In the blink of an eye, a month had passed.
Zhao Chen's construction of the T2 Hammer-class Heavy Interstellar Industrial Ship was now mostly complete.
"It looks like I'll have to find some soldiers skilled in starship construction in the future. Otherwise, if I keep doing all this work myself, I'll be exhausted sooner or later," Zhao Chen muttered, his face smeared with grease as he gazed at the new ship before him.
He chuckled. "Buddy, with you around, my workload won't be so heavy anymore."
"Um… Captain…"
Just then, a soft, delicate voice called out from behind Zhao Chen.
Turning around, Zhao Chen couldn't help but feel his eyes light up.
Standing before him was a figure clad in a crisp, pure-white military uniform, complete with a short skirt that ended just above the knees and long white stockings covering her calves.
Due to her nature as a Succubus, the skirt and the back of the jacket were specially designed with openings to allow her tail and small wings to extend freely.
A Succubus, already captivating by nature, now wore this uniform.
Zhao Chen truly understood what was meant by "uniform allure"!
At the same time, he silently thanked his younger sister.
This uniform had been designed and custom-made by his sister, Zhao Wan'er. Considering the unique nature of Zhao Chen's fleet, the design of the starship uniforms wasn't rigidly fixed—only the fabric and general style were standardized, ensuring they were recognizable as part of the same series at first glance.
Variations could be made based on the specific physique and characteristics of the female soldiers wearing them.
After all, Zhao Chen's soldiers were either beastmen or Succubi.
"Captain?" Lilith called out to Zhao Chen again.
Only then did Zhao Chen snap back to reality, realizing he had been momentarily lost in thought. He quickly composed himself and asked, "What brings you here?"
"We've completed all the lessons you assigned us earlier. May I ask when the assessment will begin?" Lilith inquired.
Zhao Chen finally remembered the task he had assigned a month ago. "Let's do it today. Gather all the Succubi in the starship conference room."
"Yes, sir," Lilith replied.
As Lilith was about to leave, Charlotte appeared.
In fact, Charlotte had arrived here piloting the Zero Blizzard during the first week of the month.
Lilith greeted Charlotte with a salute before departing. The two had met several times over this period and, perhaps due to their somewhat similar fates, had quickly developed a mutual respect and become good friends.
"It seems the Succubi have grown accustomed to life here," Charlotte remarked as she walked over to Zhao Chen. By now, the two were as familiar as old friends.
"So, are you satisfied with the arrangements I've made?" Zhao Chen asked, his eyes scanning Charlotte's military uniform.
As the Deputy Captain, Charlotte's uniform had slight variations in detail, but overall, it was similar—a white jacket, a white short skirt, and long white stockings.
However, while Lilith's uniform exuded an alluring charm, Charlotte's gave off the aura of a valiant female General.
The two presented entirely different visual impacts.
"It's true that Succubi are rumored to have strong learning abilities and decent management skills due to their innate talents. But as you know, most people only focus on their physical allure—hardly anyone has ever put their other abilities to the test. I suppose you're the only one who would recruit Succubi to serve as your starforce female soldiers."
"If people outside knew, they would say you're wasting a treasure," Charlotte teased.
Zhao Chen laughed, "Having them serve in positions where they can truly utilize their value—that's what makes them worth it!"
Charlotte looked at the T2 Hammer-class Heavy Interstellar Industrial Ship Zhao Chen was currently constructing. "Your interstellar industrial ship is almost finished, right?"
"At most one more month, and it'll be completed. During this time, keep an eye out and purchase a batch of beastman soldiers with skills in starship manufacturing and maintenance. The requirements are the same as before—they must be female," Zhao Chen said.
"I'm starting to wonder if you really have some kind of special preference. It's strange, though. There are hundreds of women on our starships. Not every one of them is a heavenly beauty, but they're all quite attractive. And don't you humans really like beastman women? You even call us something like... beast-ear girls?" Charlotte eyed him suspiciously up and down.
Zhao Chen straightened his expression. "Come on, we've known each other for three or four months now. You should know what kind of person I am."
Charlotte suddenly leaned in and whispered in Zhao Chen's ear, "Captain, could it be that there's something wrong with your body?"
Zhao Chen paused for a moment, then immediately flared up. "What do you mean, something wrong with my body? I'll tell you what—if you have the guts, come to my room tonight, and I'll show you what an electric little dynamo is!"
Charlotte wasn't angered by Zhao Chen's crude remarks. After all, she had served as a captain before and had a crew of beastmen under her command—she'd heard all kinds of crude jokes. But actually trying to seduce Zhao Chen? She wasn't mentally prepared for that yet.
"Let's get back to business. You're building this interstellar industrial ship—does that mean you plan to construct many more starships in the future?" Charlotte shifted the topic.
Zhao Chen nodded. "My short-term goal is to build an interstellar fleet first."
"Then there are a few issues to resolve. Right now, we have two starships, and soon it'll be three. At that point, we'll need to decide on a name for our fleet. Should we use the name of your territory and call it the Fierce Dragon Fleet directly, or come up with something else? Also, we still haven't decided on a fleet insignia," Charlotte said.
Hearing Charlotte's points, Zhao Chen realized she was right. They already had standardized fleet uniforms, but other things needed to be sorted out as well.
"The fleet name will be Fierce Dragon Fleet. As for the fleet insignia... let's continue using the Fierce Dragon Insignia that my great-grandfather's generation in the Zhao family used." As he spoke, Zhao Chen pulled up a dragon-patterned insignia from his handheld terminal.
Fierce Dragon Fleet, Fierce Dragon Insignia.
"Then from now on, we'll call ourselves the Fierce Dragon Fleet," Charlotte said, memorizing the Fierce Dragon Insignia. She planned to arrange for it to be painted onto the ship hulls once she returned.
Charlotte continued, "There's another issue. Even though we only have two starships now, I think you should still consider the arrangement for the fleet flagship."
The fleet flagship—the command starship of a fleet, its most important vessel.
"Let's not decide on a flagship for now. After all, we don't have many starships at the moment," Zhao Chen said. In truth, he already had an idea for the flagship: the T3 Blizzard-class Light Interstellar Battlecruiser lying in his System Warehouse! Unfortunately, it still couldn't be revealed to the world.
However, Zhao Chen had already decided that the first flagship of the Fierce Dragon Fleet must be a T3 Starship!
To be honest, within the Fierce Dragon Star System, the term "Fierce Dragon Fleet" had become quite rare.
Ever since the Zhao family declined, the family starships within the territory had never referred to themselves as the Fierce Dragon Fleet again, causing this insignia to fade into obscurity.
Staring at the insignia, Zhao Chen couldn't help but think of his grandfather, who had endured countless hardships and achieved great feats to establish the Zhao family as it stood today.
He would make this Fierce Dragon Insignia shine once more within the Stellar Glory Empire.
He would ensure the name of the Fierce Dragon Fleet echoed throughout the stars!