While directing the search and rescue operation, Blain kept an eye on Tang Wen with his peripheral vision. It could only be said that Tang Wen was a lost cause; in the blink of an eye, he had returned to the piano, rolling around on it.

Blain could only think silently that perhaps burying his face in the piano would bring him clearer thoughts. After rolling around for a while, he suddenly remembered something, straightened up, reopened the star chart, manually designed a simulation system, and modeled the scenario of a hundred stealth bombers simultaneously bombarding a single massive mech, estimating the resulting damage to Ziye.

The giant mech had not been mentioned in the news from beginning to end because the Interstellar Federation had suppressed the incident immediately after it occurred. However, every legion knew tacitly, investigating thoroughly which legion the colossal machine belonged to.

Tang Wen had originally planned to map out Ziye’s escape route based on the destructive range of over a hundred super-nuclear missiles, but as he watched the rain of nuclear bombs descend upon the mech, a terrifying thought flashed through his mind. —Ziye is gone, and the giant mech has appeared.

Could Ziye have transformed into the mech?! No, no, perhaps Ziye became the mech’s pilot?

Tang Wen stood up and rushed to Blain. Blain looked up at him with surprise.

When was the last time Tang Wen wore an expression like this? Blain had no answer.

Because he hadn't witnessed it. "What is it?" Tang Wen’s voice was filled with an unusual tension: "I think I’ve found the root cause." Blain genuinely felt happy for him, "Then have you found where she is?" Tang Wen’s refined face paled slightly.

Without a word, he turned and walked away. This time, he completely treated the piano as his workbench, meticulously studying every possible scenario and formulating three hypotheses.

The first hypothesis: If Ziye became the mech... He felt a profound malice emanating from the very thought.

Ziye had already been confirmed as his own sister; how could she possibly be a mech? Tang Wen shook his head.

Since it was a hypothesis, he would follow it. He even professionally outlined the possibility of Ziye existing as a mech, such as Ziye having modified herself into a mech, or Ziye originally being something akin to a super robot, which would conveniently explain her unparalleled talent in robotics manufacturing.

Ah, getting sidetracked. His thoughts returned to the main track.

If Ziye was the mech, after injuring Bobo and leaving the destroyer in the airship, she transformed into the mech and launched a fierce retaliatory strike against her attackers... Wait, if she intended revenge, the first target should have been Bobo's destroyer.

Tang Wen pondered, marking this possibility as pending. The second hypothesis: What if Ziye became the pilot of the super-giant mech?

That would explain everything; Ziye calmly left the destroyer, piloted the mech... Wait, if she knew about the mech beforehand, why bother with a small airship only capable of short-range transport?

And where did that mech come from? Many outsiders speculated that the giant mech was likely Tang Wen's newest strategic weapon.

But Tang Wen knew this mech had nothing to do with the Tang Clan. The Tang Clan did not yet possess the capability to create such a super-weapon capable of instantly vaporizing a warship.

However, if Ziye left the destroyer and simply departed, why did the destroyer lose its surveillance footage of her? And how did that inexplicable mech appear?

Excluding Bobo's destroyer, the few mysterious battleships that attacked the destroyer had been confirmed as Fia’s vessels; there was no doubt about that. The fleet rushing to rescue them, led by Molin, belonged to the Interstellar Federation.

This meant that the mech was currently confirmed not to belong to the Interstellar Federation, nor Fia, nor the Angel Domain, nor the Tang Clan, nor the Huaxia Legion. As for the Mokha Legion and the Seji Legion, neither would attack both Fia and the Interstellar Federation simultaneously.

Perhaps this giant mech simply belonged to a friend of Ziye’s, who rushed to save her after she was kidnapped? He didn't need to consider the third hypothesis at all: that Ziye was instantly struck and killed by a stray round while escaping the destroyer in the small airship.

Tang Wen poked the star chart with his pen. He refused to believe Ziye was dead, so he could only base further deduction on the first two hypotheses.

Setting aside the ownership issue of the giant mech, both the first and second hypotheses established that Ziye was alive and both involved the giant mech. Thus, the next question arose.

What would be the fate of the giant mech when over a hundred super nuclear missiles struck it simultaneously? Tang Wen reactivated the simulated bombing system, dropping ordnance on the giant mech surrounded in the center, and simultaneously manipulated the mech to evade in different directions—forward, backward, left, and right—at the moment of impact, researching which direction offered the highest probability of escape.

Before this, he first had to confirm the encirclement method used by the Interstellar Federation's stealth bombers. Thanks to his several years as the chief designer at the Interstellar Federation Research Institute, he possessed a comprehensive understanding of their encirclement tactics.

For large-scale containment, they tended to surround from all directions, a habit humans carried over from planetary warfare to space. This was because people subconsciously assumed they were still on a planet, on the same plane, and instinctively chose front, back, left, and right as primary escape routes.

For the space above and below, they usually deployed only a small number of warships for containment. Tang Wen treated the simulation system like a minigame.

With one drop and one jump, he subconsciously maneuvered the mech to shoot upward, twist its body, and instantly break through the siege! He leaned back in his chair, watching the stealth bombers still dropping ordinance on the simulation screen, and smiled faintly.

Indeed, escaping upward resulted in the least amount of damage. If its ascent speed surpassed the speed of light, no warship on the scene could stop it.

Surpassing the speed of light meant its warp engine could initiate a jump within a second. What a powerful engine!

Currently, even the fastest warp engines in space required four seconds to fully initiate a jump. This mech was absolutely an incredible piece of hardware.

Just then, a cup of goat's milk was handed to him. He looked up at Blain, then suddenly flopped onto the piano again, "I'm not a three-year-old, I don't want to drink this stuff." Blain replied expressionlessly, "I know, you're four years old this year." Tang Wen: "..." This joke wasn't funny at all.

He puffed out his cheeks and downed the goat's milk, tossing the cup into the air, "Warp upward at maximum speed; the velocity absolutely must exceed light speed." This plundering ship, Tang Wen’s proud creation whose warp engine took four seconds to spool up, finally succeeded in engaging and shot toward the nebula above. After the first warp jump, Tang Wen signaled the battleship to stop, allowing the scouting ships behind to catch up, giving him time to observe the environment.

The environment here was somewhat remote; the nebula appeared predatory. He checked the star chart markers—they were nearing the edge of the chart.

This area was uncharted territory. Tang Wen considered for a moment, then connected the communication line to the scouting ship, "Search the vicinity thoroughly for any anomalous space or spatial rifts." Blain stood beside him, looking out the viewport, "What are the chances Ziye is in this star system?" Tang Wen did not answer.

There was an eighty percent chance the giant mech rushed upward, but there were still four directions above. He couldn't be sure where that mech might stop.

Therefore, he had to check every single location nearby. Additionally, since he wasn't familiar with the giant mech, he couldn't determine its warp jump distance, meaning he couldn't confirm whether it would stop in this specific region.

For the first time, Tang Wen felt deeply frustrated. Because this was the first time in his life he lacked certainty regarding a particular matter.

Tang Wen felt a knot of unease. Seeing his mood sour, and knowing he couldn't offer much help this time, Blain went to retrieve his cello and sat down to play.

Tang Wen thought for a while, unable to break through his mental impasse. Suddenly hearing the cello’s deep melody, his mind sparked, and his fingertips tapped the piano keys.

Dong, dong— Two crisp notes shattered the harmonious playing of the cello. Blain shook his head.

As Tang Wen's piano teacher, he truly felt like a failure. To make matters worse, an incoming Ultra-Transmission notification flashed.

Tang Wen sat at the piano, watching the Ultra-Transmission light flicker, but remained motionless. Blain walked over helplessly, opened the Ultra-Transmission, his gaze flickering.

He motioned for Tang Wen to remain silent, while he answered with studied politeness, "Hello." "Hello. This is Illya." On the Ultra-Transmission screen, Illya's smile was soft and elegant, "I am not far from your location.

You can see me if you open the battleship's optical screen." ... !

Blain once again directed intense malice toward this woman. Why wasn't she at the Interstellar Federation, or with Carl, during their engagement meeting, but instead showed up in this godforsaken star system?

He looked at Tang Wen, who was slumped over the piano, eyes slightly closed, not even giving him a glance. Resigned, he moved to the screen and selected the vicinity in the area map.

Moments later, the view near the Plunderer ship appeared, showing another battleship actually stopped nearby. Illya said with a gentle smile, "Mr.

Blain, could you please ask Young Master Tang to take a call?" Blain replied flatly, "Our Young Master is asleep." Illya was not offended, "Very well, I won't disturb him. However, could Mr.

Blain relay a message to Young Master Tang? The Interstellar Federation and Fia have now reached a deep level of cooperation, and they will certainly have a certain degree of influence in future interstellar wars.

If Young Master Tang has not yet allied with any other legions, would he consider cooperating with Fia?" Blain: "..." Seeing his expression unchanging, as if listening, Illya continued, "Fia is the second largest legion in space, possessing substantial financial and material resources, making them an undeniable partner for the Tang Clan." Blain: "..." He felt a strong urge to say, We don't want to cooperate with you or the Interstellar Federation, period. But immediately after, he noticed someone with a sharper retort, because Tang Wen lifted his head from the piano, his smile cold and clear, "Illya, your mother isn't dead yet." -RS