After returning home and finishing my "homework," it was already late at night. I tucked Yi Xiaorou into bed, then powered up my phone to get online.

Peach always organizes the intelligence she gathers and stores it on the HuanYu Communications server. Right now, the data on Ox Country is what I most want to examine. Ox Country is the biggest obstacle to the restoration of Havasa, and war with them is inevitable, making it crucial to grasp their current dynamics.

In political terms, Ox Country is full of politicians, ambitious schemers, and conspirators. Since breaking free from British control, they have never stopped their pace of expansion; consequently, the proportion of their national budget dedicated to military and defense construction is consistently the highest in the world.

The territory of Xijin is currently occupied by the 3rd and 6th Mountain Divisions of Ox Country, totaling over 21,000 personnel. Each division commands 3 infantry brigades, 1 engineer battalion, 1 anti-aircraft artillery battalion, 1 military intelligence battalion, 1 communications battalion, 1 divisional artillery headquarters (overseeing 3 105mm towed howitzer battalions and 1 155mm towed howitzer battery), and 1 divisional combat aviation brigade (comprising 1 combat aviation battalion and 1 attack helicopter battalion), in addition to various non-combat support elements.

Such a deployment of forces against Xijin, which spans only 7,100 square kilometers, is clearly overkill—using a butcher's knife to slaughter a chicken—but it fully illustrates Ox Country's ambition. Their sights aren't set on Xijin, but rather on the vast lands of Great Dragon Country, situated to the east of Xijin.

How exactly should this war be fought? Although Liu Hu and Shen Jian are capable of maneuvering below, they still rely on me for the overall strategic vision and policy. I certainly can't appear ignorant when questioned; that would be too great a loss of face for me.

To achieve a swift victory in a short period, a minimum commitment of 40,000 troops would be required for a conventional engagement. However, if overwhelming weaponry were deployed, perhaps only a few thousand combat personnel would be needed to conclude the war quickly.

My strongest asset right now is my submarine fleet, a concession to my childhood dreams. But Xijin is a landlocked nation; even an aircraft carrier would be useless. For the air force, I have the modified Mountain Eagle fighter jets—stealthy, super-fast, and heavily armed—and the medium-class Hummer fighter is about to debut. Yet, neither of these weapons provides an absolutely crushing advantage against Ox Country’s two mountain divisions; even by chance, their anti-air units could probably down a few aircraft. The army currently has one division totaling nearly ten thousand troops. Counting inventory, I possess several thousand Cheetah attack helicopters. As for tanks and armored personnel carriers, I have even more, and their performance far surpasses that of other nations, but even this doesn't grant an absolute superiority.

I rubbed my scalp and pondered at my desk for half the night. I absolutely cannot expose our identity, must minimize casualties as much as possible, yet swiftly drive away Ox Country's two mountain divisions and secure their reinforcements. This requires careful strategy.

After much thought, I recalled Tunnel Warfare that I watched as a child. With the super-drilling machine, we can now burrow hundreds of miles underground, a speed incomparable to using shovels and picks to dig tunnels. Xijin is riddled with high mountains, including the world's third-highest peak. Utilizing these mountainous regions to dig extensive tunnels and strike them when they least expect it will surely yield unexpected results.

Furthermore, the mid-to-high Earth orbits are our domain. Satellites monitor every move on the planet every second. Even Old M has to show us some deference over this. Any deployment or action by Ox Country within Xijin cannot escape our sight. By drilling a tunnel to catch them off guard, it will be difficult for them not to be defeated.

If this is supplemented with 1,000 Cheetah attack helicopters and 1,000 heavily armored, super-artillery tanks, troops can be assembled at any moment. Let’s see if they can run faster than I can fly. However, air superiority is truly troublesome. It seems I’ll need to ask Xiaohui to run an electronic warfare campaign to jam Ox Country’s air defense systems, and then deploy 1,000 Mountain Eagle fighters to crush the Ox Country air force with absolute dominance.

Thinking this, I casually checked Ox Country's total military strength. Good heavens, they have fewer than 4,000 tanks in total, a mix of old and new models. Their total number of aircraft is less than 1,500, which includes 200 helicopters, 47 of which are armed attack helicopters.

My own forces are perhaps a bit too lavishly deployed, but what can I do when our capabilities are so immense? Dadi Energy is currently mining and excavating mountains worldwide. Since there’s nowhere to stack the ore, we are forced to manufacture vast quantities of weaponry. Not only can't we use all the weapons domestically, but about eighty percent of the world's arms trade is now controlled by Zhuda. We have truly become major arms dealers. Making a fortune is certain, of course, but that kid Zhuda is even stingier than Peach. I must make him loosen his purse strings soon.

I quickly wrote down the general operational concept and sent a copy to Liu Hu. This war will rely primarily on his army, supported by the air force, with mechanized troops acting in coordination. The reason for avoiding direct confrontation with Ox Country forces at every turn is the fear that the Red Dragon Security identity might be exposed by the Ox Country people. After all, language and facial features make national origins easy to distinguish. If Ox Country discovers Great Dragon Country is aiding Havasa, they might become enraged and resort to nuclear war.

But if we operate purely as international mercenaries, Ox Country wouldn't dare start a nuclear war with a small country like Xijin. Given Xijin's small size, it ranks last among Ox Country's affiliated states; mishandling a nuclear strike could result in the bomb hitting Ox Country itself. Moreover, Great Dragon Country lies right next door. If they intend to launch a nuclear missile, they’d have to ask permission first. Do they think they are the only ones with nukes? Using a nuclear weapon against a small country—how embarrassing would that be?

Having settled all that, I went to bed to hold Yi Xiaorou. She is truly well-behaved; no matter how I adjusted her, she wouldn't wake up. Looking at her cute sleeping posture made my heart ache with tenderness.

The events of the last couple of days have deeply affected me. So, after eating breakfast, I told my mother, "Mom, I'm going to school to improve myself."

My mother was greatly pleased: "Son, you've finally seen the light. It wasn't in vain that your father and I raised you."

I first stopped by the dormitory. As expected, those two layabouts were still sound asleep. They even said they'd ask me for tips on picking up women when they had time. What good is learning pickup artistry when you sleep in every day?

I might as well go to military training. Alone again, I started wandering the campus. What should I do? Even if we're going to war with Ox Country, it will be a few days before that happens. Havasa needs to pick an auspicious day to declare independence.

Fang Yanmeng is as busy as Xiao Chuchu right now. Since the fourth year is heavily dedicated to internships, she can’t be on campus every day. Li Qi has probably been grounded by her grandfather; I haven't seen her at all.

I considered asking Xu Chen how her studies were going, but she doesn't have a phone, and going to the girls' dormitories myself is out of the question. Calling Su Xue and Ouyang Qian is also a bad idea; I should keep my interactions with those two to a minimum.

In the end, I decided not to wander around at all. From now on, when I come to school, I'll head straight to the library without hesitation. Don't I need to enhance my personal quality and cultivation? Reading there is currently the best option.

The ancients said: "In books, one finds a house of gold; in books, one finds a beauty." By the time I finished looking, the sky was nearing noon. When I went to return my books, I unexpectedly found Li Qi tucked away amongst the stacks of shelves!

I was quite astonished: "What are you doing? Squatting here so furtively—you aren't trying to steal books, are you? I’ll buy a few tomorrow and send them to your house."

Li Qi’s eyes were red, though not from me hitting her. "And you dare say that? It’s all because of you! Grandpa has never criticized me like that before, and my father even came home specifically to lecture me. I snuck out today. I missed you."

"Then why are you hiding here? Why not come out and meet me?"

Li Qi whispered, "My grandfather is abusing his power and specifically assigned Red Guard to track me. I was afraid Grandpa would find out I was with you again, so I had to hide here to catch a glimpse of you."

It seems the situation is just as Hua Qingqing described: there is a seemingly insurmountable chasm between me and Li Qi. No matter how great my power, the Chairman is no ordinary figure. He might tolerate my relationships with that group of girls, but he couldn't allow his own granddaughter to behave that way.

"Qiqi, go home and rest for a couple of days. Maybe in a few days you’ll forget about me. I’m not a reliable man; I’m too much of a flirt, not suitable for you."

Since it was close to noon, there was no one else among the bookshelves. Li Qi lunged and threw herself onto me, punching my chest hard. "Damn Zhao Qian! You're talking nonsense! If you didn't like me, you shouldn't have provoked me. Why make me fall for you, become dependent on you, only to say something like this? You’re a bastard!"

I said helplessly, "If you were anyone else, it would be easier to discuss, but you are the Chairman's granddaughter. You know my relationship with the Chairman; I can't do that. Besides, I never provoked you; you’ve always been the one provoking me."

Li Qi became even more insistent: "You provoked me, you provoked me! If you don't admit it, believe it or not, I'll beat you!"

Alas, her temper was rising again. "Fine, it was my fault, I deserve to die. I’ll go bang my head against the wall later."

Li Qi grabbed me: "No, I won't let you go. If you leave, you have to take me with you. I'm willing to live with them, and I'm willing to share you with others. I promise I won't be jealous or cause trouble, or you can hit me."

I was very conflicted. This matter involves the Chairman, which truly makes it difficult to handle. Li Qi is not Yi Xiaorou; if Tan Zhong were powerful, I could still fall out with him, but the Chairman has been so good to me—how could I treat him that way? "Qiqi, we need to take this slowly. Besides, aren't you still in university? Take a break for three or five years, and maybe your grandfather and father will agree by then. They are angry right now, so don't provoke them further."

Li Qi thought for a moment: "You're right, you are absolutely right. Let's go eat. You've never been to the school's small cafeteria, have you? I’ve only been there once. I'll show you the way."

Wow, women change quickly. She wasn't crying anymore, and by the time we left the library and encountered other students, Li Qi had already regained her cool, composed demeanor, rivaling Cheng Susu in appearance.

On the way, I said to Li Qi, "I need another favor."

Although Li Qi dared not hold my hand, and we maintained a distance to avoid suspicion, she still smiled sweetly at me. "Have you forgotten my identity? If you have any instructions, don't use the word 'favor.'"

Heh, I am her master. "You know Zhou Ni, right? She missed the registration date because of a family emergency. Help me pull some strings so she can enroll after military training."

Li Qi asked, "What is your relationship with her? You only spent a day and a night away from my home, and you two are already so close. Did something happen?"

I replied, "That’s none of your business. Just make a preliminary call to the principal first."

Li Qi mumbled softly from behind, "Oh, I understand."

Halfway there, seeing how many students were looking at us made me slightly regretful. I said to Li Qi, "Let's not go to the small cafeteria to eat. Look how many students are watching us. Let's go outside and grab something simple."

Li Qi said, "Let them look. I want them to know that you belong to someone, that you aren't someone anyone can covet."

I sighed, "You treasure me, but they treat me like grass. Anyway, I can't stand their stares. Let’s go to the Tianxin Restaurant outside the campus; the conditions there are quite good."

Li Qi didn't dare object and followed behind me with her head down. After taking a couple of steps, someone called my name from behind. I turned to see Xu Chen. This was a good chance to ask her how her studies were going and then have Cheng Susu or Xu Jing find some work for her.

"Brother Zhao, where are you two going?"

I said, "We're going out to eat. Seeing you holding a lunchbox, you must be heading to the cafeteria. Come on, I’m treating today."

Xu Chen looked embarrassed: "How can I let you do that? I should be treating you; I promised I would."

I pulled Li Qi, who was behind me, and said to Xu Chen, "I have a friend with me. I’ll take you up on your treat next time."

"Chairman Li!" Xu Chen exclaimed in surprise upon seeing Li Qi.

"Hello, classmate Xu Chen," Li Qi said coolly, extending her hand for a brief greeting. Although this was their first formal introduction, photos of the Five Golden Flowers were circulating across all campus forums; everyone knew everyone.

After shaking hands with Li Qi, Xu Chen turned to me and said, "Never mind that, Brother Zhao. Su Xue and Ouyang Qian are still behind us. Let’s all go to the restaurant together."

Of course, I didn't want to embarrass Xu Chen, so I cheerfully agreed: "Let's go together. It’ll be livelier with more people." Li Qi opened her mouth behind me but didn't dare speak, seemingly preferring to be alone with me.