He spared a glance for Ziye from the corner of his eye, seeing her chatting happily with An Junlie. A silent huff escaped him. Feigning nonchalance, he opened a book, affecting an air of intense concentration on his reading.

In reality, he had already skimmed the contents. Now, he had no mind for reading. After flipping a couple of pages aimlessly, he shut the book with boredom, turned his head to glance at Ziye. She hadn't noticed him. His face puffed out in frustration, and he tossed the book onto the coffee table with a loud thwack.

Ziye turned her head toward him, perplexed. He threw himself back into the wide chair, rolling around petulantly, muttering, "Hate it, hate it!"

Ziye blinked, this sudden burst of childishness was truly...

Bulan silently turned his back. Tang Wen, can you possibly get any more embarrassing?

Ziye couldn't help but poke his cheek with her fingertip: "You're adorable."

Tang Wen's refined face darkened a shade. He let out a small grunt, turned his face away, refusing to look at her.

However, An Junlie, communicating through the comms link, felt his internal alarms blare. "Who did you call adorable?" Though he couldn't see anyone else on the holographic screen, he distinctly noticed Ziye speaking while facing another direction.

Could it be Tang Wen?

If so, weren't she and Tang Wen a little too intimate?

An Junlie felt hundreds of ants crawling inside him, stirring up his agitation, making him wish he could instantly fly to Ziye's side.

Ziye made a face at the comms screen: "Not telling!" To prevent An Junlie from digging deeper, she quickly changed the subject: "Right, can you prepare the wormhole induction for me in five hours, okay?"

An Junlie paused slightly. "You're going to Yin Fu?"

Ziye nodded. "Yes."

An Junlie blurted out: "I'll go with you."

Ziye shook her head gently. "No need, I can manage."

The more she refused, the more certain An Junlie became that she was going with Tang Wen. He couldn't fathom why she would bring Tang Wen along. A mere visit?

Would someone like Tang Wen even find that interesting?

Moreover, he was a designer from the Interstellar Federation. Even if he had left, who knew if old ties remained? If he leaked the situation on Yin Fu Star, even if the Wolf's Den wasn't destroyed, it wouldn't be far from it!

Most critically, what if Tang Wen bullied Ziye?

He pondered briefly, then said diplomatically, "Be good, listen to me. That route isn't safe."

Ziye gave him a sharp look. "You don't trust me? I’ve traveled that route more times than you have!"

An Junlie rushed to clarify: "That’s not what I meant."

Ziye was displeased. "You're clearly treating me like a child! Hmph, I’m not talking to you anymore." She decisively cut the comms and tossed the device aside.

Seeing she hadn't spared him a glance, Tang Wen arrogantly turned his head away, presenting her with a profile that was cold and distant. Bulan, wanting to help him, pretended to speak casually: "Are you and the Angel Corps leader on good terms?"

Ziye felt deflated, stomping her foot. "No, I'm not on good terms with him at all!"

Bulan shrugged helplessly, then looked at Tang Wen, indicating he was out of options.

Tang Wen kept his head down, silent, sadly scribbling nonsense onto his drawing tablet, looking as pitiful as possible.

Ziye was in no mood to pay him mind. She glanced at the star chart; they were nearly at Si Ya Tu, so she said, "We'll rest for four hours when we reach Si Ya Tu."

Tang Wen shot up straight: "Why can't we go directly?" He felt a strong sense of crisis—was Ziye planning to wait for An Junlie?

Hmph, I won't let that happen!

Ziye assumed he was anxious to know about his grandfather’s condition. She patted his shoulder: "I understand how you feel. But the Gamma baseline in Yin Fu is strongest right now; it will be weakest five hours from now. We need time to get from Si Ya Tu to the mech exchange point while waiting for induction, plus, I need to check my mech's systems, so I'm setting aside an hour."

Not a single word mentioned An Junlie.

Tang Wen calmed down a little, agreeing to wait four hours at Si Ya Tu. After booking rooms, Ziye was overwhelmingly tired and collapsed into sleep the moment she reached hers.

Tang Wen sat by the window, heavy-hearted, holding his drawing tablet, staring blankly. It was unclear if he was pondering Ziye and An Junlie’s relationship, or recalling the past moments with his grandfather before his passing.

Bulan felt a deep sense of helplessness toward this boy. He sat down beside him and asked, "What did Ziye write on your hand just now?"

Tang Wen drew a Gamma symbol on the tablet, saying nothing.

He had heard of the Gamma baseline before—rumors that it could have a fatal effect on brainwaves. The survival rate for anyone entering Yin Fu was less than 20 percent.

He had merely listened before, not paying much attention. Now, thinking about it closely, he felt utterly terrible.

Bulan shook his head, sighed, and poured him a cup of goat’s milk. "Drink this and get some sleep," he said softly.

Tang Wen shook his head, leaning back against the chair. "You go rest."

Bulan didn't argue. He quietly opened the door and left, closing it behind him.

Ziye was already accustomed to the environment of Yin Fu; she didn't find it agonizing at all, and naturally, she didn't grasp Tang Wen's distress. She woke up, got up to eat, boarded the ship, and they continued toward their destination.

Bulan asked, "Little Ye Zi, you lived there for so long, did it affect your body?"

Ziye frowned in thought. "It did."

Bulan’s face paled. "What effect?"

Ziye shrugged. "Good effects." Seeing his worried expression, she made a face at him, picked up Little Sprout, and walked toward the back. "I'm going to check the mechs."

Tang Wen stood up and followed Ziye.

Bulan, seeing them leave, naturally trailed behind.

There were only two mechs in the hangar bay.

Bulan didn't hesitate, activating his comms: "Please send an stealth..." Before he finished speaking, Ziye reached out and switched off the screen. Bulan looked at her, not understanding.

Ziye said, "Teacher and I will go."

Bulan frowned. "Why?"

Ziye explained, "You haven't eaten the Seven-Colored Rose; you can't go down."

Bulan had already guessed the effect of the Seven-Colored Rose. But since there were only three roses, he naturally wouldn't fight Tang Wen for one. He merely inquired, "Isn't there another way? What did you use to avoid this before?"

The previous G-Tiger Hearts were mostly provided by Old Dog. Not eating one was bad, but even half of one was better than nothing. However, Old Dog was not on Yin Fu Star now; even if they found him, it would be useless.

Ziye spread her hands. "Before, people on the ground would help us. That person is gone now; no one can assist us."

Tang Wen was silent for a long moment, then said to Bulan, "You go back. I can manage alone."

Bulan urged, "But if something happens to you—" He left the rest unsaid, but the meaning was clear.

Tang Wen smiled faintly. "You don't trust me?"

Bulan was speechless.

Ziye, seeing Tang Wen taking the initiative to persuade Bulan, shrugged, boarded her mech, and began the system diagnostics.

Bulan usually listened to Tang Wen, but this didn't change his fundamental nature. His rigid military bearing was deeply ingrained; standing there, he wouldn't heed whatever Tang Wen said.

From the very first day they met, they hadn't separated. It wasn't due to profound affection, but because Bulan knew Tang Wen, at his core, was a child who needed looking after. However, Ziye was an even younger child and couldn't constantly care for Tang Wen.

Tang Wen patted his shoulder. "If Ziye can survive there, can't I?"

Little Sprout heard this and flew out of the cockpit: "Tch, don't look down on our Ziye; she's way stronger than you! Hmph hmph!" After speaking, it flew into the second mech, connecting to the little sprout icon above its head, beginning its system diagnostics.

Once the checks were complete, Ziye activated the voice system and said to Little Sprout: "Apply for team formation."

Little Sprout complied and sent the request. Ziye became the mech captain, setting up the broadcast and route. It didn't matter if Tang Wen didn't know the way; as long as he followed the formation, he wouldn't get lost.

With everything sorted, she contacted An Junlie on the comms link: "When will the induction be ready?"

An Junlie replied, "Little Sister, wait ten minutes, okay?"

Ziye checked the time. It fit within her projected schedule; no problem. She nodded. "Okay."

An Junlie hadn't told Ziye that in ten minutes, he would be able to reach the wormhole.

Ziye dismounted her mech and saw Bulan standing there with a sullen face, while Tang Wen, like a child, was alternately pouting and coaxing him—the scene looked like a child stroking a wolf.

—Ziye really wanted to say dog, but she felt describing Bulan as a dog might be inappropriate. After all, she wasn't Dog Bro; she couldn't just throw words around.

Tang Wen saw Ziye descend and looked at her with a pleading expression. She could only shrug helplessly and head toward the restroom.

Eight minutes later, Ziye and Tang Wen separately entered the cockpits of the stealth mechs. After the battleship extended its docking ramp, they slid out.

Bulan watched the mechs depart, telling the captain, "Follow them."

The captain stammered, "But—"

Bulan’s face hardened. "No buts!"

The captain reluctantly complied.

The stealth mechs were small, and their cloaking technology was superior. If the distance exceeded two thousand meters, detection was impossible. But if the distance was less than two thousand meters, the mechs could still detect the battleship’s presence.

Bulan made a firm decision. "Follow at 1900m."

—He firmly believed that even if they discovered his tracking, they wouldn't dare turn back and drive him away!

After three minutes of travel, the captain suddenly announced, "Tracking detected from the rear!"

Bulan was greatly alarmed and immediately ordered, "Turn around, intercept them! Absolutely do not let them follow us!"

The captain and the first officer responded in unison: "Yes!"

The captain handled the piloting, while the first officer began loading the cruise missiles into the missile launchers, preparing for combat. Simultaneously, they locked onto the target and zoomed in.

The approaching vessel was also a battleship, bearing no markings on its hull. Space was filled with such unmarked vessels, usually purchased from smugglers for illicit activities or evading enemy pursuit.

Their appearance at this moment led Bulan to one conclusion: they were coming for Tang Wen and Ziye!

He gave the order: "Fire!"

All eight missile launchers activated simultaneously, divided into two groups of four, and the cruise missiles shot out like arrows!