Yao Yuan handed the command over to Guang Zhen in the middle of combat. He had him set up a temporary base around the opening that led to the Hope. The base, a product of the 4th revolution, was fully-automated and electromagneticly s.h.i.+elded. Now, even if they were swamped with a sea of aliens, there was nothing to worry about as long as the base’s energy and ammo didn’t run out.

Yao Yuan led the Black Star Troopers to the Hope. The troopers had truly shone in this battle, so much so that Yao Yuan himself was pleasantly surprised by the troopers’ capability. They had gone beyond their intended use of being an elite force. Yao Yuan found new understanding and respect for the h.o.m.o Evolutis.

The objective of the day was to find ways to save the 12 infected troopers whose bodies were covered with red spots. The other Black Star Troopers were given a well-deserved rest because Yao Yuan knew that this was going to be a drawn out battle… There was 1 trooper though that didn’t have the luxury of rest, and that person was unsurprisingly Yao Yuan himself. He dragged his tired body to the war room to have a meeting with war experts and scientists. A combat video was played on the screen, and after it finished, he walked to the podium and said,

"First, it’s obvious that the aliens have the advantage in numbers. If we had stumbled across them when we were still in our 3rd revolution, we would be indubitably swamped… Thankfully, the power of the Black Star Troopers was greater than most of us expected. With designs from Professor Bo Li, the combination of h.o.m.o Evolutis and s.p.a.ce Armor Prototype 1 has proved to be undefeatable.

"However!"

Yao Yuan pointed at the still image behind him. "There are so many aliens, but we only have 140 Black Star Troopers in total… Now after 3 deaths and 12 infections, we’re left with 129 troopers! These 129 troopers aren’t made of steel; they too will get exhausted, especially after a long battle!

"So what do we do next? I’ve ordered for a temporary base to be built aboveground, but that is merely to stall the enemies. The alien s.p.a.ces.h.i.+p is still a threat! You all have seen what is happening to Moon 2; do you hope the same will happen to this planet?!"

Yao Yuan stopped to take a look at his watch. "8 hours from now I’ll send 6 h.o.m.o Evolutis in the s.p.a.ce Combat Jet Prototype 003 to survey this whole planet from the skies. Simultaneously, I want an answer by then on whether the previously discussed proposal on the alien planet is usable!"

The room shuffled into motion. After some time, Ivan pressed the b.u.t.ton to speak. "Captain, I reject the plant proposal! First, we still have no idea what species this alien on Moon 2 is. Is it an organic s.p.a.ces.h.i.+p, and if that’s the case, is an intelligent life form guiding it from within? Maybe, this is all a misunderstanding because they’ve not seen a mechanically advanced civilization before. We might lose a valuable ally if we launch an attack too rashly. Furthermore, the alien s.p.a.ces.h.i.+p might be more advanced than the plant for the plant to be of any use…"

Yao Yuan interrupted Ivan. "Professor Ivan, with all due respect, I fear you’ve missed out on 2 important points. No matter whether this thing is an organic s.p.a.ces.h.i.+p or an intelligent life form, the moment we were ambushed, this became a war! 3 of our men were killed, do you understand?! Don’t reject for the sake of rejecting; a government that is all talk but no action will not survive!

"Since this is a war, communication will only happen when one of us has the other under control! Humanity depends on the last tens of thousands of us surviving. What kind of precedent will we set if we are to surrender and run now? How is the public going to feel protected when its military won’t pick up arms to protect its own people? Do you think humanity can survive with such a mentality?"

Yao Yuan paused to let his argument sink in. "Secondly, I’m more familiar with the habits of the alien plant than you are, Professor Ivan. First, they are harmless to human contact but will consume any other substance to create sand! We’ve seen this in action ourselves through the many experiments conducted by the Academy, haven’t we?

Of course, there is a possibility that the plant won’t harm the alien because it is an intelligent and sentient life form unlike the rats, rabbits, pigs, goats, and cows that we’ve tested the plant on… This is why we have these!"

Yao Yuan turned to the operator and nodded his head. Then a 3D image appeared in the middle of the room.

The image showed about 10 squirming, injured alien creatures. They showcased incredible vitality because despite their bleeding wounds, they bounced again and again against the electromagnetic cage, sometimes even venting their aggression on each other.

"We’ve managed to capture these creatures using the power of the Diviner among the heaps of broken guts and sinews. I’ll hand them over to the Academy, but please be very careful because they are extremely dangerous! To be safe, I’ll a.s.sign a trooper to guard over a creature. They’ll be around whenever you conduct the experiment."

Yao Yuan continued, "There are another 16 hours to the next war room meeting. The troopers will spend the next 8 hours resting and will gather here after the other 8 hours to listen to the result of the Academy’s experiments. Hopefully, we can come to a conclusion by then…

"Dismissed."

Chou Yue set the ceramic bowl she had in her hands down carefully. The bowl contained a meal of porridge seasoned with century egg and meat floss. Beside the bowl of piping hot porridge was a plate of kimchi and a salted egg.

Chou Yue sat looking not at the scrumptious meal but the clock that hung before it. It had been almost 8 hours since he had slumped into the room… so he should be awake soon.

Before long, Ren Tao ambled out of his bedroom, rubbing his eyes. Taking in Chou Yue, that sat on the sofa, and the meal a.s.sembled before her, he smiled. "Hey, it’s my favorite breakfast. What’s the occasion?"

Chou Yue pouted, "I feel like eating light lately. Why, do you object? Don’t worry, it has nothing to do with you!"

Ren Tao smiled understandingly in return and moved to the bathroom to brush his teeth. He then sat down opposite Chou Yue to eat.

Chou Yue’s mouth curved involuntarily upwards as she watched him wolf down her cooking, but she quickly caught herself. She asked casually, "How fierce is the combat above?"

Ren Tao answered, "It’s nothing serious. We’re on the defense at the moment, so everything’s just routine… a group of men shooting their loads."

Chou Yue scoffed. "Could have told me that without giving me the mental image… Truthfully, the combat’s not going well, is it? I’ve been receiving danger warnings and a suffocating sense of malice with my power even though we’re several thousand meters underground… Right, when I was out buying ingredients, I saw Zhang Heng. He was leaving the hospital to head towards the Captain’s residence."

"Oh, he’s awake?" Ren Tao was startled. He mumbled something to himself before smiling at Chou Yue. "Don’t worry, the combat above is really not that serious… Plus, I’ll be protecting you."

"Yes, I believe you will…"

At Yao Yuan’s place, Zhang Heng was sh.e.l.l-shocked to see Ji Jie saunter out of Yao Yuan’s bedroom. The girl was in her pajamas, yawning as she strode across the living room towards the bathroom. Maybe she was still fuzzy from sleep, because she didn’t appear to notice Zhang Heng standing there, staring gob-smacked at her.

"…Impressive," Zhang Heng whispered under his breath, but it was still loud enough for Yao Yuan to hear him.

"Get your head out of the gutter. She was too traumatized by the disgusting aliens that she had trouble sleeping. She’s still a young girl and is living alone, so when she came to me, I lent her one of my rooms…"

Yao Yuan explained nonchalantly before turning serious to ask, "So, the monster’s malice… comes from its unfettered desire to consume us humans, our technology, and the h.o.m.o Evolutis?"

Zhang Heng replied, "That’s right. When I was up there, I felt swallowed by that desire before fainting. And in my dream, I saw how the monster was born…

It was truly a nightmare…"