"How is she?" Tianhai quietly asked Zhong Yun during a lull. "She's asleep," Zhong Yun sighed softly.

Liu Yunqi had taken the blow hard; he had never seen such a fragile expression on her face.

Tianhai followed with a sigh.

Anyone would feel terrible after what had happened.

He clapped his friend's shoulder and returned to his own seat.

In the military, personal feelings were forbidden.

Given the relationship between Tianhai and Zhong Yun, even in formal address, Tianhai still had to respectfully call him "Commander-in-Chief." Only in private could they speak of their friendship.

In the Supreme Command Headquarters of the Hongxian Federation capital, everyone seated in the just-cleared conference room wore extremely grim expressions.

Since gaining their freedom, they had seen the Presidential Palace in utter disarray, as if it had been looted—no, not as if; it had been looted.

Every valuable item in the entire Presidential Palace had been swept clean, not even a single painting left hanging in the corridors.

One could imagine the state of the entire capital. "What a bunch of bandits," someone muttered, so angry they could barely speak while looking at the President's desolate figure.

Frustration—everyone present felt an overwhelming sense of stifled anger.

In terms of national strength, the Hongxian Federation was leagues ahead of Davo.

In military might, the Federation, possessing "Quasi-Satellite" class warships, was something Davo could never match.

But why had the capital of the Hongxian Federation been breached? Everyone pondered this question.

Why? Finally, they found the answer in the video recordings.

In some pieced-together footage, they witnessed the majesty of the Mars.

This oddly shaped warship, initially mistaken for a pirate vessel, was the culprit behind the fall of Planet Puji.

The people present saw, for the first time, the Mars's abnormal speed, capable of destroying a "Quasi-Satellite" class warship with a single shot, yet possessing a main cannon with a range ten times greater than an energy cannon of comparable intensity.

And then there was its phantom-like, headache-inducing cloaking ability.

Although many present knew the Mars was formidable, seeing its power firsthand, coupled with the parameters analyzed by the A.I., left them dumbfounded.

This was a super-warship.

When did Davo acquire such a vessel? The President recalled that young voice.

While the automatic translator certainly had the function to alter one's voice, hearing a voice didn't confirm the speaker's identity.

Yet, he had an intuition: it truly was a young man. "The Crescent Fleet sends an inquiry: should we engage the enemy?" A communications officer entered, asking the President seated at the head of the table.

In the Hongxian Federation, the President simultaneously held the position of military commander, making him the highest authority here.

The conference room fell silent, many looking toward the President in hopeful anticipation. "I propose we disguise the Crescent Fleet as pirates and annihilate the enemy," an elderly man with white hair stood up, his face flushed with excitement.

Such acts of disguising forces as pirates to ambush enemy warships were not uncommon.

As long as no hard evidence was uncovered, passing it off was not an issue.

The Great Cosmic Federation's office in the Omi star system was nothing more than a bureaucratic machine; with enough effort, such an unsolved mystery would be difficult to trace. "I agree," another, slightly younger Admiral stood up, equally agitated. "This fleet has brought us too much shame; we cannot simply let them sail away.

Otherwise, what dignity and face are left for the Hongxian Federation?" "I agree." Infected by the Admiral's words, the voices of agreement soon rose across the chamber. "Quiet down," the President pressed his hands down, silencing the rising clamor.

When everyone was quiet and looking at him, he began to speak slowly. "I understand your intentions.

I also wish to keep that fleet here and wash away this humiliation." "However," his tone shifted, "have you forgotten that woman is on that fleet? If she were to die by our hands, do you think it wouldn't be traced back to us?" When the President spoke of "that woman," he paused instinctively, betraying his apprehension of her and the hesitation in his voice, as if afraid to utter her name.

Hearing the President's words, everyone fell silent.

They all clearly understood who that woman was and what she represented—something the Hongxian Federation absolutely could not afford to confront. "The commander of that fleet offended that woman; their fate will surely be tragic.

If things go poorly, the entire Davo might be implicated, and by then, Davo will pose absolutely no threat to us." Hearing this, everyone began to gloat.

After this battle, they and Davo were mortal enemies; the worse Davo fared, the happier they were. "Instruct the Crescent Fleet not to follow too closely, and absolutely avoid any conflict.

They are to return course in half an hour," the President seized the moment to issue the order. "Very well, we now move to the next agenda item: post-war relief..." This topic once again weighed heavily on everyone's spirits.

The Hongxian Federation had dispatched an "Expeditionary Force" composed of forty "Quasi-Satellite" class warships, one hundred and ten "Mist Mountain" class warships, and two thousand destroyers, totaling over twenty million personnel including logistics.

Post-war statistics showed only thirteen "Quasi-Satellite" class warships, thirty-one "Mist Mountain" class warships, and five hundred forty-two destroyers remained of the Expeditionary Force.

Fewer than six million soldiers survived.

Nearly three-quarters of the Expeditionary Force had perished in this war.

And that wasn't all: nearly two hundred thousand soldiers died in the seven bases within Davo territory, and the entire personnel of the large supply convoy ambushed—seventy thousand people—were wiped out.

The Battle of Planet Mendes resulted in over a million casualties, and the capital defense of Planet Puji cost nearly a million lives.

Preliminary tallies indicated the Hongxian Federation lost over seventeen million military personnel in this war.

This casualty figure was unacceptable.

According to the initial analysis by the Think Tank, the Hongxian Federation should have only needed to pay the price of five million lives to conquer half of Davo.

With the war having devolved to this state, everyone present faced immense political pressure.

The collapse of the incumbent government was virtually assured.

Surveying those present, the President sighed inwardly.

He had foreseen this outcome the moment the Presidential Palace fell.

He dialed his secretary's number. "I will be holding a press conference in two hours; please arrange it." "Gentlemen," he leaned slightly forward, his aged face showing no sign of defeat, "I will not resign until the nation has restored order.

I will not tolerate handing over a mess to my successor." "Within two hours, we must produce a feasible and effective post-war reconstruction plan." His fingers tapped the table. "Do you have any proposals?" The departure of the Hongxian Federation fleet brought a wave of relief to all members of the Forty-Fifth Fleet.

Zhong Yun's judgment had been correct; he just hadn't realized that the thing the Hongxian Federation most feared was not the Great Cosmic Federation's office, but the captive he had almost forgotten. "That woman's background is far from simple," Xiao Ling's voice suddenly sounded near Zhong Yun's ear.

Zhong Yun subtly shifted his gaze, seeing Tianhai and the others diligently focused on their tasks.

He stood up and headed toward his own quarters.

Xiao Ling's words instilled a sense of unease in him.

Xiao Ling rarely used words like "extremely"; for it to describe the situation as "extremely not simple," the woman's origins must be terrifyingly significant.

Back in his room, Zhong Yun asked in a low voice, "Is there something wrong with that woman?" Xiao Ling's pure black avatar appeared before him.

Whether it was psychological, Zhong Yun thought Xiao Ling's expression seemed somewhat grave. "Her body naturally emits a peculiar signal that ordinary metal materials cannot insulate.

Tests show it possesses extremely strong transmission properties." "This signal cannot be found in my current database," Xiao Ling added finally. "Is she carrying a signal emitter on her person?" Zhong Yun frowned.

Xiao Ling's words made him feel uneasy.

He had always assumed Xiao Ling was omnipotent, but he hadn't expected there to be something Xiao Ling didn't know. "There are no foreign objects on her body." Zhong Yun tapped his forehead. "Can a method be devised to block the signal from her body?" He increasingly felt the woman's background was complex.

If Xiao Ling couldn't block the signal, he might have to risk killing her to prevent her people from tracing the signal and coming after them. "Yes," Xiao Ling's answer brought Zhong Yun a measure of relief.

It was best not to kill her if possible; she could still serve as a hostage at a critical moment. "How?" Zhong Yun inquired.

In a solitary confinement cell barely ten square meters, a beautiful woman in a fiery yellow dress huddled in the corner.

Two tracks marred her face, which looked guileless and innocent, evoking pity.

Zhong Yun glanced through the thick metal door before opening it.

The entire Mars was under his control; no one could open this door without his authorization.

Sensing a shadow, the woman's eyes flickered, then opened.

She looked up to see an ugly barbarian smiling at her.

Indeed, an unevolved primitive; even his smile was hideous. "Looks like you've been doing quite well here," the ugly barbarian spoke irritating, stilted Common tongue.

The woman brushed dust off her clothes, her face regaining its haughty expression.

She looked down on Zhong Yun. "You had better release me immediately, or else..." "Or I'll meet a nasty end?" Zhong Yun stepped closer, almost pressing against her, saying with a strained smile, "You've already said that once." The woman shrieked and retreated a step, glaring at the shameless primitive. "You low-born cur, stay away from me." Zhong Yun advanced another step, backing her against the wall, his face hardening, danger flashing in his eyes. "What did you say?" "I said you low-born cur, low-born cur, low-born—" A sharp slap cut off the woman's tirade.

P: As promised yesterday, 9,000 characters are complete.

The remaining thousands of characters owed will certainly be repaid within this month.

Today, my monthly votes were overtaken; asking for monthly ticket support for the 45th.

If you don't have monthly tickets, please support the 45th with recommendation tickets.