Yet, the commander of the Vault Fleet, Fu Changye, still wore a face full of worry.
He furrowed his brows, his tone tinged with unease.
"But what if?"
He paused, his voice growing even lower.
"What if those families truly reached some kind of undisclosed agreement, willing to pay any price to send troops in support of the Reinhardt Family...
Then we would truly be in dire straits."
Fu Changye's words were like a fine needle, once again pricking at everyone's concerns.
But as soon as his words fell, an unfamiliar voice abruptly rang out in the silent conference room.
Shattering all contemplation and solemnity, it instantly stunned everyone present.
"There is no 'what if'!"
Fu Changye's brows sharply furrowed, a flicker of displeasure passing through his eyes.
He instinctively turned to look.
He wanted to see who was so bold as to publicly refute his words.
The voice was completely unfamiliar; it could not possibly belong to any of the Sequence Fleet commanders present.
Fu Changye's gaze instinctively swept over the adjutants standing solemnly behind each general, thinking it was some subordinate who didn't know their place daring to interrupt.
But the next moment, he realized he was mistaken.
The one who spoke was none other than the sole Public-Grade Fleet Commander in the room, Qin Bei Wang, seated calmly beside Wen Tingtao.
Qin Bei Wang slowly stood up, exuding an aura of cool sharpness around him.
Facing a room full of generals, he showed not a hint of stage fright.
In the conference room, the previously scattered gazes instantly converged on him like spotlights.
Meeting the complex stares from everyone, Qin Bei Wang spoke calmly.
"I believe the Empire has not deployed a Portable Stargate in the Bushman Star System at all."
He paused slightly, his eyes sweeping across the room, his tone growing even more resolute.
"As for the so-called reinforcements of fifteen Sequence Fleets, that is all nonsense—a smokescreen deliberately released by the Empire."
"Whoa!"
As soon as these words were spoken, everyone exchanged glances, their expressions varied.
They all wondered how this young Vice Admiral dared to assert this so confidently.
After all, that was highly credible intelligence that had been cross-verified.
Ignoring their reactions, Qin Bei Wang continued.
"Considering the tangled interests among the Empire's families, they can mobilize at most seven Sequence Fleets to support the Opal Star Sector."
"Adding the Himiel Fleet already supporting the Opal Star Sector, and the four Sequence Fleets deployed in the Savis Star System..."
His gaze swept over each commander present once more.
"The total forces amount to at most twelve Sequence Fleets."
"That's one less than the thirteen Sequence Fleets we can muster."
"What?"
These words exploded like thunder in the conference room, causing an instant uproar.
Everyone widened their eyes in disbelief, staring at Qin Bei Wang.
Looking at his meticulously serious expression, the unwavering light in his eyes.
It was as if he wasn't speaking from speculation, but from something he had personally witnessed and heard.
How could this be?
The two pieces of intelligence sent back by Agent Rose and Tulip corroborated each other, interlocking seamlessly.
They had almost confirmed the Empire's deployment—how could they be false?
How could Qin Bei Wang be so certain?
Based on his intuition?
Or was it based on unfounded speculation?
Amidst the restless and uncertain agitation, General Zhang Chiyue, commander of the Tsunami Fleet, slowly began to speak.
His tone was gentle, carrying a hint of tactful persuasion.
He both gave Qin Bei Wang face and voiced everyone's doubts.
"Vice Admiral Qin, I understand your intentions.
I also know you want to boost morale and stabilize the troops."
He shook his head gently, a trace of helplessness in his tone.
"But for matters of such overall importance, there's no need to comfort everyone in this way."
He looked up at Qin Bei Wang, his eyes filled with confusion.
"How can you be certain that the Empire hasn't deployed portable stargates in the Bushman Star System?"
"Moreover, if what you say is correct and the Empire has dispatched at most seven Sequence Fleets for support…"
He shifted his tone, speaking with increasing rigor.
"According to intelligence from Rose, five Imperial Sequence Fleets have already appeared in the Bushman Star System."
"The remaining two Sequence Fleets would be utterly insufficient to defend the defensive lines of the Machu Picchu, Saborne, and Bedros star systems. Doesn't that defy logic?"
Zhang Chiyue's words were perfectly reasonable, instantly expressing the thoughts of most people present.
Indeed, Qin Bei Wang's previous achievements in the Battle of the Bushman System were exceptionally brilliant.
Annihilating over 80,000 enemy warships with just 400 ships was an unparalleled feat, worthy of everyone's admiration.
But now.
This concerned the survival of the entire Myriad Stones Star Domain Theater.
It involved the lives of over a dozen Sequence Fleets and billions of officers and crew—a matter of utmost gravity.
Even for these battle-hardened generals, they had to proceed with extreme caution, not daring to slacken in the slightest.
They absolutely could not blindly trust one person's unfounded intuition based solely on past glorious achievements, gambling with the safety of an entire star domain.
As Zhang Chiyue's voice fell, the conference room instantly fell silent, all discussions ceasing abruptly.
The gazes of everyone present once again focused on Qin Bei Wang.
Everyone was waiting, waiting for him to provide a reasonable explanation, an answer that could convince them all.
Qin Bei Wang slowly surveyed the room, his eyes sweeping over the varied expressions on each face.
Frankly, at this moment, he really wanted to lay his cards on the table and reveal his trump card.
During the previous Battle of the Bushman System, he had secretly deployed passive detection buoys, which were still operating covertly to this day.
Although they were separated by vast distances, with signal delays so extreme that the information received was likely one or two months old,
the core intelligence that needed to be detected had not been missed in the slightest.
He had a clear understanding of the Empire's force deployments and fleet movements in the Opal Star Sector.
This was precisely the confidence that allowed him to so firmly refute the two pieces of intelligence in front of all these generals.
Should he say it?
Qin Bei Wang's gaze quickly swept over everyone present again as he rapidly calculated in his mind.
With the rapid development of the Interstellar Era, all sorts of unbelievable events had long since sprung up like mushrooms after rain.
Unexplainable phenomena were increasing, and people's acceptance was constantly broadening.
Even if he casually fabricated something like "clairvoyance over extreme distances" or "a perceptual talent brought about by genetic mutation,"
these battle-hardened, well-informed generals
might very well believe it.
After all, in the cosmos, genetic mutations, unknown cosmic radiation, mysterious particle erosion—
anything bizarre could happen, and no one could say for sure.
But this thought was quickly dismissed by Qin Bei Wang.
He understood the stakes all too well.
The more people who knew this secret, the greater his risk of exposure.
Once the news leaked and the Empire learned he possessed this ability to see through force deployments,
they would inevitably devise targeted strategies and set deadly traps.
By then, both he and the entire Pluto Fleet
would likely suffer a devastating blow, perhaps even face utter ruin.