Sorry, Our Captain Is a True All-Rounder

Chapter 22: Chapter 22: C76 Star

The two nodded and watched how the other three handled the chickens, slowly getting the hang of it themselves.

They were getting pecked less and less.

Their reflexes grew faster, and whenever one of the battle chickens tried to peck them, they would counter with a swift smack to the face.

It didn’t cause any real damage, but the insult was immense.

After landing a hit, Feng He pointed a finger at a particularly large rooster and declared smugly, "You think you can peck me? I’ll beat you to a pulp!"

The rooster glanced at her, feeling its authority had been challenged.

The chicken then launched itself into the air, flying straight at Feng He, who immediately dodged out of the way.

Seeing its attack dodged, the rooster grew even more enraged.

It wheeled around and charged back. But just as it was about to reach Feng He, ready to reassert its dominance...

...its neck was seized from behind. Mo Xuan had grabbed the chicken by the scruff and said coldly, "You’ve got some nerve."

"Daring to bully my girl."

With that, he raised his hand and brought it down hard on the chicken’s head.

After the slap, Mo Xuan tossed the chicken aside with a disdainful "Tch."

Once they finished feeding the chickens, the five of them walked out, smacking the heads of any battle chickens they passed.

It was payback for all the pecking they’d endured. And let me tell you, those pecks really hurt.

They were probably bleeding or at least covered in bruises.

After leaving the chicken coop, they immediately stripped off their protective gear. The moment they did, they saw that the pecked spots had already turned into dark bruises.

Mo Xuan and Gu Wenkai fell silent. No wonder everyone hated feeding the chickens.

These chickens were infuriating.

They checked the time and saw it was already eleven-thirty. All that time had passed just from feeding a few chickens.

"Let’s rest for a bit. We can go eat soon."

After they put all the tools back in the cabinets, Lin Jingjing walked over to another one, opened it, and pulled out a large first-aid kit.

"Everyone spray some of this on. It’ll help them heal faster." She then sprayed the bruises on her own arm before passing the bottle to the next person.

After it had made its way around the group, Lin Jingjing put everything away.

As she was tidying up, she glanced at her hand and noticed the injuries from last night had completely healed.

She stared at the back of her hand, her brow furrowed slightly.

’That’s not right. An injury like that should take at least half a month to heal.’

’But after just one night, there’s not even a scar?’

’Is everyone’s constitution here that special?’

’Do their bodies have some kind of self-regeneration ability?’

’Then again,’ she mused, ’everyone here has awakened their spiritual power. Healing a wound overnight is probably justifiable.’

Lin Jingjing decided not to dwell on it. The group sat under the shed where the robots were stored, making idle conversation.

"The situation is grim," Mo Xuan said, frowning at the blue screen in front of them.

Mutant beasts were invading everywhere. Many planets on the fringes of the Empire had already been reduced to desolate wastelands.

As soon as the Empire determined a planet no longer had sufficient resources to support human development and habitation, it would be classified as a barren world.

It wasn’t just B6 Star facing mutant beast invasions; countless other planets, large and small, were in the same predicament.

Feng He swiped on the screen, pulling up the latest news bulletin.

After they finished reading, all of them were frowning. Lin Jingjing offered her assessment, "C76 Star is about to fall."

"Eighty percent of the planet has already been overrun by mutant beasts. It’s indefensible."

"What? The mutant beasts took over C76 Star in just one week?" Shi Feng was shocked by this detail.

There were even before-and-after pictures. The first photo showed C76 Star, lush with green mountains and clear waters. The next showed a world of yellow earth, with dried-up rivers and cracked riverbeds. The once-dense forests were reduced to groves of bare trunks.

The trees, rivers, and animals had all vanished.

A world’s natural beauty is its greatest treasure. Without it, the entire planet would turn into a desert.

Mutant beasts consumed all naturally occurring things: plants, trees, glaciers, rivers, ore crystals, oil, and more.

"That’s way too fast," Gu Wenkai chimed in. He knew the mutant beasts had a huge appetite, but he never imagined it was this voracious.

Lin Jingjing’s gaze, however, remained fixed on one particular image. It showed a mutant beast that stood and walked on two legs. It was tall and gaunt, with a completely white body and crimson eyes. It resembled a bat; when it extended its arms, wings unfurled.

With its sharp, weasel-like face, it looked terrifying.

’This mutant beast is strange.’

In her spare time, Lin Jingjing had made an effort to familiarize herself with all the local mutant beasts. While her knowledge wasn’t complete, she was certain she’d never seen one like this in any of the records.

Strange things were often sinister. For some reason, Lin Jingjing had a feeling this particular mutant beast would be an especially tough opponent.

"A planet a week... at that rate, even all the planets in the core systems near the Imperial City won’t be enough for them to devour."

They all agreed the speed was alarming. B6 Star had also been invaded by mutant beasts, but so far, official data showed that only twenty percent of its forests and rivers had been consumed.

And that was only because of the First Corps’ fierce resistance.

When their discussion concluded, they stood up, dusted themselves off, and headed to the mess hall together.

After downing their free Nutrient Liquid, they all went back for an afternoon nap.

Captain Li hadn’t assigned them any tasks for the afternoon. ’If there are no orders, it’s time to slack off!’

But there was no way Captain Li would let them slack off. In light of numerous complaints from the soldiers that the robot-cooked meals had been terrible lately...

...Captain Li had made a decision: he was putting the five of them on kitchen duty!

’They’ve got the skills, so they should put them to use. The food those three make is actually delicious, so they’re useful for something, at least.’

’No idea about the other two, though.’

They had barely fallen asleep when a video call from Captain Li jolted all five of them awake.

"Captain Li, is something wrong?" Lin Jingjing sat up, her eyelids so heavy she could barely keep them open, but she forced herself to ask.

"From now on, you’re in charge of dinner for the mess hall," Captain Li ordered.

’We have to cook dinner now, too? This is going to kill me.’

"Understood," Lin Jingjing acknowledged.

After the call ended, Lin Jingjing fell back onto her bed, completely exasperated.

’My body is exhausted. I really need to sleep.’

Feng He was already getting up. Having been through it once before, she knew just how exhausting cooking dinner for the mess hall was.

’A few months of this,’ she thought, ’and our physical fitness will definitely improve.’

’A normal person can’t even toss those woks.’

The group sluggishly dragged themselves to the kitchen in the back of the mess hall, where Captain Li was already standing by the door.

Seeing their listless expressions, he immediately snapped, "I barely gave you anything to do today. What’s with the long faces?"

"Hurry up and eat, then get to cooking. From now on, you’re not just cooking, you’re also delivering the meals to the soldiers on the front lines!"