First Light of a New Age

Chapter 164: When Two Powerful Women Meet

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Second Civilization Zone, Southwestern Part of the Continent, Earth Region, Asia, Eastern Asia, People’s State of Xinhua.

4th Year of God, Thursday, 1st Week, 9th Month of John

In the skies above mainland China, the V-45 Peacemaker VTOL aircraft flew through the skies like a sharpened blade, escorted tightly by two AH-12 Thunderhawk gunships in a tight escort formation.

The convoy was traveling from Beijing to Hong Kong, carrying some of the most powerful figures of the People’s State of Xinhua to a highly anticipated diplomatic summit with the Austronesian Empire.

Inside the cabin, the silence was heavy, not of peace, but of tension masked by rigid formality.

President Bai Xue Ji, dressed in a pristine white uniform, sat with graceful poise near the central conference console.

Despite the heavy presence of security, she was calm with her jet-black hair tied into a flawless bun, and her sharp, almond-shaped eyes scanned the room with calm calculation.

Even amid the armored personnel and cutting-edge tech surrounding her, she remained serene, every breath measured, and every glance intentional.

Directly across from her was General Zhao Yun Yi, Commander of the Xinhuan Special Forces. Dressed in a storm-gray officer’s coat lined with silver thread, Zhao leaned forward slightly in a respectful yet alert posture while his gaze frequently drifted toward their Austronesian companions with curiosity in his otherwise impassive expression.

The security inside the cabin was intense with 15 Xinhuan soldiers standing at key positions along the interior walls, weapons holstered but fingers close to the trigger.

Sharing the cabin were five cybernetic elites from the Dragon Vanguard, enhanced operatives whose silent vigilance was more unnerving than comforting. Their eyes scanned with non-stop precision with unreadable expressions behind their metallic implants and neural bands.

Yet, even in such a tightly controlled space, the true anomaly among them sat like a statue of iron near the rear of the cabin.

General Leoncio Valmor, Commander of the Austronesian Liberation Army’s Northern Strategic Command, watched silently. His left cybernetic eye glowed faint red, slowly panning across each individual with mechanical accuracy.

Every movement he made was calculated, almost robotic, but laced with a predator’s instinct as he observed the Xinhuan delegation.

He radiated a silent formidable presence, one not born from pageantry, but from battlefields and hard-earned authority.

Despite the overwhelming security presence and the soldiers’ concern for their leaders' safety, neither President Bai nor General Zhao showed any signs of fear. Their composure was unshaken.

Eventually, Zhao, intrigued but cautious, turned to Valmor and finally broke the silence.

“General Valmor,” he said carefully, “I must admit, I find it... unusual that the Austronesian Empire would summon our President personally, rather than send an envoy to Beijing.”