"I hope what happened just now will not occur again on my starship.
I don't care about your identities, nor do I need your gratitude or any repayment for saving your lives.
I don't need any of that.
I only hope you will stay here quietly until we reach a starport, where I will let you off.
Then we can all go our separate ways and return to our own lives." Zhao Chen said coldly, then turned and left the hangar without another word.
"Our commander seems to have made a losing deal—offending a group of noble young masters for the sake of one crew member, and missing an opportunity to befriend them.
That's a huge loss." Charlotte happened to be standing in the corridor outside the hangar and had witnessed everything that happened inside.
She looked at Zhao Chen with a faint smile. This was the first time she had teased the 'master' who had bought her.
"In my book, whether it's a loss or not is for me to decide. Bullying my crew is simply not allowed." Zhao Chen snorted. "Come on, let's go to the dining hall to eat."
Charlotte watched Zhao Chen walk ahead, her hands clasped behind her back, her tail swaying unconsciously as she followed him.
It was clear she was in a good mood.
The hangar was very close to the starship cafeteria, just a few steps away. Through the transparent glass of the dining hall, one could even see the hangar door directly.
The two places were right next to each other.
At that moment, there were already over a dozen off-duty crew members resting in the starship dining hall.
After a major battle, Zhao Chen had specifically arranged rotating breaks for crew members at various posts, allowing them to shower, eat, or take a short nap.
Zhao Chen had taken a moment to come with Charlotte for a meal. Lilith was handling duties on the bridge. Once the two finished eating and returned to the bridge, they would relieve Lilith.
It was also by chance that they had heard the commotion in the hangar on their way.
"Commander, Deputy Captain. What would you two like to eat? After a big battle, it's good to have something nourishing to replenish your energy." The cook greeted them warmly, introducing the food options.
Before Zhao Chen could order, Charlotte rattled off several dishes: "A plate of braised fish, a bowl of white radish fish head soup, a side of small dried fish, and for the main course, eel rice bowl."
Then, Charlotte went to find a seat, her tail swaying as she waited for the food to arrive.
Wow, truly a feline—four fish dishes in one meal.
Zhao Chen couldn't help but chuckle, then ordered a bowl of rice for himself, along with one meat dish, two vegetable dishes, and a bowl of soup.
Compared to Charlotte's order, his was much healthier.
Zhao Chen sat across from Charlotte.
"Don't you have anything you want to talk to me about?" Zhao Chen asked, looking at Charlotte, who was quietly waiting for her meal.
"About what?" Charlotte looked at him, puzzled.
Zhao Chen was taken aback. "About what comes next for us. Because of our 'reckless' actions this time, our T3 Blizzard-class Light Interstellar Battlecruiser has been exposed, which will undoubtedly attract attention from certain parties.
There will be a lot of trouble ahead, and it might even bring danger to us."
Charlotte blinked. "Isn't that all your responsibility?"
Zhao Chen was surprised.
Charlotte continued, "You bought me. Whatever you need us to do, we will do it."
As for what consequences those actions might bring, that's not something we need to consider.
How you handle these matters is entirely up to you as the commander."
Zhao Chen chuckled. "You're really something. Aren't you worried I might stir up some major trouble?"
"I trust you." Charlotte's casual remark gave Zhao Chen an indescribable feeling.
Just then, Charlotte's whole-fish feast arrived.
Charlotte's pupils instantly dilated several times. Even though she had eaten it several times before, she still couldn't resist the temptation of these 'delicacies.'
As Zhao Chen was about to speak, Charlotte glared at him. "My mother said eating is a sacred and great affair. No talking!"
With that, Charlotte began enjoying her whole-fish feast.
Who would have thought Charlotte had such a little habit?
Honestly, watching Charlotte meticulously savoring the fish bit by bit was actually quite adorable.
Originally thinking the portions were generous, but in no time, Charlotte had already polished off half.
"Should've ordered another serving of fish balls," Charlotte muttered quietly, seemingly somewhat dissatisfied.
Zhao Chen began to wonder just how pure this white tiger's bloodline really was.
However, with Charlotte ordering like this, if she didn't have the second-best benefits package in the Fierce Dragon Fleet after Zhao Chen herself, such lavish feasting would probably exhaust an ordinary crew member's weekly food allowance in one go, leaving them with nothing but air for the rest of the week.
...
Meanwhile, in the hangar, due to the earlier commotion Zhao Chen had stirred up, the faculty and students from both academies had quieted down considerably.
However, their impressions of Commander Zhao Chen had split into three factions.
One faction believed Zhao Chen was too arrogant. Even though he had saved them, was this any way to treat the children of nobility? Truly devoid of manners, rude and overbearing!
This group consisted almost entirely of students from the Tianyao Noble Starship Military Academy.
Another faction thought Zhao Chen's fiercely protective attitude was simply the epitome of imposing, utterly cool.
This faction was primarily composed of female students from the North Star Starship Military Academy, with Xue Xiaoxiao emerging as a leading figure among them. She kept pestering Zhao Wan'er for details about Zhao Chen, practically interrogating her about his entire family lineage down to eighteen generations.
The last faction was the neutral party.
They believed none of this mattered. As long as they could safely leave this godforsaken place and reach a starport smoothly, they would be perfectly satisfied.
At least sitting on this hard floor was better than having a heart-to-heart with the Zerg on that planet.
Tap tap tap tap
Footsteps grew more numerous in the corridor outside the hangar.
Through the large doors, they could see crew members of this starship moving about.
Then, the faculty and students from both academies actually caught a whiff of a tantalizing aroma.
"This... this smells like... meat! Braised pork! I had it once last month!" a student suddenly exclaimed, sniffing the air.
"How could there possibly be braised pork on a starship? But now that you mention it, I'm really getting hungry."
Stimulated by this fragrance, many stomachs in the hangar began to growl with hunger.
In the three or four days prior, they had hardly eaten anything.
When that starship crash-landed on the planet, the cabin storing the artificial nutrient meals had unfortunately exploded.
So, for the past three days, they had essentially eaten nothing.
Under the strain of high tension and a series of battles, their physical exertion was immense.
Previously, while in danger, they might not have felt it.
But now, hunger began to assault their minds.
A female student couldn't help but approach the hangar entrance. Seeing the female crew member's gaze, she immediately said, "I'll just stand at the hangar entrance and look outside, is that okay…"
The female crew member hesitated for a moment. The commander's orders were not to allow them to leave the hangar area, but standing at the entrance to look outside didn't seem entirely forbidden.
Seeing the female crew member remain silent, the female student stood beside her and peered outside.
At that glance, she was utterly captivated, her mouth nearly watering.
Diagonally across from the hangar entrance was the transparent glass of the starship dining hall. She could see the starship crew inside, chatting and laughing as they ate.
And they were all eating various natural foods, not those bland artificial nutrient meals!
"My goodness… do you usually eat like this?" the female student couldn't help but ask the female crew member.
The female crew member nodded.
Perhaps it was the female student's exaggerated expression that left everyone puzzled.
After all, they were all children of nobility. The slightly more extravagant among them could eat natural foods—delicious fare like bread, milk, and mashed potatoes—for twenty days a month.
Could the food on the starship possibly be better than what they ate?
Some students, skeptical, walked over. When they reached the entrance, their feet froze in place, their eyes fixed on the dining hall across the way, occasionally swallowing hard.
"Come and look! They're all eating natural foods—various pork, beef, lamb, and all kinds of fruits!" a girl exclaimed enviously.
This left the teachers and students from both academies who hadn't seen it for themselves with one thought in their minds:
How could this be possible?