Deep within the core research facility of the Fik Nation, beneath the deepest levels. Save for a secret control room known only to a select four or five high-ranking core officials, there was nothing but rock. Xiao Yaming frowned, staring at a wall that looked no different from the ordinary rock face before her. "The backup control center for the Yafik planetary defense system is right behind this wall! I never expected the ministers I personally appointed to betray my trust."

Under the vicious torture methods employed by the ruthless Hadevor mercenaries, the psychics of the Bloodfang Corps spat out their complete confessions in just five minutes. Among the ministers Xiao Yaming had appointed after seizing the throne, the most important and powerful were the Minister of Military Affairs, Pu Ke Ya, and the Minister of Politics, Duo Fei Ke Pu—both had betrayed her. The imprisoned four leaders of the Bloodfang Psychic Corps broke free from their confinement and summoned the main force of the Bloodfang Corps operating near the Spiral Starfield. With Pu Ke Ya's cooperation, they ferried over ten thousand psychics into Yafik using small transport vessels.

The more than thirty thousand Yafik soldiers assisting with defenses outside the core laboratory were all private troops belonging to over a dozen noble families of Yafik. They resolutely submitted to the command of Pu Ke Ya and Duo Fei Ke Pu, participating in this conspiracy of rebellion. The defending army outside had already been routed, and Pu Ke Ya, Duo Fei Ke Pu, along with the four leaders of the Bloodfang Corps, were all hiding in this secret control room.

"It’s quite clear that the noble class of the Yafik Kingdom has differing opinions regarding your methods of governance and standards of conduct," Gu Xiechen walked up to the mountain wall, pressing both hands against it, exerting force while shaking his head. "They would prefer to be unrestrained lambs; they dislike a queen who forces them to grow fangs to bite."

Xiao Yaming’s complexion turned slightly ashen. She sneered, "It’s a pity they don't realize that without the Demon-Slaying Knights, no matter how powerful the Yafik planetary defense system is, it cannot withstand enemies coveting Yafik. These ignorant, foolish Great-Headed Beasts!" Great-Headed Beasts were a local Yafik delicacy—a meat animal with tender flesh and soft, exquisite hide, equivalent in status to Earth Federation's cattle!

"Ha!" Gu Xiechen suddenly roared, the muscles in both his arms expanding abruptly. A surge of immense power rose from his feet, coursing through his arms straight into his palms, which he slammed against the wall in the direction indicated by Fu Yaming.

The thick rock wall shuddered slightly, and a few concealed patches of moss and small stones peeled away, but there was no other movement.

"Ugh, my strength isn't enough!" Gu Xiechen retracted his Five Water Dragon Whisker Fan, stepping back with a wry smile. "My cultivation technique has mutated; my power used to be significantly greater than it is now. Peng—"

Peng Hua strode forward confidently. He winked smugly at Gu Xiechen. "Watch your Senior Brother! Heh heh, when it comes to brute strength, as a Golden Corpse Body, my power is something few in this world can match!"

"Hah!" With a mighty shout, Peng Hua’s skin suddenly took on a golden hue. Every pore on his body erupted with fine golden light, and an anxious, unnerving aura spread from within him. The confidante officers trailing behind Fu Yaming turned pale with fright and hurriedly retreated from this aura, which felt like molten iron burning their very souls.

"Rise for your master!" Peng Hua exerted all his divine strength and violently heaved the stone wall upward.

"Boom!" The entire core laboratory base trembled. The stone wall was lifted over a meter high by Peng Hua, but in the blink of an eye, he was utterly spent. The incredibly heavy stone wall crashed down, nearly crushing Peng Hua’s feet.

Panting heavily, Peng Hua retreated in disarray. He glared at the stone wall before him and roared, "What the heck is this thing? How is it so heavy? But, after I cultivate for a while, stabilize my Golden Corpse cultivation, and bring my strength close to the level I currently possess, I’ll definitely be able to lift this behemoth!"

Ducat slowly rotated his neck, then ambled toward the stone wall, his hands steadily supporting it from beneath.

Peng Hua offered kindly advice: "Comrade Xiao Du, don’t overexert yourself. If you can’t handle it, don’t force it; make sure you don't strain your back. Hey, for us men, a good set of back muscles is paramount. You wouldn't want your future wife constantly telling you to visit the Men’s Health Clinic in the Federation, would you?"

Ducat snorted resentfully through his nostrils, turning to glare fiercely at Peng Hua. This fellow truly was incapable of saying anything sensible, like a zombie spitting out ivory.

"Hah!" Ducat also bellowed. Silver metallic solution constantly flowed from the pores all over his body, instantly solidifying on his skin into a formidable suit of armor nearly an inch thick. Ducat’s muscles bulged, and his entire body shot up by over a foot. Puffs of white vapor shot from his nostrils, emitting a grand, resonant blast akin to the whistle of a massive ocean liner. Amidst Ducat's loud roar, the stone wall that had defeated both Gu Xiechen and Peng Hua finally began to rise slowly, finally held firmly in Ducat's grasp.

"My God!" The officers behind Xiao Yaming staggered backward, leaning against the wall, their legs weak. They stared in terror at the stone slab, over two hundred meters thick.

"Hurry inside. I'm finding this a bit strenuous!" Ducat grunted deep in his throat.

"Oh yeah! Big Brother is amazing!" Xiao Xiao bounced excitedly. A mechanical arm suddenly extended from his bald head, spinning him around in giddy circles.

"Let’s go!" Peng Hua’s face was dark. He snatched up Xiao Xiao’s smooth head and dragged him toward the control room. As he walked, Peng Hua muttered to himself, "Someone is actually stronger than me? That’s not right. Previously, this guy’s strength was about the same as mine? How is it that even though my strength has increased, his power has increased even more? It makes no sense! What is going on? Is it really the poison of smoke and alcohol? Hmm, or perhaps wine and women?"

Gu Xiechen narrowed his eyes and slyly reminded Peng Hua, "Senior Brother, you must be careful. You might already have a dozen kids!"

"Oh dear," Xiao Xiao dropped to the floor, and Peng Hua’s face turned sickly pale. He drifted into the control room like a walking corpse, his eyes fixed blankly on the few people inside, who were frozen like wooden statues.

Behind the heavy stone wall was a circular control room about a hundred meters in diameter. It was mostly empty, save for a central, square control console, several meters across, shaped like a perfect octagon. Hundreds of electronic lights flashed rapidly across the black console. The Blue Leader of the Bloodfang Psychic Corps had extended over a dozen tentacles, connecting them to an input keyboard on the console. Electric arcs of various colors pulsed across his body, their frequency perfectly synchronized with the electronic lights on the console.

The Black Leader, the Red Leader, the Green Leader, along with Pu Ke Ya and Duo Fei Ke Pu, all turned around when they heard the sound of the stone wall being violently lifted. Every face became incredibly ugly... Their old, wizened features displayed a bizarre mixture of terror and incomprehension.

The Black Leader trembled as he looked at Gu Xiechen, whining, "Why have you come?"

Gu Xiechen scratched the back of his head with the handle of his fan, saying helplessly, "We finished our business, so we came back!"

The Red Leader shrieked, "But why did you come back so fast?"

Xiao Yaming sneered, "If we didn't come back quickly, were we supposed to wait until you cracked the control of the Yafik planetary defense system?"

The Green Leader roared in a muffled voice, "You must give us a fair chance to duel! We must gain control of the Yafik planetary defense system; only then will it be a fair and reasonable duel."

Gu Xiechen and Xiao Yaming both laughed in exasperation. This Green Leader was clearly a highly intelligent wild beast; how could his perspective on any matter be so bizarre? It should be considered a fair duel only after they gained control of the planetary defense system? He might as well ask Gu Xiechen to stand in space while Yafik's defense cannons blasted him at will.

"Hmph," with a soft sound, Gu Xiechen swept his wide sleeve, sending a gust of violent wind that swept everyone away. Especially the Blue Leader, who was currently hacking the planetary defense system, cried out in agony. His dozen tentacles were connected to the console, and a massive force yanked his body outward, snapping all his tentacles off. Pale blue bodily fluid sprayed continuously from the wounds, twisting him into a tight ball from the pain. The other three Great Leaders also cried out in unison; the bones or exoskeletons on their bodies were mostly shattered by Gu Xiechen's shockwave. They lay on the ground, unable to move.

Pu Ke Ya and Duo Fei Ke Pu’s faces turned deathly pale. They knelt reverently on the ground, pressing their hands tightly against the floor.

Pu Ke Ya shrieked, "Your most esteemed Majesty, Queen Fuya, we were coerced! The Bloodfang Corps invaded Yafik, and they captured us!"

Duo Fei Ke Pu cried out, "We didn't want to leak the nation's core secrets to them, but we were forced! We were all forced! They are extremely brutal!"

The Green Leader, spitting blood, let out an angry tiger's roar, glaring at Pu Ke Ya and Duo Fei Ke Pu. "Nonsense! A chain of stinking lies! We were quietly recovering in prison when you approached us, saying that since your Queen was away, the entire Yafik would be ours if we could capture this laboratory!"

The Black Leader quickly chimed in, "Yes, yes! You were the masterminds; this was all your doing, and it has nothing to do with us! We, the Bloodfang Psychic Corps, accept defeat gracefully. We would never do something like breaking out of prison; we are pirates with status and dignity; we would never commit such treachery."

The Red Leader weakly lifted two of his limbs and shouted, "Gods! Heavens! Earth! Look at these two shameless wretches! They want us to take all the blame; they are so shameless, so vile, so utterly without face! Oh, for the Yafik Kingdom to have ministers like you is truly Yafik's misfortune! Real men take responsibility for their actions; you should all go be castrated slaves!"

The Blue Leader, whose tentacles were all severed, wailed weakly, "Venerable Queen, terrifying Xiechen, esteemed Gu, we were the ones coerced! Look, although I pretended to be cracking the control of the Yafik defense system, in reality, I was holding back; I wasn't putting any effort into cracking it at all."

Xiao Yaming walked up to the control console. Dozens of fine, thread-like silver lights extended from her left arm guard, connecting with the console.

After a series of rapid, faint "whirring" sounds, a light screen rose from the console. A stiff electronic voice stated coldly, "Intruder approaching fifth level of self-defense system. Thirty-seven layers of password cracked. Great hazard posed to system security."

The Blue Leader abruptly clamped his mouth shut. His entire body curled into a ball.

Xiao Yaming wordlessly drew her sidearm and pulled the trigger repeatedly at the Blue Leader’s body. With faint "hissing" sounds, the Blue Leader's fragile body, unable to use psychic energy to protect himself, was pierced with dozens of tiny holes. The Blue Leader’s body trembled violently but dared not make a sound.

The Green Leader grew enraged, suddenly raising his head and roaring like a tiger, "Woman, if you want to kill Old Blue, just kill him outright! Shoot the brightest energy core inside his body; one shot will finish him. Why are you torturing him?"

Fu Yamo froze. The Blue Leader stretched out a tentacle, tears welling in his eyes, screaming in despair, "Old Green, shut up! I would rather be tortured by Her Majesty! Venerable, supreme Queen, please torture me to your heart's content, but please do not listen to that brainless fool Old Green. My energy core—it must not be touched!"

Gu Xiechen shook his head. "Xiao Ya, hurry up and clean this up. The envoy from the Lei Wu Kingdom is still occupying your palace; I suspect they have ill intentions."

Xiao Yaming fell silent for a moment, then raised her sidearm again. Two high-energy beams pierced the foreheads of Pu Ke Ya and Duo Fei Ke Pu. Fu Yaming stated calmly, "As the Queen of Yafik, I possess the legal right to judge and execute. I declare your crime of treason proven, effective immediately."

Pausing, Xiao Yaming glanced at Gu Xiechen.

Gu Xiechen smiled and nodded.

Xiao Yaming nodded to Holmes, smiling, "Mr. Holmes, here is the list of kin and residential coordinates for Pu Ke Ya and Duo Fei Ke Pu. Please arrest them."

She handed a total manifest to Holmes. Holmes nodded, leading his men out quickly.

After swiftly quelling this minor rebellion, Fu Yaming left a few trusted military officers to soothe the frightened research personnel in the core laboratory. Accompanied by Gu Xiechen, she rushed back to the palace. Even from a great distance from the palace, they could see several Tier-One warships emblazoned with the Lei Wu Kingdom's crest hovering blatantly above the Yafik Royal Palace, with the armor plating on the ships’ turrets fully retracted, exposing the pitch-black muzzles of high-energy cannons.

"Those bastards, Pu Ke Ya and Duo Fei Ke Pu!" Xiao Yaming’s eye twitched in fury.

Gu Xiechen’s face darkened. Pu Ke Ya and Duo Fei Ke Pu had gone too far. It was obvious these warships were allowed in by them. When Xiao Yaming left Yafik for Doko Star, she had granted them a small fraction of authority over the planetary defense system; she never expected them to allow the Lei Wu Kingdom’s warships into Yafik's atmosphere.