On the bridge of the Imperial Glory, Wells stared at the simulated fleeing blip on the tactical screen without a trace of pity in his eyes.
"Qin Bei Wang..."
He whispered the name.
"Let your father see that the battlefield is no place for a playboy."
Five hundred million kilometers away, aboard the Lightning, alarms wailed mournfully across the bridge.
"Ghost Shadow and Dark Shadow have detected massive engine signatures!"
The sensor supervisor's voice was nearly a scream.
"At least twenty ships! They're pursuing us at full speed!"
Captain Li Zhen's face turned pale, but he gripped the armrests of his command chair tightly.
"All ships, maximum acceleration!
Retreat!"
He gritted his teeth as he gave the order.
"Relay the Commander's instructions: have Dark Shadow and Ghost Shadow scatter and escape!"
Meanwhile, on the bridge of the battleship Kunlun Mountain.
"All fleet units, full-speed assault!"
Qin Bei Wang's voice echoed across every bridge of the Pluto Fleet starships.
Calm, as if he were reading routine training orders.
"Target: the slower rear elements of the Dragon Lizard Fleet. Adjust course to 042, declination -12.
Full speed ahead. Charge main weapon systems to combat status."
The bridge fell silent for three seconds.
Then the comm channels erupted.
"Commander, confirm orders?"
The voice of Meng Changfeng, captain of another cruiser, came through first, filled with disbelief.
"Commander, we only have eight ships.
Six of them are destroyers with weaker firepower.
You want to assault two enemy fleets?
That's twenty-four enemy ships!
We're outnumbered more than three to one!"
"Confirmed."
Qin Bei Wang's fingers moved rapidly across the control console, synchronizing the assault route to all vessels.
"The enemy is pursuing Lightning in a single-file formation. Their formation is stretched too thin.
The slower older starships are all in the rear!
We'll attack their vulnerable backline!"
"Vulnerable? There are still twelve ships guarding that position!"
Meng Changfeng said quietly.
"Even with our equipment advantage, a head-on charge would be suicide!"
Zhuang ZhiXuan quickly stepped to Qin Bei Wang's side.
Lowering her voice.
"Commander, I understand you want to save Lightning, but this kind of assault... it's too risky.
We could fully utilize our distance advantage to conduct harassment attacks on the periphery, tying down the enemy and buying time for Lightning.
Meanwhile, we could wait for Commander Yang's reinforcements!"
"Lightning won't last that long."
Qin Bei Wang cut her off, pulling up sensor data.
"Wells' direct command fleet has relatively faster starships.
Their lead destroyers will catch up to Lightning in just an hour to an hour and a half.
Besides, everything I've done so far wasn't meant for passive defense!"
His gaze swept across the shocked faces on the bridge before returning to the main tactical screen.
A holographic star chart unfolded before him, the system running the latest tactical simulation.
Blue and red blips collided and intertwined in the virtual space, hundreds of possible combat trajectories spreading like spiderwebs.
The simulation results flashed at the edge of his vision:
[Assault Plan A-7 Success Probability: 75.3%]
[Key Variable: Enemy Commander Personality Profile (Cautious Type)]
[Expected Enemy Response: 71% probability of choosing temporary withdrawal to regroup formations rather than immediate head-on confrontation]
[If enemy chooses head-on confrontation, success rate drops to 42.7%]
Seventy-five percent chance of victory.
This number echoed in Qin Bei Wang's mind.
"Captain Meng, Deputy Commander Zhuang, hear me out."
His voice remained steady but carried an undeniable authority.
"We're not engaging in a head-on fight against twenty-four ships.
I'm making a calculated gamble with high odds of success!"
He pulled up Wells' personal file on the tactical screen.
"Remington Wells, sixty-three years old, forty years of service, veteran of thirty-seven campaigns.
Brilliant combat record, but with one distinctive trait—caution, extreme caution.
He never fights battles without eighty percent certainty, and never allows himself to be trapped in potentially encircling situations."
"But?"
Meng Changfeng remained puzzled.
"When he sees a well-equipped fleet charging straight at his rear despite numerical inferiority,
his first reaction won't be 'meet them head-on.'
It will be [This is a trap]."
Qin Bei Wang activated the 3D simulation of the assault route.
"He'll wonder: Why would this fleet dare to charge like this?
Are there reinforcements?
Is there an ambush?
Did I miss something?"
He zoomed in on the details of the junction area.
"And during those few minutes of hesitation,
our assault fleet will have already locked onto his tail.
Once engaged, he won't have time for careful deliberation.
He'll only have two choices: either fight head-on,
risking heavy damage from our superior equipment,
or temporarily withdraw and regroup formations."
"If he chooses to withdraw, Lightning will be saved."
Zhuang ZhiXuan understood.
"More than that."
A cold light flashed in Qin Bei Wang's eyes.
"If Wells turns around to confront us, we retreat!
Their starships can't match our technology!
They can't catch us!"
He opened the communication interface where an encrypted message was being drafted.
"I need to send a message to Commander Yang Shao."
Zhuang ZhiXuan read the brief message:
[Main force of Wells Sub-Fleet, direct command fleet, and Dragon Lizard Fleet engaged with our unit at Planet Agbag.
Coordinates attached.
Recommend immediate counteroffensive from Shiva Star and Oak Planet theaters.
Delay enemy reinforcement.
Set ambushes at secure transition points within the system to cut off enemy retreat.]
"You're..."
She gasped.
"Gambling on a much larger scale."
Qin Bei Wang clicked send.
"If Wells is truly as cautious as intelligence suggests, when faced with a surprise attack and potential encirclement, he'll likely choose to withdraw.
And once he begins retreating, the entire Wells Sub-Fleet's offensive will collapse."
Meng Changfeng's voice came through the comm channel, this time without doubt but with thoughtful consideration.
"Commander, are you certain Wells will think this way?
What if he sees through our bluff?"
"Then we execute Plan B."
Qin Bei Wang said calmly.
"We'll fight while retreating, using our equipment advantage for attrition warfare.
When they advance, we retreat; when they retreat, we pursue; when they're exhausted, we harass!
Kunlun Mountain's Sky-Opening class Heavy Particle Beam Main Cannon outranges any of their ships, allowing us to attack beyond their main cannon range.
Buying time for Lightning, and for other fleets."
He paused, then added.
"But according to my calculations, Wells has a seventy percent probability of choosing caution.
For a veteran like him, a risky victory is far less important than preserving the fleet's strength.
In the Ferry Empire, the fleet is their foundation.
If it's lost, they lose everything!
He cannot afford to lose!"
The Bridge fell into silence.
The officers exchanged glances, seeing the hesitation on each other's faces gradually fade, replaced by determination.
Zhuang ZhiXuan looked at Qin Bei Wang's profile.
Unconsciously, her eyes held a bit more admiration.
This "Academic Scum," who once didn't even know the basic range of quantum communication, was now devising a tactic that could determine the outcome of the entire warzone.
And his logic was flawless.