Chapter 22: The Exploration Team
The setting sun on the horizon was like blood. After more than nine hours of fierce battle, the alien army retreated. It wasn't that they wanted to retreat, but their losses on the main battlefield were too severe, and the high-ranking aliens needed to reconsider their strategy.
The King was the absolute ruler of the race, and beneath the King were the high-ranking aliens.
The King commanded the high-ranking aliens, who in turn directed the ground-walkers in battle. The King must never fall; if the King met with an accident, the high-ranking aliens would lose control over the ground-walkers.
Aliens were intelligent beings with their own language, civilization, and so on. Fission-types and Parasite-types were highly intelligent beings, while ground-walkers were secondary intelligent beings. A small portion of ground-walkers possessed intelligence equal to that of Fission-types and Parasite-types.
As a war race, the aliens' civilization differed from humanity's. They were in an invasion phase. They had the capability to conquer this world, but they didn't do so because the resources of the Ten Thousand Beasts Continent were insufficient. Once the aliens occupied it, the massive numbers of ground-walkers would quickly devour all organic matter on land.
For the aliens, this world was unsuitable for establishing a civilization. They had tried many methods, such as raising other creatures or controlling population numbers, but all failed.
They needed a larger world with an abundance of supernatural creatures. Only by hunting supernatural animals could the ground-walkers' appetite be controlled, forming a stable food chain. Unfortunately, supernatural creatures in this world were nearly extinct.
Once the aliens obtained habitable land, they would quickly establish an alien empire and gradually prosper.
The fall of the Space-Time Power Entity gave the alien King an opportunity. They could use the Space-Time Power Entity to leave this world as a race, seeking a larger world with supernatural creatures. Only then could the aliens escape their crisis. Indeed, the aliens' situation was also dire. If not for the King's control, all living things on the Ten Thousand Beasts Continent would have been eaten by the ground-walkers.
The aliens had long wanted to leave this world. Their high-ranking officials always believed this wasn't their original home.
This was also why the beastmen were willing to submit. The beastmen's thinking was: you aliens, get the hell out of this world, go wherever you want, just stop eating us beastmen.
The two sides were practically in perfect agreement. The aliens desperately needed the Space-Time Power Entity, which was why they attacked the Fallen Zone with their army.
Conversely, the contractors from various paradises also needed the Space-Time Power Entity. This was an irreconcilable conflict.
Above the Reincarnation Paradise base camp, the camp was now buried under the corpses of ground-walkers. The massive pile of corpses had shrunk considerably. A lump of black rotten flesh writhed within the pile—it was the chubby kid who used the "die on the spot" style. He had released the Black Demon within him. The Black Demon first swallowed the chubby kid, then began devouring the ground-walker corpses.
Chewing sounds came. As it devoured the ground-walker corpses, the Black Demon's body grew larger, speeding up its consumption.
At most, within half an hour, the pile of ground-walker corpses disappeared, replaced by a large patch of black rotten flesh that pressed down on their base camp.
Seeming to sense there were no more ground-walker corpses, a slightly trembling arm extended from the black rotten flesh, the Black Demon. All the black rotten flesh began to be absorbed, starting from that arm.
A few seconds later, the chubby kid knelt on the dark red grass, his eyes somewhat dazed.
"Lock me up."
The chubby kid spoke with a ferocious expression. He had never let the Black Demon devour so much life force before. The next time he fully released the Black Demon, there would be only two outcomes: either he devoured the Black Demon and soared to new heights, or he died.
Soon, the chubby kid was locked in a large iron cage and placed in a temporary wooden shed beside the base camp. This guy absolutely couldn't enter the base camp now; he was a hundred times more dangerous than a time bomb.
One by one, weary-looking contractors entered the base camp, most heading straight for the rest pods, collapsing into sleep. After nine hours of intense combat, almost everyone was injured.
In the dining area of the main cabin, Su Xiao, Bubu Wang, Amu, and Baha sat at a table. They had already finished dinner. The taste was acceptable, the portions were generous, and it was free.
This wasn't dinner cooked by Xia. Feeding over two hundred people would exhaust Xia to death, even if she tried, especially since contractors had much larger appetites than ordinary people.
[Tip: Hunter authority is being verified...]
[Verification complete. Authority meets the required conditions.]
Seeing this sudden prompt, Su Xiao, who was bare-chested with bandages wrapped around his torso and abdomen, was somewhat puzzled. He was injured, not seriously, but after being surrounded by ground-walkers for hours, as a melee fighter needing to conserve stamina, injuries were inevitable.
[If a friendly contractor holds more than 100 points of merit, the following information can be disclosed to such friendly contractors by the Hunter.]
[The following is classified war intelligence.]
[Classified Intelligence 1: The exploration team has arrived at 'Ramesses Star.' 'Ramesses Star' has collapsed by 85.7%. The remaining area will completely collapse within 15 to 27 natural days.]
[Classified Intelligence 2: The exploration team consists of three members. They must obtain the 'Crawling Spirit' within 7 natural days. After the exploration team obtains the 'Crawling Spirit,' it will be teleported to the Captain's Cabin.]
[Tip: The Crawling Spirit is a key item for killing the 'Alien King.']
[Tip: If the exploration team fails to obtain the Crawling Spirit, and the friendly side fails to obtain the World Core, the merit settlement reward will be reduced by 50%.]
Seeing these prompts, Su Xiao's long-standing confusion was resolved. He had never seen Xia's figure; the kitchen was staffed by several robots. Not only Xia, but also the Toad and No. 1045 were absent. After the spaceship landed, the three of them had disappeared without a trace.
Clearly, they were the exploration team. They had arrived at the Ten Thousand Beasts Continent by hitching a ride on the spaceship, temporarily serving as captain, cook, etc. Their true destination was the Sis Star, that collapsing super-massive world. The Space-Time Power Entity had fallen and arrived here due to that world's collapse.
Xia was responsible for negotiations, Black Armor No. 1045 was the combat power (bodyguard), and the Toad was knowledgeable and experienced, able to stabilize the situation at critical moments. As for Luo Luo, don't overthink it; she was really just a bartender, pleasing to the eye, and was still inside the spaceship.
Beini had been unable to find any clues about the World Core. Now it seemed that failing to find it was correct. The core of this world was with the aliens, or rather, with the 'Alien King.' If Beini found the enemy's King, she would have rendered great service.
This was the first phase of the World War: seizing the Space-Time Power Entity. After seizing the Space-Time Power Entity, no matter what, they had to penetrate deep into the alien army's heartland to kill their King and seize the World Core.
Whether the exploration team could obtain the Crawling Spirit was key to killing the Alien King. Su Xiao felt that other paradises had likely also sent exploration teams. The Toad and No. 1045 on their side were both very strong, giving them a higher chance of obtaining the Crawling Spirit.
Whichever side's exploration team obtained the Crawling Spirit would have absolute initiative in the struggle for the World Core. Approaching the Alien King through conventional means was likely impossible.