When Zhong Yun walked in with a grave expression, Liu Yunqi, who had been smiling, felt a sudden jolt of unease, a dark premonition creeping into her heart.

"What happened?" The sudden, ominous feeling tightened something deep within her. She had felt this way once before, the last time—when her mother passed away.

Zhong Yun opened his mouth twice, his gaze meeting Liu Yunqi’s sorrowful eyes, but the terrible news lodged in his throat, refusing to be spoken.

Though Liu Yunqi didn't speak of her two elder brothers every day, he knew how profoundly deep her bond with them was. He truly didn't know how devastated she would be upon hearing this news.

Sensing the unusual atmosphere, Tian Hai and the others paused what they were doing, turning their heads to look at the couple, Zhong Yun and Liu Yunqi.

Zhong Yun crossed the space, pulling her into his arms. He closed his eyes and whispered softly, "Your brother... he..." Feeling the body in his embrace tremble, he tightened his hold, finally forcing the two words out, "is dead."

Three sharp gasps echoed in the room. Who was Liu Yunqi’s brother? The impact of his death was seismic, particularly for Chen Wen and Zhang Xiao, the heirs of the powerful families.

Only Tian Hai felt simple astonishment. The reason for his shock was purely that the deceased was Liu Yunqi’s brother.

Zhong Yun felt a rising concern. Liu Yunqi’s reaction was abnormal; hearing the news of her brother's death, she did not cry. She simply stood there, motionless, unresponsive.

"Emergency Operations requesting contact, Emergency Operations requesting contact..." the main control room system announced.

Zhong Yun did not move; he held Liu Yunqi tightly, ignoring the contact request from Emergency Operations.

"Emergency Operations requesting contact..." the system voice repeated mechanically.

Tian Hai, Chen Wen, and Zhang Xiao exchanged glances. Though anxiety gnawed at them, they remained silent, unwilling to disturb the moment.

After ringing about ten times, the system voice finally quieted down.

Unable to shake off his worry, Zhong Yun led Liu Yunqi into the adjacent room. Watching her sit on the edge of the bed, silent and unmoving, her eyes vacant, Zhong Yun felt a terrible ache. He had no idea how to comfort her. At this moment, any verbal solace felt utterly incapable of smoothing the wound in her heart.

He sat beside her and firmly grasped her hand. Only then did Liu Yunqi show a flicker of reaction. She looked down blankly at the large hand resting over hers. Following the hand upward, she saw Zhong Yun’s face, etched with deep concern.

Liu Yunqi’s unfocused gaze slowly began to sharpen. Her eyes fixed on Zhong Yun's face, growing brighter until they regained their former brilliance, though now filled with an unbearable, heart-wrenching sorrow.

"Yun, Big Brother is dead," Liu Yunqi finally recognized Zhong Yun, her voice laden with helpless grief. Zhong Yun had never seen such an expression on her face. His heart ached, and he drew her head into his embrace. "Cry, it will all pass."

Liu Yunqi’s shoulders hitched twice, and tears of sorrow slid down her cheeks.

"Why is Major General Zhong Yun not responding to my communications?" The Marshal's voice was chillingly cold.

The Captain of Ship One looked helpless. Emergency Operations couldn't reach Zhong Yun, so they contacted him. Yet, the Marshal's words could not go unanswered, so he could only reply respectfully, "The Chief Commander is likely inspecting the spoils of war and is not on the vessel."

The line went abruptly silent, and then Captain of Ship One heard heavy breathing from the other end. A few seconds later, the Marshal’s voice, carrying a hint of inexplicable hope, returned. "Inspecting the spoils of war?"

A bad premonition suddenly struck Captain of Ship One. Could it be that the Supreme Commander had failed to report the capture of the Hongxian Federation's capital to Emergency Operations? Thinking this, he swallowed hard. "Yes, Marshal Your Excellency."

"You all..." The Marshal's voice held something indefinable that the Captain couldn't decipher. "Where did you attack?" The Marshal had clearly learned that they had left Mandes Star and launched a surprise raid deep into Hongxian Federation territory.

In truth, when he learned of this from the one or two warships left stationed on Mandes Star, he had erupted in a fury. He was furious at Zhong Yun’s suicidal behavior and could not fathom why those he considered seasoned and steady individuals had followed Zhong Yun into madness.

However, after a while, as his anger subsided slightly, for some unknown reason, he suddenly thought of the bizarre conduct of the Hongxian Federation military.

A thought sparked in his mind: Could Zhong Yun and his team have actually succeeded? But the idea flashed across his mind only briefly; the notion was too fantastic.

Even so, he could not resist and immediately contacted Zhong Yun. Besides worrying about the safety of the 45th Fleet, there was, deep in his soul, a faint thread of that wild hope.

Yet, when such a possibility actually seemed real, he still couldn't quite believe it. Who would believe that a fleet of just five ships could conquer an entire nation!

Cold sweat beaded on the Captain of Ship One's forehead. Over an hour had passed since the armistice was signed with the Hongxian Federation, yet Zhong Yun, as the Supreme Commander, had not reported to Emergency Operations. This was utterly irregular. This matter could escalate severely; if a malicious party seized upon it, Zhong Yun could face considerable trouble.

"Reporting to Marshal Your Excellency, we have just captured Puji Star, the capital of the Hongxian Federation, and have signed the armistice agreement. We were just about to report to you." Captain of Ship One decided to help Zhong Yun, deliberately stressing the words "just" and "about to."

But the Marshal didn't notice the nuance at all. When he heard, "captured the capital of the Hongxian Federation, Puji Star, and signed the peace agreement," the man froze entirely, thinking his hearing had betrayed him. He urgently asked, "What did you say?"

"We have just captured Puji Star, the capital of the Hongxian Federation, and signed the armistice agreement," Captain of Ship One repeated his statement.

"Impossible?" the Marshal exclaimed.

Indeed, how was it possible? Captain of Ship One managed a wry smile. Even now, he didn't know how Zhong Yun had managed it. Taking the capital of a nation stronger than Davo with just six warships—thinking back, it felt like a dream. A very unreal dream.

It wasn't just him; the captains of the other fleets and many soldiers felt the same sense of unreality. This was a dream they didn't want to wake up from.

"Tell me the entire process of the war. Leave out no single detail," the Marshal's voice carried an unprecedented gravity.

It was over just like that? The damnable war that had stolen countless friends and relatives from Davo—was it truly finished?

When everything settled, looking upon the city that shared structural similarities with Davo but differed vastly in style, countless Davo soldiers who had participated in the war suddenly realized this. They had conquered this city, and in doing so, conquered this nation—a nation that had once brought immense aid to Davo, but also endless pain.

And all of this was brought about by a single youth. This youth had led them to one victory after another, ultimately achieving a feat unprecedented in history. History would remember them, would remember this day.

The 45th Fleet, bearing their spoils and the boundless resentment of all Hongxian Federation citizens, finally departed the capital of the Hongxian Federation.

As the six warships ascended into the heavens, countless Hongxian Federation citizens emerged from their homes, gazing up at the receding fleet as if trying to burn the image of those six vessels into their memory. They firmly remembered the fleet that had pinned the entire Hongxian Federation to the pillar of shame.

Many passionate young men silently vowed in their hearts that they would repay this humiliation a hundredfold, a thousandfold, in the future. They were waiting for that day to come.

After leaving Puji Star, the 45th Fleet was followed by a large contingent of Hongxian Federation warships that looked, by any measure, ill-intentioned.

The atmosphere aboard the 45th Fleet was also tense. The enemy numbered too many, easily twenty times their own strength. They followed, maintaining a careful distance, and showed no signs of turning back even after exiting the star system containing Puji Star.

And their anchor, Zhong Yun, had locked himself away with Liu Yunqi. No one could enter.

Fortunately, Zhong Yun eventually emerged from the room, or Tian Hai and the others had begun considering using mechs to smash the door down. Tian Hai walked over. "Commander..."

His words were cut short as Zhong Yun waved him off. "I know." He walked to the command console and said, "Bring up the sensor display."

A massive panoramic image filled the main control room space. On the screen, hundreds of 'Wushan-class' and 'Quasi-Satellite-class' warships were neatly arrayed, trailing behind them.

"How long have they been following?" Zhong Yun asked, his eyes fixed on the large screen.

"Since we left Puji Star, they’ve been right behind us," Chen Wen replied.

Zhong Yun pondered for a moment, then stated gravely, "They are merely making a show of force; ignore them. As long as we do not provoke them first, they will not attack."

"Order: All units, maximum speed ahead."

Maximum speed, naturally, was calibrated to the standard of the 'Wushan-class' warships. The five vessels of the 45th Fleet were all exquisite products manufactured by the Giant Machinery Group, slightly more advanced than standard 'Wushan-class'—essentially enhanced versions.

In terms of speed, they surpassed the ordinary 'Wushan-class' by three to five percent. One must not underestimate this difference; in the cosmos where distances spanned light-years, this was a significant gap. Even a one-percent difference constituted an insurmountable advantage.

Indeed, after sailing at this speed for a while, they managed to shake off nearly eighty percent of the Hongxian Federation warships. However, the remaining twenty-plus 'Quasi-Satellite-class' vessels were still enough to overwhelm the 45th Fleet several times over.

P: There is one more chapter; it might be ready around 1 AM. Friends who have work tomorrow should not wait up.