Wagri seemed not to notice the arrival of Gu Xinchen, issuing over fifty commands on the light screen before him in a mere ten minutes, each order heating the atmosphere within the command center to an almost unbearable level. Gu Xinchen watched Wagri quietly; this was a prime opportunity to analyze the man. In the end, he categorized Wagri as difficult to deal with.

After a full quarter of an hour, Wagri finally seemed to become aware of Gu Xinchen’s presence. He turned around and gave a cool nod toward him: “Hmm, you arrived later than I anticipated.”

Gu Xinchen tipped his heels slightly, nodding easily, “Hmm, we ran into a snag halfway. The engine on our transport shuttle blew, and field repairs took up some time.”

Wagri shot Gu Xinchen a strange look. Gu Xinchen looked back languidly, casually waving the long sleeve of his robe, and crossed his hands behind his back as well.

Siren interjected with a bizarrely sharp tone, “There must be some high-ranking official in the Expeditionary Force taking kickbacks. How else would the shuttle engine blow so quickly? Once we return to Earth, I’m filing a formal complaint with the Federal Military Command about this. Wasting our time is one thing, but delaying vital military operations—that’s unforgivable!”

Wagri glared darkly at Siren and sneered, “Siren Tonggulas, you…”

Siren cut him off sharply, his voice cold, “Don’t recite my personal file back to me; this has nothing to do with me. If you have an issue, direct it to him!” Siren vaguely gestured toward Gu Xinchen.

Wagri gave a cold snort. He strode heavily off the command platform, walking in measured four-step patterns, leading Gu Xinchen and the others out of the operations command center and into the adjacent recreation area. Following a short passageway to its end, a metal automatic door slid open, releasing a wave of rich floral fragrance that washed over them. Siren stared at the scene before him in astonishment and exclaimed, “Wow, extravagant!”

Gu Xinchen couldn’t help but widen his eyes in surprise. Hundreds of meters beneath the surface, the Expeditionary Force Command had actually carved out a flower garden hundreds of meters long and wide. The lights on the ceiling simulated a light source nearly identical to natural sunlight, and the full three-dimensional simulation system conjured a vivid blue sky with white, drifting clouds; the wind moved the clouds, making it feel as though they were truly under the open sky.

A small pine grove stood in one corner of the garden. A stream flowed out from among the pines; on one side of the stream was a patch of vibrant green lawn, dotted with countless colorful wildflowers amongst the thick grass. On the other side of the stream were neatly tended flowerbeds, where Bird of Paradise, lilies, and violets bloomed fiercely, sending a dense perfume swirling through the air.

On the lawn, several sun umbrellas provided shade, beneath which sat white lounge chairs. Five young men, their skin tanned to a healthy bronze by sun lamps and their bodies fit as hunting leopards, lay stretched out on the chairs. These five were wearing nothing but brief swim trunks, yet around their necks were alloy necklaces from which their identification tags hung, proving their military status. Over a dozen uniformed female soldiers bustled nearby, pressing fresh juice, grilling freshly butchered beast meat, and hand-making fresh milk ice cream. Streams of delicious food and beverages were continuously delivered to the round tables set beside the five young men.

Gu Xinchen turned slightly to observe Wagri.

Siren took a deep breath, eyeing the five young soldiers with a strange grin. “Are these perhaps the General’s relatives? To create such a self-sustaining ecological garden underground, tsk-tsk, the investment must be enormous. With this kind of treatment, I’m almost tempted to join the Federal Army myself.”

Wagri met Gu Xinchen’s gaze with icy coldness and stated plainly, “I can overlook your beating Lieutenant Colonel Valey. Your Paradise Star Independent Army can also return to Earth for refitting. As long as you agree to one condition from me, I can also ensure that your Hell’s Angels Mercenary Group’s rightful profits on Paradise Star won’t be snatched away.”

Gu Xinchen scoffed, “To snatch away what our mercenary group is due, they’ll need teeth strong enough for the job!”

Wagri held up five fingers and stated, coldly and ruthlessly, “Five fully armed heavy armored divisions have surrounded the Paradise Star Independent Army’s base camp. With a single command from me, they will be annihilated in their engagement with the Roman people in less than half an hour. Within those five heavy armored divisions, there are three hundred True Innate Fighters and four thousand Pseudo-Innate Fighters. The strongest three among them possess strength at the late Jupiter level! Any one of them could destroy an entire armored regiment head-on!”

Siren and Aredia exchanged looks of horror. The Federal Military Command was the largest power bloc on Earth, the epicenter of Earth’s top experts; this statement was clearly not an exaggeration.

The Daoist robe on Gu Xinchen moved as if without wind, and a wave of icy killing intent surged rapidly from within him. Gu Xinchen looked at Wagri and sneered, “You actually dare to do this?”

Wagri’s heavy beard trembled, and he said calmly, “Mr. Gu Juechen gave me a check. Guess the amount written on it?”

The killing intent radiating from Gu Xinchen immediately retracted. He stated gravely, “Then, what is it you want?”

Wagri waved his hand and whistled softly toward the five young men.

The five youths lazily turned their heads toward Wagri. One of them muttered an obscenity under his breath and slowly pushed himself up from the lounge chair. A pretty female soldier happened to approach carrying a glass of chilled juice; the young man reached out and pinched her backside. The female soldier reacted instantly, delivering a vicious slap across his face.

The other four youths burst into laughter, whistling sharply and mocking the young man who had been hit.

“Hey, Captain lost face today!” “Tsk-tsk, Your Excellency the Captain, known as the Federal Army’s number one lover—what’s with the slap on your face?” “That was a loud slap, Mary. Why didn’t you kick him in the groin?” “Mary, I love you! Come here, let me give you a big hug, oh, let’s really piss off our captain!”

Amidst the furious ridicule, the young man with a conspicuous handprint on his cheek staggered over. He gave Wagri a brief nod and weakly called out, “General... uh, can I draw five years of my salary in advance? Look, I already drew four years ahead the other day, and I gambled it all away! Why don’t you just give me my salary for the next century?”

Wagri’s face, cold as granite, showed a rare flash of furious rage. He growled low, “Next century’s salary? When you die in the line of duty, I’ll donate it as a death benefit to the Disabled Veterans’ Charity Foundation! Ingley, you damned scoundrel, you military bum!”

Ingley’s thigh muscles twitched incessantly. He folded his arms across his chest and smiled at Wagri, “Oh, General, you could sell a few anti-ship missiles on the black market and make piles of cash. My monthly salary is less than a hundred thousand—what is that? How about this: tomorrow, you specially approve a few fast assault ships for early retirement, and I’ll offload them quickly? We can all take a cut, divide it by five!”

Gu Xinchen looked at Ingley, then at Wagri, his gaze filled with a strange curiosity.

Wagri’s expression turned extremely ugly. He took a deep breath, and a flurry of mad curses erupted from his powerful chest: “You damned little bastard, get down to business! These three are the temporary partners I found for you on Paradise Star!”

A blade-sharp aura seeped out from Ingley’s body, and he stared intensely at the trio of Gu Xinchen.

Gu Xinchen watched Ingley coldly, while the Innate True Qi, vast as an ocean, churned within him. The True Qi flowed back and forth through his Dantian, Qi points, and meridians, gradually causing a sound like a gale sweeping through a forest to emanate from his body.

Wagri, Ingley, Siren, and Aredia all changed color in alarm. Ingley cautiously dropped his hands and adopted an offensive stance.

“Hey, I don’t know what tricks you have that made the General pick you as our partners. But since you’re here, let’s have some fun! I am Lieutenant Ingley; people call me Lieutenant Fang Blade!”

Gu Xinchen shook his head slightly and sneered, “I don’t want to fight you!”

Turning his body, Gu Xinchen spoke to Wagri with icy coldness, “General, you can deploy those five heavy armored divisions of yours. But I swear, if you actually eliminate these brothers of mine on Paradise Star, I will wipe out your entire lineage! Starting with you, not a single relative or friend of yours will be spared!”

Wagri’s eyes narrowed to slits, fixing Gu Xinchen with a gaze of cold, ruthless menace.

Ingley, however, burst out laughing, “You dare threaten a Federal General? You’re the gutsiest fellow I’ve ever met! Take this—let me see how capable you really are!”

Ingley waved his hand, and three thin, wheel-shaped blades materialized from thin air, shooting toward the vital points in Gu Xinchen’s back at twice the speed of sound.

The blades left streaks of cold light, arriving silently and instantly behind Gu Xinchen.

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Can’t wait for this to go on sale... Hehe, just a few more days until the full-scale explosion begins... Comrades, keep up the recommendations and clicks! The more excited everyone is, the more likely it is for Pig Head [author nickname] to erupt!

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