She first cast her gaze upon Heifeng and said, "You wanted to know about Jiu Ling's whereabouts, right? I can tell you for sure Jiu Ling is not only alive but also living quite comfortably. Currently, Jiu Ling is undergoing secluded special training, getting ready for the challenges after the attack by Revenge Shadow Rider."

"Why conceal the truth? Hasn't Sister Ling already …" Heifeng's complexion showed doubt. His gaze was suspicious, his voice hesitant—obviously, he had reservations about her words.

"What do you mean by concealing the truth? The general must have his reasons for doing so. I think it can also serve as a motivation. Instead of thinking of sharing his burdens, you forget even the daily task of honing yourselves, and come here to complain instead, causing him needless trouble." The confidential secretary grew increasingly angry as she spoke, her eyes reddening and her pretty face paling. As her anger surged, her cheeks flushed with it. "The media are criticizing him, saying the military and officials are of one mind. Now, even you want to question him? The general is tired. He's just announced, since both of you and the media want to see people, he will return to everyone a Jiu Ling and Number 2."

No sooner had the confidential secretary finished speaking than she turned her attention to Xia Mu, "Aren't you still dwelling on the Xiuluo incident?"

Xia Mu's expression was equally unsympathetic, "What if I am?"

"It doesn't matter, but first, you must remember the fact that Xiuluo has died in battle. Xiuluo's death has nothing at all to do with General Kexiao. It was due to your mission's failure that Xiuluo was ambushed and killed. Xiuluo is still alive—why? Because of General Kexiao. He went to great lengths, under immense pressure, to forcibly use the Vitalizing Elixir to pull Xiuluo back from the brink of death. Regrettably, the recovery wasn't complete, Xiuluo has almost completely lost all memory, and the brain can't handle too much stimulation. The general tried all sorts of methods to restore it, but to little avail. That's why he didn't want you to come into contact with Xiuluo prematurely—have you ever considered things from the general's perspective? Do you deserve his efforts? Precisely because Xiuluo can't withstand much stress, to prevent emergencies, the general specially installed a remote transmission device in Xiuluo's cockpit. That war correspondent, in fact, was also controlling our military's remote relay station."

Upon hearing this, the two suddenly understood. It was Xia Mu who spoke, his usually graceful demeanor revealing a bit of hesitancy, "But, but why didn't Kexiao disclose this earlier …"

"Wrong!" the confidential secretary corrected, "You should say, the general doesn't need to inform his subordinates about everything—that's how it should be put. This phrase, I believe the general himself has said before. Although you two are super-soldiers, you are still soldiers, and if the commander does something, he must have his basis for it." Her speech took another turn, "Don't you also want to know how Mardis was lost, how it fell so quickly?"

Damn, that definitely had its reasons. Both wanted to say it wasn't so, but Xia Mu only managed to utter an 'I' before being silenced by the confidential secretary's rapid-fire speech.

"Mardis was originally not part of Saudi. Otherwise, it wouldn't have been impossible to conquer to this day. There, we have to consume a vast amount of supplies daily. The spaceport is often targeted by the resistance, and TK is a poisonous fang in the Death Desert that's hard to extract. Moreover, with the Federal Diya forces eying us covetously, even long-term support involves massive resource consumption. Have you considered these points?" the confidential secretary counter-questioned.

Obviously, they hadn't, and the two stood there speechless, like stunned chickens, then hung their heads in silence.

She continued, "This planet never had more resources—it not only cannot benefit us but becomes a negative chess piece for the Federation to restrain us. Unfortunately, the foolish National Council always refuses to let go." The confidential secretary did not shy away from speaking her mind, "General Kexiao had seen through this long ago. Instead of slowly depleting resources, it's better to sever this lifeline quickly. Now that you've stirred things up, the Military Department is aware, and once it reaches the Council, now the general has to endure the Council's absurd valuation. Is this the outcome you wished to see? Are you satisfied now?"

She really couldn't imagine what it would be like without Kexiao. Who was Amelia? The active genius topping the ranks of young renown generals. Apart from Kexiao, she didn't know who else in Saudi could stand against her, not to mention that the Federation still had General Greedy Wolf positioned in the rear. Feng Yi, who was in Mardis, was also clearly not easy to deal with.

"Oh yes, weren't the two of you also interested in learning about Number 3? Today, I'll tell you everything …"

Just as she was speaking, the door suddenly opened, and Kexiao walked out, saying, "Didn't I tell you to keep it down? Look, you were so loud I could hear it."

"General, I couldn't help it, I just …"

Kexiao did not mention it further, gesturing for everyone to disperse. He still had to go to the National Council to listen to those old men preaching and couldn't afford to waste time here.

After just a couple of steps, he was stopped by Xia Mu, who had followed him out, calling out, "Kexiao, cough, no, General, I misunderstood you before, and I apologize."

Kexiao shrugged his shoulders, "Haha, I'm more used to you calling me Kexiao. There were reasons I didn't tell you, and I hope you can understand."

"There's no need to say that. The fault is mine, and it's all because you're too reticent. In any case, I will definitely cooperate in the future."

Xia Mu scratched his head, a bit embarrassed by the sudden change. Speaking became somewhat uncomfortable for him. He felt that this inscrutable man wasn't so difficult to get along with after all. On the contrary, he seemed quite approachable. Perhaps this was the real Kexiao—not pretentious at all. It was only because the world was too hypocritical that people's perspectives when looking at things were always blurred. Little did they know that within the fog, flowers appear even more baffling, and in the mirror, the self is not truly reflected. Subjectivity always impacts judgment, yet it cannot change the reality that time refracts.

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