Since the females were holding a meeting in the first-floor hall, all the males had their movements restricted.

They were all assigned to other floors and temporarily forbidden from moving around freely.

Meanwhile, the first floor was heavily guarded by soldiers assigned to the cruise ship.

Jiang Qin finally saw the SS-level female from the Empire.

Silvery-white hair cascaded down her back like moonlight. Her silvery-white eyes were clear and cold, aloof and indifferent.

As she was no longer in her youth, her face held the charm of a mature woman, yet it was free of wrinkles.

"Greetings, everyone. I am Yue Jiao, the vice president of the Female Protection Association."

The president above her was also an S-level female, but being over two hundred years old, she no longer handled most day-to-day affairs.

Now, Yue Jiao handled the majority of the association’s business.

The meeting that followed began with a discussion of the battlefield.

Yue Jiao said coldly, "I trust that all you ladies present have heard how grim the situation on the front lines is."

Without waiting for an answer, she continued:

"Generally speaking, neither the state nor the association will force females to support the war effort on the battlefield.

Only when matters become extremely serious are we compulsorily required to meet a certain workload.

Of course, we haven’t reached that point yet, but we are close.

We females hold the most esteemed status in the Interstellar era and enjoy the most generous benefits. I’m sure everyone here understands why that is."

"We enjoy society’s support, so in return, when it’s our time to contribute, we must step up."

"Currently, seven Frontline Stars have been destroyed, and thirty-five remain.

Every day, large numbers of warriors are injured and fall into comas, or even go berserk and die, due to surging Riot Values.

Therefore, in the coming period, we High-level Beastman females must participate in this brutal war."

No one spoke. Even if some were unwilling, no one was foolish enough to stand up and object directly at this moment.

But Jiang Qin could clearly sense that the vast majority of the females were resistant to the idea.

"Next, the Female Protection Association’s central office will issue a work schedule to the inboxes of the stationed Star Officials in every major city district.

I will need all Star Officials to be responsible for implementing this schedule and ensuring that the females in your jurisdictions can smoothly begin their work."

A work schedule appeared on the large screen behind Yue Jiao.

In simple terms, the infirmaries in every city would be activated to receive nearby warriors and military cadets.

From now on, a proximity-based principle would be adopted, diverting those returning from the battlefield to infirmaries in the major city districts for treatment.

This was because the Central City infirmaries were already overwhelmed.

Therefore, even the small cities on third-class stars had to be utilized.

Next was the personnel assignment list.

Jiang Qin successfully secured the position in charge of Central City: City Star Official for the Central City District on the Federation Main Star.

In the hierarchy of her jurisdiction, only the Chief Star Officer overseeing the Main Star was above her, and above them were the president and vice president.

She was not surprised by this outcome.

After receiving the appointment notice and the subsequent plans, Jiang Qin casually looked them over.

Yue Jiao said, "There is one more notice. Females currently serving sentences can apply for battlefield support and receive sentence reductions based on military merit.

As for the rest, the City Star Officials can simply make assignments according to the list.

And one more thing: the issue of the birth rate."

"The birth rate of new Beastman children is far too low. Under the new policy, the rule requiring every female to work in an infirmary for at least ten days is waived for pregnant females.

So, if any ladies are unwilling to work at the infirmaries, you can time your pregnancies accordingly."

After Yue Jiao addressed a few more issues, she yielded the floor to the Chief Star Officers of the two nations.

The Federation’s Chief Star Officer was an elder with the surname Bai. She was quite old, with wrinkles on her face, and seemed to be a very gentle lady.

She didn’t give a long-winded speech after taking the stage. She just spoke about the work ahead, expressing her hope that everyone would work hard alongside the males to overcome this crisis.

Then she offered some advice, like an elder sharing her experience with the younger generation.

She mainly talked about soothing techniques, summarizing her own experiences and sharing them with the group.

The Empire’s Chief Star Officer, on the other hand, was a female from the Imperial Family with the surname Long.

Her personality was not as easygoing as Chief Star Officer Bai’s. She was more resolute and severe, offering only a few sharp words of warning.

The message was clear: she normally didn’t care what the females did, but when a mission was assigned, every female had to take it seriously and do their utmost to complete it.

If anyone were to slack off, she would be merciless.

Two hours passed in the blink of an eye.

Finally, Vice President Yue Jiao concluded the meeting with a single, coolly delivered sentence. "The banquet will now begin. Enjoy yourselves."

The females rose to their feet, and just as they were about to head to the second floor for the festivities, there was a sudden CLICK—

All the lights on the cruise ship went out.

"Huh? Why did the power suddenly go out? Did they forget to change the Energy Box?"

"What’s going on? Where are the cruise ship’s attendants? Where the hell did they all go?"

"Everyone, do not panic. Do not run around, or you may get injured. This is just a minor incident; the staff will resolve it shortly."

It had to be said that in such a panicked moment, Yue Jiao’s voice, devoid of any warmth, was remarkably reassuring.

The females, who had been on the verge of panic, gradually calmed down.

Everyone remained in their seats, not moving.

Moving around at a time like this could easily cause a stampede, so Yue Jiao and the two Chief Star Officers did their best to keep everyone calm.

But as time ticked by, the ship remained pitch-black, which was deeply unsettling.

"Don’t panic, everyone. There might be a malfunction in the energy room, but don’t worry. Our cruise ship is equipped with the best team of Mechanics," Chief Star Officer Bai said reassuringly.

Jiang Qin kept her composure, sitting steadily. Beside her was Long Yue, who was holding her hand tightly.

"Sister-in-law, don’t be afraid. If anything happens, I’ll definitely protect you."

"Sister-in-law, you have to believe me! Even though I’m a female, my grades in Fighting Class and Mechanical Armor Class are excellent!"

"Mm, I believe you."

Tears welled in Long Yue’s eyes. "Oh, Sister-in-law, do you really believe me? You’re the only one who hasn’t just brushed me off when I say that!"

Jiang Qin smiled at her. "I really do believe you."

She had always believed that females were in no way inferior, so why would she ever doubt it?

Time passed, second by second.

Finally, the sounds of weapons fire and fighting erupted from outside, and the cruise ship began to shake.

None of the females panicked or screamed. Instead, there was a sense that they had expected this all along.