Picking Up An Alpha On Garbage Star - Chapter 41

Xie Yu almost fled in despair. It seemed like he understood something, recalling the mention that someone had given him plum blossom perfume. At that time, he thought it was similar to plum blossoms, but he believed it was just his imagination about Pei An. Now, it seemed… he was probably a big fool.

Xie Yu’s chest heaved uncontrollably, his heart beating wildly, like a deer going mad. He shakily opened the browser on his smart brain, searching for the term “plum blossom.”

After the search, the first entry that popped up was a basic information introduction about plum blossoms, including photos of the red flowers.

Xie Yu reached under his clothes, pulling out the necklace he had hidden. He glanced at the smart brain screen and then at the pendant of the necklace, repeating this several times. Finally, he confirmed that the red pendant on the necklace Pei An gave him was in the shape of a plum blossom.

Pei An turned the Starfire Stone he received from Xie Yu into a snowflake and gave himself a plum blossom.

Xie Yu dared not think further. This time, he truly understood. Was there anyone as dull as him? After finding the answer, Xie Yu fell into self-doubt.

Fortunately, he didn’t have much time for self-doubt. Xie Yu didn’t stand stupidly for long; he was soon dismissed.

While getting someone special was good, for a military person, duty always came first. The person who came to invite him left after giving the order, and Xie Yu went to do other tasks. Otherwise, they would have missed the chance to appreciate his commanding posture, which always seemed two steps more heroic than others when walking.

Pei An asked for the specifications of the 71st-grade energy oil from Xie Yu and sent them to Luo Sisi. Energy-related matters were under Luo Sisi’s jurisdiction, and she would assist in obtaining and transporting the oil.

Lika investigated West Hualai Company using the identity key of Xie Yu’s father. As one of the eight top generals of the Lyte Empire and the Commander-in-Chief of the Third Corps, Xie Ao’s authority was high. Entering the database and obtaining information about West Hualai Company was a quick process.

West Hualai Company was established only ten years ago, initially operating in the field of equipment components. It wasn’t a large company. Three years ago, they purchased a planet and began extracting energy resources. Two years ago, West Hualai Company, with a lower bid, defeated Huarong Company, becoming the main supplier of energy oil for the km-008 fighter. Due to the company’s limited size, they could only afford to supply energy oil for the km-008 fighter.

The Finance Department wouldn’t actively approach various companies; it was the companies that came with their quotes. However, the actual quoting process could only proceed after passing the quality inspection. Lika also obtained information about the two inspectors based on the sample submission for the energy oil.

To ensure the fairness of the inspection, regardless of the company, inspectors were temporarily assigned the day before the inspection, and they weren’t informed in advance. This ruled out the possibility of West Hualai Company bribing the inspectors before the inspection. However, during the inspection, there was still a chance that the two inspectors had interactions with West Hualai Company personnel.

As inspectors, they understood the importance of their work. Even if a company offered a sky-high check, they might not dare to accept it.

Those who could tamper with the inspection process were the leaders of the inspection department, and they had to be leaders with sufficient authority.

The leadership with enough authority in the Inspection Bureau consisted of the Director and the Deputy Directors. The Director had been working in the Inspection Bureau for many years, and he had seen much larger companies than West Hualai. There was even someone who offered him a high bribe for a tourism planet, but he remained unmoved. He didn’t seem like someone who could be easily swayed.

Among the three Deputy Directors, two were veterans who had been at the Inspection Bureau for a long time, just like the Director. Only one Deputy Director was newly appointed and transferred from another department.

According to the regulations of the Lyte Empire, personnel transfers between departments, as long as holding a position, would be demoted by half a level. In other words, if one could be a director in the original unit, after transferring, they could only serve as an assistant or a deputy director.

Coincidentally, the newly transferred Deputy Director from another unit was not even a director in the original unit and didn’t hold a position higher than a section chief. Yet, he was mysteriously promoted and ended up as the Deputy Director in such an important department as the Inspection Bureau.

Lika shook her head, not quite understanding the thoughts of such a person. Knowing that his position was dubious, he still didn’t behave cautiously. Was he afraid that others wouldn’t notice his struggles?

The ability of West Hualai Company’s 71st-grade energy oil to pass the inspection and enter the military for widespread use was probably due to the good deeds of this Deputy Director.

Lika compiled the collected information and sent it to Xie Yu’s smart brain account.

The  Moran Star System was too far from the Central Star, making direct communication impossible. Xie Yu had set up several signal amplifiers to send information to the 258th Legion’s main ship patrolling in various locations. Whoever received it would forward the encrypted message to the Central Star. It had to reach the military headquarters as quickly as possible.

In addition to sending messages to the military headquarters, Xie Yu also sent a copy to his old father. His father would naturally help him with the remaining tasks.

Meanwhile, Pei An was still focusing on overhauling the Moonlight, finding and repairing any vulnerabilities. He had now moved to the escort ship of the Moonlight for maintenance.

Xie Yu found Pei An in the repair room of the escort ship. Pei An was surrounded by a group of people watching him perform maintenance.

Some were interested in Pei An’s work, while others were watching Pei An himself. Standing at the entrance of the repair room, Xie Yu had already noticed several subordinates with eyes fixated on Pei An, reluctant to move away.

“Why are you surrounding him so tightly? Do you want to steal his air?” Xie Yu walked into the repair room and chased away the onlookers. “Why are you so close? Keep some distance.”

“Commander, General Pei is really amazing! He only needs to look at the computer scan data to deduce where the problem is!” Another person was conquered by Pei An’s technical skills.

Xie Yu thought to himself that Pei An was indeed amazing; if he wasn’t, there wouldn’t be many outstanding people in the world.

“Why did you come here?” Pei An wiped his hands with a towel and discussed the current progress of the maintenance. “The Moonlight has the most issues; it will take a bit longer. However, the Changyuan and the Dark God are relatively new. I estimate that three days later, the three main ships will be operational.”

“Thank you for your hard work.” Xie Yu sincerely thanked Pei An. Without Pei An and the group of technical talents he brought, their warships would have retired half the time in advance.

Pei An smiled and said, “Commander Xie, don’t just say it. How about something practical?”

“What practical thing do you want?” Xie Yu agreed readily.

Someone nearby jokingly said, “Commander, if General Pei has taken a fancy to you, would you agree to give yourself to him?”

Pei An shrugged, waiting for Xie Yu’s answer.

Xie Yu looked at Pei An with sincere eyes, a seriousness evident to everyone around. “Xu, as long as General Pei doesn’t mind, I’ll get ready for the dowry immediately and propose to him.”

“Oh, oh, oh! General Pei, generously accept our commander!” 

Pei An adjusted the stray hairs on his forehead. “Sure, but I need to make it clear in advance; I can’t afford a betrothal gift.”

“Don’t worry, General Pei, our commander is wealthy. We’ll make sure the dowry is splendid!” 

Pei An and Xie Yu couldn’t help but chuckle. 

“What are you doing here? Don’t disturb General Pei’s work.” Xie Yu waved his hand to shoo away the people. “Hurry up and leave.”

“Yes, yes, yes. We won’t disturb you and General Pei’s intimate moment! We’re leaving quickly!” The group of people scattered outside the repair room, even those who were initially enamored with Pei An lost interest.

Compared to their commander, they were utterly uncompetitive.

“I plan to stay up all night. Xie Yu, help me prepare some supper?” Pei An openly instructed Xie Yu.

“There are no fresh ingredients on the warship, only canned food.” Xie Yu checked the variety of canned goods they had. “Potato beef, braised pork, fermented black bean fish, tomato spare ribs, spicy diced chicken. Do you have a preference?”

Pei An chose potato beef and spicy diced chicken. After all, it was still canned food, not nutritional supplements.

“Then you wait here for me. I’ll heat up the canned food.” Xie Yu, the perfect homemaker, went to prepare supper for Pei An.

After delivering the supper, it was still warm.

“Just eat this for now. There are no fresh vegetables on the warship. After I finish my work, let me know what you want, and I’ll make it for you.” Xie Yu wiped the spoon and handed it to Pei An.

Pei An ate quietly without speaking. In a few days, they would set off to eliminate interstellar pirates, and there probably wouldn’t be a chance to go to the surface. Moreover, there wasn’t time to go to the supermarket to buy groceries and cook. After clearing the interstellar pirates, Xie Yu would likely return to the Central Star, and even if the Dark God accelerated, it would still take two months to return to the distant star.

Xie Yu pondered and, after some time, asked, “Is the supper not good? Did I make it poorly?”

Pei An shook his head. It was canned food, and there was nothing unappetizing. He accelerated his eating pace.

In a few days, they would receive the energy oil, fill up the km-008 first, and then leave a reserve supply ship with energy oil to follow the main force.

Pei An changed the topic to conceal his true feelings. Xie Yu thought for a moment and then opened his electronic notebook to handwrite a promissory note. “Lyte Empire, 3rd Legion, 258th Legion Commander Xie Yu, currently borrowing from… which company should I write?”

Pei An suggested, “Ruyu Energy.”

Xie Yu nodded and continued writing, “Borrowing energy oil from Ruyu Energy. Upon approval from higher authorities, I will repay the sum in full without any deduction. Signed by me and dated.”

After finishing, Xie Yu sent the promissory note to Pei An’s smart brain. “Take it. This is the contract for me giving myself to you.”

Pei An chuckled, “Then I’d better keep it safe. Who knows if someone else might take it; I would be in debt.”