Hearing the battlefield reporters' relentless coverage, the Coalition forces were nearly brought to tears.

It meant the entire galaxy knew of their defeat.

To be beaten by a mere Tri-level Legion—how could they possibly face anyone now? Odo vaguely sensed the extraordinary nature of the opposing commander, yet he still believed the enemy could not possibly surpass him.

Thus, his anger was tinged with misplaced aggression toward his own troops.

Seeing their dejected expressions on the light screen, he couldn't help but roar, "What time is it, and you still can't pull yourselves together? Do you intend to lose this war too?" When the supreme commander lost his temper, it was truly terrifying.

The soldiers hastily simulated active firing postures, but no matter how much window dressing they applied, their underlying gloom couldn't be masked.

This was glaringly evident in the accuracy of their shots.

Odo didn't waste much time arguing with them.

Instead, he sought out a hacker to breach the command system of the Wolf's Den, determined to identify the commander.

The changes in the Wolf's Den had begun yesterday, and the fact that they could counterattack him today meant the commander must have changed.

Only by knowing oneself and the enemy can one win a hundred battles! The hacker solemnly accepted the order.

As he lowered his head, a strange, subtle smile flickered across his lips.

Breach the Wolf's Den command system? This hacker was none other than A'Piao.

The real A'Piao had been eliminated by the Interstellar Federation when leaving space.

The Federation then dispatched a fake A'Piao as a deep-cover agent into KeLai’s Wolf's Den villa.

That mole, the fake A'Piao, was subsequently eliminated by the perverse one, activating another A'Piao clone.

A'Piao had been working undercover for the Interstellar Federation for over two years, constantly awaiting an opportunity.

Today, he finally felt that moment had arrived! He had two other hackers coordinating with him.

The codename for this operation was "Annihilation." ZiYe's fleet was mockingly referred to as a motley crew.

The other hackers, tasked only with identifying the enemy commander, weren't entirely invested.

After all, they were elite Federation hackers; this was akin to using a sledgehammer to crack a nut.

A'Piao booted up his high-spec optical computer and immediately moved.

He first poured all his effort into attacking ZiYe's command system.

ZiYe quickly detected signs of an intrusion, thanks in part to Little Sprout, who constantly enjoyed invading her systems.

Upon discovery, she inquired across the fleet, only to find no professional hackers aboard.

No choice then; she would have to handle it herself.

ZiYe temporarily handed over command authority to Tang Jing, flying her hands over her console to repel the intrusion.

A'Piao's hacking method was characteristically all show and little substance—feigning a massive assault for a while.

Seeing his comrades fully engaged, he quietly shifted his attention to other matters, turning his attack toward the Coalition command system.

His colleagues were entirely focused on ZiYe's system, completely overlooking his maneuver.

The Coalition fleet also lacked accompanying hackers.

A'Piao cracked through layer after layer of firewalls, encountering minimal resistance before seizing control of the command system.

He synthesized Odo's voice on the optical computer and broadcasted the directive to the fleet: "Attention all personnel.

A large contingent of Wolf's Den fleet is approaching from the rear.

We are temporarily retreating to the XiNi Star System." The soldiers exchanged bewildered glances.

Had Odo changed his temperament? Instead of showing excitement when facing a strong enemy, he ordered a retreat? What was going on? A'Piao issued another command via the synthesized voice. "Odo" explained, "The enemy has hired 100,000 Tamar pirates.

They are only two star systems away.

Our supplies cannot keep up, and the crew is exhausted.

We need to pull back for a brief reorganization." Hearing this, everyone was convinced.

They uniformly turned their vessels and initiated a jump toward the XiNi Star System.

At that moment, Odo was in his quarters washing his face, trying to calm down.

However, before he could regain his composure, he noticed the airflow outside the viewport was abnormal.

During combat, to avoid enemy fire, ships usually maintain high cruising speeds, but cruising never generates airflow resembling streaks of white light like this.

This kind of airflow was clearly only present during a warp jump.

He shot upright, rushing toward the command room.

Only one staff member was inside, likely dozing against the wall from fatigue.

The noise Odo made rushing in startled the man awake, and he hastily straightened up.

Odo had no time to worry about whether the man was slacking off; he only looked at the light screen.

The screen showed not only his command ship jumping but the entire fleet executing warp maneuvers.

What in the blazes was happening? Odo exploded in fury, activating the voice system and roaring, "Damn it, what is going on?" Silence.

Odo nearly flipped the desk.

He roared again, "Who did this?" Still no sound.

The voice system had been internally blocked by someone; his commands couldn't reach the other warships.

Without another thought, Odo activated the long-range communicator and sent messages to the fleet commanders: "What are you all doing? Stop immediately!" The fleet commanders stared at each other: "Didn't you order the retreat, sir?" Odo nearly spat blood onto the screen. "Where are we now?" The fleet commander replied, "We are passing through the star gate, arriving at the XiNi Star System shortly." Odo: "..." The fleet commander asked, "Report, should we stop or continue retreating?" Odo gestured to the staff member, who hurriedly brought up the rear-view light screen.

The pursuing Wolf's Den fleet was visible behind them.

Having retreated this far, turning back for another fight was certainly possible, but he suspected the morale of the fleet was shattered.

If the fleet broadcast failed to coordinate them again, causing some to turn back while others advanced, the ones turning back would essentially be lambs to the slaughter.

He gritted his teeth: "Continue the retreat!" The fleet commanders thus assumed Odo was having a temporary fit and decisively ignored his command.

Once the fleet safely cleared the star gate, Odo inquired, "Who exactly announced the retreat just now?" The fleet commanders thought: Odo is having a second episode.

They replied, "You announced the retreat just now, sir!" Odo finally understood: someone had hijacked his authority.

His face darkened. "How was the announcement made just now?" The fleet commanders repeated his exact words.

Odo instantly knew the problem lay with the voice system.

He opened another screen and sent a long-range message to his hackers: "Weren't you supposed to be invading the motley crew's command system? Why was ours hacked?" A'Piao, having just finished erasing his intrusion traces, instantly felt a cold sweat drench his spine upon hearing Odo’s words.

He quickly matched the pace of his comrades, continuing the assault on ZiYe's command system.

His colleague responded, "The enemy has hackers; they are very skilled.

We haven't secured their command authority yet." Odo was furious. "Useless things! What good are you?!" The hackers' faces paled.

Odo spat, "You have one hour.

If you still haven't gained control, go home and eat dirt.

The Federation doesn't support waste!" One hacker, equally hot-tempered, retorted, "What are you if we are waste? We just failed an intrusion, and you flee like a stray dog, taking your anger out on us? What a joke! I am neither your soldier nor your punching bag!" Odo's face turned pitch black.

The hacker was right; they weren't his soldiers and didn't owe him loyalty.

They were merely seconded from the technical department for assistance because he needed help.

In short, they were temporary staff.

In situations lacking binding constraints, there was only one outcome when things went wrong: mutual finger-pointing.

Odo could no longer contain his rage. "What is your name?" The hacker shook his head slightly. "Laik.

What? You going to report me? I've wanted out for ages.

With my skills, I’d be feasting everywhere.

Here in the Federation, I work like a beast of burden without decent feed.

Damn it!" Laik immediately threw up his hands and walked out.

A'Piao reached out to stop him, but Laik turned back. "Brother, if you're my brother, don't hold me back!" A'Piao paused, then said, "No, brother, I want to leave with you." Laik emotionally clapped A'Piao on the shoulder. "Good brother! I didn't befriend you for nothing!" The remaining hacker looked at Laik, then at A'Piao.

If he stayed alone, he would definitely face the daunting task of hacking the Wolf's Den command system by himself.

If Odo then took his anger out on him, it would be much worse alone.

If the three of them left together, the leadership, fearing they knew too much about Federation systems, might try to retain them.

So he added, "I'll come too." The three sauntered out, brazenly walking right past Odo, utterly magnificent in their departure.

Odo took a deep breath and sent a priority message to their supervisor: "Can you send some more professional personnel? These three haven't been able to crack the system." The supervisor was surprised. "Impossible! Any one of them could manage solo.

Are you running a hacker war over there?" Odo needed help, so he suppressed his anger. "I don't know what's happening, but the opponent seems to have a very formidable figure." The supervisor frowned. "That's difficult for me too.

All available mobile personnel have been dispatched to the KeLai Hotel; the rest are occupied.

It’s tricky." Odo pressed, "Then just replace these three for me, alright?" The supervisor considered it. "Fine.

But you might want to speak with FiYa.

Since it's a Coalition effort, we shouldn't be the only ones contributing while she claims the rewards." Odo grunted, unwilling to disclose the feud between the Federation and FiYa, and disconnected the call.

The supervisor turned and sent a message to the trio of A'Piao, Laik, and the third hacker: "How could you fail to take down even one command system?" Laik exploded, "Is Odo badmouthing us to you? Humph! I knew that look on his face meant trouble!" The supervisor, naturally biased toward his own people—it was common knowledge that the Interstellar Federation military was highly exclusive, and outsiders often faced intense scrutiny—assumed his people were being wronged there.

He immediately dismissed any thought of reprimanding them. "In that case, the three of you will go to the KeLai Hotel to replace the Luo Luo Bu brothers.

I'll send them over to assist the Coalition forces." Laik immediately jumped up. "Uncle, I knew you were the best!" The supervisor's face darkened slightly. "Am I that old? This is called a 'sexy mustache'!" -RS