Watching that so-called Bloody Mary Mercenary Company's fleet sail away, the tail of Charlotte beside Zhao Chen finally relaxed.
"It seems you took quite an interest in that crimson-eyed girl just now?" Zhao Chen said.
Charlotte said gravely, "That woman is dangerous."
Zhao Chen mused a moment, then nodded in agreement. That gaze truly had been much like Charlotte's own.
"All right — now isn't the time to be thinking about such things. Since we've taken receipt of these five T2 Moose-class Heavy Interstellar Transport Ships, we can just about get ready to set out," Zhao Chen said.
With the five T2 Moose received, what came next was to press on to the Reef Star Region to collect people. Annie, beside him, looked plainly rather excited — it had been nearly half a year since she'd left her homeland. When she'd been carried off back then, she'd likely never have dreamed, not in her whole life, that she'd have the chance to return to her native soil — and bring her people an opportunity beyond anything they'd dared imagine.
"Next destination: the Reef Star Region." Zhao Chen gave the flight order.
The Reef Star Region
Most of the stars in this region had basically reached their "old age"; their brightness all looked very dim. This left every system in the region dark; on the somewhat remoter planets, a whole day might be sunk in blackness — the living conditions dreadful. But perhaps it was precisely because of these dreadful conditions, and the lack of resources, that the Reef Star Region had become a contested zone neither the Mechanical Race nor the Starlight Empire thought worth having. Both sides deliberately gave the region a wide berth. And so, besides its native inhabitants, this region held various interstellar races who'd fled here from other civilizations — a chaotic, many-raced makeup that left the order here in considerable disarray. Put simply: whoever held the more, and stronger, interstellar fleet was the one who called the shots.
Out of an aged, worn Star Gate, six ships visited this region for the first time.
Zhao Chen looked at the space before him. It had to be said — it was nothing at all like the Star Gate vistas in the various systems of the Starlight Empire. This place was more like a forgotten corner. The warships to be seen were, for the most part, old relics — the great majority of them T1 and T2 warships. The instant Zhao Chen's T3 warship appeared, the eyes of the bridge crews aboard no few ships turned his way. To outsiders, the people here were always keenly alert. And this was a strange combination besides — one T3 warship and five T2 transports. Happily, what Zhao Chen had brought was a T3 warship, which made no small number of them think better of certain little notions.
"Let's go to the nearest starport, top up the energy blocks the ship needs, and find out what we can about the planet Annie lives on while we're at it," Zhao Chen said.
Not far from the Star Gate there happened to be a starport, which was convenient for Zhao Chen.
"Yes. Contacting the starport's command department now; accessing the public channel." Aili, acting as secretary-officer, began arranging these matters beside him. Contact with the starport was soon made, and after settling on a berthing price, they were assigned a berth for their ships.
The T3 Blizzard and the five T2 Moose began slowly sailing into the starport. Compared with the starports Zhao Chen had been to before, this one truly was quite old and worn: on its exterior one could see unrepaired damage, even electronic wiring left directly exposed, and a scattering of repair workers going over the starport's outer surface. The six ships docked without incident at a berth.
"Hello, this is G19 Starport. I'm your receptionist, number 21; I'm right below your ship now." A heavily made-up, gaudily painted woman appeared in the video frame before Zhao Chen.
Zhao Chen shot a glance at Aili beside him; Aili called up the feed from beneath the hull, and indeed there stood a hotly dressed, heavily painted woman.
"Keep the Blizzard at combat readiness; I'll take Annie down for a bit," Zhao Chen instructed Charlotte.
Charlotte nodded. After the ship entered port, she hadn't had the T3 Blizzard shut down its engines and dock idle; once a rebel-army general, she'd been to no few places like this. She knew well that in such an environment anything could happen — and that one must never trust a single soul.
Zhao Chen took Annie off the bridge, and the ship's gangway carried them slowly down to the base.
"Heee-llo, handsome, imposing sir. Might I ask what you'd be needing?" The hot-dressed woman came toward Zhao Chen biting her dainty lip, her hand moving, as it went, to settle on Zhao Chen's chest. But Zhao Chen dodged aside.
The woman's expression didn't change in the slightest for it. Noticing Annie beside Zhao Chen, she showed a sly little smile. "So the gentleman likes this type. I can arrange that. And if the crew aboard the gentleman's ship have need, I can arrange corresponding services too — you'll be more than satisfied, I promise. Race, age, looks — you and your crew may take your pick of any." As she spoke, the woman raised a hand and released holographic photo-albums one after another; inside were women of every race.
Zhao Chen understood at once what she meant. In the starports of the Starlight Empire this sort of thing existed too, but it was generally conducted on the quiet. He hadn't imagined that here they'd come straight to the point — the woman's manner not even minding a turn with Zhao Chen then and there.
"I want a batch of energy blocks. This is the quantity." Zhao Chen laid out his requirement.
"Energy blocks, no problem. Though the gentleman seems to be here for the first time — do you know our trading rules?" Seeing she couldn't seduce Zhao Chen, the woman gave it up, lit herself a cigarette, and blew out a smoke ring reeking of cheap tobacco.
"Payment in kind only, correct? I'll trade in crystal stone." Zhao Chen tossed over a pouch of crystal stone he'd long since prepared.
Crystal stone was the hard currency of the cosmos; basically nine in 10 ores contained it. Energy could be extracted from crystal stone and made into the energy blocks that powered a ship; it also served as a base material for building ships. And in a no-man's-land like this, use funds from a Galactic Alliance account and they might well not take it — only crystal stone, or other things of real value, would they trade for. Before coming, Zhao Chen had prepared a batch of crystal stone aboard his ship.
"That's rather a lot you've given, sir?" Seeing how open-handed Zhao Chen was, and looking again at the crystal stone he'd paid, the woman at once regarded him with silky, come-hither eyes, the intent in them plain enough.
Zhao Chen promptly stopped the woman from pressing herself closer, and stated his aim. "I have a few things to ask you. Consider the extra the fee for the questions."