At the Federation capital's Presidential Palace, an unusual commotion began to spread.
Three soldiers in immaculate uniforms hurried together and made their way toward the President's office.
"General Li, what brings you here?"
"Good to see you, General Zhang."
"General Song!"
Many people greeted them along the way, their faces full of alarm.
All three commanders of the Three Armies had appeared together. What could have happened?
Had the Fuxi Empire attacked? Had war broken out?
Everyone felt uneasy.
The three generals kept moving, hurrying forward without stopping to greet the familiar officials as they usually did.
The door to the President's office was already open. The three generals entered and saluted together.
"President, the Goddess of Justice requests an immediate connection," General Li said.
The gray-haired old man turned around and glanced at the aides beside him.
The lead aide spoke up. "Sir, it's an emergency connection, but it isn't about a war."
Only then did the old man relax a little. "Generals, please open the connection."
One of the generals saluted, opened the heavy briefcase in his hand, and set a portable stellar communications device on the desk before the President.
The device lit up at once.
The Goddess of Justice's solemn voice rang out.
"A highest-security-level call is about to begin. All unauthorized personnel must leave immediately. Otherwise, under the Federation's Confidentiality Agreement, anyone without the necessary security clearance will be eliminated."
Everyone present turned pale.
Eliminated meant killed. What could have happened that the Goddess of Justice was willing to take citizens' lives to protect its secrecy?
Everyone hurried out.
Only the President and the three generals remained in the office.
The Goddess of Justice spoke again.
"Highest-level security measures are about to be activated for the Temple Star Fortress. President and commanders of the Three Armies, please authorize."
"Why do we need to activate the highest-level security measures?" the President asked.
"Under Article 5 of the Federation Constitution, all major matters related to humanity's fate or the advancement of Human Civilization will receive the highest level of protection from the entire Federation," the Goddess of Justice replied.
The President's expression turned grave. "What's happening aboard the Temple Star Fortress?"
"For security reasons, I cannot disclose that at this time," the Goddess of Justice replied.
The President and the three generals were all taken aback.
Their security clearances were among the highest in the entire Federation, yet the Goddess of Justice wouldn't even tell them.
The Goddess of Justice rarely took such serious precautions. What on earth had happened?
Matters that advanced Human Civilization ought to be good news, but history had shown that things were often not so simple.
The President thought for a moment. "If I recall correctly, the last time we activated the highest-level security measures was thirty years ago."
"That's right," General Song said. "That time, stellar warp technology had made a major breakthrough. But when the fleet tested its first spatial jump, it encountered a Cosmic Monster."
Thirty years ago, the Federation's fleet had made its first stellar warp, passing through a wormhole and reaching a star system five hundred million light-years away. There, they had witnessed an astonishing sight.
A gigantic soft-bodied monster had wrapped itself tightly around a planet, greedily sucking something from it.
That terrifying incident, along with stellar warp technology, had been classified at the highest security level.
The senior human officials exchanged glances, their expressions growing even more grave.
Breakthroughs in civilization often came with unknown risks. The Goddess's reaction was only to be expected.
The President sighed. "Since the Goddess of Justice is already on high alert, let's authorize the measures."
The Goddess of Justice responded at once. "The SSS-Rank Mission security strategy for the Temple Star Fortress has been generated. President, please authorize its execution."
"I authorize it," the President said.
"Stellar Commander-in-Chief, please authorize."
"I authorize it," General Song said.
"Sea Commander-in-Chief, please authorize."
"I authorize it," General Li said.
"Army Commander-in-Chief, please authorize."
"I authorize it," General Zhang said.
"Authorizations received. Beginning execution of the SSS-Rank Mission."
A vast starfield projection appeared before them on the stellar communications device.
"Xiongwu Star Fortress, return at full speed and converge on the Temple Star Fortress. The patrol is about to begin."
"Mingguang Star Fortress, rise from the ocean floor and converge on the Temple Star Fortress. You will be fully responsible for security."
"The Federation's First, Seventh, and Sixteenth Stellar Fleets are to set sail and begin providing full-route escort."
"All stellar special-forces mecha units, prepare for deployment. Begin weapons diagnostics and prepare to ignite. Launch into near space in one minute."
"To prevent unnecessary complications, Martial Saint Zhang Zongyang is requested to guard the border."
At this, everyone present looked toward General Zhang.
General Zhang gave a wry smile. "I'm an old man with creaky bones, and I still have a job landing on my doorstep."
The President consoled him. "You should go. After all, you're the only Martial Saint in the entire Federation."
General Zhang sighed, opened the balcony doors of the President's office, and stepped outside.
The next moment, he leapt into the clear sky with a sonic boom, streaking toward the distant horizon like lightning.
"To prevent interference and prying eyes from the other nations at sea, Sea Emperor Li Dongyuan is requested to guard the near seas."
General Li shook his head. "The Goddess should've told us everything at once. Old Zhang thought he was the only one who'd have to work hard."
The President said, "Go ahead. I'll let him know."
General Li slowly took out several small bottles and glanced at them one by one.
"The Yellow Sea should be the closest."
He opened the bottle labeled "Yellow Sea" and poured out the seawater inside.
The water floated in midair, quickly gathering into a sphere.
General Li placed his hand on the sphere. "I'm off."
The next moment, he and the sphere vanished.
Only the President and the Stellar Commander-in-Chief remained in the office.
The Goddess of Justice spoke once more. "General Song, please safeguard the capital and ensure that everything continues to function normally."
General Song breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank goodness. At least I don't have to rush anywhere."
Above the stars.
The Temple Star Fortress.
Gu Qingshan had no idea what his actions had set in motion.
Even in his previous life, he had already left for the Fuxi Empire, so he knew nothing about the Free Federation's top-secret operational procedures.
After seven straight hours of work, he finally sorted out all the formulas and construction methods.
Gu Qingshan let out a breath. "Now, let's begin building the war mecha, using the life-construction algorithm as its foundation."
"Understood. Algorithm ready. Materials ready. Please construct the armor model."
"The armor model, huh..."
Gu Qingshan thought for a moment, then simply opened his communicator and typed out a message.
"What kind of mecha do you like?"
He sent the message, but nothing came back for a long while.
Gu Qingshan shrugged. "Let's wait a bit."
The Goddess of Justice remained silent.
But beneath the stars, at the scene of a concert in the Federation capital...
"Xie Shuangyan!"
"Xie Shuangyan!"
"Xie Shuangyan!"
The crowd shouted her name in a frenzy.
Onstage, the girl adored by countless fans held the microphone, about to answer their cheers.
Suddenly, dozens of combat mecha flew in from the sky, while more than twenty special-forces units stormed into the crowd from every direction.
The girl fell silent, staring at the scene before her in a daze.
A colossal starship, vast enough to cover the sky, hovered directly above the concert.
"Quiet! Everyone, remain quiet!"
"The concert is temporarily suspended. We are now screening the crowd for hidden criminals."
"You must remain silent. Otherwise, you will be arrested immediately and subjected to further investigation by the Goddess of Justice."
The special-forces soldiers began screening the crowd one by one.
At first, the crowd erupted in an uproar, and quite a few people angrily cursed them out.
But the moment they heard the words "Goddess of Justice," everyone realized this was no joke. Within barely a minute, tens of thousands of people had clamped their mouths shut.
All the sound equipment was turned off, and every voice in the audience vanished. The noisy concert venue fell completely silent.
Only then did Su Xue'er, seated in the VIP section, hear her communicator calling repeatedly.
Before she had even noticed, the name displayed on the communicator had switched from "Goddess of Justice" back to "Gu Qingshan."
Su Xue'er picked up the communicator, read the message, and smiled happily.
"Are you going to make my mecha model yourself?" she asked.
In the universe.
Gu Qingshan received the voice message right away.
He smiled too.
Yes, I'm making it for you myself—but it won't just be a model.
Gu Qingshan replied, "Tell me, what kind of mecha would you like to pilot?"
Su Xue'er thought carefully before sending back a message. "I like Seraphim."
Gu Qingshan was surprised. "An angel? Why do you like that thing?"
"Seraphim symbolize love and dreams, dummy." She added a wide-eyed emoji.
"I see. I'll make it your birthday present right now. See you later."
"Qingshan, are you any good at handiwork? If the model doesn't look nice, I'm going to laugh at you."
"You'll see."
Before you continue