Back when they were on the Snow Planet, Song Jin had heard his father, Shen Sinian, casually mention that perhaps it wasn’t that Wei Feng’s aptitude wasn’t good enough, but rather that the criteria for selecting “feed” differed from the general definition of exceptional aptitude.

Could that truly be the reason?

Wei Feng had been captured as a child, but was filtered out during the screening process. For some unknown reason, he managed to escape being tortured to death, and later inexplicably became Li Xiao’s father?

An enigmatic Alpha.

Li Xiao suddenly recalled the words “protect yourself well” that Hu Jiang had spoken to him when they first crossed paths at the border. Perhaps that sentence had also carried an underlying warning about the danger of being captured.

With this thought in mind, Li Xiao voiced his question.

Hu Jiang nodded, speaking breathlessly as he ran, “They have gone utterly mad. They won’t stop until every last member of the Lark Clan is dead.”

Li Xiao asked, “Who exactly do you mean by ‘they’?”

Hu Jiang replied coldly, “Who else could it be? The Meng family!”

The space on the fifth underground floor was massive. 09 flew ahead to disrupt the acoustic waves while doing its best to gather data from its four “junior” sentries to piece together a structural map.

“The metal shielding capability here is extremely potent. Be careful.”

The corridors were shaped like a snail’s shell, narrowing continuously as they drew closer to the center.

After running for ten minutes, rooms resembling laboratories gradually came into view on both sides.

By the time they reached the absolute center, only twenty minutes remained on the clock, yet there was still no sign of the hibernation pods.

Sweat poured down Hu Jiang’s face from anxiety. “They’re not here. Did we look in the wrong place?!”

With so little time left, it was already too late to double back to the public hospital.

Wei Feng rapidly pushed open the rooms lining both sides of the corridor—they were either equipment rooms or examination rooms, without even the shadow of a single hibernation pod.

Song Jin searched a few rooms and shook his head at Li Xiao.

Li Xiao swept a glance across the surveillance feeds from the other two floors in his vision; the AI sentries had already scoured them thoroughly without making any discoveries.

If nothing was hidden here, then that acoustic wave defense system made no sense.

Sound?

Li Xiao stepped out of the range of 09’s interference. Instantly, the noise slammed into his head like sharp iron spikes, making his heart feel as though it were about to burst.

Song Jin instinctively reached out to pull Li Xiao back, but upon realizing Li Xiao’s intention, he forced himself to suppress the urge, his brow furrowing tighter and tighter.

Li Xiao scanned his surroundings, carefully discerning the vibrations. Suddenly, he strode over to the curved metallic wall on the right side to grope around. The moment he touched a certain spot, a clicking mechanical sound echoed from within the wall.

A seam manifested out of thin air on the metallic wall, and a section measuring six meters high and four meters wide recessed inward.

09 flew over, crying out excitedly, “New space discovered!”

Hearing the commotion, Wei Feng and Hu Jiang hurriedly ran over from the other side.

“You found it?!”

Li Xiao took a step back and was instantly caught and supported by Song Jin from behind.

After the curved wall recessed, it slid upward, revealing a corridor about ten meters long. Standing in the hallway, one could already see a portion of the hibernation pods inside the room.

Just as Hu Jiang was about to head inside, he suddenly thought of something, retrieved a small mechanical bird detector from his pocket, wound it up, and tossed it forward.

The moment the bird flew into the corridor, it was pierced through by a steel arrow.

Hu Jiang muttered, “As expected, the same old trick.”

Song Jin raised his gun and shot the sensor closest to the hallway to pieces. He was about to walk inside when Wei Feng blocked him.

“I’ll go first.” Wei Feng sprinted into the corridor with quick steps.

Midway through, five steel arrows shot toward him simultaneously.

Wei Feng flipped mid-air to evade the two aimed at his legs, drew the military knife from his lower back to parry the two aimed at his chest, and caught the final steel arrow, throwing it backward with a snap of his wrist right at the inner sensor.

Bang!

The sensor shattered.

Hu Jiang insisted on going second. After confirming that no other traps were triggered, he let Song Jin and Li Xiao cross one by one.

At the end of the corridor was a small hibernation room of about a hundred square meters. Eight hibernation pods were arranged around the center of the room, and the virtual screen on the central high platform displayed fifteen minutes remaining on the countdown.

“We made it here, but how do we turn this off?” Wei Feng scanned left and right, finding no controller or similar interface.

07 requested to take a look.

“I learned how to defuse bombs from Father before.”

“Mm.” Song Jin waited for it to transform into a small sphere and fly over, then joined Li Xiao to flip through the data stored in the hibernation pods.

Seeing that the data recording time was eight years ago, Li Xiao was somewhat surprised. He looked at Hu Jiang, who was waiting anxiously nearby. “Your father has been captured for eight years?”

“To be precise, eight years, five months, and three days.” Hu Jiang looked at his father lying inside through the protective shield, his eyes reddening slightly. “He probably won’t even recognize me anymore.”

Song Jin’s gaze shifted back and forth between them a few times. “You look older than your dad right now.”

“…” The immense sorrow in Hu Jiang’s heart was instantly stifled by this remark.

No, seriously, do I really look that old?!

At the same time, at the Military Headquarters on the Imperial Planet.

Meng Jian’s terminal vibrated. He switched it to privacy mode and opened it; it was an intelligence update transmitted from S80.

[An issue has occurred with the operation of the hibernation center’s intelligent system. The self-destruct sequence failed to launch successfully.]

The hibernation center was equipped with multiple layers of insurance, so he wasn’t worried about the Raven succeeding. However, if it didn’t explode, it would be difficult to implement the subsequent phases of the plan.

Meng Jian replied expressionlessly:

[Send people to check it out.]

Back at the hibernation center.

07 dismantled the outer shell of the bomb. After a brief scan and analysis, it let out a sharp alarm.

“This is an unstoppable bomb! Run, quick!”

The expressions of Li Xiao and the other three shifted slightly. They instinctively looked at the countdown—only seven minutes remained.

Song Jin said, “Force open the hibernation pods!”

07 cried, “No! The hibernation pods are linked to the bomb. Disconnecting the power source of any single one will trigger an immediate detonation!”

“How can this be…” Hu Jiang’s eyes grew watery. “Is there no other way?!”

After searching for so many years, he had finally found his father. The man was right before his eyes, yet he couldn’t save him.

07 said, “I cannot make it stop!”

Wei Feng slammed a fist against the protective shield. “That old bastard never intended to let us rescue anyone alive!”

Li Xiao focused intently on the bomb information and wiring connections projected above 07.

Originally, this bomb was connected to the twenty other bombs scattered throughout the hibernation center; a single detonation would trigger a chain explosion. However, that detonation sequence had already been destroyed by 09.

Li Xiao spoke, “The bomb is an external attachment, relatively independent of the hibernation pods’ intelligent system. As long as we ensure the hibernation pods do not lose power, it will be fine.”

Song Jin caught on instantly. “You mean modifying the intelligent system?”

Li Xiao nodded, rapidly swiping open the backend management program of the hibernation pods. “09, coordinate with me.”

Under intelligent control, opening the protective shield would normally cut the power. They only needed to modify this single rule.

Wei Feng and Hu Jiang looked at the countdown ticking down second by second, and then at the exceptionally calm Li Xiao. For a moment, they didn’t know which side to be anxious for.

On one hand, they hoped to successfully rescue the people; on the other hand, they feared accidentally dragging down Li Xiao’s life.

Li Xiao keystroked the final character. Utilizing the intelligent auto-complete commands, he greatly accelerated the modification speed.

With a soft clack, the sound resonated in the ears of the four like a bomb going off.

Eight protective shields slowly slid open simultaneously.

Wei Feng and Hu Jiang practically held their breath. Even Song Jin was uncharacteristically tense, his grip on his gun tightening slightly.

The protective shields rose to the top, and the power did not shut off.

Wei Feng urged, “Quick!”

People who had just emerged from hibernation wouldn’t wake up so quickly, yet less than two minutes remained on the countdown.

Time waited for no one. Song Jin grabbed the arms of two Alphas simultaneously, turned around, and began dragging them outward.

Li Xiao followed close behind, lifting two middle-aged Alphas by their jacket collars.

Hu Jiang had originally wanted to hoist two elders onto his shoulders, but it proved rather difficult without assistance. Seeing Li Xiao and Song Jin carrying the others out so brashly, he gritted his teeth, hoisted his father and uncle by their collars, and bolted, muttering under his breath.

“Dad, your son is doing this to save you, don’t blame me…”

Wei Feng tucked one under each arm, half-carrying and half-dragging them as he brought up the rear.

[Countdown: eighteen… seventeen… sixteen…]

Once Wei Feng emerged, Li Xiao experimented by pressing the original spot on the wall, and the curved metallic wall slowly descended.

[Countdown: five… four… three…]

Li Xiao scooped up the two men from the ground and sprinted.

09 handled the acoustic noise disruption, while 07 transformed into a metallic wall blocking the entrance, adding an extra layer of defense.

Just two seconds after the metallic wall sealed shut, a massive, thunderous explosion erupted throughout the space.

The violent tremors left everyone barely able to stand.

The tightly sealed metallic wall warped and deformed in an instant. The powerful shockwave shattered the wall 07 had transformed into, sweeping metallic debris through the crevices as it dispersed rapidly.

The four of us threw ourselves to the ground, doing our absolute best to shield the two unconscious men beside us.

The razor-sharp metallic fragments were keener than blades; slicing across the skin left instant trails of blood.

Fortunately, they were wearing goggles and filtration masks, which maximized eye protection and prevented the inhalation of toxic substances.

07 reverted from its tattered state back into a small sphere, flying hurriedly back to Song Jin’s side.

“Thank goodness the chip wasn’t damaged, boohoo…”

Song Jin glanced at his field of vision; on the operating interface, 07’s battery had plummeted drastically from 89% down to 24%.

“Excellent job. Extra rations when we get back.”

07 cheered, “Hooray!”

The air was entirely thick with dust and the pungent stench of gunpowder, with unknown debris drifting lazily everywhere.

Li Xiao’s sharp eyes caught the tear on Song Jin’s shoulder, his brow furrowing slightly.

But before he could ask, 09’s warning blared.

“Master, someone is tampering with the intelligent system!”

Almost the moment 09 finished speaking, the four of us saw numerous crisscrossing laser beams flashing down the corridor through our goggles.

Li Xiao’s expression changed sharply. He shouted to Song Jin, “Get into a room!”

Fortunately, they hadn’t closed the doors after their search. Song Jin and the other two were close by and successfully dragged the men into a room.

Li Xiao brought up the rear just as three laser beams parallel to the ground swept over at extreme speed.

He dropped the two men in his hands, performing a side roll on the spot to pass right through the gaps between the lasers.

The lowest laser beam barely grazed past the tips of the noses of the two men lying flat on the floor.

Seeing that Li Xiao hadn’t made it in yet, Song Jin turned his head just in time to see a dense mesh of lasers flying over rapidly like a wall. He cried out in panic, “Xiao!”

Just as Li Xiao steadied his stance, he whipped out his knife and threw it forcefully backward.

The military knife sliced through a gap in the lasers, precisely striking the laser generator.

The generator short-circuited and combusted with a muffled bang.

Midway through their flight, the lasers vanished in an instant.

Before the lasers from the opposite side could sweep over, Li Xiao successfully ducked into the room while hauling the two men.

The heel of one man’s shoe was grazed, instantly sliced clean in two.

Before Li Xiao could even straighten his back, he was embraced tightly from behind.

Sensing that the breathing by his ear was somewhat ragged, Li Xiao patted Song Jin’s hand and comforted him, “I’m fine. No matter what, 09 is here. I won’t leave you a widow.”

Song Jin raised his eyes to glare at him. “Still in the mood to crack jokes.”

Li Xiao turned around to pull the youth into his arms. “You haven’t given me your answer yet. I can’t bear to die.”

Song Jin replied gloomily, “Then I suppose I’ll never give you an answer in this lifetime. That way you won’t be free of attachments and die on a whim.”

Li Xiao: “…”

Wei Feng and Hu Jiang were in the other two rooms respectively, attempting to wake the rescued men.

It wasn’t practical to keep dragging them along on the return journey.

Li Xiao asked 09, “Who is manipulating the system? Can we wrest back control?”

09 flew over holding an energy stone. “The opponent is restarting the system program. I am attempting to implant a minor virus. Wait for me a moment.”

Li Xiao asked, “Where did that stone come from?”

09 answered cutely, “Picked it up from the ground.”

Li Xiao: “…”

“Ugh… cough, cough, cough…” After a round of tossing and turning, the four men on the ground finally regained consciousness. Opening their eyes to see two unfamiliar youths wearing goggles and masks while holding firearms, their mental states nearly shattered.

“Who are you people?” One of the middle-aged Alphas sat up warily.

Before Li Xiao could answer, Hu Jiang’s voice echoed from the room diagonally opposite. “We came to rescue you.”

The four men turned their heads. First, they saw their companions, and second, they saw the lasers flashing across the entire corridor, their expressions shifting dramatically.

How are we supposed to get out?

Very quickly, the lasers vanished entirely.

After confirming with 09, Li Xiao signaled everyone to leave.

People were already rushing over; if they didn’t leave now, they might not be able to escape at all.

The eight men who had just awoken from an eight-year hibernation possessed weak, trembling limbs and found even walking a chore. Covering their noses and mouths with their sleeves, they followed closely behind.

Halfway there, 09 suddenly gave a prompt.

“Someone is coming down!”

A military force clad in the Danse Garrison uniform appeared in Li Xiao’s vision, every single one of them fully armed.

With eight people in their group lacking any self-defense capabilities, clashing head-on was absolutely out of the question.

Li Xiao pushed open a door and ushered them inside to hide, leaving 07 alone outside to keep watch.

Soon, faint footsteps echoed outside the door.

Wei Feng and Hu Jiang held their guns, hiding on either side of the entrance. Li Xiao and Song Jin shared 07’s vision to monitor the situation outside.

The first wave of fifty men passed by the entrance without detecting anything unusual.

They proceeded smoothly all the way toward the exit, but the garrison force behind them unexpectedly doubled back.

There were no hiding places nearby. Li Xiao gestured for 09 to come over, slicing a corner of the metallic wall to carve out a triangular breach.

“What is this for?” Song Jin was puzzled.

Li Xiao explained, “This acoustic defense system is indeed highly effective. Without a specialized jammer, it’s impossible to counter. However, it possesses a fatal flaw.”

Song Jin asked, “What is it?”

Listening to the footsteps echoing at the end of the corridor, Li Xiao said flatly, “As long as you add an air vent at an appropriate location along the pipes, it will completely alter the frequency band of the acoustic waves.”

“They’re coming, quick!” After ushering everyone into the lift, Wei Feng gestured to Li Xiao and Song Jin.

Just as 09 finished cutting the triangle, Li Xiao wrapped an arm around Song Jin and stepped into the lift within two paces.

The metallic doors slowly slid shut. As the garrison force at the end of the corridor rounded the corner, the small triangle at the base of the wall wobbled and fell to the ground. The roaring sound struck Song Jin’s eardrums directly, but was neutralized by 09’s noise reduction in the next instant.

The garrison soldiers had barely raised their gun barrels halfway before they were instantly incapacitated by the noise, collapsing haphazardly all over the floor.

The metallic doors sealed completely, and the noise gradually faded into the distance. Rubbing his temples, Song Jin asked in a low voice, “Is this frequency band harmful to everyone now?”

Li Xiao raised a hand to massage it for him. “Mm.”

From this moment onward, anyone who dared to venture here had to be prepared to remain here forever.

This realization flashed through everyone’s minds, and the way they looked at Li Xiao shifted.

This kid looks pure and harmless, but it’s really just on the surface.

Upon returning to the garage, Wei Feng had intended to head toward his own vehicle when he caught wind of numerous disturbances nearby, his footsteps pausing.

“There are still people outside!”

Li Xiao listened for a moment. “Head north. Can your car auto-drive?”

Wei Feng replied, “Yes.”

Walking as he spoke, Li Xiao ordered, “09, take control of that vehicle from earlier. Wait for my notice.”

09: “Understood!”

The disturbance to the north was the minimal. Li Xiao had 09 open the most inconspicuous small door while simultaneously controlling Wei Feng’s modified vehicle to fly out from the southern exit.

In less than an hour, the density of mutated species in this area had increased significantly.

The moment the garage door cracked open, quite a few mutated ants crawled inside.

Song Jin considered whether to have 07 transform into a vehicle to transport them away.

Given that members of the Raven were present today, exposing the combat armor wasn’t necessarily a good idea; after all, everyone coveted a highly effective weapon.

Suddenly, the sound of an engine and the screeching of tires echoed outside the door, putting everyone on high alert.

Before they could hide, they spotted a semi-worn bus through the gap in the door. A youth clad in a white T-shirt, wearing a bandana and sunglasses, sat in the driver’s seat gesturing to them: “Quick, get in to take shelter! Big brother is taking you out! Half-price today!”

Li Xiao / Song Jin: “…”

It actually turned out to be this kid, Qian Can.

Loud gunfire would draw the garrison’s attention. Song Jin drew his military knife, swiftly dispatching the few mutated ants that lunged over, and leaped onto the bus, asking casually, “Where are they?”

“Second brother is to the west, and the little brother is to the east,” Qian Can said, speaking a code phrase into the public frequency channel. “The bus is full, moving out!”

After the twelve of us sat down, the bus was still quite empty.

Li Xiao boarded last, saying to Qian Can, “Head to District Five.”

Qian Can replied, “Alrighty! Strap in tightly.”

The vehicle lifted off, flying unsteadily out through the flocks of birds. Not long after, a black and a white ramshackle vehicle caught up from behind.

Boom—!

A massive explosion echoed from the rear.

Looking in that direction, Wei Feng cursed in a low voice, “Blowing up my car? That’s hundreds of thousands!”

“You should be secretly rejoicing that they didn’t blow you up along with your starship,” Li Xiao said as he sat down in the seat beside Song Jin, retrieving an emergency medical kit from the toolkit to tend to Song Jin’s wound.

The wound on Song Jin’s shoulder was quite deep, a patch stained red with blood where his clothing had fused with the injury.

Li Xiao cleansed the wound first. “Does it hurt?”

Song Jin replied, “Duh.”

Li Xiao leaned down to blow gently on it.

Song Jin remarked, “Kissing me would be much more effective.”

Li Xiao pulled down their masks, leaning his head slightly to plant a kiss.

Song Jin chuckled softly, “So obedient?”

Li Xiao answered, “Intermittent people-pleasing personality.”

Song Jin: “…”

Li Xiao added, “If you agree to my request, perhaps I can be even more obedient.”

Song Jin hummed, “This is seduction.”

Li Xiao countered, “It’s abduction.”

Song Jin: “…”

Following the cleansing, Li Xiao had 09 transform into a therapeutic light, shining it intensely directly against Song Jin’s wound.

Inside the bus, the eight middle-aged men who had just awoken were still somewhat bewildered. Hu Jiang’s father, in particular, looked rather melancholy as he stared at his son, whose beard was currently longer than his own.

“What do we do next?” Hu Jiang asked.

Wei Feng was pondering the same question.

Returning directly to the starship was evidently out of the question; the Meng family was determined to ensure they never returned. Going back now might truly result in getting blown up along with the ship.

“Have your people retreat further outward,” Li Xiao interjected flatly. “As long as you are willing to cooperate, I will assist in relocating you out.”

Wei Feng asked, “What do you plan to do?”

Li Xiao replied, “Don’t ask, just do as I say.”

Wei Feng: “…”

This kid is definitely retaliating.