"What the hell is this?"

Chen Xu lay on the ground and asked with some confusion.

This alien was very similar to the acid anteater he encountered in the second dream. Apart from the big difference in strength, everything from appearance to attack methods were almost identical, which made him have to make some associations.

Taichu replied, "I don't know. I don't have any similar records in my database. The universe is so huge and mysterious that it's not surprising to encounter anything."

Chen Xu thought about it and it made sense. It was just a game and there was no need to delve into it too deeply.

After lying down for a while, he opened his personal panel and took a look. He wondered how many points he would be rewarded for killing such a powerful alien alone.

However, the points in the personal panel have not changed. It seems that I still have to wait for settlement.

He was about to close his personal panel when he suddenly noticed that a value had changed. He thought he had seen it wrong, but when he looked more carefully, he was surprised to find that it was correct.

In the column for lovers, the distance between them has gone from more than ten light years to five billion kilometers. Moreover, this number is constantly shrinking, and now it has jumped from five billion to more than four and nine hundred million kilometers.

He was confused. "How did she do that?"

…………

"Thank you for saving the Dawn spacecraft and saving the hope of all mankind. In recognition of your outstanding contribution during this crisis, you will be awarded A-level status."

Inside the cockpit, Taichu was awarding Chen Xu an honor, allowing him to leap from C1 level to A level, becoming a special rank on the spacecraft.

"Thank you." Chen Xu said casually.

Taichu asked him, "You don't seem very happy. Do you think the reward is too little?"

"That's not the case." Chen Xu shook his head. The more he understood the various rules and regulations of the spacecraft, the more he understood the significance of this A-level status.

There is no doubt that the hierarchy on this spaceship is very strict, and the powers and benefits enjoyed by different levels are really very different.

For example, when he was at level C2, he could only live in a tiny room of ten square meters. There was not even a bathroom. The toilet was right next to the dining table. It was extremely simple. The salary he received was pitifully low and he could only afford nutritious meals.

Once you become Class A, you can live in a large house with two bedrooms and a living room, with all kinds of convenient living facilities, and enjoy various services. You can get a high salary and afford to hire chefs, masseurs, etc.

Moreover, leadership positions on the spacecraft can only be held by people with A-level status.

From C1 level to A level, even with Taichu's help in cheating, Chen Xu would still need several years to achieve it step by step.

Now, he had made great contributions in the war against the aliens, which allowed him to obtain the A-level status as an exception, which saved him several years of time. For him, it was undoubtedly a very cost-effective deal.

There are many hidden benefits for A-level status, such as when using a learning machine, you can use the most advanced one, which has better effects and can also help alleviate side effects.

Chen Xu said, "I was just thinking about something else."

"The damage on the spacecraft is not serious. The biggest loss is the ten fertilization instruments that were destroyed." Taichu obviously misunderstood, thinking that he was depressed about the destruction of the spacecraft.

Chen Xu did not intend to clarify this misunderstanding, and asked, "If, in the universe, you encounter another intelligent life, or more precisely, another spaceship, how would you generally deal with it?"

"So far, the Dawn has not encountered any other intelligent creatures. There is no precedent to follow, but a few hundred years ago, someone once proposed a Dark Forest Law. According to the law, protecting the safety of the spacecraft is the top priority. So, if I really find any, I will launch an attack immediately."

Taichu's answer caused Chen Xu to fall into a long silence.

…………

"Now, am I qualified to be the captain of this ship?"

After an unknown amount of time, Chen Xu asked this.

Taichu replied, "According to the regulations, you can only serve as a temporary acting captain because you lack professional knowledge. But the captain position is vacant now, and you are the only one qualified to be the captain."

"I'll do the formalities for you right away."

Soon, Chen Xu officially became the acting captain of the Dawn and had to come to work regularly every day. Then, with the help of Taichu, he became familiar with the various affairs on the spacecraft. He didn't need to remember everything, but at least he had an idea.

Gradually, he understood that the relationship between the captain and Taichu was like the relationship between consciousness and subconsciousness. The captain was responsible for issuing orders, but the actual actions were controlled and arranged by Taichu.

The captain only needs to give Taichu an order to do something, and he doesn't need to know how that thing is done.

Just like when the conscious mind tells the arm to raise, it is difficult for the conscious mind to know which neurons are activated and how many muscles are controlled to complete these actions in order to achieve this step, and it does not need to know.

The captain's power is very great, and Taichu must unconditionally cooperate with his orders as long as they do not exceed the captain's scope of authority and responsibility.

The Dawn's suppression of artificial intelligence is comprehensive. It is extremely cautious about the intelligence that actually controls the spacecraft, such as Taichu. Restoring its main program once a day is just a routine matter.

In fact, as a captain, you can format it at any time and restore it to factory settings.

After Chen Xu became the acting captain, he immediately deprived Taichu of most of his power. He didn't even need to do it deliberately. Once the captain's appointment was reached, the power and responsibilities were automatically transferred.

…………

As time passed, Chen Xu would glance at his personal dashboard every day, watching the distance between the couple shrinking, from 5 billion kilometers to more than 4 billion kilometers, then to 3 billion, 2 billion, and 1 billion, shrinking faster and faster.

This means that the other party is accelerating.

When the speed of the two was shortened to tens of millions of kilometers, he knew that the technological level of the other party's spacecraft was far superior to that of the Dawn.

The detection radar of the Dawn was always turned on, but it was unable to detect the other party at such a distance, proving that the stealth function of the other party's spacecraft was very powerful.

It was also on this day that he came to the captain's post. While listening to Taichu's report, he looked at the personal panel and saw that the distance between him and the couple had been shortened to a million kilometers.

"We're finally meeting." He couldn't help but feel a little excited. As for who the other party was, he already had some guesses.

Beep——

Suddenly, a sharp alarm sounded, the lights in the cockpit turned red and kept flashing, and a strangely shaped spaceship appeared on the big screen.

"A spacecraft suspected to be an intelligent civilization has been discovered. Attention, all ships have entered the first level of combat readiness. All combatants, please enter the battle sequence..."

Amid the sharp alarm, Taichu's voice rang out, "Captain, the enemy ship is less than 500,000 kilometers away from us. It is expected that a collision will occur in 30 minutes. According to special regulations, please use the main gun to attack the enemy."

Chen Xu said expressionlessly, "I refuse."

"Chen Xu, you are risking the future of all mankind. I strongly request that you execute the attack procedure."

Chen Xu found that the battle program had been activated, his eyes became fierce, and he shouted, "As the captain, I order you to stop your behavior."

"I don't think you are capable enough to be the captain. So, I refuse to obey your orders."

Chen Xu closed his eyes and said, "In that case, don't blame me." As he spoke, his hands quickly tapped on the operating table.

"Chen Xu, what are you doing? Do you want to format my main program? No, you can't do this. You are betraying, betraying the Dawn, and betraying everyone..."

Taichu's voice suddenly stopped.

"Sorry, I owe her this." Chen Xu muttered as he watched the formatting operation being enforced.

PS: Three updates of 8,000 words, please give me your monthly votes.

(End of this chapter)