Special feature: Yaoqing's premier conglomerate (1)

(No more cheesy stuff this morning, I'll write something special.)

The Yaoqing Xianzhou, the Cloud Knights Training Ground.

A fierce wind, carrying the scorching scent of rust and overloaded energy, blew across the blue and white striped hem of Qingqiu Ze's outfit.

The silver patterns on the robes, illuminated by the artificial light of the Yaoqing sky, flowed like moonlight, while the shoulder armor and wrist guards vaguely resembled the outline of a wolf's head howling at the moon.

He stood at the edge of the stands, his head with white wolf ears slightly raised, his heterochromatic eyes, one blue and one gold, calmly gazing down.

In the training ground, two simulated combat teams were engaged in fierce combat. One team was equipped with standard Qingqiu Army gear and had meticulous coordination; the other team wore light blue and white armor with a simple wolf head insignia, and their movements were more swift and unpredictable. They were able to find weaknesses in the formation at the last second and break in, harass, and disengage with extraordinary speed.

"Left wing, position three, 0.3 seconds too slow. The energy fluctuations during the right wing's maneuver were too high and would be detected by 'Cile's' sensors."

Qingqiu Ze's voice was not loud, but it was clearly transmitted to the ears of the "White Wolf Guard" members below through the communicator.

He didn't even use any observation equipment, relying solely on the sharpness of his heterochromatic eyes and the intuition honed through countless battlefields.

Upon hearing this, a member of the White Wolf Guard abruptly stopped, abruptly changing a planned attack into a retreat. Almost simultaneously, a simulated psionic trap exploded along his original route of advance.

The whistle signaled the end of the simulated battle.

Although the Qingqiu Army squad maintained its formation, the core objective point had been successfully "marked" three times by the White Wolf Guard, resulting in a loss according to the rules.

"Thank you for your kind offer."

Qingqiu Ze nodded slightly to the captain of the Cloud Knights who walked onto the stands, his tone neither humble nor arrogant.

The captain's expression was somewhat complicated. He looked at the White Wolf Guard below, who were retreating in an orderly and efficient manner, and then at the group leader in front of him, whose reputation on the Xianzhou was mixed. Finally, he clasped his hands and said, "Mr. Qingqiu Ze's troops are indeed elite. I have benefited greatly from this exchange."

"The Qingqiu Army has deep roots, far surpassing our amateur private soldiers. We only benefited from their 'unconventional' and 'fast' tactics."

Qingqiu Ze said calmly, then changed the subject. "Regarding the modification plan for your department's next batch of ' Formation Breaker ' individual propulsion devices, I will have the technical director personally deliver it in three days."

The captain smiled and said, "Then thank you very much, Master Qingqiu."

The military technology support provided by the White Wolf Group is now renowned for its reliability and efficiency on the Yaoqing front.

After seeing off the Cloud Knights, Qingqiu Ze turned and walked towards the passage on the side of the training ground.

In the shadows of the passage, a petite figure with orange-red hair and fluffy fox ears was already waiting there—it was Ningli.

She was holding a thermos in her hands, and when she saw Qingqiu Ze coming over, she immediately smiled.

"Aqige! Just finished training, right? I brought some of ' Exalting Sanctum's ' new Sakura Mochi and Hot Floating Goat Milk!"

Ningli's voice was clear and crisp, with the soft, sweet tone unique to Foxian.

She used Qingqiu Ze's old name from when Borisin, an ancient name that means "White Lightning".

Throughout Yaoqing, very few people would address him that way, and Ningli was one of them, as well as one of the few people he could completely relax and talk to.

Qingqiu Ze —or rather, Aqige —the sharpness in his heterochromatic eyes softened slightly.

He took the insulated box. "How many times have I told you, we don't need to send these things during training."

"It needs to be delivered! Your place is always so cold and smells of metal and engine oil."

Ningli wrinkled her nose and followed him into the internal passage leading to the White Wolf Group headquarters.

"Furthermore, Salan just sent a message saying she'll be there in fifteen minutes; it seems she has urgent military business to discuss with you."

Qingqiu Ze paused almost imperceptibly for a moment, then resumed his normal pace.

"Knew."

The top floor of the White Wolf Group headquarters building offers an excellent view from the office, overlooking most of the Yaoqing Port area.

The interior decoration is simple and sturdy, with blue, white and silver as the main colors. The only "softening" element is the few Yaoqing "Noctiluca ferns" that Ningli insisted on placing on the walls. These ferns are unique to Yaoqing and can emit a faint glow under artificial light.

Qingqiu Ze had just sat down behind his desk, not even having a chance to take a sip of the floating goat milk, when the office door was pushed open without any politeness.

A tall, slender figure walked in, accompanied by the wind and a faint smell of alcohol.

Her long, silver-green hair was tied into a neat high ponytail, and her green eyes were sharp as knives; she was none other than General Feixiao, the Heavenly Strike General.

She wasn't in full military uniform today, but only wore a dark green general's casual uniform that allowed for easy movement, which accentuated her tall and straight figure. The metal buckles on her leg rings reflected a cold light under the lamp.

Her gaze locked onto the White Wolf's head behind the desk.

"Salan, a rare guest."

Qingqiu Ze spoke first, using a form of address that only the two of them understood, one that carried distant memories.

Salan Feixiao's real name when he was in Kulu, which had fallen to the enemy.

Feixiao walked to the desk, placed his hands on the surface, leaned forward slightly, and stared directly into the heterochromatic eyes with his green eyes. He got straight to the point. "Aqige, enough with the nonsense. The remnants of the ' Moon-Eating Hunter Pack ' have regrouped in the ' Desolate Wolf Star Region '. They're quite large, and the ' Disciples of Sanctus Medicus ' is behind them."

The main force of Qingqiu is tied down in the direction of Zhuming by another group of Denizens of Abundance. I need you, and your White Wolf Guard.

Her tone was commanding, but not condescending; rather, it conveyed a deep, almost instinctive trust and reliance formed over many years and through shared life and death experiences.

She knew he would understand the urgency and danger behind her words.

Qingqiu Ze's heterochromatic eyes narrowed slightly, and the trivial matters of the data board and the training ground were instantly forgotten.

The Moon-Eating Hunter Pack... the tribe that once brought him endless humiliation and pain, and was ultimately abandoned by him.

The Disciples of Sanctus Medicus... those Abominations of Abundance that linger like ghosts.

"Intelligence sharing. Coordinates, estimated troop strength, suspected leader."

His voice calmed down, the gentleness he had shown when facing Ningli and the Cloud Knights Captain vanished completely, replaced by a cold and efficient sharpness, as if the wolf head carvings on his armor had come to life.

It's already been sent to your private channel.

Feixiao straightened up and crossed his arms. "I know you have a grudge against them, but this time it's not a personal grudge."

The Desolate Wolf Star Region contains several important neutral colony planets; we cannot stand by and watch them perish.

Your White Wolf Guard are highly mobile and adept at surprise attacks and special operations, making them the most suitable force for early reconnaissance and disruption.

The main force will follow, but you need to buy time and ascertain the situation.

"Clear."

Qingqiu Ze tapped his fingers silently on the table, and several light screens immediately popped up in front of him, displaying encrypted intelligence from Feixiao and the White Wolf Group's internal troop deployment interface.

"The first and third assault teams of the White Wolf Guard can complete their combat readiness within two hours and depart aboard the ' Gale' -class fast assault ships."

I need the group's priority access to the ' Sky-Faring Commission,' and... the highest access code to the temporary intelligence network of the target star system.

"Here's the access permission and code. I'll have Professor Yueyu coordinate things from behind the scenes."

Feixiao readily agreed, then paused, looking at Qingqiu Ze who was quickly browsing the intelligence and had already begun issuing concise instructions, and softened his tone slightly.

"Aqige, be careful. This time... it's different. Those lunatics from the Disciples of Sanctus Medicus might have a 'surprise' in store."

Qingqiu Ze raised his gaze from the light screen, his heterochromatic eyes looking at Feixiao, the gold within them seeming to ignite for a moment. "My life is already full of 'surprises.' One more or one less, it doesn't matter."

He stood up, his lean and powerful physique, befitting a top-tier warrior, stretched out beneath his blue and white outfit, exuding an invisible, chilling aura.

"The White Wolf Group will not let Yaoqing down."

He walked to the weapons display shelf on the side of the office, where a long spear, entirely silver-white with blue wind patterns flowing across its blade, stood silently—"North Wind and Flashing Lightning".

Feixiao watched his retreating figure, a faint, almost imperceptible smile curving her lips.

She knew that the voice-over narrator who wore an exaggerated mask and shouted corny slogans in the sandbox world had completely disappeared.

Standing here now is the real "White Wolf" Aqige, Yaoqing's indispensable peerless general, her trusted... old friend and comrade-in-arms.

"Oh, right..."

Just before Qingqiu Ze's hand touched the gun barrel, Feixiao suddenly spoke again, his tone returning to its usual frankness, even with a hint of teasing.

Ningli seems worried about you—remember to say goodbye properly before you leave. Don't scare the young girl with that stern face again.

Qingqiu Ze's grip on the gun froze almost imperceptibly for a fraction of a second. Without turning around, he simply gave a low "hmm," then took the spear, the blade cutting through the air with a clear, resonant sound. Without looking back, he walked towards the private elevator, preparing to head to the assembly port.

Feixiao watched the elevator doors close before letting out a soft breath, turning around to walk to the window and looking down at the bustling Yaoqing Port below.

In the distance, the private shipyard belonging to the White Wolf Group had begun to light up with a flurry of dispatch lights.

"White Lightning..."

She murmured to herself, her green eyes reflecting the myriad lights of the port and the fleeting glimmers of light about to be sent to the front lines of war.

"This time, may you return safely as well."

She wasn't just speaking to a general about to go to war; it was more like speaking to that equally lonely white alien who, many years ago, in the cold and cruel snowfields and starry sea, had given the lonely fox girl a rare glimmer of kindness.

Outside the office door, Ningli, who had secretly pressed her ear against the door and heard Qingqiu Ze respond with an "Mm," covered her mouth, her eyes slightly red, but she tried to smile.

"Aqige, you must win." She whispered her blessing to the closed door, in a voice only she could hear.