Zi Ye turned and walked away. Let her bang her head against the wall in silence then.

Money, compared to what she wanted to achieve, was always a bottomless pit! Zi Ye wore a somber expression.

"I think I'm quite tired. Perhaps we should head back and rest." Ors boomed with laughter.

"Worrying about money, are we? Don't rush, don't rush.

Once the proposal is finalized, we can apply for funding from the treasury. They should be able to allocate a substantial amount, right?

Your Strategic Weapons Department is, after all, the second most crucial department in the Legion." Zi Ye managed a bitter smile and shook her head. Even if the treasury was willing to provide the funds, she wouldn't dare accept much.

The war compensation alone had emptied the treasury, let alone post-war reconstruction. Since the head of the Legion's most vital department, Red Hair, was out earning money himself, what could she possibly expect?

Still, engineers were never concerned with finances, so she decided not to explain, pushing the annoying subject out of her mind for the moment. She pointed to Halley.

"This is my assistant, Halley." Ors raised an eyebrow. "You finally remembered to hire an assistant.

Look, this whole row behind me is full of assistants." Zi Ye: "...You rich man, with all that money to hire so many assistants, why not sponsor me to build more air force assembly workshops!" Ors rubbed his forehead. "I think I'm quite tired too.

Perhaps we should head back and rest first." Zi Ye choked for a moment, then burst into hearty laughter. Ors chuckled.

"Alright, you go rest for a bit, and while you're at it, review the proposal. This afternoon, we'll scout locations, and then we'll have a meeting.

How does that sound?" Zi Ye nodded, and with Halley, Little Sprout, and Dou Zai trailing behind her in a grand procession, they headed to the project division's accommodation module to report in. Having drifted for so long in the void, Zi Ye's greatest asset was her ability to adapt to any situation.

If the accommodation module had the best facilities, great; if not, she could simply deploy her multi-purpose robot and make do. The module wasn't large, about a two-bedroom, one-living-room setup, barely one hundred square meters—in space, this was even worse off than a slum.

She didn't mind. She brought out Butler W to clean up while she went straight for a shower.

She had just tussled with Halley. They were sticky, and she couldn't relax until she was clean.

Halley was lodged in the room next to Zi Ye's. Before he could even unpack his luggage, Red Hair’s ultra-comm pinged him, asking with a grin, "Hey, brother, have you met Zi Ye yet?" Halley snapped to attention.

"Report, Director. I have." Red Hair waved a hand dismissively.

"Calm down, calm down. How's the rapport?" Halley replied flatly, "Not great." Red Hair feigned a sigh.

"Do you know why I assigned you to be her assistant?" Halley's face darkened. "No." Red Hair laughed heartily.

"I knew you wouldn't." Halley's expression grew even blacker. He belonged to the Silver Leopard Squadron, credited with shooting down nineteen warships during the war.

He held a First-Class Merit decoration. He had expected Red Hair to assign him a prime position after the war ended, but instead, he was made the assistant to a young girl.

His military career had come to an abrupt halt! No matter how exceptional Zi Ye's abilities were, if he served as her assistant, even exceptionally well, he would still only be an assistant!

The more Halley thought about it, the darker his face became. Any positive impression he had of Zi Ye evaporated.

If this assignment hadn't been ordered by Red Hair, he would have quit on the spot. Red Hair settled onto a sofa, lit a cigarette, and spoke with earnest gravity.

"Brother, I'm not trying to screw you over. Do you want to hear the reasons?" Halley suddenly had the urge to punch someone.

But the foremost rule of the military was obedience to superior orders. Red Hair was his superior.

No matter how furious he was, he had to endure it! Red Hair smiled.

"There aren't many reasons, just these few. Listen for your own sake.

First: You can fight, pilot mechs, command a vessel, manage your own life, and you can barely manage to cook. Taking care of Zi Ye is no problem." Halley: "..." Was Red Hair trying to find a nanny for Zi Ye!

Red Hair ignored his utterly black face. "Second, you understand warship construction and have some knowledge of maintenance and upkeep.

Learning from Zi Ye for a couple of months, and you'll be able to assist her immediately." Halley: "..." Red Hair continued, "Third, you are fiercely protective of your own people and absolutely unyielding toward outsiders. Zi Ye is too gentle with people; you two make a good complement." Halley completely lost the will to speak.

He would have much preferred to hear Red Hair praise his superb military discipline, rigorous conduct, and obedience rather than these three ridiculous justifications. It was only now that he truly understood: Red Hair wasn't selecting talent; he was playing an interstellar joke.

Red Hair tried to console him. "Relax, your rank is retained, and there is room for promotion even as an assistant.

If you can stay by her side for a full month, becoming her aide-de-camp is no problem. Currently, the Strategic Weapons Department only has one Deputy Minister.

If she takes a liking to you, perhaps the other Deputy Minister position could be yours." Halley listened silently until Red Hair finished, summarizing one crucial point: "What you're saying is, there's no chance of me returning to a combat division, is that right?" Red Hair grinned. "As expected of a smart man, you understood quickly." At that moment, Halley felt overwhelming resentment toward his former superior.

He had been sold out like that! No, he had been handed over to someone else like that!

Halley cut the ultra-comm with a dark expression. "Jiji!" A small sound came from near his feet.

Halley looked down and suddenly remembered that he had brought one of Zi Ye's pets, Dou Zai, back with him and forgotten to put it in her room. He didn't have an ounce of affection for this creature, fat as a pig.

Dou Zai looked up at him with wide, round eyes and chirped again, "Jiji-jiji!" Halley impatiently scooped it up and started walking toward the door. He couldn't understand its animal language, nor was he familiar with small creatures.

He didn't know what it wanted, so he had to return it to its owner. Reaching the door, he suddenly felt a force tugging at Dou Zai.

He turned to see Dou Zai extending its sharp teeth and biting down on the metal door frame. Those razor-sharp teeth actually punctured the metal, emitting a crunching sound as a piece of the frame was gnawed away.

Halley's eyes nearly bulged out of his head. He suddenly felt that this small animal was also a vicious creature.

But surely, an animal that eats metal would die? If it died, his career as an assistant would end immediately, and he’d face Red Hair’s scorn upon his return.

Although he disliked the assistant role, he certainly didn't want to be fired on the very first day. Thus, with a grim face, he pried Dou Zai's teeth open, patted its back, and Dou Zai opened its mouth, dropping the piece of metal.

He picked up the metal shard and tossed it into the waste receptacle. Holding Dou Zai in his left hand, he knocked on Zi Ye's door with his right.

At that moment, his left arm suddenly throbbed with pain. He looked down to see Dou Zai sinking its teeth into his forearm.

The piercing pain, reaching down to the marrow, almost made Halley drop the creature. Gods, did it have to hurt this much!

The door was opened by Butler W, which smiled when it saw Halley. "Hello, Assistant Halley.

Please come in." Halley sucked in a sharp breath. "Where is Zi Ye?" Butler W replied, "Mistress is currently bathing."