Red Hair’s interrogation technique was next-level professional.

Xiao Xiao, never a person of strong inner fortitude to begin with, crumbled completely under Red Hair’s relentless pressing, sobbing uncontrollably in the confinement cell.

Zi Ye hadn't expected him to cry, much less reach a hysterical breaking point, yet he still hadn't revealed anything.

In truth, by this point, asking for the reason was already pointless.

Because Xiao Xiao's allegiance wasn't based on any ‘betrayal.’ He was, fundamentally, a person of the Interstellar Federation all along.

After the questioning concluded, the two looked at each other in silence.

Zi Ye held the little bean sprout, unable to articulate the strange mix of feelings churning inside her.

She hadn't witnessed the betrayal of the fake 'A' Piao with her own eyes, so the shock hadn't been this intense.

This time, however, Xiao Xiao had plunged a knife into her heart, and though the wound bled vividly, she forced it to heal at a speed visible to the naked eye! Red Hair murmured, "We'll bail Xiao Xiao out." Zi Ye was confused. "Why?" Red Hair said coldly, "You can't catch the wolf if you won't risk the bait.

Those people are hiding in the shadows now, we can’t strike.

If Xiao Xiao gets out, it might lure them into the open, allowing us to sweep them all up at once!" Only two types of people survived in a world governed by the law of the jungle: those who were quite ruthless, and those who were exceptionally ruthless.

Clearly, Red Hair belonged to the latter category.

Her movements were elegant.

Her gaze was enchantingly seductive.

But her heart was forged from reinforced concrete.

She would not soften even a fraction for anyone outside her own circle.

Zi Ye watched Red Hair, observing the Combat Director of the Wolf Den Legion, and suddenly understood how she had survived countless dangers.

She needed to learn to harden her heart, just like Red Hair.

However, her immediate focus wasn't on that; it was on the unsettling question: "The Interstellar Federation has placed so many operatives within the Wolf Den, yet there’s been no movement.

What exactly is wrong here?" Red Hair narrowed her eyes. "There's only one possibility: a conspiracy is brewing." Something flashed in Zi Ye’s mind.

She abruptly stood up, tried to trace the thought, but couldn't grasp it, then slumped back down, knitting her brows. "If the Interstellar Federation intends to strike the Wolf Den now, how would they do it?" Red Hair blurted out, "Naturally, they would use one by one—" Before she finished speaking, both their expressions shifted dramatically.

Just as Red Hair started to speak, Zi Ye urged, "We split up.

I'll go via the—" Red Hair immediately took over, "You take the Angel Domain route, I'll take the Hope Legion route.

We need to get back as fast as possible! If you run into danger, call for aid from the Angel Domain immediately.

And maintain contact—" Red Hair had initially intended to say, "You come with me," to protect Zi Ye, but once Zi Ye started speaking, Red Hair instantly realized that Zi Ye was An Jun Lie’s girlfriend; taking the Angel Domain route guaranteed someone would come to her protection, eliminating the need for worry.

Moreover, in that instant, she had already decided to venture out alone into the danger.

Zi Ye wanted to say more, but Red Hair was already charging toward the door.

Knowing this was the greatest concession Red Hair would make, she didn't press the issue further.

She glanced back one last time at Xiao Xiao, huddled and weeping in the confinement cell, blinked slowly, and strode out of the room.

The fastest vessel back to the Wolf Den would be a shuttle.

However, shuttles lacked offensive firepower.

Zi Ye moved fast and thought fast; she immediately decided to borrow a battleship from the Directorate.

But Dou Zai was too heavy, and she couldn't free a hand to activate the hyper-comms screen.

She hurriedly instructed the little bean sprout, "Dou Zai, find Stas for me.

If you can't find Stas, find Colingale." The tiny sprout atop Dou Zai’s head shot up like an exclamation mark.

It flew while activating the screen and dialing Stas and Colingale simultaneously.

Stas was currently in the middle of a Legion assembly.

He couldn't answer.

Colingale was in his office preparing all of Stas's documents and picked up.

Dou Zai was a smart operator, using Zi Ye's voice: "Hello, could I borrow a battleship? We'll return it in a month!" Colingale frowned in difficulty. "Borrowing a battleship requires an application to the Supply Depot, and the applicant must be Directorate personnel.

I genuinely want to help you, but..." Dou Zai was completely unfazed. "Then do you have a private battleship? Lend me one.

If not, lend me Stas's battleship." It spoke while keeping pace with Zi Ye's steps, then zipped "whoosh" onto the airship, settling onto the co-pilot's seat.

Zi Ye hit the ignition with one touch, and the airship shot toward the sky like an arrow.

Colingale did not personally own a battleship, and while Stas did, he lacked the authority to lend it out.

Of course, even if he had the authority, he wouldn't have lent it; in his eyes, Zi Ye was just an indulged, immature child who would likely just use a battleship for fun.

How could he know that Zi Ye, in that moment, was inwardly frantic with alarm? Colingale was about to refuse when someone knocked and entered the office—it was Stas’s best friend, Tang Wen! Tang Wen stood there, seemingly detached from the world. "Lend it to her.

Take my Ravager, the Shadow Demon class, docked at Galen II Space Station, Bay Three.

Fully armed." Colingale was awestruck by Tang Wen's imposing presence and obeyed almost without hesitation. "Yes." He turned back to Dou Zai. "I am lending it—the Ravager, Shadow Demon class, at Galen II Space Station, Bay Three.

Fully armed." Only after speaking did a sudden realization strike him: Fully armed? Were they going into battle? Dou Zai received the message and immediately commanded Zi Ye: "Head to Galen II Space Station, Bay Three, GO!" Zi Ye, burning with urgency, sped toward the designated location like a phantom.

They didn't notice that everything during their interrogation had been witnessed by Coline and the Chocolate Beauty.

As soon as they left, the Chocolate Beauty remarked, "What happened to them? I thought they were applying for bail? Why did they just run off?" Coline rested her chin on her hand. "Something else must have happened.

We don't need to worry about it; it's none of our business.

But what that beautiful woman just said was right: you can't catch the wolf if you won't risk the bait." The Chocolate Beauty’s eyes lit up. "You mean...?" Coline clapped her hands together softly, producing a crisp "snap." "You guessed it.

We release Po Xiao Aiden and let him go fishing!" Zi Ye arrived at the designated location as fast as possible and found a Shadow Demon class Ravager indeed docked inside, with no Directorate insignia displayed.

She didn't have time to think too much.

She boarded the Ravager, appointed Dou Zai as the co-captain, and summoned two robots from her spatial button to assist.

Then, with a single command: Exit station! The Shadow Demon was one of Tang Wen’s most successful designs, yet it wasn't sold commercially—not even to the Interstellar Federation.

Zi Ye assumed it was a gift from him to Stas and felt entirely justified in taking it.

The lack of Directorate markings meant she might face more questioning when leaving Directorate territory, which was inconvenient, but for her return to the Wolf Den, it was ideal.

No one could fire a Directorate vessel without facing universal pursuit! To her surprise, leaving the Directorate was exceptionally smooth; she faced no obstruction or questioning whatsoever.

She set the navigation for the shortest course to the Wolf Den headquarters—a route that required traversing fifteen Star Gates, spanning nine different sovereign territories: the Interstellar Federation, the Fia Family, the Moko Family, the Angel Domain, and several smaller, scattered legions.

Zi Ye initiated hyperspace jumps at maximum speed, instructing the robots, "Assemble the ordnance and be ready at every Star Gate.

We might need to fire at any moment." Legions wouldn't be foolish enough to ambush an enemy at a Star Gate, as it would ruin their reputation.

Therefore, those lurking near the gates were usually pirates—government-sanctioned pirates.

As expected, immediately after exiting the Directorate’s Star Gate, a pirate contingent burst out from the asteroid field: three pirate cruisers, two frigates, and one battleship, forming an encirclement.

This wasn't Zi Ye's first encounter with pirates, and she wasn't as nervously terrified as she had been before.

Moreover, the anxiety over the Wolf Den made the tension in her nerves dangerously taut, leading instead to a profound calm.

The Shadow Demon possessed eight weapon turrets.

She divided them into two groups, one on the left and one on the right, unleashing full power the instant the pirates charged in! The advantage of a Ravager was its suitability for long-range sortie combat, and the Shadow Demon model represented the absolute cutting edge of warship technology; charging forward was breathtakingly cool.

As the Ravager carved a bloody path through the pirate fleet, Zi Ye felt immensely grateful to Tang Wen.

This specific Ravager was tailor-made for this exact scenario! Having carved a path, Zi Ye executed another hyperspace jump toward the next Star Gate, leaving behind a scene of widespread wreckage and lamentation.

However, she was unaware that after her departure, a Goddess-class command cruiser appeared near the wreckage of the pirate ships.

The person aboard the command cruiser was none other than Bai Lanxue.

She wore a crisp black military uniform and rigid combat boots today, her hair styled sharply, much like a man's.

Standing in the command bridge of the cruiser, her expression was frosty, almost freezing the attending staff into immobility.

Bai Lanxue coldly watched the Shadow Demon’s silhouette disappear from the screen and issued a chilling order: "Next wave of personnel, initiate interception.

Ensure they capture the target alive!" The staff bowed in unison. "Yes!" They filed out to carry out their tasks.

Bai Lanxue then focused on one person who remained standing motionlessly. "Gertai, you were once close to Tang Wen.

Go ask him about the Shadow Demon’s specifications." The named individual flinched visibly and bowed his head. "Yes." The Shadow Demon was one of the Ravagers Bai Lanxue had long coveted.

But Tang Wen had kept its development quiet, and upon its debut, he had gifted it directly to Stas.

If she hadn't been keeping a close watch on him, she never would have learned of it.

For a long time, she had intended to use the Directorate as a cover for the Interstellar Federation's agenda to unify the cosmos.

Since Stas happened to be Tang Wen's good friend, she assumed this wouldn't be difficult.

But Tang Wen refused to take her direction and had instead broken away from the Interstellar Federation through extreme measures—a fact that had caused her immense distress.

—The precision calculations department determined that the loss incurred by Tang Wen leaving the Interstellar Federation was as devastating as the bankruptcy of the Federation's third-largest commercial conglomerate! The only leverage she had over Tang Wen was one person: Zi Ye.

This time, beyond her desire to wipe out the Wolf Den in one fell swoop, there was another critical reason: to capture Zi Ye alive and use her to threaten Tang Wen!