Chapter 252: Advance 4! (Extra for everyone's monthly votes) – Part 1

Following behind Zhang Beihai, Dongfang Yanxu curiously sized up Jiang Yu. She had been in contact with Zhang for so long and yet this was the first time she had seen this father-like officer show such excited emotions.

Even his visit to the "Natural Selection" hadn't stirred this much excitement in him.

Jiang Yu noticed that Zhang Beihai appeared somewhat weary. That made sense, as his plan was about to bear fruit, and surely the pressure in his heart must not be small.

Nevertheless, Zhang's gaze remained as resolute and unfathomably deep as ever, as if the span of two centuries had not extinguished the fiery passion in his soul.

Jiang Yu said to the Vice Fleet Commander accompanying him, "I've brought some gifts for Colonel Zhang this time, which a cargo ship will deliver shortly.

"They're not anything dangerous, so no need to inspect them."

The Vice Fleet Commander was slightly startled but nodded. They were just some gifts—agreeing to this favor wouldn't be a problem.

Jiang Yu started chatting with Zhang Beihai about Chang Weisi, the Star Defense Department, and the Space Army.

It seemed as though the two men had an unspoken agreement to only discuss the past, not the present.

The Vice Fleet Commander saw that the two would be talking for a while and decided to let Dongfang Yanxu entertain Jiang Yu, as he had many other matters to attend to.

However, the Vice Fleet Commander had not even returned to his office when he received a report from his subordinates: a cargo ship had just docked at the harbor, reportedly carrying the gifts from Jiang Yu to Colonel Zhang.

The Vice Commander said, "Got it, transport it to the 'Natural Selection' right away, and hand it over while both the Wallfacer and Colonel Zhang are present."

His subordinate hesitantly asked, "Should we, um, inspect it first?"

"I've already promised the Wallfacer that we wouldn't look. Besides, they're just some gifts, what's there to inspect?"

"Er, you might want to come to the docks and see for yourself."

Only then did the Vice Commander realize something was amiss and he hurried to the dock. Seeing the load on the cargo ship, he immediately became unsettled, "What the hell kind of gift is this?"

There were six differently sized rectangular or square containers inside the cargo hold, the largest of which was over twenty meters tall and thirty meters wide!

The Vice Commander thought to himself, is this supposed to be a new warship for Zhang Beihai?

His subordinate asked, "Should we crack them open for inspection?"

The Vice Commander pondered for a moment before saying, "Scan them. Check for any dangers, then decide whether to open them or not."

He had just promised Jiang Yu not to inspect the items, and to break that promise now would look bad in front of everyone.

The staff immediately conducted a scan and confirmed that the containers held mechanical equipment, apparently including some robots, none of which were equipped with weapons and no hazardous materials were detected.

Although the Vice Commander didn't understand the play Jiang Yu was making, since there was no danger, he waved his hand and ordered, "Send it to the 'Natural Selection'!"

When the Vice Fleet Commander arrived at the "Natural Selection" with the gifts, Jiang Yu was just saying goodbye to Zhang Beihai.

Zhang Beihai was also surprised to see the six containers, "What are these?"

Jiang Yu replied with a smile, "You'll find out in time. Just find a secure place to store them."

Zhang Beihai gave Jiang Yu a meaningful look and said, "Alright."

Jiang Yu then told the Vice Fleet Commander who had accompanied the "gifts," "Fill up the 'Natural Selection' with fuel and bring in a set of spare parts."

The Vice Fleet Commander was taken aback and then asked, "Does the 'Natural Selection' have a new mission?"

By convention, warships docked in the naval port with no missions could only refuel up to about one-fifth of their capacity.

"No," Jiang Yu said with a smile, "I just heard that the 'Natural Selection' has a pretty large fuel tank, and I'm curious how long it would take to fill it up."

Standing by, Dongfang Yanxu had a strange expression on her face; she had been present during Jiang Yu's conversation with Zhang Beihai and hadn't heard anything about fuel tanks.

The Vice Fleet Commander frowned and said, "I'm sorry, but I cannot agree to this request. According to convention..."

Jiang Yu waved his hand dismissively, "Don't talk to me about convention. If you are not in charge here, then I will go find the Fleet Commander.

"Even if my position as Commander-in-chief isn't worth much, on a trivial matter like this, he still wouldn't go against my wishes."

The Vice Commander thought it over and then ordered the control room to start refueling.

Jiang Yu didn't forget to remind him, "And a set of spare parts too."

Dongfang Yanxu quickly said, "There's no room for them!"

Zhang Beihai suddenly interjected, "Isn't there space in the hangar? Just put them in there!"

Dongfang Yanxu frowned, wondering to herself what these two Common Era people were up to?

Jiang Yu smiled persuasively, "Hurry and prepare them, just consider it a drill."

Dongfang Yanxu thought to herself what kind of drill this was? She glanced at the Vice Commander and began to prepare after seeing him nod.

Jiang Yu stood on the dock where the "Natural Selection" was berthed, chatting with the Vice Commander intermittently.

It wasn't until over an hour later, when the fuel tank was full and the spare parts had been loaded onto the warship, that Jiang Yu waved to Zhang Beihai from afar and left.

The Vice Commander was just about to take Jiang Yu on a tour elsewhere, but Jiang Yu said, "I'm tired, find me a place to rest.

"Oh, by the way, Dr. Ding Yi is supposed to be departing with the Asian Fleet, right?"

The Vice Commander replied, "Yes, Dr. Ding will be able to catch up with us at the fortress in three days."

Jiang Yu sighed, "He's an old friend of mine."

The Vice Commander thought to himself that Jiang Yu surely wouldn't be bringing as many gifts for Dr. Ding Yi, as there would be no place to put them!

"I'll rest for a few days. Once Dr. Ding Yi arrives, remember to notify me."

The Vice Commander nodded and led Jiang Yu to the guest room that had been prepared for him.

It was only after a while that the Vice Commander realized something. Could it be that the real purpose of Commander-in-chief Jiang's visit to the Asian Fleet was just to stir up the crew of the "Natural Selection"?

Whether it was the gifts Jiang Yu brought for Zhang Beihai or the extra set of spare parts, they would have to be moved from the warship back to the fortress before the army's departure.

After all, these items added a significant amount of weight and didn't comply with wartime regulations.

That evening, Jiang Yu had dinner with the soldiers of the Asian Fleet in the large cafeteria. This was a military fortress with no hotels to entertain guests, and even the Commander's meals were prepared by the cafeteria chefs.

The meal that Jiang Yu had was the same standard as the Fleet Commander's, both cooked by the chefs on a small stove.

However, on the outside, it looked no different from what regular officers ate—food in squeeze bags.

Unlike when Moon City was first built, the food was now freshly made. It was just a bit softer than similar food on Earth, and it was put into squeeze bags purely for the convenience of eating in a weightless environment.

As Jiang Yu was dining and casually commenting on the Asian Fleet's food to Number Three, who didn't need to eat, an officer suddenly pointed out the window, "Eh? Why has that warship departed without retracting its gangways?"

Everyone turned to look outside. The gangways weren't the only things not retracted; the warship had also ramped up to maximum power without leaving the harbor, which was clearly a violation of protocol.

Jiang Yu quickly made his way to the window, and saw the violating warship was none other than the "Natural Selection."

In the ship's mirror-like, smooth departure, Jiang Yu seemed to see the figure of Zhang Beihai's father lying in his sickbed in the glow of the ship's tail.

At the same time, Jiang Yu seemed to hear the instructions that Zhang Beihai had pursued with all his life's effort, "'Natural Selection,' proceed to quadrant four!"

Ironically, such a significant step for humanity was not due to natural selection, but artificial selection!