In the far reaches of the East Sea Fleet, aboard the flagship of the U.S. Pacific Seventh Fleet, the Fleet Commander conferred with the principal members of the East Sea Squad. Because the East Sea Squad had made no aggressive moves against any nation and had presented evidence deemed undeniably futuristic technology, whether they hailed from the future or not, the U.S. government felt compelled to unite every possible asset against the looming threat of the Central Continent Squad. Their utmost priority was to intercept the Central Continent Squad before they could reach land—though, ironically, the East Sea Squad themselves had no intention of going ashore, a fact they were unaware of.

The faces of the East Sea Squad members were grim. As members of a Reincarnation Squad, they were keenly aware of certain limits to what such squads could achieve. The ability to destroy a submarine hidden deep beneath the ocean in such a short span of time indicated terrifying strength, whether in technological might or individual power. Technological superiority was perhaps understandable; the "Main God" offered countless exchanges, and some future tech could indeed shatter a submarine quickly. But individual power… Miyata Kuraki’s face was pale, yet having been refined by the trials of the Reincarnation Worlds and several life-or-death battles, his composure returned within seconds. He turned to the military officer before him. "That is correct. In the future world, they were a globally designated terrorist organization, concurrently operating as temporal smugglers. After we successfully dismantled their headquarters there, the remainder used all their accumulated energy to transfer to this timeframe. Consequently, they possess a large cache of future heavy weaponry.

They intend to re-establish their organization in this world. If they are allowed to escape this time, this world will be utterly turned upside down."

The general’s eyebrow twitched almost imperceptibly. He murmured a few words to a field-grade officer beside him, who promptly hurried out of the room.

He then turned back to the group. "Ladies and gentlemen. Do you have any suggestions? After all, you are the experts in this domain."

"We have no choice. We did not bring heavy weaponry capable of matching theirs. Therefore, we must rely on your strength combined with our squad's infiltration capabilities. Moving forward, we ask that your fleet maintain pursuit of the Central Continent Squad, continuously engaging them. This will also help deplete their weapon reserves. All heavy weapons are subject to energy limitations. I imagine they cannot have much surplus energy left."

The general’s eyebrow jumped again. He committed this intelligence to memory. Compared to this futuristic police force, or the small band of terrorists, the higher-ups were far more concerned with the location of those weapons and equipment. Hearing that the weapons required energy to function provided a slight easing of his tension, immediately followed by a fresh spike of anxiety. Heaven knew how many warships would be sacrificed just to cover the remaining energy expenditure...

"The Central Continent Squad is truly formidable," sighed a tall, gaunt senior member of the East Sea Squad after they left the meeting room. "Destroying a submarine in mere minutes, and their warship seems undamaged. That level of combat power is terrifying."

"It's not just the force that's terrifying," interjected the young woman clad in a kimono beside him. "Their intellect is even more so. Honestly, Adam's initial maneuver was highly effective. While exposing our hand, it simultaneously granted us significant strategic 'momentum.' We positioned ourselves under the guise of an open strategy—a yangmou—meaning no matter how the Central Continent Squad chose to attack us, we could wait comfortably. But they immediately shifted tactics, completely ignoring us, and charged straight toward the Senkaku Islands… Ah."

Seeing her sigh, the others grew curious. Miyata Kuraki pressed directly, "What do you mean? Didn't Adam already give us instructions for the next phase? He even calculated this move by the Central Continent Squad. I don't see anything so impressive about them."

"You don't understand," the kimono-clad girl shook her head with a wry smile. She murmured, "The strength of yangmou lies in its transparency; no matter what the opponent does, you have a countermeasure ready. However, there are two scenarios where yangmou becomes useless. First, if the opponent possesses audacious nerve and chooses to simply abandon or ignore the framework of the open strategy. Then the strategy is void. For instance, if the Central Continent Squad had just entered the Senkaku Islands, Adam's entire setup would have been useless..."

"You mean the Central Continent Squad retreated when faced with difficulty?"

"No, it should still align with Adam's prediction—the Central Continent Squad is arrogant due to their strength... The second possibility: when the opponent possesses power that vastly surpasses everything else, both subtle schemes and open strategies become laughably irrelevant. I suspect they are holding fast at the Senkaku Islands, waiting for us..." The kimono girl sighed again.

"Then it's settled! Adam predicted even this step. He truly is a freak of genius—no, a monster more terrifying than a genius." The bald man nearby burst into laughter, as if under Adam's scheme, he could already safely return to the Main God Space.

"That is why I say... you truly do not understand." The kimono girl squeezed her eyes shut in pain, as if she could already foresee the bloody scene about to unfold...

At this time, the fleet was only about a day and a half’s journey from the Diaoyu Islands. Nothing further occurred. Since the submarine attack, a good half-day had passed without any further assault. Yet, the members of the Central Continent Squad remained uneasy. They were in the middle of the ocean, personal flight gear was restricted by the Main God, and given the exaggeration of the Perfect Storm, if their destroyer were lost, the Central Continent Squad’s situation would become dire indeed.

"Chu Xuan, is there any way to get an early warning for submarine attacks? If this continues, we’ll be completely exhausted before any real engagement even begins." Following the submarine attack, the Central Continent Squad was forced to organize rotating patrols—four teams, two hours each, alternating on deck. Maintaining absolute focus in such a continuous storm was taxing even for Reincarnation Squad members. Crucially, this method wasn't entirely foolproof; if a guard slipped up, dispersal might invite a sudden attack. This was the inherent weakness of teams lacking mental power controllers—their overall combat strength was diminished by over thirty percent.

Chu Xuan glanced at Zheng Zha but said nothing; his expression clearly conveyed the answer: no.

Zheng Zha wasn't annoyed. He chuckled. "Little Dingdang, I know you definitely have some tricks up your sleeve that you haven't used yet. How about it? Bring out some good items. Where is your spatial bag?"

This time, Chu Xuan didn't even lift his head. "Do you think there's such a thing as a free lunch in this world? No effort, no reward... You agreed to this deployment earlier, understanding from the start that it would be a tough fight. This is only the beginning. The East Sea Squad's fleet isn't far behind us and could overtake us at any moment. The real battle starts then. Complaining already... Is it because you feel too strong and have slackened? Or perhaps arrogance from believing you far surpass the East Sea Squad?"

Zheng Zha paused, silenced. Cheng Xiao, wiping rain from his body nearby, spoke up. "Hey, Chu Xuan, don't act so morally upright. It's easy for you since you aren't out patrolling. We who are patrolling are suffering greatly. Why don't you take a look at how severe the storm is outside? If you have any good items, bring them out quickly, stop lecturing us. Even if we need to take the East Sea Squad seriously, we have to wait until they actually show up."

Chu Xuan merely gave a cold laugh and remained silent. The others could only sigh and shake their heads helplessly. Seeing this, Zheng Zha instead stood up and silently walked out of the room.

(Are we relying on Chu Xuan too much? No, perhaps not reliance, but habit. Yes, we are accustomed to his strategies, accustomed to the strange items he occasionally produces, or perhaps his strange theories. One or two oddities are fine, but when oddities become routine, if we ever face a problem even he cannot solve, we might suffer a serious loss...) Zheng Zha shook his head slightly, burying the thought deep within his heart. It wasn't that this dependency was purely negative; they were a team, and this reliance was a form of trust. Coupled with Chu Xuan's unique nature, this dependence might even be a bond—a tie for a man generally devoid of such connections, perhaps serving as the very motivation that keeps him alive during critical moments.

"Alright, being tired is acceptable. We’ll follow your plan... Then the East Sea Squad's sneak attack should be close?"

"...Sneak attack!" Miyata Kuraki looked at the assembled group with serious intensity. He stated firmly, "Yes! A sneak attack! Although Adam's initial plan is in place and we only need to follow the steps sequentially, we must also secure some life-saving talismans for ourselves. Adam mentioned this too: if a suitable opportunity arises, capturing a member of the Central Continent Squad for leverage is advisable. Therefore, this sneak attack must proceed; it is imperative!"

Approximately thirty minutes ago, the destroyer carrying the Central Continent Squad had entered the range of the kimono girl's mental energy probe—or rather, a shielded space entered her detection range. This was a clear marker of the presence of a mental power controller, meaning it was the Central Continent Squad's location. And for some unknown reason, the destroyer's speed was only about half of its maximum capability. This implied that the fleet could catch up within ten hours, assuming the slower warships were traveling together. If equally fast destroyers or smaller vessels were dispatched, catching them in one or two hours was entirely possible. Concurrently, the kimono girl suddenly detected that the Central Continent Squad's mental controller possessed weak strength, only barely managing to envelop the destroyer. Furthermore, the mental field was thin and scattered. In short... in terms of mental probing and shielding, the Central Continent Squad was effectively blind and defenseless.

Upon realizing this, Miyata Kuraki immediately summoned several members suitable for a rapid strike. Led by himself and the kimono girl, they prepared to launch a surprise attack on the Central Continent Squad, escorted by a few swift attack vessels... If possible, inflicting heavy damage on the Central Continent Squad would be excellent. If not, relying on the speed of their ships to escape, coupled with the mental controller's full-power shielding, would ensure their retreat.

"So... we strike!" Leaping to his feet,