Ma Xiaoling is straightforward, everything is written on her face. Happy means happy, unhappy means unhappy.

Right now, she indeed hasn't moved on from the Source Star tragedy, yet she can't figure out what Ren Zhong really wants to do. She doesn't have the self-discipline and cunning of Ju Qingmeng; she only knows that if Ren Zhong is going to die, she can't just watch it happen.

She even thought, if they really were in a dire situation with no way out, should they go to the afterlife together, she could at least ask him his true thoughts, and then she would die without regret.

So, she simply said this one sentence, decisively turned around, and left.

She has been in cold sleep for nearly ten years; it was time to focus on training, to stretch her muscles and recover her form.

Once Ma Xiaoling left, the office only had Wang Qiao and Ren Zhong remaining.

Being Ren Zhong's fellow inmate from the Second Prison, Wang Qiao advanced to a Level Eight Gunsmith by exploiting resources from the wilderness, outside the regular Citizen training system, so his talent goes without saying.

After joining Ren Zhong, he received more resources for cultivation, quickly boosting his strength to Level Nine, easily obtaining the advanced tutorials previously rarely accessible to non-elite Citizens for observation and learning.

Before Ren Zhong appeared, the Association tightly controlled these advanced tutorials in their hands. Only Seventh Level Citizens and above Professionals could purchase and learn them. Wilderness Professionals could only forge their own path, and once surpassing Ninth Rank, they would soon be seized by Frozen Soldiers under the command of the cold Elder, forced to become new Frozen Soldiers, unable to leave legacies, leading to Source Star civilization only accumulating three thousand Frozen Soldiers over millennia.

But Ren Zhong changed this situation, completely open information, providing abundant resources, allowing many people from humble backgrounds but extraordinary talent to rapidly grow.

Stimulated by the Source Star tragedy at that time, most others went into cold sleep immediately, but Wang Qiao was in a period of rapid strength explosion; though he felt unwilling, he continued training for two more years, becoming an outstanding player among the newly rising advanced Professionals and shining brightly, even serving several months as an assassin instructor at the Military Academy, with Ding Canghai among his students.

Afterwards, Wang Qiao felt his strength had peaked, took his family into freezing.

"Wang Qiao, you seem to have something to say?"

Ren Zhong asked straight to the point.

Wang Qiao responded with a sound of acknowledgement, "Although I have many grievances against you, Mr. Ren, I still advise you not to go personally. From here to the destination, nearly a hundred billion kilometers, needing a dozen days of flight, along the way many regions densely populated with fractured asteroid groups, the spaceship needs continuous directional changes, while maintaining 0.25 times light speed, it is very dangerous. You are the Empire's Viscount, also the core of the fleet, should not take risks lightly."

Upon hearing this, Ren Zhong was momentarily dumbfounded, then gently shook his head and said: "Going is a must. I'm the strongest, if I go, it can effectively increase the success rate of the plan."

Wang Qiao: "But you..."

Once more, Ren Zhong smiles and shakes his head, "As for this Empire Viscount title I hold, honestly speaking, I self-proclaimed it, still hasn't been recognized by the Empire. Even if I die in battle, there are still people in the fleet who can take over, can still reach the Empire."

Wang Qiao's pupils contracted sharply, seemed to understand something, asked skeptically: "So... there really was no choice at that time?"

Ren Zhong acknowledged with a sound, "The Empire's system is ruthless and harsh, not just me, even the cold Elder dare not defy it. If we don't perform a major cleanup, by the time we reach the South Nine Star, I fear everyone would perish. The Empire has no idea how many hundreds of billions of people, does not lack talent, only never holds back from accepting more minds. So, we cannot break the rules, must obey. Someone has to play the villain, otherwise everyone would die, justice and evil are irrelevant, it's merely for the continuation of civilization."

After hearing this, Wang Qiao remained silent for a long time and said: "Mr. Ren, I misjudged you."

"It's okay, regardless, your lover and offspring indeed also sort of died by my hand, hating me is understandable." Ren Zhong gestured with his hand, expressing his understanding.

Wang Qiao had a wife he married when tying knots with hair, but back when he fell into destitution and was captured with nowhere to turn, it was that business-minded lover who orchestrated things and help him pay fees to get out of the Second Prison, allowing him to stay alive, considered his savior.

When the fleet left originally, Wang Qiao intended to invite his lover to bring their child aboard, but unexpectedly this heroic woman had her own ideas, expressed reluctance to leave behind the business she founded with her own hands, stayed on Source Star with the child.

Though Wang Qiao felt an extraordinarily lingering regret from this final farewell, he thought perhaps life on the newly free Source Star might be more comfortable than the unknown future awaiting in the Empire, hence didn't forcibly insist, yet later all this transformed into bubbles amidst the star system-engulfing explosion.

Of course, he had grievances against Ren Zhong.

He only resented why Ren Zhong didn't clearly communicate his plans to sweep clean to them, his trusted aides, eventually leading to this irreparable regret.

But now in consideration, Wang Qiao nonetheless feels there is no wall in the world impenetrable by wind, had this been openly disclosed or leaked, information getting out, coupled with the death of the nine Great Elders, a fierce civil war might erupt before departure, causing more loss of transport ships and warships, then perhaps even fewer would survive to leave, and that would be tens of millions fewer.

Though life cannot be equated to trade-offs, if Ren Zhong's intention was merely aiming for more people to survive, then perhaps it isn't incomprehensible, just far too brutally cold towards his trusted inner-circle cadres who view him as a leader.

After Wang Qiao left, Ren Zhong returned to his chair.

Sun Ai suddenly popped up, "Uncle, I wonder if you're getting too exhausted?"

Ren Zhong smiled at the air: "Not too bad."

Sun Ai sighed, "I really fear someday you'll become overwhelmed, turn into a maniac."

Ren Zhong rolled his eyes, "Don't talk nonsense. By the way, let's get the pseudo-network over at Source Star moving, since I've determined that it's the Fourth Class Mother Empress from the Ascendants preparing to intercept us, let's also have them provide some more technological support. Although Source Star's production resources are insufficient, in terms of research resources, we've kept enough."

Sun Ai acknowledged with a sound.

After a while, Ren Zhong completely lay down, first initiating the premonition illusion in his mind, attempting to deduce the outcome.

Ju Qingmeng and the others' return indeed brought some changes, within the premonition illusion, though repeatedly dying in battle, he "surprisingly" found the distance between himself and the Mother Empress Ship narrowed to four million kilometers at the moment of his death. 𝐟𝐫𝕖𝗲𝘄𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝕧𝐞𝚕.𝕔𝕠𝐦

This change was immediate.

Ren Zhong felt satisfied, couldn't ask for more.

Then, he switched to hibernation space, began virtual scenario training.

"Little Ai, bring all advanced Professionals into the same simulation training scene, then adjust the imaginary enemy for targeted training to the Fourth Class Mother Empress. Try more within the data simulation."

Sun Ai acknowledged with a sound, first issuing the order.

After about ten minutes passed, the first virtual scenario exercise officially began.