Yu Xiangyang stood by the window, looking up.
The dark, massive hull of the mothership drew closer, while the ground, ravaged by artillery fire, receded. The small spacecraft ascended steadily, as quiet as a submarine surfacing in the deep sea.
"It's really big," Yu Xiangyang murmured.
"This mothership is a long-range stellar-class vessel, several times larger than a normal stellar-class warship. It can operate across a thousand light-years."
Yu Xiangyang turned his head. A mechanical soldier sat in the corner; it was the one who had spoken.
"Are there any bigger than this?" Yu Xiangyang asked.
"Yes, nebula-class, ten times larger than stellar-class, capable of operating across tens of thousands of light-years." The mechanical soldier's tone was flat, like a car dealership employee describing older models. "Nebula-class ships aren't here this time. The conflict on Wheeler's planet doesn't require them. In fact, stellar-class isn't strictly necessary either, but the commander might be placing a high priority on it, so they sent over a dozen."
"A dozen?" Yu Xiangyang was startled. He had thought this mothership was the entirety of Jiang Ye's deployed forces. To learn there were over ten more identical ships shocked him. "How many large warships like this do you have in total?"
The mechanical soldier remained silent.
Yu Xiangyang quickly apologized, "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to pry into your military secrets."
"It's not a military secret. You're one of us, so it's fine to tell you." The mechanical soldier paused. "I was silent because I wasn't sure of our exact number of warships. I'm from Jiang Ye Star. Our planet alone has at least four hundred, possibly more."
Yu Xiangyang was utterly stunned, feeling as if he'd been hit by a blunt object.
As expected of a commander who knew nothing, their military strength was unimaginably vast.
Yu Xiangyang's emotions became complex as he stared blankly out the window.
On one hand, he felt fortunate that his unit had pledged allegiance to Jiang Ye, and Jiang Ye had accepted them.
On the other hand, he felt a surge of exhilaration. The Gant Army had truly picked a fight with the wrong opponent, and perhaps they would witness the Gant Army's demise soon, washing away years of hatred.
Yet, a slight fear also crept in. Jiang Ye's army possessed an overwhelmingly superior strength. What if Jiang Ye suddenly changed his mind?
He also felt a sense of inadequacy, seeing his own homeland locked in bloody battles over a few kilometers of territory while others were already engaging in interstellar warfare.
Suddenly, the view outside the window turned completely dark. Yu Xiangyang blinked, realizing the small spacecraft had entered the mothership's interior.
"Where should we go?" Yu Xiangyang asked the mechanical soldier in the corner. "Will someone guide us to our rooms to rest?"
"Volunteer guides will direct you. Your rooms are in a specific sector. Just find an empty room and settle in. You won't be staying on the ship for too long," the mechanical soldier replied.
"Alright, thank you."
Yu Xiangyang led his subordinates from the spacecraft, stepping cautiously onto the warship's deck.
In the corridor, two individuals in orange heavy-duty hazmat suits approached them, handing each person a small, candy-like pill.
"This is a sterilization and disinfection pill. Please take it. Then, hold your arms out, and we will perform a simple disinfection," one of the orange-suited figures said. "After disinfection, please roll up your sleeves. We need to administer three doses of a broad-spectrum vaccine. Rest assured, these vaccines have absolutely no side effects and are the standard Galactic Empire issue."
Yu Xiangyang was initially taken aback, then understood that many on this warship were aliens. Different planets might harbor different pathogens, necessitating necessary disinfection before contact.
He swallowed the pill, which tasted like grape. Then, he held out his arms, allowing a sticky disinfectant to spray over him. Finally, he rolled up his sleeve, and the orange-suited personnel quickly administered three injections of different colored vaccines.
"Alright, please proceed inside," the orange-suited figure said.
Yu Xiangyang led his subordinates forward. An airtight door on the wall slid open, revealing a rugged face that broke into a smile.
"Xiangyang!" the gruff man boomed.
"Old Zhao?" Yu Xiangyang exclaimed, surprised and then delighted. "What are you doing here?"
"I just became a volunteer," Old Zhao said, reaching for the badge on his chest and shaking it as if to show it off. "I saw the notification that you were boarding at this docking bay, so I came to find you."
Yu Xiangyang opened his arms, embracing Old Zhao tightly. They were classmates from the same military academy and had trained in the same company. Later, they became officers in adjacent units, sharing over a decade of friendship. After the outbreak of war, seeing a familiar face alive and well in front of him was a feeling beyond compare.
"All the wounded from your company have been transported for treatment, which will take several more hours. Your ship didn't have any casualties, did it? Shall I take you to get some breakfast first?" Old Zhao asked.
"I'd like to get a medical check-up," Yu Xiangyang hesitated.
"Got shaken up by a bomb, huh?" Old Zhao lowered his voice.
"Huh?" Yu Xiangyang was surprised.
"It's the same for everyone. The medical check-up line is at least five hours long, packed with people who were all shaken by bombs. You won't get in even if you go now. Come on, let's eat first, then you can queue." Old Zhao chuckled, a hint of slyness in his expression.
Yu Xiangyang turned and gestured. The soldiers behind him immediately formed two neat lines and followed.
The corridor was surprisingly carpeted with wool. Every ten meters, a potted, vibrant plant was placed. The lighting was bright, and the air was fragrant. The atmosphere was nothing like a warship filled with bombs and weapons; it felt more like a long corridor leading to a luxurious hotel ballroom.
Glass display screens occasionally appeared on the walls. Some showed maps of the warship's interior, allowing destinations to be entered for navigation. Others displayed reminder-style slogans, such as "Remember the three checks for biohazard landing," "Four do's and four don'ts for capturing prisoners," and "Strict five steps for equipment storage." Still others featured slogan-like phrases such as "Loyalty and Fearlessness," "Strong in Mind, Strong in Skill," and "Obey Orders, Fight to Win."
"There's a restroom here. Do you want to use it?" Old Zhao suddenly stopped.
"I'll go," Yu Xiangyang beckoned to his subordinates.
A group of soldiers entered the restroom, heading into the men's room.
The cleanliness of the restroom astonished everyone. It was gleaming white, with no trace of urine odor, only a faint, fresh scent. A small cleaning robot crawled back and forth on the floor. The white porcelain tiles were a full meter wide, so clean one could sleep on them.
Along the wall were a row of white porcelain urinals with sensor-activated flushing, laid over ice at the base.
The rest were individual toilet stalls, each a massive three meters wide.
Several soldiers stood at the entrance to the stalls, hesitating, fumbling in their pockets with dirty hands.
"What are you dawdling for?" Yu Xiangyang asked.
"Looking for toilet paper," one soldier replied with an embarrassed expression. "We left in such a hurry, we didn't bring any."
Yu Xiangyang thought for a moment, then abruptly pushed open a stall door. "There's paper in here! Damn it, you bunch of inexperienced fools, do you think such a high-class restroom wouldn't provide paper?"
The soldiers chuckled and began opening the stall doors to enter.
Yu Xiangyang also entered a stall and closed the door.
This stall was incredibly spacious; in Yu Xiangyang's unit, it could have been divided into at least four stalls.
To the left was a Western-style toilet, and to the right, a squat toilet. Both were golden.
Golden like pure gold, gleaming brilliantly!
Yu Xiangyang froze. He walked over, bent down to examine the Western toilet, then the squat toilet. He recoiled in shock, stepping back two paces as if he had discovered a bomb.
"Damn it! It really looks like it's made of gold!"
Yu Xiangyang stared, his worldview severely shaken. He even wondered if this was the captain's restroom. If Jiang Ye's ordinary soldiers sat on golden toilets daily, what an absurd quality of life this was!
He hesitated, feeling somewhat at a loss. The sheer opulence made him suddenly hesitant to relieve himself.
From the adjacent stalls, exclamations of "Holy shit!" echoed, laced with a tone of horror.