Soon, Zhao Chen spotted Annie.
Annie was wearing a specially designed space work suit, but on her, it didn't look like work attire at all—it seemed more like a toy.
The helmet was noticeably larger in proportion compared to standard work suits.
Through the transparent glass, Annie's round little face was clearly visible. She had a lollipop in her mouth and was using a device to operate mechanical arms many times larger than herself, working continuously on the starship keel under construction.
After finishing her task, Annie pressed the return button on her work suit, automatically heading back to one of the return pods spaced along the rectangular corridor.
Craftsmen working outside would first return to these small cabins, where oxygen would be pumped in and harmful cosmic elements expelled. Then, they could remove their work suits and return to the rectangular corridor.
"Hehehe, twenty more minutes until I'm off. I'll head to the Starship Dining Hall early—today, they have hand-shredded beef, Annie's favorite!" Annie cradled her equipment, giggling to herself as she walked out.
Unfortunately, she happened to spot a pair of military boots in front of her—a rare sight on the Interstellar Industrial Ship, and men's boots at that.
Annie's expression instantly froze, like an employee sneaking off early only to bump into the boss in the elevator.
She didn't dare look up, slowly turning around instead, muttering shakily, "Annie... Annie just came back... to get some tools... Annie will go back to work soon...
Annie didn't sneak off... Annie didn't leave early... Annie wasn't planning to go to the dining hall for hand-shredded beef... Annie..."
But before she could take a few steps, Annie felt a large hand rest on her head.
She immediately turned around, her face lighting up with surprise and delight: "Oh, Commander, what are you doing here!
Annie is working hard right now! Absolutely, absolutely, absolutely not slacking off."
This girl was just too adorable. They say the Dwarf race is a bit scatterbrained, and Zhao Chen was now a firm believer.
Secretary Officer Lilith, standing nearby, was struggling to hold back her laughter.
"It seems Annie really loves working?" Zhao Chen narrowed his eyes at Annie.
Annie straightened up, putting on her most earnest expression: "Annie loves work the most. Annie would even work twenty-four hours a day if she could!"
"Well then, since the schedule seems tight, how about you work three extra hours?" Zhao Chen said with satisfaction.
"Three hours!" Annie's eyes widened, and she instinctively whined pitifully, "Three hours... the limited-time hand-shredded beef will be sold out by then..."
"So, compared to work, Annie prefers hand-shredded beef after all," Zhao Chen said, looking at her with a half-smile.
Annie hung her head, like a child who'd done something wrong, staring at her toes.
"Alright, Annie. The Commander isn't here to punish you—he's here to discuss work with you," Lilith stepped in to rescue the little cutie.
"Still about work?" Annie pouted, rubbing her stomach.
Zhao Chen couldn't help but laugh. "We'll talk about work at the dining hall. My treat today."
"Really?!" Annie's sorrow instantly turned to joy, her watery eyes fixed intently on Zhao Chen, drool already trickling from the corner of her mouth.
"Don't believe me? Then forget it." Zhao Chen shrugged.
"I believe you! I believe you! Our commander is the best, the absolute best!" Annie wiped the drool from her mouth, flattering him.
"Jenny, lead the way. Let's go to the Starship Dining Hall first, we can talk while we eat," Zhao Chen said.
"Yes," Jenny replied, taking the lead.
They soon arrived at the Starship Dining Hall on the T2 Hammer-class Heavy Interstellar Industrial Ship Number One.
Perhaps not expecting the commander to appear here, the Starship Crew members all looked excitedly at Zhao Chen, as if they were seeing some big celebrity.
"Is it really true that you're treating us, Commander?" Annie asked again with her watery eyes, as if afraid Zhao Chen was just fooling her.
Zhao Chen helplessly looked at the chef who was staring at him in awe. "Charge their meals to my account."
As he spoke, a small robot scanned Zhao Chen's face.
"I want this, this, this! And this! Bring me a whole bowl of this one!"
As soon as Zhao Chen finished paying, Annie completed her order at lightning speed.
Then, with a smile on her face, she spread her arms behind her back, bowed her upper body until her head nearly touched her knees, and said, "Thank you, Commander, for treating us!"
This girl was fast!
"It's not right to have the commander treat us. I should be the one paying!" Jenny scratched her head beside them.
Annie, however, unceremoniously patted Jenny's waist. "Sis Niu, forget about your salary. It's barely enough for your own appetite. If you treat us, you'll be drinking the northwest wind for the rest of the month. Don't be polite with the commander. Want some shredded beef? Oh right, Sis Niu, you don't eat beef. Then order your favorite lamb chops."
Jenny looked a bit embarrassed, clearly still feeling uneasy about letting the commander spend money.
"It's fine. I said I'm treating, so I'm treating. How could I not afford a meal for two?"
After saying this, Zhao Chen immediately regretted it. It wasn't that he minded the cost, but he was worried his Food Allowance Standard might not be enough...
After all, he had set the rules himself, and even as the commander, he had a corresponding Food Allowance Standard, albeit the highest one.
But now, looking at the amount of food that could easily feed ten people, and then at Jenny's innocent face, Zhao Chen really didn't know what to say.
He could only silently check if his Food Allowance Standard was sufficient.
Fortunately, this meal wasn't a problem.
Zhao Chen looked at the seating in the Starship Dining Hall here. The tables were clearly about twice as large as those on the T3 Blizzard.
Annie even led Zhao Chen and the others directly to a large round table with a diameter of five meters.
"Do we four really need such a big round table?" Zhao Chen asked in surprise, looking at Annie sitting across from him.
"Commander, you'll understand why we need it in a moment," Annie said mysteriously.
Half an hour later.
Looking at the stacks of plates in front of these two big and small foodies, Zhao Chen finally understood why such a large table was necessary.
Zhao Chen stared at Annie's belly, wondering how such a tiny person could have devoured a whole basin-sized portion of hand-torn beef.
Could her stomach really hold that much?
Was there some kind of alternate dimension inside?
"Burp... Oh right, Commander, what brings you here to see me?" Annie finally remembered, after eating and drinking her fill, that the commander had come to discuss something with her.
"I've drawn up a construction plan for the next few months and wanted you to take a look—see if there are any issues or if you have any suggestions." Zhao Chen raised his hand and opened an electronic document.
It listed the names of several starships:
T3 Andromeda-class Interstellar Medical Ship... T3 Goddess Academy-class Starship... T3 Phantom Sting-class Light Interstellar Stealth Bomber... T2 Snow Mastiff-class Heavy Interstellar Battleship... T2 Lion King-class Heavy Interstellar Missile Ship
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