Gathered in the command room, the Fourth Military University candidates were crying tears of joy. The Alliance rescue force had arrived!

A full ten hours ahead of schedule.

The great weight pressing on their hearts was finally lifted, and everyone let out a huge sigh of relief.

A moment later, Major General Xie’er’s solemn face appeared on the screen. “Confirm your position and report the situation.”

If Gu Changge had been there, he probably would have screamed. He Qingping wasn’t so dramatic, but he too found it hard to contain his excitement.

He forced himself to remain calm and rapidly gave a brief report of the situation.

Without even looking up, Xie’er quickly issued a series of commands to her subordinates. “Break the communications blockade—how long will that take? Request a list of all candidates and their comm numbers from the Fourth Military. Simulate the Imperial warship’s escape route. Request medical and rescue teams from the nearest planet. Request a supply of sedatives from the Academy of Sciences…”

After rattling off several orders, she paused for a moment. One by one, people came over to quietly report their progress and estimated completion times.

She gave a slight nod.

Only then did she look up at He Qingping and the others. “The first group is to speed up. The third group is to withdraw immediately! We will arrive in an hour and a half. In thirty minutes, the interstellar communications blockade will be lifted for three minutes. We’ll send a notice to all candidates to evacuate the designated danger zone and hide. Stall them for an hour and a half. Any problem with that?”

Of course there was no problem!

After all, Major General Xie’er’s early arrival was already a pleasant surprise. Now they only had to stall for an hour and a half. Compared to their original plan, it was like the difficulty had suddenly been switched from hell mode to just hard mode.

He Qingping, unable to suppress his excitement, went to contact the first and third groups himself.

The first group was fine. Like the people on the warship, they just felt a sense of relief and were full of energy.

For Ji Changqing and Gu Changge’s group, however, things were a bit more complicated. They had been preparing for a life-or-death struggle, their minds filled with tragic stories, feeling quite heroic about themselves.

They had made all the necessary mental preparations, only to be called off at the last minute.

While their comrades in the other two groups were working at full speed, their mission had ended prematurely, turning them into a bunch of salted fish.

While there was certainly relief in being saved and not having to risk their lives, there was also a subtle sense of melancholy—the chance to be a lone hero was gone.

Ji Changqing was fine with it. Although she still held the sentiment of “sacrificing oneself for the nation and facing death as if it were a homecoming,” she had no interest in seeking out high-difficulty challenges and getting herself killed when she could live a perfectly good life.

The salted fish quietly withdrew, racing against time to get away from the hot zone.

Half an hour later, all the candidates received a message ordering them to evacuate the area marked in red and get as far away as possible.

Relatively few of the candidates in this area had not been involved in Ji Changqing’s operation. Upon receiving the message, they all guessed that something had happened. But those who wanted to get into the Fourth Military knew to control their curiosity and obey orders.

Only after retreating nearly a hundred kilometers did Ji Changqing and her group slow down. They no longer needed to hide their tracks and moved openly.

Gu Changge finally let out the excitement he had been holding back. “Wow, it’s Major General Xie’er!” His face was a mask of adoration and obsession. “Changqing, can you let me meet Major General Xie’er?!”

Ji Changqing gave him a baffled look. Are you crazy? Or am I?

“I don’t know Major General Xie’er well. We have no connection.”

Gu Changge’s face might as well have had the unreasonable romance-drama line “I don’t believe you, I don’t believe you” written all over it. He said pitifully, “She even gave you review materials and helped you choose your major! She came to rescue us this time, and she’ll probably want to see you after this is all over. Can you take me with you then?”

Ji Changqing stopped, a strange look in her eyes. “The distress call was sent to your sister, and then Major General Xie’er came to the rescue…”

As long as Major General Xie’er didn’t have a grudge against the Gu family, she would most likely meet with Gu Changge and the others out of professional courtesy.

Gu Changge clearly didn’t get it at first. “Ah?” he said, confused. “Does someone in my family have a connection with Major General Xie’er? Oh, my older cousin?”

Ji Changqing put a hand to her forehead.

Gu Changge chuckled sheepishly. The moment the words left his mouth, he understood.

An Imperial warship causing trouble within Alliance territory was a matter that concerned the entire Alliance, especially since it was during the Fourth Military’s entrance exam.

When his sister received the distress call, her first reaction would naturally be to contact the family patriarch. The patriarch’s standard procedure would be to report it to the Alliance, which would then immediately screen through the Alliance military to contact the fleet that could arrive the fastest and had sufficient strength to carry out a rescue.

Once the third group had fully assembled, Ji Changqing, with the mindset of a middle-aged person, was more prone to worry than these youngsters. “The exam should still be ongoing. Shouldn’t we… go score some points?”

The others were rather speechless.

Wake up, they thought. Although their operation had been abruptly terminated, they were sure to receive a good amount of military merit points. What was there to worry about?!

But on second thought, they had nothing better to do. They didn’t dare rendezvous with the second group, fearing they might get caught up in that mess. So, scoring points it was. It was better than sitting around waiting for the exam to end.

In any case, most candidates would eventually have to head to the finish line.

An hour after the candidates had evacuated, Major General Xie’er’s flagship, the Xiwier, appeared brazenly, leading six other warships.

The “holy shit” echoing in the Imperial noble’s mind was practically off the charts.

What happened to exchanging the hostages for the storage sphere?!

What happened to a gentleman’s promise?!

The people of the Alliance were as shameless as space pirates!

Of course, it wasn’t like he was a good person himself. He just hadn’t expected the Alliance’s rescue to arrive so quickly.

His face turned ashen. “Activate the warship! Get to their exam’s finish line!”

He refused to believe the Alliance would truly disregard the lives of these candidates.

Just then, a communication request from Major General Xie’er came through.

She said only one thing: “Hand over all the candidates, and get the hell off this planet now. You have three hours. Otherwise, you’re not leaving.”

The Imperial noble ground his teeth in hatred.

“Haven’t you already rescued all your people?”

Xie’er’s beautiful face, usually so captivating, was now dead serious, radiating a murderous aura. “It seems you don’t value your own life very much.”

His life was, of course, more important than anyone else’s.

“Give me the storage sphere.” Even cornered, the noble from the Empire was still trying to bargain. The Alliance’s early arrival had ruined all his plans. If he really left with his tail between his legs, his future would be difficult.

Xie’er suddenly smiled. “Do you have some kind of misunderstanding about the Alliance?”

The Imperial noble’s eyelid twitched. He had a gut feeling this woman wasn’t about to say anything pleasant.

“You have about twelve thousand people left, am I right? To the Alliance, this is a battle between military academy candidates and Imperial soldiers. Even with a loss ratio of 2:1, or even 3:1, having an Imperial noble buried with them would be worth it. You understand, don’t you?” Xie’er said with a smile. “Besides, I’m confident I can keep your kill ratio to 1:2 at most.”

“Leave all the candidates you have on your warship, and I’ll let you go. We’ll pursue you after three hours. As for the storage sphere, consider it a trophy won by our injured candidates. This is the greatest sincerity I can offer you. My patience is limited. You have three minutes. If I can’t locate all the candidates by then, you’re not leaving!”

Half an hour later, the ten-thousand-strong beta unit, having received their orders, dispatched another team to retrieve the nearly six hundred unconscious omega candidates who had been released from the Imperial warship.

At the same time the Imperial warship released the “hostages,” the other Imperial ship that had been docked with Adonis’s also disengaged. Under the menacing watch of the Xiwier and the six other warships, they slowly departed.

After the two Imperial warships disappeared into space, the candidates who had been transferred to Major General Xie’er’s flagship—especially the few who were granted access to the command room—couldn’t help but ask, “Major General Xie’er, are we just letting them go like that?”

The thought of it felt like a huge loss. They had been tormented, and who knew what would happen to their entrance exam. Nearly twenty thousand candidates had been abducted and horribly mistreated. Some would never open their eyes again, and others would have their entire lives ruined…

Major General Xie’er rolled her eyes, clearly in a bad mood. “What else?”

Did they really think she was that magnanimous? To let an Imperial warship go right under her nose? What could she do? She was in a tough spot, too!

Those six warships were all empty shells.

Even her flagship was only half-staffed.

She had just been passing through, on her way to a nearby expeditionary base to equip her warship and pick up new recruits assigned to the Sixth Fleet.

Moreover, to ensure the candidates’ safety, she couldn’t start a battle on the planet.

So, she had to run a bluff.

But there was no need to explain all this to the candidates.

This year’s batch of candidates was far too audacious. They weren’t even enrolled yet, and they already dared to scheme against space pirates for military merit points. After discovering an even more terrifying enemy, they had the guts to go back and negotiate a partnership with the very pirates they had screwed over. And to top it all off, despite their crappy equipment, they even dared to try and blow up a warship.

If she told them the truth now, wouldn’t they become completely uncontrollable in the future?!

The students lowered their heads in disappointment.

Adonis, who had been silently acting like he was invisible, suddenly spoke up. “This isn’t like you. In three hours, where can I go to enjoy the show of him dying?”

The students looked up in shock, their gazes darting between Major General Xie’er and Adonis. They didn’t know which was more shocking: the part about watching someone die in three hours, or the fact that Major General Xie’er actually had a connection with Adonis.

“You, shut up!” Major General Xie’er said irritably. “Tricking a bunch of students into blowing up a warship…”

That was basically sending them to their deaths. The mere thought of it made her furious!

“It was the best option, wasn’t it?” Adonis felt no shame whatsoever. “Under circumstances where there was no rescue.”

Xie’er’s icy gaze swept over him, her eyes filled with rage. She suppressed her anger and waved the students out. “Adonis, you can use that line to fool them, but don’t say it to me. It’s laughable.”

“I am a space pirate, not a soldier,” Adonis said coolly. “If I were still a soldier, I wouldn’t be standing here talking to you right now.”

Of course, he knew that a group of candidates trying to blow up a warship was a mission with little chance of survival.

He also understood that if his own battle-hardened and experienced men went, their chances of returning unscathed would be much higher.

But so what? He didn’t feel ashamed. Everyone’s life was a life. He cherished his own men, and Xie’er cherished the Alliance’s future soldiers. They just had different priorities.

The candidates had approached him for a partnership. He provided what help he could, and they gave him an opportunity to communicate and cooperate directly with the Alliance high command.

It was just a transaction.

He shrugged shamelessly. He had already reached a tacit understanding with the Alliance and was willing to act as their hidden blade, returning to the Empire to stir up trouble. So what if Xie’er saw through it, or if the Alliance high command saw through it?

After all, no harm had been done. Could they really tear up their agreement over this?

Major General Xie’er’s face was cold. “I hope nothing like this happens again. Otherwise, I will seriously question the necessity of this cooperation.”

Whether the Alliance secretly supported him or not, he was going back to the Empire to stir up trouble anyway.

Adonis smiled and made a gesture. “Of course not. From now on, we are partners with the same goal. And you know, I don’t have a habit of sending my partners to their deaths.”

He paused for a moment, his tone as gentle as he could make it. “Now, can you give me the route coordinates? I refuse to believe that someone as insidious, cunning, petty, and vindictive as you would actually let him go so generously. Where’s the ambush? How many warships did you arrange? What are the odds? Hey, I’m just saying, if you’re not going to pursue him, I can. Don’t tell me that wasn’t part of your plan?!”

Major General Xie’er’s hand rested on her holster. She closed her eyes, using all her strength to control herself. After calming her emotions, she opened them again.

If she didn’t owe this guy her life, she would have shot him without a second thought!