Picking Up An Alpha On Garbage Star - Chapter 21 Arrangements

Pei An didn’t return to his place in the evening. He spent the night at the base and, after having breakfast in the base’s cafeteria the next day, boarded a spacecraft.

Xie Yu called him.

“Pei An, why didn’t you come back home last night?”

Pei An was busy fastening his safety belt and, quite successfully, gave it an extra tug.

“Xie! Yu!” Pei An gritted his teeth. “If you have nothing to say, then don’t talk? What do you mean by ‘not coming home at night’?”

Furthermore, that’s my home! It’s my home! What right does a temporary guest like you have to inquire about whether I return home or not?

The more Pei An thought about it, the angrier he got. He decided to squeeze more out of them when Xie Yu’s people will come to pick him up. He’d consider it compensation for the emotional distress.

Xie Yu immediately apologized, “I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m just used to it. I really didn’t mean to.”

Back when they were in military school, the rules were strict, and their daily schedules were rigorously planned. They had to wake up at six in the morning, and lights-out was at ten in the evening. If an inspecting teacher saw anyone who hadn’t returned to the dormitory after ten, they would be caught and subjected to a reprimand.

Xie Yu was quite conscientious, and he didn’t want to be reprimanded by the teachers. So he didn’t easily stay out beyond lights-out. He’d usually stay in the training room officially with the teacher’s permission.

There was a time when Xie Yu didn’t perform well during daytime classes, so he decided to stay in the training room at night to do simulated training. He met some students who intended to sneak out of the school for fun, and they were trying to use anti-surveillance techniques they’d learned to deceive anyone checking their dormitories. They figured they wouldn’t get caught during a daytime inspection.

The trouble started when they mistook Xie Yu, who was just returning from the training room, for a student wanting to sneak out. They enthusiastically invited Xie Yu to join them. Naturally, he refused, but they insisted, and their single-mindedness alerted the inspecting teacher, who caught them all.

That was the first time Xie Yu had ever received a reprimand from an inspecting teacher, and it left a deep impression on him. Those four words, “not returning home at night,” played in his head on a loop.

Once he joined the military, he had to lead troops and maintain discipline. The military emphasized discipline, and the idea of staying out at night without returning home was unacceptable. Any unexpected events could occur when you were not at your designated position, and that would be a significant error. So Xie Yu would not stay out beyond his official duties during the night. After all, they could apply for additional training, making it legitimate to remain in the training area.

Pei An didn’t return home last night, and Xie Yu wanted to ask if something had happened to him or if he’d run into trouble. But when he thought carefully about it, he realized, what relationship did he have with Pei An? There was a life debt, but he had no standing to ask so many questions.

But until this morning, Pei An hadn’t returned, and he had even prepared breakfast. Xie Yu couldn’t help but call Pei An. The words “not returning home at night” just slipped out due to his habit.

Xie Yu: “Thank you, and rest in peace.”

Pei An sensed that Xie Yu was a man of intelligence but not the brightest. He only inquired after his own plans for extorting some money, and then he asked, “Do you need anything from me?”

Xie Yu breathed a sigh of relief, indicating that Pei An was not angry.

“Nothing special. I just wanted to ask why you haven’t returned yet.”

Pei An: “…”

Could he detect a hint of a displeased husband in Xie Yu’s words?

“I have some business to attend to, so I might not come back every day. You don’t need to worry about me,” Pei An’s tone softened, appreciating Xie Yu’s concern.

The people who accompanied Pei An on this mission, such as Li Chengrui, Yirui, and Claude, turned their heads, and their eyes sparkled with curiosity.

Xie Yu understood. Pei An was definitely going to set up something. Although he didn’t know the full extent of Pei An’s influence, he was willing to confront the 286th Legion head-on, and this should exceed Pei An’s expectations. So, Pei An should be busier.

“Well, if you decide to return, make sure to let me know so I can prepare a meal for you.”

Pei An’s lips twitched. Xie Yu truly had a problem, didn’t he?

After ending the call, Pei An pulled out his safety belt, which he had turned excessively, and left his seat. The spacecraft had already entered space, so there was no need to fasten the safety belt.

“Hey, boss, do you really have no romantic relationships?” Li Chengrui was nearly bursting with amusement. “Why do people contact you? Why ask if you’ve returned? What else did he tell you?”

Pei An was speechless and gave him a glare. “Not everyone has a one-track mind obsessed with romance like you.”

Li Chengrui patted his chest. “What’s wrong with a one-track mind obsessed with romance? I’m proud of it.”

Yirui and Claude both laughed.

Pei An sighed, “You win. Keep your pride.”

“Absolutely, I will continue to be proud.” Yirui chimed in.

Claude added, “I have no issues with romance, but, my dear friend, you haven’t had any romantic relationships.”

Li Chengrui paused and said, “Claude, that’s enough.”

After some joking and laughter, they got back to business.

“How many of the self-destruct drones from this batch have been produced?” Pei An asked.

Li Chengrui, now serious, replied, “We’ve worked overtime, and we’ve only managed to produce a thousand.”

Pei An pondered, “That should be enough. We’re going for a surprise attack on the 286th Legion.”

“According to the information we received, the 286th Legion is set to enter the Moran Star System from DS004, and the route from DS004 to DS009 is very suitable for ambushing them.” Pei An manipulated the virtual screen, zooming in on the DS004 to DS009 area.

“We can’t know for sure how many ships and spacecraft the 286th Legion will send, but they won’t use all their forces against us. Moreover, they have patrol duties and can’t risk deploying too many forces without authorization. So, it’s possible they won’t send a large fleet our way. We have only a thousand self-destruct drones, which we’ll use to set up an ambush. I want them to target the primary ship’s propulsion system. As soon as the primary ship has trouble, all our forces will rush to the scene, and we can deliver our ‘gifts’ to them at that time.”

Claude said, “Understood! I’ll take the team to set up the self-destruct drones.”

Pei An instructed, “Go ahead, and stay safe.”

Claude wasted no time and left to set up the self-destruct drones.

“Turn on all the satellites and connect the signal boosters, ensuring that anyone entering the Moran Star System can immediately receive the signals transmitted by me,” Pei An told Li Chengrui.

Li Chengrui hesitated for a moment. “Are you sure Xie Yu can be of use to us? He is a Major General from the Third Legion.”

Pei An replied, “I’m sure. Arui, you have to believe in my judgment.”

Li Chengrui smiled and started operating the console. “Your judgment on people is certainly better than the rest of us.”

Pei An has undoubtedly played a significant role in the organization’s development. He recruited anyone who could be of use to them, like Ah Huai. In the past, nobody would have thought that a person who used to be involved in fights and causing trouble would one day stand by their side.

If you believed in Pei An, you wouldn’t go wrong.

However, poor Major General Xie was still contemplating how to confess his true identity to Pei An. Pei An had not even given him the chance to refuse, and he had everything planned out regarding Xie Yu’s usage.

Pei An may not be able to surpass Xie Yu in terms of commanding a battle. His limited experience in combat involved others leading him, and fighting zombies in the post-apocalyptic era with no weapons and equipment, relying solely on his abilities, was completely different from modern warfare.

As a technician, if his powers hadn’t awakened in the post-apocalyptic era, he would have stayed in a laboratory to study weapons. Only when the environment stabilized did Pei An get to work in his beloved lab.

However, the moment he awakened his abilities, he was destined to be a fighter who could develop weapons internally and beat zombies externally. That was the case until the day he died in a zombie tide.

With this second chance at life, he was forced to shoulder this burden, dragging everyone forward and learning to deal with many things he wasn’t familiar with.

Despite being the leader of the organization, Pei An couldn’t change the fact that he wasn’t a professional commander. Other than putting more thought into weaponry, he could only be a little more cunning.

Xie Yu’s cunning was by no means little, but compared to Pei An, he was still behind in that aspect. Pei An could think of at least two hundred more cunning tricks than he could.

“All right, the signals are clear. As long as Xie Yu’s team contacts him after they arrive in the Moran Star System, Xie Yu will receive it immediately,” Li Chengrui said after quickly finishing the task.

Seeing this, Li Chengrui thought that Pei An was worried about their battle with the 286th Legion. He reassured Pei An, saying, “Don’t worry, based on your plan, if Xie Yu’s team encounters the 286th Legion, our situation will be resolved as soon as they act. Even if Xie Yu’s team is delayed or he can’t assist us, we have the Liao Yuan. We won’t fear the 286th Legion.”

Pei An sighed. He had a heart-to-heart conversation with Li Chengrui. “Have you ever considered that if we use the Liao Yuan against the 286th Legion, we would be firing our own ammunition and spending our own money? If Xie Yu confronts the 286th Legion, they might not be able to afford it. Even if they can afford it, it won’t be our money they’re burning.”

“I don’t accumulate wealth that quickly. We should save where we can,” Li Chengrui responded.

Pei An added, “If we could borrow some wool from the 286th Legion through Xie Yu, it would be great.”

Far away in DS009, Xie Yu sneezed. He was quite surprised; it seemed that even with his physical fitness, he could still catch a cold.