Chapter 31: The Situation Is Not Slightly Good, It

The brave Imperial Navy, under the Divine Emperor's protection, crushed the weak Alien Form in space.

Now the Alert Star is about to launch its final attack on the remaining Alien Form, fully returning the Alert Star to the Empire.

Bang~

Pressing the switch, the radio that had been tirelessly broadcasting propaganda was directly turned off by a hand.

The few soldiers around, tasked with recording information, exchanged glances, yet they dared not show any opposition to the outstretched Xisi.

Not far from the radio, training continued in full swing at the Tower Top Plaza.

The distant supply corridor, after the fleet's departure, was no longer as busy as before; only a dozen or so Yunxuji, bearing Green Skin, struggled to arrive under a sky of artillery fire.

One of the Yunxuji was hit in its engine, plummeting with fierce flames and black smoke onto the Nest City below; after a violent explosion, a swarm of Chicken Thieves rushed in, frantically looting the remaining supplies inside the Yunxuji.

Sighing, Xisi withdrew his attention from the Yunxuji and, in an instant, saw a mountain of Military Affairs Department propaganda booklets piled beside the radio.

Looking at their contents, Xisi frowned slightly and picked one up.

"Great victory, great victory, great victory, more great victories..."

The more Xisi read, the tighter his brow became; he then tossed it back onto the table, his speechlessness moving from his heart to his face.

In summary, in one sentence: the current situation is not merely good, but great!

Reflecting on the booklet's content, Xisi looked straight up at the sky.

Below the differing dark clouds that hide everything, the overwhelming majority of civilians and soldiers cannot see; at this moment, Xisi only needs to look up to see the remaining warships in Orbit and the billowing thick smoke constantly spewing from them.

Even in that narrow gap where Xisi looked up, an escort vessel erupted in a violent explosion at its engine, and the now powerless escort began to be slowly pulled by the Alert Star's gravity down to the ground.

A flood of escape pods surged wildly from the escort, yet more crew members, with their iron coffins, turned on the ground into a towering mushroom cloud.

A gust of wind rushed from the impact point, accompanied by a slight tremor across the entire continent beneath.

The Regiment soldiers exchanged glances; even without Xisi speaking, they felt the reality seemed quite different from what the propaganda claimed.

But compared to the simple doubts of the soldiers behind him, Xisi knew the situation was far more difficult than anyone imagined.

Because in space there was no Alien Form at all, but the Abadon Black Expeditionary Army that had just shattered Kadia, splitting the galaxy in two!

Moreover, at this very moment, this Chaos Grand Army, which even Fortress World Kadia cannot stop, is relentlessly marching toward the Alert Star in deep space.

Xisi reluctantly withdrew his gaze from the sky; in the distance, refugees' cheers rose and fell as the pamphlets were distributed.

In their hard, desperate lives, any news that could give them hope now became a lifeline, repeatedly urging them to persevere.

And the truth of this news......

Xisi pulled his eyes away from the cheering refugees, because the refugees cared not for truth, only for hope.

"From today onward, all soldiers must strictly follow the 18 Terra Time plan for training; additionally, curfew is reinstated, and Alert Star forces are expanded to three times their previous strength."

Xisi issued the order, and nearby officers such as Bunoke silently nodded.

After all, even without considering the crowd's blind obedience to Xisi, merely seeing the grim state of the Imperial Navy overhead, no one thought the command problematic.

The sun slowly set again on the horizon, the aroma of hot food drifting with faint smoke and coffee, and the night after curfew grew even quieter.

Xisi did not disrupt the soldiers' fragile peace; he simply returned to his office, continuously submitting massive data to the Military Affairs Department to promote the Regiment to the Star Realm Army.

Under the Giant Emperor Portrait, the office was filled only with the rustle of pen tips; outside, spotlights swept the windows countless times until dawn light rose in the distance, and a violent explosion silenced the rustling beneath the God Emperor Portrait in an instant.

Outside the door, countless running footsteps echoed, and the alarm sounded almost throughout the Tower Top.

Below Nest City, the Chicken Thieves' screeches rose inexplicably, while from the office's far side, soldiers' roars and gunfire boomed.

Xisi listened silently for a while, confirming it was only a small skirmish, and without looking up, slid his fountain pen to continue his work.

Boom!

The main door burst open, and Bunoke strode in, fresh Storm Armor stained with large splashes of bright red.

"Great..."

He wanted to speak outright, but seeing Xisi still buried in paperwork, Bunoke clenched his teeth and swallowed his words.

When the rustling ceased, Xisi set down his pen, gave the documents one final check, and, satisfied, handed them to Ana beside him.

"Send them directly to the Military Affairs Department; no need to wait for the next supply convoy."

Usually these documents were smuggled back with the supply convoy, but seeing Xisi intend to dispatch his own couriers made Ana and Bunoke feel a sudden pang.

Does this mean the hard-won logistics will be cut off again?

Ana asked no further, took the report, and turned away.

Only then did Xisi rise, without waiting for Bunoke, and walked toward the door, sidearm military knife in hand.

"What's the problem?"

As he walked and asked, Bunoke hurriedly followed:

"There's a refugee riot; likely many Chicken Thieves have infiltrated among the refugees."

Xisi slightly frowned:

"How could a riot break out suddenly?"

Bunoke's already sallow complexion turned an even deeper iron gray, with a hint of panic he could barely suppress.

Xisi was taken aback; could Abadon be arriving? Yet calculating the time, Abadon wouldn't be here for several more months.

Xisi strained to sift through his memories, seeking anything he might have missed.

But as faint traces of the Alert Star battle surfaced in his memory, Xisi suddenly recalled a bright pair of eyes and Bunoke's panicked reply, merging together.

"Water!"

Bunoke stared in surprise at Xisi's words; though he didn't know how Xisi knew, he still nodded stiffly:

"The Chicken Thieves mixed among the refugees spread word that the sole Pure Water Facility had been seized."

Without food one can survive over ten days, but without water, three days is enough to choke.

And as the Chicken Thieves ripped their masks on the Alert Star, their grand debut was the masterpiece that seized the Space Elevator—used to draw water from the outer-space ice-crystal meteor belt—from the Mechanical Church.

The Chicken Thieves' infiltration of the Alert Star has become terrifying; news of Karlga's Great Defeat might fool ordinary humans, but the Chicken Thieves also know another even stronger enemy is about to arrive.

And to secure an advantage in the future turmoil, the Chicken Thieves fixed their gaze on Alert Star's sole source of clean water.

Meanwhile, the Chicken Thieves hidden among the crowd constantly spread all kinds of rumors among ordinary people to sow fear.

Seeing not far off a large group of refugees mixed with Chicken Thieves being slaughtered outright, Xisi glanced at the ruthless Bunoke beside him, then exhaled:

"If we conserve our fresh water, we can hold out for a while; then let Ana make some equipment to distill and recycle water, and we should be fine in the short term."

Saying this, he took out his own Water Bottle, gently shook the clear water inside, listened to its fresh clarity, and Xisi's face showed no grimness, even a hint of ease.

But as soon as Xisi finished speaking, Bunoke beside him changed color, his lips twitching a few times.

Seeing Bunoke open his mouth then close it, Xisi's motion to hand over the water froze, his eyes slightly widening as he fixed a serious gaze on Bunoke.

At this point, who would dare to joke about water?

Under Xisi's genuinely angry stare, although it had nothing to do with him, Bunoke still swallowed hard, his throat bobbing.

Then he lowered his head slightly, his face full of ashes:

"Those nobles, taking all the water, have fled into the fortress......"

Clang—!

Bunoke jumped in fright, looked up, and saw Xisi unmoving, only his Water Bottle in hand suddenly crushed.