BATTLE FOR STARS

“Mmm...” Emperor Hogan responded reluctantly.

After scheming for so long to obtain this Fleet of Starships, he had ultimately been thwarted by a young girl.

“So when will the Starships be returned?” Belina asked immediately. “I’ve already stayed here quite a long time. I’d like to return home as soon as possible.”

“General Frederick will handle the arrangements for the Fleet over the next few days,” Emperor Hogan replied helplessly as he glanced around the room.

“That’s enough entertainment for today. I’d like to return now.”

With that, the Emperor turned and headed toward the exit first.

“Safe travels, Your Majesty,” Belina said with a salute.

Ding Yufei saluted as well.

Emperor Hogan departed with his entourage and Lina.

Before leaving, Ding Yufei exchanged a brief look with her.

Lina instantly understood his meaning.

Don’t worry.

There will be another chance for us to meet again someday.

Soon, the enormous VIP room was left with only Belina and Ding Yufei.

Sade had already been sent with General Frederick to oversee the arrival and transfer of the Fleet.

“I never expected you’d use a method like this,” Ding Yufei said while looking at the beautiful princess before him. “And you didn’t even warn me beforehand.”

“Honestly, I only thought of it at the last minute,” Belina replied.

“It was way too dangerous. There were so many eyes watching you.”

“As long as nobody used machine scanning, human eyes alone could never tell.”

Belina sounded extremely confident in her “skills.”

“So how exactly did you do it?” Ding Yufei asked curiously. “I never really studied that trick carefully before.”

Back then, Belina had only learned magic tricks from Little Chubby for fun.

Nobody could have imagined they would one day become this important.

“Can you guess?” Belina smiled mischievously at him.

“No. But I do know one thing—you were never going to let Emperor Hogan guess correctly.”

Ding Yufei knew it was a magic trick, essentially a form of misdirection.

So no matter what the Emperor guessed, Belina would never allow him to be right.

He just didn’t know how she accomplished it.

“Little Chubby was a good teacher,” Belina said teasingly. “And I was an excellent student.”

“You really were.” Ding Yufei laughed helplessly. “Those eight thousand Latir were absolutely worth it.”

Back then, Belina had spent a huge amount of money learning those tricks.

Sometimes Ding Yufei had even wondered if the price was absurd.

Just to learn two magic tricks, they had paid enough money to buy a slave.

But now?

It looked unbelievably worthwhile.

At best, that amount of money could originally have purchased little more than a single turret aboard a Starship.

But today, those tricks had won back half an interstellar Fleet.

“So never underestimate small things,” Belina said proudly. “One day they might produce completely unexpected results.”

“You’re absolutely right,” Ding Yufei admitted immediately.

“But you still haven’t told me how you did it.”

“You really want to know?”

“Of course.”

“Fine then.”

Belina slowly raised both hands again and opened them in front of Ding Yufei.

“Ah!”

A shocked exclamation escaped his mouth instantly.

He had never expected this outcome.

Why was Ding Yufei so stunned?

Because inside each of Belina’s hands—

there was a chip.

One in each palm.

At that moment, Ding Yufei understood everything.

No matter which hand Emperor Hogan guessed, he would always be wrong.

And no matter how Balk tried to verify things afterward, he could never succeed—

unless he completely uncovered the secret behind the trick itself.

“Can you at least explain how you did it?” Ding Yufei asked curiously.

“That’s the secret.” Belina grinned smugly. “I paid money to learn it, remember? I can’t just tell you. What if I need to use it again the next time we gamble?”

“Now that you’ve said that,” Ding Yufei replied seriously, “I’m never gambling with you again.”

“We can gamble on other things in the future.”

“I think I’ll pass. I don’t trust you anymore.”

“Hahaha!”

Belina’s cheerful laughter echoed throughout the room.

Of course, she knew Ding Yufei was only joking.

But his reaction fully proved how impressive he found her magic trick.

“Come on,” Belina said happily. “Let’s go celebrate properly.”

“Definitely.”

Ding Yufei nodded.

He still found the entire day unbelievable.

By complete accident, he had ended up helping Lina, helping Belina, and successfully completing Belina’s mission all at once.

“Oh right,” Belina suddenly added, “let’s go visit Lina later.”

Today, it had been her proposal that caused Lina to remain in the Resk Empire.

From certain perspectives, even if it had been the best possible solution at the time, it still wasn’t what Belina truly wanted.

So she hoped to explain things to Lina personally.

“Sure,” Ding Yufei agreed. “I just wonder when Lina will finally be able to go home again.”

“I think she’ll return very soon.”

“Why? Isn’t she joining the Red Rose Guard?”

“Exactly because of that,” Belina explained. “She’ll need to go home once before leaving. The Red Rose Guard’s base isn’t located on Planet Boman.”

“I get it now.” Ding Yufei nodded. “In that case, let’s just wait for her at her home.”

Belina’s meaning was obvious.

Since Lina was about to become a member of the Red Rose Guard, she would soon need to leave for training.

And the Red Rose Guard’s headquarters was located on the Imperial Capital planet of the Resk Empire.

Which meant she would likely leave Planet Boman very soon.

“Then let’s go now,” Belina said.

The two of them didn’t return to the hotel to celebrate.

Instead, they headed directly to Lina’s house.

Although Ding Yufei had never been there personally before, he did have the address.

Ding——!

He pressed the doorbell.

Even if Lina herself wasn’t home yet, her boyfriend Mor should probably be there.

He rang several more times.

Still, nobody answered the door.

“That’s strange,” Ding Yufei muttered while glancing at Belina. “Mor isn’t home either?”

“Maybe he went out to handle something,” Belina guessed.

Logically speaking, Mor actually should have been home.

Today was Lina’s championship match.

If she won, the two of them would finally be able to leave the Resk Empire together.

Since he couldn’t attend the event in person, Mor had intentionally arranged no other activities. He planned to stay home, watch the match, and wait for Lina’s triumphant return.

“Then let’s wait a bit,” Ding Yufei suggested.

“Sure.”

The two stood chatting casually near the entrance.

Before long, a figure finally appeared in the distance.

Ding Yufei looked carefully—

and immediately realized it wasn’t Mor.

It was Lina herself.

“Lina!”

Ding Yufei quickly stepped forward and greeted her enthusiastically.

“Ding Yufei! Princess!”

Lina looked completely stunned.

She had never imagined she would run into the two of them outside her own home.

The reunion immediately filled everyone with joy.

This was already the second time they had met again in just a few days.

Lina quickly opened the door and invited both Ding Yufei and Belina inside.

“Lina, about the Red Rose Guard...” Belina began the moment she sat down.

“Princess, please don’t explain,” Lina interrupted quickly. “I understand your intentions.”

“I promised before that I would take you away with us, but now...” Belina said softly.