Galactic Star Calendar, year 3031, end of September.
Starlight Central Star Region · Third Star System · main-planet starport.
Through the latter half of September this starport was, one might say, exceedingly lively; the ship traffic, set against ordinary times, had increased at least a hundredfold. So much so that the berths within the starport had been booked clean out a full month ago, and those ships without a berth could only hover in a designated area outside the starport and then enter it by shuttle.
By the time the T3 Blizzard-class Light Interstellar Battlecruiser arrived at this starport, it was already the end of September; by rights, Zhao Chen wouldn't have been able to book a berth at all. But there was nothing to be done — he had a fiancée of no ordinary standing. After Zhao Chen had contacted Chu Xuan, he learned that Chu Xuan had prepared a berth for him well in advance. Or rather, it was a place the starport had readied ahead of time when it issued the Chu family their invitation.
The T3 Blizzard, using a dedicated channel, threaded through those dense zones of hovering ships. Up on the bridge, Zhao Chen took in the sight of those interstellar warships of every grade and every model. From T3 warships several kilometers long, down to T1 warships tens of meters long, everything one could think of was here.
And this main-planet starport before him was likewise quite majestic. The largest starport Zhao Chen had seen before this was the Arctic Fox starport. And this main-planet starport of the Central Star Region's No.3 system before him was several times the Arctic Fox starport's size. Its bulk was no smaller than a small asteroid!
"What an enormous starport!" Zhao Wan'er, looking at the vast starport before her just now, said with some astonishment, "Big bro, I heard before that this No.3 starport ranks among the top 10 starports in our whole Starlight Empire!"
Zhao Chen looked at Zhao Wan'er's expression — for all the world like a country bumpkin come into the city — and felt nothing strange about it. This starport was, after all, a semi-military starport; even in ordinary times it had to keep a third of its berths reserved for Empire-military interstellar warships. The No.3 system had an Empire-military interstellar fleet permanently garrisoned there — reckoned, as it were, the "guards before the throne" of His Majesty of the Starlight Empire. Should the No.1 system — the Imperial Capital Star System, that is — ever meet with any mishap, the Empire-military fleet garrisoned here could, even without using a star gate, come to the Imperial Capital System's aid within six hours at the fastest!
By the guidance of the starport's command department, Zhao Chen's T3 Blizzard smoothly reached the ship berth where Chu Xuan was. It was a whole ship-berth zone, able to hold roughly three T3 warships, or several dozen T2 warships. And docked within it just now was but a single T3 warship. That was a T3 Dragon-Croc-class Medium Interstellar Battleship, one of the Empire military's standing T3-grade warships. And on this warship's hull emblem, moreover, there was a golden "Chu" character crest. To be able to take an interstellar warship reserved for the Empire military and use it as one's own "private army" — there were not many in the whole Starlight Empire who could. And the Chu family happened to be one of them.
"It's actually a T3 Dragon-Croc-class Medium Interstellar Battleship! Except for T4 warships, this is the warship of the very strongest firepower. Only the T3 Flame Lion King-class Heavy Interstellar Battlecruiser can compare with it even a little — but because the Flame Lion King is a heavy warship born of upgrading and reworking the T3 Flame Lion, it's constrained by its framework. It still can't match the T3 Dragon-Croc, which is merely a medium warship!" Zhao Wan'er recognized that T3 warship and, in high spirits, held forth on the knowledge she'd once learned.
Over on his side, Zhao Chen received a message — sent by Chu Xuan. It bade him, after entering port, come meet at a certain spot.
"Bessie, you stay aboard the ship." Zhao Chen looked to his secretary, Bessie. With Lilith garrisoned in the Owl Dragon System and Aili in charge of the Lion King System, it naturally fell to this Bessie — a succubus not yet come of age, but of no bad talent — to accompany him.
"Yes." Bessie nodded; by now she was thoroughly accustomed to the identity and duties of a secretary.
"Wan'er, let's set off," Zhao Chen said.
"You got it!" Zhao Wan'er was somewhat excited; this was her first time coming to a system within the Central Star Region, after all. It was, when all was said, one of the systems nearest the Imperial Capital Star System!
Zhao Chen and Zhao Wan'er left the T3 Blizzard and came out onto the long corridor beyond the berth.
"Hello there — might you be needing an unmanned aircar?" a person got up like an attendant greeted Zhao Chen and the others of his own accord.
"Might I ask how to get to this place?" Zhao Chen brought out the address Chu Xuan had sent him earlier — a place that seemed to be some hotel, or a tea restaurant.
The attendant took a glance at it and said with a smile, "You can take an unmanned aircar; it'll get you to this spot in about five minutes."
As he spoke, there appeared behind the attendant an unmanned aircar — a half-transparent skylight above, a pure-white car body below, the whole of it full of streamlined grace. It had no wheels; it hovered in midair. And it had no steering wheel; it drove itself.
"Thank you."
Zhao Chen and Zhao Wan'er boarded the unmanned aircar.
"Unmanned Aircar 1121 at your service. Please voice-input the place you wish to go," a gentle female voice issued.
Zhao Chen read out the address.
"Searching the address… target address confirmed. This journey is projected to take five minutes; departing now." As the gentle female voice fell, the unmanned aircar set off with it.
Five minutes later, Zhao Chen and Zhao Wan'er arrived at a luxurious hotel located inside the starport.
"A hotel, of all things?" Zhao Chen looked at the last string of digits in the address — those, presumably, were a room number.
Zhao Wan'er raised her head and looked over the hotel signboard, then looked at Zhao Chen with a dubious eye.
"Ahem, ahem, ahem — I don't know how it came to be arranged at this place either. Perhaps it's lodging that's been set up for us." Zhao Chen, his face not changing color in the least, walked on in.
At the entrance there were attendants to receive Zhao Chen and the others. Upon learning Zhao Chen's purpose, and confirming the identities of Zhao Chen and his party, they were permitted to enter the hotel. And a willowy waitress personally led them to a certain room door.
"Should you need anything, press the service bell at any public spot anytime, and our staff will come at once," With that, the waitress departed.
"Go on in, fine dragon-riding son-in-law[1] of the Chu family." Zhao Wan'er, arms folded across her chest, said off to the side in a rather sour, needling tone.
This little minx — there was no telling why her attitude was so poor.
Zhao Chen gave the door a knock.
The door soon opened, and Chu Xuan, unseen these several months, appeared before Zhao Chen and Zhao Wan'er.
Zhao Chen looked at the two women, one within the door and one without, and suddenly took it upon himself to speak up. "Let me introduce the two of you. Chu Xuan, this is my younger sister — and your sister-in-law-to-be. Wan'er, this is your future elder brother's wife; quick now, give her a 'sister-in-law.'"
Chu Xuan and Zhao Wan'er had, to begin with, worn somewhat professional smiles on their faces, ready to greet each other. But at these words of Zhao Chen's, both their cheeks flushed red, and all at once neither knew what to say.