Picking Up An Alpha On Garbage Star - Chapter 38.1
Pei An arrived at ML001 three days later with a group of people. At this point, the entire Moran Star System was under their control, tightly gripped in their hands like an iron bucket. Additionally, being in a remote corner of the galaxy, it would take a long time for the Central Star to discover that Moran Star System had changed hands. With Moran System unified, the outdated regulations needed revision, and this order had to come from the Administrative Headquarters. Therefore, Pei An took a team of administrative personnel on a ship to ML001.
Xie Yu learned that Pei An was coming only after Pei An’s warship, with an additional star hour of travel, had reached ML001. And he learned it from Zhuge Yue.
“How did you find out about Pei An coming?” Xie Yu’s gaze turned sharp. Pei An hadn’t mentioned it to him!
Zhuge Yue’s eyes wandered, “Well, it wasn’t Pei An who told me; it was Lao Ye who came with Pei An. Lao Ye mentioned it.”
Xie Yu mentally noted down Ye Xiuzhe. He had told Zhuge Yue but not him. He was in trouble.
Ye Xiuzhe himself was curious why Pei An didn’t inform Xie Yu in advance but chose to disclose it through Zhuge Yue when he was almost there.
Pei An looked out of the window at the myriad stars retreating, heading towards the distant unknown. “It’s been a while since we met. I wanted to tease him a bit,” Pei An explained.
Ye Xiuzhe understood. This was what they called “spicing things up.”
Upon learning of Pei An’s visit, Xie Yu temporarily set aside his work and let Lika take charge. He had to go to the spaceport to welcome Pei An. After all, as the host, he should show some hospitality, even though he had only been on ML001 for a few days – not much of a host.
Though Pei An came over on the Long Abyss, he brought along the Blaze, Azure Dragon, and Vermillion Bird. ML001 was at the outermost edge of the Moran Star System, the nearest planet for travels to other star systems. Sooner or later, they would leave Moran Star System, and it wasn’t practical to keep the armed forces stationed at the distant star. Leaving the White Tiger and Black Tortoise to guard their main base was sufficient.
An hour later, the fleet arrived at ML001. Pei An, accompanied by Ye Xiuzhe, disembarked from the Long Abyss, and Xie Yu, along with his team, was waiting below to welcome them.
“Pei An.” Xie Yu couldn’t wait for Pei An to descend the gangway and rushed up to greet him. “Why didn’t you tell me you were coming? If I hadn’t heard from Zhu Ge, I wouldn’t have been able to pick you up.”
Pei An replied, “I’m a grown man. I won’t get lost. Why do you need to specially come and pick me up?”
Xie Yu had been busy lately. The three interstellar pirates couldn’t withstand Zhuge Yue’s interrogation and spilled a lot of information. Xie Yu had been working on battle plans these past few days.
“No matter how busy I am, I still have time to come out and pick you up.” Xie Yu pointed to Pei An’s portable light brain. “Can I help you with that?”
Without much ado, Pei An handed his portable light brain to Xie Yu. It was a powerful device but significantly heavier than the common ones, at least twice as heavy.
“I’ve arranged accommodation for you. Rented a hotel – you, me, and Lika will stay on the seventh floor.” Xie Yu said.
Since they were only here temporarily, besides essential personnel, others would remain on the warship. So, Xie Yu didn’t rent a large or high-end hotel, just a mid-range one with matching rooms – a bedroom, a living room, and a separate bathroom.
“Don’t rush to the hotel; let’s first go see the Moonlight.” Pei An, this time, came over with Xie Yu’s invitation. However, the invitation was too subtle for most people to understand.
The day before yesterday, Xie Yu had sent him a message conveying Zhuge Yue’s hope for Pei An to help find some technical experts to upgrade the central control system of the Moonlight. Then he followed up with, “You don’t need to come specifically for this; the Moonlight’s upgrade isn’t urgent.”
Forget it, clearly wanting to come over himself.
“Well, that’s fine. You haven’t been on the Moonlight yet. I’ll show you around.” Xie Yu turned around. “Come, the Moonlight is this way.”
The central control system upgrade for the main ship cannot be completed on the super brain; it must use the large computer carried by the main ship. Therefore, Xie Yu had to take Pei An through the Moonlight to the central part of the ship.
Pei An’s visit for the Moonlight’s upgrade delighted Zhuge Yue. She had been feeling constrained using this main ship that had been in service for twenty years, eager to see the Moonlight upgraded but lacking the opportunity.
Zhuge Yue initially thought that with Pei An’s organization having many researchers, perhaps someone could help. Unexpectedly, it was Pei An himself taking the initiative.
No wonder Pei An’s subordinates respected him so much. If Pei An were in her team, she would have pampered him, serving him three meals a day.
“Mr. Pei, you are really amazing! Would you consider giving some technical guidance to the Moonlight?” Zhuge Yue extended an olive branch.
Pei An connected his portable light brain to the large computer, initiating the loading process.
“I didn’t do this upgrade system; it was done by Li Chengrui. I’m not good at this.” Pei An had asked Li Chengrui to create the upgrade system, brought it over, plugged it into the central control system, and then the system could automatically upgrade and inspect. If there were problems Pei An couldn’t solve, the system would automatically transfer the issues to Li Chengrui for resolution. After Li Chengrui fixed it, Pei An’s side would install the key, saving the central control system.
Zhuge Yue chuckled, covering her mouth. “Mr. Pei is talented in everything. I just wanted some technical guidance.”
For the second time today, Zhuge Yue received a cold gaze from Xie Yu.
“Mr. Pei’s technical skills can serve as technical guidance. Are you able to afford his salary?” Xie Yu spoke without a mocking tone but with a sarcastic meaning.
After ridiculing Zhuge Yue, he turned to Pei An, who was still busy. “Pei An, I, in the name of the 258th Legion Commander, invite you to serve as technical guidance. Feel free to ask for the salary you want; I’ll approve it.”
Zhuge Yue’s mouth gaped open. Did their commander just become enlightened? How did he become enlightened? Wasn’t it supposed to be through a thunderstrike?
Pei An’s fingertips almost pressed the wrong keys.
“Since we’re all comrades, talking about salaries and such feels inappropriate. If any of you have technical questions, feel free to come to me for solutions.” These people, with parents being talents of the Empire Science Academy, grew up in that environment, coupled with the data sealed by the Blaze, indeed had a high level of proficiency.
The main reason was the vast number of personnel in the Empire’s military. Every legion needed technical personnel, but not all tech experts were willing to stay on a warship for an extended period, stepping on land only once in several months. Floating in space for too long made them forget the feeling of solid ground.
Another point was that the technical personnel in the fleet, even if they earned their living through technology, couldn’t possibly have higher salaries than those teaching in universities or working in research institutes. Following the military also carried risks, and after years of hard work in education, many preferred to stay in a comfortable and safe environment.
After much consideration, not many tech experts were willing to join the military. It couldn’t be said there weren’t many, but each legion needed personnel, and there weren’t enough qualified individuals.
Therefore, tech experts in the military were highly respected.
“If the Ghost King and Azure Dragon also want upgrades, you can contact Li Chengrui directly. I focus on weapon research and am not very skilled in this.” Pei An entered the last command, freeing up his hands. He could now divert his attention to Xie Yu and raise an eyebrow.
“Weapon research?” Zhuge Yue’s eyes gradually lit up. “Can Mr. Pei upgrade the weapons we have?”
Pei An half-turned around, “Upgrading the weapons I gave you isn’t very realistic. Your weapons are purchased uniformly by the military. Unless you control the military expenses for purchasing weapons, or you simply establish an arsenal.”
Military weapons are purchased quarterly, where each legion’s required arms are tallied, prices are calculated, and the list must be submitted to the Finance Department. After some negotiation with the Finance Department, approval is needed before the purchase. Otherwise, they would have to fight barehanded.
Zhuge Yue couldn’t help but feel disappointed. She wanted to see if there were more advanced weapons available.
“Commander, discuss with your father and consider establishing an arsenal,” Zhuge Yue looked at Xie Yu hopefully. “Look at our situation, living so frugally! It’s really like holding steamed buns with no oil in the vegetables.”
Xie Yu was exasperated, “If you don’t stop talking, I’ll reward you with ten more tasks.”
Zhuge Yue promptly sealed her mouth and even made a gesture of zipping it shut with her hand.
“Xie Yu, I think Captain Zhu Ge has a point. If possible, it would be necessary to establish our own arsenal,” Pei An had completed the part of his work that needed attention, and now he focused on chatting with Xie Yu.
The group selling military supplies in the Light Empire were almost all from old nobility. This destined that they would eventually be at odds with each other. By then, if the other party controlled the military supplies, and their side was restricted, how could they fight a war? Relying solely on capturing weapons on the battlefield wasn’t practical.