Chapter 72 Part 1

"Colonel, the solar panels cannot support the energy supply for the curvature system, and our current energy reserves are approaching the alarm line."

Yang Ning was going all-in, so he ignored the energy alarm. At this point, he could only fight to the end. "Send me the complete coordinates."

The entire set of spatial coordinates was transmitted to the screen in front of the command ship.

Yang Ning quickly scanned it and said, putting himself in their shoes, "As long as the enemy commanders haven't completely lost their minds, they'll concentrate their superior forces, rally the three nearby divisions, and combine them with their main fleet to wipe us out in one fell swoop."

This prospect didn't sound very pleasant. The young soldier on the other end of the communicator was stunned for a moment. "Chief, what should we do then?"

Yang Ning said lightly and cheerfully, "Don't worry, their mission this time is already equivalent to a failure."

... Even if the enemy's plot to fish for the main force had gone bankrupt and they were beaten black and blue by a small group of rescue fleets, which was quite embarrassing, crushing them in two rounds shouldn't be particularly difficult, right?

The failure of the enemy's mission doesn't mean they can save their lives!

"Colonel, there is an intense energy reaction ahead."

Yang Ning pinched the bridge of his nose, realizing that he had the potential to be a jinx - speak of the devil and he shall appear.

He sighed softly, "I knew it - everyone pay attention to evasion."

As soon as he finished speaking, a high-energy beam, consuming a massive amount of power, made a dramatic appearance.

The reaction of the rescue fleet was not slow. It split neatly down the middle, with large ships on both sides, sweeping the path with flat-pushed firepower, and giant ships in the center, holding up a thick protective shield.

The high-energy beam shot through the gap like a meteor. Then, a wave of remnant soldiers fleeing like headless chickens appeared within the telescope's field of view. They vaguely recognized the outer shell of the ships - it was the great Space Combat Third Department.

How embarrassing...

In an instant, the Second Department rescue team was unanimous in their sighs.

The remnants of the Third Department were no longer in formation, running around like headless chickens, with the enemy chasing after them, herding them like sheep.

The problem was that compared to the sheep themselves, the remnants of the Third Department were more like the highly dispersed excrement of sheep.

Although Yang Ning knew that Cao Kun was a good-for-nothing, he hadn't expected him to be this useless. It was almost astonishing. A series of gossip circulating in the circles suddenly flashed through his mind -

For example, "Have you heard that the best student in our school back then was someone who couldn't even get into a proper university? He mysteriously transferred to the Space Department of a military academy directly under the Military Commission halfway through the first semester."

And also, "Our school has very strict requirements. Failing one core subject leads to direct expulsion. Of course, there are exceptions. For example, there was a young man surnamed Cao who took three core courses and retook them two to four times each, still failing to pass, yet he successfully graduated from our school. I don't know how his parents managed to settle it for him."

There were also "Rumors that this young man surnamed Cao was able to pick out an outstanding 'school beauty' from the scarce female student resources of each grade during his time in school, changing girlfriends more frequently than changing socks."

And so on and so forth.

Given Yang Ning's character, he never liked to gather with a group of gossipy young men to chat about these things.

Therefore, he could only pretend to be earnestly reading books and doing homework every time, secretly paying attention and listening to every word, occasionally making comments in his heart.

No one could tell that beneath his steady exterior, he had such a busy inner world. Yang Ning himself didn't expect that many years later, when the faces and smiles of the school teachers had already become blurred, he still had a deep impression of these gossips and recalled them one by one at this time and place.

It could be seen that Yang Ning, in essence, was not much of a gentleman, because a gentleman is cautious in solitude and does not listen to improper things.

Yang Ning maintained his ability to multitask and remained methodical: "Let the people from the Third Department pass, surround them, withstand the enemy's firepower. At this distance, a connection can be established. Identify yourselves and let... ahem, ask Major General Cao to regroup."

"Colonel, I'm afraid we can't withstand the enemy's firepower at this level."

Yang Ning said without thinking, "Use gravity bombs."

Gravity bombs were the brainchild of the people in the other star system. However, the enemy was still afraid to use them casually in close combat because if they weren't careful, they would also be crushed.

In comparison, the human side was a bit more unscrupulous because they could be used in conjunction with the high-speed curvature system.

However, the combined energy consumption of the two systems was unsustainable.

There was a pause on the communicator, and he was quietly reminded, "If this happens again, I'm afraid we really won't be able to leave."

Yang Ning remained expressionless, turning a deaf ear: "Please prepare for jumping again, all departments."

It was as if he could leave at best, and if he couldn't, he wouldn't lose. This was just a small gamble of "life and death are destined, wealth and rank are in the hands of Heaven." Whichever outcome, he could dismiss it with a laugh.

No one knew if he had a bottom line in his heart or not. No one knew if Yang Ning would be filled with fear like an ordinary person when faced with imminent death.

Just like how he had never been caught eavesdropping on others' gossip when he was in school, Yang Ning was a person who cared deeply about appearances—he would rather suffocate than show the slightest hint of "impropriety" in front of others, especially his subordinates.

Therefore, for others, the various ups and downs of his inner world were impossible to verify.

The enemy ships chasing the Third Department head-on were warships from the other star system disguised as space pirate groups.

The other party's disguise was very crude. They probably just painted a space pirate group's emblem on the outside of the ships. If it were Fu Luo here, she wouldn't even need to open her eyes. Just by listening to the frequency of the sound from the energy alarm, she would know which faction's forces the other party belonged to.

It was just enough to fool Cao Kun.

Yang Ning had always had doubts in his heart. He thought that even if the Third Department was extremely unlucky and encountered an unusually large number of enemy troops after that jump, given the strength of the fleet at that time, it shouldn't have turned into this sheep excrement-like state. Now, he had gotten a reasonable explanation.

The fact that a commander like Cao Kun, who lacked even basic judgment, was in charge not only proved he was a fool but also that his troops had no combat experience against the enemy. In other words, since the fortress collapsed, the Third Department had been earnestly fleeing - encountering the enemy without fighting, fleeing at the sight of them, not even doing side jobs like robbing a lone, scattered pirate group.

Yang Ning could almost imagine their days of "north wind blowing, snowflakes flying" - energy and supplies only coming in but not going out, stingily accumulating a bit of energy with solar panels, and perhaps having to flee again when space pirate groups roaming the solar system came to visit.

If it weren't for Cao Kun's illustrious family background, and illustriously known to all, Yang Ning would almost suspect he was sent by the enemy to internally exhaust their precious military strength.

The gravity bomb was already loaded, the launch command on the tip of his tongue, when suddenly the voice of the communications soldier came through the communicator: "Report, Colonel, General Cao says their remaining energy cannot support a single jump."

Yang Ning: "..."

The artillery soldier weakly asked, "Commander, the gravity bomb is ready to launch."

"Withdraw it, um... withdraw it," Yang Ning said softly. At that moment, he was almost a bit incoherent, his reaction blank for a second, before picking up his own words, "Attempt missile interception, have the Third Department assemble in formation within fifteen seconds, retreat, quickly."

Actually, under special emergency combat readiness, with a single order, just ten seconds was enough for all warships in the entire Saturn fortress established by the Second Department at that time to assemble in formation and swarm out.

Yang Ning firmly believed Cao Kun's ability was to cause trouble, not daring to give him too much pressure, so he stated a relatively ample time to avoid him becoming overwhelmed and tripping over his own feet.

It seemed this battle could not be won, so they had to execute a fighting retreat.

This should have been a legendary battle of the few against the many, different from the irregular fighting with space pirate groups. It was a collision between regular armies, and even Yang Ning himself gained much from it. In his mind, he had a plan for the entire war between Earth and the other star system, becoming clearer as the battle intensified, like a lamp slowly brightening in the dark night.

Unfortunately, before it could illuminate his path, it was disrupted by a pig-like teammate.