Chapter 2255 Secret Talk

"Come with me..."

Ning Luo forced out these words through clenched teeth, his voice as soft as a mosquito's buzz, yet carrying an irresistible authority. His fists clenched tightly, his palms already damp with sweat, yet his body still trembled slightly. Each word seemed to expend immense energy, like a mountain about to collapse, teetering on the brink of destruction.

At this moment, Ning Luo felt his brain had turned into a complete mess, a torrent of thoughts surging in, intertwining and colliding, creating a deafening roar. The cacophony was like a million bees buzzing in his ears, deafening; or like countless hammers pounding his fragile skull, causing unbearable pain. He painfully closed his eyes, trying to press his temples to alleviate the discomfort that was driving him almost insane. However, it was all in vain—the annoying noises continued to rage in his mind, showing no signs of abating.

After a brief but intense internal struggle, Ning Luo finally realized that, given his current state and abilities, trying to deal with the predicament alone was nothing short of wishful thinking. The only feasible solution was to brainstorm and invite more like-minded individuals to participate and collaboratively explore solutions. Many hands make light work! Perhaps with everyone working together, they could uncover some previously unnoticed clues?

In this way, they might actually be able to break through the current predicament and obstacles, completely reverse this extremely unfavorable situation, and allow the entire meticulously planned scheme to return to normal and continue its implementation. The first mate beside him seemed to have a slight doubt about what Ning Luo had just said, but before he could even ask him a question, Ning Luo had already turned around without hesitation and strode straight towards the conference room.

In fact, almost all large interstellar warships have a specially designated area near their cockpit to create a small but exquisitely designed and rationally laid-out conference room for personnel use. This is especially true for this colossal aircraft carrier, which is over 70,000 meters long and truly awe-inspiring—it has as many as twenty or thirty meeting spaces on board!

Before long, Ning Luo arrived at his destination—the conference room door. After pushing the door open, he naturally reached out and gently closed it, then let out a long breath, as if hoping to slightly relieve the heavy tension and immense pressure in his heart.

"Brother Luo, what exactly happened?"

Ning Yunxiang frowned, his eyes filled with doubt and confusion as he looked at Ning Luo, seemingly trying to find a clue in his calm and composed face, but ultimately to no avail. Ning Luo did not respond directly to Ning Yunxiang's question as usual, but instead posed a perplexing question.

"Aren't you curious about what our mission is and where we're headed?"

Faced with Ning Luo's sudden question, Ning Yunxiang was taken aback for a moment, then murmured as if waking from a dream.

"Isn't this top secret? You said it yourself. Why would I ask if you didn't bring it up first..."

At this point, Ning Yunxiang's voice became even lower, like the whisper of a mosquito, as if afraid that others might not hear a sound.

However, faced with Ning Yunxiang's matter-of-fact tone, Ning Luo could only shake his head helplessly and sigh.

"Ugh……"

Ning Luo sighed heavily.

"Normally, I should only reveal this information to you when the mission is about to officially begin. However, the current situation is quite bad - the mission is about to fall through, so what's the point of talking about secrecy? Besides, I didn't plan to tell everyone. I just called you in to ask for your thoughts."

"The mission is almost over?!?!"

Upon hearing this, Ning Yunxiang was shocked and asked a question with a look of suspicion.

"What are you talking about?!"

He simply couldn't understand why Ning Luo would make such a assertion.

After a brief silence, Ning Luo spoke slowly.

"To tell you the truth, the real purpose of all this mobilization, this huge force, and even the deployment of an entire massive fleet to help us, is simply to complete a convoy escort mission."

"Escort? Who exactly are you protecting?"

Hearing this, Ning Yunxiang didn't show excessive surprise. After all, they had made a huge show of force this time, mobilizing an astonishing number of interstellar warships and expending a great deal of precious resources and energy. Such a display was definitely not something they were just doing for a stroll.

However, at that moment, a series of questions flooded his mind, leaving him unable to find answers despite his deep contemplation. Since embarking on this journey, apart from the occasional encounter with a few groups of space pirates who would flee in terror at the mere sight of them, the only other things they had seen were ships from the demon and insectoid races.

However, based on the initially set coordinates and his current location, Ning Yunxiang could probably figure out some clues.

"Could it be... that these are all prepared for the students in the gifted class who are taking the assessment?"

Seeing that Ning Yunxiang had already guessed the truth, Ning Luo nodded slightly, indicating her agreement. Then she responded softly.

"Yes."

"Hey, Brother Luo, what's the point of hiding this?"

Ning Yunxiang stared at Ning Luo with a suspicious look on his face, and then asked again.

"Although I don't know why our family does this, but..."

At this point, he couldn't help but shake his head, indicating that he really couldn't understand the reason.

Indeed, given the Ning family's strength and influence in China, they are an absolute behemoth. Neither individuals nor any other organization can easily ignore their existence. It is precisely this unique position that makes the relationship between the Ning family and the entire country exceptionally delicate and complex.

However, truly important figures like Li Tiandao and Ning Ba seemed completely oblivious to this. Perhaps it was because their level of understanding had surpassed that of ordinary people; or perhaps, once they reached that level, many things were already tacitly understood—since the two sides couldn't directly engage in combat, why bother with a major conflict? The so-called contradictions and conflicts were merely a matter of one side gaining a slight advantage today, only for the other side to make up for it tomorrow.

However, if ordinary people or those who consider themselves experts in international affairs were to examine this matter, the situation might be quite different. As a member of the Ning family, Ning Yunxiang naturally possessed a unique perspective. In his eyes, it was utterly perplexing that the assessment mission of the Chinese Starship Academy relied on the Ning family to provide security through manpower, resources, and funding.

Especially for the trainees participating in the assessment, Ning Dan, a member of the Ning family, was practically dispensable, and could even be said to have been completely ignored by Ning Luo.

After all, is it really necessary to mobilize that entire fleet that costs a huge amount of money every second just for Ning Dan? No matter how wealthy the Ning family is, they wouldn't be so extravagant!

Seeing the nonchalant yet slightly indignant expression on Ning Luo's face, Ning Luo knew very well that Ning Yunxiang had misunderstood her meaning, so she could only helplessly explain.

"It's not about protecting all the trainees participating in the assessment, but specifically protecting Ning Dan and Ye Ye."

"Um????"

Upon hearing Ning Luo's words, Ning Yunxiang felt as if he had been struck by lightning. His body trembled violently, and he froze on the spot. His mouth was slightly open, but he couldn't utter a sound; his face was filled with astonishment and disbelief.

It took him a while to come to his senses. He stared wide-eyed at Ning Luo, as if trying to find the answer in his eyes.

Finally, Ning Yunxiang found his voice and asked in a somewhat puzzled tone.

"Ning Dan??? And who is Ye Ye? I've never heard of him before."

As he spoke, his brows furrowed tightly, as if he was filled with incomprehension and doubt about everything Ning Luo had said.

Faced with Ning Yunxiang's persistent questioning, Ning Luo felt a headache coming on. He muttered to himself.

"Is this guy really going to keep digging to the bottom of things?!"

But since things had already come to this point, he had no choice but to bite the bullet and continue explaining. So he took a deep breath, then slowly exhaled, trying to calm himself down.

Then, Ning Luo shook her head helplessly and sighed.

"Regarding who Ye Ye really is, you shouldn't press him any further, because even if I told you, it would be meaningless to you. The most urgent thing right now is to consider how to resolve this enormous crisis we're facing. Originally, the arduous task we accepted wasn't difficult to complete; it merely required ensuring that the two of them could safely and smoothly pass this rigorous test and ultimately return to Qimingxing unharmed. But..."

Just then, Ning Luo suddenly stopped speaking, as if an invisible force had gripped his throat. His once firm and sharp gaze now flickered, revealing a hint of hesitation and inner turmoil. Clearly, at this crucial moment, something unspeakable was troubling him, causing him to hesitate and remain silent.

However, after a brief silence, Ning Luo finally gritted his teeth, frowned deeply, and continued speaking with an unprecedentedly serious attitude.

"But now the situation is completely out of control. The Zerg and the Demon Clan have unexpectedly joined forces to launch a surprise attack, plunging the situation into chaos in an instant. They even signed that life-or-death gambling agreement! If anything goes wrong at this critical juncture, even the slightest mistake, the consequences will be unimaginable! The catastrophic chain reaction is something no one can afford!"

Upon hearing Ning Luo's words, Ning Yunxiang's expression instantly turned serious and grave. He seemed to have just remembered something, then his eyes widened, and he asked incredulously.

"If that's the case... Brother Luo, do you mean that the person we're supposed to protect has already been abducted to the Xuan Niao Star System?..."

Ning Luo nodded silently in agreement. Then she explained.

"That's right. Because we are too conspicuous, it's impossible to track and monitor us too closely. Moreover, considering the limited scope of the assessment, when we discovered that they were heading towards the southern end of that no-man's-land, we did not choose to continue following them, but instead adopted a long-distance monitoring method."

Ning Yunxiang frowned and said anxiously.

"Who could have predicted that things would turn out so suddenly! Just when we were completely unprepared, the Devouring Worms swarmed in like a tide, surrounding them and forcibly abducting them... Now, what was originally a simple and straightforward escort mission has turned into a difficult and arduous rescue operation in the blink of an eye, but the more troublesome problem lies in that damned betting agreement—it has tied our hands and feet, preventing us from rushing in to rescue them without regard for the consequences..."

"The family just gave us a strict order: we must ensure the absolute safety of both of us! But given the current situation, what should we do? Sigh... I really have no clue what to do..."

Ning Luo sighed with a face full of sorrow, as if she had a thousand helpless and ten thousand bitter feelings in her heart.

He was well aware that this mission was not only exceptionally difficult, but also intricate and unpredictable. One of the thorny issues was the immense and awe-inspiring power of his own family behind him; another challenge was the resolute and uncompromising stance of the Chinese government.

To be honest, directly rescuing Ye Ye and Ning Dan wouldn't be a big deal for them—after all, with their profound resources and well-trained, well-equipped elite fleet, they would have a good chance of winning against even the main forces of the Zerg or the Demon race, let alone just a small Kak fleet.

But here's the problem: if they can successfully rescue these two people, it will undoubtedly overturn the crucial betting agreement that the Chinese government painstakingly drafted and has already officially signed and implemented; but if they let it go and stand idly by without taking any action to rescue them, the death order from home weighs as heavily as a mountain, almost suffocating him to the point of collapse, making it impossible for him to disobey...

He's truly at his wit's end, but his family won't listen to what he's saying.

Therefore, Ning Luo looked at Ning Yunxiang, hoping to get some different ideas from him.