One hundred beastmen sat on the ground, holding their meal boxes and eating the food directly with their hands.
Although it was just some bland artificial food, these beastmen still devoured it ravenously.
Having been reduced to Slaves, they had basically never eaten their fill in the past, as Slave Merchants were never merciful toward Slaves.
"After the meal, arrange for them to take a bath and change into new Uniforms; then they can Board the Ship and familiarize themselves with their future workstations," Zhao Chen said, sitting next to Charlotte and holding an identical meal.
After all, Charlotte had once been a Fleet Commander. Compared to other beastman soldiers, she paid more attention to her demeanor; she still chewed her food slowly and thoroughly.
Looking at the same food in Zhao Chen's hands, she was somewhat surprised. "You eat this too?"
"What else? I don't mind telling you, your Captain here is quite poor right now. The food I have stored is only enough for us to eat for half a month at most.
As for whether we'll have anything to eat in the future, that depends on your performance from now on," Zhao Chen said, playing up his hardships.
Seeing that Zhao Chen didn't put on any airs, Charlotte's attitude toward him improved considerably. However, she narrowed her eyes and stared at him. "Why did you recruit only female beastmen?
Logically, when it comes to combat and warfare, people tend to prefer males.
I must warn you, if you make any improper moves toward them, our previous agreement is void!
I cannot trade their dignity and bodies for freedom..."
Zhao Chen waved his hands repeatedly and said helplessly, "Don't worry about that. I won't have any improper thoughts about them. It's just that, due to certain reasons, I only recruited female soldiers this time.
As for the reason... I can't explain it right now."
Zhao Chen was also helpless about this point—who told him the system had restrictions?
"I don't need to know the reason, but if I find out you have any ulterior motives toward them... hmph..." Charlotte glared at Zhao Chen.
Admittedly, this white-haired beastman looked somewhat cute when warning him.
However, the wounds and scars on her body were quite a jarring sight.
"These scars on your body... you did them yourself, right?" Zhao Chen brought up the topic.
Charlotte didn't hide it and nodded. "Yes. At that time, my Rebel Army was betrayed by a Traitor and completely annihilated.
Under those circumstances, if I hadn't done this and been recognized by those people, I wouldn't be here at all. They certainly wouldn't have mercifully sold a General of the Rebel Army as a Slave."
Zhao Chen understood the reasoning. If Charlotte had been recognized by the enemy, she would have faced terrible consequences after being captured.
Even if she hadn't been recognized, given her original appearance, her fate wouldn't have been any better.
"What surprises me is that you recognized me," Charlotte looked at Zhao Chen, somewhat curious.
Zhao Chen had recognized her at first glance, which directly proved that he had come specifically for her.
"When I was studying at the Academy, I researched some of your Battles and saw some of your Image Records. Actually, when I saw your picture on the Slave List, I wasn't entirely sure.
After all, the current you is so different from the you back then... the you from before... was like the morning dawn..."
"Until I tested you back then, I was certain you were General Charlotte," Zhao Chen said with a smile.
Actually, this was largely thanks to the memories of this body—it was a bookworm, most fond of browsing battle records of various races.
Charlotte rolled her eyes. So, she had exposed her own identity.
"Actually, with current medical technology, repairing these wound scars on your body is completely possible," Zhao Chen remarked, having seen Charlotte's previous image data.
She was absolutely a beauty, even by the standards of the Human Race.
Placed in the Academy, she could be considered an Academy Beauty.
"Not necessary. A warrior doesn't care about her physical appearance," Charlotte coldly rejected the suggestion.
Seeing Charlotte so resolute, Zhao Chen didn't press further; besides, the conditions weren't right now anyway.
After all, that kind of medical restoration technology was also quite expensive.
After finishing the meal, Zhao Chen said, "Let's first go see your future workstation."
He pointed at the steel starship.
Charlotte didn't refuse and followed Zhao Chen aboard the Zero Blizzard.
"Is this the starship you assembled?" Charlotte walked along the corridor inside the ship.
Zhao Chen nodded. "That's right. I used some modules from the T2 Hyena-class Medium Stellar Destroyer, the T2 Gray Wolf-class Light Interstellar Cruiser, and the T2 Devil Crocodile-class Medium Interstellar Battleship to assemble this starship. I named it the Zero Blizzard."
"I'm not very familiar with these three starship models, but judging from the condition inside the ship hull, they are relatively old starships, with many parts quite outdated.
A starship like this... its combat capability isn't very promising," Charlotte said bluntly.
"No, no, no. I believe you'll soon take back what you just said.
You'll fall in love with this starship," Zhao Chen replied with a mysterious smile.
Charlotte didn't mind much. Since she was here, she might as well accept it. Regardless of what kind of starship this guy had, she had no other choice now.
At least so far, this guy hadn't shown any despicable qualities.
Although his recruitment of only female beastmen did raise considerable suspicion.
Soon, the two arrived at the bridge of the Zero Blizzard. This was Charlotte's first time here and Zhao Chen's second.
The last time was when he came with his younger sister, Zhao Wan'er.
Charlotte looked around the bridge—it was a very conventional layout, with no standout features.
"From now on, you'll be responsible for assigning positions to those beastmen starship crew members. I need them to form effective combat capability in the shortest time possible," Zhao Chen instructed.
Charlotte looked at Zhao Chen and made a request: "If that's the case, I need to understand some of this starship's performance modules..."
Before Charlotte could finish, Zhao Chen handed a handheld terminal to her.
"I've already registered your information in it. You now have the highest authority over this starship, second only to me.
You can access most of this starship's data.
From now on, you are the Deputy Captain of this starship."
Charlotte looked at Zhao Chen in surprise. She took the handheld terminal, eyeing him suspiciously. "You trust me just like that? Aren't you worried I might betray you?"
Zhao Chen wore a faint smile. In truth, the moment Charlotte had stepped onto this starship, he had already used his System Skill, the "Eye of Insight," on her.
Since Zhao Chen was the captain of this starship, it met the conditions for using the "Eye of Insight."
Under the observation of the "Eye of Insight," Charlotte currently harbored no Intent to Kill or Hostility toward Zhao Chen. As for Loyalty, that could not be determined.
But that was enough. Zhao Chen didn't expect Charlotte to pledge her loyalty to him in such a short time. As long as she was willing to work for him, that was sufficient.
Still, he had to maintain a certain demeanor on the surface. Adopting a relaxed posture, he sat in the captain's chair and said, "I trust the person I've chosen. My dear Deputy Captain, it's time for you to get to work."