Chapter 39: The Relentless Trap

The path ahead was cut off—there was no way through.

Behind them, twelve warships blocked the way with overwhelming firepower. Any ship that tried to escape was instantly destroyed.

The enemy didn’t even bother entering the route. They just waited outside, ready to pick off anyone who tried to make a break for it.

Meanwhile, inside the channel…

Their carrier-based aircraft had all been wiped out, and the warships couldn’t even get into formation for a proper fight.

This was a deathtrap, plain and simple.

Qin Xuan’s mind raced, desperate to figure out a way out of this mess.

But Lin Yu gave her no chance at all.

The next moment, dozens of Bai Ze Mechs stopped hiding and burst into view. With blistering speed and insane maneuverability, they dove straight at the immobilized warships.

They weren’t hellbent on completely destroying the warships. Sure, it was possible for a mech, but not something that could happen in a short time.

So, they focused all their attacks on the ships’ engines, weapon systems, or…

Anything exposed on the exterior, like the radar and communication systems.

At such close range, combined with the mechs’ rapid movement—

All of the First Sub-Fleet’s railguns, ion beam cannons and other heavy weapons were basically useless.

Their turrets just couldn’t turn fast enough to keep up with the mechs darting around at close quarters.

The only weapon left that could do anything was the electromagnetic rapid-fire cannon.

But honestly…

That was fine for targeting aircraft, but against Bai Ze Mechs…

It was clearly outmatched.

Roughly ten minutes later…

The Exercise Command issued another casualty report.

First Sub-Fleet: one warship destroyed, twenty-nine crippled, and one hundred percent carrier aircraft loss.

The entire fleet had lost all mobility and offensive capability.

They were officially eliminated.

On the bridge, Qin Xuan gave a bitter smile.

She honestly never thought she’d be knocked out faster than Wang Jianjun.

And the worst part? An entire fleet of thirty ships hadn’t even managed to take out a single one of Lin Yu’s vessels.

They’d only managed to shoot down twelve Bai Ze Mechs…

——

“What? Qin Xuan’s out? The whole fleet wiped out—thirty warships gone just like that?”

“Uh, according to Exercise Command, it’s not total destruction—one ship was destroyed and twenty-nine were disabled.”

“And that’s somehow different from total destruction?”

Wang Jianjun glared at his deputy, his patience wearing thin.

Even knowing Lin Yu had taken out the entire First Sub-Fleet—thirty ships—without losing a single vessel, as shocking as it was…

Wang Jianjun might have been surprised, but he definitely wasn’t scared.

Qin Xuan had said it before—Wang Jianjun was basically a honey badger.

And what’s a honey badger like?

Fierce, combative, stubborn, fearless—and every bit of that described him.

That was exactly who Wang Jianjun was.

So right now, he wasn’t thinking about caution or taking a step back to make a new plan. Instead…

Chase—keep chasing!

Take down the Zhulong and finish the battle right there.

This guy, well… how do you put it…

Mu Qingxue and Ye Lingwei once said Wang Jianjun was a relentlessly aggressive commander.

But he was cut out to be a general, not a supreme commander.

With the Federation Fleet’s current structure, the highest he’d ever rise was to lead a sub-fleet tasked with assault—answering to the fleet’s admiral.

Let him run an entire fleet on his own? That just wasn’t his style.

——

At the same time.

Qiongxiao’s bridge.

“So, what do you think, Ling Wei? I won, didn’t I?”

Mu Qingxue grinned as she spoke.

“Admiral, it’s not over yet. Even without Qin Xuan, Red Team still has more than double the numbers of Blue Team. Plus, the Zhulong is practically on a leash—Wang Jianjun’s right on their tail and they can’t shake him.”

“Come on, did you already forget what Lin Yu did at the very start?”

“At the start?”

Ye Lingwei blinked.

Then she began to recall.

At the beginning, just over four hours ago—

What had Lin Yu done back then?

Right, now she remembered…

At the very start of the exercise, Lin Yu sent out the 77th Mech Battalion and also dispatched the 78th Mech Battalion’s bombers to a certain location.

That’s right—both squadrons’ aircraft weren’t on the Zhulong. Instead, they’d been transferred to other carriers in the Fifth Fleet.

But those twenty-four bombers…

Were still on board.

Because, unlike interceptors that could only carry electromagnetic rapid-fire cannons, these bombers could be armed with all sorts of heavy missiles—even Starcruise IV and Starcruise V interstellar tactical missiles.

There was a reason they were called bombers.

It wasn’t just an empty name.

That’s why the Zhulong still had all twenty-four bombers—they were there for special missions.

As for where those bombers were stationed right now…

Ye Lingwei suddenly glanced at the 3D tactical starmap. There, in the narrow channel, was the Second Sub-Fleet passing the midpoint, along with—

More than twenty blue dots marking bomber locations clustered nearby…

Could Lin Yu be about to repeat that earlier tactic?

But that couldn’t be right. With just twenty-four bombers, even if they used up every single missile and hit with perfect accuracy, there’s no way they could wipe out all twenty-seven of Wang Jianjun’s ships.

If they destroyed two or three, that’d already be impressive.

And once the ambush was over, those twenty-four bombers almost certainly wouldn’t make it back.

Wait a minute…

Hang on!

How did the Second Sub-Fleet already pass the midpoint, but the bombers hadn’t attacked?

Did they miss their chance?

Impossible. Lin Yu would never make such a rookie mistake.

So what was really going on here?

“Ling Wei, look—Lin Yu’s making his move!”

At that moment, Mu Qingxue pointed to a spot on the 3D tactical starmap and smiled.

Ye Lingwei followed her gaze and realized it wasn’t the area she’d just been watching, but—

The mouth of the channel—the same area where twelve warships had blocked the First Fleet’s escape route with overlapping fields of fire.

“From the very start, Lin Yu set up a chain of traps for both of them!”

“If we think of the two ends of the passage as points A and B, is there really only one way to get from A to B?”

“Yes, the channel is about fifteen thousand kilometers long. Any alternative route that avoids it would have to go way around—at least eighty thousand kilometers.”

“At first glance, the channel looks like the fastest way. But…”

“Sometimes, the shortest route isn’t actually the quickest!”

“Then, Lin Yu deliberately let his position slip—his whole fleet, thirteen warships, all exposed. That wiped out all of Wang Jianjun’s caution and lured him straight into the channel.”

“This was crucial. If Wang Jianjun hadn’t been drawn in, then with Qin Xuan’s careful style, she never would’ve entered, either!”

“Basically, Lin Yu used himself as bait to hook Wang Jianjun, then dangled Wang Jianjun like a worm on a hook to draw in Qin Xuan.”

“Back to our earlier question—is the shortest path always the fastest?”

“No, definitely not!”

“Now, Lin Yu’s about to pull a familiar trick. Before, he blocked the First Sub-Fleet’s retreat. Now, he’s about to cut off the First Fleet’s path forward!”

“And those twenty-four bombers—they’re not ambushing anyone.

“Their real mission is to level the entire channel—completely seal off Wang Jianjun’s retreat!”

Mu Qingxue laced her fingers, watching the tactical starmap with keen interest as those ships sped along another route.

There were no celestial obstacles to speak of, so they raced at full speed toward the exit of the channel—

Twelve warships in all!