"Because we need to leave a way out." Kirito smiled and rubbed Asuna's head. "Although Feixiao identified the Borisin nearby, there's no guarantee there aren't others. If a single one escapes, Hoolay can confirm the General's location, and then he'll have no more reservations."

"In other words... General Feixiao is currently like an unfired bullet?"

"Exactly." Kirito nodded. "That's the intention behind a one-hit kill. She probably won't make a move until she's actually facing Hoolay."

——

Feixiao approached the two Sky-Faring Commission clerks. As soon as they saw the three of them, one of the clerks appeared quite impatient: "Who are you? Don't you know that Stargazer Navalia has been locked down?"

"Oh, just some tourists who wandered in by mistake. Let's be polite," the other, gentler clerk said.

"...Stargazer Navalia is the shipbuilding port of the Xianzhou Luofu. If the Sky-Faring Commission is locking down the port, there must be an official notice, right?" Yanqing asked.

The impatient clerk replied: "Official notice? Of course there is. The Cloud Knights received word that someone infiltrated Stargazer Navalia."

"...Oh, that's reasonable. So you're screening for Borisin right now?"

The gentle clerk said: "We received instructions from our superiors. To prevent uninvolved personnel from interfering with the Cloud Knights' inspection, we've specially locked this area down. Please understand our work."

Seeing that they didn't want to reveal much, Feixiao and the others went to the Cloud Knights. That Cloud Knight recognized them and straightened up immediately: "Ah... Oh! Cloud Knight Lieutenant Yanqing! And General Feixiao?"

"Brother Cloud Knight, you know about the Borisin prison break, right?"

"I've received the news. I'll stay alert at all times!"

Feixiao asked: "Based on my observation, you've been staring in the direction of the Skysplitter. Have you noticed anything unusual?"

"The Skysplitter is normal, no special situation!" the Cloud Knight soldier whispered. "...It's just that watching the ship's flight path from here is really boring. If I could get on board, what I'd want to see most is Lord Yanqing's title defense match..."

——

Miss Krillin's Dragon Maid.

"Pfft, hahaha—!"

Thor flopped onto the sofa, her dragon tail thumping against the floor: "I thought this guy was calculating something while staring at the Skysplitter, but it turns out he really is just a Xianzhou local daydreaming while on duty?"

Beside her, Krillin adjusted her glasses and sighed deeply: "Is it funny? I only see a poor guy slacking off and spacing out at work, only to be caught by the company's highest leader."

"Eh...? I guess you're right." Thor suddenly realized.

Being caught by Cloud Knight Lieutenant Yanqing wouldn't be so bad; he's young and might forgive a little excuse. But now that the Cloud Knights have received news of the Borisin infiltration, this Cloud Knight still dares to space out and watch the Skysplitter while on duty... As a fellow worker, Krillin could only pray he wouldn't lose his job.

"But the Wardance is indeed a grand event. I also really want to see Yanqing compete in the arena. As the face of the Cloud Knights, I suppose every Cloud Knight wants to see Yanqing show off his prowess on stage, right?"

——

"Soldier, you are on duty. Focus!" Feixiao said sternly.

"Yes, ma'am!"

Among the suspicious individuals, there was one artisan from the Artisanship Commission left. Seeing the three approach, he was about to tell them to leave but immediately recognized Yanqing.

"Aren't you guys also just wandering around?"

"I'm an official, sent specifically to investigate a strange problem," the Artisanship Commission artisan said.

"A strange problem?"

"Yes, unplanned Star-skiffs are being manufactured, all coming from this dock in Stargazer Navalia. Did the assembly line's capacity planning go wrong again?" The artisan was also puzzled. "This is so strange. The Star-skiffs produced before the Wardance should have been planned out."

After speaking, he waved them off: "I'm really sorry, I must focus on the work at hand first. We can talk later if there are questions."

After finishing the investigation of the three parties, Feixiao concluded: "A group of Borisin have disguised themselves and returned to Stargazer Navalia. The answer is already obvious—"

"It's the two clerks from the Sky-Faring Commission," Yanqing interjected. "Those two clerks used the 'Stargazer Navalia lockdown' as an excuse to urge us to leave, which contradicts the Cloud Knights' original plan."

"The clumsy disguise ends here. Even if they want to hide, they won't escape."

Feixiao returned to the two clerks. Seeing the group's aggressive approach, the gentle clerk still tried to bluff his way through: "Why are you still here? I said just now, Stargazer Navalia has been locked down."

"I never gave such an order," Feixiao said coldly.

"Who are you?"

"You may have never seen me on the battlefield, but you must have heard my name." Every word of Feixiao's seemed to carry a weight of a thousand pounds, striking deep into their hearts with resounding clarity. "But who gave you permission to answer a question with a question! Tell me—"

"How many more accomplices do you have? Where were you planning to rendezvous with Hoolay?"

——

One-Punch Man.

Intimidation.

A faint yet omnipresent sense of pressure.

Superalloy Darkshine subconsciously tensed his muscles—this was his instinctive reaction when facing a strong enemy, even though he knew in his head that this "strong enemy" couldn't jump out of the Celestial Screen and hit him. His body still reacted instinctively, as if pricked by an invisible needle.

*Clatter, clatter...*

Suddenly, someone noticed the table in the Association was trembling slightly.

The heroes looked around curiously, finally resting their gaze on the other end of the table.

——King.

It was him shaking.

His hands were clasped together, fingers slightly curled, trembling unconsciously. However, his hat hid most of his expression, revealing only his tightly pursed lips.

"As expected of King." A drop of cold sweat slid down Atomic Samurai's forehead, his voice full of admiration. "Facing an Emanator of The Hunt like Feixiao, are you shaking with excitement? Hey, hey... looking at you, it seems you really want to fight her."

"But King's King Engine hasn't sounded." Drive Knight pointed his eye scanner at King. After a brief scan, he found that King's state was exactly the same as usual. Moreover, King remained expressionless, as if Feixiao wasn't even worth his serious attention.

"How is that possible... even Feixiao can't make King get serious? Is his true strength even greater than an Emanator of The Hunt?"