Did Zhao Chen… win?
The words spread through Class Eight like a delayed shockwave.
For a moment, no one reacted.
Then laughter broke out.
"Are you serious?" a boy scoffed. "Did you misread it?"
"That duel was against a Bald Eagle-class cruiser. How could Zhao Chen possibly—"
"It's on the academy intranet," the girl insisted, annoyance creeping into her voice. "If you don't believe me, look."
She expanded the holographic screen.
At the top of the hot search list, a post was skyrocketing in popularity.
[Zhao Chen defeats Zhang Haoran in starship duel! 1200mm heavy cannon appears—Bald Eagle annihilated in one shot!]
Below it were several related threads, but none came close in traffic.
Because this one had a full battle recording.
With commentary.
And close-up footage.
"Five minutes?" someone sneered. "This has to be fake. A proper duel takes at least half an hour."
"Yeah. Same-tier ships don't end fights in five minutes."
The girl tapped the play icon.
The classroom fell silent.
Even the teachers who had been preparing to leave stopped and turned back.
On the screen—
Blizzard Zero accelerated.
Forty knots.
Sixty.
Eighty.
Gasps rippled through the room as the ship curved cleanly away from the Bald Eagle's laser shot.
Then came the deceleration.
From one hundred knots to a dead stop—in five seconds.
Someone swallowed audibly.
And then the bow plates opened.
The 1200mm cannon emerged.
Several boys jumped to their feet.
"Holy—"
The cannon fired.
The Bald Eagle vanished in flame.
The recording ended.
No one spoke.
The instructor finally broke the silence, voice hoarse. "If I'm not mistaken… that's the T2 heavy 1200mm cannon from the Devil Crocodile-class interstellar battleship."
The classroom erupted.
"That cannon was discontinued!"
"Isn't that thing basically a T3-level weapon?!"
"How did he even mount it?!"
Skepticism lingered—until someone pulled up the official announcement.
[Starship Duel No. 3030062701 — Victor: Zhao Chen]
That ended all debate.
Even Shen Bing replayed the footage on her personal terminal, watching it again and again.
Her expression was unreadable.
"…He actually won," she murmured.
Li Wei suddenly laughed—loud, sharp, and unrestrained.
"Did you see that?" he shouted, pointing around the room. "That's my brother!
"You were all sneering earlier, hoping he'd get kicked out!
"And now? Zhang Haoran couldn't even carry his shoes!"
He didn't wait for a response.
He bolted out of the classroom.
He needed answers.
Class Eight was left in suffocating silence.
Even the teacher looked away, shame flickering across his face.
North Star Academy Starport
Blizzard Zero rested quietly at its reserved berth.
Despite the violence of the duel, its hull showed no significant damage. No repairs were needed.
"Mission complete," Zhao Chen said, patting Charlotte lightly on the shoulder. "You're free to move about the ship within regulations."
"Yes," Charlotte replied.
Zhao Chen's gaze lingered for half a second on her broken white ears before he turned away.
I'll fix them one day, he thought.
That was crew welfare.
He returned to the captain's quarters.
The room was spacious—nearly fifty square meters. Bedroom, lounge, desk, private bathroom.
Old-fashioned, but comfortable.
Compared to the crew dormitories—cramped triple bunks, narrow aisles, shared facilities—it was practically luxury.
Especially now.
Blizzard Zero had been designed for fifty crew.
It now carried one hundred.
Many of the half-orcs slept on the floor.
Zhao Chen exhaled and collapsed onto the bed.
Comfort lasted only a few seconds.
Then work resumed.
The system interface opened.
[Mission Completed]
Challenge Zhang Haoran to a starship duel and defeat him.
Difficulty: D
Rewards: 300 Credits, 1 Mission Point
'Claim.'
The confirmation chimed.
Host: Zhao Chen
Profession: Top Starship Engineer
Special Attributes: Fleet Luck Bonus, Eye of Insight
Credits: 400
Mission Points: 1
Starships Owned: 1
Current Mission: Quarterly Mission (Unfinished)
Warehouse: T3 Blizzard-Class Light Interstellar Battlecruiser Technical Drawings
Zhao Chen smiled faintly.
"One mission point…"
He opened the system mall.
"Let's see what I can afford now."