All of it was bad news he had never anticipated, based on Bradley's analysis and his own judgment.
Yet, war is such a peculiar thing.
You never know what will happen the next second!
He fell silent for a few seconds.
Then he raised his head and looked at Bradley.
He opened his mouth.
Then he let out a soft sigh.
That sigh was so faint, almost inaudible.
"Let's hope so."
He said, his voice low.
"Let's hope everything is as you say."
Meanwhile.
At the Wanshi Star Sector Theater Command.
In the core operations room, the atmosphere was so tense it felt almost frozen.
On the massive circular holographic screen, the star chart slowly rotated, marking the force deployments of both enemy and friendly forces along the front line in the Ten Stone Starfield.
But at this moment, no one was looking at those routine battlefield situations.
Everyone's gaze was fixed on the paper document that had just been printed from the secure communications terminal, marked with the words "FCB · Red Top Secret · Rose."
FCB, the Federal Border Security Bureau.
Red Top Secret.
Rose.
The codename of that legendary agent said to be embedded within the Empire's upper echelons, who had never been exposed.
The combination of these elements alone signified that something major had occurred.
And the content of this intelligence left everyone present momentarily speechless.
A staff officer was the first to break the silence.
Staring at those lines of concise, almost cold, descriptions of combat results, his voice carried an unconcealable astonishment.
"A surprise attack deep behind enemy lines across an entire star system...
Wiping out an entire mother-class fleet...
Severely damaging the Abuja Stellar Ring, which possesses the Wildfire Large-scale Directed Energy Fortress Cannon..."
He looked up at his colleagues around him.
"This... this is just too incredible, isn't it?"
Another staff officer chimed in, his tone carrying a complex mix of emotion.
"Even Marshal Qin Qianfan, at the age of twenty-two..."
He paused, as if searching his memory for those classic campaigns written into the Federation Starsea Academy textbooks.
"...probably couldn't have achieved such a brilliant record."
Someone nearby nodded slightly.
Someone else murmured softly.
"The ancients truly did not deceive us..."
"Dragons beget dragons, phoenixes beget phoenixes, the son of a marshal.
Is simply different."
These words echoed softly in the operations room.
No one refuted them.
Wen Shiheng stood at the edge of the crowd.
He was the Chief of Staff of the operations room, having served in the Ten Stone Starfield for nearly a century, handled hundreds of billions of intelligence reports, and participated in nearly a hundred million wargame simulations.
At this moment, as he looked at the intelligence report, his brow furrowed tighter and tighter.
"An entire mother-class fleet."
He repeated in a low voice, his tone tinged with bewilderment.
"An enhanced version at that, three sub-fleets, nearly four hundred vessels of various types..."
He raised his head, his gaze passing over the crowd to land on that massive star chart.
On the chart, the location of the Bushman Star System was highlighted.
It was a full star system's depth behind the front line, surrounded by dense networks of Empire monitoring stations, patrol teams, and deep space warning arrays.
"How on earth was it done?"
His voice wasn't loud, but it caused the surrounding staff officers to fall silent.
"Under the Empire's very nose, four hundred warships, slipping silently into the Bushman Star System..."
He paused, his tone filled with a perplexity born of utter bafflement.
"Are the Empire's monitoring stations and patrol teams all blind?"
No one could answer that question.
Wen Shiheng's gaze continued downward, settling on the latter part of the intelligence report describing the Abuja Stellar Ring.
His brow furrowed even tighter.
"Later, they even heavily damaged the Abuja Stellar Ring, which is equipped with fortress cannons..."
He said slowly:
"You must know, that Wildfire Large-scale Directed Energy Fortress Cannon is a terrifying weapon said to be capable of annihilating an entire Sub-Level Fleet with a single shot."
He looked up at his colleagues around him.
"If we were to launch a frontal assault, how many warships would we have to sacrifice just to get close to it?"
Someone murmured softly.
"At least... two sub-fleets?"
Another person shook their head.
"Not enough. With its range and firepower, combined with the defense platforms and fighter craft in the ring zone, even two mother-class fleets might not be sufficient."
Wen Shiheng gave a slight nod.
He stared at the intelligence report, silent for a few seconds.
Then he spoke a sentence, his voice quiet, yet plunging the operations room into silence once more.
"So, how exactly did he manage it?"
No one answered him.
After all, they weren't Qin Bei Wang!
Just as everyone was still pondering over that Red Top Secret intelligence report, the alloy door of the operations room slid open abruptly to both sides.
General Wen Tingtao strode in with vigorous steps.
His uniform was buttoned neatly, the military stars on his epaulettes gleaming coldly under the lights.
But on his usually calm and composed face, there was now a hint of barely concealed urgency.
His eyes swept across the room, skipping past the holographic screens and star charts, and landed directly on the document in Wen Shiheng's hand.
"Is there news from the Pluto Fleet?"
His voice was faster than usual, carrying an anxiety he himself hadn't noticed.
"Is Qin Bei Wang alright?
Is he unharmed?"
Wen Shiheng was momentarily taken aback.
Looking at Wen Tingtao's anxious expression, he couldn't help but smile slightly.
"Commander Wen, don't worry."
Wen Shiheng lightly waved the document in his hand.
"He's fine. Commander Qin should be fine."
He paused, his tone taking on a meaningful note.
"It's just that... something has happened on the Empire's side."
Wen Tingtao's eyes lit up.
He quickly walked to the conference table, pulled out a chair, sat down, leaned forward slightly, and fixed his gaze on Wen Shiheng.
"Oh?"
His tone lifted, the earlier anxiety replaced by a mix of curiosity and anticipation.
"I'd like to hear what good news my most prized protégé has brought me this time."
Wen Shiheng didn't keep him in suspense any longer.
He cleared his throat, his voice becoming clearer.
"Intelligence from Rose."
He paused, his eyes falling on the document.
"The Bushman Star System."
"The Imperial Transport Fleet has been frequently attacked by unidentified Federation fleets recently.
Loss reports are still being compiled."
Wen Tingtao nodded without interrupting.
Wen Shiheng continued reading.
"The mother-class fleet, the Demon Claw Fleet, encountered an ambush while carrying out its return mission."
His voice hesitated slightly.
"Confirmed: the Demon Claw Fleet has been completely annihilated.
The flagship, the Venom Fang Battleship, along with over three hundred other starships of various types under its command, were all destroyed with no survivors."
The operations room fell silent for a moment.
Although everyone had already seen this intelligence earlier, hearing Wen Shiheng read it aloud now, the sense of shock had not diminished.
Wen Tingtao raised an eyebrow.
He said nothing.
Wen Shiheng continued reading, his voice steady.
"The Abuja Stellar Ring has suffered a long-planned precision strike."
"The Wildfire Large-scale Directed Energy Fortress Cannon has been destroyed."
"The Docking Zone is severely damaged, with extensive destruction. It has been confirmed..."
He looked up at Wen Tingtao.
"...that transport ship docking functions are temporarily unavailable."
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