The Empire's war machine wasn't fully activated, and this was more of a two-month-long 'revenge raid' rather than a continuous extermination war.

Yang Ming was actually aware of the sneaky operations being carried out by the Imperial Military Department.

Before the Imperial Fleet began its retreat, Admiral Thomas called to inquire if Yang Ming could locate some small Insect Swarms. The number didn't need to be many, just enough to make a statement.

Yang Ming wasn't a Mother Worm, so he definitely couldn't conjure up small Insect Swarms out of thin air.

But he immediately understood the Empire's intention, which was...

Ding ding!

Both Yang Ming and Catherine's communicators simultaneously popped up with a message, an official Insect Swarm warning issued by the Empire to all its territories and military.

The general content was:

[The Empire is about to face an Insect Swarm attack; therefore, the entire fleet on the expedition to the New Federation had to quickly return home for defensive deployment.

The Imperial Army had already achieved glorious victories in the New Federation, but now, they have to give up the imminent war reparations, unconditionally return millions of prisoners of war and large fortresses to the New Federation, and wish them success in combating the insect disaster.

The fate of human civilization in the Milky Way is closely linked. The extreme right-wing party of the New Federation, driven by their greedy ambitions, brought about the insect disaster against natural laws, ultimately facing repercussions from the disaster.

The Empire will closely monitor the New Federation's insect disaster situation, and after addressing the domestic insect disaster and ensuring the thorough safety of its citizens' environment, the Empire will provide varying degrees of aid to the New Federation.]

This announcement, it could be said, was very 'Empire.'

Yang Ming closed the communicator and glanced down at the already asleep Catherine, carefully placing her on the sofa.

He went to the captain's resting room, opened the desk, and initiated a text chat with Lyu.

The Valkyrie had already withdrawn from the New Federation's territory at this time.

Due to the forced warp, they lost the main engine of a transport ship, but this kind of loss was almost negligible for the wealthy Boss Yang.

Lyu said, "Boss, should we make a summary? We profit greatly from every perspective in the Empire's attack on the New Federation this time."

Yang Ming smiled, "I didn't feel much, just met the Old Emperor of the Empire and got some benefits from the Military Department and the Elder Court, that's all."

Lyu asked, "...Boss, then what do you think counts as substantial gains?"

Yang Ming thought carefully, "If they grant me a hereditary Grand Duke title and a Military Department General rank, that would barely suffice."

"Pooh! Boss, wake up, space travel is not the place to dream."

Lyu retracted a message.

"Your prospects are incredibly bright, Boss, it's a lifetime honor to serve you!"

Yang Ming sent an eye-rolling emoji.

"By the way, Boss, was that fortress really given back?"

"Yes, but the New Federation will soon receive one good news and one bad news."

"What's the good news?"

"They'll find that the fortress's weapon and defense systems are nearly intact and usable."

"And the bad news?"

"Admiral Thomas and his team did some tricks inside, spreading lots of metal softeners. After one or two fierce battles, the fortress will lose its combat power, requiring either major renovations or direct abandonment."

Lyu replied, "..."

"The Empire is so ruthless."

"How else could it exist for tens of thousands of years? Stop chatting idly and find a prosperous small nation to settle Little Po Suo first. I'll come over when I have free time. Also, ensure that Dark Star is completely physically isolated from external networks, learn from this predecessor, and get more supercomputing arrays for yourself."

Lyu sent a sighing emoji, "Supercomputers are very expensive."

"No matter how expensive they are, we must get them. It would be best for Dark Star to have this kind of technology itself."

"Understood!"

Yang Ming closed the chat window, glanced at Catherine, then relaxed his body and leaned back in his chair, suddenly thinking of another question.

Catherine's total lifespan was only over forty years.

...

Half a month later.

In the living room of a villa by a lake and mountain, near the supermodified people training base on Yaha Star in the Emperor Star Circle.

Yang Ming sat on the sofa in large shorts, while the robot maid brought freshly squeezed juice. The big projection screen in front broadcasted the recent news hits.

After paying the price of losing six Administrative Stars and seventy billion people, the Insect Race secretly traveling within the New Federation finally left its territory and returned to the edge of the Milky Way.

The New Federation announced the retreat of the insect swarm, requesting aid from the entire Milky Way and encouraging the public to engage in disaster reconstruction efforts.

The Empire had already regained calm internally, but because the New Federation had been resisting the insect swarm, the Empire hadn't held any grand events.

So, after watching the New Federation declare the insect swarm retreat, Yang Ming flipped through to find the news broadcasted by Empire Star's official channel.

To celebrate the Empire's resistance to the insect disaster and counteroffensive against the New Federation's great victory, the Empire would initiate a week-long celebration event, with a week's holiday for workers and students across various industries. Different amounts of activity funds would be allocated to local governments by Emperor Star.

Even after half a month, the celebratory atmosphere could not be neglected.

Yang Ming flipped through several news articles, all showing victory parades celebrating victories across the Empire.

Of course, during national celebrations, some discordant noises also appeared.

[Cruel Empire sees others suffer without offering help], [Empire's anti-human rights nature], [No difference between Empire and New Federation]—such rhetoric frequently appeared online.

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