Yang Ning stood with his head lowered at the door of Major General Chen's office. After a moment, he lifted his chin, his attire neat and his expression still calm and unperturbed. "Reporting."

"Come in."

Chen Zhong was not alone; General Yang was also there. But upon seeing his father, Yang Ning's eyes didn't waver in the slightest, as if he was merely seeing an ordinary superior officer. He saluted the two men meticulously. "Sirs."

"Hand it over." Chen Zhong took the upgrade report from his hands.

General Yang suddenly spoke up from the side, "I heard it was that little girl from Wang Yizheng's family this time."

Yang Ning didn't even lift an eyelid. "It's Political Commissar Wang's daughter."

"Hmm," General Yang gave a slight nod. After a moment, he said nonchalantly, "She's been wronged this time. They're all young people, you need to do more ideological work with them."

Chen Zhong's pen tip paused, his gaze wavering uncertainly as he raised his head, not quite sure of the other party's meaning.

Was this expressing dissatisfaction with the Second Department's decision, or...

General Yang Jinghe, the overall commander-in-chief of the China Forces of the Space Fortress, was not a harsh superior. A narrow-minded person could not sit in this position. But compared to his colleagues, General Yang appeared restrained and reticent, not very approachable. Even Chen Zhong rarely heard him engage in small talk.

For someone in a high and powerful position, talking too much was not good, but being too reticent was also not ideal. The consequence of speaking little was that every time he uttered a sentence, Chen Zhong felt it had a deeper meaning and couldn't help but ponder it.

Before the overly suspicious Major General Chen could figure out the reason, General Yang's next sentence came: "But then again, I flipped through her file just now. The child seems quite young? Although her background is quite excellent, she still lacks a bit of experience after all. Acting a bit recklessly, getting promoted too quickly is not conducive to tempering her state of mind. Suppressing her a bit is also good."

...You really said everything that could be said.

This sentence contained even more information. Chen Zhong muttered in his heart: "What does he mean by 'I flipped through her file just now'? Does he need to look up files even for an old comrade's daughter's age? Is he just saying it casually, or hinting at distancing himself?"

Major General Chen subconsciously glanced at Yang Ning and found that the young man was nearly impassive, his expression extremely calm. No matter what General Yang said, he just responded with a "Yes," as standard as a programmed robot.

This father and son...

Chen Zhong shook his head, swiftly signed, and handed the report back to Yang Ning. As Yang Ning turned to leave, Chen Zhong affably called out to him, "Little Yang, you stay and listen too."

Yang Ning was stunned for a moment, but General Yang just sat to the side without acknowledging Yang Ning or raising any objections.

Chen Zhong's mind turned, and he vaguely felt that this time he had accurately gauged General Yang's intentions. So he said even more amiably, "There are many variables in this war. We are all old, the future still belongs to you young people. Little Yang, you must work hard."

Yang Jinghe sat to the side listening inscrutably, as if they weren't talking about his son at all. He spoke up on his own, "I heard the statistical results are out. In those twenty-eight hours, equipment damage, weapons costs, compensation for casualties, and resettlement expenses for their families totaled nearly 6 trillion global currency. Let alone military expenditures, even if the fiscal revenues of all countries were put towards this, we couldn't last long."

Chen Zhong: "Unless taxes are raised."

Yang Jinghe shook his head: "Right now, the people on Earth are in high spirits. Although there is friction within the United Nations, at the most critical juncture, it hasn't reached the point of infighting. The Japanese have shut up now, right? But after a few more years - no need to say more, just three to five years, and what happened with humans fleeing the star systems back then will repeat itself. Space warfare must seem illusory to the people. Watching this news day after day, after a long time, they will naturally become numb to it. At that time, the aftereffects of heavy taxation will all erupt, and economic systems that don't transform in time will quickly drag us down."

Chen Zhong clasped his hands into fists and placed them on his knees: "The other star system is already a war society. The longer time goes on, the more unfavorable it is for us."

The two fell silent for a while. After a moment, Yang Jinghe said grimly, "The enemy has seen through this point and absolutely will not agree to peace talks. My opinion is that while our blood is still hot, we must fight a quick battle to force a quick decision."

On the first day Fu Luo woke up, there were many visitors. Besides those whose names could be mentioned like Dong Jialing and Zhang Liping, there were also many she had met in passing at the General Staff Office who expressed their regards.

She dragged her injured body to receive them all day; by the time she could finally rest, her face was stiff from the hardship of playing the gracious host.

The lights in the nursing room automatically went out on time. Besides the medical equipment, only a bit of fluorescent light flickered from the new cell phone Yang Ning had sent.

Colonel Yang's service was thorough. Who knows where he got that photo of her model shot in front of her grave and set it as the theme on her phone. The high-definition screen vividly captured the original photo. The androgynously dressed figure in the photo appeared even more ethereal in the light and shadow, looking quite unique.

For a moment, even her own profile seemed unfamiliar.

It had only been a short time, but Fu Luo almost felt that the lazy and regular life on Earth seemed like something from a previous life.

The Space Fortress was a military stronghold, not distinguishing between day and night. In the pitch black, it seemed "late at night" but people were not at rest. The intensive soundproofing of the critical care unit, rather than creating tranquility, only served to amplify the boundless loneliness.

Fu Luo finally mustered up the courage to open her inbox and began flipping through all of Fu Xiaoxin's messages one by one.

She could almost feel Fu Xiaoxin's intense emotions from between the lines.

First was anxiety -

"Fu Luo, where did you go?"

"Call back immediately, why aren't you picking up!"

Then it seemed she tried her best to soften her tone and negotiate with her -

"Come home first, let's talk about things later, okay?"

"I promise I won't lock you out this time."

After five or six more, her suppressed anxiety slowly turned into anger -

"You're getting a kick out of this, aren't you, Fu Luo? Pick up the phone!"

Later, it was hysterical -

"If you don't come back, then never come back!"

The hysteria kept escalating, until finally, like an overinflated bubble, it burst with a "pop", and everything returned to a deathly silence.

"Are you really determined to go to that damned space?"

And...

"Fine, from now on I'll pretend I never gave birth to you."

After that, as if to keep her word, Fu Xiaoxin truly never uttered another word.

She went through every single message in her inbox, even the spam folder, the ad folder, the forcibly sent messages from other software... she opened them all, reading and re-reading every message from Earth, until the medication pulled her into an uneasy sleep.

Like a bereaved child, although not quite at a loss, she nevertheless tasted the hardships and loneliness on this thorny path.

Under the starry sky, the harsh words transmitted from the homeland she guarded were like a piece of ice stuck in her chest, a fishbone caught in her throat.

Unable to express or confide in anyone, she could only toss and turn in her dreams.

A week later, the wounds on Fu Luo's body healed under the effects of the powerful healing medication, and she was finally released from the critical care unit.

The powerful healing medication applied to the wounds was far more painful than rubbing salt on them. Although it efficiently plugged up the two bullet holes in a week, for the injured person, it was tantamount to torture.

In any case, by the time Fu Luo was discharged from the hospital, she had almost shrunk by a size, even more effective than when Robin forced her to roll around wrapped in plastic wrap. It seems that those who fail to lose weight, apart from true hormonal disorders, are mostly just unable to endure hardship.

Unexpectedly, before she even returned to the General Staff Office, she encountered someone.

"Shi..." Fu Luo quickly remembered that this was a pseudonym and swallowed the remaining two characters, nearly biting her own tongue. "Sir."

Yesi grinned and waved his hand nonchalantly, saying, "Hello, little beauty. My Chinese name this week is Xie Liting."

Great, another new name again.

The lunatic Yesi looked Fu Luo up and down, shook his head with an inscrutable expression, and casually teased, "Ah, young girls are so pleasant to look at, all delicate and pleasing to the eye."

For any soldier, these words were very rude. Fu Luo's steps paused, and she lightly frowned, but considering he was her savior, she did not lash out on the spot.

"For a little girl like you, wouldn't it be better to stay on Earth? Every season there are new pretty clothes, and fragrant cosmetics—with your age and ability to enter the General Staff Office, your family circumstances must not be bad, right?"

Of course, Fu Luo understood Yesi's sarcasm. At first, she naturally felt a sense of humiliated anger, but then her thoughts turned to the scene of Yesi piloting the small ship stolen from the enemy and wreaking havoc, and she quickly calmed down.

This mysterious senior was far stronger than her, not just by a little.

Fu Luo lowered her head slightly, admitting that he made a good point.

The military academy, after all, was just a school. When she was admitted, she was no different from any spoiled and foolish high school student. After a few years that she thought were harsh, it was just her "self-perception" as an only child.

Indeed, she had lived a relatively smooth life from childhood to adulthood, and had hardly truly suffered.

Thinking of this, Fu Luo almost felt a little ashamed.

Yesi revealed a malicious smile, waiting to see Fu Luo explode with anger—teasing little girls was one of the few entertainments on the harsh front lines.

Who knew that after hearing this, Fu Luo actually pondered for a moment with her head lowered, showing no reaction, and then sincerely reflected on herself, saying, "You're right, I still have many things to learn."

Yesi: "..."

He had never seen such a spineless youngster before. It was truly an eye-opening experience.

How boring—the uninterested Yesi smacked his lips and turned to leave without a word.

Fu Luo had just left the critical care unit, so the General Staff Office did not assign her any duties. She returned to her dormitory to tidy up a bit, then headed to the simulation training room of the Second Department.

During her hospitalization, besides pondering the relationship between herself and her family, she kept recalling the scene of the golden-haired old man arrogantly charging ahead alone amidst a barrage of millions of artillery shells that day.

She was already diligent and down-to-earth to begin with. Witnessing such a powerful figure in person made her even more itchy to get started.

By the time Fu Luo was shot down for the fourth time in the simulation training room, three hours had passed, and her clothes were soaked with sweat.

Fu Luo reviewed the last round in a daze. She had only lasted less than twenty minutes.

The density of artillery fire in the simulation trainer was far less than the day of their escape, but the long-duration, high-intensity simulated training put immense pressure on her mind. Her hands, eyes, and even brain were all a few beats slower.

Fu Luo rubbed her brow, feeling a bit tired as she climbed out of the simulation pod, deciding to call it a day.

Unexpectedly, as soon as the pod door opened and she poked her head out, she saw Yesi.

The frivolous smile on Yesi's face was gone. He looked down at Fu Luo from above, like an old rogue with one leg propped on the simulation pod door, swinging it and speaking in an extremely scoundrelly tone, "I heard that in your regular military academies, they can only produce some weak little girls and mommy's boys. The simulation systems even have damage thresholds set? So your daily classes are just playing video games?"

Fu Luo ignored his sarcasm and politely said, "Mr. Yesi."

"Do you also sit in classrooms and recite various emergency response principles? When reciting, do you need to put your hands behind your back like little dolls?"

Fu Luo thought for a moment and seriously replied, "When standing at attention, yes, but not when sitting."

Yesi shut his mouth and stared at the young female soldier with a frank expression. The muscles on his face suddenly tensed up like an angry lion. He narrowed his eyes, the slender scar on his face twitching, but his voice was very soft, "Get in, let's do another round, we'll use the competitive mode."

Fu Luo widened her eyes, initially shocked, but then gradually becoming excited. The invincible powerhouse and the boundless space did not make her feel sufficiently awed. Instead, it evoked an indescribable yearning within her. Without a second thought, she immediately retreated into the simulation pod.

"Remove your damage threshold," Yesi's voice once again entered her ears. "I never play video games with little girls."