Everyone looked in this direction.
Then, someone took the lead.
Everyone stood at attention simultaneously.
The crisp, uniform sound echoed through the bridge.
"Congratulations, Commander, on your promotion to Vice Admiral and command of a Duke-class Fleet!"
The voices were unified, resonant, filled with heartfelt reverence.
Qin Bei Wang stood there, his back to them.
He remained silent for a few seconds.
Then, he slowly turned around.
On his youthful face, there was no smugness, no pride.
Only a faint, gentle smile.
He looked at the people before him.
Those comrades who had fought alongside him all the way back from the Bushman Star System.
Those subordinates who had trusted him time and again amidst blood and fire.
Those who had entrusted their lives to him.
He spoke.
"All of this..."
He paused, then continued.
"...is thanks to all of you."
His gaze swept over every person present.
"And..."
"...the efforts of our fallen brothers."
The bridge fell silent for a second.
Some lowered their heads.
Some had reddened eyes.
They all remembered.
The comrades who had sacrificed, those who would never return.
Qin Bei Wang continued.
"From now on..."
"...let us strive together."
Cheers erupted once again in the bridge.
As the cheers continued, Qin Bei Wang stood there, watching them, a faint smile on his lips.
But in his mind.
A very serious question suddenly surfaced.
He recalled the Planetary Medal he had received last time.
It was awarded after the Savannah Campaign.
At the time, it was clearly promised—he would receive a planet.
A real planet.
One that could be developed, taxed, and passed down to his descendants.
And the result?
Where is that planet now?
He hadn't even seen a trace of it.
And now, here comes a Stellar Medal.
Could this be another empty promise?
Qin Bei Wang's brow furrowed slightly.
He raised his head, looking out the window at the deep expanse of stars.
He murmured to himself.
"I'll have to ask that cheap old man of mine when I get back..."
Front line, bridge of the Army Breaker Fleet Flagship City-Crusher.
When the announcement came through, Chen Song was drinking tea.
He glanced at the screen.
Then.
"Pfft!!"
He spat out a mouthful of tea.
"Cough, cough, cough!!"
He coughed violently, but his eyes remained fixed unblinkingly on the screen.
Beside him, his adjutant hurriedly handed him a tissue.
"Commander, are you alright?"
Chen Song pushed him aside, pointing at the screen.
"Look at this! Look at this!"
His voice trembled.
"Over 80,000 ships!"
"This kid destroyed over 80,000 ships!"
The adjutant leaned in to look and was also stunned.
Chen Song stood up, pacing back and forth across the bridge.
He kept muttering under his breath.
"A mother-class fleet... over four hundred ships..."
"...destroyed over 80,000..."
He suddenly stopped, turned around, and shouted to everyone on the bridge.
"What a kid!"
"Damn impressive!"
His voice boomed across the bridge.
"Calling him the military god of our era wouldn't be an overstatement!"
The bridge fell silent for a second.
Then, a low chorus of agreement arose.
"Indeed... too fierce..."
"Over 80,000 ships... this battle record..."
"With our two joint fleets combined, we only managed to eliminate just over twenty thousand..."
Listening to the discussions, Chen Song's smile grew wider and wider.
He looked around and shouted triumphantly.
"Look, just look!"
He pointed at his own eyes.
"Wasn't my judgment spot on?"
His voice carried an uncontrollable pride.
"I knew that kid was something!"
He paused, patting his chest.
"Otherwise, why would your Commander have willingly..."
"listened to the suggestion of a Senior Colonel!"
Laughter erupted on the bridge.
Someone began to flatter him.
"The Commander is wise!"
"The Commander has a discerning eye!"
"The Commander's judgment is even more accurate than radar!"
Chen Song was so pleased by the flattery that he couldn't stop grinning.
"Of course!"
"I've fought for decades. I can tell at a glance who can be trusted and who can't!"
Meanwhile, on the bridge of the Green Hill Fleet's flagship, the Thunder Fox.
Luo Yuan You sat before the command console, staring at the notification on the screen.
Motionless.
His eyes were wide open.
His mouth slightly agape.
It took several seconds before he found his voice again.
"I never expected..."
"He actually eliminated over eighty thousand ships..."
Luo Yuan You said in astonishment.
"This is just too incredible..."
Beside him, the adjutant whispered.
"Commander, even a Sequence Fleet might not be able to achieve such a record."
Luo Yuan You nodded.
"Yeah..."
He murmured.
"A Sequence Fleet... with a hundred thousand ships..."
"would consider eliminating thirty to fifty thousand in a major campaign a good result."
He paused, then continued.
"But him..."
"With just four hundred ships, he took out eighty thousand."
The bridge fell silent.
No one spoke.
Everyone was digesting the number.
Just then, the communication screen lit up.
The face of Admiral Yin Shao Hao appeared on it.
That face wore a mischievous smile.
He looked at Luo Yuan You and slowly spoke.
"So, Admiral Luo?"
He paused, his tone teasing.
"Convinced now?"
Luo Yuan You glared at him but said nothing.
Yin Shao Hao continued.
"If Vice Admiral Qin gives you another suggestion this time..."
He chuckled.
"Will you still complain?"
The bridge was quiet for a second.
Luo Yuan You's expression changed several times.
Then he smiled.
The smile spread from the corners of his mouth, carrying a sense of relief.
He shook his head and sighed.
"Convinced."
He said, enunciating each word clearly.
"I am thoroughly convinced."
Yin Shao Hao raised an eyebrow.
"Really?"
Luo Yuan You nodded.
"Really."
His gaze fell on the notification on the screen, his tone carrying an indescribable complexity.
"Next time..."
"Don't just tell me to attack other warp points."
His voice rose slightly.
"Even if it's warping to a warp point in the Imperial Hinterland..."
"I, Luo, won't even blink."
Yin Shao Hao was taken aback.
He hadn't expected that just one notification could cause such a significant change in Luo Yuan You's perspective.
Yin Shao Hao said with a smile.
"Good!"
"Now that's more like it!"
The communication ended.
Luo Yuan You looked back at the screen.
He couldn't help but murmur to himself.
"A twenty-two-year-old Vice Admiral..."
"A record of over eighty thousand ships..."
He shook his head.
"That kid..."
"He's truly a monster."
Galaxy Starfield, Warp Point YH-530 exit.
The blue warp light slowly dissipated in the void.
More than two hundred battered warships, like ghosts emerging from the abyss, revealed their weary silhouettes.
The Pluto Fleet had finally arrived at the Galaxy Starfield.
On the bridge of the Kunlun Mountain - Modified, everyone gazed at the unfamiliar starry expanse outside the window, their faces etched with an indescribable mix of emotions.
The Galaxy Starfield.
The very heart of the Federation's core.
A place countless people never had the chance to set foot in their entire lives.
They had arrived.