After settling the succubi, Zhao Wan'er came to the control console on the other side of the starship workshop.
There, Zhao Chen was planning the upcoming starship construction project, his hands constantly moving across the holographic projection before him as he adjusted various parameters.
"Hey, what evil purpose do you have for bringing those succubi back?" Zhao Wan'er looked at Zhao Chen as if interrogating a criminal.
Zhao Chen stopped his work and said helplessly, "Hey, I'm doing a good deed here, aren't I? Didn't you notice how pitiful those succubi are?"
Zhao Wan'er narrowed her eyes at Zhao Chen. "They are indeed pitiful, but I don't believe you brought them back just because they're pitiful. There are plenty of pitiful people in this Arctic Fox Starport."
Seeing that he couldn't fool Zhao Wan'er, Zhao Chen dropped the act and chuckled. "Hey, those are succubi!"
"I know, the favorite temptresses of you men," Zhao Wan'er crossed her arms and snorted coldly.
"Pah, do you think I'm that vulgar? What I mean is, those succubi are very intelligent!" Zhao Chen raised his hand and displayed detailed information about the succubus race, particularly highlighting their strong learning abilities and intelligence with red lines.
Zhao Wan'er guessed his intention. "You want to recruit them?"
"Exactly! What I lack right now is talent. Those half-beast female starship crew, while they are qualified starforce female soldiers... they aren't suitable for certain tasks. Take Charlotte, for example. She's absolutely top-notch when it comes to fighting, but when it comes to managing all aspects of fleet affairs... well, let's just say it's a complete mess. The succubus race happens to excel at management, and they have excellent memory, making them suitable for many tasks. They're perfect for starship clerical work!" Zhao Chen said, his eyes gleaming.
Talent!
This is talent!
What Zhao Chen lacks most right now is talent.
And it has to be female!
"That may be true, but is that really your only purpose?" Zhao Wan'er stared at Zhao Chen with a suspicious look.
Zhao Chen rolled his eyes. "Hey, I'm still your brother, you know! If I were really that kind of person, in all these months, have you ever seen me touch a single half-beast female soldier?"
"That's true, but those succubi are incredibly charming. Even I feel tempted. Who knows if you might turn into a beast!" Zhao Wan'er snorted coldly.
"Alright, enough of this. You should go back and rest early. You still have to take the star cruiser back to the North Star Starship Military Academy tomorrow morning," Zhao Chen said.
"Are you really not coming back with me?" Zhao Wan'er asked.
Zhao Chen pointed at the holographic starship design blueprints before him. "Look at these. Do you think I can go back?"
"What kind of starship is this?" Zhao Wan'er asked curiously.
Zhao Chen smiled mysteriously. "Something that can help us build an interstellar fleet in the future."
An interstellar fleet?
Zhao Wan'er was about to tease him.
After all, even the smallest interstellar fleet requires at least thirty starships, and right now, he only has two at most.
Wanting to establish an interstellar fleet seemed a bit too exaggerated.
But then she thought about how Zhao Chen had assembled the Zero Blizzard and built the T2 Queen Bee-class Heavy Carrier Starship—both of which were equally outrageous.
Perhaps he really could do it?
"Alright then, I'll be waiting for you at the North Star Starship Military Academy." Zhao Wan'er glared at Zhao Chen. "But I'm warning you, if I find out you dare to bully those succubi, watch out..."
Zhao Wan'er made a scissor gesture with her fingers, then turned and left.
"Where did this girl learn all this?" Zhao Chen muttered to himself, then got back to work.
As for those succubi, they needed to be left alone for a while. There was no rush to win them over.
Since they had boarded his starship, they had no chance of getting off this pirate vessel.
Half a day passed.
A system notification ringing in his mind pulled Zhao Chen's thoughts back.
Zhao Chen put down his work and opened the System Interface.
Two pop-up windows appeared.
[Quarterly Mission: Please construct and possess three different T2 or above level starships (System-produced)]
So the Quarterly Mission had appeared.
Zhao Chen checked the time; it was already October.
It seemed this Quarterly Mission was issued every three months. There was no penalty for failing, but if not completed, it would automatically cancel. The rewards, however, were generous.
It was one of the best ways to obtain system rewards.
He looked at the other pop-up window.
[Monthly Points: 80 points]
Zhao Chen's System Points had actually increased by 80 points.
Upon checking, he found it was passive income from the T2 Queen Bee-class Heavy Carrier Starship.
As mentioned before, there were several ways to obtain System Points: besides completing System Tasks, there was passive income from owning System Starships.
This T2 Queen Bee-class Heavy Carrier Starship had entered service in early September, so by October, he could collect the monthly points, which accumulated to 80 points.
The more starships he owned, the more points; the higher the starship level, the more points.
That was the idea.
"This is great! In the future, as I have more and more starships, even if I don't do System Tasks, I'll still get large amounts of System Points." Zhao Chen felt pleased.
A week passed in the blink of an eye. The day after the succubi arrived on the T2 Queen Bee-class Heavy Carrier Starship, Zhao Wan'er took a star cruiser back to the North Star Starship Military Academy.
All the raw materials Zhao Chen needed had also arrived, and from then on, he resumed his long starship construction life.
During these five days, one person was immersed in anxiety.
That was the succubus Lilith.
Originally, she thought the man would come to see her the next day to state his intentions.
Unexpectedly, the man didn't come the next day, and even Miss Zhao Wan'er bid farewell and left.
On the third day, the man still didn't appear.
On the fourth day, still no sign.
By the fifth day, Lilith had actually grown accustomed to life on this starship. She woke up each day following the female soldiers' schedule, tidied her bed, went to wash up, then headed to the dining hall for meals.
The rest of the time, they would help clean the starship's interior, even though cleaning robots were already responsible for that.
But unwilling to stay idle, they proactively found things to do.
Gradually, they also became familiar with the half-beast female starship crew on board and learned that their lives here were quite good.
That Captain had never forced them to do anything.
On the sixth day, Lilith began to sink into anxiety. The more she adapted to her current life, the more anxious she became, especially since that man had yet to appear.
That night, she couldn't sleep.
On the seventh day, Lilith lay on the soft bed, staring at the ceiling for a long time without falling asleep.
In the past, it had been a long time since she had slept in a bed. Forget a bed—sometimes having a place to shelter from the wind and rain to rest was already considered good enough.
So on the first day, many succubi suffered from insomnia, to the point where some of them ended up lying on the floor to finally fall asleep.
At the same time, Lilith also noticed that the same anxious emotions were appearing in the other succubi.
She knew all too well what that expression meant.
They were extremely unwilling to lose their current lives. This life was what they had dreamed of.
On the eighth day, Lilith arrived at the Starship Dining Hall with dark circles under her eyes, ordered a plate of her favorite dumplings, and sat down at a table.
Not long after, another plate of dumplings was placed in front of her, and a person sat down opposite her.
Lilith also noticed that the dining hall seemed to fall silent all at once.
Lilith looked up and saw the person sitting across from her.
It was the man who had been missing for seven days, the man she had been waiting for for seven days.
"Tell me, where do you want to go next? I can send you on your way," Zhao Chen said calmly while eating his dumplings.
His voice wasn't loud, but it was audible to all the succubi in the dining hall.
To them, these words were like a bolt from the blue—leaving them feeling as if they were trapped in an icy cavern.
The delicious food in front of them suddenly seemed to lose all its appeal.