The Mercury executed its attack while cloaked, striking the Qing Shi Nation’s fleet at the very instant they intersected, obliterating twenty-three enemy warships.

By the time the Qing Shi forces reacted, the Mercury was already nearly a thousand kilometers behind them.

The commander of the Qing Shi fleet was furious but maintained his composure, swiftly consolidating his forces and ordering heightened vigilance as they continued toward their destination. He had clearly seen that the enemy was only a single vessel; he could not sacrifice the greater mission for one ship, especially since pursuit now was impossible.

Zhong Yun immediately recognized the Qing Shi tactical response and spun the Mercury around, giving chase. The Mercury possessed an acceleration capability several tiers higher than the Qing Shi warships, allowing it to catch up quickly and launch another surprise attack.

Having been forewarned, the Qing Shi fleet reacted much faster this time. The moment the Mercury's assault concluded, they gave immediate pursuit.

Seeing the enemy taking the bait and closing in as anticipated, Zhong Yun began leading them in wide circles, preparing to grind them down slowly.

The direction the Mercury was traveling was opposite to that of (Lan Zhi Xing). Just as the Mercury's secondary batteries finished charging, an anomaly erupted: an overwhelming suction force materialized ahead, nearly wresting control from the ship.

The Mercury's powerful automatic stabilization system kicked in, instantly generating a counter-force in the opposite direction to neutralize the pull, preventing the ship from being dragged in.

The Qing Shi warships were far less fortunate. They were drawn in directly, and along the way, vessels began colliding, sparking violent explosions. These initial blasts triggered a devastating chain reaction.

The sight of over a hundred warships detonating simultaneously delivered a profound visual shock, leaving even Zhong Yun, a veteran of war who had witnessed grand spectacles, speechless.

The debris from the explosions was immediately swept away by the gravitational pull, vanishing without a trace.

By sheer fortune, the Mercury's propulsion was just powerful enough to resist the suction. Even so, it took over three agonizing hours to inch clear of the affected zone.

Once clear of the dangerous area, Zhong Yun was left trembling with residual fear. He immediately marked the region on the star charts as a restricted zone.

That suction was the legendary (Spatial Turbulence)—the invisible assassin of the cosmos. Once caught within it, survival was impossible. The closer one approached the center of the Spatial Turbulence, the stronger the pull became; rumors held that at the core, the tearing force could disintegrate any matter. Fortunately, the Mercury had only skirted the very edge; venturing even slightly deeper might have overwhelmed even its formidable drive.

Amidst the shock, Zhong Yun felt a pang of confusion. Logically, the area surrounding an occurrence of Spatial Turbulence should be devoid of planets. Yet, approximately three hundred million kilometers away, there was a planet, a situation that clearly defied conventional understanding.

The Star Sea was indeed steeped in strangeness; Zhong Yun ultimately decided to attribute the anomaly to the inherent mysteries of this place.

After hearing Zhong Yun’s account, Wang Xiao Er gasped repeatedly. Spatial Turbulence, he noted, was one of the most common yet terrifying phenomena in the universe, akin to underwater reefs but far more dangerous. He declared that Zhong Yun’s escape was nothing short of sheer luck.

“This Spatial Turbulence isn’t marked on ’s (Lan Zhi Xing’s) star charts either. Could it have formed recently?” Zhong Yun worried deeply. The location of the turbulence was only a hundred billion kilometers from (Lan Zhi Xing)—far too close.

He realized they needed to relocate soon. The nearest star to this Spatial Turbulence was (Lan Zhi Xing)’s sun, and its influence would eventually extend outward, reducing everything in its path to nothingness.

Zhong Yun cursed his misfortune: no sooner had he occupied (Lan Zhi Xing) than this disaster appeared. He mused that he must be some kind of natural harbinger of ill fortune.

However, after consulting data, Zhong Yun learned that Spatial Turbulence expanded slowly. His estimations suggested that the phenomenon would pose a tangible threat to (Lan Zhi Xing) only after fifty years at the earliest. Zhong Yun had no intention of remaining in this cursed place for five decades; by then, the problem would be someone else’s, and he promptly dismissed the concern.

His primary objective remained leaving this cursed location. After conquering (Lan Zhi Xing), he desperately scoured available information about the Star Sea, but the data proved extremely limited. The most detailed star chart for (Lan Zhi Xing) only mapped areas up to the (Ai Er Nation); beyond that, everything was blank.

The frustration was palpable: after expending so much effort to take (Lan Zhi Xing), this was the result.

The Star Sea was truly too mysterious. Zhong Yun suspected that the Star Sea might actually be the true nature of the legendary Dead Zone. Besides possessing resources tens of times richer than the Omi Star System, this region presented several unique challenges.

First, spatial sensors were useless, meaning instantaneous communication across light-years was impossible without a substitute. Second, the data archives on (Lan Zhi Xing) contained no schematics for spatial jump technology.

Zhong Yun hypothesized that both technologies might be inherently impossible within the Star Sea. This could explain why (Lan Zhi Xing), despite possessing the technological capacity of an intermediate civilization, remained so informationally isolated. If this proved true, he was in serious trouble. The distance back to the Omi Star System was unknown; if it exceeded one hundred light-years, he might never see his parents or loved ones again in his lifetime, even if he found the correct route. This prospect terrified Zhong Yun the most.

The nascent Silver River Nation operated smoothly, and the general populace felt none of the upheaval typically associated with regime change; life remained virtually unchanged, save for the faces of government leaders in the media.

Considering various factors, Zhong Yun decided to recruit children around ten years old—those with impeccable family backgrounds, high intelligence, and maturity. His recruitment standards were exceptionally stringent: if they weren't the most outstanding, he didn't want them; if they weren't the brightest, he didn't want them. He even set aside his own cultivation practice to personally oversee the selection, determined to mold these youths into his true, loyal inner circle.

Zhong Yun initiated a nationwide selection process, administering a comprehensive test to all eligible children. This massive undertaking was delegated to Wang Xiao Er. In the initial screening, Zhong Yun eliminated nearly ninety percent of the candidates. Those who passed then endured a second round, followed by a fifth, culminating in one-on-one interviews with Zhong Yun. Ultimately, only fifty thousand were chosen, thirty thousand of whom were male.

These fifty thousand were housed aboard the Mercury, where Zhong Yun had already prepared an extensive training curriculum, intending to forge them into first-rate talent capable of assisting him.

Completing this process took three months, by which time the Silver River Nation was established on a firm footing. Zhong Yun installed a middle-aged man from the Yan Bin Empire as the head of the government, while Chu Tian Ge and others managed the military, whose strength grew almost daily. Everything proceeded methodically.

Meanwhile, the base crew had successfully relocated all assets.

On this day, Zhong Yun summoned his inner circle once more.

“Boss, you said you had an announcement. What is it?” Zeng Xiao San asked impatiently once everyone had assembled.

“How long have we been here?” Zhong Yun countered instead of answering directly.

“Almost a year, I think,” Zeng Xiao San replied hesitantly.

The others watched Zhong Yun, awaiting his explanation.

“Yes, nearly a year,” Zhong Yun sighed. “I trust none of you have forgotten our oath?”

“The oath?” Everyone blinked in confusion.

Zhong Yun clenched his fist and declared passionately, “No matter what suffering we endure, we must go home!”

The word ‘home’ stirred emotion in everyone, and they loudly affirmed, “We have not forgotten!”

“Very good,” Zhong Yun said with satisfaction. “Immediately go and settle all outstanding matters. In ten days, we depart for (Ai Er Xing).”

“What?” The abruptness of Zhong Yun’s shift stunned everyone, even the usually composed Zuo Zhi.

“I understand,” Ming Yun Yu’s eyes flashed with excitement, and she was the first to pledge allegiance.

“You mean we’re abandoning the Silver River Nation?” Zeng Xiao San asked, clearly doubtful.

“What, you’re reluctant to leave?” Zhong Yun challenged.

“Of course not!” Zeng Xiao San jumped, sweat beading on his forehead. “It’s just so sudden; I’m quite surprised.”

“It’s just a small nation; there is nothing worth clinging to,” Zhong Yun stated calmly.

Those present secretly admired his resolve. To become the ruler of a nation with a hundred million people was an immense temptation for anyone, yet Zhong Yun relinquished it without hesitation or lingering. They wondered if they possessed such fortitude.

“Tian Ge, inform those recruits you brought in. If they wish to follow us, bring them along; if they don’t, do not force them.”

“Yes,” Chu Tian Ge stood and confirmed.

“Zuo Zhi, notify the people in the government and instruct them to hand over their responsibilities to their deputies.” Zhong Yun addressed Zuo Zhi next.

Zuo Zhi also rose and acknowledged the order.

“Xiao Er, dispatch some people to use the hard currency we moved from the national treasury to buy supplies: energy blocks, advanced manufacturing equipment, and engineering robots—buy as much as possible.”

“Miss Ming, please handle informing the rest of the group.”

Zhong Yun assigned the tasks one by one. Finally, he concluded, “That is everything. In ten days, everyone assembles aboard the Mercury. You are dismissed.”

Everyone left to attend to their duties. Zhong Yun paused, realizing he had one final matter to address, and connected to Laurency’s communicator…

Ten days later, everyone was assembled on the Mercury. At Zhong Yun’s command, the Mercury set off again, accompanied this time by fifteen “Mist Mountain-class” warships.

P: One more chapter.