Zhao Chen looked at the succubi who were on the verge of emotional collapse.
He knew his goal had been achieved.
In truth, they could have endured the darkness, had they never seen the light.
But Zhao Chen had brought them onto a Starship, granting them an unimaginably blissful life.
That was the light Zhao Chen had cast into their originally pitch-black lives, but now Zhao Chen's words meant this light was about to vanish.
To them, this was cruel.
"Actually, if you don't want to leave, you don't have to," Zhao Chen said indifferently.
At that instant, all eighteen succubi present looked at Zhao Chen in unison, and even Lilith's eyes were filled with a certain expectation.
"You can become my crew members, just like those Half-orc crew members. Fight for me," Zhao Chen said.
Lilith was stunned; she hadn't expected such a choice – to fight for a human – something she had never considered.
Because in the eyes of humans, succubi were never considered interstellar warriors, but merely tools for release.
"I'll give you time to think it over; you can finish this meal.
If you choose freedom, then leave through the back door of the restaurant, and someone will arrange for you to go to any planet or Starport you wish.
If you want to stay here, then go to the front door of the restaurant; someone there will register your information, and from then on, you will be my, Zhao Chen's, crew members."
After Zhao Chen finished speaking, he wiped his mouth and stood up, leaving the restaurant directly.
He had given these succubi a choice.
And he already knew the answer.
Not long after Zhao Chen left, the little succubus Betsy wiped away her tears without a word and ran towards the front door.
No matter what, she had to stay; if she couldn't stay here, she would rather die!
The other succubi also walked towards the front door one after another.
"Sister Lilith, let's stay..."
Another succubus looked at Lilith, who had been silent, and actively went forward, taking her hand and persuading her.
Lilith bit her red lips lightly, and soon she felt relieved.
She had always thought of freedom before.
But what would happen after leaving?
Just as the little succubus Betsy said, continue to hide and sneak around? Continue living a hand-to-mouth existence?
"You go first, I'll be there in a moment."
Lilith stroked the succubus's head, then quickly walked in the direction Zhao Chen had left.
Walking down the Starship corridor, Zhao Chen heard footsteps behind him; he knew he had succeeded.
"Wait a moment."
Lilith called out to Zhao Chen, blocking his path.
"Something wrong?" Zhao Chen asked.
Lilith stared at Zhao Chen, and she asked, "What exactly is your purpose?
Enticing us with a superior life, what do you want to gain from us?
Is it merely to make us your interstellar soldiers?"
"My purpose, you've already stated," Zhao Chen shrugged.
Lilith looked at Zhao Chen skeptically.
Zhao Chen knew that if he didn't give Lilith a satisfactory answer, she would not be convinced.
"To be honest, my fleet has just been established, with only two Starships, totaling about eight hundred interstellar soldiers, all of them Half-orcs.
Half-orcs are fine when it comes to operating Starships in combat, but they're not good at managing Starship internal affairs and fleet matters.
I lack talent.
And you succubi happen to be the talent in this area.
Of course, I will also conduct assessments and training for you later."
Zhao Chen stated his thoughts.
"You... truly value... not our bodies... but our abilities?"
Lilith was somewhat astonished; she hadn't expected anyone to remember the innate abilities of succubi.
"You are very beautiful and seductive.
But I won't force others to do things they don't like, and similarly, if you choose to leave, I won't stop you," Zhao Chen said with a smile.
This was also his honest truth.
Lilith bit her red lips lightly, and she said, "Then do you know, if you recruit us, how much trouble the news of succubi serving on your Starship will bring to you and your fleet?!"
"Trouble?"
Zhao Chen smiled slightly, then became imposing without anger:
"If anyone dares to trouble my crew, then I will become the biggest trouble in their life!"
Zhao Chen was good at everything, except for one flaw.
He was protective of his own!
"You really are a strange person, but you've convinced me."
Lilith looked at Zhao Chen.
"I am willing to work for you, though I can't claim absolute loyalty to you yet."
Zhao Chen smiled and said, "I don't need your loyalty; I only need you to be willing to sincerely work here, for all of us, and for your lives."
In fact, Zhao Chen didn't care about loyalty or disloyalty; he just needed them to truly get used to and accept the life here.
By then, loyalty and such would no longer matter, because they would simply be unable to leave all of this.
Zhao Chen had given them light; he was their light.
They would naturally follow the light.
"What do we need to do next?" Lilith quickly immersed herself in the role.
Zhao Chen handed Lilith a handheld terminal.
"Inside are some learning materials. Take them and study with your people.
In a month, I will conduct an assessment for you.
This assessment will determine the rank of the positions you will hold in my fleet in the future.
To put it more directly, it concerns your future living standards here, whether you can eat meat with every meal."
Lilith took the handheld terminal and smiled.
"Just based on your last explanation, I believe they will definitely study the contents thoroughly."
Study?
What succubi were best at was studying.
After temporarily dealing with the succubi's matters, Zhao Chen returned to the construction workshop of the T2 Iron Hammer-class Heavy Interstellar Industrial Ship.
The hull keel of the T2 Iron Hammer was now laid, but it would still take a considerable amount of time to see the entire construction completed.
"The quarterly mission is three different types of T2 Starships.
Currently, I already have one T2 Bee Queen-class heavy carrier starship.
Adding this T2 Iron Hammer, to complete the mission before the end of December, I must build another T2-class Starship."
Zhao Chen didn't want to miss the quarterly mission, which offered generous rewards.
...
Inside Arctic Fox Starport, in the underground pipe where Zhao Chen had taken the succubi earlier.
A team of people, holding searchlights, groped their way there, discovering the bodies in the underground pipe and traces of human habitation.
A young man covered his nose, looking around with disgust.
"Big Brother, we found the bodies of Haozi and a few others.
Half of them died from severe blunt force trauma, and the other half were likely gravely injured before having their throats slit directly.
The assailant was very decisive!
Also, there's no trace of the target succubus."
A subordinate came before the man and reported.
"I wondered why Haozi had gone missing these past few days; turns out something happened here.
The succubus we've been looking for is also gone.
This was a task that our Black Fox Society's President repeatedly emphasized.
The relevant clues were also obtained with great difficulty, costing us thousands of star coins!
Who exactly is this, daring to snatch food from the Black Fox Society's mouth right here in Arctic Fox Starport?!"
A cold glint flashed in the young man's eyes.
"Find them for me!
Send people to search for clues at every exit of this section of the underground pipe.
You must find out who took the succubus!"