The T4 Vermilion Bird-class Medium Interstellar Cruiser's trial voyage was over.
As for the crew appointments of this first T4 Vermilion Bird — Zhao Chen was, nominally, the captain; this was his flagship and his command ship.
Charlotte served as deputy captain, and the combat command of this starship was all her charge, with Zhao Chen being merely a hands-off boss.
Zhao Chen was still immersed in his joy at happily taking delivery of his first T4 starship when there came into his mind the sound of a mission being completed.
Quarterly Mission: bring the number of active-service T3 interstellar warships to three hundred (complete).
The quarterly mission reward may be claimed.
After three months of construction planning, the number of Zhao Chen's active-service T3 interstellar warships had long since broken past 300 — only, it wasn't until this month's very last day that the mission-complete prompt came!
Bearing a mood of delight, Zhao Chen tapped to claim the quarterly mission reward.
Congratulations — acquired 300,000 System points and 100 task points.
This time it was only System points and task points.
Zhao Chen took a look at his own account balance.
Before — System points: 200,000
Before — task points: 300
Gained — System points: 300,000
Gained — task points: 100
After — System points: 500,000
After — task points: 400
The quarterly mission complete, Zhao Chen took a look, while he was at it, at the annual mission.
Annual Mission:
Requirement one: Possess a legion-grade interstellar fleet (3,000 interstellar warships), of which 300 must be T3-grade interstellar warships. (515/3,000) (incomplete)
Requirement two: Possess one T4 combat-type interstellar warship. (complete)
Requirement three: The Owl Dragon System's average life-level value must reach "7" or above. (3.9/10) (incomplete)
Requirement four: Please possess a marquis's, or above-marquis's, imperial title. (complete)
Requirement five: Possess 20 items of System-produced T3-grade technology. (18/20) (incomplete)
Note: completing four of these represents completion of the annual mission and may claim the mission reward; completing all five may obtain an additional reward — one "T5 interstellar warship technical blueprint."
Of the five requirements, two now showed as complete, with three still incomplete.
Of them, the only one that could be completed at once was the fifth.
No day chosen beats the day at hand — he'd get it done today!
Zhao Chen, making an excuse, left the bridge and came to the captain's quarters aboard this T4 Vermilion Bird.
The whole of the captain's quarters could be called luxurious — three storeys, upper to lower!
The whole floor-area, all added together, exceeded 2,000 square meters!
There was, indeed, even a small swimming pool.
Zhao Chen sat down on the sofa, opened the System-goods list, and searched within it for the goods he needed.
First, Zhao Chen searched, within the System mall, for the ship-type the Owl Dragon Legion currently lacked.
A T3-grade interstellar cruiser!
Though Zhao Chen now already possessed the T4 Vermilion Bird, its build cost was steep and its construction requirements high; in any short span of time it still couldn't be mass-produced on a large scale.
And a T3-grade interstellar cruiser could, upon the frontal battlefield, support the other ship-types in combat.
Soon enough he'd settled upon a suitable target.
Do you wish to expend 10,000 System points and 10 task points to redeem the item "T3 Wind-Eagle-class Medium Interstellar Cruiser" technical blueprint?
"Confirm."
Congratulations — acquired the "T3 Wind-Eagle-class Medium Interstellar Cruiser" technical blueprint.
Before — System points: 500,000
Before — task points: 400
Spent — System points: 10,000
Spent — task points: 10
After — System points: 490,000
After — task points: 390
The T3 Wind-Eagle-class Medium Interstellar Cruiser had no particularly conspicuous distinguishing traits, but its advantage lay in this: it pushed the conventional interstellar cruiser's characteristics to the very limit!
Taking, for instance, the currently most advanced T3 interstellar cruiser in the Galactic Alliance — the T3 Wind-Eagle's comprehensive performance exceeded the former's by 50%!
Upon the battlefield, it could utterly steamroller its opponent.
Even at one-against-three, it would still have the strength for a fight!
"One more to go." Zhao Chen swept his gaze over the System goods, and he caught sight of a familiar thing.
T4 Super-Soldier Serum
How had he gone and forgotten this.
In the past, Zhao Chen had come by three super-soldier serums, all of them mission rewards.
And up to now, no T4 super-soldier serum had ever appeared among the mission rewards, so Zhao Chen hadn't given it a thought.
He'd never imagined there'd be one within the System mall.
Only a pity that this wasn't a technical blueprint, but rather a single-use item.
It belonged to the T4-grade of technological products, and might well not be reckoned into the annual mission.
But as for the enhancement of one's physical constitution — this was a benefit Zhao Chen had experienced, and it was, beyond doubt, a deal of all benefit and no harm.
In the end, Zhao Chen steeled his heart.
Do you wish to expend 100,000 System points and 100 task points to redeem the item "T4 Super-Soldier Serum"?
"Confirm."
Congratulations — acquired the "T4 Super-Soldier Serum."
Before — System points: 490,000
Before — task points: 390
Spent — System points: 100,000
Spent — task points: 100
After — System points: 390,000
After — task points: 290
Thereupon, in Zhao Chen's hand there appeared a familiar tube of serum — only, the liquid within it had turned red.
Zhao Chen called to mind the time before, when he'd injected the T3 Super-Soldier Serum, and that feeling of bodily pain; even now the memory of it was still fresh.
But as the common saying goes so well: to eat the bitterest of the bitter is how one becomes a man above men.
If he couldn't even bear this bit of pain, then how was he to build a powerful interstellar fleet!
Zhao Chen steeled his heart, and picked up the serum, making ready to jab it in.
But he paused a moment.
He set the serum-tube back down, and summoned forth a robot.
He directed it to put upon him the highest-grade restraint suit.
This restraint suit — never mind a human; even a beast-folk of Charlotte's sort would have no power to break free of it.
Having readied all this, Zhao Chen then had the robot take up the serum-tube and inject it into him.
Zhao Chen watched, wide-eyed, as that tube of serum pierced into his own chest, the red liquid within it vanishing bit by bit.
Time slipped by, bit by bit.
One minute… three minutes…
Sweat-beads appeared on Zhao Chen's brow — but that was not from pain; it was from tension.
Why had no pain appeared up to now?
Could it be that the T4-grade super-soldier serum was so advanced it was painless…
Before Zhao Chen could be glad for long, a wave of ferociously restrained pain swept across Zhao Chen's whole body; Zhao Chen's two eyes went bloodshot in an instant, and he let out a roar — the restraint suit upon his body burst straight apart.
Zhao Chen roared and howled; by this point he'd already lost his reason.
He looked at the doltish, cute robot before him that had given him the injection, and reached out a hand to grab its little head straight off.
Crackle.
Electric current shot out in all directions; this robot was declared scrap.
But this was still far, far from the end; a more violent pain swept across Zhao Chen's whole body — at this moment, to faint would, for Zhao Chen, have been a kind of bliss.
Zhao Chen, in his unbearable pain, could only swing his fists at the bedroom wall.
One fist, two fists… three fists…
Zhao Chen swung his fists, one punch after another.
The bridge.
"Warning! Warning! Warning! The hull's starboard interior armor is under attack; that area's interior armor strength is at 70% remaining."
Charlotte looked at this warning-notice, finding it beyond all reason, her whole face a question mark.
Zhao Chen, by all estimates, would never have imagined that his T4 Vermilion Bird's first "battle damage" would, of all things, be one he took down with his own hand.