The desk sheared apart at the center, its former stability utterly gone. The legs on either side slid slowly away from each other before crashing onto the floor with a resounding thud. Amidst this noise was the sound of falling rubble from the walls striking the ground, the only sounds left in the military bunker.

The fierce soldiers stood momentarily stunned, forgetting the firearms in their hands as they stared dumbfounded at the staggering scene Brooks had wrought with a single strike.

A fifteen-star Martial Arts Master! The ultimate weapon of mankind, virtually immune to all conventional weaponry, even more terrifying than a Mobile Armor, a supreme killing machine requiring no resupply!

Clatter... clatter...

The debris and stones continued to tap against the silent floor. A few quicker-thinking soldiers instinctively glanced down at the weapons in their hands. These weapons, normally capable of punching a bloody hole clean through a man, were, in the eyes of a Martial Arts Master, no different from scrap metal. Even if they fired to attack the Lieutenant Colonel, a Martial Arts Master could simply wave the battle saber in his hand and cleave every bullet into fragments.

Taking it a step further, even if the Martial Arts Master chose not to use his weapon against the bullets, he only needed to stand in front of the Lieutenant Colonel—the man demanding to see the General—and the bullets would instantly become meaningless.

Open fire? In that instant, all the soldiers gently let their weapons drop to the floor. To continue holding weapons capable of threatening human life at this juncture was not a wise choice. Once a Martial Arts Master moved, he could easily sweep everyone in the room clean.

A nine-star martial artist might seem formidable in the eyes of others, but to a Martial Arts Master, they were utterly unqualified. These were individuals who had already reached the Great Innate stage of Marrow Replacement and Nirvana; the nine-star practitioners were almost exclusively those who had failed to achieve the True Innate stage of Blood Replacement and Rebirth. The gap between them was simply too vast.

Qin Fen quickly found a Colonel among the crowd. “Do you know where the commanding officer here is?”

“Yes! Lieutenant Colonel!” The Colonel’s voice was vigorous, but compared to the Major from before, it lacked arrogance and provocation, replaced instead by the caution of a subordinate addressing a superior officer.

Qin Fen nodded slightly. “Can you contact him?”

“Yes! Lieutenant Colonel!”

“Tell him to return immediately. Say I demand to see him.” Without turning back, Qin Fen walked toward the Lieutenant General’s office, issuing the command: “Tell him if I don’t see him today, he never needs to return; he can report directly back to Earth for debriefing.”

The Colonel stared blankly at Qin Fen. Was this young man really only a Lieutenant Colonel? The tone of his voice sounded more like the Federal President! To dare speak to the highest commander on Saturn in such a manner?

The massive base fell quiet once more. The Colonel hesitated, unsure whether to actually follow Qin Fen’s instructions. He glanced over at his comrades, hoping for some hint from his usual peers, only to find them looking as bewildered as he was about why this Lieutenant Colonel had suddenly become so presumptuous.

Even though they were deep into the great age of Federal Information Technology, these soldiers spent most of their time handling military matters. Even their leisure time, constrained by the unique environment, offered little insight into affairs on Earth.

Regarding General Zuo Dongting’s death, they merely knew he had died. As for how he died, strictly speaking, only the truly high-ranking officials knew the details.

Such matters were inherently unsuitable for public dissemination. Qin Fen’s name was only widely known within the relatively elevated echelons of command.

The Colonel hesitated slightly, then saw Brooks’s gleaming, cold blade, and noted that Qin Fen had directly seated himself in the office chair—one of the few that hadn't been cleaved by Brooks’s energy—his composure possessing an indescribable aura of authority.

“General? It’s me… I apologize, I know this is not the time to disturb you... but regardless, I must ask you to return. Something has occurred here. The Lieutenant Colonel from Earth Headquarters says he needs to see you. Yes, a Lieutenant Colonel. Please, do not be angry yet, sir. He stated that if you do not appear today, you needn't appear again; you are to report directly back to Earth Headquarters for reassignment.”

Qin Fen watched the Colonel’s furtive movements while telephoning. Even from a considerable distance, he could clearly hear the furious roar emanating from the earpiece—mixed with curses and insults.

Qin Fen nonchalantly picked up some documents from the floor, flipping through them casually. He noticed some were files that should have been responded to five days ago, yet still bore no approval stamps.

Slowly turning the documents, Qin Fen’s eyebrows drew closer toward the center of his brow. One document might not reveal much, but viewing many documents consecutively, especially those already approved, exposed a pattern: the Di Fu (Underworld)!

Lieutenant General Solov had a very close relationship with the Di Fu. Many documents showed Solov, either overtly or subtly, ceding the interests of the Federal Army to Di Fu elements.

Qin Fen picked up the computer that had also escaped being shredded. He found that the computer was not password-protected.

For someone not adept with computers, this was an incredibly careless oversight. It seemed Solov wielded significant authority here; he didn’t even require a startup password.

Bank accounts. Qin Fen easily found the networked banking software. Upon opening it, he discovered a login ID, but only the ID, no password.

“I really should have brought Jessica along,” Qin Fen muttered, stumped by the empty password field. Hearing the sound of rummaging behind him, he turned to see Xue Tian maneuvering a large bookcase aside, revealing a completely unremarkable wall behind it.

Clang! A metallic collision, sparking a shower of brilliant light, erupted as the unremarkable wall was struck by Xue Tian’s blade, sparks flying everywhere. As the wall veneer peeled away, a massive steel barrier was revealed.

“Ha! A secret room! All my previous efforts studying mechanics in my mercenary days were not in vain!” Xue Tian sheathed his Iaido blade, looking immensely pleased with himself for slicing open the steel wall.

Yang Lie and Brooks exchanged curious glances, their eyes conveying similar questions, as if asking: What does being a mercenary have to do with studying secret mechanisms? Does this kid think being a mercenary means robbing underground vaults?

“Old Qin, lend a hand,” Xue Tian said, pointing to the sliver of opening he’d cut in the thick steel wall, which was still too narrow for a person to pass through. “You’re stronger.”

Rumble, rumble...

The elevator, a towering hundred meters high, emitted a slight grinding sound upon reaching the ground floor. A volatile energy surged from the iron doors that had not yet fully opened, drawing Qin Fen’s attention.

“Who is it?!”

An angry, arrogant, coarse roar, vibrating the entire base like a lion’s bellow, erupted as the elevator doors slid open.

“General, don’t be so angry...” A voice as sweet and soft as to make bones tingle drifted from the elevator, accompanying the sound of a monkey’s shout: “Once we finish things here, I’ll make sure you enjoy yourself properly with my mouth. You’ve already had a taste of what’s coming.”

“Hah! Good! You know me best, little ***, wait till I deal with you later!”

Qin Fen watched the man emerge from the elevator. He appeared under sixty, built as powerfully as a grizzly bear, standing a good 2.3 meters tall. Long, yellowish hair resembling corn silk grew on his head, and his chin sported a dense, short, black stubble. His hands were enormous, their scale disproportionate to the average person. The woman leaning against him, whose chest seemed large enough for a double-D cup, looked tiny in the grasp of his massive hands.

“Which impatient soul is looking for me?” Solov glared with his fierce eyes, immediately locking onto Qin Fen, who was sitting in his office chair. Upon seeing the devastated room and the slice cut into the secret room hidden behind the bookshelf, the muscles in his face grew increasingly contorted.

Qin Fen regarded Solov calmly. This was the highest commander on Saturn? He openly brought a non-military woman into a military base, and his demeanor was anything but that of a soldier.

Xue Tian let out an impressed tsk. This scene was spectacular; he never would have imagined the highest commander on Saturn would be involved in such a situation before arriving.

“General Solov, I am a Lieutenant Colonel from Earth Headquarters.” Qin Fen, without rising from the swivel chair, pulled out the badge given by the Snake King and tossed it across the space toward Solov. “I am here to relieve you and assume command as the new Supreme Commander of Saturn.”

“You?” Solov spread his massive hand, glancing at the badge he caught. A cruel sneer instantly curled his lips. His five spread fingers squeezed inward, and the exquisitely crafted badge, containing various data and military orders, instantly erupted in a series of electric sparks and black smoke.

Solov opened his hand again, tilting it downward slightly to reveal his gleaming white teeth. He looked at the badge, now a piece of junk on the floor, and sneered: “What did you just say? I didn’t hear clearly. Could you say that again?”

An undisguised contempt for military orders! Qin Fen’s lips twitched a few times, his expression retaining the same initial calm composure as he spoke: “Greetings, Lieutenant General Solov. I am sent by Earth Headquarters to replace you as the Supreme Commander of the Saturn Military Region. I now request you complete the necessary handover procedures with me, and then report to Earth Headquarters for reassignment.”

“You want to replace me?” Solov threw his head back and roared with laughter several times. His coarse laughter made the woman beside him cover her ears. “Everyone here, did you hear that? He said he wants to replace me!?”

Solov finished laughing, his eyes flashing fiercely as he glared at Qin Fen. “Fine! No problem! Hand over your military order, and I, Solov, will leave immediately!”

“You don’t have it? If you don’t have it, don’t blame me for being impolite! To openly forge military orders—”

Qin Fen looked calmly at the shouting Solov, swept his gaze over Solov, and then casually waved a finger. “Silence him.”