Although Amelia had seen only 10 characters of the encrypted electronic message, her entire being felt like it had been struck by a bolt from the blue – her breathing instantly quickened, her chest heaved erratically, and her pretty face flushed red... Her breaths grew heavier! It felt like all the blood in her body was boiling at an accelerated pace.

Before the guard could step out of the head cabin, Amelia sent another urgent Heavenly Communication, stopping the dashing female warrior in her tracks.

"Your Excellency General, do you mean…?"

"Wait for my order, no more questions," Amelia turned her head away, her voice soft and low, so low that there was a noticeable tremble in it, which made the guard dare not ask further questions, instead retreating quietly with confusion.

Now, the room was left with only Amelia herself. Although she wasn't sure what it was about, she could be certain that this message must be something Feng Yi wanted to convey to her before his death, or at some point. Of course, there was also the slim chance that Feng Yi wasn't dead at all. Clinging to a sliver of hope, in the now empty front cabin, only her heavy breathing could be heard…

But for some reason, Amelia actually relished the feeling of decrypting Feng Yi's message bit by bit. It felt as if she was reading a love letter, one sent to her by someone she cared about deeply. In her heart, she even harbored a faint longing that Feng Yi was not dead.

The coded message read: "I am Sir Feng, from one zero three. I will send a communication request to Xiao Ai at X time. This call is of utmost importance, and I do not wish for a third party to know."

Minutes later, after receiving the aforementioned coded content, Amelia covered her mouth with her hand in disbelief that this message could actually be true...

Indeed, concerning the nickname Xiao Ai, only Feng Yi knew, and he was the only one who had ever called her that. As for the title Sir Feng, indeed many people were aware of it, but they all believed he was dead, even herself. Who would have thought that today she would receive such a string of code from the Flame Legion?

Obviously, to maintain the authenticity and secrecy of his being alive, Feng Yi added the line about not wanting a third party to interfere.

It was unmistakably Feng Yi's style – still so handsome, so arrogant, so concise and clear. After reading it, Amelia's heart nearly shattered with the revelation that he was indeed still alive.

Time ticked by for 40 minutes, and now there were only minutes left before the Flame Fleet would send a communication request to Normandy. The closer it got to the moment they would talk, the more anxious Amelia became.

She was unclear about her emotions at this moment. It seemed that with the emergence of Feng Yi's message, her whole being regained its vitality. Of course, she still had some doubts about the authenticity of the other's identity, even though she could be fairly sure it was real, as no one other than Feng Yi knew of her identity as Xiao Ai. But with current technology so advanced, how could you be so sure that no one else could have discovered it through some other channels?

Click! The clock punctually signaled the time! At that moment, Amelia had ensured the room was cleared of any personnel, yet the encrypted communication mentioned in the code failed to arrive as scheduled, which meant she had not received Feng Yi's communication request.

Why had this happened? Was it just a lie, or was there a slight delay in the broadcast time? Or could it be that this was merely a stalling tactic by the enemy? Amelia's face went from red to white in an instant, and as the communication began, her cheeks flushed once again, her heart filled with the desire to throttle the person on the other side.

With a fizz, an extra shape appeared amidst the snowy static of the screen, and there was Feng Yi, turning his head to the side with a somewhat embarrassed look of having done something wrong, "Sorry, a few seconds late..."

Being habitually late appeared to be a tried and true old habit of Feng Yi's, but what Feng Yi found embarrassing now was why the typically efficient Amelia was dressed up in that New Human style of a sweet young girl, reminiscent of their past at the Alpha Martial Arts Hall. Despite being a New Human herself, it was common knowledge that the regular citizens of the Federation had some reservations about those with superior lineage.

Amelia didn't care about Feng Yi's apology at all. All she did was cover her mouth with her hand, her eyes almost narrowing into crescent shapes, as if she wanted to take in every inch of Feng Yi's skin…

"Feng... Yi...?"

Her voice sounded like a sigh, filled with doubt, and Feng Yi turned his head back, uncertain of how to respond, "Ahem, it's me. This is the military, why are you dressed like that?"

"You know, I missed you so much..."

Listening to Emily's soft whisper, Feng Yi was truly at a loss this time. Her current demeanor was worlds apart from the fleet commander she used to be. Time seemed to have reversed to several years ago, back to the midsummer night in Alpha, where she, with her outward gentleness and inner strength, her reserved gracefulness, harmlessly sweet and always incredibly hard-working, wasn't she just the same Emily?

But this definitely wasn't the same Milly. Her smile was captivating, her lip color subtle, her vibe naughtily charming, her looks innocent, and her schemes deep. Her crystalline eyes seemed as though they could drip water, and the maternal halo beneath her angelic appearance immediately made Feng Yi feel uneasy. However, Emily's words touched him deeply as he responded, "The feeling is mutual, we're even. I'll treat you to dinner next time, but..."

"Really... really?" Fully immersed in her own little world, Emily hooked her finger in a manner that appeared extremely alluring.

But Feng Yi knew now was not the time for affectionate talk. Coughing lightly, he switched to a more negotiable tone, "Maybe... maybe don't show that kind of sickly sweet expression?"

Touching her somewhat hot cheek, Emily realized that she had gotten a bit carried away with her emotions. But there was no helping it; that sensation of losing something and getting it back couldn't be understood without experiencing it first-hand. She was just brave enough to face her true feelings, after all.

Feng Yi also felt a jolt of fear within... Although he prided himself on his self-control, facing a group of monstrous demons was still a test for anyone.

Unlike Mengdie's untainted demeanor or the Blade Warrior's maternal aura, Emily had a distinct quality of pure femininity. Indeed, the ways of the world are deep and mysterious. His heart nearly succumbed to her bewildered gaze that seemed to speak volumes but held back, filled with the unshed tears of autumn. He couldn't deny the awkwardness of the moment.

With utmost seriousness, Emily questioned Feng Yi, "Why did you say my expression was sickly sweet?"

"Cough, we're all adults here. Anyway, military matters come first, let's not dwell on this."

"What are military matters? Can you eat them?"

"Mmm, delicious. Now would you please take this seriously?"

Emily flashed a beaming smile. She enjoyed teasing him. "Go on, what's this military matter? Do you want me to withdraw my troops, or should I march towards the blazing flames? In fact, I've been thinking about your intentions since I saw you."

"You're certainly something, but you guessed wrong. It's neither a withdrawal nor an advance."

As for the specifics, that's a long story. Feng Yi decided to keep it short, so he briefly shared his detailed plan with Emily—it wasn't to advance nor to retreat, but to maintain just the right distance from the blazing fleet and put on a show.

And why put on this act, and for whom it was intended? That was obviously aimed at Kexiao. Therefore, Feng Yi recounted the entire incident of the battle with Kexiao to Emily, without leaving anything out.

It could be said that Kexiao's combat style was conservative, while his own was more free and unpredictable. Thus, Feng Yi was in a safe distance when he used the light teleport, whereas he was virtually at the edge of entering a wormhole in his mech.

Of course, by stating this, Feng Yi tacitly admitted the fact that he was the Revenge Shadow Rider. In reality, Emily had suspected his true identity long, long ago. She simply chose to see through without saying it aloud. After all, guessing was one thing, but having it personally confirmed by Feng Yi was quite another.

After all, there were always some boring people spreading rumors that they were the Revenge Shadow Rider. Those who believed, did so without the need for confirmation; those who didn't, wouldn't even if he admitted it himself. Feng Yi had come to terms with these matters.

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