Chapter 166: Shuffling Fates: Fleet Moves and Lovers’ Swaps Across the Stars

Even though these border families had begun to rally their fleets,

they all planned to converge in the same star system, hoping to huddle together and use the stellar currents as their shield.

As long as they could bring together two or three thousand warships, along with the natural defensive strength of those currents, even a force of over ten thousand enemy ships could be held off.

But the trouble was, Sadik’s spies were everywhere among these families.

Many of them had already infiltrated the mid-level ranks.

So the fleet routes these families used weren’t secret from Sadik at all.

That’s why the Royal Guard split up into three groups and struck all at once.

They pulled off a classic pincer ambush.

Several border families were ambushed halfway to the rendezvous and suffered major losses at the hands of the sudden attack from the King’s Army Royal Guard.

Those families still left had their routes cut off and were forced to stop in their tracks.

The whole plan to gather fell to pieces.

Naturally, Tuoba, completely frantic now, came running to Bilodis for help once again.

At this point, Lin Yu wouldn’t even answer his calls anymore. All Tuoba could do was pass on messages through Bilodis.

——

Barnard’s Star.

Over the past half year, just to test the hyperspace engine, Lin Yu had toured the entire territory of the Human Federation.

A few days ago, he’d planned a trip to Barnard’s Star, along with a three-day rest for everyone after arrival.

This time, he also brought Mu Qingxue with him.

After all, the fleet stationed at Barnard’s Star was the Federation’s Fifth Fleet—Mu Qingxue’s old unit.

It was rare for them to come this way, so Lin Yu brought Mu Qingxue along to catch up with her two best friends, Ye Lingwei and Serena.

Honestly though, Mu Qingxue wasn’t even the most excited about this trip—

that title went to Andrei.

He and Serena were a poster couple for long-distance love.

But in their case, it was a separation of 8.86 light years; on average they only saw each other every three to five years, and each reunion lasted just a few days.

Even so, after nearly thirty years, they were still together.

Lin Yu had to admit, he respected Andrei for that.

Right now, just thinking about reuniting with Serena—and spending a few days tangled up in bed—had Andrei nearly vibrating with excitement.

“Honey, do you think I should just transfer Andrei to the Fifth Fleet for good?”

Inside the room, Lin Yu suddenly asked Mu Qingxue.

This question had been weighing on him for a while. After all, Andrei had been his buddy since their academy days.

And now, here he was, keeping a long-distance relationship alive for thirty years straight.

Honestly, that took guts.

“There’s a smarter way to solve this.”

“What do you mean?”

Lin Yu blinked, puzzled, and turned to Mu Qingxue.

“Haven’t you noticed your chief of staff acting a bit odd lately?”

“Qin Qiong?”

“Yeah. He’s been spending these last few days with Ling Wei.”

“What?”

Wait, Qin Qiong and Ling Wei?

Back in the Mars days, Mu Qingxue had tried to set up Bai Jun and Ye Lingwei, hoping to help her friend out of singlehood.

But in the end, Ye Lingwei and Bai Jun did meet—only there just wasn’t much spark.

So that plan never went anywhere.

But Qin Qiong and Ye Lingwei…

“When did this start?”

“On our very first day here, the two of them pretty much hit it off at first sight!”

“Well, I’ll be—totally didn’t see that coming. Qin Qiong’s a good bit older than Ye Lingwei, after all.”

“So is that you saying I’m too old for you, hmm?”

The room went ice-cold just like that.

How much older was Qin Qiong compared to Ye Lingwei?

Nine years, to be exact.

And Mu Qingxue compared to him?

A full fourteen years.

Here he was, picking at a nine-year age gap, while his own gap was fourteen… How was that fair?

Right now, Lin Yu really wanted to slap himself.

Why hadn’t he thought before opening his mouth?

All he could do was try his best to coax his wife back into a good mood…

Luckily, Mu Qingxue wasn’t truly mad; it didn’t take much sweet-talking to make up.

“So what you’re saying, honey, is to swap Qin Qiong for Serena?”

“Exactly. It’s a perfect match, really. Otherwise we’re just going to end up with yet another long-distance couple…”

“Good point. How about you ask Ling Wei, and I’ll have a chat with Qin Qiong? If both agree, we’ll make the swap official!”

“Sounds good to me!”

That same day, Lin Yu and Mu Qingxue each found Ye Lingwei and Qin Qiong for their respective talks.

Soon after, a formal request was sent off to Lunar Headquarters.

At this rank—both Qin Qiong and Serena were already at brigadier general—such personnel transfers were never up to the fleet commander alone. It had to go through the proper reports and get Fleet Headquarters approval.

Still, as long as you had a good reason, they rarely said no.

And besides, ever since leaving the Solar System, the Federation Fleet had actually encouraged couples serving in the same unit. Otherwise, it was normal for spouses to go a whole decade without seeing each other.

Keeping their soldiers’ families stable was one of the top priorities for the Fleet.

So—

within just one hour, their application was officially approved.

Almost at the same time, Bilodis sent over a report.

It was about the latest developments in the Xitoris Kingdom’s inner circle, plus some messages relayed from Tuoba.

The information was clear—the border families were pretty much finished. Tuoba had a little over a thousand fully functional warships left. The rest were all damaged. Even if he made it to the inner circle, there was no way they could stand against the Royal Guard.

In other words, unless the Federation intervened—

Tuoba wouldn’t last much longer!

After reading through, Lin Yu forwarded the report to the Federation Fleet’s Lunar Headquarters. Soon after, he received a reply from Mu Xingchen.

There was only one message:

“The Federation needs to move faster!”

The moment he read it, Lin Yu knew exactly what needed doing. He quickly called in all officers at brigadier general and above for an emergency meeting.

He’d wanted to move quickly before, but never had the resources.

But now—

it didn’t take long at all before everyone had logged in.

Of course, with so many on leave, most were joining remotely.

And every eye in the room drifted to the chief of staff’s seat.

The one who was supposed to be there was Qin Qiong. But instead they saw another brigadier general—a woman with a killer figure.

If truth be told, a lot of those present already knew Serena.

Even if they’d never met her in person, they certainly knew of her.

What none of them could figure out was this: wasn’t Serena chief of staff for the Fifth Fleet? Why was she taking part in the Sixth Fleet’s operations meeting instead of Qin Qiong?

“Quick update: Brigadier General Qin Qiong has transferred to the Fifth Fleet as their chief of staff. Serena, former chief of staff of the Fifth Fleet, is now joining us as chief of staff of the Sixth Fleet. Everyone, please welcome her!”

The room erupted into a round of applause.

Most present were genuinely enthusiastic about Serena’s arrival.

After all, who doesn’t like having a stunning woman around?

Plus, Qin Qiong could be terrifying. Back when he was an academy instructor, his nickname was ‘the living devil.’

With Serena, though, folks started to daydream about better days ahead.

Trading a living devil for a beauty—who wouldn’t be thrilled?

But Lin Yu, seeing right through all their hopeful hearts, could only shake his head.

They had no idea; Serena might look elegant, but she was a true warrior queen.

Qin Qiong might have had a sharp tongue, but Serena—

She’d absolutely lay you out if you crossed her.

So much for a ‘better life’…

Hell’s already coming for you guys, you just don’t know it yet.