“I hope what just happened doesn’t happen again on my Starship.

I don’t care what your identities are, and I don’t need your gratitude or repayment for saving your lives.

I don’t need any of that.

I just hope you all stay here peacefully until we reach a Starport, and I’ll drop you off.

Then we can all go our separate ways.” Zhao Chen said with a cold gaze, then turned and left the hangar indifferently.

“Our Commander seems to have made a losing deal, offending a bunch of noble young masters for one crew member, and losing an opportunity to connect with them.

That’s a huge loss.” Charlotte happened to be standing in the corridor outside the hangar and had witnessed everything that had just transpired inside.

She looked at Zhao Chen with a faint smile; this was the first time she had teased her ‘owner’ who had bought her.

“Here, whether it’s a loss or not is up to me. Bullying my crew members is simply not allowed.” Zhao Chen snorted, “Come on, let’s go to the Starship Mess Hall to eat.”

Charlotte watched Zhao Chen walking ahead, her hands clasped behind her back, her tail unconsciously wagging as she followed him.

It was clear she was in a very good mood.

The hangar was very close to the Starship Mess Hall, just a few steps away; one could even see the hangar door directly through the transparent glass of the Starship Mess Hall.

The two places were right next to each other.

At this moment, there were already a dozen or so crew members resting on rotation in the Starship Mess Hall.

After a major battle, Zhao Chen specifically gave the crew members on various posts time off to shower, eat, or take a short nap.

Zhao Chen took a break and came over to eat with Charlotte, while Lilith was in charge of the Bridge’s work. They would replace Lilith after they finished their meal and returned to the Bridge.

It was also by chance that they heard the commotion in the hangar on their way.

“Commander, Executive Officer. What would you two like? After a big battle, you should eat something good to replenish yourselves.” The chef enthusiastically introduced the food when he saw them.

Before Zhao Chen could order, Charlotte rattled off several dish names: “A plate of braised fish, another bowl of white radish fish head soup, with a side dish of dried small fish, and for the main course, eel rice.”

Afterward, Charlotte found a seat, wagging her tail, waiting for the delicious food to be served.

Goodness, as expected of a feline, four portions of fish in one meal.

Zhao Chen couldn’t help but laugh, then ordered a portion of rice for himself, plus one meat, two vegetable dishes, and a bowl of soup.

Compared to what Charlotte ordered, his was much healthier.

Zhao Chen sat opposite Charlotte.

“Don’t you have anything you want to talk to me about?” Zhao Chen looked at Charlotte, who was silently waiting to eat.

“Talk about what?” Charlotte looked at Zhao Chen, puzzled.

Zhao Chen was stunned. He said, “It’s about what we’re going to do next. Because of our ‘reckless’ actions this time, our T3 Blizzard-class Light Interstellar Battlecruiser has been exposed, which will definitely attract the attention of some people.

There will be a lot of trouble afterward, and it might even bring us danger.”

Charlotte blinked her eyes and said, “Aren’t all those things your business?”

Zhao Chen was surprised.

Charlotte continued, “I was bought by you. Whatever you need us to do, we will do.

As for the consequences of doing those things, that’s not for us to consider.

How you handle these matters is all your business as the Commander.”

Zhao Chen chuckled, “You’re so carefree. Aren’t you worried I’ll stir up something big?”

“I trust you.” Charlotte’s light remark gave Zhao Chen an indescribable feeling.

Just then, Charlotte’s all-fish feast arrived.

Charlotte’s pupils immediately dilated several times. Although she had eaten it many times before, she still couldn’t resist the temptation of these ‘beauties’.

As Zhao Chen was about to speak, Charlotte glared at him: “My mom said that eating is a sacred and great thing, no talking!”

With that, Charlotte began to enjoy her all-fish feast.

He didn’t expect Charlotte to have such a small habit.

And it has to be said, watching Charlotte slowly slurp up the fish was quite endearing.

He originally thought the portions were large, but Charlotte had finished half of them in no time.

“I should have ordered another portion of fish balls.” Charlotte muttered softly, seemingly a little dissatisfied.

Zhao Chen began to doubt the purity of this White Tiger’s bloodline.

However, with Charlotte’s way of ordering, if it weren’t for her enjoying the second-highest welfare treatment in the Xiaolong Fleet, only surpassed by Zhao Chen, such a large amount of fish and meat would likely exhaust a regular crew member’s meal standard for a week, leaving them to starve for the rest of the time.

.........

On the other side of the hangar, because of the scene Zhao Chen had just caused, the students and teachers from the Two Academies had quieted down considerably.

However, their impression of Commander Zhao Chen was divided into three factions.

One faction believed that Zhao Chen was too arrogant. Although he saved them, was that the way to treat noble offspring? He truly had no manners, rude and overbearing!

This group was almost entirely made up of students from Tianyao Academy.

Another faction believed that Zhao Chen’s protectiveness was simply too domineering and cool.

This group was mainly composed of female students from North Star Academy, with Xue Xiaoxiao becoming a leading figure among them, constantly pestering Zhao Wan’er to inquire about Zhao Chen, almost asking about his entire ancestry.

The last faction was the neutral party.

They believed that none of that mattered, as long as they could safely leave this dreadful place and successfully reach a Starport, they would be very satisfied.

At least sitting on this hard floor now was better than having a heart-to-heart with bugs on that planet, right?

Thump-thump-thump-thump

In the corridor outside the hangar, the sound of footsteps grew louder.

Through the door, one could see the figures of the Starship’s # Nоvеlight # crew members moving about.

Then, the students and teachers from the Two Academies actually smelled a fragrance.

“This... this smells like... meat! It’s braised pork! I had it once last month!” a student suddenly exclaimed, sniffing the aroma.

“How could there be braised pork on this Starship? But now that you mention it, I really am hungry.”

Stimulated by the aroma, many students and teachers in the hangar began to feel their stomachs rumbling.

Because in the three or four days prior, they had barely eaten anything.

When that Starship crash-landed on the planet, the cabin storing artificial nutrient meals unfortunately exploded.

So, for the past three days, they had eaten almost nothing.

Under a state of high nervous tension, coupled with a series of battles, their physical exertion was immense.

They might not have felt it when they were in danger.

But now, hunger began to assault their minds.

A female student couldn’t help but lean towards the hangar entrance. Seeing the female crew member’s gaze, she immediately said, “Is it okay if I just look out from the hangar entrance...?”

The female crew member hesitated. The Commander’s orders were not to allow them to leave the hangar area, so standing at the entrance and looking out seemed permissible.

Seeing that the female crew member didn’t speak, the female student stood beside her and looked outside.

What she saw was incredible; her mouth was practically watering.

Diagonally opposite the hangar entrance was the transparent glass of the Starship Mess Hall, and she could see the Starship’s crew members eating inside, chatting and laughing.

And they were all eating various natural foods, not the tasteless artificial nutrient meals!

“Oh my goodness... do you usually eat all this?” the female student couldn’t help but ask the female crew member.

The female crew member nodded.

Perhaps it was because of the female student’s exaggerated expression that everyone was puzzled.

After all, they were all noble offspring; those who were slightly more extravagant could eat natural food for twenty days a month, delicious foods like bread, milk, and mashed potatoes.

Could the food on the Starship be even better than what they ate?

A student walked over, unconvinced. When he stood at the entrance, his feet could no longer move, his eyes fixed on the restaurant opposite, occasionally swallowing his saliva.

“Come quickly, everyone, look! They’re all eating natural food, with all sorts of pork, beef, and lamb, and various fruits!” a female student shouted enviously.

This made all the students and teachers from the Two Academies who hadn’t seen it with their own eyes think one thing:

How is this possible?