Zhao Chen looked at the emotionally distraught succubi before him.
He knew his objective had been achieved.
They could have endured the darkness, had they never seen the light.
But Zhao Chen had brought them aboard the starship, offering them a life of happiness beyond their wildest imaginations.
That was the ray of light Zhao Chen had cast into their originally pitch-black lives. Yet now, his words implied that this light was about to vanish.
For them, this was cruel.
"Actually, if you don't want to leave, you don't have to," Zhao Chen said calmly.
In that instant, all eighteen succubi present turned their gaze toward Zhao Chen in unison. Even Lilith's eyes held a glimmer of hope.
"You can become my starship crew, just like those demi-human crew members.
Fight for me," Zhao Chen stated.
Lilith was stunned. She hadn't expected this to be the choice—fighting for a member of the Human Race was something she had never considered.
Because in the eyes of the Human Race, succubi like them were never seen as interstellar warriors, but merely as tools for venting desires.
"I'll give you time to think it over. You can finish this meal.
If you choose freedom, leave through the back door of the dining hall. Someone will arrange for you to go to any planet or starport you wish.
If you want to stay here, go to the front door of the dining hall. There, someone will register your information, and from then on, you will be my starship crew," Zhao Chen said, wiping his mouth before standing up and leaving the dining hall.
He had given these succubi a choice.
And he already knew the answer.
Not long after Zhao Chen left, the young succubus Bessie wiped away her tears without a word and ran toward the front door.
No matter what, she wanted to stay. If she couldn't remain here, she would rather die!
The other succubi also began heading toward the front door one after another.
"Lilith, let's stay…" another succubus said, looking at Lilith, who had remained silent. She stepped forward, took Lilith's hand, and urged her.
Lilith bit her red lips lightly, but soon she felt a sense of release.
She had always longed for freedom before.
But what would happen after leaving? As the young succubus Bessie had said, would they continue hiding and running, living a life of uncertainty where one meal was never guaranteed?
"You go ahead. I'll join you in a moment," Lilith said, patting the succubus's head before quickly walking in the direction Zhao Chen had left.
Walking through the starship corridor, Zhao Chen heard footsteps behind him. He knew he had succeeded.
"Wait," Lilith called out, stopping Zhao Chen and blocking his path.
"Is something wrong?" Zhao Chen inquired.
Lilith stared at Zhao Chen and asked, "What is your true purpose? Luring us with a superior life—what do you want from us? Is it just to make us your stellar soldiers?"
"My purpose is exactly what you said," Zhao Chen shrugged.
Lilith looked at him skeptically.
Zhao Chen knew that if he didn't give Lilith a satisfactory answer, she would never be fully convinced.
"To be honest, my fleet has just been established. It only has two starships, with about eight hundred stellar soldiers in total, all of whom are beastmen."
The beastmen have no issues operating starships in combat, but they fall short when it comes to managing starship internal affairs and fleet operations.
I lack talent in this area.
And you succubi happen to be exactly the kind of talent I need.
Of course, I will conduct assessments and training for you afterward." Zhao Chen expressed his thoughts.
"You... truly value... not our bodies... but our abilities?" Lilith was somewhat astonished, never expecting that someone would still remember the innate talents of succubi.
"You are indeed beautiful and alluring. But I won't force anyone to do things they dislike. Similarly, if you choose to leave, I won't stop you." Zhao Chen said with a smile.
This was also his honest truth.
Lilith gently bit her red lips and said, "Do you know that if you recruit us, and the news spreads that there are succubi serving on your starship, how much trouble it will bring to you and your fleet!"
"Trouble?" Zhao Chen smiled faintly, exuding an aura of authority without anger: "If anyone dares to cause trouble for my starship crew, then I will become the biggest trouble in their life!"
Zhao Chen is good in every way, with only one flaw.
He is fiercely 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 yet say I am absolutely loyal to you."
Zhao Chen laughed: "I don't need your loyalty, only that you are willing to work here sincerely, for all of us, and for your own lives."
In truth, Zhao Chen didn't care about loyalty or not. As long as they truly became familiar with, accepted, and grew accustomed to life here.
By that time, loyalty would no longer matter, because they would already be inseparable from all of this.
Zhao Chen gave them light; he was their light.
Naturally, they would follow the light.
"So, what do we need to do next?" Lilith quickly adapted to her new role.
Zhao Chen tossed a handheld terminal to Lilith: "There are some learning materials inside. Take them and study with your clan.
In one month, I will assess you.
This assessment will determine the level of positions you hold in my fleet in the future.
To put it bluntly, it concerns your future living conditions here—whether you can eat meat with every meal."
Lilith took the handheld terminal and smiled: "With your final explanation, I believe they will definitely study the contents diligently."
Studying?
Succubi are most adept at learning.
After temporarily handling the succubi matter, Zhao Chen returned to the construction hangar of the T2 Hammer-class Heavy Interstellar Industrial Ship.
The ship hull keel of the T2 Hammer-class Heavy Interstellar Industrial Ship was now laid out, but seeing the entire ship fully constructed would still require a considerable amount of time.
"The Quarterly Mission requires three different models of T2 starships. Currently, I already have one T2 Queen Bee-class Heavy Carrier Starship.
Adding this T2 Hammer-class Heavy Interstellar Industrial Ship, to complete the mission by the end of December, I must construct another T2-level starship." Zhao Chen did not want to miss the Quarterly Mission with its generous rewards.
...
Inside the Arctic Fox Starport, in the underground pipeline where Zhao Chen had previously taken the succubi away.
A team of people, holding searchlights, groped their way to this location and discovered the bodies in the underground pipes, along with traces of someone having lived there.
A young man covered his nose, looking around with disgust.
"Boss, we found the bodies of Haozi and the others. Half of them died from severe physical trauma, while the other half likely had their throats slit after sustaining serious injuries.
The perpetrator acted with extreme decisiveness!
Additionally, there's no trace of the target Succubus," a subordinate reported as he approached the man.
"I wondered why Haozi had been missing these past few days. So, something happened to him here. The Succubus we've been searching for is also gone. This was a task our Black Fox Society leader personally emphasized repeatedly.
We even spent thousands of Star Coins to obtain the relevant clues!
Who dares to snatch prey from our Black Fox Society right here in the Arctic Fox Starport!" The young man's eyes flashed with a cold gleam. "Find them! Send people to search for clues at every exit of this underground pipe section.
We must find out who took the Succubus!"