Commander, the second phase of the plan is complete, ready for activation at the Base Six One facility," Kalia reported to Yang Ying on the communicator screen.

"Activate it now," Yang Ying ordered.

"Yes, sir." Kalia closed the communicator and turned to the two hundred plus Ghost operatives standing nearby. "The Commander orders the initiation of Phase Two."

The room they occupied was a vast hall where each of the two hundred Ghost operatives manned a workstation equipped with computing power far surpassing anything in the outside world.

Leading them was Kevin, a supercomputer that was half-man, half-machine, organically integrating the strength of over a hundred individuals to multiply their collective output.

Upon hearing the command "Activate," the two hundred Ghost operatives immediately sprang into action, each bringing up a light-screen and commencing intense operations.

What they were doing was uploading a series of video and text data to the network. The video files were images Yang Ying had captured in the Santos secret research facility.

Before destroying the Santos base, he had thoroughly examined nearly all of their research findings, capturing everything he saw. Yang Ying had been meticulous in his filming, ensuring both authenticity and that the viewer would never suspect the cameraman was invisible.

As for the text data, it consisted of intelligence gathered earlier by the Ghost operative unit, which could be cleverly interwoven with information about the Santos secret research facility, exposing precisely what that facility had been researching.

With Kevin's assistance, all operations were untraceable. This data was simultaneously uploaded to the world's most famous video websites, government departments, intelligence agencies—every potentially relevant body was covered.

All the Ghost operatives worked with tense efficiency. Kalia sat at her desk in the front, picking up a crystal stemmed glass, pouring a measure of deep red wine, cradling the base, swirling the liquid, and murmuring to herself, "Well, Caesar Group, will you react exactly as we imagine?"

After issuing the order to launch Phase Two, Yang Ying took Katrínna to the Floating Continent.

On a wide, empty expanse of grass, over a hundred medical pods were placed in the open air. Inside each pod lay a child or adolescent rescued by Yang Ying from Santos.

They were still unconscious.

Yang Ying took Katrínna's hand and walked among the medical pods, examining each occupant one by one.

"Their condition has improved significantly. When they arrived, their bodies were ravaged by exhaustion, fear, worry, and other negative psychological states. Moreover, several children show bruises and whip marks?"

Yang Ying placed his hand on one medical pod. The child inside was about ten years old, his face bruised and swollen, and the exposed skin of his arms was covered in lash marks.

"How cruel," Katrínna gasped, maternal instincts surging, her voice betraying a rare flicker of anger.

In the area housing the medical pods, besides Yang Ying and Katrínna, a dedicated team of combat medics patrolled between the pods, giving extra attention to those requiring specialized care.

Katrínna was still the highest-ranking officer among the medics, but increasingly, she functioned more as Yang Ying's secretary, gradually delegating authority within the medical corps.

The combat medics here greeted Katrínna respectfully as she passed. Katrínna inquired about each child's physical status, and as she learned things were trending positively, her expression gradually softened.

After surveying the area, Yang Ying turned to Katrínna. "The current problem is, what do we do with these children? If we keep them in the medical pods, we can use hypnotic gas to keep them asleep, but that's hardly a permanent solution."

The Floating Continent was home only to the three established races. Yang Ying had no intention of allowing outsiders from the surface world to settle here. These children were destined only to treat this place as a transfer station; once a suitable settlement was found, they would have to be moved out.

"Commander, is there no provision for them in the plan?" Katrínna asked, confused.

Yang Ying nodded. "The plan didn't detail a solution for these children. Looking back now, if I had to do it again, whether I'd save them would be fifty-fifty. After all, we aren't opening an orphanage. Rescuing them was easy, but settling them afterward is far more difficult."

These children all came from Santos and harbored a deep-seated hatred for the Caesar Group. This was especially true for the older adolescents. If they were granted freedom, they might seek revenge against Caesar, or even if they didn't, any slip-up while moving about the outside world could draw the Caesar Group's attention.

Although Yang Ying's plan projected that once all three phases were complete, the Caesar Group would be severely crippled, unable to regain its current zenith for at least twenty years, for these children, the Caesar Group remained...

"Then why did you save them all at the time, Commander?" Katrínna leaned in to ask.

"An excellent question," Yang Ying replied, resting his chin in his hand as he pondered. "Perhaps because during the operation, Blade heard the song of Ambassador Lyra, which influenced my thoughts and caused a moment of mercy."

"Is that so?" Katrínna’s expression became wistful. "I hear the Lyran voice is heavenly music, and Ambassador Jiayouna's voice is the highest form of that music. I truly wish I could hear it."

Yang Ying walked a few steps. "Perhaps on the next opportunity. Or you could look for videos of her benefit performances; given Ambassador Jiayouna's popularity, they should be flooding the net by now."

"The network is never as good as the live performance, but if I can't see it live, I suppose the online version will have to do," Katrínna hurried to catch up, saying with a smile.

Yang Ying stopped moving, as if facing an insurmountable problem. Katrínna also paused, looked at his face, and asked softly, "What is it?"

Yang Ying slowly spoke. "Just moments ago, Ambassador Jiayouna sought out Blade, saying she wanted to be friends with him."

"Eh?" Katrínna was momentarily thrown, finding it hard to process. "Why would she want to be friends with Blade?"

Yang Ying burst out laughing at this, instantly shattering the atmosphere.

"What's wrong?" Katrínna tugged at Yang Ying’s sleeve, asking in confusion.

Yang Ying chuckled. "I just thought, if I asked her that question directly, Ambassador Jiayouna would surely counter: 'Why shouldn't we be friends?'"

"What an odd Ambassador."

Katrínna touched her cheek with one finger, a look of thought on her face.

"Keep in mind, this odd Ambassador is a Master, an almost transcendent figure," Yang Ying continued, taking Katrínna’s hand and walking forward. "However, if we truly can become friends with her in the future, listening to her songs will be much easier for you."

They completed their circuit around the area with the medical pods. Katrínna seemed to have made up her mind. "Commander, let's open an orphanage."

"What did you say?" Although Yang Ying’s hearing was many times more acute than a normal person's, at the suddenness of Katrínna’s words, he felt a strange sense of whether he had misheard.

"Look how pitiful these children are, almost captured for experiments. Since we can't keep them here, nor can we release them into society, we must provide them with a home where they can be protected. Don't you agree?" Katrínna looked at Yang Ying with eyes full of expectation and pleading.

Yang Ying considered it for a moment, then ultimately yielded under the assault of Katrínna’s gaze. "Alright. In the agreement signed with the military, those two space cities are about to be delivered. We will allocate a section on one of them to build an orphanage and transfer them there."

The new space cities had no native inhabitants and would eventually be occupied entirely by members of the Tran Mercenary Group. With an entire city's worth of personnel to look after these children, surely they couldn't get lost.

Returning to the real world, Yang Ying and Katrínna entered the Ghost operatives' work hall, the launch site for Phase Two.

Kalia stepped forward to greet them. "Commander, our second phase plan is halfway through, but we’ve already achieved eighty percent of the desired effect. Major networks are now frantically reposting the data; even if the Caesar Group reacts and tries to intercept it, it will be too late."

"Have all potential loopholes in every stage been sealed?" Yang Ying, though familiar with the plan, still believed in extreme caution.

Kalia bowed slightly, a smile indicating complete control on her face. "Every link has been meticulously scrutinized by the Staff Department and the Ghost Operatives; virtually all risks have been eliminated."

"Good." Yang Ying led Katrínna to the open space near the hall's front. "I will remain here and watch how the Caesar family responds to our propaganda offensive."

North America, Earth, New York. Within a majestic, hundred-story skyscraper was a massive computer center, occupying five full floors, with tens of thousands of machines working day and night to serve the Caesar Group.

This was the headquarters of the Caesar Group, widely believed to possess the most advanced technology in the human world, its security even surpassing that of the Intelligence Headquarters and the Capitol Building.

At this moment, the computer center was in a state of chaos. Everyone looked tense; supervisors were shouting, faces red, and people sprinted down the corridors in disorganized haste, seemingly unconcerned for their own safety.

Soon, this disturbance affected the entire Caesar headquarters building. Countless eyes, from top to bottom, were fixed on the internet; clearly, something major had occurred!