I chose the safe house, and the Human Alliance regretted it.

After the three fleets merged, the Empire truly gained the upper hand for the first time on the Star Beast battlefield.

The right flank of the First Fleet, the left flank of the Second Fleet, and the center of the Third Fleet—three forces, like an open iron clamp, simultaneously squeezed the beast tide's formation from three directions.

The strategic-class star destroyer's attack rhythm changed from the initial intermittent bursts to a continuous light curtain. Energy beams cleaved three parallel cracks in the crimson beast tide, each crack slowly widening.

The rate at which the Star Beasts replenished their supplies began to fall behind the rate at which they were being consumed—this was the first time such a situation had occurred since the start of the war.

The virtual space network is in complete uproar.

For the first time, the Empire's written war reports adopted optimistic language:

"With the coordinated operations of the three fleets, the beast tide offensive was significantly suppressed."

"With the defensive lines secured, the Empire has seized the initiative on the battlefield."

"The soldiers on the front lines are brave; the Empire will surely prevail."

The virtual space was like a lit fire, with the screen flooding with messages so fast that even the authorities couldn't keep up with the excessive celebratory comments.

"The Third Fleet is awesome!"

"The First Fleet is invincible!"

"The Empire will prevail!"

"My son is in the Third Fleet, and he says we have plenty of ammunition!"

—The last comment was followed by more than 10,000 likes.

People began to believe that the war could be won.

The shadow of civilian-to-military conversion was overshadowed by the joy of victory, the complaints about the requisition of energy fluid were suppressed by the good news, and the families who had not received letters from home began to look forward to the communicator ringing again.

The transport fleet behind was delivering supplies to the front line day and night: energy fluid, ammunition, and repair parts, pulsating like a silver artery between the stargates.

The factory assembly line never stops, the roar of machines echoes from day to night and back again, making the entire industrial planet vibrate.

But just as the empire was basking in the dawn of victory, in the lobby of Building 1, Jinxiu Tiancheng residential complex, Jiangnan City, a figure appeared silently by the window.

Wang Wei is back.

He stood in front of his window, and the Jiangnan city before him looked much the same as when he left.

Someone was walking their dog outside, the convenience store across the street was lit with warm yellow lights, and several children were chasing and playing in the community square, their laughter coming through the glass.

Everything was normal, so normal it was almost unbelievable.

But Wang Wei didn't look at those.

He looked down at the ground.

Our gaze travels across the earth's surface, through the rock strata, and through those kilometer-long tunnels still under construction.

The ruins of Yu were fully revealed, with the long white jade bridge silently suspended in the sky.

He saw Qi.

She stood on the long white jade bridge, her back to him, as if looking at something.

Wang Wei's figure flickered, and he appeared below the steps of the Yuxu White Jade Bridge.

As he stepped onto the first step, Qi's voice floated down from above: "You're back."

Wang Wei looked up and saw that Qi had already turned around and was standing at the end of the steps looking at him.

Her face was expressionless, as indifferent as usual.

Wang Wei walked up the steps, stopped in front of her, and remained silent for two seconds before speaking: "Building an underground world?"

Qi nodded: "Mm."

She did not deny it.

She turned and gestured for Wang Wei to follow, then walked along the white jade bridge and stopped at a terrace.

The edge of the terrace is a transparent barrier, from which you can see the underground world a thousand meters below being hollowed out, reinforced, and paved little by little.

The shelter being built by the superhumans is a nest made of steel and concrete, thousands of meters deep.

Qi spoke, his voice calm, "The Yu Ruins have been revealed to have their star coordinates locked by certain beings."

Wang Wei remained silent.

Qi continued, "So they're heading towards this coordinate. They're attacking the coordinate, not this world."

Wang Wei's brow twitched slightly: "You mean—"

"As long as this world's 'position' shifts away from these coordinates, the chaos will naturally not affect future generations."

Qi turned to face him, her gaze gentle. "They dug a world a thousand meters underground so they could survive when this planet 'ran away from home.'"

"This planet will take everyone away from this star system to a place without any coordinates."

Wang Wei remained silent for a moment.

Then he asked, "Are you prepared to face the chaos alone?"

Qi smiled faintly: "And my people."

Qi said, "They'll come back together too."

Wang Wei looked at her and finally said only three words: "I understand."

........

Star Front, Third Fleet Control Room.

Zi Chen was staring at the red area on the star map.

The density of the beast tide has undergone a strange change in the last two hours—the rate of death is accelerating, but the rate of replenishment is also accelerating.

The "thickness" of the beast tide has not decreased, as if something behind it is constantly creating new star beasts.

Zi Chen frowned.

He was about to ask someone to check the data source when all the monitoring screens simultaneously displayed red alerts.

A red warning covered the entire star map, and the crimson color was expanding rapidly!

The energy readings broke through one threshold after another.

It skipped the normal alarm limit and the extreme alarm limit, and the number climbed all the way up to the maximum value the system could display.

Then it turned into—a line of gibberish.

The alarm blared throughout the control room, like a sharp awl piercing everyone's eardrums.

"Lord Zichen, a large-scale energy fluctuation has occurred in the star field ahead, and the energy readings far exceed the upper limits of all known models." The chief of staff's voice was almost inaudible amidst the alarm.

Zi Chen stared at the garbled text, his pupils contracting slightly. He said, "Retrieve the original footage from the outpost's surveillance."

The video switched over.

The screen was initially black, with nothing displayed.

Then suddenly, the black was illuminated from within by a dark red light.

Then something appeared in the image. Countless things.

A dense mass of things that covered the entire field of vision.

They "squeezed" out of the void and bounced into this space.

Those things were larger than any previous batch of star beasts. Much larger.

Some of them are even nearly the size of a small planet.

"Emperor-level." The chief of staff's lips moved slightly. "They're all Emperor-level."

Zi Chen remained silent.

His hands were pressed tightly against the edge of the table, his fingers turning white.

The previous beast tide lasted for three days, and the Empire's three main fleets barely managed to hold it off.

Now, an Emperor-level Star Beast of unknown scale has appeared!

He pressed the communication button, connecting the encrypted line between the flagships of the First and Second Fleets: "This is Zi Chen. You've all seen this."

The First Fleet flagship responded: "We see it."

Second Fleet: "We see it."

Zi Chen paused for a second: "Send the highest-level crisis signal to the Empire."

The flagship of the First Fleet remained silent for a moment: "Understood."

The signal was sent.

On Purple Emperor Star, the Empire's highest joint military and political command received encrypted communications from the front lines.

The message read: "The front line has encountered a tide of Emperor-level Star Beasts, exceeding the scale of all models. Requesting the highest level of support."

The Imperial Supreme Military Council reconvened within an hour.

Everyone stood in the conference hall, with live footage of the front lines projected onto the floor.

"Emperor-level Star Beasts." The Minister of Military Affairs' voice was hoarse. "The combat power of one Emperor-level Star Beast is equivalent to that of a detachment fleet. There are over three thousand Emperor-level Star Beasts at the front lines."

"Three thousand Emperor-level beings?" Someone's voice trembled.

"Not only that. The data is still being updated."

At the end of the long table, the emperor sat in a chair, watching the ever-expanding crimson image on the ground.

The Emperor spoke: "Issue the order. All privately-run armed personnel from families throughout the Empire, the armed forces of all major organizations, the judiciary, and the Imperial Hunter's Association—all are to be mobilized. Proceed to the front lines immediately."

He paused for a moment: "This is a war concerning the survival of the empire. All acts of resistance against conscription will be punished as treason."

"Simultaneously, issue the Star Order." The Emperor's voice was completely flat. "Inform all known interstellar empires—an apocalyptic crisis. Requesting support."

"Who will deliver it?" the steward asked.

The emperor glanced at him: "Activate all available long-range communication arrays. Just send the message. Whether they come or not is their business."

Commands were issued from Purple Emperor Star.

The entire empire's communication channels were simultaneously covered by a red imperial decree, with the golden imperial emblem radiating a dazzling light at the top of the decree:

"All armed personnel, private family armies, registered organizations, disciplinary organizations, and Imperial Hunters throughout the Empire—effective immediately—are to be incorporated into the Empire's frontline combat order. Arrive at the designated assembly point within twelve hours. Those who fail to arrive by the deadline will be considered traitors."

The moment the imperial decree took effect, the heartland of the empire was like a machine whose accelerator had been stepped on.

"Everyone, put on your armor and board the ship."

In Imperial Star City, the Gu family patriarch glanced at the imperial decree on his communicator and uttered only one word: "Go."

However, before leaving, he suddenly ordered, "Go and buy 10,000 war insurance policies."

"Master, all the energy fluids have been requisitioned."

"My personal property!"

At the penalty headquarters, 300,000 penalty takers silently lined up to board the ship.

Their uniforms were all black. They had carried out countless missions commissioned by the Empire, but this time was different—this was the first time the Empire had conscripted them in the form of a "call order" rather than a "commission order".

Even an organization operating in the shadows cannot refuse the Empire's orders.

The Imperial Hunter Association, with its seventeen top-tier teams hunting star beasts, set off simultaneously.

Before setting off, the association president only said one thing: "After this wave of star beasts, it's uncertain whether we'll still be around. The choice is yours—to stay or to leave."

Everyone boarded the warship.

At the same time, the Empire's highest encrypted communication array simultaneously sent Star Orders to all the Star Empires it could contact.

"The First Empire hereby issues a notice to all human empires: A world-destroying star beast crisis has broken out within our territory. The number of Emperor-level star beasts exceeds ten thousand and continues to increase."

"If this crisis cannot be contained within our territory, the Star Beast Tide will inevitably spread to the surrounding star fields, and at that time no civilization will be spared."

"The First Empire requests immediate military support from all other empires, and requests that they share intelligence and coordinates regarding the Star Beasts. See below—"

The messenger fleet sent signals in more than a dozen directions.

The remaining fleet of the Caesar Empire received the signal at the edge of the star map.

The Evergreen Empire's border outposts received the message.

The interstellar monitoring station of the Hunyuan Empire received the message.

..........

The Imperial Supreme Military Council Hall.

The meeting was not adjourned.

The emperor was still sitting at the end of the long table, and everyone was still standing in front of the star map projection.

"The number of Emperor-level Star Beasts has exceeded three thousand." The Minister of Military Affairs' voice trembled as he read out the number. "There are only 12 hours left before we reach the front lines."

A voice suddenly broke the silence beside the long table: "Where's the owner?"

Everyone turned to look at the speaker—the Chief of Logistics, a middle-aged man who rarely spoke.

He stood in the corner, his voice soft but each word clear: "The shop owner is in Imperial Star City. Why don't we go and ask him?"

The council chamber was silent for a few seconds.

The Minister of Military Affairs glanced at the Emperor but did not respond.

Prince Luo hesitated, swallowing back the words that were about to come out.

The Imperial Marshal remained silent as well.

The emperor's voice came from the end of the long table, still calm: "No need to invite me."

The Chief of Logistics was stunned: "Your Majesty—"

The emperor stood up, his figure casting a long shadow in the light of the star map projection. "The empire has reached this point not by kneeling and begging."

He walked to the door and glanced back at the silent people in the room:

"The Empire will never be subservient to any individual. Prepare the ships. I'm going to the front."

The entire room fell silent.

This is the empire.