481: Incorrect way to open

General Jing Yuan was woken up by the constant pinging of notifications on his personal terminal.

Dazed, he reached out and fumbled on the nightstand. His fingers brushed against the warm, jade-like casing. He grabbed the terminal and squinted as he unlocked the screen.

Morning Light filtered through the window, cutting a diagonal band of light across the floor of the room.

It was a notification from the "Loving Family" group chat.

The group name was a result of Chen Hao's wicked sense of humor.

General Jing Yuan had protested once, saying that the name didn't fit the vibe of a serious work group composed of Xianzhou Generals, IPC executives, and Pathstriders.

Chen Hao had only smiled at the time, then sent a red packet to the group.

The red packet was titled, "Don't bite the hand that feeds you."

General Jing Yuan accepted the red packet and never mentioned changing the name again.

After all, the "Bronya's Family Banquet" annual meal voucher he got from the red packet was quite enticing.

He yawned, his finger swiping open the group chat interface, intending to see what everyone was arguing about so early in the morning.

If it were Guinaifen and her unlucky best friend dragging that kid along to try some strange interstellar delicacy again, he planned to close it after a quick look and go back to sleep.

Then he saw the message Chen Hao had sent.

It wasn't a photo, but a block of text—not long, just a few sentences.

General Jing Yuan blinked.

He felt like he might not be fully awake yet, or perhaps his eyes were blurry from processing documents too late last night. He blinked a few more times and stared at the screen, reading through it word by word.

He finished reading.

He was silent for three seconds.

Then, in the Morning Light, General Jing Yuan—former General of the Xianzhou Luofu, current commander of the Interstellar Peace Corporation Luofu Fleet, and veteran of the Abundance Wars and the Xianzhou civil unrest—made a decision very much in line with his personality.

He tossed the terminal aside, pulled up the covers, rolled over, and wrapped himself back into the warmth of the bed.

This must be the wrong way to start the day.

Definitely.

He closed his eyes, trying hard to clear his thoughts and adjust his breathing in an attempt to return to sleep. A few minutes later, he opened his eyes again, reached for the terminal, unlocked it, and clicked on the group chat.

That block of text was still there.

Not a single word had changed.

General Jing Yuan sat up.

He leaned against the headboard, staring at the terminal screen with a calm expression.

The Morning Light outside was moving; the band of light climbed onto the edge of the bed and fell across the back of his hand. The light from the terminal screen reflected off his expressionless face.

He read it once, then read it again.

Then he threw back the covers, got out of bed, and walked barefoot to the porthole.

Outside the window was the ecological dome inside the Xianzhou. Simulated natural light poured down from above, an artificial river wound its way below, and in the distance were layers of pavilions and streets.

Everything was normal. People doing morning exercises were jogging by the river, and early-shift commuter skiffs were tracing arcs through the air.

It was a very peaceful morning.

If one ignored that block of text on the terminal.

General Jing Yuan turned around, walked back to the bed, bent down to pick up the robe he'd thrown on the floor, and put it on. His movements were unhurried as he tied the belt, straightened his collar, and then took the terminal into the washroom.

Cold water splashed onto his face.

He looked up, seeing himself in the mirror. His hair was a bit messy, the collar of his robe was crooked, but his expression seemed calm enough. He looked down at the terminal again.

The message was still there.

It wasn't a hallucination.

General Jing Yuan dried his face with a towel, walked out of the washroom, and sat down at the tea table in the room. He boiled a kettle of water, scooped tea leaves from a jar into a cup, and waited for the water to boil.

The kettle made a soft sound as steam rose from the spout.

He poured the water; the tea leaves unfurled in the boiling liquid, the color slowly deepening.

He picked up the cup, blew on the steam, and took a small sip. It was a bit hot, but just enough to wake him up a little more.

Then he opened the terminal again, entered the group chat interface, and read the text Chen Hao had sent one more time.

This time he read very slowly.

“Bugs are coming. I have a strong urge to pull out a hammer and smash something. Ten to one it's propagation, understand?”

General Jing Yuan set down the cup.

The cup hit the tabletop with a soft clink.

He looked out the window at the peaceful scene under the ecological dome, and information began to process in his mind.

The Xianzhou Alliance was no stranger to the path of propagation.

The Scourge of the Shizhu, the disaster of Possession—those things had nearly overturned the Xianzhou back then.

The Alchemy Commission of the Luofu still kept records from those days. Those twisted, madly proliferating biological tissues, those comrades who were parasitized and possessed, those swarms of bugs that could never be fully eradicated.

He knew exactly what that concept meant.

An Aeon, even one that had only just revived, or even just an Emissary who touched the path, meant trouble—big trouble.

Order seemed easy to deal with only because there were too many debuffs involved.

General Jing Yuan took another sip of tea. The tea had cooled slightly; it wasn't scalding, just right for drinking.

He set down the cup, stood up, walked to the wardrobe, opened the door, and took out his exclusive 'skin.' His movements as he dressed were steady and unhurried as he fastened buttons, smoothed his clothes, and hung his waist token.

Then he picked up the terminal and checked the time.

8:30 AM.

He walked out of the room and headed down the corridor toward the bridge. He encountered several Cloud Riders on the early shift along the way; upon seeing him, they all stopped to salute. He nodded, his pace never faltering.

The terminal vibrated again. He took a look; it was Chen Hao sending another message in the group, the latest intelligence the Market Development Department had obtained from the Eastern Federation.

General Jing Yuan scanned the key conclusions and then closed the interface.

He needed to find someone first.

The commander of the Yaoqing Fleet, General Feixiao.

He knew General Feixiao's habits; at this time, she should be at the training grounds.

General Jing Yuan turned a corner, not heading for the bridge but toward the training area below the living quarters. Passing through several airlocks and entering the training area corridor, he could hear sounds coming from inside from quite a distance.

The sound of metal clashing, the sound of energy weapons charging, and the sound of wind.

General Jing Yuan pushed open the door to the training grounds.

The interior was vast, with the environmental simulation System active. It was a holographic projection of a desert terrain, with wind swirling sand through the air. In the center of the field, a figure was moving, so fast it was almost a blur.

It was General Feixiao.

She wasn't wearing her formal General's uniform, just a simple white training outfit. In her hands, she held a long-handled training weapon; it wasn't bladed, but its weight and dimensions were the same as a combat weapon.

She was moving, lunging, turning, and swinging with clean, decisive actions, each strike accompanied by the sound of breaking wind.

Around her, eight training combat mechs were attacking in coordination.

These machines were specially made by Chen Hao. They had fast reaction speeds, varied attack patterns, and could even use significant path power, specifically designed to serve as sparring partners for General Feixiao.

General Feixiao wove between them.

She wasn't looking at her terminal; it had been tossed onto a bench at the edge of the field, screen-down. General Jing Yuan saw the terminal screen was dark, likely set to Do Not Disturb.

A combat mech lunged from the side, blades extending from its mechanical arms. General Feixiao didn't look back; the long-handled weapon in her hands swung backward, parrying the mechanical arm while she leaned forward to dodge a shot from another mech in front.

An energy beam flew past her back, hitting the energy barrier at the edge of the field and exploding in a ripple of light.

She pushed off with her feet, her body spinning as the long-handled weapon swept out, knocking back two mechs trying to close in. Their metal casings deformed as the machines crashed into the barrier and slid to the ground, temporarily incapacitated.

Six left.

General Feixiao didn't stop. She continued forward, the long-handled weapon spinning in her hands before thrusting out at a bizarre angle, piercing the core of one mech. Then she pulled it out and swung it back at another.

General Jing Yuan stood at the door watching.

He didn't make a sound or enter; he just leaned against the doorframe, watching General Feixiao dismantle the remaining combat mechs into parts one by one.

The last mech tried to sneak up from behind. General Feixiao didn't even turn around; she just thrust the long-handled weapon backward. The end of the weapon accurately struck the mech's sensor, and with a flick of her wrist, the mech was tossed into the air, exploding into a ball of electrical sparks.

The training grounds fell silent.

The holographic desert remained, the wind still blew, and sand drifted in the air. General Feixiao stood in the center of the field, leaning on her long-handled weapon, her chest heaving slightly and a layer of fine sweat on her forehead.

“Finally managed to clear this difficulty without taking damage. I'll crank it up another notch tomorrow.”

She caught her breath for a few moments, then turned her head toward the door.

“General Jing Yuan?” she asked, somewhat surprised. “What are you doing here?”

General Jing Yuan walked in, the metal grid of the training ground floor clinking slightly under his feet. He walked to the edge of the field, picked up the terminal General Feixiao had left on the bench, and handed it to her.

“Check the group chat.”