"No need to thank me. They deserved it," Zhao Chen said.
Uncle Zheng Xiong shook his head, his expression serious. "Earlier, when you held up five fingers, I thought it was just five times the reward. I never expected you to not only secure ten times the reward but also ensure my fallen brothers receive the treatment of Imperial Army Martyrs! I… on behalf of those brothers, thank you, young man!"
To be honest, the treatment for Imperial Army Martyrs isn't particularly generous. For ordinary martyrs, it only guarantees that their immediate family members can receive a certain quota of artificial nutrient meals for the next twenty years and the right to use an ordinary residence for two decades.
But for ordinary people, this is already quite a decent benefit.
Moreover, it's important to know that not every Imperial Army soldier who dies in action receives martyr treatment. Rumor has it that each year, less than one-tenth of the applications for martyr status for fallen Imperial Army soldiers are approved. The rest are either rejected for various reasons or simply given a one-time compensation payment—nothing more.
So, Uncle Zheng Xiong truly hadn't expected Zhao Chen to secure these martyr slots.
It's worth noting that in this battle, Zhao Chen and Shen Bing's fleet suffered no casualties. In other words, this condition was specifically proposed by Zhao Chen for the fallen soldiers of Uncle Zheng Xiong's fleet.
"Young man, if you ever face difficulties in the future, come find me. Though I may not have much ability, I'm willing to risk my life!" Uncle Zheng Xiong said earnestly.
Zhao Chen exchanged a few polite words.
Shortly after, Brigadier General Song did not make an appearance—likely because he had already achieved his goal and saw no need to show up again.
Not long after, three electronic agreements were presented to Zhao Chen, Shen Bing, and Uncle Zheng Xiong.
The content essentially acknowledged that this Escort Mission was undertaken voluntarily and that they were fully aware of all the details.
At the same time, the compensation funds had already been fully transferred.
First, regarding the reward: the original 200,000 Star Coin reward for the Escort Mission had now been increased to 2 million Star Coins.
Additionally, there was the bounty for destroying thirty-one Mechanical Race Starships. After claiming the bounty, the starship wreckage would be automatically forfeited and handled by the Imperial Army.
The total bounty for the kills amounted to 1.8 million Star Coins. With the triple reward multiplier, this became 5.4 million Star Coins.
Zhao Chen and the others divided the mission reward. Due to the leather-clad woman's betrayal, her share was naturally forfeited.
Out of the 2 million Star Coins, Zhao Chen took the lion's share—60%.
Uncle Zheng Xiong received 35%, and Shen Bing took 5%.
In truth, Zhao Chen had made a concession in the division of the reward. Based solely on his fleet's performance in the battle, he could have taken 90% without issue.
Both Shen Bing and Uncle Zheng Xiong had urged Zhao Chen to take more, but he refused.
After all, he still had the kill bounty to claim.
Aside from the three T2 Mechanoid interstellar warships destroyed by Uncle Zheng Xiong, all the remaining Mechanical Race Starships were taken down by Zhao Chen's fleet. Zhao Chen directly claimed 5.3 million Star Coins from the kill bounty.
Thus, after the distribution, Zhao Chen alone received 6.5 million Star Coins.
Uncle Zheng Xiong received 800,000 Star Coins.
Shen Bing received 100,000 Star Coins.
"So, that's how we'll divide it," Zhao Chen said, looking at the group. Shen Bing and Uncle Zheng Xiong naturally had no objections—they had both gained significantly from this arrangement!
Zhao Chen transferred the bounty to his account.
The amount of this bonus was truly substantial. Previously, the zerg missions Zhao Chen took at the Arctic Fox Starport hadn't offered this much.
Of course, this was the result of Zhao Chen offering ten times the reward and triple the kill bonus. Otherwise, it would have been at most one million Star Coins, and split three ways, each person would probably only get a few hundred thousand.
Uncle Zheng Xiong scratched his head sheepishly: "You're still at a disadvantage here... you should have gotten more originally."
"It's fine. We've been through life and death together, after all. Let's leave it at that." Zhao Chen patted Uncle Zheng Xiong on the shoulder.
Zhao Chen and Uncle Zheng Xiong discussed their respective next steps.
Since the escort fleet mission was a ruse, there was no need for Zhao Chen and the others to escort the Interstellar Transport Ship Fleet back. Their mission ended here.
Uncle Zheng Xiong indicated that he would repair the damaged starships here, receive the compensation starships, and then distribute the compensation payments to the families of the deceased crew members.
He estimated he would need to stay at the Quicksand City Starship Fortress for over half a month.
Shen Bing said that she and her crew would also wait for the repairs to the T2 Hyena-class Medium Interstellar Destroyer, which would take about three to five days.
Although Zhao Chen's starship was also damaged, he only had the Imperial Army repair personnel restore it to a state where warp navigation could function normally. He then had them give him the repair materials directly so he could take them back and do the repairs himself.
"Are you in such a hurry to leave?" Shen Bing looked at Zhao Chen.
Zhao Chen nodded: "I have other matters to attend to. I must hurry back."
Back at the Fierce Dragon Fleet's temporary base, the T2 Hammer-class Heavy Interstellar Industrial Ship was still constructing new vessels, especially that T3 Blizzard-class Light Interstellar Battlecruiser. He needed to hurry back!
What was originally a journey of over a month had been delayed by nearly a week due to this incident.
"Well then, young man, we part ways here. If you ever need anything, don't hesitate to contact me." Uncle Zheng Xiong said warmly.
"Mhm."
...
Chu River Star Sector, Main Star System, on a certain planet, within a cloud mansion several kilometers above the planet's surface.
Chu Xuan was currently lying bored on a lounge chair, watching various Imperial network entertainment channel programs.
But none were interesting.
Watching these was nowhere near as exhilarating as commanding a fleet to gallop across the star sector.
Tap tap tap tap
Footsteps sounded at this moment. Chu Xuan immediately closed her eyes and turned on her side.
The person who entered was an old man with a white beard.
"Xuan'er." The old man called out with a smile.
Chu Xuan didn't make a sound.
"Xuan'er, I brought your favorite dessert!" The old man took out a pastry box and held it near Chu Xuan's nose.
Chu Xuan simply snorted and turned her head away, continuing to pretend to sleep.
The old man placed the pastry box beside her, then sat down nearby and opened a holographic video screen, deliberately speaking in a loud voice: "Oh my, I heard a T2 carrier starship actually has star shield technology!"
"Hmph, who are you trying to fool? How could a T2 starship possibly have star shield technology? And you call yourself a Five-Star Marshal." Chu Xuan said with her eyes closed, curling her lip.
A sly smile crept onto the old man's lips: "I heard this carrier starship is called something like a T2 Queen Bee-class Heavy Carrier Starship.
I've never heard of this carrier starship model before..."
Before the old man could finish speaking, Chu Xuan immediately jumped up, staring at the video window in front of him.
Sure enough, she saw that familiar T2 carrier starship.
And at the front section of that T2 carrier starship, there really was a translucent energy shield—the "star shield"!
"This T2 Queen Bee-class Heavy Carrier Starship actually has star shield technology!" Chu Xuan was stunned. This completely overturned their common understanding.