"Hiss," a long jet of sound accompanied by a cloud of white mist from three condensed coolant streams kicked up dust from the ground. The dark crimson external armor of a hyperspeed 'Barracuda VII' transport flickered, gradually returning to its normal cyan-black within the white vapor, slowly settling onto the ground with a residual warmth.

A squad of military police, clad in black uniforms, white steel helmets, and white gloves, marched out of the transport. The leading MP Lieutenant presented a military order to Gu Xichen, who was waiting by the landing pad. With the stern, impassive face typical of military police, the Lieutenant spoke in a voice bordering on a command, "Colonel, we must reach Pangu Base within ten minutes."

"They're fast!" Mohe chuckled, cracking his knuckles with a dry laugh. "We barely finished chasing those bastards off half an hour ago, and here you are."

"Namo Amitabha!" Banru clasped his hands together, looking toward Gu Xichen, his gaze revealing the question deep in his heart: "Should we give these military police a beating as well?"

Glancing over the military order he took, Gu Xichen shook his head. "Harmony brings wealth, harmony brings wealth—that’s what my father taught me since I was small. Siren, Aredia, you two come with me."

The well-trained military police split, six men flanking Gu Xichen, Siren, and Aredia, adopting the posture of an escort. Gu Xichen cooperated fully, allowing two MPs to grip his arms tightly. However, the expressions of Siren and Aredia instantly changed. The two MPs gripping Siren were violently punched away, sent flying over ten meters, falling silent and frothing at the mouth before they even managed a grunt. The two MPs who dared to restrain Aredia suffered worse: two sudden flashes of fire erupted, and two figures, blackened and trailing wisps of black smoke, were blasted over thirty meters away, clearly barely clinging to life.

Gu Xichen smirked and chuckled, leaning toward the MP Lieutenant with a soft laugh. "My apologies, Mr. Siren and Miss Aredia, they are both Jieshi. Your attitude, it leaves much to be desired!"

The Lieutenant’s face twitched violently. He glared fiercely at Gu Xichen, then waved his hand without a word. Several MPs rushed over to help their injured comrades back into the transport for emergency treatment. The Lieutenant then ushered Gu Xichen and his two companions aboard. This time, the two MPs assigned to Gu Xichen kept a respectful distance.

The 'Barracuda VII' transport was less than forty meters long, yet it was powered by the medium-sized plasma engine from a 'Thunder V' light rapid assault cruiser. This made the transport incredibly fast within the atmosphere; it was the only vessel in the Federation capable of cruising at five times the speed of sound inside the atmosphere.

In less than five minutes, Gu Xichen and the others landed at a small pad in the easternmost Pangu Base.

Pangu Base was situated slightly to the east of the continent's center, the easternmost of the seven forward bases established by the Federation Expeditionary Force. It lay less than a thousand kilometers from the Roman base. Consequently, Pangu Base had mobilized vast manpower and resources for its construction, and in just a few days, it had taken recognizable shape. The main camp area, spanning over ten kilometers wide and long, was complete, and various fire points and turrets had been established. As Gu Xichen stepped off the transport, he saw two heavy lift helicopters carrying a fifty-eight-centimeter heavy energy cannon flying toward a turret situated on a distant hilltop; that single turret alone had fifteen visible weapon emplacements.

Inside Pangu Base, the activity was even more frantic; countless soldiers and vehicles rushed about, the dull roar of machinery grating painfully on the ears. Near the landing pad, within a patch of dense woodland, a vehicle production line was operating at full capacity. A 'Sand Scorpion III' all-terrain six-wheeled assault vehicle rolled off the line. Several comprehensive mining vehicles slowly lumbered toward the production line along temporary roads deeply rutted by heavy traffic, dumping massive amounts of refined ingots and other materials into the various hoppers of the assembly line.

The air was thick with industrial fumes. Less than a kilometer away, in an unfinished hangar on a cleared patch of land, a vertical take-off and landing fighter jet had just been assembled. With a muffled roar, the plasma engines beneath the fighter’s wings spat bright blue flames as it lifted off, immediately joining the aerial patrol group.

The small hillock to the left of the landing pad had been completely excavated and was now stuffed full of three missile production lines. Squads of logistics personnel, shouting slogans, pushed heavy missile racks out of the mountain cavern. Each rack held twelve heavy anti-ship missiles, each with a warhead diameter exceeding fifty centimeters. These missiles, just assembled on the lines, hadn't even received their identification markings yet, but on their fins was a symbol very familiar to Gu Xichen—the crest of the Gu Corporation.

"The military arms dealers must be ecstatic that the Expeditionary Force rushed to Paradise Star this time, eh?" Gu Xichen squinted at the sweating logistics soldiers. These shirtless troops, straining under the weight, pushed the heavy missile racks onto the landing pad, loading the astonishingly destructive anti-ship missiles into the magazines of several high-speed assault boats.

The MP Lieutenant glared at Gu Xichen. After a few seconds of silence, he replied coldly, "That is military classified information, and I am not authorized to answer."

Gu Xichen let out a cold laugh. He turned to Siren and said, "Note this down: the production lines I just saw belong to the Gu Corporation, the Koljin Group, Wallow Heavy Industries, and the Shanyuan Heavy Aerospace Machinery Research Institute. Out of the Federation’s top ten arms conglomerates, I spotted four. I estimate they're all here. Once this fight is over, they’ll all owe us money!" Siren responded seriously, even pulling a small notebook from his pocket to meticulously record everything.

The MP Lieutenant stared at Gu Xichen in astonishment. Gu Xichen glared back at the Lieutenant and sneered, "Do you know or not that one-tenth of the mining rights on this Paradise Star belong to our Hell Angels Mercenary Group? These arms corporations mine the ore, manufacture munitions, and sell them directly to the Expeditionary Force Command. We are owed one-tenth of the profits from that!"

The MP Lieutenant felt a wave of dizziness wash over him, stammering blankly, "According to the Federation's wartime requisition decree..."

Gu Xichen tapped his thumb against his nose, then traced an elegant arc toward Siren and Aredia, sneering, "Jieshi, know what that means? Immunity from legal proceedings, understand? Even during wartime, you can’t deduct a single cent from the profits we are due." After a few cold laughs, Gu Xichen nudged the dumbfounded Lieutenant, urging him, "Hurry up and take us to see General Vagri. I want a full production manifest for these lines... we need to severely crack down on any tax evasion."

Siren’s delicate eyebrows arched slightly, and he gave Gu Xichen a thumbs-up.

Aredia nodded as well, stating matter-of-factly, "Xie Long is absolutely right. The wartime requisition decree doesn't apply to us. These arms conglomerates fattening themselves on war must hand over what is ours. Otherwise, I wouldn't mind helping the Romans start a war with the Expeditionary Force!"

The MP Lieutenant nearly choked with rage. He glared furiously at Aredia, then stormed off, leading Gu Xichen and his party toward a base transport vehicle parked near the landing pad.

The transport traveled along the base's temporary road for less than two minutes before arriving at a sheer cliff face that had been flattened. A massive square entrance was carved into the cliff, over three hundred meters high, guarded by a heavily armed heavy armored regiment. After a tedious verification process, Gu Xichen and his companions switched to a smaller transport vehicle and entered the Expeditionary Force Command Center.

The passage leading to the command center was lined with ten massive alloy gates, each two meters thick. If all ten were closed, they could withstand a nuclear blast measured in the tens of megatons. After traversing this two-kilometer-long corridor, the group reached a downward elevator. Descending another seven hundred meters via the lift, they finally reached the Expeditionary Force's true command hub.

In the circular command center, over two hundred meters in diameter, General Vagri stood with his hands clasped behind his back before a comprehensive command console. Dozens of light screens flashed rapidly before him, displaying constantly updating data. Scores of staff officers, whose lowest rank displayed on their shoulders was Colonel, bustled around the console, issuing continuous directives to the nearly one hundred combat units surrounding Pangu Base.

As Gu Xichen entered the command center, a Major General staff officer was shouting loudly, "Red Arrow Detachment has encountered the Roman fighter squadron; the Romans have initiated an attack."

Vagri’s deep gray eyes flashed with ferocity, and he stated grimly, "Have the three nearest detachments—Red Cloud, Red Ghost, and Red Goose—move to reinforce them and wipe out that Roman fighter squadron!"

Another Colonel staff officer called out, "Two Roman high-speed assault boats have engaged our transport fleet in the orbit of Paradise Star One satellite."

Vagri responded coldly, "Deploy the assault cruiser detachment currently lying in ambush in Area A1 and drive them away."

The atmosphere within the command center was electric. The Romans and the Expeditionary Force had made initial contact; various small Roman units were constantly probing the Expeditionary Force’s defenses, while the Federation responded with powerful, head-on strikes. It was clear that once the accumulation of these probes reached a certain threshold, a large-scale war would inevitably erupt.

Gu Xichen stopped about ten meters behind General Vagri. A few sturdy guards prevented him from approaching closer to the General.