[Random selection begins...]
Before Zhao Chen could think too much, a cursor began rapidly moving among the three options, like a roulette wheel spinning.
In the end, the cursor stopped on option two.
[Congratulations, host has obtained 'Fleet Luck Bonus' and 'Eye of Insight'; host must unconditionally comply with the rule 'Fleet can only recruit female soldiers'. If violated, the above two rewards will be revoked, and unknown punishment will be imposed!!!]
Zhao Chen covered his face.
Only recruiting female soldiers... this rule was a bit too much... but for some reason, there was still a faint trace of anticipation in Zhao Chen's heart.
To get back on track, since this fact couldn't be changed, he might as well go with the flow.
First, let's look at the two rewards he received.
The first was the 'Fleet Luck Bonus', which, as the name suggests, grants a certain luck bonus to Zhao Chen and any entity under his fleet. The exact effect was unknown since luck was such a mysterious thing.
The second was the 'Eye of Insight', which could be used on Zhao Chen's own starship against any species to detect whether the other party harbored hostility or murderous intent; in other words, as long as one was on Zhao Chen's starship, Zhao Chen was absolutely safe.
"Class, that's all for today's lesson. This semester is about to end, and starting next semester, we will begin practical combat training.
Since you are all cadets in the fleet command department, each of you will need to have your own starship.
You can either purchase your starship yourself or redeem one using academy points.
The crew on the starship can be other cadets from different departments within the academy or personnel you hire yourself, as long as they meet the relevant regulations," the teacher announced before leaving the classroom.
The announcement was about next semester's curriculum, where every cadet needed to prepare their own starship.
Those with a strong family background could buy one themselves.
Those less affluent could use the academy points accumulated over the past three years to redeem a starship from the academy's starship list.
Immediately, every cadet began discussing their planned starship.
"I'm telling you, my dad already prepared a T2-class interstellar destroyer for me, the latest upgraded model this year, and it's been the hottest-selling starship in the past decade."
"Hmph, let me tell you what real men's romance is—big ships and big cannons! If you're going to fly, then fly an interstellar battleship! That's what a man's toy is!"
"You guys have good family backgrounds; I'm not so lucky. I just hope to get an interstellar frigate that's enough to complete my studies."
Listening to the cadets' discussions around him, Zhao Chen couldn't help but fantasize about his own starship.
As a boy, who didn't dream of roaming the universe?
"Old Zhao, have you decided which starship to redeem? You'd better prepare quickly. Although the academy's redeemable starship list is quite extensive, if you act too late, the good starships will be gone.
Besides, you'll need to gather a crew," Li Wei leaned over to Zhao Chen's side.
Zhao Chen casually asked, "How's your preparation going?"
Li Wei grinned and raised his hand, showing a handheld terminal on his wrist that was as light as a thin wing but looked like a watch. A holographic 3D projection of a starship model was emitted from it.
Its shape was rather traditional, resembling ancient ships.
On it, several main cannons and missile launchers could be seen.
"This is a T2-class Hyena-class medium interstellar destroyer, currently selling for 4.3 million stellar credits on the market!
My dad ordered it for me and even arranged the crew, all retired veterans with over ten years of service!" After speaking, Li Wei seemed to remember something.
He looked worried and said to Zhao Chen, "Old Zhao, um... if you really can't find a suitable starship in the academy's warehouse, I can ask my dad to help you..."
"No need. I already have a plan for the starship. After lunch, we'll go pick up my starship," Zhao Chen smiled.
Li Wei's family background was quite good; they were responsible for interstellar trade and reportedly ranked in the top ten in the northern star sector of the Stellar Glory Empire.
So it was no surprise he had such a T2-class Hyena-class medium interstellar destroyer worth four million stellar credits.
After the casual chat, Zhao Chen and Li Wei headed to the academy cafeteria.
On the way, Li Wei noticed Zhao Chen seemed distracted and assumed he was still thinking about the starship.
In fact, Zhao Chen's status was not inferior to Li Wei's at all. Because Zhao Chen's father had died early, Zhao Chen had inherited the baron title and owned a star system territory.
Unfortunately, the star system Zhao Chen owned was extremely poor in resources.
It was also a single-star system, which meant a stargate could not be constructed. A star system without a stargate and without special resources was basically labeled worthless.
Zhao Chen's baron title was originally granted to his great-grandfather, who was once a commander of an imperial fleet in the Stellar Glory Empire's military, rewarded for his military merits with the rank of count and granted a fief.
However, during the generations of Zhao Chen's grandfather and father, neither made achievements worthy of maintaining or improving the title, causing it to downgrade step by step until Zhao Chen's generation, where the count title became a baron.
If Zhao Chen failed to achieve new merits, his heirs would not inherit the title, and the territory would be reclaimed by the empire.
Based on Zhao Chen's current situation, it was basically hopeless.
It was said that in Zhao Chen's star system, there wasn't even a single T2-class starship; only a few outdated T1-class starships were responsible for the system's security. Fortunately, due to the system's poverty, no interstellar pirates had set their sights on it.
In the past, Li Wei often wanted to help Zhao Chen, but Zhao Chen was strong-willed and never accepted help from others.
"Um... Old Zhao, let's sit over there."
Suddenly, Li Wei put his arm around Zhao Chen's shoulder, trying to guide him to a side path as if deliberately avoiding something.
But the person Li Wei didn't want Zhao Chen to see, Zhao Chen had already seen.
Jiang Shasha.
Zhao Chen's fiancée, at least theoretically...
But at this moment, Zhao Chen's fiancée, Jiang Shasha, was with a boy. Anyone who knew Jiang Shasha knew that boy was pursuing her.
Li Wei covered his face, cursing inwardly at how unlucky he was to run into this woman everywhere he went.
He knew that Zhao Chen and Jiang Shasha had grown up together because Jiang Shasha and Zhao Chen were from the same hometown and star system. Jiang Shasha's family was nobility in Zhao Chen's territory, so the two were betrothed since childhood.
However, everything changed after Jiang Shasha entered this academy with Zhao Chen.
Within the academy, there were boys with more prominent status and greater wealth than Zhao Chen. Compared to them, Zhao Chen was just a fallen noble from a rural place.
At first, Zhao Chen still liked Jiang Shasha, but her repeated cold and cruel behavior hurt him many times. Zhao Chen tried to salvage the relationship but was met with Jiang Shasha's indifferent and harsh treatment.
Li Wei knew Zhao Chen was heartbroken and had often lost his appetite.
What Li Wei didn't know was that just today, due to heartbreak, Zhao Chen had taken medicine to attempt suicide, which led to the Zhao Chen they saw now.
"The seats by the window are over there. Let's sit there," Zhao Chen rejected Li Wei's suggestion and walked straight ahead.
To outsiders, Zhao Chen was walking straight toward Jiang Shasha.