Because this vast base was essentially a city situated on highly valuable land, with densely packed and complex architecture that aggressively occupied the airspace and featured numerous aerial platforms, the movement of this aircraft felt remarkably skillful and nimble.

It was like a hybrid of a frog and a dragonfly; at times, two long legs would extend from beneath its belly, allowing it to tread upon the edges of structures like a frog leaping, gathering momentum, and then propelling itself upwards or evading obstacles in a series of bounds. It would then fly for a while using its thrusters in a convenient spot, showcasing ingenious design.

With one final leap, the aircraft landed directly above the access tunnel that Fang Senyan was about to enter. Immediately, the sealed door above the tunnel opened, and six fully armed Military Police officers jumped down first, leveling their futuristic firearms at Fang Senyan to prevent any sudden moves.

Then, a general wearing a black military uniform and bearing the insignia of a Major General with red stripes appeared before them.

Major Lycly began to tremble violently, looking at the general before him with the expression of someone who had seen a ghost. He choked out over the communicator, "Anbar, didn't you say a duty Colonel was coming? But why is the Black General here?"

There was no reply; clearly, Anbar on the other end had cut communication as if he’d encountered a specter or a deadly plague. The arriving Black General appeared quite young, with a fair complexion and a head full of brilliant blond hair, looking much like Leonardo DiCaprio during the filming of Titanic. He exuded an air of zeal and sunshine.

He first instructed the Military Police to lower their weapons pointed at Fang Senyan and then asked sternly, "What is going on here?"

Fang Senyan shrugged, adopting a tone of regret. "I am a Contractor from the past, General, dispatched here for a specific mission. In fact, I arrived at this space base less than thirty minutes ago, and during the inspection by the Major, he demanded I pull down my trousers, spread my legs, and bend over."

"And I am quite sure the mission I’m assigned is not that, nor does it involve anything intimate. So, I refused his request. Then we had some unpleasant friction; that's the general sequence of events."

The Black General nodded. "It sounds like you were subjected to unfair treatment, but for now, this is only your side of the story."

Fang Senyan smiled. "I don't mind retaining a lawyer for a plea of innocence, nor do I object to swearing on the Holy Scripture that everything I say is true. To uphold the dignity of the law, I can even wait for a trial. However, doing so means I will miss the final deadline stipulated in the Conscription Order, and for us Contractors, that means very, very serious trouble—it might even relate to survival or death."

The Black General said mildly, "The court is not the only way to ascertain the truth. As for your concern about being late, you can rest easy... because your current reconnaissance and sampling mission is rather complex. It requires prior detailed briefing and some brief remedial training, and I am part of the team responsible for that training, specifically responsible for determining if any of you are late."

Just then, a group of fully armed soldiers rushed out from the connecting passage opposite. However, upon seeing the Black General, they hesitantly stopped far away. A Colonel stepped a bit closer, confirmed it was the Black General, and then decisively turned and walked away...

Fang Senyan fell silent, crossing his arms over his chest and watching the Black General, waiting to see if he would demonstrate Holmesian skill in uncovering the complete truth. But he immediately realized his thought was foolish, because a Military Policeman instantly activated his communicator and barked, "Call Logistics! Call Logistics! Immediately pull up the holographic recording for Exit A-18 for the last half hour, recreating the entire incident. You have thirty seconds to comply. Authorization: C51! OVER."

In less than five seconds, several optical sensors descended from the ceiling, targeting the previous entrance. At the scene of the incident, holographic projections of Fang Senyan, Major Lycly, and his two subordinates were simulated.

More importantly, this was far more than a simple projection; it was a complete 3D human model rendering, mimicking their expressions and demeanor with astonishing accuracy. The audio must have been pre-recorded, as it played immediately.

The Black General watched the entire sequence of events expressionlessly, and only when Fang Senyan struck that punch—the light of the Nightmare Mark on his chest transforming into a fist—did he raise an eyebrow. "Strength specialization? You are quite powerful. It's rare for someone with that specialty to achieve the rank of Lieutenant Colonel in the Empire at the Colonizer stage."

Fang Senyan's heart skipped a beat, and he deliberately feigned surprise. "Aren't our profiles provided to you by the Nightmare Space?"

The Black General glanced at Fang Senyan. "I don't know. Perhaps my clearance level is too low to access your relevant data."

While they were conversing, the holographic projection finished playing. The Black General turned to the half-dead Major Lycly and asked blandly, "Do you have anything to say in your defense, Major?"

Major Lycly trembled violently but uttered not a single word. Two of the Black General’s personal Military Police stepped forward and dragged him away like a dead dog. Only then did the Black General smile and extend his hand towards Fang Senyan, his smile possessing a warmth that felt refreshing: "Officially, you have violated no law of the Empire. Personally, I also believe what you did just now was correct. So please, put these unpleasant matters behind you. Welcome to Alps-7 Base, Lieutenant Colonel. I am Major General Fei Ji."

Fang Senyan shook his hand in return. "A pleasure to meet you, sir."

Once seated in Major General Fei Ji's exclusive aircraft, Fang Senyan began to experience close contact with the massive base in a truly intuitive way.

The overall style was not dramatically different from the era Fang Senyan was accustomed to; it was reminiscent of the area within the inner ring road of a massive city—incredibly dense skyscrapers, platforms desperately developed to maximize overhead space, and building layouts that completely disregarded natural light in favor of extreme compactness. Furthermore, looking through the huge, transparent glass curtain-wall pipes, one could see the streets below crowded with people like ants, bustling with activity, giving the impression of prosperous traffic flowing ceaselessly twenty-four hours a day.

The greatest difference from a modern city was that because the base was directly exposed to outer space, the surrounding high-rises were covered with highly advanced curtain walls that had a metallic sheen, as if plated with stainless steel, exuding an air of majesty and oppression.

The surface of the streets was composed of neither concrete nor asphalt, and no vehicles were visible. Along both sides of the main thoroughfare, aside from a ten-meter-wide pedestrian walkway, the entire space was occupied by metal conveyor belts. Each belt was about three meters wide, with clearly marked speed limits.

The conveyor belt closest to the sidewalk moved at a slow pace of two kilometers per hour. However, next to it was a belt traveling at twenty kilometers per hour, and the central belt reached sixty kilometers per hour.

Normally, people could easily step onto the two-km/h belt, which featured left and right footprints recessed into the surface. After placing their feet into these indentations, if one wished to return to the sidewalk, they simply pressed down on the foot closest to the walkway, and the mechanism would smoothly return them to the pedestrian area.

To ascend to the faster belt next to it, traveling at twenty km/h, one only needed to forcefully step down on the foot closest to the faster belt. The machinery beneath would smoothly and evenly transfer the passenger onto the desired belt. The ingenuity and technical precision of this design were breathtaking.

Logically, such a system should prevent traffic jams, but the scene Fang Senyan had observed before entering the base—specifically the first and second orbital rings surrounding it—clearly indicated that large-scale congestion did occur here, and frequently. This suggested that the population of the base probably reached a staggering number that even Fang Senyan dared not imagine.

After witnessing the splendor of this future world, the aircraft neared the center of the base. Here, in stark contrast to the surrounding buildings vying for every inch of space, a magnificent pyramid stood tall at the core. Its base length and width must have been around three kilometers. Surrounding the pyramid, transparent glass curtain walls formed the ceiling over areas containing forests, gardens, flowing water, and other places for leisure and recreation.

"It seems the stratification of humanity in the future is even more rigid," Fang Senyan mused to himself. "This must be where the upper echelons reside."

Major General Fei Ji noticed Fang Senyan gazing distantly and misinterpreted his thoughts, smiling slightly. "Are you intrigued by this pyramid? Not many Contractors who have visited react much differently to seeing this structure. Contractors originating from the Middle East of ancient Earth become quite excited and familiar, saying, 'Wow, so cool.' Other Contractors simply assume that the Empire's supreme political structure must be controlled by descendants of the ancient Egyptians. That, however, is not the case."