Zhong Yun looked up; the sound was coming from the room where Yu Daoqing had been. Just as he was contemplating tossing a bomb up there to scout the area, Wang Jingze’s silhouette appeared at the entrance of the opening.

Gazing coldly at "him," Zhong Yun remained motionless, only tightening his internal vigilance. He recognized immediately that it was a virtual projection.

"Decided to come out, have you? I thought you’d keep hiding in the ship," Zhong Yun sneered.

Unmoved by the provocation, Wang Jingze’s face was grim. "I admit I underestimated you, but don't get too pleased with yourself. You never know who will laugh last until the final moment."

"I can assure you, it won't be you." Zhong Yun didn't want to waste words. He picked up a bomb, hurled it forcefully upward, and pressed the detonator. Boom!

Zhong Yun could feel the vibration through the floor beneath his feet, and Wang Jingze’s virtual image vanished.

"Have you ever heard of 'Feigning the plank road while secretly crossing to Chencang'?" Zhong Yun suddenly asked Yu Daoqing with a smile.

Yu Daoqing turned to look at him, her eyes slightly puzzled. "What does that mean?"

Wang Jingze stood in a secondary control room not far from the main warehouse. On the surface, he appeared confident, but inwardly, he was deeply unsettled. Zhong Yun’s shadow weighed on his heart like a massive mountain, so heavy it almost suffocated him.

Having his plans thwarted by Zhong Yun again and again, and with methods so utterly unexpected—whether it was blasting a hole through a meter-thick metal floor right under his nose, or causing an explosion with energy blocks that nearly destroyed the entire ship, or even preparing to destroy the oxygen generation room for a mutual kill—all of these developments had caught him completely off guard.

Now, Zhong Yun seemed to have engineered a situation advantageous to him, forcing them to engage him in a direct battle within the largest space, the warehouse. Yet, the odds of victory were still fifty-fifty.

Zhong Yun had a Level Ten expert on his side. But based on his understanding of Yu Daoqing, she wasn't a fighter. Whereas Wang Jingze commanded over a hundred well-trained armed personnel, himself being a Level Nine master, along with the resources of the entire ship.

If Wang Jingze could figure this out, surely Zhong Yun had too. Would he honestly settle for a head-on confrontation?

Although Wang Jingze wouldn't admit it out loud, deep down, he was terrified of Zhong Yun's endless stream of tricks.

However, outwardly, he maintained his composure. Having been in hiding in the base for so many years, his acting skills were already perfected.

The fighting in the warehouse settled into a stalemate. Listening to the intermittent sounds of explosions, Wang Jingze silently calculated the casualties among his armed personnel.

In the vast space of the warehouse, for his mere hundred-plus men to think they could drown a Level Ten expert through sheer numbers was a pipe dream. His true objective was to use these hundred lives to deplete Yu Daoqing's abilities as much as possible.

Even a Level Ten expert’s abilities weren't infinite; they would eventually run out during sustained combat. Once she was nearly drained, it would be his time to strike. But at this moment, what he feared more was Zhong Yun.

"Concentrate fire, eliminate the male first." Finally, he made up his mind. He issued the order to all armed personnel: eliminate Zhong Yun first, regardless of the outcome, it would depend on luck.

"Report, the male has vanished..." a man actively attacking suddenly relayed a message, but he only got halfway through before falling silent, likely killed.

This half-finished message sent a jolt of pure dread through Wang Jingze. Vanished? What did vanished mean? Dead? Or...?

Wang Jingze shivered. "All personnel guarding the passages, be alerted! Zhong Yun is highly likely to appear near you. Increase vigilance and shoot on sight!"

After issuing the command, he remained extremely uneasy. Armed personnel were stationed in every passage near the warehouse. How could Zhong Yun simply disappear without reason?

Perhaps he was scared and was hiding inside some metal crate? That was perhaps the only rational possibility. But his intuition screamed that things were never that simple.

Zhong Yun, where in the hell did he go?

This question lodged itself like a thorn deep in his heart, leaving him unable to sit still.

In the main control room, the crew operated with methodical efficiency, though a palpable tension filled the air. The ship’s First Officer, who was actually the true commander of the vessel, sat in a co-pilot’s seat, his expression somewhat distant, wondering about the battle unfolding in the warehouse.

"Second Officer, go to the secondary control room to check the situation, then report back," the First Officer instructed the man beside him.

"Yes, sir." The man hurried out of the main control room. As he exited, he glanced back with confusion; right at the doorway, he felt as if he had brushed past someone. Yet, the room behind him was empty. Perhaps I’m just too tired, he thought, shaking his head as he hurried toward the secondary control room.

"One, two, three... forty-five. Hmm, forty-five people in total." Inside the main control room, Zhong Yun, concealed beneath his Cloak of Invisibility, stood in a corner, calculating how to dispatch all forty-five individuals in the shortest time possible.

The Cloak of Invisibility, made primarily from the seeds of the 'Crystalline Rose' from Season Two, was Zhong Yun's second secret weapon carried on his person. When deciding on an invisibility item, after careful consideration, he had purchased this lightweight, long robe. Not only could it cover his entire body, but when folded, it was smaller than half a fist, making it easy to carry.

Since the disaster aboard the Tongguang, he had become much more cautious, always keeping several life-saving items with him wherever he went; this cloak was one of them.

The bombing of the oxygen room was merely a feint. Zhong Yun's ultimate goal was the main control room. He knew that critical areas of the ship were under video surveillance, and Wang Jingze would certainly not allow them to destroy the oxygen generators unless he intended to die himself.

Therefore, Zhong Yun had anticipated that Wang Jingze would send people to stop them. He had also considered the disparity in their forces—a direct fight would have uncertain odds. But Zhong Yun had never intended to fight them head-on.

Leaving Yu Daoqing at the original location to distract the enemy, he cloaked himself in the invisibility robe he carried and rushed directly toward the unguarded main control room.

The stealth capability of this cloak proved truly formidable. Not only was it invisible to the naked eye, but it even fooled the life-sign detectors. Zhong Yun strode brazenly past the armed personnel guarding the passages; they remained completely unresponsive.

Entering the main control room itself was a major problem. Zhong Yun first returned to his own room to retrieve the micro-bomb hidden in his sleeve, preparing to blow the main door to smithereens.

Unexpectedly, as he reached the door of the main control room, someone stepped out. Zhong Yun was overjoyed and quickly slipped inside just before the door sealed shut, nearly bumping into the crew member who was exiting.

Forty-five people—that seemed rather troublesome. Although Zhong Yun had brought an energy block bomb, given its power and the density of the personnel inside the control room, tossing it in would kill around seventy or eighty percent of them.

However, he didn't plan to do that. The main control room was the central hub controlling the entire vessel. Inputting a single wrong command could lead to irreversible consequences. If a high-yield bomb detonated here, lives would certainly be lost.

Zhong Yun didn't mind blowing things up completely, but since he was also on the ship now, destroying it would mean his own demise.

Therefore, he had to eliminate them one by one, and he had to be fast.

His first target was the First Officer, who was issuing orders. Zhong Yun moved silently behind him.

No one in the main control room noticed as a hand materialized eerily out of thin air around the First Officer’s neck from behind, where nothing was visible.

The First Officer felt a prickle of danger, but it was too late. He heard a sharp crack and plunged into endless darkness.

Choking the life out of an enemy’s neck was one of the most effective methods of silent killing using bare hands.

Zhong Yun gently placed the body's limp head down onto the control panel in front of him. To anyone else watching, it would appear as if the officer were merely resting.

Then, Zhong Yun moved toward his next target.

Although he couldn't pilot the ship, he was familiar with its layout. Simple operations were manageable; he had learned this during the escape drills for ship accidents—understanding the vessel's structure and operation increased the chances of survival.

Generally, a spaceship had one Captain, several First Officers, and team leaders, followed by operational staff and their deputies, and perhaps a few trainees. These constituted the entire complement of the main control room. Their ranks could usually be discerned by their seating positions; the Captain’s seat offered the widest view of the entire room. Below that level were the First Officers.

This ship had three First Officers; one had already left, leaving two. Once both were eliminated, the ship would lose its command structure.

Silently dispatching the second First Officer, Zhong Yun set his sights on the team leaders. However, killing these individuals without alerting their subordinates would be difficult because the team leaders sat too close to their own crews.

Zhong Yun struck first at the navigation team leader—blinding the ship’s eyes—then swiftly killed the communications team leader, severing their external links.

As he reached out for the power team leader’s throat, someone finally noticed something was amiss with the First Officer. A crew member found the sight of the officer slumped over the console slightly odd, and upon closer inspection, spotted traces of blood near the First Officer's mouth.

"What's wrong with the First Officer?" he cried out in alarm.

Everyone looked up toward the First Officer’s position.

"What are you yelling about?" his team leader snapped.

"First Officer, he's bleeding," the man explained defensively.

His team leader’s heart clenched. He rushed over and, sure enough, saw a thin streak of blood at the First Officer’s lips. Startled, he pushed the officer. "First Officer, you..."

The First Officer's body tilted, and he slid straight down beneath the chair.

"The First Officer is dead..." The team leader was struck as if by lightning.

P: The gap has widened again; I’m asking for monthly ticket support. Only seven days remain, and I'm still 112 votes short; the opposition is fighting desperately for votes too. The chances are slim, but I will absolutely not give up. I will fight until the last second. There will be another chapter tonight.