※ Master Gangdi, who had been keeping his eyes closed, suddenly snapped them open at the report, a razor-sharp glint appearing in the corner of his eyes: “Locate them immediately!” “It’s him? Gangdi!” Master Garcia frowned.

“Gangdi used to command a main fleet; he’s not someone to take lightly.” Suddenly, on the light screen, Gangdi seemed to look directly at them, his eyes blazing with fierce light! Qingfeng and Mingyue immediately felt their breath constrict, as if a giant hand were choking their throats.

Master Garcia spread both hands, shielding Qingfeng and Mingyue’s eyes, which instantly brought them great relief. The light screen shattered instantly, losing the image.

Master Garcia had anticipated this and showed no great disappointment. “They’ve been discovered.

These ‘Eyes,’ after all, aren't truly invisible, unlike the Terran Mercenary Group, which possesses some mystical scouting method that even supreme figures like Helas cannot detect.” Qingfeng and Mingyue exchanged glances. When they were with the Thirteenth Fleet, living among the asteroid belt for so long, they had indeed heard whispers of this.

The various mysteries surrounding the Terran Mercenary Group were one of the hottest topics in the belt. They had once seen a photograph of Yang Ying and knew that the leader of the Terran Mercenary Group was that very person—someone they had met briefly, an encounter that indirectly caused them to leave the Taiji Temple.

At the time, they couldn't quite believe it; Yang Ying’s status had jumped so suddenly that it felt jarringly abrupt. Master Garcia patted their shoulders and said, “Prepare to depart.

Gangdi must be the supreme commander of Io’s defense system. Our mission is to strike Fortress Number One, aiming to cripple it to the point where it will be unusable for at least a week.

That’s the only way to draw some attention away from the seven main fleets of the Ancient Legion.” With that, he turned and walked toward his fighter craft. Mingyue hurried after him, asking with confusion, “Master, must we attack Fortress One?

Couldn't we hit Two or Three instead? That might let us avoid direct confrontation with Gangdi and perhaps be easier.” Master Garcia turned back and stated, “Easier?

Impossible. Gangdi’s fighter can circle all of Io in just fifteen minutes.

If we strike any base, we will inevitably face his pressure. Besides—” He showed a helpless expression.

“Of the three fortresses on Io, we only know the precise location of Fortress One. For the other two, we only have general coordinates—we don't know exactly where they are.

We can’t go there even if we wanted to.” He paused, pointing to the starscape. “Actually, there is one more advantage.

According to intelligence, Fortress One is currently the fortress directly facing Callisto. Relatively speaking, our ground troops and fleet are currently fighting on the far side of Callisto.

Destroying Number One would be beneficial support for them, giving them more room to maneuver.” “I see now,” Mingyue realized with a sudden understanding, bowing respectfully. “My apologies for taking up your time, Master Garcia.” “Not at all,” Master Garcia waved his hand.

“Asking questions when you have them is a good habit. It’s bad to keep everything bottled up.” Saying that, he turned and headed for his fighter.

Qingfeng and Mingyue quickly organized their team, prepared their equipment, mounted their high-speed armored transports—like hoverbikes and hover-tanks—and set off toward Fortress One, the escort fleet lifting off to guard their skies. In the control center of Fortress One, the ape staff officers quickly locked onto the location of the external signals using various monitoring devices, found the “Eyes,” and eliminated them one by one.

When Gangdi was fully briefed that the work was complete, he nodded and dismissed the ape staff officers to continue their respective duties. He remained motionless in the command chair, frowning in deep thought for a long time, murmuring softly in a voice no one nearby could hear, “They actually used ‘Eyes’?

Are they not allied with that person from yesterday? Speaking of which, that person’s concealment ability yesterday was truly formidable; I searched the entire fortress and couldn't find a single shadow.

If my intuition hadn’t been infallible, I would have thought no one had come at all.” After nearly half a day, the task force weaved and skirted, deliberately avoiding surveillance robots as they marched toward Fortress One. Under the detection of the “Eyes” and Master Garcia’s sensory capabilities, avoiding these inanimate objects was not difficult.

As they neared the fortress, the escort fighters found a hidden spot to lie low. The pilots of the Ghost Fighters waited in their cockpits, while the Psychics mounted hoverbikes and advanced alongside the special forces.

Arriving at the foot of the small mountain where Fortress One was situated, they found a spot shielded by an ice wall around a corner, making it quite safe from direct observation. The only trouble was the two surveillance robots patrolling nearby.

“Leave it to me.” Master Garcia took a palm-sized, communicator-like device from a special forces soldier; it was roughly oval, with a large screen in the center and several wires exposed at the edges. He held this device and, using a Suodi, instantly appeared behind one of the robots.

He placed his hand on the robot’s back panel, his psychic energy delicately prying it open. Master Garcia flashed his hand, connecting the device’s exposed wires to several ports inside the panel.

In an instant, the screen of the oval device flooded with scrolling numbers and symbols. The surveillance robot's optical indicators blinked twice, then it seemed as if nothing had happened, resuming its patrol.

Master Garcia then turned his attention to the second robot, repeating the exact process, before finishing and returning to the team. The members of the group emerged from their hiding spot.

The two surveillance robots walked over. Seeing the intruders, they acted as if they saw only air, passing straight by them without incident, continuing their patrol.

The reason they ignored everyone was that the oval device in Master Garcia’s hand had uploaded a virus program to them. Until a comprehensive overhaul could wipe out the virus, those two surveillance robots would remain blind to the enemy.

“Under Major Qingfeng’s direction, proceed according to plan. I will go ahead first.

Wait for my signal before you act!” Master Garcia instructed everyone, handing the oval device to a Quasi-Master. “Understood!” the group replied in unison.

Master Garcia nodded, shifted his stance, and darted across the long open space, rushing halfway up the slope, plunging into a passage opening. “All you Psychics, and everyone else, follow me!” Qingfeng poked his head out, checked the situation, then waved his hand, leading the others across a large dangerous zone to a spot beneath an ice wall.

He pointed upwards, and the leading ten individuals fired grappling hooks toward the top of the ice wall. The conical tips sank deep into the ice, securing the hooks firmly.

“Go! Go!” Qingfeng and Mingyue shouted encouragement to the soldiers behind them.

The few Quasi-Masters and ten Psychics found it the easiest; with a step utilizing Suodi, they instantly reached the cliff top. Two surveillance robots were patrolling there as well, but the Quasi-Master holding the oval device followed the same procedure, using the brainwashing technique to neutralize them.

The lower-ranking Psychics accompanied the special forces, climbing the rock face. In Io’s low gravity, scaling the cliff top was trivially simple for these Psychics and elite special forces troops.

Once everyone was at the summit, Qingfeng counted heads, then moved to a flat area to wait. After a short while, two green indicator lights suddenly illuminated on Qingfeng’s wrist terminal.

“Master’s signal is here. Let’s move,” Qingfeng said, pulling out a grenade and tossing it toward an empty patch of ground nearby.

With a boom, the empty area was blasted with a small crater, revealing the passage below. “Move!” Qingfeng took the lead and entered the passage, several Quasi-Masters drawing their light sabers and staying by his side, poised for immediate action.

The rest of the group followed, including the remaining Psychics and the Power Armor Company. They filed in.

Shortly after entering, a loud alarm blared in their ears. “Master Garcia must have disabled the primary alarm system and drawn most of the enemy’s attention to his location.

We must act quickly!” Qingfeng spoke into his headset. The group moved even faster.

They already possessed the fortress map surveyed by the “Eyes,” having a good understanding of several critical locations. This secret passage was discovered by one of the “Eyes,” originally intended for the apes’ retreat in a crisis, but now repurposed for their invasion.

After a while, they reached a sprawling plaza with thoroughfares leading everywhere. Qingfeng instructed the Quasi-Masters, “Each of you take a team and proceed to destroy the base's vital departments.” “Understood.

Be careful yourself.” The Quasi-Masters nodded, each leading a small team of special forces soldiers, rushing toward the pre-planned targets. Meanwhile, inside the fortress, chaos reigned in many areas.

Ape soldiers, accompanied by robots, searched everywhere for the intruders. Master Garcia had wreaked havoc, destroying many things, including the non-existent detection systems and the primary power grid.

The entire fortress was now running on emergency lighting. The apes knew intruders were present but had no idea that the unit led by Qingfeng and Mingyue had already infiltrated the fortress through the secret passage.

At the top of the ice wall, the special forces had already left the passage empty. Suddenly, a figure appeared at the tunnel entrance—it was Yang Ying’s clone.

He murmured, “They’ve gone down? Then my plan can be realized.

When I snuck into Fortress One yesterday, I was almost discovered by Gangdi and had to retreat temporarily. Now I’ve completed the preparations for Fortresses Two and Three; it all depends on the outcome here at One.

If this succeeds—” Before the words were finished, his figure vanished into the depths of the tunnel.