"Okay, I won't say much more. Go take care of the formalities, and you can leave."

Spader said to Su Mo.

At this moment, Valif next to him spoke, saying to Su Mo:

"Just go. I'll take care of the formalities for you."

"Thank you, Lord Valif. But, Lord Valif, that..."

Su Mo thought about it and felt that just leaving like this was a bit unethical.

"You don't need to say it. I know what you want to say. Although I am old-fashioned and unapproachable, I am not a fool. Of course, I know that Daisy and the others are not only not at fault but also have merit. However, the Black and White Agency has its own principles and guidelines, so they still need to be given a small punishment. Of course, don't worry, it's just a small punishment. They will be rewarded later."

Seeing that Su Mo still wanted to plead for them, Valif simply stated it directly.

"Thank you, then I'll leave first."

Su Mo understood immediately upon hearing this and left the interrogation room without saying anything more.

Spader watched Su Mo's departing figure and sighed faintly.

"Alas."

"What's wrong?"

Valif looked at Spader with some surprise.

Spader said with some emotion, "It's a pity that such a talent didn't come from my E District."

Valif was silent after hearing this.

...

On the bridge of the Blacksun, Li Ruiqi sat in the command chair, listening to Putmi's statistical report.

"Latest casualty summary: a total of 22,421 people were injured and 2,134 died in this incident. According to feedback from below, there weren't many building collapses inside the ship. Most of these injured and dead people didn't take adequate shelter measures. Normally, this could have been avoided, after all, we had given ample time."

Putmi said heavily.

"I understand."

Li Ruiqi sighed and replied.

"Also, these casualties are not the main issue. The real heavy loss is the abandoned personnel."

Speaking of this, Putmi's old face was twitching. He was being scolded to death now. He was the one who issued the fake delay order back then.

Although anyone with a brain would think that he shouldn't be blamed, people are emotional creatures, and those who have lost relatives are sometimes not so rational.

"What is the specific number?"

Li Ruiqi held his breath, preparing himself to face the cruel reality.

"A total of 239,112 people were abandoned, which can basically be assumed to be all dead, with no possibility of survival. As for the transport ships and various material equipment that were abandoned at the same time, there are even more."

Putmi said, his scalp tingling.

Li Ruiqi's heart also ached when he heard this number, and his face was extremely ugly.

"Terrible."

Putmi then said, "Actually, this number is still ideal. If it weren't for the extra two hours of extension back then, the number of deaths would have been at least hundreds of thousands more. Moreover, even the military personnel may not have been able to retreat safely, so Lord Li Ruiqi, you don't need to blame yourself. You have already done enough."

"I understand. Has the work to comfort the families of the deceased begun?"

Li Ruiqi asked, his chest feeling very uncomfortable.

"It has already begun, but because there are too many people involved, it will probably take some time. But don't worry, every sacrifice will definitely be comforted."

Putmi said with certainty.

"Okay, what about the ship?"

Li Ruiqi nodded and asked.

Speaking of the ship, Putmi's expression became even more gloomy, and he said in a depressed mood: "The Blacksun's current situation is very bad. Among the three nuclear fusion power units, Unit 1 is overloaded and malfunctioning, Unit 2 was pierced by radiation, and now only Unit 3 is still running. In addition, the energy barrier device is also damaged, and the damage to other key parts is even more numerous. Now the maintenance team is almost going crazy."

"How long will it take to repair?"

Li Ruiqi asked, rubbing his forehead, with a headache.

"I asked the maintenance personnel, and they said that it would take two to three months at the earliest, and half a year at the latest. And they told us not to have too much hope. Even if it is barely repaired, it will not be possible to restore it to its peak."

Putmi explained.

"I understand."

Li Ruiqi responded with a headache.

"Lord Li Ruiqi, do you have any good suggestions? This can't go on! It will definitely delay our original planned schedule. In addition, we are now deviating from the course trajectory, so it's a bit too late."

Putmi was very anxious about the current situation.

Li Ruiqi's expression kept changing. He knew what Putmi said, but he couldn't change it for a while.

So Li Ruiqi said to Putmi:

"Putmi, you watch the command room. I need to have a meeting with Augulas and the others to discuss it."

"Okay."

Putmi nodded in response.

Not long after, inside a hidden conference hall.

Li Ruiqi, Spader, and Augulas sat around a table.

Li Ruiqi gave each of them a copy of the summarized report.

Spader and Augulas looked at the summarized report, and their faces were even more unsightly than if their fathers had died.

Until they finished reading it, both of them were speechless with livid faces.

Li Ruiqi went straight to the point and said, "Vice-Chairman Spader, Vice-Chairman Augulas, I won't say anything superfluous. You have seen the current situation. The damage to the Blacksun is so serious that it will take a long time to repair. And it is impossible to completely repair it. In addition, the flight trajectory has deviated. It is almost impossible to go to the Gray Scorpion Star System according to the original planned schedule. There is also not enough time, and the Blacksun is in such a state, the danger is extremely high."

"Then what do you mean? Do you want to retreat and return?"

Augulas's face was abnormally ugly.

"I'm just stating the situation, and I'm discussing it with you now."

Li Ruiqi replied calmly.

Spader sighed and said, "Li Ruiqi, what choices do we have now? Just open up and say it directly. There are no outsiders here."

"We have three options. The first is to return, which is the most conservative and safest option. Of course, the cost is also obvious, which is equivalent to announcing the failure of this expedition plan."

Li Ruiqi said calmly.

"That won't work."

Augulas directly rejected it.

"The second is to continue sailing, but we need to face two major risks: one is exceeding the time limit, and the other is that the Blacksun is in a bad state. If we encounter another attack, it may sink."

Li Ruiqi continued.

After listening, Spader shook his head and said, "Too risky, what's the third option?"

"Change the destination, find a new target."

Li Ruiqi said solemnly.

"Are you kidding me? Do you think this is a child's play? Can the destination be changed as you wish? And where to change it to? In the vast sea of stars without an accurate target, it is no different from looking for a needle in a haystack. Won't we still return empty-handed then?"

Augulas directly retorted, feeling that Li Ruiqi's last suggestion was too ridiculous.

"I understand, so I hope you can communicate with Mr. Direl to see if there are any targets that are relatively close to our current location and have relatively good resources."

Li Ruiqi said.

"Don't have such illusions, it's impossible. Think carefully and you'll know the possibility is too low. How precious is each resource point? Direl is not a god, how could he know so much, and it just happens to be very close to us."

Augulas waved his hand irritably, feeling that it was all ridiculous.

At this moment, Spader said, "It's not completely impossible."

Li Ruiqi and Augulas were also stunned and looked at Spader.

"Spader, are you kidding me?"

Spader's eyes flickered with a strange light, and he said, "Direl is unlikely to provide us with a new target, but a group of people might, after all, they are the local snakes here."

Li Ruiqi and Augulas immediately reacted and said in unison.

"The remnants of the Hongji Empire!"