Chapter 3112: After Divorce, Forced to Vie with My Ex-Husband 43

The three-day limit has arrived.

On the Primary Star, the top floor of the office building of the Empire's chief politician, floor-to-ceiling windows outside showed the skyline of the entire Primary Star Administrative District, skyscrapers standing tall, shuttles flying in orderly fashion along fixed routes, a scene of prosperity. But the people in the office clearly had no mood to admire the view.

Keluofute sat behind his desk, his deputy and several family members scattered around, each with a grim expression, the air filled with an oppressive silence, all waiting for news from Rust Bone Star that could reassure them.

The communication terminal's alert broke the silence, but the message coming from the other end was not what he wanted to hear.

The voice on the other end was choppy, with obvious static, as if forced through outdated equipment from a very distant place. The reporter spoke quickly; Keluofute listened, his face gradually darkening, eventually his whole face tensed, the muscles at his cheekbones twitching slightly, "... What did you say?"

"Sir, our people couldn't enter Rust Bone Star. The only jump route to it has been blocked; any aircraft approaching gets intercepted and destroyed, leaving no room for negotiation. Moreover, our dispatched craft have been confirmed as specifically eliminated, with no debris left."

Keluofute tightened his grip on the communicator a notch: "The jump route is blocked? By whom?"

The other side: "The defense system on Rust Bone Star has been activated; we suspect it's General Chenshu… He has already taken control of Rust Bone Star's base, and now the situation there is exit-only, no entry."

The terminal beeped again, indicating a new message had come in; Keluofute lowered his head to glance at it.

Jin Chen's Star Net account posted an update: "Thirty minutes until the live stream reopens—please stay tuned."

"Sir." The deputy stood up, took two steps forward, and said, "Jin Chen…"

"I know what he's up to." Keluofute cut him off, his voice tinged with uncontainable anger, "He just wants to force me to take a stance, to turn around and blackmail me…"

Keluofute's face was grim; before he could digest this bad news, the office door was flung open, his secretary stumbled in without even knocking, voice panicked, "Your Excellency! The six great military departments are jointly applying pressure, demanding that political struggle not affect the generals who can lead them to the front lines to kill star beasts and enemies, otherwise they…"

"What then?" Keluofute's voice was cold as ice shards.

Keluofute snatched the statement, quickly scanning the harsh wording; the document's content was blunt, throughout expressing the same idea: political struggle should not affect generals who can lead soldiers to the front lines to kill star beasts and aberrations; General Chenshu's contributions to the Imperial military are obvious—if anyone tries to topple him by improper means, the military will not stand idly by and will not rule out taking necessary measures to safeguard its interests.

The secretary swallowed, forced himself to finish: "…they will flatten this building."

Keluofute's face shifted from grim to ashen.

He slammed his palm on the desk: "These idiots! Chenshu is merely a general commanding the Third Military Department, yet he managed to unite the six great military departments! Unbelievable! Weren't you saying he was isolated and unsupported in the military?"

The deputy's face fell: "Sir, we underestimated his prestige among the soldiers. According to our knowledge, this joint statement wasn't led by military high‑levels; it was the mid‑ and low‑rank officers banding together to apply pressure, and the high‑levels signed under duress. Over the years, Chenshu has led the Third Department to win too many battles with low casualties, and the rank‑and‑file soldiers worship him like a god…"

Keluofute propped his forehead with his palm, his temples throbbing. He hadn't recovered from this shock when the terminal on his desk trembled again—this time a private encrypted channel. The Steve family's dedicated communication identifier flashed on the screen.

Keluofute pressed hard on his brow to connect; the other end left only a cold voice message, polite in wording but leaving no room for maneuver. The Steve family announced that, effective immediately, it would cease all star‑coin aid to the government, and if their heirs, as well as the partners of those heirs—including Jin Chen and Chenshu—suffer any substantive harm, the Steve family will permanently cut off all financial support to the imperial court and the government bureau.

This is real star‑coin. The Steve family controls the largest mining and trade network in the Empire's fringe star domains; its annual tax revenue and voluntary donations make up a substantial portion of the government's operating funds. If they really cut off funding, not only would the government's daily operations suffer, but even the imperial court's expenses would be affected.

Keluofute grabbed a decorative vase from the desk and smashed it hard against the wall.

He suddenly thought of his good‑for‑nothing son; if Rust Bone Star really fell under Chenshu's control, then Mai Lun now… he dared not think further.

The office remained silent for a long time; no one dared to speak. Finally, someone ventured cautiously: "Your Excellency, perhaps… negotiations might still work?"

——

Half an hour later, in the restaurant of the Rust Bone Star Hotel, Jin Chen reopened the live stream.

The moment the live‑broadcast sphere lit up, all the lurking viewers flooded into the chat. Over these three days, the Star Net had already seen all kinds of speculation, and Chi Mu's fans had launched one denunciation after another on the Star Net, demanding that Jin Chen immediately release Chi Mu and apologize. Conspiracy theorists, truth‑seekers, and casual onlookers packed every corner of the Star Net, pushing the heat of this broadcast to an unprecedented height.

The screen lit up, and Jin Chen appeared in the frame.

He sat at the hotel restaurant's table, a steaming cup of tea before him, his expression relaxed as if he had just finished a decent lunch. He waved at the live‑broadcast sphere with a light tone: "Good afternoon, everyone."

The camera pulled back a little, fitting the whole restaurant scene into the frame. The exploration team's members were all seated at the table, except Mai Lun, whose face was drawn and uneasy, with obvious dark circles under his eyes; among them, Chi Mu was absent.

: Alive alive alive! Jin Chen went live!

: Three days!! Do you know how I've spent these three days!

: Where's Chi Mu? Where is Chi Mu? What have you done to Chi Mu!

: Mai Lun looks so exhausted—has he been abused!

: The General is still as usual, sitting cold‑faced beside Jin Chen—good, that's very stable.

: I'm all set to curse—Jin Chen, you lunatic, you'd better have a reasonable explanation!!

Jin Chen unhurriedly lifted his tea cup, took a sip, and said, "It seems the government still hasn't thought things through—Chenshu hasn't received any clarifying news; instead, he's gotten demands from ill‑intentioned parties to remove him from office."

He chuckled, snapped his fingers, and said, "Well, I'm about to show the first surprise."

The second live‑broadcast sphere was switched on, and the dual‑screen view cut to the exterior of Iron Fort.

The camera looked down from above, taking in the entire base layout; viewers who had previously learned about Rust Bone Star knew this was Iron Fort, yet in the central open ground of the base, one could see Medicine Tower researchers working alongside Iron Fort troops to debug equipment and package medicines. Farther off, a fearsome‑looking armed force could be seen conducting some kind of joint drill in the wild.

And in the foreground of the frame, Bu Lai Ke stood there, wearing full military dress, posture straight, performing a standard knight's salute toward the live‑broadcast sphere.

"Under the General's orders, all three bases on Rust Bone Star have been secured; the preliminary trial of aberration taming and transformation technology succeeded, with detailed information to be compiled and reported later."

The Star Net erupted.

: Holy cow! What is the General up to—seizing three bases to build a private army!

: Wait… did you guys miss that line—taming aberrations!

: Serves you right! Who made you not trust the General? Now he's gone and carved out a base for himself!

: I get the feeling this isn't meant for us to see… the General definitely wouldn't provoke a war on his own; this looks more like a show for those higher up.