End of August
It had been two months since the North Starship Military Academy's break began, which was also the amount of time Zachary Chase and the others had spent at the Arctic Fox Starport.
In the starship construction area, where there had once been only the keel of a single Aircraft Carrier Starship, a brand-new Aircraft Carrier Starship was now on display. With fresh hull armor and a yellow-and-black paint scheme, the entire hull was streamlined. Whether from an aesthetic or practical standpoint, it was quite impressive.
Beside it, the Blizzard Zero looked like a child standing next to an adult.
Zachary took a deep breath, dragging his exhausted body as he finished the final starship inspection. Then his body swayed, and he nearly collapsed onto the ground.
"Is it finished?" Wendy Chase walked over, carrying a meal she had prepared for Zachary.
"It's done. Next up are the sea trials." Zachary took the food Wendy handed him and started eating immediately, not caring about his filthy hands.
God only knows how he had survived these past two months. In those two months, he hadn't had a single full night's sleep. Fortunately, the medical technology here was advanced and there were energy drinks to keep him alert; otherwise, Zachary would have died from overwork many times over.
Hard work pays off—in two months, he had successfully completed the construction of this T2 Bee Queen-class Heavy Carrier Starship.
Having witnessed it all, Wendy was now truly convinced of her brother's ability. To build a T2 Bee Queen single-handedly, and based on his own design and research no less! If the instructors at the North Starship Military Academy knew about this, they would be ashamed of their own inadequacy.
"How come I never noticed you had such incredible ability before?" Wendy asked curiously.
Before this, Zachary had been an utterly mediocre existence. At most, he was a bit bookish, but he had no other distinguishing features.
"Our family already has a great genius like Big Sister, and now a little genius like you has popped up. If I had shown my talent as well, don't you think we would have been targeted by people with ulterior motives? I suspect that group in the Little Dragon Star System chose this time because they were afraid you would grow up and make it harder for them to act. A tall tree catches the wind, after all," Zachary said, finding an excuse for himself.
"So you've been hiding yourself all this time?" Wendy was astonished.
"It's called keeping a low profile." Zachary crossed his arms.
At that moment, Charlotte walked over.
"Captain, did you call for me?" Charlotte was in a much better state than she had been two months ago; she had grown accustomed to life under Zachary. After all, who wouldn't enjoy having three meals of natural food every day?
"How is the training of those five hundred half-orc female crew members going?" Zachary inquired.
It had taken Charlotte a month to purchase five hundred half-orc female crew members through the Arctic Fox Starport's slave trade network. Once they were received, she began training them. Fortunately, they all still recognized Charlotte as the legendary general, so they were obedient to her management. Coupled with the welfare benefits Zachary set for his female crew, they were already so happy they didn't want to leave the moment they saw those white flour buns.
"The training of the five hundred half-orc female crew members is going very smoothly. If we had five Blizzard Zeros right now, they could be deployed into combat immediately," Charlotte replied.
"And what about this T2 Bee Queen?" Zachary pointed to the Aircraft Carrier Starship behind him.
Charlotte glanced at the massive yellow-and-black starship and said confidently, "Within three days, they can master this starship and form an effective combat force."
Zachary patted Wendy's shoulder. "Charlotte, take Wendy and a selection of one hundred crew members to board the ship. Conduct the sea trials for this T2 Bee Queen."
"Me too?" Wendy was surprised.
"Didn't you say before that you really wanted to have an Aircraft Carrier Starship? This ship is my gift to you. However, when we return to the academy, you'll temporarily continue using your original ship. This aircraft carrier cannot be exposed yet—a tall tree catches the wind," Zachary said.
Wendy looked at Zachary in shock, pointing at the T2 Bee Queen and then at herself. "You're… giving this ship to me?"
"It's not for free, you know. You need to serve as its captain for me. What… not willing?" Zachary teased.
Wendy rolled her eyes. "I… I'll just help you out for a bit… who cares about your starship…"
After saying that, Wendy didn't hesitate to pull Charlotte along to board the ship and begin familiarizing themselves with the T2 Bee Queen.
The internal space of the T2 Bee Queen was countless times better than that of the Blizzard Zero. Everything was brand new! Unlike the Blizzard Zero, where signs of age could be seen everywhere.
Wendy arrived at the T2 Bee Queen's Bridge. The entire Bridge was a circular, enclosed structure, but when activated, the surroundings of the starship would be displayed all around the Bridge using 360° Panoramic Projection Technology!
"Sister Charlotte, let's get ready! I can't wait to take this starship out for a trial run!" Wendy said hurriedly. Commanding and piloting an Aircraft Carrier Starship had always been Wendy's dream. She never expected it would actually come true.
"We still need some preparation time, about half a day. First, we need the crew to familiarize themselves with the ship's environment and their respective posts. Fortunately, some of the half-orc female crew members I recruited have served on Aircraft Carrier Starships before. With that experience, they should get up to speed very quickly. Besides, this is only a T2-level Aircraft Carrier Starship; the technical difficulty shouldn't be too high," Charlotte said.
She then began selecting the crew to serve on the T2 Bee Queen. The chosen crew members quickly received notifications to report for duty on the T2 Bee Queen immediately.
Inside a large compartment, Charlotte looked at the hundred half-orc female crew members assembled before her. Each was dressed in clean clothes and wore a smile. One should know that when they were brought here a month ago, they were still dressed as slaves, as terrified as birds in a cage. In Captain Zachary's words: now, there was light in their eyes.
"I am now announcing something: from this moment on, you are official crew members of this T2 Bee Queen. Detailed post appointments will be sent to each of your hands.
"I believe you have all been very happy with your lives on the Blizzard Zero over the past month. But you must know—who gave all of this to you? Perhaps in your hearts you still question that man, or doubt that man, but regardless, you are now going to fight for him!
"If anyone is negligent at their combat post, even if you were once my comrades-in-arms, I will expel you from this starship." Charlotte stared at everyone present. "Remember these two words: 'Gratitude'! That man gave you a second life. Without him, you wouldn't be living in clean rooms and eating delicious food right now! We half-orcs must know how to repay kindness! Is that understood?!"
"Understood!"
Zachary lay on the large bed in the captain's quarters of the Blizzard Zero, watching the footage of Charlotte's lecture. Through the 'Eye of Insight', he could see that while these half-orc female crew members might not be intensely loyal yet, they no longer held any hostility toward him and were filled with gratitude. He believed it wouldn't be long before their mindsets completely changed.
"Let's see what I've gained." Zachary fought off his sleepiness and opened the system page.
When the construction of the T2 Bee Queen was completed, a system mission completion notification had actually appeared.
[Quarterly Mission: Own a Starship (System-produced). Completed! Mission rewards available for collection!]
Zachary clicked to collect the mission rewards.
[Quarterly mission rewards collected. Issuing mission rewards…]
[Obtained 5 Mission Points]
[Obtained technical blueprints for a T2 Iron Hammer-class Heavy Interstellar Industrial Ship]
[Obtained 500 System Points]
[Obtained T1 Super Soldier Serum]
Zachary's sleepiness suddenly vanished!
An interstellar industrial ship!