She held him tightly by her side. Fuya.Ming’s expression was already starting to sour. $\text{Kanhua}$ let out a burst of laughter, and it was hard to guarantee that Fuya.Ming wouldn't become furious and turn hostile out of embarrassment.

Of course, Ducat wasn't afraid of Fuya.Ming losing her temper; he was merely indulging a dark sense of amusement, waiting to witness something highly likely to occur.

According to the calculations derived from Ducat's terrifying brain, comparable to a super quantum computer, the probability of a sudden incident erupting between Gu Xiechen and Fuya.Ming exceeded seventy-five percent! And this was calculated with limited external conditions and insufficient data. Ducat's vague inference was that the possibility of something sparking between Gu Xiechen and this woman was well over ninety percent. Earlier, by the edge of that village, Ducat had already noticed that the gazes exchanged between the two were quite off.

"Ugh, I'm truly bored... Is it because I’ve been hanging around these Earthlings that I've become so listless?" Ducat sighed mournfully in his heart. In the past, he was precise and rigid, just like a robot, but recently, even he had noticed changes within himself. This transformation left him feeling somewhat helpless, a little panicked, but mostly hopeful. "Mother would like the me I am now!" Ducat assured Sheji with firm conviction.

Fuya.Ming’s face was equally displeasing as she stiffly led Gu Xiechen and the others through the entire base toward the command center within. As they walked, she maintained a stern expression while explaining, "The conditions here are rudimentary, so this base accommodates one thousand three hundred soldiers. This is all the force I can directly command."

"Rudimentary conditions?!" Gu Xiechen nodded blankly. "Oh, yes, certainly, quite rudimentary!"

He recalled the barracks at the Arctic base of the Hell's Angels Mercenary Corps, the military camps on Heaven Star, and the ant-nest living conditions of the Earth Federation. This military base—a base where every single person had a two-hundred-square-meter suite—was actually called rudimentary?

Ducat and $\text{Kanhua}$ followed behind Gu Xiechen as if sleepwalking; they shared the same look of bewilderment. A military base three kilometers long and wide? In the Earth Federation, such a base could house over ten thousand soldiers and still have enough space excavated underground for training grounds or even armament production lines! Yet here on Yaphic, such a vast base housed only thirteen hundred soldiers? "My little princess!" $\text{Kanhua}$ exclaimed in surprise, "You command merely thirteen hundred soldiers?"

Fuya.Ming’s face tightened, her small, wrinkled features resembling a shriveled apple. She stated coldly, "Yes. In the entire Yaphic Kingdom, I can directly mobilize only thirteen hundred soldiers. Other soldiers loyal to me are commanded by the thirty noble lords loyal to my father; they can command a total of one hundred and fifty thousand troops!" "What is the total population of the Yaphic Kingdom?" Gu Xiechen inquired.

After a moment of silence, Fuya.Ming said in a low voice, "The Kingdom’s entire standing army, including a secret rapid mobile unit, totals three hundred and seventy thousand, not the thirty-two thousand the outside world knows. Two hundred and twenty thousand regular troops are under the control of Prince Daogen; he holds an absolute advantage in military strength."

Glancing at Gu Xiechen, Fuya.Ming sighed lightly. "My sole objective in hiring you is to eliminate those two hundred and twenty thousand rebels, as well as the auxiliary army of three hundred thousand that Prince Daogen has recently assembled."

Gu Xiechen sharply noticed a flicker in Fuya.Ming's gaze and pressed, "Is that truly the only objective?"

Fuya.Ming fell silent. Gu Xiechen glanced at the Yaphic soldiers watching them from the side and smiled knowingly. It seemed Fuya.Ming’s troubles were not limited to just Prince Daogen; no wonder she dared to decide on hiring his group without any investigation—in her view, the situation couldn't possibly get much worse, could it?

With a rebellious prince within and powerful figures controlling the military authority outside, likely coupled with other constraints, this little princess was effectively fighting a lone battle.

The group entered the command center. The curious Yaphic soldiers, who had been gathering, immediately returned to their duties as if nothing had happened, paying no mind to the three strangers. When a squad of soldiers carried the heavily concussed Audor into the base, no one even bothered to conduct a detailed check. The base resembled a super five-star retirement home: quiet, harmonious, and utterly tranquil.

In one corner of the base command hall, there was a lounge area capable of accommodating nearly a hundred people simultaneously, separated from the main hall by a massive transparent crystal screen. Fuya.Ming invited Gu Xiechen and his party into the lounge. Two beautiful and charming young women in long robes soon arrived, serving fruit tea and various wines.

$\text{Kanhua}$ wasn't interested in the fruit tea, but upon seeing the array of wine bottles presented, he immediately lunged forward with enthusiasm.

Boluzhuo, standing nearby, also charged forward with eyes glowing blue, his two small paws anxiously grabbing a pile of bottles. These were exquisite vintages reserved only for the Yaphic royalty; each bottle fetched an astronomical price on the Star Alliance black market. The peerless vintage of the Yaphic King could even be traded for a mid-sized battleship on the black market.

Relying on his experience, Boluobolu discreetly stuffed two of the most expensive bottles into his robe.

Also relying on his experience, $\text{Kanhua}$ selected two of the strongest liquors and downed them with loud gulps. He finished both bottles in two quick swallows, then clicked his tongue dissatisfiedly. "Boring. Less than thirty percent alcohol by volume. Is this even considered wine?"

Gu Xiechen held a cup of fruit tea, smiling warmly as he looked at Fuya.Ming seated next to him. "Princess, let us now discuss our remuneration!"

Fuya.Ming nodded. She glanced at the two maids, who smiled in acknowledgment, solicitously coaxing Boluzhuo away into a rest area on the other side of the command hall.

"Alright, now we can speak frankly," Fuya.Ming took a deep breath, her two eyes, shining like black quicksilver, fixing intensely on Gu Xiechen.

That gaze caused Gu Xiechen’s heartbeat to quicken slightly. He muttered with a hint of panic, "Damn it, I have already completed the Sheyuan True Canon, and the Primordial Dao Fetus has been fully absorbed. My heart rate..." He sighed, glancing at Ducat. "Xiao, clear this place out!" "Clear it out? Clear what?" Fuya.Ming looked at Gu Xiechen, confused.

Ducat stood up. A silver torrent roared forth from beneath his feet, accompanied by sharp, electronic sounds, sweeping across the entire lounge. In an instant, blinding electrical sparks erupted from every corner, even from the sofa next to Fuya.Ming, the wine table, and even inside several wine bottles. With a crisp crackle, faint wisps of blue-green smoke emerged from everywhere. Ducat shook his head with a cold smile. "Three hundred and seventy-two listening devices, one hundred and thirty-five pinhole cameras, forty-five multi-function information recorders, one hundred and forty-four electronic instruments of unknown function! Hmm, the technical standards are very high, and the structures are incredibly intricate!"

Ducat, with his cold smile, was secretly astonished. According to the information gathered by his Boundary Force feedback, the technical level of these electronic instruments far surpassed his imagination, being at least three levels more advanced than the technology he possessed. If it weren't for the Boundary Force being a mysterious power that technology couldn't explain, and Ducat's personal abilities including control over electronic equipment, he might truly have been helpless against these gadgets!

His Boundary Force had instantly disabled the functions of most of the electronic instruments, but there were still one hundred and forty-four miniature electronic devices whose purpose he couldn't ascertain!

For some reason, Ducat suddenly felt it necessary to remind Gu Xiechen. So, he transmitted a message to Gu Xiechen using his mental power: "If you can obtain their kingdom's scientific research materials, you must not pass them up. Alternatively, we could just rob their highest research institute here!" Gu Xiechen raised his eyebrows in surprise, smiled at Ducat, and discreetly gave him a thumbs-up.

Fuya.Ming’s face turned green with anger. She stared blankly at the smoke rising everywhere, then suddenly sneered, "What my interstellar politics tutor said at the First Military Academy was right: those in high positions cannot trust too easily... They told me this was the safest, most hidden secret base!"

Gu Xiechen casually crossed one leg over the other and stated mercilessly, "To Prince Daogen, perhaps this place is very hidden. But to certain others..." Fuya.Ming's face grew even paler, and she bit her lip tightly.

Spreading his hands in a gesture of resignation, Gu Xiechen said calmly, "Apologies, I didn't intend to provoke Your Highness!"

Although his words were polite, Gu Xiechen was calculating in his mind. He needed to completely shatter Fuya.Ming’s trust in those so-called noble commanders, forcing her to place all her hopes on him so that he could secure the greatest benefits.

On the journey over, Ducat’s armed robots had scanned the complex and massive planetary defense system beneath Yaphic using radar waves, while Gu Xiechen’s divine sense had also detected the mechanical structures underground pulsing with extremely vast energy. Driven by a munitions dealer's instinct, Gu Xiechen realized that those bizarre-looking contraptions were weapons of exceptionally high destructive power. Just based on what his divine sense detected, there were over a hundred sets of giant machines resembling ground-to-air artillery emplacements, but the caliber was too absurd... Anti-air cannons with a caliber exceeding one hundred meters—was that still a cannon? Yaphic was deeper than it looked; he had to find a way to leverage Fuya.Ming!

Her ashen complexion gradually returned. Fuya.Ming steadily picked up several crystal cups and poured a drink for Gu Xiechen and his party. She asked gently, "Is this place completely secure now?"

Gu Xiechen looked at Fuya.Ming with apparent frankness. "This base is very large. I can only guarantee that what happens in this lounge will not be discovered by others!"