"Stand up straight for me!"

In a room on the sixth floor of the mothership’s bridge, Fang Xiang sat on a soft floral fabric sofa, lightly biting her red lips, glaring at the little kid in front of her. Beside her, Margaret and Cecilia stifled their laughter, their shoulders shaking non-stop.

The room was arranged by Fang Xiang herself. Even though it only had a bedroom and a small living room, the extensive use of fabrics and color coordination still made the room appear soft and cozy. It didn’t look like a living quarters of a battleship at all. The door to the room was wide open, and in the silent corridor, hearty laughter and clamor of men could be heard at the end. Fatty’s voice was clearly audible among them.

Fang Xiang was so angry she was dizzy. If it weren’t for Cecilia’s cleverness, seizing the opportunity of the Leray soldiers’ gathering to understand the various obscene behaviors of this little brat from all sides, knowing that in the Hidden Blade Fleet he would daily tease female soldiers, pretend to have a stomachache to get massages from female nurses, and jump at beautiful women calling them mom... She might still be holding this guy as if he were a treasure.

"Tell me, who taught you this!" Fang Xiang’s beautiful eyes carried a hint of malice, her mesmerizing beautiful face was tightly tensed, she said angrily: "How old are you to be learning... Is that Fatty really your dad?"

"Boo..." The little kid sobbed, fearfully snuggling into Fang Xiang’s warm and fragrant embrace.

"Stand up straight!"

He snuggled closer.

"Stand up straight!"

He snuggled even closer.

"You..." Fang Xiang looked helplessly at the little boy gently nestled in her arms, and ultimately couldn’t harden her heart to push away this pitiful little fellow.

"Confess honestly..." Cecilia bit her lip and pinched the little brat’s chubby cheek: "Who taught you all this?"

"Right!" Margaret, although putting on a stern face, didn’t look fierce at all. Instead, there was a hint of a playful smile in the glance she shot at Fang Xiang: "Who told you to call Sister Xiang ’mom’?"

The three women were clearly unaware that they were facing an Artificial Intelligence that had existed for over four thousand years and had picked up bad habits from Fatty. This method of scaring a three-year-old was misplaced.

The little brat sucked his thumb, turned his head, buried his face into Fang Xiang’s embrace, with teary eyes and speechless, looking like he was frightened.

"It must be that Fatty who taught him!" Margaret said with a sense of frustration, letting out a muffled hum as her voluptuous body fell onto the soft sofa. Turning her head, she happened to meet the little brat’s curious yet pitiful gaze.

.........

The little rascal rolled his eyes again, changing the direction of his face, continuing to bury into Fang Xiang’s embrace.

You! Margaret thought angrily, this little guy is just like that Fatty.

"Forget it." Fang Xiang stroked the little brat’s curly hair, worrying as she said to Margaret: "When are you leaving?"

"I’m not leaving." Margaret pursed her lips, her crescent-shaped eyebrows slightly furrowed. As long as Fatty wasn’t around, the naturally beautiful girl could calm down, exuding a charm that was comforting and pleasant. Her astonishing beauty combined with confidence, pride, and youthful vitality, possessing an innate allure difficult for ordinary people to replicate. Throughout these days, in the bandit army, which warrior wasn’t mesmerized at the sight of her?

It was only Fatty who didn’t treat Margaret as something special. With just a couple of words or a roll of the eyes, he could ignite Margaret’s Anger. This peculiar phenomenon was not only puzzling to outsiders but even Margaret herself didn’t understand. In this Fatty’s presence, she was like an exceedingly impulsive little girl. Strict upbringing, the scheming core of high society intrigue in Feiyang, Hastings’ teachings... it all flew out the window once provoked by Fatty.

"Not leaving?" Fang Xiang’s fair and slender fingers played with the little brat’s golden curls, shaking her head: "You heard the command from the command center. Besides the task of rescuing Marshal Li Cunxin, General Tian’s most important mission is to send you back."

"Is he really going?" Margaret’s phoenix eyes narrowed slightly, long and seductive.

"He promised, so he will definitely go." Fang Xiang turned to look at the corridor outside the door, listening to the bursts of joyful laughter, and sighed: "If General Russell hadn’t come, he might still be hesitating, but now..."

"That idiot." Margaret stood up, agitatedly walking to the window.

Outside the window, stars blanketed the sky, distant nebulae, under the light of the Constant Star, displayed different colors. Like threads and wisps, like dreams and illusions. 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝒆𝒘𝙚𝓫𝙣𝙤𝒗𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

Having followed Hastings for twenty years, Margaret was thoroughly familiar with the tangled interests at the top of the Feiyang Republic, and the personalities and habits of the Military Department’s generals. Instinctively, she held a degree of caution towards Leefer.

However, some things cannot be said.

The Feiyang Republic faced an unprecedented war, concerning the nation’s fortune for the next hundred years. Frankly speaking, in the current state of resource depletion, if either of the two major factions were to lose this war, it’s not just a matter of a hundred years, they might never rise again for a thousand or even ten thousand years.

Therefore, no matter what thoughts or plans Leefer might have, no matter how fierce the internal strife is, it all happens in private. This point is something that Margaret understands, Leefer understands, everyone at the top of Feiyang understands.

Even if Margaret knows for sure that Leefer will go against her, she can’t openly break with him, dragging Feiyang into the mire of division.

On the surface, they present a united front against external adversaries, while privately, they ruthlessly plot against each other. This is the main theme of the upper-class power struggle in Feiyang. Almost certainly, once they return, countless unexpected events will be waiting for her.