Stas remained noncommittal. "He is the one I want." The woman with the red hair scoffed, her voice cold.

"So, we have to fight today, then?" She was no paragon of virtue; as she spoke, she fired directly at the President's chest. Stas, quick as lightning, slammed the President down to the floor, rolling behind the sofa for cover.

Using the barrier of the upholstery, he evaded the frigid aurora blast, drew his sidearm, and fired a warning shot skyward. "Calm down, everyone.

This is no place for murder." The red-haired woman ignored him. "Are you handing him over or not?" Stas sighed.

"Do you truly believe I'm hiding here to have tea with the Federal President?" Lan Li stood behind the red-haired woman, his gun aimed at the sofa's location, ready to fire the moment they emerged. He remarked, "Then what are you here for?" Meanwhile, the red-haired woman crept silently closer to the sofa.

Stas explained, "He called me for help today, saying someone was trying to harm him." He paused, hearing no immediate reply from the red-haired woman or Lan Li. He continued, "I just reached an agreement with him: the Unified Command can guarantee his personal safety, but he must sign the armistice, withdrawing all troops currently engaged in combat within the territories of our Legions." The President, flushed with panic, quickly interjected, "Yes, I agree to sign the armistice!

I guarantee all soldiers will withdraw and will no longer infringe upon your star systems!" The red-haired woman sneered. "Bullshit!

By the time your armistice is signed, the Legion will have changed masters. Don't even think about stalling us!" Before Stas could respond, Lan Li added, "Even if the Federal President is willing to pull back his forces, do you think Kaluodo will obey his orders?" This question struck the Federal President's greatest anxiety.

He burst out, "If I can't make them retreat, will killing me make them retreat?" The red-haired woman smiled faintly, a chillingly captivating expression. "If you're dead, they'll be too busy fighting over the presidency to pay attention to us." Stas: "..." —This was a tactical maneuver worthy of 'Besieging Wei to rescue Zhao.' What sheer, domineering audacity!

If they weren't facing imminent death, he would genuinely have applauded the red-haired woman. In this era, few women possessed such ruthless and cold resolve.

Stas frowned in difficulty, raising his hands slowly as he stood up from behind the sofa. "Since it's come to this, perhaps we should lay down our weapons and talk this out properly." The red-haired woman kept her gun trained on him.

"There is no possibility of me talking with you. Make the Federal President come out and talk to me." Stas looked helplessly toward the Federal President.

The President was terrified but had no choice but to raise his hands and slowly stand up. The red-haired woman arched an eyebrow, the corner of her lips twitching slightly, and she pulled the trigger.

She was no genuine gentleman; Stas’s words could go to hell! Just then, the situation dramatically shifted.

With a resounding boom, a wall of silver-glassed super-metal descended from above, slamming down directly between the two parties, dividing the great hall into two separate rooms. The red-haired woman's aurora gun fired against the quasi-silver super-metal, scoring a streak of lightning-like light.

The metal wall was incredibly thick; the aurora gun failed to penetrate it. The red-haired woman rushed to the super-metal wall, delivering a vicious kick, then opened her comms, dialing Ziye’s number.

Lan Li bolted out the door, searching for a secondary entrance to the hall. To the red-haired woman's frustration, the comm rang for a long time with no answer from Ziye.

She was so agitated she almost smashed the device—a crucial moment, and it failed her! She desperately wanted to kill someone!

Just as she was about to give up, the comm finally connected. It was An Junlie’s voice.

"Ziye is indisposed. Speak to me." "Indisposed my foot!" The red-haired woman instantly erupted.

"Put her on the line right now!" An Junlie replied smoothly, "If you have something, you can tell me." The red-haired woman completely lost patience. "Get lost and send Xiao Chou here!" An Junlie frowned slightly, tempted to reprimand her, but held back, going to find Ziye instead.

A moment later, Ziye’s voice came through. "Go ahead." The red-haired woman immediately launched into an attack.

"Where the hell were you?" Ziye replied calmly, "I'm busy severing the retreat trajectory for the Odo Fleet. It should be done in a few more minutes." Hearing this, the red-haired woman realized she had been too agitated and her tone softened.

"Do me a favor first. Get me the design schematics for the Cole Hotel." Ziye was silent for two seconds.

"Is it absolutely necessary?" The red-haired woman nodded. "It is." Ziye offered no further explanation.

"I'll try." She abruptly disconnected the super-comm. Frustrated, the red-haired woman fired repeatedly at the silver-glassed super-metal wall.

It developed several holes under the assault, but she still couldn't see past it. Lacking her aurora sword to cleave the wall, she vented her frustration enough, then calmly turned, exited, and began searching for Lan Li, and by extension, Stas and the President.

Since Stas could enter the hotel from the outside, there must be secret routes within. They couldn't possibly be trapped inside waiting to die; they must have escaped through a hidden passage.

To fail at the very last moment—how infuriating! She searched outside for a while until she saw Lan Li crawl out from a gap in a thick wall nearby, covered in dust, looking thoroughly disheveled and dejected.

"No luck." The red-haired woman snapped, "We can't worry about that now. I've tasked Xiao Chou with getting the hotel schematics.

With those, there’s nothing we can't accomplish!" Lan Li nodded, then asked, "Do you think Xiao Chou can actually get the blueprints?" The red-haired woman had calmed down considerably by then. "It might be difficult.

I just snapped at An Junlie; I'm probably going to get an earful from him." Lan Li patted her shoulder. "It's fine.

You have me." Ignoring him, she walked to the original entrance and started ascending. "The negative first floor is too complicated, full of machinery, hard to track anyone.

Uniting the heads of the other Legions is most important. Stas is a practical man; he wouldn't align himself with the President.

Even if they got out, we still have a chance of winning." Lan Li nodded approvingly, the gloom in his heart slowly dissipating. In this regard, he had to admire the red-haired woman.

Her anger flared quickly, but it subsided just as fast, allowing her to immediately process what needed to be done most urgently. Many people couldn't hold a candle to her in that aspect.

Returning to the ground floor, the red-haired woman found a restroom to tidy her appearance and told Lan Li, "Let's split up." Lan Li: "...Why?" Was he being dismissed? The red-haired woman didn't look at his expression, proceeding directly.

"Private talks between Legion leaders are best conducted one-on-one. With you nearby, I can't operate freely." —A flicker of understanding crossed Lan Li's eyes.

He was being dismissed... The red-haired woman continued, "You know some Legion leaders think women are unreliable and are unwilling to discuss serious matters with us.

You handle that segment." Lan Li’s expression softened slightly. "Understood." So, the two activated their optical computers and displayed the surveillance system, locating the heads of the various Legions.

They divided the list of potential allies in half and headed toward different hotel rooms. Just as they retracted their optical screens, an extremely familiar figure emerged from a section of the surveillance monitor.

It was Reynal, the shameless turncoat. Reynal's mood was utterly oppressive.

He had merely gone to the venue's lounge to meet Bai Lanxue, only to be bagged in a black sack. When he woke up, he was staring down the dark muzzle of a gun.

"Tsk, tsk, tsk," the voice of the newcomer dripped with amusement. "I just found out you're Bai Lanxue's kept boy.

That's quite a surprise. Tell me, how much would these recordings sell for if I leaked them to the tabloids?" Reynal's face turned the color of dust.

He knew exactly how many sordid things he had done, and he considered them justifiable. But the thought of these deeds being accidentally exposed to the public was something he dared not contemplate.

His goal was the position of Federal President of the Starry Federation; before achieving that, he could not afford any more scandals to tarnish his "upstanding" image. Reynal glanced sideways at Bai Lanxue.

She was still unconscious, her pure white shoulder visible beneath the bedsheet, sparking suggestive thoughts. The person let out a sinister chuckle.

"Don't worry, she will never know about this." Reynal shivered violently. "What do you want?" The person leaned close to his ear and whispered softly, "I want Kalu.

Find him for me." Reynal’s heart pounded like a drum. Trembling, he fastened his trousers.

"I'll go right now. I'll leave immediately." The man holding the gun nodded with satisfaction.

"That's better. Don't forget your explicit photos." Reynal cursed the hopeless world as he walked away, a world full of tigers that ate people without spitting out the bones, yet he was utterly unable to resist.

He knew where Kalu was. Alas, he had no choice but to go look for him.

Reynal first went to the restaurant and found some food, devouring it ravenously. After finishing, he glanced left and right, and seeing that the man wasn't following, he furtively snuck, like a thief, into a certain surveillance room.

Ever since he had "yielded" to Ilya, he had gained access privileges to the surveillance room. "Lord Kalu, Lord Kalu..." Reynal called out tentatively.

Kalu did not respond. Instead, Ilya, clad only in a bath towel and seated before the monitoring screen, turned around alertly.

Seeing him, her face instantly turned icy. "What are you doing here?" Reynal immediately forced a smile.

"Am I not here to see you? I was just worried he might wake up and catch me in the act." Ilya responded with a fake, chilly smile.

"Based on you? Heh." Reynal fawned shamelessly.

"Yes, yes, I don't have that capability. Is there any chance Kalu will wake up?" Ilya evaded the question.

"Heh, are you feeling concerned for him?" Reynal forced a strained laugh. "Darling, stop torturing me.

If I feel concern, it's for you! How could I possibly care about him—" He made a face of utter disgust.

"—Ptooey! Ptooey!" Ilya was somewhat satisfied with his reaction.

"Don't worry. Our Fia family is famous for its pharmaceuticals.

Once he takes this drug, it will take him days to wake up, and when he does, he will be completely subservient to my will." Ilya spoke lightly, but thunder roared in Reynal's heart. Thinking of the threat from that man just now, and looking at Kalu's current state next to Ilya, Reynal began to feel that his decision was akin to seeking skin from a tiger!

-RS