Ziye’s forehead caught the flat of a hand.

Ziye puffed out her cheeks and glared glumly at Red Hair. "Why'd you hit me?"

Red Hair glared back, frustration etched deep. "Can you two stop being so self-absorbed for one minute and focus on matters of interstellar import? Every tremor in the cosmos affects our decisions here at Wolf's Den."

Ziye and Pervert simultaneously shrugged. "We're just technicians."

Red Hair’s teeth actually ached with anger; she longed to deliver a proper punch to each of them, especially Ziye. "Think! Really think!"

Ziye ventured a guess. "Is this about prepping for the Fleet Exhibition? I can responsibly tell you, that's not happening within half a year. After the merger, Wolf's Den’s new territory is a wasteland waiting to be rebuilt. Even if we launched a space station this instant, the surrounding environment isn't managed yet, so it would be useless regardless."

Smack—

Another slap landed squarely on Ziye’s head.

Red Hair was so furious she looked ready to strangle her. "Think harder!"

Ziye pondered deeply this time. "Is it about calling a Legion Assembly? Reorganizing the post-war order?"

Red Hair eyed her sideways. "Finally, not completely dense."

As she spoke, the private communications lines of all three buzzed simultaneously.

Pervert had found Red Hair’s discourse on cosmic politics dreadfully boring and casually tapped into the incoming transmission. Seeing the message, he frowned. "This is from Intel. It says the fleet that was wiped out in the Ou Guang Star System belonged to the Interstellar Federation's pirates."

Red Hair showed no surprise whatsoever. "The Interstellar Federation certainly made a clever move."

Pervert was utterly lost. "Hey, explain yourself clearly."

Compared to Pervert, Ziye instantly felt the superiority of her intellect and clarified. "Pirate fleets aren't sovereign legions. If their ships were lost in the Ou Guang System, they will inevitably send more fleets to search and retaliate. Rose Garden won't be able to operate there anymore."

Red Hair nodded, picking up the thread. "Wolf’s Den needs to rebuild on one front while fighting off the Rose Garden pirates on another. It’s too easy for the Interstellar Federation to find a weakness elsewhere."

Wolf’s Den’s strength still lagged far behind the Interstellar Federation; defending against attacks from all angles was nearly impossible, especially now with severe capital shortages. One wrong move, and the Interstellar Federation could easily sever their financial lifelines.

That, truly, would be the ultimate tragedy.

Little Sprout bounced out of Ziye’s arms. "This is the legendary Siege of Wei to Rescue Zhao!"

Ziye snatched it back and shoved it into her embrace. "Rescue who? This is a classic feint—hitting the east to attack the west."

Regardless of the strategy, they had to withstand this blow.

Ziye leaned back on the sofa, closing her eyes to consider the situation from every angle. Suddenly, she leaped up. "Did Retto file for compensation yet?" Ziye’s eyes glowed with an eerie green light. "So what if pirates attacked us? Our Rose Garden is a corporation. We go through commercial channels and make the Interstellar Federation’s insurance companies pay us every credit!"

Red Hair’s eyes lit up. "Brilliant idea!"

Ziye spread her hands. "Get the Commerce Ministry people on it. Also, send me to the Xilian Star System; I need to survey potential sites for the Air Force assembly workshops."

Red Hair nodded. "Fine. Pervert, you’ve been holed up in Rose Garden too long. It’s rare for you to get out, so why don’t you accompany Ziye on this trip?"

Pervert angrily slammed the table. "I got out yesterday, okay? I don't have time to play tourist with that brat! I'm out here to get those Mutants from you!"

Red Hair let out a muffled laugh. "Get Mutants from me?"

Ziye explained. "Pei Zhe."

Red Hair narrowed her eyes slightly. "So, it's him. I swear, one day I'll exterminate him. Just wait."

Pervert rushed forward and grabbed Red Hair’s thigh. "Big Sister, please! I've hit a bottleneck; I desperately need Mutants!"

Red Hair’s face instantly darkened to an abyssal shade. "Who are you calling Big Sister?"

Ziye watched the two with weary resignation. Once the immediate crisis passed, image and decorum were clearly the first casualties.

She stood up, carrying Little Sprout. The Duzi Seedling at her feet chirped inquiringly.

She had to clip Little Sprout onto her gear. Just as she extended her hands to cradle it, preparing to leave, the warship’s broadcast system crackled to life. "Tang Clan warship requesting dialogue. Ms. Ziye, they seem to be looking for you."

Ziye looked at the Tang Clan warship on the screen, only 10km away, and sighed inwardly. She needed to find a solution, but what kind of solution could there be?

Her expression was keenly observed by Red Hair, who was reminded of the recent widespread rumors. Her brow furrowed. "Xiao Chou, I have a personal question. Answer me honestly."

Ziye, her mind tangled in knots trying to figure out how to broach this issue with Tang Wen, responded sluggishly, "Ask away."

Red Hair stared at her, missing no subtle shift in expression. "I heard... Tang Wen is your older brother?"

This fact was widely known, and Ziye didn't deny it. "Yes."

Pervert, standing nearby, suddenly jumped as if electrocuted. "What? The excellent test subject who visited last time was your brother?"

Ziye glanced up at him. "Your news feed is severely delayed!"

Pervert, who had been firmly on Red Hair's side moments before, immediately defected to Ziye’s camp, his eyes shining with greedy expectation. "Since he's your brother, can you ask him for some of his stuff? DNA, blood, hair, anything? I'm critically short on specimens lately!"

Ziye didn't say a word. She simply picked up Duzi Seedling.

Little Sprout opened its ferocious mouth in a gesture of defiance, revealing needle-sharp teeth.

Pervert shuffled backward, grumbling resentfully. "Xiao Chou, if I could engineer a new hybrid species, it would greatly benefit you too..."

Smack—

Red Hair slammed her hand onto Pervert’s head, snapping irritably, "Don't interrupt when I’m talking, you punk!"

Pervert glared resentfully at Red Hair, but since he couldn't fight her, nor outmaneuver her in strategy, he sulked off to a corner to draw circles and silently curse every one of Red Hair’s handsome service robots into total malfunction.

After chastising Pervert, Red Hair turned her attention back to Ziye, her expression grim. "I heard you promised Tang Wen you would return to the Tang Clan?"

Ziye nodded.

"Ahhhhhhh!" Red Hair seized Ziye’s neck with both hands, squeezing with ferocious intensity. Ziye gasped, unable to catch a breath, nearly passing out, only hearing Red Hair wail, "How could you be so stupid? Someone asks you to go back and you just agree? Isn't it good here at Wolf's Den? Xiao Chou, you've gone too far!!"

Ziye's vision went white, rendering her speechless.

Little Sprout, unable to bear watching, extended its tiny sprout-tip and shot a small burst of micro-electricity toward Red Hair.

Red Hair belatedly released her grip, but her face remained savagely contorted. "I absolutely will not allow you to just run back to the Tang Clan!"

Ziye sucked in deep, ragged breaths. "If you hadn't demanded the design schematics for the Kailai Hotel, why would I have agreed to his condition?"

Red Hair suddenly looked as if a rope had tightened around her throat. She stared at Ziye for a long moment before finally forcing out a sound. "You’re telling me... you traded your return to the Tang Clan for the hotel blueprints?"

Ziye nodded.

Red Hair clenched her fist and smashed it down hard onto the coffee table.

The tea table, made of a ceramic-polymer metamaterial, cracked in a spiderweb pattern under the force of her punch. After groaning ominously for a moment, the legs collapsed with a crash.

Red Hair’s voice was thick with remorse. "If I had known you were trading yourself for it, I wouldn't have wanted it even if you offered it freely."

Ziye felt bewildered by Red Hair’s sudden, intense anger. "What's wrong? It’s already done anyway."

Red Hair suddenly felt an overwhelming urge to smack Ziye with a bludgeon. She roared, "It feels like trading the daughter you raised for a bag of rice—do you understand that feeling?"

Ziye averted her face.

Red Hair abruptly stood up and pulled Ziye into a fierce embrace. "Xiao Chou, I’ve failed you."

Ziye was startled by the sheer mass of Red Hair’s chest and took a step back. "I don't blame you."

Red Hair whispered, "But I blame myself."

Ziye: "..." After thinking for a moment, she said, "I have always belonged to Wolf's Den. No matter where I am physically, Wolf's Den is my real home."

From the moment she fell onto Silver Talisman Star and was rescued by Tang Shan, she felt like she had lived a lifetime. Who her parents were, which school she attended, which legion she belonged to—none of it mattered anymore. From that moment on, she only had family on Silver Talisman Star.

Even when she ventured back out into space later, that conviction never wavered.

They had formed the legion together, grown it together, fought wars together; they had experienced too much together—a treasure that no one else, not even her biological parents, could ever give her.

Red Hair was always fierce, but Ziye knew she cared deeply, treating her like a sister, always rushing to her side to protect her the moment anything happened. This incident with Rose Garden was no different.

Forget the Kailai Hotel blueprints; she would willingly pay for something far more precious if it meant their safety.

Smack—

Her head was struck again, but it didn't hurt this time.

Red Hair adopted a fierce but strained tone. "Enough with the sentimental nonsense."

Ziye chuckled internally. Red Hair saying that meant the hurdle was cleared.

She still had to meet Tang Wen; better get it over with.

Ziye squirmed out of Red Hair’s hold and sent a message to the Captain. "Tell Tang Wen to meet me in the Xilian Star System. Oh, and bring Tang Wan along."

Red Hair looked at her sidelong. "You’re not going to see him now?"

Ziye shrugged. "If we talk on our territory, my position will be stronger."

Red Hair agreed immediately. "Do you need me to help? I'll gather forces."

Ziye smiled. "No need. I’m tired; I’ll go back and rest for a bit."

Red Hair reached out and ruffled her hair affectionately.

She found a standard rest module, lay down on the cot, and pulled a pillow over her face.

Little Sprout, thinking Ziye was playing hide-and-seek, stuck out its little sprout-tip and poked the pillow gently, once, twice. After ten minutes of poking, it finally pushed the pillow away, revealing Ziye’s red eyes. It blinked. "Are you going to see that big jerk Tang later?"

Ziye rolled over, burying her face in the pillow, and mumbled a muffled "Mmm."

Little Sprout flattened its body and desperately rubbed against Ziye’s pillow. It exclaimed in surprise, "Xiao Yezi, you look like you have pink eye!"

Ziye grabbed it in annoyance and pressed it beneath the pillow. "Stop bothering me."

Little Sprout had only just woken up and hadn't played enough before being squashed like a pancake. It yelled loudly, "You don't like me anymore! I'm telling the aliens!"

Ziye suddenly felt an urge to crush it.

Aliens? The alien was also a scoundrel.

She had suffered such a huge incident at Rose Garden, and he hadn't even sent a single message of concern.

She truly hated him!

Just as she was thinking this, her super-link rang—it was An Junlie calling.

Ziye was in no mood and decisively ignored the call.

An Junlie called again.

Ziye ignored it again.

An Junlie persisted.

After rejecting the call one last time, Ziye tossed the communicator into the corner—out of sight, out of mind.

So, An Junlie stopped calling.