Chapter 4: Behind the Tactics: Lin Yu’s Decisive Gambit

“You’re Lin Yu?”

Mu Qingxue rested both arms on the command desk, her fingers interlaced in front of her chest.

She studied the young man before her with clear interest.

He was already an adult, but to the general—fourteen years his senior—he still carried a hint of youthful inexperience.

“Explain why, during the graduation assessment, you chose that particular strategy against the Campbell boy in the mock battle.”

Her voice was cool and authoritative, yet beneath the commanding tone lurked a subtle, almost magnetic allure.

On anyone else, that combination might seem contradictory, but on her, it simply worked.

But what exactly had Mu Qingxue just asked?

Lin Yu caught his breath.

Was she talking about his match against George Campbell during the graduation exam?

The legendary Vice Admiral Mu Qingxue, commander of the Fifth Fleet, had actually reviewed—no, even studied—a cadet’s mock battle?

“Reporting in, Vice Admiral! Are you referring to the tactic where I faked a do-or-die situation to lure the opponent into forcing a breakthrough and trying to decapitate my fleet’s flagship, and then turned the tables to trap him instead?”

Lin Yu thought back on how that confrontation had played out, then asked for confirmation.

Mu Qingxue nodded ever so slightly.

She had indeed watched many of Lin Yu’s simulated battles during his three years at the Academy.

Just as she’d told Ye Lingwei before, Lin Yu’s tactics were often worth studying—even for her.

But that particular match had left her with some questions.

“That wasn’t a flawless strategy. It only worked against George Campbell!”

Lin Yu took a deep breath before he spoke again.

“During the graduation test, our battlefield was randomly set near a black hole.”

“At the time, I deployed my fleet right at the edge of the black hole’s event horizon—using it as our back—and kept our engine output at thirty percent to counteract the gravitational pull.”

“Once George spotted us and began his assault, I deliberately left a weak point at the center of our formation. Predictably, he fell for it, forcing a breakthrough straight at my flagship in an attempt to win swiftly and decisively.”

“Then I had the fleet feign collapse on both flanks, inch by inch leaving the flagship exposed.”

“While his attention was fixed on my flagship, I ordered the ships to sweep out to both wings, using the black hole’s gravity to swing them into a wider arc and complete a rapid maneuver.”

“This way, the player forced to fight under the black hole’s gravitational pull, struggling to maneuver and having most weapons compromised, was no longer me—it was George.”

“The cost, of course, was that the flagship—my supposed main ship—had been empty from the start!”

Lin Yu didn’t go on.

The rest was too straightforward to bother explaining.

He had boxed George Campbell in and crushed him right at the threshold of the event horizon.

Yet, after hearing him out—

Mu Qingxue shook her head.

“I’ve seen the battle logs. I want to know why you used this tactic.”

“You left a weakness intentionally. But most commanders, instead of risking an aggressive breakthrough, would keep their positions. It might take longer, but in the end, they’d destroy your fleet safely and without surprises.”

So that was it.

Lin Yu finally understood what Mu Qingxue truly wanted.

It was true, just as she’d said—deploying a fleet at the edge of a black hole might look like a gamble, but in reality…

It was basically a death sentence.

To avoid being swallowed by the black hole, the fleet had to maintain engines at thirty percent or more—constant strain that made maneuvering a nightmare.

On top of that, all railguns and missiles took a performance hit from the gravity.

Simply put, this setup was suicidal—no commander with any sense would try it.

Because…

The opponent only needed to stay safely out of reach, cutting off any escape. While your ships were bogged down and your weapons handicapped,

They could wipe you out slowly, no special tricks required.

To put it bluntly, you could tie a dog to the command chair and still win.

Even with a weak point showing, why would the enemy risk everything for a flashy kill, when patience meant certain victory?

Was it just for the sake of finishing quickly?

Out of a hundred commanders, maybe one would take that risk.

So that becomes the real question.

Was Lin Yu gambling on that one percent?

Obviously not.

He wasn’t betting the odds—he was absolutely certain George Campbell would walk right into the trap.

“Vice Admiral, the reason you’re asking is because…”

“You never spent ten years as George Campbell’s classmate.”

“Yes, before we entered the First Federation Advanced Military Academy, I was classmates with him from secondary school through university.”

Lin Yu explained further.

At fifteen, Lin Yu had already finished his doctoral degree and only then enrolled at the Academy.

It wasn’t because he’d skipped grades like crazy, but because…

After the age of super-evolution, humanity’s brain development skyrocketed.

People now had to learn even more, and with greater complexity, but it took less time.

Simply put—everyone was just smarter now.

Eidetic memory was standard; their capacity for understanding and analysis was on another level entirely.

Graduating college with a doctorate at fifteen? That was just par for the course these days.

“So?”

Mu Qingxue pressed on.

“He comes from a wealthy family, and he’s proud—arrogant, really!”

“But the truth is, in all our ten years together, he never once beat me. That mock battle was his last chance!”

“That pride is in his bones—he doesn’t just want to win. He wants a total victory.”

“Only then could he prove, to himself and everyone else, he was truly better than me.”

“To him, winning the safe way wouldn’t count as a real victory.”

“So, call it a tactical win if you like, but really, I was using his pride and arrogance against him.”

“From the start, I moved my command to a destroyer. The flagship everyone saw was just a honey-coated bait, completely unmanned.”

“Ten years of humiliation, never once victorious—he was more than willing to swallow the bait.”

“That’s all, Vice Admiral.”

Lin Yu saluted sharply, standing tall in front of Mu Qingxue.

“Lingwei, what do you think?”

“Impressive. These days, it’s nothing special to know every tactic or simulate a hundred moves instantly. But playing the human heart…”

“You’re right. People have obsessed over brain development for so long, they’ve forgotten skills beyond cognition can be just as crucial. Otherwise, why not rank students by brain metrics alone and ditch assessments altogether?”

Mu Qingxue nodded in agreement, adding her own thoughts.

To her, brain development was important—but so was a person’s temperament and how they thought.

Those mattered just as much.

Why did George Campbell lose so badly?

When you got right down to it, it was his flawed personality.

So Mu Qingxue always believed—not everyone could excel in every field, no matter how developed their brain was.

Everyone had to find what truly fit them.

A high brain metric didn’t guarantee you’d excel at everything.

“Lin Yu, I’m very satisfied. Welcome to the Fifth Fleet!”

Mu Qingxue rose to her feet.

She extended her right hand.