Captain, your ship has exploded again.

"Captain, we have received the latest information from Earth."

Huang Hong, piloting a mass-produced VF, is holding a device that he took out from a disguised meteorite.

These disguised meteorites are from Blue Star, specifically used to transmit information to recruits.

Whenever recruits from a corresponding star region enter the mission universe, China will launch an information device in that direction. Each device will be spaced one month apart, and the star region where it stays will be a pre-arranged location.

If the meteorite is not removed correctly within the specified time, it will be destroyed by the bomb installed inside.

Of course, to prevent the bomb from malfunctioning, the power supply used to store data also has a time limit.

"How's the situation here?"

Zhang Xun did not rush back to the star field he had conquered, because this mission spanned six months across two universes. Zhang Xun was unsure if Li Guanxiang was safe, and he did not want the entire team to be wiped out due to a single oversight.

To prevent data from being implanted with tracking viruses, not only is the reading device disposable, but even the communication equipment is independent and will be destroyed once it is no longer in use.

"Intelligence indicates that the United Government has once again gone to war with the 'Isternia' vassal state."

Zhang Xun was not surprised at all by the situation on the side of the United Government. Those mentally ill patients were bound to clash with other civilizations sooner or later.

Zhang Xun, looking rather unwell, asked, "Has Blue Star been exposed?"

Huang Hong shook his head and said, "Not for now. We can confirm that our family members are safe."

Previously, for safety reasons, Zhang Xun and the families of his team members were all on Blue Star, including Isaac's wife.

However, after the coalition government made a series of blunders, Zhang Xun had to consider their safety.

"What is the status of our territory?"

"The secret order has been confirmed to be correct. Apart from being urged to hand over warships by the 'Gulan Empire,' Commander Li has only had some minor frictions with the surrounding civilizations."

If we're talking about which human faction is most likely to clash, Zhang Xun's Gliese Starfield is definitely the one with the highest probability. Besides being the area that Zhang Xun and his group fought over, it's also the place where humans have made the most advances. Of course, we need to exclude the Ark Fleet of China's Deep Air Force.

"Tsk, is that octopus queen really that troublesome?"

This kind of behavior—urging delivery before the due date—is practically a clear indication of distrust.

"Destroy the equipment and return to the Gliese system first."

As soon as Zhang Xun finished speaking, the isolated communicator was immediately destroyed by the splitting ray.

Huang Hong also opened the cockpit of the VF and floated out wearing a simple spacesuit. As soon as he moved away from the VF fighter, the VF was immediately destroyed by the battleship's secondary guns.

After confirming that there was no VF residue left, Huang Hong took off his spacesuit and directly endured the space environment with his bare body.

This wasn't because he was tired of living, but rather to ensure that there were no electronic viruses in the simple circuitry of his spacesuit.

As recruits who enhance humanity, short-term exposure to the space environment is not fatal; at most, they can stay in Zhao Wanyang's medical room for a while longer.

As for why Zhang Xun didn't return to Blue Star first, not to mention the fleet of 200,000 battleships he was currently leading, just considering the shelling incident he had committed on Blue Star before, he couldn't openly return to Blue Star.

Of course, secretly returning to Earth in the Death Star doesn't count; we can't just let him go home without taking a warship!

After Zhang Xun's fleet warped away, another battleship appeared alone in the previous starry sky.

"Boss, what should we do? Zhang Xun and the others have already left."

Xiong Jiahao looked at Li Zhuoyang, whose hair had already turned white. Although he also cared about Li Mengxue, he did not have white hair overnight like Li Zhuoyang.

“Back to Earth, since the Pre-Heaven Civilization can’t solve this, we can only go to my father. I refuse to believe that among so many universes, there isn’t one that can save her.”

Li Zhuoyang's father was Liu Wenlu, who succeeded Li Guanxiang as head of the recruitment bureau (as mentioned earlier, Li Guanxiang's son had died, and this was his daughter's grandson, making Liu Wenlu a half-son-in-law).

On the recruitment app over there, there are many items being traded. Li Zhuoyang was eyeing those items, even if the chances were slim, it was still better than having no chance at all.

Soon, Li Zhuoyang's battleship began its jump towards Blue Star.

Splits in recruitment squads are an inevitable occurrence for both first and second generation recruitment squads, partly because most of the early recruits were ordinary people.

It is also related to the team leader's management style. After all, they have traveled to other universes, and using company management or emotions as a bond can easily lead to the team splitting up due to some changes.

As a team bound by emotions, it's quite common for Li Zhuoyang to leave the team because of feelings.

The two fleets sailed in different directions, but due to the distance, Zhang Xun arrived at the Gliese system after Li Zhuoyang arrived at Blue Star.

Upon seeing that the three planets were no longer dark red, Zhang Xun was very satisfied with Li Guanxiang's construction speed.

Natal looked at the message coming from the space station and said, "Zhang Xun, the three planets have been completely modified. Uncle Li wants us to proceed to Space Station No. 3 to dock."

Looking at the data on the captain's console, Zhang Xun couldn't help but sigh inwardly; China's development was truly rapid.

Before leaving, the Gliese system was almost completely destroyed. Although the factories in the shadows were not damaged, the planets were completely wiped out. The three planets had been heated into lava planets for mining, and there would be no surface facilities left.

As for the space station core left over from the last war, to put it bluntly, it was no different from a cardboard box floating in space. Apart from the main module, Li Guanxiang threw out all the other functional modules. Reconstruction was faster than repair.

There, as it is now, are three large space stations, thirty-six small defensive space stations, and a mixed fleet of nearly 500,000 ships. Their combat power has exceeded the level before the war with 'Isternia'.

After parking the Death Star in its outer orbit, Zhang Xun boarded an approaching cruiser and headed to the space station.

The moment the gate opened, Zhang Xun saw Li Guanxiang's even older face.

"Uncle Li, I've missed you so much!"

Without saying a word, Zhang Xun hugged Li Guanxiang tightly and lifted him high in the air, as if the two had some kind of bromance.

"Let me go, you brat! If you can't talk properly, just shut up. That little bastard Wang Ge is infuriating, but you're no better than him."

Because Li Guanxiang's enhancement was limited, he was naturally unable to break free from Zhang Xun. This was a drawback of their generation of elders; their aging bodies could no longer withstand deeper enhancement.

"Uncle Li, I don't like hearing that. Why do I use 'small' while Zhang Xun uses 'big'? What, do you want him to take my dad's place?"

Wang Ge shook his head, very dissatisfied with Li Guanxiang's classification. Being demoted one level for no reason would make anyone happy, even if it was a derogatory remark.

Li Guan struggled to break free from Zhang Xun's arm and cursed at Wang Ge, "You unfilial brat! If your father finds out, the Seven Wolves will at least become a pack! Back in the day, your father..."

Wang Ge picked at his ear and said, "No, don't bring up the past, old man. My ears are almost full. He couldn't handle me back then, and he can't handle me now either. Wolf pack? Even rebar won't work. You should teach him to turn beans into soldiers the other day. At least that will relieve my boredom."

"That's bullshit. Let your dad strap you to a missile and let you experience the feeling of flying."

Since Li Guanxiang no longer held any official position, and Zhang Xun's side was free of the messy bureaucracy, with all his subordinates being his own people, and in the absence of other Chinese soldiers, the old rascal's personality gradually came to the fore.

When Li Guanxiang mentioned riding a missile, Wang Ge couldn't help but feel a bit awkward, since his first experience riding a missile was when Zhang Xun scared him.

"Let's not talk about this anymore. Uncle Li is going to have a welcome dinner. We need to have a good meal."

Just as Zhang Xun was trying to get away with it, Li Guanxiang seemed to suddenly realize something and glared at Zhang Xun.

"Eating, eating, eating, all you do is eat all day long, don't you do any important work?"

Just as Li Guanxiang was about to say something more, Sun Hui suddenly stepped out from the crowd and spoke.

"Uncle Li, is there any food? Take me there quickly, I'm starving."

When Sun Hui interfered, Li Guanxiang didn't react the way he did with Zhang Xun and Wang Ge. Instead, he affectionately patted her head and said, "Girl, look how thin you've become. Did those two little bastards abuse you? Eat properly, don't be like them..."

It's a common prejudice among elders that they always favor boys, no matter how accomplished they are. In the eyes of their grandparents, boys are never as good as well-behaved girls.

Zhang Xun gave Natal a thumbs-up behind him. As the person who knew him best, she naturally knew when to cooperate.

When the two saw the message from the space station, they knew that Li Guan wanted to pour out his troubles to them. Although clones had already settled on the three planets, there were too many conflicts between alien forces, and Zhang Xun needed to make a decision.

This is why Li Guanxiang only had small-scale military clashes with them.

After all, Li Guanxiang is getting old. He's good enough to defend the city, but he no longer has the ambition to expand the territory. Moreover, in the era of space warfare, even small-scale confrontations result in tens of thousands of casualties, which is no longer the small-scale skirmishes on Earth.

Just as everyone arrived at the restaurant and began to eat in a lively atmosphere, Zhang Xun, who had been pulled to sit with Li Guanxiang, suddenly heard Li Guanxiang whisper.

"Don't think your schemes are so clever. You're just good at cooperating. I've used this kind of scheme before. Let me tell you, whether it's Tarkin or Zemo, you'd better leave me at least one of them this time. I'm not young anymore, and I'm really not as carefree as you young people."

Zhang Xun knew he couldn't escape; the moment he was pulled to her side, the outcome was already decided.

"You can rule for another forty years, at worst Zhao Wanyang can give you a mechanical ascension."

Li Guanxiang muttered under his breath while drinking, "Get lost. I'm very happy that I can retire, and I'm also very happy that I can go before the younger generation. To live and watch you die before me is the real torture for me."

Zhang Xun knew exactly what Li Guan wanted to say; the other party clearly didn't want to go through the same ordeal again.

Zhang Xun took a bite of food and said, "Aren't you afraid that I'll start a war recklessly and cause the destruction of humanity?"

Li Guanxiang ate a peanut, took a sip of wine, glared at Zhang Xun, and said, "You? You're as timid as a sesame seed. You're always scheming and calculating. If you weren't forced into a corner, lying down would be your motto. Given the current state of the Milky Way, humanity can't avoid fighting even if it wants to."

Zhang Xun nodded; he had obtained the decision from China from Li Guanxiang.

Living space can never be negotiated, begged for, or even begged for. If you want to eat meat and drink alcohol in peace, in this chaotic universe, you can only use force to carve out a place for yourself.

This is why he chose Tarkin and Zemo when recruiting.

Tarkin, as a hawk on the Empire's side, is known for his ruthlessness, which goes without saying. As for Baron Zemo...

Despite often being forced into conflict in his works to avoid trouble, Tarkin is remarkably 'clean' after he takes action. Even when he suddenly shows kindness, Tarkin will make non-human races 'clean'.

"Okay, as long as they agree, I can take the blame."

Li Guanxiang kicked Zhang Xun from below, clearly displeased, and said, "What do you mean by taking the blame? We Chinese have always had a legitimate reason for our actions. Do you think I've been cowardly lately? I've prepared all the excuses for you."

As he spoke, he swiped his finger and sent a message to Zhang Xun's personal Tianwen.

"However, the old man has to say something: how have I been an unfilial grandson that you threw me onto Earth?"

"Fine, you heard that complaint, old man? You think I'd throw it away? That kid almost cost me three crew members. If I hadn't adhered to the principle of using battleships whenever possible instead of cruisers, the squad would already be down to three men."

"Stop talking nonsense, you really can't save that girl?"

Zhang Xun glanced at Zhao Wanyang not far away, then nodded and shook his head, saying, "The technology can't save us now, but it might in the future. I've discovered that the Suwu civilization possesses some of its carbon-based technology based on what we acquired during our mission. If we're talking about who's most likely to be recruited, then I think it's only our team."

Upon hearing Zhang Xun's answer, Li Guanxiang sighed deeply. He understood that his grandson had married into the family, and his restless father had long been prepared to exploit him until the family line ended. However, no matter what, he still carried the blood of the Li family. He swallowed his pride and said...

"Please help Li Zhuoyang again! I..."

Before Li Guanxiang could even ask for a favor, Zhang Xun handed him a bowl of seafood porridge, saying, "Uncle Li, you don't need to beat around the bush when you ask me for a favor. Take care of yourself. Li Zhuoyang is still on my team's roster."