Disguised as a man, she returned to the military academy and was forced to study again.

At the same time, in the military building courtyard of the core planet of the galaxy, Regan was moving around in his own training room with a calm face, holding a Tang sword in his hand, and every move he made was under absolute control.

The lieutenants who were supposed to be guarding him were nowhere to be seen. The room was silent except for the crackling sound of his sword.

It seemed like this was just a normal workout.

But soon a rapid ringing broke the silence in the room. Regan did not stop but swung a few quick swords before asking the central butler to connect the video. A proportional holographic projection automatically popped up on the electronic board, allowing Regan to see every move of the person on the line.

But he didn't seem to need it, as if the video call wasn't connected, concentrating on practicing with his sword. The smooth lines of the Tang sword in his hand became even more cold and murderous as he swung it.

Seeing that the other side only left him with his back, Ma Xiu didn't care and greeted with a smile:

"Old friend, long time no see. It's really not easy for me to talk to you."

Regan kept moving, sneering in his heart. When this old man stuffed his favorite student onto his apprentice's spaceship, he didn't even make a special video call. Now he came to put on a show with him?

After a long pause, he spoke: "Marshal Ma Xiu, this is a special period, so it's naturally not convenient to communicate frequently. After all, you don't want to be seen as forming a clique for personal gain, right?"

Ma Xiu wasn't annoyed. "It's not that serious. I was just thinking that the selection for the Unknown Area Exploration Program is about to be finalized, and my students are going to visit and study on your warship, so we could chat while we're there."

"Let's chat..." Regan's expression was resolute after hearing this, and he swung his knife with a bit of ruthlessness. "You know that you and I have some different political views on this plan, and you still want to chat with me? It's really rare."

Ma Xiu put away his smile and said seriously, "Old friend, this is actually not what I want. It's just that the current situation really can't be delayed any longer. Without new resources, I don't know how many planets will collapse and how many wars will break out. I'm looking for you to discuss this now because of the important matters of this country."

Family and national affairs?

Regan paused with interest and looked at the knife in his hand:

"Marshal Ma Xiu, you truly have the nation at heart. Knowing full well that countless outstanding officers would die if the mission were restarted, you not only gave your full support, but you also frantically recruited talented individuals during the two years the plan was suspended, all for the sake of the nation you mentioned. But do your students know that their revered teacher treats them as mere expendable material to earn their accolades?"

Ma Xiu's expression remained unchanged after hearing this. He picked up the teacup beside him and blew gently on it.

"As a soldier, you naturally obey orders, and the same applies to being my student. My dear friend, it's inappropriate for you to express such sentimental feelings."

"A love story?" Regan held his sword horizontally, stood up and said, "It's only in your eyes. After all, I can count my students on one hand, and they can't compare to the many important family and national affairs you have. Ma Xiu, we don't get along well. We haven't been in touch for so many years. If you have anything to say, please speak frankly."

After saying this, Regan swept across with a neat move and started the next part of the exercise.

Ma Xiu didn't expect that after not seeing Regan for so many years, his rhetoric had become even more refined. He said frankly:

"I didn't expect you to be so direct after all these years, so I won't waste any more words. This time I came to you only for one person, your damned student, Yan Qi."

Regan's movements froze, but since his back was turned, Ma Xiu couldn't see his expression clearly. He only heard him say coldly:

"So you came to me just to poke my heart."

This answer was also within Ma Xiu's expectations. He knew that Regan would not admit it. After all, Yan Qi's death was recorded seven years ago. If Regan admitted that she had come back from the dead, that would be shocking.

If he hadn't happened upon the deduction report and connected it with something, he would never have believed such a thing could happen. To confirm this, Ma Xiu painstakingly dug out some of Yan Qi's battle plan records. After comparing them, he confirmed that the disciple Rigan was currently accepting was the same one who had died in the magnetic storm zone.

The reason why Ma Xiu was so concerned was not because he was bored, nor because he had never seen talented people, but because the Federation had revived its plan to explore unknown areas, which was the magnetic storm zone where Yan Qi died.

This incident caused a huge stir back then. The news of interstellar pirates attacking the Federation's regular army was truly shocking. Consequently, all galaxies dispatched troops to destroy the pirates' hideouts in large numbers, emphasizing the dignity of the regular army.

But this is just the surface of things.

But what is really surging is the undercurrent that has never been revealed.

After the military's investigation, it was discovered that the star field where Yan Qi was attacked had traces of energy mining, which is why they believed that Yan Qi was attacked. Because the discovery of energy mines caused a resource dispute.

This matter was immediately sealed up, and the truth was concealed by claiming that interstellar pirates were becoming increasingly rampant and defying the dignity of regular troops.

However, after extensive mining, the military leaders discovered that the star field was not as simple as it seemed. The reason was that the mining process involved the use of special mechas, and the main source of energy for the mechas was the proto-nuclei in the energy ore.

Mining energy mines is a delicate task, time-consuming and requiring frequent replacement of energy cores. After the energy in the original cores is depleted, the mecha master will gather the waste materials together for easy robot recovery. However, some unused energy cores often appear within the same pile of waste cores.

With resource depletion beginning to show signs, the preciousness of energy cores is self-evident, and such waste is absolutely not allowed in the military.

After extensive monitoring, the person who wasted the energy was not found, but the unused energy cores continued to appear, and only in the same location.

After the report was submitted, it immediately received the attention of the superiors, who sent a reconnaissance team and a research team to the scene for investigation. The cause was later found to be a handful of fine sand and gravel under the ore pile.

The energy frequency it emits is similar to that of energy ore, but it has no storage function and can only generate energy outwards. When placed together with waste rock from energy ore, it will automatically recharge and accelerate energy accumulation.

This discovery greatly surprised the top brass. Wasn't this the new energy source everyone had been waiting for? As long as this substance was found, resources throughout the federation would be readily available.

But things weren't as simple as they thought. They searched the entire mining area but couldn't find the same substance. Just when everyone was at their wit's end, an intelligent exploration robot detected a similar energy frequency.

And that place was the magnetic storm zone where Yan Qi died.