Chapter 55: Standoff in the Asteroid Belt

Overall, both male and female members of the Klein are remarkably similar to humans in appearance and build.

The biggest difference lies in their internal structure.

For the Klein people, their bones don’t grow within their muscles—they’re on the outside.

It’s almost like…

They’re born wearing an exoskeleton armor.

Visually, they’re just like humans fully encased in armor.

Their bones are incredibly tough, stronger than steel, which gives them an innate and formidable defense.

Even human electromagnetic assault rifles usually do little more than crack the surface, unable to pierce through.

The real difference between men and women is in the muscle tissue under those bones.

And that difference is massive.

An adult male Klein is typically five to seven times stronger than a human man.

As for the women, while their exoskeleton defense is just as strong, their physical strength is about the same as an average adult human.

That’s the main reason for the gap in status between them.

To Klein men, women are just the weaker sex—extremely so.

And the weak…

Have no status at all.

If not for the need to continue their species, Klein women would live no better than slaves.

Which makes the gravity of this opportunity for Shivana crystal clear.

If she succeeds, she’ll become the only high-ranking female commander among the Klein. But if she fails, all that’s left is to return to her bed and become nothing more than a breeding machine, birthing as many children as possible to pass down her gift for command.

She hated her kind, and she loathed her father, Tumelo, even more.

But right now, she had no choice but to fight for this chance.

On the warship’s bridge, Shivana clenched her fists tight.

She vowed to carve out a future for herself.

Once she’d calmed down, Shivana turned her mind to the enemy she was about to face.

According to the data, after the battle at Jupiter, this person clashed four times with Klein clan fleets in the Asteroid Belt—destroying a total of 15 warships and crippling over 20 more.

The most incredible part…

He didn’t lose a single ship!

Shivana had to admit, this was a formidable opponent.

Far stronger than Omar or Alum—by a long shot.

Those two were talented, but nowhere near this level.

Maybe…

The tactics used in that battle at Jupiter were his as well.

That thought suddenly popped into Shivana’s head, and the more she considered it, the more certain she became…

That must be the truth.

——

A week later.

Lin Yu’s special operations unit, along with over a hundred resource harvesting ships, arrived at the outer edge of the Asteroid Belt.

Lin Yu had no idea someone already had their sights on him.

Right now, he had a different headache to deal with.

His resource fleet had just told him they’d need to move and operate in a different area.

That new area…

Was 0.3 astronomical units deeper—almost 45 million kilometers away.

Even at full speed, it’d take the fleet more than two days to get there—and in the crowded Asteroid Belt, full speed is out of the question.

At best, it’d take four days just to arrive.

But honestly, those aren’t the real problems.

What mattered was that their new target zone was dangerously close to the half under Klein control.

That made this whole trip a risky endeavor.

As long as they stayed in the Federation’s current territory, even running into a Klein fleet meant it wouldn’t be a massive force.

But venturing this deep…

Running into a full-scale Klein warfleet—hundreds of ships—wouldn’t be surprising at all.

“Captain Chu, do we really have to go?”

“Colonel Lin, believe me, I know how risky this is. If I had a choice I wouldn’t set foot in that sector either, but orders from above are absolute. Some resources on their list have only ever been found there so far…”

As he explained, Captain Chu sent over a file.

Three materials were highlighted in red. Attached was also a Federation Fleet order.

The order was clear: their fleet was to go and retrieve those three materials.

The Asteroid Belt may be rich in resources, but most of it is just common stuff like iron, copper, and so on.

Rare resources exist in massive quantities—enough to last humanity hundreds of millions of years.

But the problem is…

Those resources like to cluster together.

For example, one kind might only turn up in Zone A, while another is almost exclusive to Zone B.

That’s pretty much how it is out there.

Right now, the three urgently needed resources are concentrated in the part of the Asteroid Belt closest to Klein territory.

Even if they only search along the fringes, they’d still be right at the edge of Klein fleet patrols.

It’s a serious risk.

But the moment Lin Yu saw what those three resources were, he understood.

Now it made sense why the Federation was so desperate—even offering cash incentives.

Those materials are vital for the core components of railguns.

Earth used to have them, but they were mined out centuries ago.

Now, the only place left to get them is the Asteroid Belt.

After all, the Federation is planning to equip over ten thousand warships with railguns for extra firepower.

If they can’t build key railgun parts, all that planning goes to waste.

So no matter how risky it is, this mission is a must.

“Understood. But given the danger, everyone in your teams is to follow my orders to the letter—no hesitation, not even for a second. Can you do that?”

“No problem. That’s how it should be anyway.”

“Good. We’ll head to F37 first, then circle around to H8, and finally cut into our final target, E16.”

Lin Yu glanced at the three-dimensional map of the Asteroid Belt, sketching out a basic route.

He then handed the plan off to the Navigation Department to fill in the details.

About ten minutes later.

The fleet set sail again, pushing deeper toward the heart of the Asteroid Belt.

——

“Lady Shivana, we’ve arrived!”

At that moment, Shivana was leading thirty-six warships.

They slowly slipped into the Asteroid Belt.

Although most of the crew looked down on women, everyone aboard these ships was personally chosen by Tumelo, who’d given strict orders before they set out—not to undermine Shivana in any way.

So for now, Shivana was treated with relative respect, and her orders were being followed.

That was enough for her—as long as they obeyed, she couldn’t ask for more.

Earning true respect or even loyalty from them… that would have to wait for another time.

At this moment, only one thing mattered.

Find and eliminate the human fleet.

And at the same time…

Take out the human commander as well.