The endearing little girl, having no memory of her name, pleaded with Kaming-Yus and Yang Ying to give her one. Seeing her facial structure and complexion suggested an Asian heritage, Yang Ying decided to assign her a Chinese name.

At that time, Yang Ying and Katerina conferred and agreed that they would split the task: Yang Ying would choose the surname, and Katerina would choose the given name. When they finally put their choices together, they had astonishingly selected the exact same single character: Bai (White).

This was because the little girl’s white hair was so distinctive. From a distance, it appeared purely snow-white, but when held closely in the hand, it seemed as if a convergence of countless vibrant colors was contained within.

Neither Yang Ying nor Katerina had ever encountered such a phenomenon, unsure if it was congenital or the result of some experiment.

The texture and appearance of those strands left a deep impression on both Yang Ying and Katerina, leading them both, as if guided by telepathy, to write down the character Bai.

Should they call her Baibai?

Both Yang Ying and Katerina considered trying again, but the little girl vehemently refused. She cherished these two characters as the most precious things and would not allow them to be changed under any circumstances.

As a result, she was truly named Baibai.

Katerina led her to a nearby chair and said with a smile, "Baibai and I went to the downtown orphanage to visit the other children."

"After waking up, those children rescued from Santos displayed varying degrees of hatred towards the Caesar Group. But what could they do? Nothing at all, just watch. Fortunately, they calmed down when they learned that the core of the Caesar family had disintegrated and the Caesar Group had fractured into pieces."

"Now they are staying in the orphanage in Trant Energy City. We haven't arranged suitable long-term placements for them yet; for now, they can learn some things, and we will make decisions when the right opportunity arises."

"As for Baibai, the treatment she receives is different. She can remain in the secret base until recently when we brought her out to have some fun."

"Are they doing well?" Yang Ying rarely concerned himself with the orphans. He had too many matters to handle, only asking about them during moments like this.

Katerina paused in thought. "They all have hope for the future."

Yang Ying nodded and smiled. "That’s good."

Suddenly, a paper crane flew past Katerina, circled her three times, and then drifted over to Yang Ying.

"Baibai!" Katerina turned around to see Baibai staring intently at the paper crane. Wherever her eyes focused, the crane followed.

Katerina had folded this paper crane for her just a short while ago.

"This..." Yang Ying watched Baibai's performance with astonishment. The crane's movements were incredibly lifelike—a flap of the wings sent it gliding a short distance, and its entire body moved naturally and synchronously with the wing beats, just like a genuine bird utilizing aerodynamics to fly.

Achieving such realistic motion required an exceptionally precise level of psychokinetic control. At this time, Baibai's psychic strength was only around two hundred. When Yang Ying was at that same level of two hundred psychokinesis, his manipulation of the energy was comparable to an infant's, far inferior to Baibai’s current display.

Baibai, who had been playing with the paper crane with keen interest, was suddenly startled by the two bright gazes fixed upon her. The crane wavered and drifted down. The little girl stammered a few times, wringing her small hands together, and asked timidly, "Did I do something wrong?"

"No, you did wonderfully," Yang Ying replied with a smile. He sprang up, pulled a third-order Rubik's Cube from his sleeve, and manipulated it with his psychic energy, sending it spinning wildly in the air. In mere seconds, he restored all six scrambled faces to solid colors.

"Wow!" Baibai clapped her hands until they were bright red, her interest instantly piqued.

Yang Ying scrambled the cube, then gently lowered it into Baibai’s hands. "Try it."

Baibai nodded firmly, uttering an affirmative sound simultaneously. She lifted the cube before her, released her hands, and the cube hung motionless in mid-air before slowly beginning to rotate one face.

Yang Ying immediately felt a surge of dark amusement. He recalled how miserably he had fared when Master Pang Qian first handed him a cube; for several days, he couldn't even keep it steady in front of his eyes, let alone make it obey his command to turn.

Katerina, having witnessed Yang Ying’s own intense practice sessions, clapped her hands happily when she saw Baibai performing so well.

Hearing the applause, Baibai seemed encouraged and became even more absorbed. Soon, the rotation of the cube became increasingly fluid, with several faces clicking and turning in rapid succession, as if she were holding it in her hands.

However, Baibai had never played with a Rubik's Cube before. After spinning it with sheer enthusiasm a few times, she made no progress in aligning the scrambled small blocks.

The little girl grew increasingly anxious, seemingly afraid of disappointing Yang Ying, unaware that he was already reeling from being thoroughly outclassed.

This child, could she be one of the legendary geniuses?

Yang Ying wiped away non-existent sweat. Baibai’s psychic energy was nearly depleted; her face was pale, and perspiration beaded on her forehead.

"That’s enough, you did very well." Yang Ying immediately snatched the cube back with his psychokinesis, while Katerina produced a handkerchief and gently dabbed the sweat from her brow.

"But I can't do it, Brother Yang Ying..." Baibai lowered her head, kicking her feet, looking utterly dejected, as if her performance hadn't been good enough.

If she could do what I just did now, the motivation for my future training would be completely crushed, Yang Ying thought to himself.

He cleared his throat. "Learning to solve a Rubik's Cube is simple. A third-order cube has only a few specific permutations. Once you practice it a few more times and memorize the patterns, you'll become skilled."

The key to focused practice is manipulating the cube. Baibai's control was already sufficient to restore the cube to its original state; she merely lacked familiarity, wasting many turns. Otherwise, she probably would have finished long ago.

Yang Ying placed the cube back in her hand. "Play with it more when you have time."

"Okay!" Baibai nodded seriously. She dedicated her entire being to fulfilling every request Yang Ying made. Over the past six months, Baibai often woke up startled at night, dreaming she was back in that dark, sunless world—unable to see, unable to hear, unable to communicate with anyone. Now that she had finally returned to the light and enjoyed such a happy life, she was unwilling to contemplate any possibility of losing it.

Katerina, watching Baibai’s determined expression from the side, glanced worriedly at Yang Ying, then quickly shifted her gaze away when she saw him look over, pondering something to herself.

Leaving Trant Energy City, aboard the vessel returning to the Asteroid Belt, Baibai adhered to her internal clock and took her afternoon nap, sleeping soundly while hugging a stuffed bear on a small bunk. Katerina waited until the girl was deeply asleep before going to the adjacent cabin to find Yang Ying.

"Commander, please don't let Baibai learn those killing techniques, okay?" Katerina pleaded earnestly. Ever since Yang Ying had given the Rubik's Cube to Baibai, she had been anxious.

Yang Ying smiled faintly. "So that's what's been worrying you. I was wondering what you were looking at me for just now."

Katerina pursed her lips, clenching her fists tightly, still awaiting his answer.

"Alright, I promise you," Yang Ying nodded. "We still have the Trant Mercenary Corps. No matter what happens in the future, we won't send her to the battlefield."

Katerina’s expression softened, and she smiled. "Thank you, Commander."

Another week passed, nearing the end of February. While heavy snowfalls blanketed the Northern Hemisphere of Earth, the temperature in the Asteroid Belt suddenly rose.

The time for departure had arrived.

To secure a swift victory, the Earth military mobilized four frontline main fleets and four second-line main fleets—eight fleets in total—to launch an assault on Jupiter's orbit. All forces were fully prepared and poised for action. With a single command from the military high command, the eight fleets ignited their engines simultaneously and set course for Jupiter’s orbit.

Within the Worrell Mercenary Alliance, news of the war mission was disseminated instantly. Like the military, the mercenaries had been itching for this moment.

Due to the existence of twelve military bases, pirates had long vanished from the Asteroid Belt. Following half a year of continuous encirclement operations by the regular forces, coupled with the coordinated efforts of the mercenaries, the Pirate Alliance Fleet was now merely a name. The foundation of the Ape Cult in the belt had been entirely eradicated, though Heras, Yego, and several Emissaries of the Ape still remained at large.

Furthermore, the original pirate king organization, the Caribbean Pirates, had not shown any sign of life for a considerable time. They seemed to have vanished, leaving no trace despite extensive searching. It was certain they had not been wiped out by the regular army.

The silence of the pirates, coupled with the fall of the Outer Solar System, resulted in a significant drop in mercenary business. Many small and medium-sized mercenary groups had gone bankrupt, forced to disband or attach themselves to larger organizations. Consequently, all major mercenary corps were eagerly anticipating this war, hoping to make up for the belt-tightening period they had endured.

Upon accepting the war mission, Yang Ying quickly mustered his unit and headed to Worrell for assembly.

This time, the force setting out included the three flagship vessels. Those three older warships had been decommissioned, relegated to being training ships for the perimeter defense organizations. The current main fleet of the Trant Mercenary Corps comprised three Pacific-class battlecruisers, twelve active heavy cruisers from the military, twelve active light cruisers from the military, and a vast contingent of various small and medium-sized warships.

Of these, the three battlecruisers were entirely crewed by Clone Battle Troopers. The heavy and light cruisers were commanded by a ten percent contingent of Clone Battle Troopers leading ninety percent personnel from the perimeter organizations. The same setup applied to the medium and small vessels, excluding the Valkyrie warships.

These warships had been acquired gradually over the past six months. Until the Behemoth-class battlecruiser was completed, this fleet would serve as a transitional force for training the Battle Troopers.

Also included in the departing fleet were three specialized transport ships.

"Thor, the Ultimate Heavy Assault Mecha—those twenty-story tall bipedal war machines—are stored within these three transport ships. They are positioned at the center of the fleet, adjacent to the three Pacific battlecruisers."