the words of an experienced elder.

A third-level civilization that has existed for hundreds of thousands of years, even if it now behaves like a devout student, its foundation and potential variables are absolutely not to be underestimated.

I will personally place some surveillance points along the routes they must travel and in their garrison areas; these surveillance points will not interfere with any of their normal activities.

But if they show any abnormal movement, we will detect it immediately.

Everyone's hearts tightened.

They knew that the surveillance Qin Hao spoke of was far from being an ordinary detector.

It is very likely a monitoring method involving spatial regulations, undetectable and indestructible.

With Qin Hao's assurance, the last lingering worry in everyone's heart completely dissipated.

……

Meanwhile, within the Institute of Truth Practice.

The Church Leader, together with the senior members of the Divine Church Civilization, was seated in a meeting room, conducting a deep 'criticism and self-criticism' session.

"In summary, I believe we have committed serious subjective idealism and individual heroism errors in dealing with the mentor's exhaustion."

A Grand Archbishop‑level cleric stood, face full of guilt, conducting a profound self‑examination before the assembly.

"We tried to solve the problem using the old, mysticism‑tinged Holy Light Empowerment, rather than analyzing from a scientific, materialist angle why the mentor became overworked."

"This fully shows that our study of thought remains superficial, not penetrating to the marrow!"

"That's right!"

Another Holy Word Master immediately echoed.

"We subconsciously still treat the mentor as a deity to be worshipped."

"We forgot the Honorary Chairman comrade's teaching: Le Ge is our comrade!"

"We should care for and protect him in the manner of comrades, not desecrate him as if he were a god! My ideological awareness is still far insufficient; I offer my self‑criticism!"

"I also have many problems……"

At this moment, each of them vied to analyze the roots of their own thought, digging deep into their souls for 'dogmatism' and 'theological poison.'

Just then, an encrypted communication request directly accessed the Church Leader's personal terminal.

Upon seeing that the sender was the Human Federal Supreme Command Center, the Church Leader's spirit lifted, and he immediately signaled for everyone to be quiet.

He straightened his plain gray trainee uniform, then connected the communication.

Instantly, a document, carefully worded and filled with comrade‑like care and mentor‑like expectations, appeared on the holographic screen.

The Church Leader read it word for word.

His expression shifted from initial solemnity, to surprise, to disbelief, and finally to a near‑ecstatic excitement!

His body, trembling slightly from excessive excitement, that form composed of pure energy radiated a brilliant light!

"Comrades……"

The Church Leader leapt to his feet, scanning the divine church high‑ranking members who looked at him with doubt.

"A tremendous piece of good news!"

He shared that document onto the central screen of the meeting room.

"On the Invitation for the Star Sea Divine Church Civilization Comrades to Participate in the Federal Core Territory Joint Defense Mission, Deepening Theory‑Practice Integration Through Joint Exercises' Proposal"

When this title came into everyone's view, the entire meeting room first fell into a deathly silence.

Immediately after, as they finished reading the document's content——that invitation to dispatch several fleets to the Yanhuang Star System and the Solar System to assist in defense——

Boom!

They were completely in an uproar!

"Good heavens! Is this... is this really true?"

"Mentor Civilization... they actually want to entrust us with their most core star system to help defend it?!"

"This isn't trust anymore! This is a test! This is handing over the entire civilization's rear to us!"

"Theory linked with practice! United Front joint exercises! Honorary Chairman comrade indeed has far-sighted vision!"

"We were worried that many strategic ideas from 'On Protracted War' could not be put into practice, and now the opportunity has come!"

"This is the best opportunity for us to wipe away our past mistakes! We must put in two hundred percent effort to prove to the Mentor Civilization that we are their most reliable revolutionary comrades!"

"After the brief shock and excitement, a more practical problem lay before us."

"Church Leader! I request to lead my First Holy Hall Fleet forward! Our fleet has just completed ideological rectification, and our fighting spirit is at its highest!"

"A Grand Archbishop holding military power was the first to step forward, his face flushed as he volunteered for battle."

"No! It should be my Third Fleet that goes!"

"Another Grand Archbishop immediately retorted, 'Your First Fleet has long been responsible for the front lines, its tactics are rigid, filled with the outdated mindset of big fleet decisive battles!'"

"Our Third Fleet has always been responsible for rear-area harassment, and our understanding of guerrilla and sparrow warfare is far deeper than yours! This cooperative defense mission requires flexibility and toughness!"

"Stop arguing, all of you!"

"An older Holy Word Master spoke in a low voice, 'This mission is not merely military; it is also political! By going, we represent the face of the entire Divine Church civilization!'"

"Only by sending our Divine Church's finest, the Radiant Guard composed of Holy Hall warriors, can we show our utmost respect for the Mentor Civilization!"

"Bullshit! How many years has the Radiant Guard not fought a battle?"

"Letting them go would be just standing guard for show, not fighting! This is dogmatism! Formalism!"

"......"

"Seeing that the Divine Church's history was about to witness its first internal strife over task allocation, the Church Leader slammed the table."

"Enough!"

"His voice, imbued with supreme authority, instantly silenced everyone."

"You all have only seen one side of the mission, not its entirety!"

"The Church Leader's gaze swept over everyone like two sharp swords."

"This cooperative defense is both a military mission and a political mission! We must demonstrate our combat strength, our discipline, and above all our absolute loyalty to the Mentor Civilization!"

"Then he made the final decision."

"Order! The Grand Archbishop will personally take command! Transfer six million warships from the Second Holy Hall Fleet to the Yanhuang Star System!"

"Transfer four million warships from the Fifth Holy Hall Fleet to the Solar System! Form two joint practice task forces!"

"Yes!"

"The two fleet commanders named, excited to the point of glowing all over."

"Moreover,"

"The Church Leader shifted tone, becoming extremely solemn: 'The Mentor Civilization has provided us with such a precious internship post, even offering food and lodging, and imparted priceless ideological truth; how could we go empty-handed?'"

"He looked at the finance minister in charge of logistics."

Immediately, from our strategic reserves, allocate three thousand standard units of Eternal Crystals, ten thousand tons of Zero-Point Curiosities, and from our stockpile, the Holy Light Spring that can be used to enhance the genetic stability of carbon-based life!

Take these as our first phase's practical tuition, and send them together with the fleet to the Human Federal.

Tell them, our Star Sea Divine Church Civilization comes to learn sincerely! We come with the utmost sincerity, to become their most reliable comrades!

This decision made everyone present suck in a breath of cold air.

Eternal Crystals, they are the rare material used to construct the core of a Sanctum-class warship.

Zero-Point Curiosities are the key energy driving the faith field! The Holy Light Spring is even more a strategic resource the Church uses to cultivate the highest-ranking Sanctum warriors.

This time, the Church Leader has practically taken out half of the Church's wealth.

"Church Leader...... this...... is this too much?"

The Minister of Finance's eyes went wide.

"Too much?"

The Church Leader retorted, flames burning in his eyes, "Compared to the great thoughts we have gained, these material things are merely a pile of numbers!"

"What we have obtained is a guide for a civilization to walk the correct path! It is the ultimate truth to liberate the entire universe! What is this tuition?"

"The more we pay, the more the mentor civilization can see our determination! Our revolutionary friendship with them will become unbreakable!"

"That's decided! Execute it immediately!"

……

Three days later, when the Star Sea Divine Church's reply, and that exaggeratedly long tuition list, were transmitted back to the Federation Command Center,

The entire Command Center once again fell into a long silence.

Looking at the list, those items that exist only in the Church's records, each one enough to drive a Second-level Civilization mad, are legendary resources,

Even someone like Old Luo and Zhang Xianzhong, who are accustomed to great storms, felt their throats go dry.

"I now feel...... we seem not to be engaging in strategic deception......"

Zhou Shaoqing muttered to himself, his expression extremely strange, "We...... seem to have truly become a civilization-level mentor that collects tuition everywhere......"

Qin Hao looked at that list, and a wry smile appeared on his face.

He had originally just wanted to find a free bodyguard, but he didn't expect the other side to not only rush to take the role, but also bring several mountains of gold on their own.

These godly swindler students...... are they perhaps too eager to learn?

He raised his head, gazing toward the deep starry sky outside the Command Center, his consciousness already silently spreading outward,

On the route where the Star Sea Divine Church fleet is about to arrive, he laid down an invisible surveillance network constructed from spatial rules.

Hope they can keep being so studious going forward.