On the other side of the video window, Smoking Uncle (Zheng Xiong) was enthusiastically embracing a young male crew member who was Serena Frost's subordinate: "Little brother, don't worry. We will treat these crew members with great hospitality!"
Behind the video window, several of Serena's male crew members could be seen standing together, surrounded by Zheng Xiong's starship's male crew members. The aura of the two groups was like that of wolves and lambs, completely out of place. The male crew member being embraced by Zheng Xiong had a bewildered expression, yet he dared not move.
"Then thank you, Captain Zheng Xiong," Serena said gratefully.
"Thank me for what? You two are like brothers to me, Zheng Xiong, having gone through life and death together!" Zheng Xiong said with a hearty laugh.
"You two?" Serena's cheeks flushed, and she was about to explain. The communication ended.
Serena stood somewhat restrained beside Zachary Chase, looking at Zachary's starship Bridge. After she and her female crew members were brought to this Aircraft Carrier Starship, she was invited to Zachary's Bridge. Looking at the bright, clean, and highly technological Bridge before her, it was truly hard to believe this was the Bridge of a T2 starship; it was like the difference between a single room and a presidential suite compared to her starship Bridge!
"According to the person in charge of the Interstellar Transport Ship fleet, we will wait here for twenty hours for reinforcements to arrive before departing. To prevent any other unexpected incidents on the way," Zachary said, looking at Serena.
Serena, at this moment, was looking through the display on Zachary's Bridge, her gaze somewhat lost as she stared at her own battered T2 Hyena.
Zachary could guess what Serena was thinking. From the looks of it, that T2 Hyena was severely damaged and couldn't be repaired without tens of thousands of star coins in repair fees. Once this mission was completed, Serena would receive a large bounty, but if the bounty was used to treat Serena's grandmother, then the T2 Hyena would simply be impossible to repair.
Perhaps sensing that Zachary had noticed her abnormality, Serena looked at Zachary and said, feigning calmness, "This time, it's all thanks to you; otherwise, all our starships would have been lost here."
"Actually, a large part of the reason was luck. That Mechanical Clan's T3 Black Iron-class Medium Star Destroyer didn't enter the battle at first, which gave us a great opportunity. Perhaps in their view, the initial thirty T2 interstellar warships were enough to deal with us, and that T3 interstellar warship only needed to encircle and hunt from outside. Who would have thought that they would actually capsize in a ditch?" Zachary chuckled.
Serena nodded; that was also part of the reason.
"Speaking of which, these Mechanical Clan's interstellar warships are truly as taught in academy textbooks, not fearing death. They fought until the very end, giving their all in battle. If it were our fleet, even a professional fleet like the Imperial Army, if losses exceeded 50%, it might affect their belief in fighting, and if losses exceeded 70%, they might choose to flee or even surrender," Serena praised.
Zachary nodded, staring at the wreckage of those T2 Mechanical Clan interstellar warships on the screen. He said in a deep voice, "This is the terrifying aspect of Mechanical Life; for the programmatic ideals in their minds, they can execute these combat orders at any cost. This might also be why the Galactic Alliance, after contact with the Mechanical Clan, issued a complete ban on all research related to advanced artificial intelligence technology. Strictly controlling any technological field related to artificial intelligence! Fearing that what happened with the Mechanical Clan would be replayed within our Galactic Alliance."
Serena nodded; this was knowledge taught in the academy. If not for this restriction, the personnel configuration on an interstellar warship could even be smaller. A T2 starship would only need a few people combined with a few intelligent robots or intelligent programs to operate. It must be admitted that the efficiency of artificial intelligence is far greater than that of the human race and other interstellar races. To date, the military field only allows the equipping of mid-range artificial intelligence programs and related equipment, and the civilian sector only allows the equipping of low-end artificial intelligence programs and related equipment. All of this is because of the precedent set by the Mechanical Clan!
"Alright, let's not talk about such heavy topics. Anyway, we all have to wait for the Imperial Army to arrive, so let's go to our Starship Restaurant for a meal first. These past few days, your crew members will have the same meal standards as my crew members. Don't be polite; just consider it my treat." Zachary invited.
Zachary had seen Serena bravely command her starship in battle before, and he admired Serena even more. If not for Serena's brave combat, the Interstellar Transport Ship fleet might have suffered more losses, and the number of surviving Interstellar Transport Ships might not have been more than 90%. At that time, the extra reward the system gave him might not have been a T2 Lion King-class Heavy Interstellar Missile Ship.
Of course, Zachary also had a small ulterior motive.
"Then I'll impose," Serena said gratefully.
Subsequently, Zachary and Serena together, along with the dozen or so female crew members under Serena, headed to the Starship Restaurant. Serena's female crew members looked at the interior space of the starship, which was completely two levels above their original starship. Spacious, clean, beautiful! It was truly completely different from their gloomy working environment.
And when they walked into the Starship Restaurant, all of Serena's female crew members were dumbfounded. The air was filled with the aroma of food, completely different from artificial nutrient meals!
At this time, some crew members of the T2 Bee Queen-class Heavy Carrier Starship had already rotated in for their meal. Egg fried rice, noodles, bread, steamed buns, and even… a large plate of fish and some fruit.
"Have I come to the academy's high-class restaurant?" Lily Liu wiped the drool that was about to flow from the corner of her mouth.
Serena also showed a surprised expression.
"That's our counter. You go there to order, and then service robots will deliver the food to your seats. You have the same meal standard for ordering as our regular crew members, as long as you don't waste it. You can have individual meals or shared meals," Zachary explained from the side, while also granting ordering permissions to everyone, just like the standard for regular female soldiers.
Individual meals meant everyone ordered their own food, like a bowl of noodles or a plate of fried rice. Shared meals were mainly for several crew members who wanted to order a main dish, but ordering it alone would be over the standard or too much to finish. So, several female soldiers would order a main dish together and share it.
"We… can order here?" Lily swallowed her saliva, looking at Zachary in disbelief.
Zachary smiled and said, "Of course."
After a brief silence, Lily led a group of female crew members and rushed over, squeezing in front of the counter to look at the holographic projection of the menu.
Serena was also looking at these foods. In her eyes, she saw not just the food, but also the value behind the food! Egg fried rice was marked with a meal standard of 0.1 star coins. However, its price outside would definitely exceed 30 star coins, or even higher! The prices in the Starship Restaurant were completely at cost price! She found it hard to believe that the crew members on Zachary's starship could actually eat this kind of food.
"Um… um… could you please move a bit? I can't see… today's menu…" A timid voice came from behind Serena.
Serena turned around and looked behind her. There was no one there? When she looked down, she finally discovered the speaker.
It was a little girl whose height only reached her waist. With a round little face and big eyes, she was incredibly cute! Especially the way she constantly tiptoed because she was too short to see the counter made one's heart melt. However, there were also marks on her neck from a collar that had been worn for a long time. She had small horns on her head and a tiny tail—she was a young succubus, one of the Demon Tribe members Zachary had rescued.
"Why do you have an underage little girl on your starship besides the half-orcs?" Serena looked suspiciously at Zachary beside her. It was as if she was looking at some suspicious pervert.