The bridge was a bit eerie at the moment.
Lena Sterling sat in the captain's chair, still unaware that Adrian Vale was standing beside her, continuing to draw on the virtual canvas.
But Adrian Vale's face was already thunderous.
What did he see? Lena Sterling was actually drawing him?
No, no, drawing him wasn't the issue. The key was that Lena had drawn him with torn clothes, tied to a pillar.
And if that wasn't enough, she had even drawn him with a mournful face, crying out for Lena's mercy?
And in front of the pillar, Lena Sterling had drawn herself, holding a whip and lashing Adrian?
Although the drawing skills were quite good, Pooh, was this the time to talk about drawing skills?
This girl was going too far, even drawing while showing a smile that hadn't been seen in years.
"Your drawing skills are excellent!"
"Hmm, my earliest dream was to be a painter, ever since I was little—uh!"
Lena Sterling, realizing what was happening, turned her head and saw Adrian Vale staring at her with a dark expression!
The atmosphere on the entire bridge became exceptionally awkward at that instant.
"Your drawing skills are indeed excellent, but the content of your drawing is a bit problematic!"
"Sorry, Commander!"
Lena Sterling immediately reverted to her ice-cold expression and stood up.
"Alright, no need to apologize. Go rest for a bit. Report to the bridge in ten hours."
Adrian waved his hand. He really didn't know how to deal with Lena Sterling.
Did he really have to be like Adeline Hart, telling her dirty jokes every day to slowly change her personality?
But she didn't seem to be entirely an ice block either; at least the smile he saw just now was very genuine.
So, was her cold exterior actually a disguise? But why?
"Yes!"
Lena Sterling felt terrible at the moment and just wanted to leave Adrian's side as quickly as possible. After responding, she immediately turned and quickly departed.
But before she had taken more than a few steps, Adrian's voice came from behind her again.
"You can smile more often. You look quite pretty when you smile!"
Lena Sterling paused, then bit her lower lip and quickly walked out.
Listening to Lena Sterling's departing footsteps, Adrian looked at the still-open virtual canvas in front of him, at Lena holding a whip, and his face tightened again.
"Sigh, such a good girl, why does she have such tendencies?"
At the same moment, in a massive warship at the Jupiter Ochus Empire Fleet's station.
"Leader, the reconnaissance fleet has sent back a message!"
"How is it? Have you found the Ninth Prince?"
Adams was extremely anxious at the moment. If anything happened to the Ninth Prince while under his care, the outcome could already be foreseen.
The emperor's doting on the Ninth Prince was known throughout the entire empire, even surpassing his affection for the empress.
If something went wrong, there was a good chance the emperor might even execute everyone in their entire fleet.
"Leader, the reconnaissance fleet reports that a large number of destroyed warship wreckage has been found at the last known location of the Rex Fleet, where the Ninth Prince was."
"I don't care about the Rex Fleet; just tell me if there are any survivors and whether the Ninth Prince is alive or dead."
"Leader, according to the reconnaissance fleet's investigation, all warships of the Rex Fleet were annihilated, but no escape pods were found within the wreckage of its flagship. They should have been launched."
"Hmm, the Ninth Prince escaped in an escape pod?"
"Yes, that's our judgment, but we haven't found the escape pod in the surrounding area either. We speculate it was likely captured by humans!"
"Damn it, order everyone to cancel their leave. The entire army is to prepare for deployment. The Ninth Prince must be rescued."
"Yes, Leader!"
More than ten hours later, the 101st Task Force had arrived in Sector 498, deployed Doron's escape pod, and activated its distress signal.
Afterward, having made all the necessary arrangements, they hid the fleet within a nearby complex asteroid field.
At this time, Lena Sterling had returned to the bridge, standing rigidly beside Adrian Vale.
"Adjutant, how long do you think it will take for the fish to bite?"
"Probably a day at most."
"Hmm, that's what I thought."
0.3 AU away, a miniature fleet of 18 warships was hiding in another asteroid field.
"Commander, we've received orders from headquarters. All fleets are to return to headquarters immediately."
"Huh? Did something happen? It's been years since all fleets were assembled!"
"It's probably related to the Ninth Prince's disappearance earlier. The specific details are unclear."
"Alright, then..."
"Commander, we've received a signal from our escape pod. Based on the signal's encoding, this is the escape pod from the Rex Fleet's flagship, 0.3 AU away."
"The Rex Fleet's flagship? Wasn't that the warship the Ninth Prince was on before he disappeared?"
"Yes, Commander!"
"Quick, advance immediately and recover the escape pod! If it really is the Ninth Prince, we will surely be promoted multiple ranks!"
The adjutant was also excited upon hearing this and immediately ordered the entire fleet to leave their hiding spot and rush towards the signal.
However, due to their excessive excitement, both of them forgot one thing: it was impossible for an escape pod to travel from the previous engagement point to this location in just a few days.
After all, an escape pod is not a warship; its speed is very slow.
Half an hour later, inside the flagship of the 101st Task Force.
"Commander, we've received information from the reconnaissance vessel. The fish have taken the bait, 18 of them."
"Excellent, have all warships prepare for combat."
"Understood!"
Five minutes later, eighteen warships appeared before Adrian and slowly stopped not far from the escape pod.
"Action! Inform the entire fleet, I want them incapacitated, not destroyed. At this close range, everyone must fire precisely."
"Yes, Commander!"
That's right, Adrian's ambush location was 30,000 kilometers from the escape pod, and it was on the flank of the Ochus Empire fleet.
Therefore, Adrian ordered the fleet not to destroy the enemy but to use low-power weapons for precise strikes, rendering them incapacitated!
After just one wave of attack, the main cannons on all 18 warships were completely destroyed.
A distance of 30,000 kilometers, for current warships, was practically close-quarters combat range; it was hard to miss.
Thus, on the battlefield, there appeared 18 reconnaissance fleets with their engines and cannons all destroyed, smoking all over, but still barely clinging to life.
"Reporting, Commander, mission accomplished. The weapons and engines on all 18 warships have been destroyed by us."
"Good, well done. Now send a message to the other party, with the following content!"
At this moment, inside the Ochus fleet, the commander was also extremely anxious. He truly had the worst luck; they seemed to have encountered a human fleet.
It appeared this escape pod was a tool specifically designed to lure them in. How could they have fallen for such a simple trick?
But why did the opponent hold back? They only destroyed their armaments and engines, instead of directly destroying the warships, which was completely illogical.
"Commander, the other party has sent a message."
"Never mind, they are already meat that the enemy can devour at any time. Let's see what they have to say. Read it!"
"Nobody move! If you dare to move, we'll kill you!"