In the central command center of the Space Combat Command Second Department, a round table was opened. On the huge screen standing against the back wall, the "Trojan Horse No. 1", carrying the doomed wishes of countless people, was slowly departing the port.

The seemingly clumsy large ship slid silently into a quiet, ripple-free sea of stars.

Yang Ning gazed at the vast back of the ship, spread his hands, and the quartermaster Dong Jialing nimbly connected him to the overall command system.

"You shouldn't have sent her out so early," Dong Jialing said in a voice that only the two of them could hear. "There has never been a precedent for a D-level new recruit to go on an S-level mission."

Yang Ning's lips were very thin, with slightly pointed corners. A slight tug gave the illusion of a smile.

He said unhurriedly in the same volume, "There seems to be no precedent for a cosmic-level war between humans and another kind of human either."

Dong Jialing frowned, "But there should always be a buffer for new recruits..."

"Buffer?" Yang Ning first raised his eyebrows, and then he turned his head and said with a good attitude and justification, "This child has a strong adaptability. Although she hasn't been all over the Second Department, she has already become familiar with the area by memorizing the map. I actually admire this point. She can always remember her identity - a soldier serving taxpayers, not an office rookie being taken care of. I believe that the various military handling principles that have condensed the wisdom of generations are all engraved in her mind without a single word missing. More practical training opportunities will be more helpful to her growth."

When Yang Ning said this, he was like a gentle leader preparing to promote a junior, so grandiose that it was irrefutable.

Unfortunately, Dong Jialing was not so easily fooled. She had been his quartermaster for several years and had long known what this gentle and frugal superior was really like. She persisted, "But a good student does not mean a good soldier. At the line between life and death, human instinct will overcome all knowledge and training."

Yang Ning lowered his thin eyelids, glanced at her, and shook his head lightly, "Jialing, sometimes I really have to say a few words to you. Although your work is outstanding, you take care of all of us, and everyone especially trusts you, this is still the front line after all. Too much 'maternal love' is not good for the growth of little soldiers."

Dong Jialing was a clever person and immediately heard the impatience in his words, so she had to stop talking.

"Don't worry, I won't ask someone whose personal qualities are not up to standard to come to the General Staff Office for no reason." The overall command system was equipped. Yang Ning put down his arms, tidied up his clothes, and manually debugged the signal to confirm that it was smooth. Then he turned to his popular quartermaster, "As the overall commander, of course I will try my best to ensure the safety of my people's lives. An unpolished jade cannot become a useful object, don't you agree?"

-- But if it accidentally breaks during polishing, it can only prove that he was momentarily mistaken and picked up a piece of fast stone.

Then she doesn't need to come back either.

Yang Ning curved his eyes and smiled.

Then he suddenly sank his face and voice, "All personnel in position, close the entrance to the General Staff Office. From now until the end of the mission, no one is allowed to enter or leave."

Dong Jialing seemed to see a poisonous snake, coiled as if boneless, straighten its body in a flash, revealing cold fangs and a sinister forked tongue.

"...Yes." She lowered her head, responded softly, turned and left.

Yang Ning's talent and decisiveness have never been questioned. He is like a cunning and powerful head wolf. From a certain level, he will be the best guide. Perhaps he can really forge a rookie D-level soldier into a remarkable warrior, but by the same token, if she cannot meet the requirements, she will also be abandoned without hesitation.

This is a man with a heart as cold as iron.

"The special forces personnel on the escort ships for the 'Trojan Horse No. 1' are tasked with cooperating with our actions this time. The escort ships do not have the expensive ultra-high-density defense shell like the main ship, so they will only follow behind the main ship for cover. After setting sail, you will arrive at a distance of one hundred ranges from the other party's headquarters in about an hour. To be on the safe side, from there, we will send a signal to the other party every ten range distances we advance."

The clear and crisp voice of Yang Ning, the overall commander of this operation, sounded on the Trojan Horse No. 1. Probably because the solar storm was about to come, occasional tiny snowflakes flashed on Yang Ning's video image.

"Do you have any questions or suggestions?" He asked humbly and gently.

Fu Luo stood to one side, whispering with her senior from the General Staff Office.

The two of them basically became familiar within five minutes of boarding the Trojan Horse No. 1 together. Zhang Liping was an extrovert, equipped with two sets of speech systems, one set speaking dialect and one set speaking Mandarin. When speaking dialect, his lips moved as fast as someone singing a two-person play. However, the Mandarin set had a bit of a glitch. It was said that when he was young and mischievous, he often imitated a foreign neighbor who stuttered. As a result, he picked up the stutter and couldn't shake it, so he could only cope with short statements, like those in reports. If a sentence was too long, he would get tongue-tied.

Fu Luo was originally a little taller than Zhang Liping, and in order to balance the height difference between men and women in the space army, the women's military uniform shoes also had an extra three centimeters of internal height increase. In this way, she almost had to look down at her skinny monkey-like short senior.

Fu Luo: "If the defense is not good, why bring it along, and call it 'cover' while following behind?"

Zhang Liping was an old veteran and immediately gave her a wink when he heard the sound, without making a sound.

The next moment, Yang Ning's voice, which seemed to always maintain a uniform speed, came, "Fu Luo, if you have questions, you can ask me directly."

He could hear this too! Is the communicator a Thousand-Mile Ear?

Fu Luo found that she was simply like a country bumpkin, and had never seen any advanced gadgets.

Zhang Liping secretly stretched out his hand, cupped it beside his mouth, his lips not moving, and his voice suppressed and coming from between his teeth.

"Little sister, be more careful." The senior earnestly advised with a ventriloquism skill that could be used to perform puppet shows.

Fu Luo immediately understood that this unscrupulous superior could actually read lips.

"The escort ship has a special mission," at this time, Yang Ning explained unhurriedly, "The ship carries on-site reporters and cosmic photography equipment, connected to the mainstream media of various countries on Earth, broadcasting live in more than a hundred countries simultaneously in a dozen languages. This is also the reason why General Chen urged you never to fire the first shot."

Fu Luo: "..."

It's being broadcast live?

She felt that the timing of her first TV appearance was a bit... not so cool.

At the same time, the phone in Fu Luo's pocket vibrated - they had just left the port and had not yet moved out of range of the far-earth satellite signal.

Fu Luo looked down and opened it, and Ye Wenlin appeared on the screen, almost causing her phone to slip out of her hand in fright.

The newly appointed Dagger's Captain seized the last bit of signal to send her an MMS. He stood in front of the camera, twisting himself into an "S" shape with nine bends and eighteen turns. Behind him was a cameraman from some unknown country's TV station, half of whose face was hidden behind the equipment, staring at the Captain's expression, which seemed equally twisted.

Perhaps he had not yet hardened his heart, but Fu Luo firmly believed that he had already become a very professional idiot.

At first, everything on the Trojan Horse No. 1 and the escort ships was running smoothly - except for some reporters who had found their way in from somewhere, racking their brains to try to contact the staff on the Trojan Horse No. 1, hoping to get a clue in advance.

But soon, they left the range of the long-range satellite signal, and all these miscellaneous private contacts were cut off, leaving only the sole command channel within the military system.

The atmosphere in the entire cabin of the Trojan Horse No. 1 main ship became silent, with everyone doing their own job, and almost no communication between them except for simple orders.

And the General Staff Office closed the two-way communication channel, seemingly in a meeting to discuss some issue.

Soon, the fleet arrived at a distance of one hundred firing ranges from the enemy's headquarters. With a single order from the General Staff Office, the braking system of the Trojan Horse No. 1 made a "rumbling" sound like muffled thunder, and the fleet stopped advancing.

What kind of reaction would the aliens have to the sudden "peace talks" from Earth?

Would they attack them without a word?

Or would they accept the signal for peace talks and back down?

At the critical position of one hundred firing range units, would the enemy give a warning?

An invitation code?

Demand a conversation across the void?

As the first wave of signals was sent out, countless eyes on the ships, in the General Staff Office, and even in front of TV sets on Earth stared at the signal receivers in dead silence.

However, the other side ignored them.

"Arrival in the signal zone has exceeded one hundred seconds, starting the countdown..."

Unlike the solemnity and tension of the warriors on the main ship, there was a buzz of whispers on the escort ships.

A reporter from some unknown country asked Ye Wenlin in broken Chinese, "Captain, does the end of the countdown mean we can continue moving forward? What do you think this indicates?"

Ye Wenlin's expression became solemn, and he put a finger to his lips: "Shh--"

Each interval between the countdown numbers seemed to be infinitely extended, and the short twenty seconds made people's hearts stop beating along with it. Finally, the countdown reached zero.

The mechanical prompt sounded, and after a long silence, Yang Ning's brief order came through the communicator: "Continue forward ten firing range units."

"All personnel in position--"

"Trojan Horse No. 1 thrusters engaged, advancing ten firing range units!"

Before the main ship could fully start up, Yang Ning's second order arrived: "Protective systems to maximum power!"

This sentence made people's nerves tense up again. The reporters felt that at this moment, the fleet was like a group of ancient people crawling forward on the wilderness, ready to cross a minefield and climb barbed wire.

Soon, the second signal was sent out, and they reached a distance of ninety times the firing range from the enemy.

The other side still had no reaction.

"Countdown ten, nine, eight..."

A middle-aged military officer in the General Staff Office softly reminded Yang Ning, "Colonel, sunspot activity is beginning to increase significantly."

Without his reminder, Yang Ning's communication headset had already begun to fill with sizzling static.

"At this rate of energy amplification, we cannot rule out the possibility that if we go further, we will lose contact with the fleet."

Yang Ning frowned, not saying anything for a moment.

On the screen, the Trojan Horse No. 1 continued to move forward, with the next target being eighty firing range units.

The activity on the surface of the sun became more and more intense. Inside the Space Fortress, the reconnaissance ships that had been wandering outside began to return to port, ordered to enter the port as quickly as possible to avoid it.

"First wave of magnetic storm warning--"

Just as the fleet reached the third signal point, the video connecting them to the General Staff Office severely pixelated, with the entire screen snowing for a full minute. The main ship was prepared for this, but the reporters on the escort ships, who made much ado about nothing, were in a mess.

Behind his back, Ye Wenlin pinched the bridge of his nose, feeling like there were a thousand flies buzzing in his ears. He would rather personally board the reconnaissance ship and charge into the enemy headquarters than suffer this circus here.

Captain Ye spread his hands and said loudly, "Everyone, don't worry, it's just a solar storm, it happens every ten years or so, it's not uncommon..."

"Just?!" A reporter's microphone nearly poked him in the face, firing questions like a machine gun, "So this situation happens a lot? What if we lose contact with the fortress during such an important mission? Does the military have a backup plan? How long will the magnetic storm last, and how much impact will it have on the mission?"

Ye Wenlin: "..."

The solar storm had been taken into account, but of course he couldn't say that - after all, on the surface, they were only going for "peace talks".

Just then, the signal reconnected, and Colonel Yang's voice came through with some distortion.

He brought another bombshell.

"By special decision of the General Staff Office, I am now issuing an order." Yang Ning slowed his voice, but emphasized his tone, making it even more solemn, "All ships - note, I said all ships, immediately unload the curvature drives and set the drives to self-destruct thirty seconds after leaving the ships. Please execute the order immediately."

For a moment, the reporters could hardly believe their ears.

The last time the special forces successfully jumped, the curvature drive equipment became the Earth's last card in the war, and now they were going to unload it themselves?

This is simply... Where did the commander of the General Staff Office even find this lunatic?

What's the difference between this and unilaterally disarming ourselves!