The soundproofing in this extended luxury magnetic vehicle was exceptionally good. Even inside, the four occupants couldn't hear anything from the driver in front, as there was an insulated door separating them.

"Give me some time to think about it. Today's tour activities last until evening, so there's no need to worry about us going to inform the bald man," Christina hesitated slightly.

"You can," Yang Ying said very calmly.

Christina remained silent for a moment before asking about something else: "What are your intentions regarding the bald man of Lehai? Will you kill him after securing Lehai's interests? Will you monopolize Lehai?"

"Certainly not," Yang Ying shook his head. "The bald man of Lehai is quite sensible; he fears death greatly and won't risk his life to violate our alliance. Why would I need to kill him? However, the idea of killing the bald man and monopolizing Lehai does belong to the Mayor, sir."

"How so?" Christina asked, frowning.

"My people discovered that the group of terrorists who manufactured the bomb attack against the bald man in Boss some years ago have arrived in Kussen. They established contact with the Mayor last night, and the two sides hit it off immediately. The Mayor plans to create an opportunity for them to carry out the assassination before sending the bald man back to Lehai. He wants the bald man dead without incurring the notoriety of breaking the alliance, which is why he let the terrorists take action."

When Yang Ying first arrived in Kussen, he had already dispatched Ghost Agents to monitor certain key figures. Although the terrorists' approach to the Mayor was clandestine, it did not escape the eyes of the Ghost Agents.

Christina leaned back in her seat, maintaining her silence. She knew the Mayor was indeed that sort of person.

Yang Ying continued, "A few years ago, a top general under the bald man staged a rebellion that nearly succeeded in eliminating the bald man. Although the rebellion was ultimately suppressed, it was a pyrrhic victory. The bald man's children all perished in that revolt. Afterward, the bald man had the general and all the officers who followed him in the rebellion executed, and he also ordered the execution of their families. However, some of those officers had arranged for part of their families to evacuate to safety before the uprising, and those families are now the terrorists."

Discovering this intelligence was no simple feat; it was the result of a coordinated effort between the Kussen Office personnel and the supercomputer Kevin, located far back at the base.

That night, Yang Ying ascended to the rooftop of the tallest building in downtown Kussen, feeling the gentle breeze while overlooking the panorama of Kussen.

This breeze originated from the city's air purification equipment. Since the air in the space city was finite, it had to be continuously recycled and purified to sustain the hundreds of thousands of residents.

The air currently blowing in was the cleanest after purification, with a slightly higher oxygen content than on the surface, making one feel refreshed and invigorated.

Christina approached him with light steps, her footfalls as soft as a dragonfly touching water, completely inaudible.

"Have you decided?" Yang Ying asked directly, as if he had eyes in the back of his head.

"If I say no, will you kill me to silence me?" Christina moved to Yang Ying's left, placing her hands on the railing to gaze downward.

"No. Don't you recall? I am an Awakened one. Making you forget a few things isn't difficult." Yang Ying was talking nonsense; he hadn't mastered the psychic control techniques of the Archons, and the mind-bending spells of the Psions only lasted a few hours before wearing off. While the brainwashing techniques of the Ape Cult were permanent, he hadn't learned those either.

Yang Ying was banking on her unfamiliarity with the world of the Awakened.

Awakened ones were not common folk whom you could fell by throwing a brick on the street; they were rare individuals, perhaps one in every million people. Kussen's population wasn't even large enough to yield a single pound of them.

Furthermore, the majority of Awakened individuals were concentrated in the Psionic Temple, and half of the remainder were absorbed by ancient, long-established sects. True Awakened individuals existing in the general populace—one in every ten million—and they universally concealed their identities, posing as ordinary people.

Many people went their entire lives without ever seeing an Awakened one, leading to inevitable misconceptions about them.

Yang Ying was the first Awakened person Christina had ever encountered, so she had no way of knowing if he was merely trying to intimidate her or if he genuinely possessed the ability to erase her memories.

"Then I won't trouble you. In any case, even if I oppose it, you won't abandon this plan." Christina placed her hand on the railing. "Fine, I agree not to impede your plan. As for my father, I will also try to persuade him."

"That's good. It benefits both your side and ours," Yang Ying said with a smile.

"I never imagined that General Polson, who commanded forces for twenty years, would die so silently at your hands, only to become a scapegoat after death. I wonder what he would think if he were alive," Christina said with a wistful tone. "I'm almost afraid to cooperate with you. Your subordinates are so powerful, they can kill whomever you name. Polson is dead, and the bald man is terrified of you. You blew up Boss's arsenal and cruiser on a whim. Did you never consider the success rate when you decided to kill the Mayor?"

"Of course, I considered the success rate. You will see the results soon enough," Yang Ying did not wish to elaborate on matters that might lead to leaks. Previously, regarding Polson's fate, he had only told her that after Polson left Boss, he was caught red-handed by a diversionary fighter jet sent by Yang Ying, which promptly destroyed his ship and killed him.

Knowing she couldn't extract any real information from Yang Ying, Christina let the matter drop and ceased her questioning.

"Huh?" Yang Ying looked up toward the starry expanse.

"What is it?"

Christina also looked up. Against the pure black backdrop, the stars shone with an eternal light, indistinguishable from any other night sky; nothing appeared strange apart from the stars themselves.

However, in Yang Ying's eyes, the starlight seemed to suddenly dim significantly. A peculiar atmosphere had begun to spread across the asteroid belt.

"Is that... the shadow of war?" Yang Ying recalled the sky he once saw in Light of Titan, which carried the same oppressive, impending doom feeling.

That city had now become a frontline, where six fleets were currently confronting the Ancient Legion in Saturn's orbit.

"Commander Yang, what are you looking at?" Christina's voice pulled him out of his contemplation.

"Nothing, just looking at the stars and recalling some old memories," Yang Ying sighed, then added, "Miss Christina, I must leave first thing tomorrow morning. The structure of the Kussen Office is complete anyway; from now on, Roland, the head of the Kussen Office, will handle matters here. If anything major arises, you can contact me then."

"Leaving tomorrow? Without waiting for my father to return?" Christina’s intuition told her that Yang Ying's urgency was connected to his observation of the stars, but since she didn't understand the capabilities of Psions, and Yang Ying made no move to explain, she dropped the thought of pressing him further.

"Yes, leaving tomorrow." Yang Ying nodded. The ominous shadow indicated that fierce fighting was imminent in the asteroid belt, and he needed to return to the base as soon as possible to prepare.

Yang Ying entrusted the Kussen affairs to Roland overnight and departed Kussen with the Valkyrie fleet the very next morning.

On the morning of the third day, Yang Ying returned to the base.

Entering the command center, Kalia followed him in, holding a package. "Sir, you have returned at the perfect time. David has a message for you, and he also sent a small package." Kalia handed over the package as she spoke.

"What news?" Yang Ying opened the package and saw it contained a physical book with a brand-new cover and clear handwriting, evidently penned by David.

Yang Ying knew that the Psionic Temple still maintained the tradition of hand-copying books. David had once mentioned that certain vital texts in the Temple were not digitized. To read them, one had to borrow a physical copy, and if one wished to take it out of the library, one could only copy a duplicate to take away. However, Psions possessed prodigious memories; unless the book was for collection, few bothered to copy texts, as they could memorize them after a single reading.

The title of this book was simply Psionic Knowledge, but the author was far from simple. He was the current Grand Elder of the Psionic Temple, and the most powerful Grand Elder in the Temple's history—Master Kong Li, recognized throughout Earth as the foremost figure under heaven.

It was rumored that he had achieved Master-level mastery over a century ago, and his current cultivation had long since reached an unfathomable depth.

Yang Ying’s eyes shone with intense excitement. He ran a hand over the book's cover, already completely captivated by it, even before opening it.

"Sir! Sir!" Kalia called out loudly twice when she saw Yang Ying lapse into a daze.

"What? Oh, right, what news did David send?" Yang Ying snapped back to attention after the second call, suppressing the urge to open the book, placing it aside for the moment. Since the book was in hand, he could read it anytime.

Kalia reported, "The message is that the Ape Cult Leader, Harthas, along with the Right Elder and the top ten Ape Emissaries of the Ape Cult, have arrived in the asteroid belt. The reason is unknown, and their location is undetermined. He advises us to heighten vigilance, as the Ape Cult is clearly planning a major operation in the asteroid belt soon!"

This was clearly a massive undertaking. The notorious Ape Master Harthas, coupled with the Right Elder, another Master-level expert, and the remaining ten Ape Emissaries composed of previous-generation Psions and Quasi-Masters—no one would believe such a magnificent contingent was merely passing through for a sightseeing tour.

"A major operation?" Yang Ying murmured to himself, recalling the dark clouds he had seen. "Could the appearance of those clouds be because of them?"

"What dark clouds?" Kalia noticed Yang Ying utter an unfamiliar term and asked for clarification.

Yang Ying explained the matter of the dark clouds to him, then added, "Pay close attention to the atmosphere around us these days. The asteroid belt is likely about to descend into chaos."

"Understood." Kalia saluted and withdrew.

Yang Ying returned to his desk, picked up the book with the deceptively simple title, and opened the cover. On the flyleaf, a single sentence was inscribed:

The mind is the power that changes the world; the mind is the ladder to immortality.

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