Chapter 74: Political Storms and Brewing Conflict

Lin Yu gave Shivana the answer she wanted, then turned and left.

Ten days later, when the fleet reached Mars orbit, he handed her over along with the other Klein captives to the intelligence department that had come to collect them.

Naturally, the intelligence department handled this transfer with extreme caution—no one dared to underestimate the physical prowess of the Klein.

Even…

With every restraint imaginable securely in place.

So they went ahead and requested an entire heavy infantry regiment for the escort.

The scene during the handover? Let’s just say, it was something else.

——

Time passed quickly.

Both sides stood their ground, skirmishes flaring up from time to time.

Three more months slipped by.

Since Lin Yu’s daring strike into Klein territory, destroying over ninety enemy warships, and then wiping out Shivana’s fleet outside Outpost Three,

the Klein had become unusually quiet these past three months.

They hadn’t even attempted a single raid on a Federation mining fleet—something that used to happen all the time.

Just three months ago, attacks like that were practically routine.

Those battles must’ve stung, leaving the Klein genuinely hesitant to cause more trouble.

After all, they had less than a thousand warships left, and even though they’d hauled in a ton of large asteroids to build new ships fast,

That sort of mass production still took time—you can’t just drag an asteroid home today and crank out a warship tomorrow.

So until they could rebuild their forces, Tumelo had to play it safe to avoid another devastating loss.

Meanwhile, the Federation was running into trouble of its own.

After the Jupiter defense line battle, the Federation finally stopped hiding the war with the Klein and made the situation public across the entire organization.

On one hand, the Federation Fleet had scored a resounding victory in the Battle of Jupiter.

On the other, they needed to mobilize on a massive scale—troops and civilian ships alike.

At this point, hiding the truth wasn’t just pointless—it was impossible.

With the overall situation improving, they didn’t really need to worry about civil chaos breaking out.

However…

A segment of humanity—hard to say if they were naïve or just plain wrongheaded—

insisted the Klein had arrived in the Solar System with peaceful intentions and claimed that by slaughtering them at Jupiter, humans owed them an apology. Some were even demanding that the Klein be welcomed with open arms.

Some radicals even suggested giving Mars to the Klein so both races could stride hand-in-hand into a brighter future.

Bizarre ideas like that kept popping up all over Earth.

All this nonsense gave President Friedrich a massive headache.

He wanted to crack down with force, but his advisors in the presidential office mostly objected.

Honestly, the election system had created a whole breed of self-righteous officials.

Of course, not all of them were truly selfless—whether real or fake, they all shared one thing: a knack for spouting foolish rhetoric.

They weren’t even shy about it as long as it brought votes.

That’s why, back when the Federation was formed, Huaxia insisted on building the Federation Fleet outside of the central government’s control, with the former top three powers holding their own fleets.

That setup…

Also acted as a check on government power.

If the central government ever failed, the Federation Fleet could flip the table at any time.

Over time, the Federation developed into a truly bizarre system.

All of humanity had united to form the Federation, but the old top three powers formed their own little alliance and kept control over the Federation Fleet.

Meanwhile, the President’s office had barely any real authority over the Federation Fleet—every decision needed negotiation.

On paper, anyone could see that this system looked unstable.

After all, the military was basically independent from the central government.

But in practice?

For over two centuries, the Federation had been surprisingly stable.

Why? As people from Huaxia put it…

As long as the bureaucrats—

The so-called elite class—are kept away from military power, the entire system stays solid.

Still, with months passing and the presidency slow to act, the problem kept growing. The Federation Fleet’s patience was wearing dangerously thin.

“We risk our lives fighting aliens on the frontlines, and meanwhile, a pack of bleeding hearts drags us down from behind?”

“How are we supposed to stand for that?”

“Friedrich, are you actually going to handle this or not? If not, step aside and let the Federation Fleet take over!”

In the room, the three top leaders looked far from pleased.

Friedrich, present via holo-projection, had already been scolded for over ten minutes.

“It’s not that I don’t want to fix this—the resistance is just overwhelming and it’s not easy to push through.”

Friedrich couldn’t hide his frustration.

For months, he’d wanted to tackle the issue, but…

The Federation government wasn’t under his sole command. All his advisors and most of Congress were actively blocking him.

In truth, most of the legislators weren’t actually supporting the radicals or protecting them.

It was just…

They belonged to the opposition, while the ruling party was pushing for action.

So whether the idea was right didn’t matter—the only thing that mattered was…

If the ruling party was for it, then the opposition had to be against it.

To make things worse, Friedrich’s coalition allies had turned on him too.

That meant most of Parliament was now in opposition.

With so many parties after humanity united, none could win more than fifty percent of the vote alone.

Forming coalition governments had become inevitable.

But if an ally jumped ship, the ruling party immediately lost its majority.

This was the fatal flaw of vote-driven politics on full display.

If the Federation Fleet weren’t independent from the central government, things would be dire…

Humanity would truly be in peril.

“Friedrich, you’re the Federation President, not a figurehead!”

“Every second you hesitate brings humanity closer to extinction.”

“I’ll say it again: if you need us, the Federation Fleet will back you fully. But if you can’t act decisively, just step aside and let us handle it!”

Mu Xingchen’s words were sharp, leaving no doubt about the seriousness.

To resist the Klein, everything—from mass mobilization, to production shifts, to all-out resource conscription—needed absolute support from the home front.

Otherwise, the Federation Fleet alone would never manage those grand plans.

So as long as the crisis could be contained, taking swift and hard action was the best play.

Dragging it out would only let the problem fester.

And by then, even trying to solve it would be a nightmare.

“Let me handle it first. If the Federation Fleet jumps in, the shock to the current system could trigger real chaos.”

“Do you really think you can manage?”

Truthfully, Mu Xingchen and the other two weren’t too confident in Friedrich.

Not that Friedrich was a bad guy—

He just wasn’t decisive enough.

Dealing with situations like this took a sharp, ruthless hand.

“Don’t underestimate me! Maybe I don’t have the Federation Fleet’s muscle, but don’t forget—I’m also the Supreme Commander of the Solar System Defense Command.”

“It’s not as powerful as your fleet, but it’s right behind you in strength.”

Friedrich’s eyes blazed, his voice fierce with determination.

In that moment—

He was truly resolved.