"This was originally the second deputy captain's room, but since I only have one deputy captain, and considering I was bringing you back this time, it's been left empty.
You'll stay here for the next few days." Zhao Chen pointed to the deputy captain's single room in front of them while carrying his sister's luggage.
"Not bad at all." Zhao Wan'er examined the room.
"What about your starship? How are you handling it?" Zhao Chen asked.
As a fourth-year student, Zhao Wan'er also had her own dedicated starship.
"Senior Su Lan has a long-term leased berth at the starport. She's going back home during the break, so I can just dock my starship at her berth.
My starship crew are all academy students too; I've already given them leave." Zhao Wan'er said, sitting on the bed.
"If I remember correctly, your starship is a T2 Firecrow-class Heavy Interstellar Battlecruiser." Zhao Chen recalled.
Zhao Wan'er nodded.
When she chose her fourth-year starship, Zhao Wan'er faced the same situation as Zhao Chen—lack of funds, forcing her to select from the academy's starship warehouse.
However, Zhao Wan'er was fortunate. Because she was a top student, the academy made special arrangements and prepared this T2 Firecrow-class Heavy Interstellar Battlecruiser for her, even though it was a second-hand ship with thirty years of starship age.
But it could definitely be considered a top-tier vessel among T2 starships.
Coupled with Zhao Wan'er's reputation as an outstanding student, students from other departments naturally flocked to join her starship. However, considering salary and benefits, Zhao Wan'er recruited mainly civilian students.
"The T2 Firecrow-class Heavy Interstellar Battlecruiser is good, but it's an old ship after all. In the future, I'll get you a new one!" Zhao Chen muttered.
Zhao Wan'er rolled her eyes. "A new ship? Forget it. Don't think that just because you squeezed five hundred thousand Star Coins out of Zhang Haoran, you can show off.
Five hundred thousand Star Coins isn't even enough for a fraction of a T2 starship."
Zhao Chen smiled without replying. He didn't tell Zhao Wan'er about the other transaction he completed. By selling the starship technology of the T1 Wolf Louse-class Medium Interstellar Destroyer, he now had a full three million Star Coins!
Besides, he wasn't planning to buy a starship.
He had his own system with a whole bunch of starship technologies. Wouldn't it be better to build one himself? Why bother buying?
"Look at you talking. You have to believe in your brother! Just tell me what starship type you want, and I'll arrange it for you by the end of this year!" Zhao Chen waved his hand, acting as if it were no big deal.
Zhao Wan'er chuckled. "If you have the ability, get me a carrier starship."
Carrier starships are the most expensive of all starship types, without exception!
Because they carry a large number of stellar fighters and stellar drones, and the combined cost of those makes the price astronomical.
Zhao Chen's lips curled into a smile. Well, aren't you just walking right into my trap?
"No problem, just a carrier starship? I'll arrange it for you! Guaranteed to satisfy!" Zhao Chen said with a grin.
"All talk." Zhao Wan'er, of course, didn't believe Zhao Chen.
After all, even a light T2 carrier starship costs no less than ten million Star Coins!
"Alright, after you're settled, let's go eat." Zhao Chen walked to the door.
After waiting a moment for Zhao Wan'er, the two headed to the starship dining hall together.
When they reached the corridor outside the Starship Dining Hall, Zhao Wan'er sniffed the air. "I think I smell something delicious."
Zhao Chen smiled but said nothing.
"You know, I've noticed that those half-beast female starship crew members of yours seem a bit different from before... but... I can't quite put my finger on it..." Zhao Wan'er looked at Zhao Chen suspiciously. "You didn't do something to them, did you?"
Zhao Chen tapped Zhao Wan'er on the head. "What nonsense are you thinking, you silly girl!"
Zhao Wan'er stuck out her tongue, blinking at Zhao Chen.
She realized that her relationship with Zhao Chen had changed a lot recently. The old Zhao Chen would never have dared to touch her head and had always been reserved around her, as if she were the older sister and he the younger brother.
As they chatted and laughed, they entered the dining hall. The moment they stepped inside, Zhao Wan'er froze, staring in astonishment at the scene before her.
Steaming noodles, fragrant bread, fluffy white steamed buns, and aromatic meat dishes.
There was even a white, crescent-shaped food—the legendary dumplings!
"Is this your starship dining hall?" Zhao Wan'er gasped in disbelief.
"Of course. Come over here to order." Zhao Chen pointed to Zhao Wan'er behind him as he addressed the cook behind the counter. "Put her order on my tab."
"Captain... you don't need to pay for yours..." the cook said with a strange expression.
According to the rules Zhao Chen himself had set, even he had a food allowance standard when dining in the starship dining hall.
However, due to his status as Captain, his food allowance was three times that of an ordinary female crew member!
Naturally, female crew members with officer ranks also had higher food allowances than ordinary crew members.
This hierarchical division was meant to motivate the female crew members. Outstanding performance could lead to promotions, which in turn granted access to better food allowances.
It was a form of incentive policy.
"Follow the rules," Zhao Chen said, then began ordering. "Give me a serving of pork, beef, and cabbage dumplings."
Most of the menu here had been designed by Zhao Chen, so there were plenty of Chinese cuisine options.
Dumplings, in fact, existed in this world as well and were quite famous. They were rumored to be an ancient cuisine from a planet called Blue Star.
However, due to the high cost of natural ingredients later on, this dish gradually became a meal for the nobility, a legend in the eyes of ordinary people.
"Hurry up and order. There are people waiting behind you," Zhao Chen urged, seeing Zhao Wan'er standing there dumbfounded.
Zhao Wan'er quickly scanned the menu and ordered a serving of fish-flavored pork with rice.
A floating robot then scanned Zhao Chen's face.
This counted as "payment."
"Please take a seat and wait. A robot will deliver your meal shortly," the cook said.
Zhao Chen and Zhao Wan'er found an empty table and sat down.
"What's going on here? Are all these natural ingredients?" Zhao Wan'er asked, staring at Zhao Chen as soon as she sat down.
Zhao Chen nodded. "Yes."
Zhao Wan'er pointed at the holographic electronic screen sign on the counter. "Can ordinary crew members order all those foods?"
"Everyone has their own food allowance standard. As long as they don't exceed it or waste food, they can order whatever they want."
"What's the food allowance for ordinary crew members?"
"0.3 Star Coins per day, no more than 10 Star Coins per month."
"10 Star Coins?" Zhao Wan'er shrieked, her voice startling the people eating around them. She immediately lowered her head and whispered, "Have you gone mad? 10 Star Coins! Even the Noble Guard Fleets of our Stellar Glory Empire don't have such a high Food Allowance Standard! The standard I set for my Starship Crew is only 0.05 Star Coins per day!"
"Just because they don't have it that high doesn't mean I can't set it this way. This is my Starship, and I can set it however I want," Zhao Chen said with a smile.
Zhao Wan'er covered her face. "You... don't think that just because you have those 500,000 Star Coins, you can do whatever you want. If you keep this up, something will go wrong sooner or later."
"Then we'll deal with it when it happens," Zhao Chen shrugged.
At that moment, their meals were served: fragrant pork and cabbage Dumplings and Fish-flavored Pork with Rice.
Faced with such delicious food, Zhao Wan'er gave up arguing with Zhao Chen. As she ate, a blissful expression spread across her face.
After finishing the meal, just as Zhao Wan'er was about to continue "educating" Zhao Chen, her Handheld Terminal chimed—a notification for an incoming Short Message.
Zhao Wan'er opened it, and her face instantly paled.
"Something's wrong! There's trouble in the Fierce Dragon Star System!"
The Fierce Dragon Star System was Zhao Chen's territory.
"What happened?" Zhao Chen asked.
Zhao Wan'er projected the Short Message as a Holographic Projection. "This is from a trusted aide our sister left in the Fierce Dragon Star System."
'Someone in the Fierce Dragon Star System has colluded with outsiders in an attempt to assassinate the Zhao Clan! Second Young Master and Third Young Lady, do not return under any circumstances!'