"Commander! FCB Red Top Secret!"
Jiao Jinghui presented the storage module with both hands, speaking rapidly.
Wen Tingtao took the module and inserted it into the dedicated reader on his desk.
Identity verification, iris scan, information decryption.
A few short lines of text and a simple diagram unfolded before his eyes.
His gaze swept over them quickly, then abruptly fixed in place.
The relaxed expression on his face vanished like a receding tide, his brow furrowed tightly, and his knuckles turned white from the force of his grip on the module's edge.
"Pandora Fleet... Sequence Fleet... Savannah direction..."
Wen Tingtao murmured, each word like a shard of ice.
Wen Shiheng, standing nearby, noticed the Commander's drastic change in expression and leaned in to look. He immediately drew a sharp breath.
"Sequence Fleet! The Empire... is getting serious! Aiming for Savannah... no, aiming for Qin Beiwang and Pluto!"
Wen Tingtao suddenly looked up, all hesitation gone from his eyes, replaced only by icy resolve and pressure as heavy as a mountain.
The scale of the Empire's retaliation this time far exceeded expectations!
Even the Sequence Fleet, symbolizing strategic determination, had been mobilized. This was an attempt to erase the shame of Savannah at any cost.
Moreover, it aimed to crush the Federation's brightest rising star and his powerful new fleet into stardust!
"Orders!"
Wen Tingtao's voice grated like iron on stone, decisive and firm.
"All duty staff officers, assemble in the No. 1 Strategic Simulation Room within five minutes!"
"Notify Intelligence, immediately retrieve all recent reconnaissance data for the Bushman Star System and the Savannah direction, synchronize it to the simulation room!"
"Communications officer! Immediately, in my name, send a Level One Combat Readiness Alert to Senior Colonel Qin Beiwang of the Pluto Fleet. Content..."
He paused, gritting his teeth.
"'Large-scale Imperial retaliation offensive imminent. Sequence Fleet confirmed on the move. Target highly likely your unit. Cease all non-essential activities. Enter Highest Combat Readiness Status immediately. Await further orders!'"
"Now!"
"Yes, sir!"
Jiao Jinghui and Wen Shiheng responded in unison, turning and rushing out to relay the commands.
Wen Tingtao remained standing, looking at the sparse yet immensely weighty intelligence on the screen, then at the glowing points marking Savannah and the Elvira Star System on the nearby star chart.
Peace was utterly over.
A storm far more brutal than the Savannah Campaign, potentially of even greater scale, had already bared its ferocious fangs.
Hours later, encrypted communication pierced the tranquility of the Pluto Fleet Garrison like an icy iron spike.
Qin Beiwang's personal terminal and the Bridge Highest Authority Channel simultaneously blared with the sharp, distinctive alarm sound indicating a direct order from Theater Command.
He was reviewing the coordinated attack training report for the "Zhen Yue's" graviton weapon. Hearing the alarm, he immediately opened it.
A brief message from Commander Wen Tingtao, devoid of any embellishment, each word carrying a metallic chill and urgency:
[Level One Combat Readiness Alert]
Large-scale Imperial retaliation offensive imminent.
Confirmed their Sequence Fleet 'Pandora' is moving towards the Savannah direction.
Target highly likely your unit.
From this moment onward, cease all non-essential activities. All personnel are to enter the highest combat readiness status.
Hold your positions and await further orders.
—Wen Tingtao]
Qin Beiwang's gaze lingered on the words "Sequence Fleet" and "Pandora" for a full three seconds.
The calm on his face slowly froze over like ice, and a sharp glint flashed deep in his eyes.
He immediately activated the fleet-wide broadcast and the core command layer emergency communication channel.
"Attention all personnel, this is Qin Beiwang."
"By the highest order from Theater Command, our fleet is now entering first-level combat readiness status."
"All leave, rotation training, and non-essential departures are canceled.
All vessels are to immediately conduct final combat readiness checks, preheat energy cores, place weapon systems on standby, and ensure all personnel are at their stations."
"I repeat, first-level combat readiness. This is not a drill."
His voice, cold and almost ruthless, echoed through every corner of the fleet via the broadcast.
After a brief moment of shock, the massive military machine began operating at peak efficiency.
Within the port, the external lights of countless starships abruptly shifted to combat-ready red, and the low hum of activating engines merged into a chilling backdrop.
However, the atmosphere on the bridge of the flagship "Kunlun Mountain - Modified" and within the private channels of the fleet's core command layer, who had received the full briefing, was entirely different.
When Qin Beiwang relayed the complete information—that "Sequence Fleet Pandora is moving toward Savannah, and their target may be our forces"—to Zhuang Zhixuan, the squadron commanders, and the chief staff officers—
The communication channel fell into a near-vacuum-like silence that lasted over ten seconds.
Then came the sound of suppressed, sharp intakes of breath, even mingled with brief, choked gasps of shock.
"Sequence… Sequence Fleet? Pandora!"
The voice of one squadron commander trembled with disbelief.
"Commander… has… has this intelligence been verified?
Could FCB have made a mistake?"
"A hundred thousand starships… that's a hundred thousand!"
Another staff officer responsible for fire coordination spoke with a dry voice, as if merely uttering the number had drained all his strength.
"Even if we combine all our current ships with every reinforcement the Theater can muster… the scale is still far too mismatched…"
"Pandora… I've heard of that fleet!"
Zhuang Zhixuan's voice cut through, steadier than the others, though a trace of tension could still be detected upon closer listening.
"They've suppressed three large-scale rebellions in the Opal Star Sector and captured seven fortress planets with planetary defense rings… undefeated.
And they're notorious for their bizarre and brutal methods."
Her description deepened the chill in the channel.
Unimaginable.
Yes, utterly unimaginable.
They had just endured the bloody battle of Savannah, facing Imperial Graded Fleets several times their size.
They had emerged victorious, but it was a pyrrhic victory built on extreme tactics, intelligence advantages, and a degree of luck.
And now, they were about to face a "Sequence Fleet."
This was not a gap in scale that could be bridged by clever tactics alone.
A hundred thousand starships—even if they were only the most basic models—their simultaneous firepower projection, electronic warfare suppression, and released fighter swarms would be enough to overwhelm any conventionally "massive" fleet.
It would be a torrent of steel, a wall of death, the weight of an entire star domain bearing down upon them.
Despair, like the absolute cold of deep space, silently eroded the commanders who had just been in high spirits due to equipment upgrades and ample supplies.
Qin Bei Wang listened silently to the subtle changes in breathing and suppressed fear in the channel.
He knew this feeling.
The instinctive human reaction when faced with an overwhelming difference in power.
He did not immediately offer words of encouragement, nor did he reprimand anyone.
He simply waited for the initial shockwave to pass slightly before speaking in a tone that remained steady, even calmer than before.
"What's there to panic about?"
Three simple words, yet they fell like a block of ice into turbulent waters.