Rong Shi squatted down, and they stared at each other, wide-eyed.

“Reluctant to come out?”

Qin Lin: “…”

He silently let go of the stool leg and took Rong Shi’s hand to crawl out from under the table.

“Ouch! Hiss—!” The moment Ji Ming moved, he clutched his back, his face contorting. “My old back—!”

After helping one up, Rong Shi reached under the table again.

“Hiding under the table is worse than hiding in a cabinet. You’re really confident in your back.”

Ji Ming struggled to crawl out and retorted unconvinced, “My back is perfectly fine!”

“Mhm,” Rong Shi said with a straight face. “It’s just not very useful.”

Ji Ming: “…”

The battle outside was fierce, with continuous gunfire.

Two assassins suddenly rushed in, guns raised.

Qin Lin and Ji Ming’s cheeks trembled in fear, and they very nimbly squatted down on the spot.

“Ugh!” Ji Ming heard a crack from his bones. He gritted his teeth, his face turning red from holding it in.

The moment the figures flashed in, Rong Shi took two steps, seized one man’s wrist, and kicked the gun out of the other’s hand.

The gun flew and hit the wall, sliding into a corner. The assassin reacted quickly, balling his fist and swinging at Rong Shi.

But Rong Shi was faster. He twisted the first assassin’s wrist to snatch the gun, sidestepped the punch, and delivered a knee strike and a kick.

The assassin stumbled back in pain, trying to rush for the fallen gun.

Bang!

The assassin’s body shuddered. A bullet hole appeared in the center of his forehead. He had been shot through the head.

The assassin in his grasp struggled desperately to break free. Rong Shi slammed him against the wall with great force, raised the gun to his forehead, and pulled the trigger.

It all happened in less than three seconds. The assassins had no room to fight back.

The number of assassins was too large. From time to time, a few would break through the shadow guards’ defensive line and rush in, only to be taken down by Rong Shi with a single shot.

Qin Lin and Ji Ming watched. Just moments ago, they had been incredibly nervous, but Rong Shi’s arrival brought a special sense of security.

He was only eighteen, but it felt as if nothing was to be feared as long as he was there.

[01: Master, the first wave of assassins has been eliminated.]

Hearing 01’s prompt, Rong Shi led the two elders outside.

Just outside the laboratory door, the air was thick with a mixture of various pheromones and the strong smell of blood. The ground was littered with the bodies of assassins.

Rivers of blood flowed, leaving almost no place to step.

Rong Shi’s gaze swept over the scene coolly. “Ban Li.”

The shadow guard squad leader had his men collect the assassins’ equipment and quickly walked over to Rong Shi.

“Ma—Second Lieutenant Rong.”

Rong Shi: “I’ll handle things here. You take your men to the military academy’s kindergarten and bring Song Yang and my younger brother, Rong Mian, over.”

Ban Li glanced at Ji Ming, hesitated for a moment, then acknowledged the order with a deep voice.

Qiu Tianhao and the legion’s men finished dealing with the assassins and gathered around.

Qiu Tianhao: “The garrison and our men are fighting back, but the enemy has more numbers. I’m afraid we can’t hold out for long.”

For various considerations, the number of garrison troops assembled at each planet’s base would not exceed the strength of a single legion; the rest were dispatched to each region.

If they were to gather all the garrison troops on the entire planet, their numbers could indeed surpass the rebels. But emptying all the regional garrisons was extremely risky and generally not done.

The area where the laboratory was located was sparsely populated, so the fighting had not caused any civilian casualties. However, the commotion here quickly spread across Snow Star.

Major local media outlets almost simultaneously put the rebels’ photos on their headlines, and the topic exploded in popularity.

“They actually dare to attack Snow Star? Are they tired of living?”

“Ignorance is bliss. How many people still don’t know that the rebels are already attacking the Imperial Capital Star? This time, it might really—”

“What’s going on?! Where are our garrison troops?”

“The garrison is too dispersed. If the military command doesn’t send reinforcements, I’m afraid they won’t be able to hold them off.”

“Fuck! How is there enough time? Have the garrisons from the neighboring planets come over to put out the fire!”

“Rebels have also appeared in the airspace of the neighboring planets. It’s impossible for them to abandon their own planets and come rescue us.”

---

In the military academy dorms, Liu Hong, Chen Chen, and others gathered to discuss countermeasures.

Liu Hong sat on the floor in front of the floor-to-ceiling window, looking at the dark fleet in the sky.

“I heard that more than half of the people in the military command are on the enemy’s side. We might not be able to wait for reinforcements.”

Hu Feng: “My information isn’t as good as Old Liu’s, but if it really was the Lin family that started this, then that number is only going to be higher, not lower.”

Both the Lin and Qian families were high-status families in the empire. But the difference was that the Qian family had always held a high posture, focusing only on themselves and rarely interacting excessively with other families. The Lin family was the exact opposite.

In terms of influence alone, the Lin family was superior to the Qian family.

“My father said the situation on the Imperial Capital Star is not good. The palace has already been bombed once. I don’t know what will happen next,” Chen Chen said with a grim face. “We can’t just sit here. The longer we drag this out, the more disadvantageous it becomes.”

Bai Ting sighed. “If the Chairman were here, he would definitely have a solution.”

The group discussed for a long time but couldn’t come up with anything.

They were just students now. They didn’t have the means or the ability to act alone. Rushing in rashly might just be a suicide run, which wasn’t worth it.

But just sitting here and worrying was driving them crazy!

Could they really only watch as Snow Star fell?

Not having heard his younger brother speak for a while, Chen Chen turned his head to look, only to see him rapidly typing on a virtual keyboard, his eyes fixed on the screen, doing who knows what.

“A-Mu, are you playing a game?” Chen Chen asked.

Chen Mu: “Who’s in the mood to play games? I’m trying to hack into the enemy’s AI system.”

Hearing this, the others quickly gathered around him.

Looking at a screen full of data, Liu Hong’s old academic-failure habits flared up, and he started to get a headache. “Can—can this work?”

Chen Mu said seriously, “The Chairman used to say that programmers are the second most important role in a legion, right after the commander. He had high hopes for me.”

Chen Chen: “So?”

Chen Mu: “You have to trust the Chairman’s judgment.”

Chen Chen: “…”

He gets one compliment and he’s flying to the moon?

Just as he finished that thought, he heard Chen Mu exclaim.

The others’ hearts leaped.

“How is it?!”

“Don’t tell me you were discovered?!”

“What’s the situation?”

Chen Mu grinned. “Infiltration successful!”

---

Back on the warship, Rong Shi sat in the command seat, quickly checking the rebels’ movements.

There was a huge disparity in military strength and numbers. A frontal assault was unrealistic. To stall for time until reinforcements arrived, they had to resort to psychological warfare.

Rong Shi: “01, control the enemy warships’ AI. Control as many as you can.”

[01: There are too many. I’ll try to start with the flagship. It might take some time—]

Rong Shi’s long fingers tapped lightly on the armrest. He said calmly, “You don’t necessarily have to control all of them at once. Faking it will work too.”

[01: …? …!!! I get it!]

---

In the legion, Lu Youqi heard the report his subordinate gave to Lin Quan, and his brow furrowed tightly.

“Useless! So many people can’t even catch one old man!” Lin Quan roared. “Keep searching! Even if you have to dig three feet into the ground, bring him back to me!”

Subordinate: “Yes, sir!”

It really wasn’t that smooth.

Throughout this journey, Lu Youqi had felt uneasy.

The Lu family had bet everything on this battle. If they failed, they would have nothing left.

But he had no way out.

Song Yu’s attitude was clear: he would not accept the Lu family’s allegiance.

The Qin family had been clipping the Lu family’s wings both openly and secretly. Even if they did nothing, it would soon be their turn to face a heavy blow. It was better to risk it all.

“Alert: Internal circuit failure detected in the warship. Safety hazard in the firing system.”

The AI’s alarm suddenly blared throughout the warship. Lu Youqi was stunned.

The flagship hasn’t been attacked yet, how could there be a circuit failure?

“AI repair drones have been dispatched for maintenance. Estimated time is half an hour. The firing system is disabled during this period.”

This news caught everyone on the warship off guard.

They were in the middle of a war. Disabling the firing system for half an hour meant they would be sitting ducks.

The officers in charge of various units in the command cabin rushed to find Lu Youqi.

“Commander, what do we do? The flagship’s system is directly connected to the sub-vessels. Besides the small fighters and mechas, we can’t use any of our heavy weapons.”

“Should we retreat for now and attack again in half an hour?”

“What is the maintenance department doing! It must be their poor maintenance that caused such a low-level mistake!”

“What are you all yelling about?!” Lu Youqi rubbed his temples in frustration and opened the AI dialogue mode. “What happens if the firing system is used during this period?”

AI: “Aiming will be inaccurate. Where it hits will be up to fate.”

Lu Youqi / The others: “…”

After so many years of combat and countless accidents big and small, Lu Youqi had never encountered such a serious malfunction.

He hesitated suspiciously for a moment, then ordered a sub-vessel to fire a heavy particle cannon.

“Warning! Warning! Firing system has been forcibly activated. Circuit damage at 1%—5%—10%—Targeting system failure, unable to aim—Beep—”

As the AI alarm faded, the crowd watched a huge fireball explode on the virtual screen.

The heavy cannon, aimed at the ground, had blown through two adjacent warships in Lin Yue’s division, which disintegrated in an instant.

“Fuck! That’s way too inaccurate!”

“What the fuck!”

A series of gasps echoed in the command cabin. Everyone’s face was ugly.

Lin Yue’s communication immediately came through. He was raging on the other side of the virtual screen.

“You, surnamed Lu! Were you sent by His Majesty as an undercover agent?! I knew you had ill intentions when you suddenly wanted to cooperate!”

Lu Youqi hadn’t expected that just a single test would have such severe consequences.

He didn’t dare to make another move. Berated by Lin Yue without a pause for breath, his face grew darker and darker.

Lin Yue reported the matter to Lin Quan and strongly demanded that Lu Youqi’s army be expelled from the alliance.

Lin Quan hadn’t left after discussing the cooperation with Lu Youqi and had also heard the AI’s warning just now. In an instant, countless possibilities flashed through his mind.

Even if the targeting system was off, it was unlikely to hit an ally. And what a coincidence that it happened to be one of their Lin family ships.

There was no turning back. At this point, Lu Youqi could only bite the bullet and explain to Lin Quan. If Lin Quan became suspicious of him because of this, never mind the future of the battle, even if they won, the Lu family would probably be marginalized.

This was something he was unwilling to see.

But what Lu Youqi didn’t know was that Lin Quan, being in a high position, was naturally suspicious.

The more he explained, the more suspicious Lin Quan became.

Just after hanging up, Lin Yue heard his own warship’s AI alarm.

“Warning! Energy storage system failure. Energy is rapidly depleting. It is recommended to activate power-saving mode to reduce unnecessary energy consumption.”

Activate power-saving mode in the middle of a white-hot battle? What’s the difference between that and raising a white flag?

Having lost two warships and over a thousand brothers for nothing, Lin Yue was already furious. Hearing this warning, he almost fainted from anger.

“What the hell is going on?! How much energy is left?!”

The programmer at the console quickly checked the energy system panel. Seeing a whole row of red numbers, he broke out in a cold sweat.

“Commander, we only have 29% of our energy left.”

How long has it been? How did it drop to so little?!

Lin Yue: “Where are the people from the maintenance department?! Get them to fix it!”

In a standoff between two armies, activating power-saving mode at this time was absolutely out of the question. It was equivalent to giving up all defense and offense, entering a powerless state.

The sub-vessel fired five more heavy cannons in succession, and the AI’s warnings continued.

“Warning! Energy remaining at 27%—25%—23%—”

One heavy cannon shot consumes 2% of energy?!

A few more shots, and the warship would crash due to lack of power!

“Everyone fucking stop!”

Although Lin Yue found it strange, he didn’t dare to risk it further. He urgently halted all attacks and waited for the maintenance team’s report.

Ten minutes later, the head of the maintenance department ran over, drenched in sweat.

“Preliminary inspection found no problems.”

Lin Yue ordered them to continue the attack.

But the AI’s warning sounded again.

“Warning! Energy below 10%. Power-saving mode has been forcibly activated. Manual override is not possible for one hour.”

As the voice fell, the lights in the command cabin dimmed several degrees. All firing systems, targeting systems, and detection systems shut down. Even the hangar bay doors wouldn’t open.

A low pressure filled the command cabin. After a collective gasp, no one dared to speak loudly, afraid of courting disaster.

---

Aboard the Second Legion’s warship, Rong Shi unhurriedly sent commands, telling them to attack the enemy warships that were suddenly just floating there, seemingly idle.

At first, they couldn’t believe it.

Why did the enemy suddenly cease fire?

Could it be a trap? Will they unleash a massive attack the moment we engage?

With a tentative mindset, they bravely attacked a warship twice their size.

A single tracking missile directly hit the enemy’s energy storage area, and energy stones rained down like fish roe.

“That was too easy! Hahahaha—”

“They’re really just standing there and taking hits? Am I dreaming?”

The warship was filled with joy and celebration, like a New Year’s festival.

[01: Taking turns controlling them is so convenient! I scared them, and they really stopped fighting, hehehehe—]

Controlling all of them at once was difficult, but controlling one at a time for just a few minutes greatly reduced the difficulty.

Rong Shi: “This won’t fool them for long. Hijack the AI of all small and medium-sized warships now.”

[01: Already on it. Found traces of a third-party intrusion on one of the medium-sized warships.]

A third party?

Could there be another potential enemy?

Rong Shi: “Track it.”

[01: Yes! Tracking—Oh, it’s the adjutant’s little brother!]

As 01 spoke, a virtual window popped up in front of Rong Shi. The screen locked onto an area, and a small window even provided a real-time photo of this third-party tracker.

Seeing the five young faces squeezed together in the photo, the corners of Rong Shi’s lips turned up, his eyes filled with a smile.

[01: What should I do?]

“Let him control this one,” Rong Shi’s voice was faint. “Help me connect to the military academy network. I need to send out a video announcement.”

[01: Yes!]

---

At the military academy, all the students were watching the battle.

The atmosphere had changed from the previous gloom. Every classroom was now cheering.

“Beautiful! The tide of battle has turned!”

“Why did the enemy suddenly stop firing? But this gives us a chance to fight back!”

“Hit them! Hit them hard! Beat them so their own mothers won’t recognize them!”

“These two warships with the Second Legion’s insignia are fierce! They’re hitting every shot. It’s incredible.”

“Look here! This enemy warship is acting weird. Why is it only attacking its own side? Hahahaha—”

“There’s hope! Maybe we can hold out until reinforcements arrive!”

Suddenly, the virtual screens in every classroom descended simultaneously.

The screen flickered, and Rong Shi, in his military academy uniform, appeared, sitting in a command seat, looking calmly at the camera.

“Hello, fellow students. I am Rong Shi—”

---

Author’s Note:

The battle begins—
Rong Bunny: Let’s mess with their minds first, then attack.
Enemy Army: Cracks on the spot [raises white flag, begging for mercy]

Later—
Rong Bunny: The main course hasn’t even been served. How have you surrendered already?