"I recruited a crew. It said they'd be delivered within a day," Zachary said.
"Crew? What kind of crew?"
"Slave crew. Didn't you say they were the cheapest?"
"How much did it cost? Didn't you spend all your academy points?"
"Not expensive, just three thousand star coins."
"If I remember correctly, your living expenses account only had a little over three thousand star coins left."
"That's right."
"…"
Wendy's face was already etched with dark lines. Why hadn't she noticed how unreliable her older brother was before?
"Look, here's the list," Zachary said, showing Wendy the list of slaves he bought, which even included pictures.
When Wendy saw these pictures, it was even worse.
Because they were all half-orcs, and… they were all female half-orcs.
Wendy glared at her older brother with a dark expression: "Zachary!"
…Wendy eventually scolded Zachary, then turned and left, seething with indignation.
In her opinion, her older brother had lost his mind, stubbornly refusing to see reason. She had to prepare for the worst, which meant cleaning up Zachary's mess.
After Wendy left, Zachary first washed up, had a good night's sleep, and changed into a clean set of clothes.
Just then, the 'slave crew' Zachary ordered arrived.
"Hello, are you Mr. Zachary Chase? Here are the one hundred slaves you ordered. Please show me your ID card." A man with a professional smile appeared at the entrance of Zachary's workshop.
Behind the man were ten mechanical carts covered with black cloth, each three meters high, four to five meters long, and two meters wide. Besides these, no other personnel were visible.
Zachary showed his ID card and asked doubtfully, "Then where are the people I ordered?"
"They're in here." The man uncovered the black cloth of one mechanical cart, revealing iron cages inside.
The cages were roughly one-meter-high cubes, inside which half-orcs sat with their hands clasped around their knees. Their clothes were tattered, and electronic shackles were on their necks and feet. Each of them looked haggard and frightened.
"This is the software to control the electronic shackles on their necks. These electronic shackles have electroshock and self-destruct functions. Unless you enter the password to unlock them, any external damage will trigger self-destruction," the man explained.
"I understand. Are these cages also for me?" Zachary asked, pointing at the tools.
"Of course," the man said with a smile.
These half-orcs had been in their hands for a long time. It was hard enough to find someone willing to buy them, so a few mechanical carts and cages were nothing.
"Then I'll just push them in myself." Zachary pushed the dozen or so mechanical carts into the workshop himself.
He uncovered all the black cloths.
One by one, the half-orcs were fully revealed before Zachary's eyes.
There were many types of half-orcs; some had fur all over their bodies like wild beasts, while others looked more like humans but had the ears or tails of wild beasts. Among them, half-orcs with the characteristics of dogs, pigs, and sheep were the most numerous.
And one of them was the most striking.
It was a female half-orc with white fur and blue eyes, filled with aggression, anger, and unwillingness. She had a pair of white broken ears on her head. She also had a section of white broken tail on her buttocks.
At the same time, there were many ugly scars on her face and body. If it weren't for these scars, even as a half-orc, she would likely be quite aesthetically pleasing to humans.
Zachary was very 'familiar' with this female half-orc because when he bought them, the biggest reason he chose this batch of half-orcs was this particular female half-orc.
"Hello, General Charlotte."
The white-furred half-orc woman looked at the person in front of her with some surprise, as he had actually spoken her name—especially that title.
"General Charlotte, born in the Black Ya Starfield of the Warhammer Interstellar Tribal Confederacy, from the White Tiger Tribe lineage. Dissatisfied with the local Lord Fleet's oppression of half-orc tribes within the starfield, she rose up and formed an Interstellar Resistance Army.
"Over three years, she participated in no less than fifty large and small interstellar battles. She once commanded a Resistance Army Interstellar Fleet of three hundred starships, engaging in a fierce battle with a five-hundred-starship Lord Fleet, ultimately achieving a tragic victory, even destroying an enemy T3 starship.
"However, three months ago, due to a traitor's betrayal, her operations were exposed, and she was ambushed by an enemy fleet several times her size. Her Interstellar Fleet was completely destroyed, and her whereabouts have been unknown since. I never expected her to fall into slavery and be sold to the Star Glory Empire." Zachary recounted the deeds of this half-orc female general before him, item by item.
Hearing the man speak of these past events, Charlotte's expression became a little lost.
Zachary opened Charlotte's cage and sat down on the ground in front of her.
"How about it? Do you want to talk?"
Charlotte gave a self-deprecating laugh: "Talk? I'm just a prisoner now. What is there to talk about?"
"For example, let's talk about your freedom, and the freedom of those half-orc soldiers who, like you, have fallen to this state."
Zachary's words caught Charlotte's attention, and she stared at him warily.
"What do you mean?"
Zachary smiled and said, "To put it simply, I have a starship, but I don't have a crew. So, I hope you and your people can serve as my crew."
"Hehehe… You just want free labor from us, don't you? You bought us as slaves for that, didn't you?" Charlotte sneered.
"No, no, no. I want a crew, not slaves. Interstellar warriors willing to truly fight for me!" Zachary corrected.
"Half-orcs will never fight for others." A pride belonging to them flickered in Charlotte's eyes.
"Even if you don't consider yourself, you should consider those half-orc warriors who once fought alongside you. As far as I know, because of your defeat, nearly thirty thousand half-orc slaves were sold to our Star Glory Empire. I only bought one hundred of them. The others are now facing an uncertain fate. Don't you want to save them?" Zachary stared at Charlotte.
Charlotte's expression showed hesitation.
Zachary knew he was more than halfway to success.
He stood up: "You fight for me, and I promise you that, to the best of my ability, I will buy back all those half-orc warriors who were once your subordinates, scattered throughout the Star Glory Empire.
"And, as long as you lead them to fight and work for me for three years, once three years are up, you and they will be free!
"How about it? Are you willing to fight for me? Or, to put it another way, are you willing to fight for your freedom?"
Zachary extended his hand to Charlotte in the cage.
Charlotte's expression was complex, with various emotions flickering in her eyes.
Ultimately, she still extended her hand and shook Zachary's.
But she still said stubbornly, "I am doing this for my people!"