744: Chapter 744 Framed

At this moment, deep within an unknown Star Domain countless light-years away, Li Yang was leading the Imperial Fleet, advancing steadily through the vast Universe. He had not the slightest inkling of the conspiracy quietly brewing within the Imperial Military Department, nor had he ever imagined such a thing.

He was fully devoted to the mission of Star Domain exploration and civilization integration, busy all day with fleet coordination, Star Domain reconnaissance, and mission deployment. He was completely unaware that, deep within the Imperial Military Department's conference room at the core of the Empire, someone was harboring a personal grudge and meticulously plotting to strike at him.

After all, in his view, he had followed the Empire's orders strictly, worked diligently to expand territory and collect resources, and had never made a single mistake. He had never offended the high-ranking officials of the Imperial Military Department, so he could never imagine that someone would frame him from behind, creating an accident under the guise of a mission to put him to death.

Inside the flagship Command Center, work proceeded in an orderly fashion. The reconnaissance officer stared intently at the light screen, tracking abnormal signals in the Star Domain ahead in real-time.

Suddenly, a unique energy fluctuation appeared within the detection range, completely different from the energy of a technological civilization.

The reconnaissance officer immediately stood up, snapped to attention, saluted Li Yang, and reported loudly.

"Report, Commander! An unconventional energy fluctuation has been detected in the Star Domain ahead. After verification by the System, it is confirmed to be a fourth-level xuanhuan civilization, possessing a unique Cultivation System and method of energy utilization!"

Upon hearing this, Li Yang looked up at the civilization coordinates marked on the light screen. He tapped his fingertips lightly on the command console and spoke with a calm expression, his tone remaining as steady and decisive as always.

"Oh? A xuanhuan civilization? Then handle it according to the old rules. First, dispatch a communications team to issue an ultimatum to that civilization, ordering them to submit to the Empire and accept reorganization and jurisdiction. If they persist in resisting and refuse to submit, then initiate the full-scale extermination procedure. Also, remember: during the extermination process, ensure that their civilization data, Cultivation classics, Cultivation Technique secret arts, and all kinds of unique Cultivation resources and ingenious artifacts are preserved intact. Keep them all properly stored to be brought back to the Empire's Research Institute for study later."

"Yes!"

The messenger officer immediately acknowledged the order, turned, and walked away quickly to begin preparing the operational deployment matters.

Watching the messenger officer depart, Li Yang slowly stood up, walked to the giant panoramic porthole, and quietly gazed at the boundless starry sky outside.

Li Yang stood with his hands behind his back, his gaze distant, falling into a brief contemplation.

It had been nearly a year since he was ordered to lead the Independent Military Region troops to leave the Lipugong Supercluster for exploration.

In this year, the fleet had crossed countless unknown Star Domains, overcoming numerous obstacles along the way. In total, they had discovered dozens of civilizations of varying sizes, including weak first-level primitive civilizations, fledgling third and fourth-level civilizations, and even encountered a fifth-level technological civilization.

That fifth-level technological civilization possessed a complete interstellar defense System and combat fleet, with combat power far exceeding that of ordinary low-level civilizations. It had truly taken a lot of his energy, and it was only after deploying multiple rounds of operational plans that he finally managed to take it down.

However, the vast majority encountered this year were second or third-rate low-level technological civilizations. These civilizations were weak and simply could not withstand the Imperial Fleet's offensive. Often, after the ultimatum was issued, they would either submit directly or be easily steamrolled by the fleet, making them extremely efficient to handle.

As for xuanhuan civilizations, they were truly rare in the vast Universe. In the year of exploration so far, this was only the third time he had encountered one.

This type of civilization did not follow the path of technological development but instead chose to Cultivate themselves, absorbing the energy of heaven and earth. Their methods were bizarre and their combat power was difficult to predict; they were not as traceable as technological civilizations. The difficulty of exterminating and subduing them was significantly higher than that of technological civilizations of the same level.

Li Yang could not help but whisper to himself.

"It looks like the fleet will have to stay here for a while again."

He knew clearly that dealing with this fourth-level xuanhuan civilization—from the initial shouting and probing, responding to their bizarre Cultivation methods, to the subsequent extermination and collection of civilization data—involved a cumbersome process and would certainly take much longer than a normal technological civilization.

A rough estimate suggested that it would likely take more than half a month, or even a full month, to completely finish handling it and securely take over this Star Domain.

He was completely unaware that the maximum one-month stay he had predicted gave the group of people far away in the Imperial Military Department, who were waiting for an opportunity, the perfect chance to take advantage of the situation.

A deadly conspiracy directed at him and the entire exploration fleet was quietly closing in on this unknown Star Domain, taking advantage of this window of time during their stay. The crisis was already lurking.

...

On the edge of the vast, unknown Star Domain, a fleet composed of dozens of starships was speeding at full engine capacity toward the location of Li Yang's exploration fleet.

Inside the cabin of a command ship within the fleet, several crew members wearing standard Imperial logistics uniforms leaned against the control console, bored. Their faces were full of complaints and confusion, completely unaware that they were being drawn into a meticulously planned conspiracy.

The leading crew member rubbed his sore neck, sighed at his companion beside him, and could not help but curse in a low voice.

"Damn it, I really don't know what the higher-ups are thinking, making us run to such a godforsaken place to carry out a mission. We don't even know how many light-years we've strayed from the Empire's territory. It's too much of a hassle!"

Another short crew member beside him heard this, hurriedly leaned in, lowered his voice, and replied, his face also full of confusion.

"Hey, stop complaining. I heard from the higher-ups that we are going to transport logistics supplies to a Military Region unit on a mission. I heard that the Commander of that Military Region is a very young officer."

"Delivering supplies?"

The crew member who had complained first widened his eyes, glanced at the strange appearance of the fleet outside the window, and asked with a face full of suspicion.

"If we're delivering supplies, we should do it openly. Why disguise the fleet like this? The hulls are painted to look battered, all identification marks have been wiped off, making us look like wandering Interstellar Pirates in the Universe—sneaking around. It's too weird!"

As soon as these words were spoken, the surrounding crew members also nodded in agreement, their faces filled with confusion.