As the number of these space bugs increased, everyone aboard the Terran Federation fleet grew increasingly tense. Even though there was a vast distance between the two sides, in a space battle, such a distance was hardly far. Moreover, a space war was unlike any other conflict; individual strength, apart from strategic planning, played a negligible role. Everyone entrusted their fate to an unpredictable future, feeling that sense of utter helplessness.

After the South Yan Continent team eliminated the high command, the remaining highest authority in the fleet fell to the four of them—Zheng Zha, Chu Xuan, and the others. Although Zheng Zha was nominally the supreme commander, the true fleet commander was Chu Xuan; only his coordination skills could manage the entire situation, perfectly directing over a hundred battleships.

“This is actually an opportunity for us. I don’t know what means the Zerg used, but they’ve completely jammed signal transmission near this sector of space. Our signals cannot get back to the Terran Federation. Aside from the initial distress and attack signals sent out, this fleet is now our only weapon…” Chu Xuan sneered, his slightly fanatic expression sending a chill down the spines of those around him.

“Wait, wait a minute!” Zheng Zha quickly interjected. “You’re not thinking of some terrifying plan, are you? No, I absolutely will not allow you to gamble with everyone’s lives. While I admit your intellect and strategies are formidable, you never seem to leave yourself a fallback, do you? It’s always a frenzied gamble, just like when you engaged the South Yan Continent team in a battle of wits. If you failed, we’d all be killed or controlled; if you succeeded, you’d wipe them out or take control. I don’t like this gambler's approach, dragging everyone into such risks!” Chu Xuan remained unperturbed and replied calmly, “If the probability exceeds fifty percent, it’s no longer gambling. Nothing in this world is absolutely safe, or insurance companies wouldn't exist. When maximizing profit and maximizing possibility, such an undertaking is worth pursuing.”

Zheng Zha sighed. “I understand what you mean. You’re saying we aim for the greatest benefit with the smallest risk? The more danger, the greater the reward—I grasp that equation... But you want to use the entire fleet to attack that colossal sphere right now? That idea is preposterous! Even if destroying that sphere is an S-rank mission, I absolutely forbid you from staking everyone’s safety on this plan. Absolutely not!” Zheng Zha inadvertently glanced at the distribution map of the bugs displayed on Chu Xuan’s desk. He focused on the bug density around the giant sphere, the distance between the two forces, the Earth Federation fleet’s weapon types and numbers, the fleet’s combat viability, and the maneuverability speeds of both sides, along with potential space combat formations. Chu Xuan had meticulously charted all these details, even including a brief operational report.

Chu Xuan gravely nodded. “Indeed. After careful calculation, if we force the entire fleet to head directly for that massive sphere, the chance of success is only two-tenths. However, should we succeed, we could potentially earn A-rank, or even Double-A rank, side mission points. Alas, this situation suggests my prior considerations were incomplete. If Luo Gandao had even one Free Gundam right now, or even a prototype Gundam, it would have a decisive impact on this space battle... But that’s absurd, isn’t it? Could the ‘Main God’ possibly foresee the need to provide weapons for space warfare?” Zheng Zha exchanged helpless glances with those nearby. He then clapped Chu Xuan on the shoulder. “Actually, compared to the absurdity orchestrated by the ‘Main God,’ I think your plan is far more absurd... In short, I firmly reject such a plan. Draft another one immediately.”

Chu Xuan frowned and adjusted his glasses. After several seconds, he spoke, “Then, before those bugs can attack, we should advance toward Tango Ghost Star first. We still have four days before we return to the ‘Main God’ space. If my prediction is correct, the ‘Main God’s’ mission might be…” Chu Xuan’s gaze drifted to a map on his desk—a distribution chart of human strongholds on Tango Ghost Star. Apart from smaller outposts, there were seven major strongholds capable of defending populations of fifty thousand soldiers, each situated on a distinct continent on the planet, none too far from the others. If the soldiers aboard the fleet were combined with the forces at each major base, the total number of soldiers would exceed one hundred and fifty thousand.

Regardless, the fleet proceeded toward Tango Ghost Star under Chu Xuan’s orders. All vessels, except for ten small, fast destroyers left to act as a rearguard, began accelerating to full speed.

“This is their squad structure: a charismatic leader who can influence and control the entire team, while the intellects only handle planning and strategy. The team’s overall direction is controlled by the leader, but the leader doesn't interfere with the arrangements between the strategist and the team members... Richard, do you think this squad model is much better than our original one?” the mixed-race beauty asked the middle-aged strongman beside her.

Since Chu Xuan accepted the surrender of the South Yan Continent team, he hadn’t interfered much with them. The two figures—one fair-skinned and one dark-skinned—were killed by Zhan Lan and Wang Xia, respectively. This was the result of the Central Continent team’s internal discussion. Firstly, the most crucial mental power controller needed strengthening, allowing Zhan Lan to acquire the reward points and side mission points to exchange for at least one mental skill. Secondly, there was the need for large-scale explosive weapons or skills; Wang Xia was the primary candidate for this, another result of their deliberation.

The details of the killing aside, besides eliminating the members of the South Yan Continent team, Zheng Zha and the others unexpectedly acquired two Rune Stones—plot tools that guaranteed immunity from being erased by the "Main God" for three negative score occurrences.

Even though they were taken from the personnel of the South Yan Continent team, upon holding them, the group instantly received the system prompt for a "Main God" plot item. Furthermore, all three Rune Stones were brand new, unused stock, capable of completely negating three negative scores.

By convention, such plot items were entrusted to Zheng Zha for safekeeping, a situation that even Luo Gandao held no objections to.

This entire dynamic was observed by the two remaining members of the South Yan Continent team.

The middle-aged strongman, Richard, sighed. “Yes, a captain like that possesses the cohesion needed for an entire team. Even if there are conflicts or disagreements among the members, as long as that captain exists, the Central Continent team will fight until the last man without a hint of discord... Our captain, however...” The two simultaneously sighed. They ground their teeth thinking of their former Caucasian captain, and then sighed again thinking of Nios—a man only slightly inferior to Chu Xuan, who was ultimately angered to death by his own lack of tolerance and excessive self-confidence. That was the primary reason for Nios’s downfall.

Aya silently watched Xue Ling’er in the distance, being affectionately fed candy and chatting happily with Zhan Lan. He said resolutely, “No matter what, we must resurrect Nios... Only he can lead our South Yan Continent team to greatness, and he is the only one I trust... I believe that after this failure, he will have learned many things, don't you think, Richard?”

Richard nodded silently, stroking his beard. “Whether we can even return alive to the ‘Main God’ space is debatable, but having a goal to strive for is good. Let’s settle on that—we will aim to resurrect Nios... Wasn't he planning to take revenge on the person who forced him into the ‘Main God’ space in reality? Dying like this really isn't his style. So be it. When we encounter the The Mummy horror movie scenario again, we will resurrect Nios...”

Both teams’ preparations were essentially complete, and over ten hours had passed. At this moment, the fleet was still ten hours away from Tango Ghost Star, but the space bugs surrounding the fleet had begun their attack. Their first target was the ten small, fast destroyers acting as the rearguard. While still at a great distance, the bellies of the space bugs began to illuminate. Soon, a sphere of fluorescent light emerged from the center of their abdomens. After a few seconds, the space bugs spat out plasma orbs, each about two to three meters in diameter. These plasma orbs rained down densely upon the ten small, fast destroyers.

The destructive power of the plasma orbs had been witnessed during the Earth fleet’s first landing operation. While these orbs were highly destructive, their weakness was equally obvious: their ridiculously slow speed. If one were caught off guard, it could lead to a sudden breach in the fleet’s defenses. However, in a battle set against the backdrop of the entire cosmos, such orbs were not something to fear excessively. No matter the power, if it doesn't hit, it causes no damage, right? The advantage of the small, fast destroyers was speed. The first few thousand orbs were easily evaded. Several battleships even launched nuclear missiles at clusters of space bugs, instantly vaporizing them into ashes within a spherical fireball. But before the small, fast destroyers could recover, the surrounding, dense swarm of space bugs spat out orbs again, one after another. It wasn’t just the space bugs; the fleshy tubes of the colossal sphere also widened significantly toward the small destroyers, and then tens of thousands of plasma orbs were ejected from the giant sphere alone. Combined with the orbs firing from all directions in space, the crew aboard the small, fast destroyers suddenly felt they had nowhere left to hide—and indeed, they had nowhere to hide. Though the surrounding space was vast, when ten small, fast destroyers faced hundreds of thousands of plasma orbs, their fate was sealed... “...Wiped out. The entire rearguard was annihilated in a single volley from the Zerg swarm. No wonder scientists could never figure out how the Zerg propelled the massive meteorites toward Earth; with this kind of power, they certainly could.”

In the flagship’s command center, Zheng Zha, the other three, and the remaining senior officers and staff were discussing the next course of action. A staff officer had just finished detailing the fleet’s current predicament.

Based on the current situation, the Zerg's operational speed in space was actually faster than that of human battleships. By the time the human fleet reached Tango Ghost Star, the Zerg vanguard would also catch up. If there was an ambush force waiting ahead, the human fleet could be surrounded and once again consumed by a sea of plasma spheres spat out by the horde.

“Uh… magnify the plasma orbs fired by the Zerg, and slow down the firing sequence.”

Chu Xuan thought for a moment, then suddenly spoke to a nearby staff officer.

The officer paused, then hurried to a platform nearby and tapped a few keys. Immediately, a wall directly in front of them became transparent, displaying the scene of the Zerg attack from earlier. Under the staff officer’s control, the footage quickly locked onto the spitting attack process of a single space bug, magnifying its mouth section.

Chu Xuan stared back and forth at the ejection process for a long time before adjusting his glasses. “No mucus coating... Then, all ships in our fleet shall descend onto Tango Ghost Star. Issue this command fleet-wide. Then order ships X3 through X7 to position themselves below the main fleet. Once space bugs approach attack range, order a barrage attack…” After Chu Xuan laid out a series of detailed commands arranging the positions of all ships, Zheng Zha curiously asked him, “Why make the fleet descend? With this many bugs just attacking with plasma in outer space, if we’re on the ground, we won’t even be able to dodge once. Wouldn't that be certain death?” Chu Xuan replied calmly, “It’s fine. Those are plasma spheres. In an atmosphere, they will rapidly dissipate due to friction with the air. There are certain ground-dwelling bugs that fire plasma spheres, and those use a type of adhesive mucus to coat the orbs, allowing them to be used even within an atmosphere. But these space bugs cannot. The temperature in space prevents the plasma orbs from being coated in mucus, and mucus-less plasma orbs cannot penetrate an atmosphere... In other words, once we land on the planet, the only bugs we need to worry about are the ground ones... And the South Yan Continent team!” “If my guess is correct, our mission is likely to be...”