October 17, 2429.

This day was forever recorded in the annals of history.

In the early morning, 6:30 am Beijing time.

Fu Luo packed her bags and, with a strange calmness that made her parents feel uneasy, accepted her temporarily revised orders to report to the ground operations unit of the Space Combat Department 160 kilometers away from home.

She didn't take many things, just some daily necessities, her phone, and a large-capacity e-reader loaded with all the information Ye Wenlin had left her on two occasions.

When she left home, her hair had not yet been uniformly trimmed according to military regulations. Her short hair was past her ears, looking soft and shiny. She also hadn't received her uniform and was still wearing the one from school. As for the "General" gift from Teacher Robin, she ultimately left it at home.

"I'm not a general yet."

After explaining this, she picked up her luggage and said to Wang Yizheng and Fu Xiaoxin: "I went to the ground operations unit during my freshman internship and know the way, no need to see me off."

Then, she left with this incredibly simple luggage, hailed a taxi at the door, and took it to the bus station.

Her steps were firm, as if she had no intention of looking back even once.

The Space Combat Department's school uniform was sky blue, long ago washed to a faded white by her. The flat, sturdy shoulders and back looked like a piece of ancient, weathered bluestone.

Something seemed to suddenly burst open in Fu Xiaoxin's heart. She abruptly let go of Wang Yizheng's hand and hurried after her with big strides: "Luo Luo!"

Fu Luo tossed her luggage into the car. Hearing the call, she looked back at her, her brows and eyes, usually stern like a reckless youth, softened quite a bit under the slightly grown out bangs.

"Don't see me off," Fu Luo said curtly, "I'll come back during vacation."

With that, she waved, got into the car.

The taxi made a "vroom" sound as it turned on its ground-effect lifter. After leaving the small road by their home, it ascended to the aerial highway.

Then it disappeared without a trace.

Fu Xiaoxin finally couldn't help covering her mouth as she burst into tears.

In the taxi speeding along the aerial highway, Fu Luo opened her phone. Her inbox contained two messages Ye Wenlin had replied to her after finishing his inspection.

The first one said: "The starting point is not important. Countless forks in the road will all lead to the direction you want to go."

The second one said: "The ground operations unit is a 'stake' of the Earth's protective shield left from the last war, an idle post in peacetime, a vital battleground in wartime. Treat it with caution."

Fu Luo opened the "Ground Operations Unit Work Manual" that she had only gotten not long ago but was already dog-eared from being read through. She reviewed it in the steady car.

In the afternoon, 1:20 pm Beijing time.

Ye Wenlin, on break as usual, was soaking in the basic training room of the space fortress. He had just finished his own workout. Shirtless with a towel draped over him, he sat on a mat leaning against the wall to rest. Suddenly, a "rustling sound" rang out overhead.

At the same time, all the people in the fortress, whether working, exercising or resting, heard that sound. They unanimously made the same motion of raising their heads.

The soldiers on duty in space each had their own responsibilities. Everyone wore implanted communicators in their ears and inter-departmental communication was very smooth. This kind of "loudspeaker-style broadcast" aimed at everyone usually only sounded once during holidays for festive occasions.

"All personnel, assemble at Fortress No. 1 Plaza Central in five minutes. Repeating again, all personnel, assemble at Fortress No. 1 Plaza Central in five minutes..."

An ominous premonition suddenly welled up in Ye Wenlin's heart. He grabbed his uniform draped to the side and ran out while putting it on.

All the people in the entire space fortress were methodically arranging for machines to run automatically while rushing to the No. 1 Plaza Central at top speed. During this process, aside from necessary handovers, reports and man-machine commands, the entire fortress was actually a stretch of tranquility without a single extra word of discussion.

This elite human force had already reached a shocking level of quality.

Just then, another voice came through Ye Wenlin's communicator.

"Special Forces, attention."

It was Major General Zhao Youxuan, the direct superior of the Space Special Forces.

Ye Wenlin's footsteps abruptly halted: "Yes, Commander."

"Blade, Fishbone, Wolf Fang, no need to go to the plaza for now. Come to the command room immediately."

Ye Wenlin's heart sank with a thud. Blade, Fishbone and Wolf Fang were the vanguard that had been intensively patrolling recently.

Was this the rhythm of going to war?

He buttoned his clothes, straightened his hat, and strode toward the command room, occasionally brushing shoulders with comrades from other departments who were in a hurry.

The last time the entire fortress assembled was an S-level combat readiness state thirty years ago when an alien pirate force invaded the solar system.

Ye Wenlin's steps did not stop, nor did his mind. He began to frantically recall every detail he could remember - thirty years ago that time, the European Union's Fortress bore the brunt. After being attacked, a special forces unit took a temporary transport cabin and risked their lives to leave the first battlefield to send out a message to other countries and intercontinental alliances.

At that time, under the enemy's strike, more than half of the European Union Fortress' protective net was torn open. All the major space fortresses around the globe entered S-level combat readiness within half a minute of receiving the message. The Earth Allied Forces scattered throughout the solar system assembled by country within twenty minutes and began organizing the first wave of effective counterattacks.

However, according to later assessments, the alien pirates' attack power that time was only forty "cosmic units". The first wave was only a probing attack. Discovering that this bone was too tough to chew, they quickly dispersed.

So this time...

Ye Wenlin had already arrived outside the command department. He composed himself: "Reporting!"

General Zhao's voice came out: "Enter."

Ye Wenlin saluted and walked in.

In just a moment, the members of the three special forces units remaining at headquarters appeared in General Zhao's command room.

Old General Zhao Youxuan was in full military attire, his head full of white hair, his already shriveling mouth corners pressed into a sharp line. His falcon-like eyes swept over everyone as his hard-soled military boots stepped on the spotless floor, tap tap. Behind him, the thirty-two ether screens in the command room were all black with red text, a large "S" flashing on them.

"Six minutes ago," General Zhao said, "Headquarters received the last transmission from Blade's Jiang Jin. At a distance of one hundred and twenty firing range units from our outer defense line, an unidentified warship was discovered approaching us at a speed of up to one percent the speed of light, ignoring warnings and requesting headquarters' instructions. With my personal approval, when the other party entered sixty firing range units, they were warned again. Within thirty firing range units, an attack was authorized, but this order was not delivered."

Ye Wenlin was stunned and blurted out, "An electromagnetic attack?"

"That's right, an electromagnetic attack." General Zhao glanced at him. "Recently, the situation has been tense. Once the cruise vanguard issues an alert, the duty superior is required to respond within half a minute according to regulations, considering the time for information transmission. At that time, the other party should have been at least one hundred firing range units away."

There was dead silence.

At the current stage, the most advanced space missiles on Earth can ensure precise guidance within twenty-five firing range units, which is why all countries use thirty units as the reason for military restricted zones.

If space missiles are like this, let alone electromagnetic bubbles...

Who is it? Is it really humans from another star system?

Has the technological explosion in the other star system reached this level in the past hundred years?

Suddenly, a Blade asked, "Then our Captain Jiang..."

Zhao Youxuan glanced at him, and that Blade team member quickly fell silent, "Sorry, sir."

"At this stage, everyone is in the dark," Zhao Youxuan said.

Even though an unknown enemy was rapidly approaching the fortress perimeter, carrying weapons with an attack power that was difficult to determine, and they were now completely unable to confirm a safe distance, the old general still appeared unhurried.

"I believe you all understand that the gap in technology is fatal in space warfare, unlike in the era of cold weapons and primary thermal weapons, where it could be made up for by strategy, tactics, and even human qualities. Therefore, we must obtain first-hand information as soon as possible," General Zhao said word by word. "Special-class reconnaissance ships are on standby, waiting for preheating. Two minutes after the preparations are completed, they will depart. I want to ask, have you all prepared your wills in advance?"

No one answered, and the entire command room was filled with a solemn atmosphere.

General Zhao waved his hand lightly, and the docking hatch door opened directly to the emergency mobile exit of the command room. Three of the most elite special forces warriors immediately filed out, with even the frequency of their footsteps amazingly consistent.

This is the aerial fortress of Earth's humans a hundred years after the war.

With Jiang Jin absent, Ye Wenlin assumed the role of acting team leader as usual, walking behind all the Blades.

This time, however, General Zhao Youxuan stopped him.

"Wenlin," General Zhao adjusted his hat, "you come with me."

Beijing time, 13:26.

The news of the unidentified attack on the space fortress was transmitted to the ground at the first opportunity, and the Ground Forces became a mess. The director of the Ground Forces, Director Wang, was a typical peace advocate. He wiped the sweat from his forehead while trying to maintain a calm facade with a forced smile.

"Humans from the other star system cannot possibly act rashly against Earth. Please remain calm and further confirm the source of the information," Director Wang's voice echoed throughout the Ground Forces.

"Please further confirm the source of the information and do not be disturbed by unidentified rumors."

No one had time to pay attention to the new soldier.

Fu Luo silently stood in the Ground Forces hall, looking at the screen on the center wall.

The screen flickered with countless dots, representing a cross-sectional view of the three layers of defense of the space fortress. Each dot represented a sentry post. Fu Luo was surprised to find that this cross-sectional view was more intuitive and specific than her understanding of the space fortress from anywhere else.

Just as she was unconsciously memorizing those light spots in her mind, the door of the Ground Forces was suddenly pushed open.

Fu Luo turned her head abruptly and was stunned for a moment, "Colonel Yang?"

Colonel Yang Ning brought two rows of guards.

He didn't notice Fu Luo. After scanning the entire Ground Forces with his gaze, it fell on Director Wang, who was busy "refuting rumors". Yang Ning smiled and politely asked, "Is Director Wang available? I have an important directive from a superior here."

Director Wang bounced his belly and ran all the way over to Yang Ning, panting heavily as he stood in front of him with difficulty, trying to suck in his stomach, "I am Wang Hongbing, the director of the Ground Forces directly under the Space Combat Command."

Yang Ning nodded lightly, "Yang Ning from the Second Department."

The wariness and confusion on Director Wang's face were evident. His slender eyes turned a few times, and he wiped the cold sweat from the corner of his forehead again, suppressing his doubts and politely asking, "Colonel Yang, may I ask what the superior's directive is?"

"It's this." Yang Ning had been answering the question with a good attitude just a second ago, but the next second, he unexpectedly drew his gun from his back waist and pressed it against Director Wang's forehead with an unchanged expression.

Director Wang's eyes nearly popped out of their sockets, his black eyeballs crossed like a fighting rooster's, and he stammered in a panic, "Colonel, you..."

"Bang."

At a distance of less than an arm's length, there was no suspense. A single shot ended his life.

Everyone was stunned.

The vast Ground Forces was so quiet that even the sound of a needle dropping could be heard.

Yang Ning calmly put away his pistol, his expression as calm as if he had done nothing just now. The "tap tap" sound of his military boots on the ground sent chills down people's spines.

"Wang Hongbing's crime of colluding with the enemy has been established and confirmed by a special review and resolution of the Space Military Commission. The verdict will be delivered before sunset today. Secret execution during this special period. From now on, I will temporarily be in charge of the Ground Forces until the new director takes office tomorrow."

With that said, he waved his hand, and several people immediately came up, like the national flag team carrying the national flag. Each person grabbed a corner of the corpse and dealt with this short-lived ghost. In the blink of an eye, the ground was clean again, without even a trace of blood to be found.

Yang Ning's gaze swept across the entire Ground Forces, and he lightly nodded in greeting, "I apologize for disturbing everyone's work. I hope you can cooperate with me going forward."