Whats's it like to have a fleet that can only recuirt female soldiers?

The two of them were very excited.

"Zhao Chen, you were too impulsive just now. I know you hate Zhang Haoran—he took Jiang Shasha from you—but you shouldn't have challenged him to a starship duel!"

Li Wei walked beside Zhao Chen, his tone a mix of anxiety and reproach. "The application for the duel has been submitted; there's no way to cancel it now. If it doesn't work out, I'll lend you my T2 Hyena."

"No, I have a starship," Zhao Chen replied, a small smile playing on his lips.

Li Wei stared at him in disbelief. "You have a starship? How come I didn't know about this? We've been practically glued together, except when you're sleeping or in the bathroom!"

"Let's go exchange it now," Zhao Chen said nonchalantly.

Li Wei froze, then grabbed his head in frustration. "You've got to be kidding me! You're going to pick a starship from the academy warehouse to fight Zhang Haoran?"

Half an hour later, Zhao Chen and Li Wei arrived at the academy's starship warehouse.

Unlike the bustling starport, this warehouse was quiet, its rows of starships covered in dust—a graveyard of aged ships.

"Hello, teacher. I'm here to exchange for a starship," Zhao Chen said at the manager's counter.

The warehouse manager barely looked up. "Take a look yourself," he said, handing over a terminal. "Here's the list. It shows the starships and the points required to exchange them."

The list displayed nearly three hundred starships, most of them T1-level and second-hand.

"Zhao Chen, you've been a top student for three semesters. You should have around 30,000 points by now," Li Wei said, scrolling through the options. "You can exchange for this T2 Hyena-class medium destroyer. It's old, but it's functional and has decent tech."

Zhao Chen shook his head and kept searching.

Li Wei suggested several more T2 starships, all good options, but Zhao Chen rejected each one.

"Master Zhao, how long is this going to take?" Li Wei groaned. "There are over 300 ships, but only a handful worth considering!"

"I've made my choice," Zhao Chen said.

"Which one?"

Zhao Chen turned to the manager. "Teacher, can I exchange for multiple starships if my points are enough?"

The manager nodded. "There's no limit on the number of exchanges."

Zhao Chen checked off three starships.

"T2 Hyena-class medium destroyer: 59 years in service, hull severely damaged, three main guns repaired. 9,000 points required.

T2 Gray Wolf-class light cruiser: 65 years in service, minor structural issues. 7,000 points required.

T2 Devil Crocodile-class medium battleship: 80 years in service, heavily patched. 11,000 points required."

Both Li Wei and the manager gawked.

"Are you sure?" the manager asked. "These ships are ancient and have severe wear and tear."

Li Wei shook Zhao Chen by the shoulders. "You can't be serious! Starship duels are one-on-one—you can only use one ship!"

"I'm sure," Zhao Chen said firmly.

After confirming multiple times, the manager processed the exchange.

"These ships are now registered to you," the manager said. "You can store them here for free for one month, but after that, parking fees apply."

"Teacher, points can also be used to exchange starship parts, right? And we have access to the academy's modification workshops?" Zhao Chen asked.

"Yes, you have 30 days of workshop access," the manager replied.

"Great. Please transfer these starships and the parts I'm about to exchange to Workshop 017," Zhao Chen said, handing over a parts list.

"These are standard components," the manager said after a glance. "Everything will be ready in half an hour."

"Thank you, teacher."

As Zhao Chen walked away, Li Wei grabbed his arm. "What are you planning? Those three rust buckets won't save you!"

"Trust me," Zhao Chen said, his expression calm.

Li Wei threw up his hands in frustration. "Fine! Do whatever you want!"

Moments later, Zhao Chen received a notification: "You have been granted access to Workshop No. 017."

At the workshop, Zhao swiped his ID to open the door. Inside was a cavernous space filled with the smell of rust and oil. The three starships stood before him, their battered hulls bearing witness to countless battles.

Zhao approached the control panel and pulled up holographic screens displaying detailed models of the ships. Highlighted sections—marked in gray and red—indicated areas for modification.

"Just merge these sections," he muttered, manipulating the holograms to form a rough prototype.

Finally, Zhao uploaded a file from his personal terminal—a design for the T3 Blizzard-class light battlecruiser.

"This is where it begins," he whispered, his eyes gleaming with determination.