Chapter 54
“Everything comes to life in spring, and it is also the season when the zerg reproduce. Since the beginning of spring, the Empire has been monitoring the nearest swarms of the zerg. It is not long now before the swarms finish hatching and the young migrate. It is also the time when their defenses are most concentrated, yet at the same time their weakest moment.”
“The insectoid subject RDE35, also known as the ‘sphinx moth’, is somewhat similar to the death-head moths that have been seen on the main planet. The RDE35 carries a highly toxic phosphorus powder that can cause paralysis, shock, and cardiac arrest within three minutes if inhaled accidentally. The danger may be avoidable when present alone, but if a whole group invades, I fear it will have a huge impact on the Empire.”
“In addition to the danger of phosphorus powder dispersing into water sources, more than half of the plants we know would get affected by their poisonous powder and die.”
Early in the morning, the news channel began to broadcast news of great concern to the people of the Empire.
The mission Wen Yu had been assigned to carry out was related to this swarm.
“The research base has studied the poisonous powder of RDE35 and concluded that it has flammable qualities that can make artillery fire. However, it’s too difficult to collect and is resource-intensive, so the plan has never been implemented. However, this quality also makes it easier for us to destroy them with firepower.”
“Of course there are some dangers in this plan. In addition to the poisonous powder, RDE35 are huge and have sharp teeth that can rip their prey apart in one bite. If an accident happens on the way to the mission, it will probably lead to the death of all the frontline personnel.”
“The Empire has sent Admiral Caesar, who is known as the ‘Ever Victorious General’, and this time we expect him to successfully lead the team and solve the crisis of the RDE35 invasion.”
Gu Xiyu was somewhat skeptical when he heard this report. Admiral Caesar was Wen Yu, the leader of the alien race. Was it really possible for him to help the humans complete their mission?
“Mr Gu and the Admiral are so close; the Admiral has just left and he already misses him.”
He was watching the news in the dining hall, and between the tablet and him was an exquisite breakfast prepared especially for him. Even though the conversation between the two servants by the door had been kept to a minimum, he accidentally overheard it.
When he came back to his senses, he realized that at some point, he had taken out the brooch that Wen Yu had left him and that, probably out of boredom or a desire to move his fingers, he had been unconsciously squeezing it in his hand and stroking it. And because he was staring at the news report as he did this, he gave the servants this illusion.
Gu Xiyu didn’t miss Wen Yu that much.
Although Wen Yu’s attitude towards him had eased up a bit, there were still certain restrictions, such as not being able to leave the confines of the mansion while he was not at home. Although he had legs and could go wherever he wanted, he couldn’t since Wen Yu was using Lu Feng to threaten him.
The plan to sneak back into the research base was aborted.
But not completely.
Accidents always come out of nowhere. About a few hours after Wen Yu left, Gu Xiyu was sitting bored at the table by the window of the bedroom when he suddenly caught a glimpse of a cloud of smoke rising from the palace in the distance.
He thought he was mistaken at first, until he saw those black, donut-like defense towers near the palace, flashing with artillery fire, clearly attacking something.
Gu Xiyu pulled out his tablet and clicked on the social media app; the disturbance at the royal palace had already made it to the hot search. Someone had even uploaded a video where the black defense towers were clearly seen sending out attacks against the strange creatures underneath. Countless bullets hit the aliens, but they weren’t able to inflict devastating damage on them.
The news sections on TV and major social media outlets were constantly updated, and news anchors were alerting viewers in a serious tone: “This morning, the palace was suddenly invaded by the aliens, resulting in the deaths of more than a hundred palace personnel. The Unification Center was the first to contain the situation, but one of the facilities separating the Royal Palace from the main city was damaged, and although the military quickly repaired it, there’s no guarantee invading aliens won’t take advantage of the opportunity to infiltrate the main city.”
“So we hereby appeal to the public to stay indoors as much as possible, lock their doors and windows, and unless there is a need to seek help, please do not open the doors, no matter what kind of people are visiting.”
When Gu Xiyu came out of his room, he saw that the people in the Admiral’s mansion busily running around, and the curtains on the windows on each floor were drawn. None of the people around him had time to pay attention to him, so he walked through them to one of the windows, slightly lifted the curtain, and quietly looked out.
The third floor of the Admiral’s mansion offered a view out to the more distant sights, such as the bustle of the city, the crowds of people moving about and socializing regularly, and the small spaceships flying on their planned courses. But now, the streets were deserted, the shops were closed, and there was no one in sight.
The public tram was stranded in the middle of the city center, evidently having stopped abruptly, and the carriages were empty.
He was about to lower his hand on the curtain when his eyes accidentally swept across the gate of the Admiral’s mansion as he looked away. His gaze snapped back and lingered there in concentration and surprise.
Gu Xiyu saw a puddle of sticky, transparent liquid moving towards the gate of the Admiral’s mansion at a gentle pace, resembling the movement of a single-celled creature called an amoeba. The guard at the gate noticed the puddle as well and had just taken a few vigilant steps towards it when the strange object suddenly coalesced upwards and became as tall as the guard.
He saw the guard fire at the strange creature, but the special energy bullet passed through the slimy body and opened a small hole. But in the blink of an eye, that small hole was immediately patched back up.
Apparently, normal weapons were ineffective against it. Not only that, but the almost transparent yellow-white creature, with its jelly-like body, suddenly took the form of a sharp blade and pierced through the shocked guard’s chest.
The guards of the Admiral’s mansion had excellent resources and wore clothes made of materials that had sufficient defensive power against the vast majority of the aliens, so this attack was unexpected.
Seeing this, Gu Xiyu’s face darkened, and he rushed downstairs. Perhaps what he had done in the space-time realm was similar to what the people in this world were doing, so he subconsciously wanted to go over and help.
He arrived at the entrance of the mansion, but before he could even step into the front yard, he was anxiously stopped by the mansion’s butler: “Mr. Gu, the Lord Admiral has explained that you are not allowed to leave without his permission.”
“And it’s dangerous outside at the moment; please protect yourself!” The butler had obviously also noticed what was happening at the gate and was clearly trying to do his part to stop him, but was also trying to feign that everything was fine. However, his voice and the grip on his arm carried a slight tremor.
The people in the mansion were also in fear; if the guards could not take the slippery thing down, the doors and windows of the mansion would not necessarily stop it from breaking in.
The people in the house were still reassuring him, “Mr Gu, just leave this to us. There are several layers of guards, and the protective net is already in place, so it won’t be easy for the aliens to invade.
The gate was already closed, and Gu Xiyu was unable to leave. He thought for a moment and suddenly compromised: “Alright, then I will go back to my room to rest and see if I can get in touch with the admiral.”
Then he returned to his bedroom ‘in distraught’ under the crowd’s watchful eyes, quietly turned into a tiger rabbit, and sneaked out of the house through a secret passage that only he knew.
Gu Xiyu had plenty of experience in fighting against aliens, so he was not afraid of them, but curious. It was said that the tiger- race was quite strong in combat, so it would be best if he could help.
He slipped outside the mansion, only to find that what was expected to be a very miserable situation at the gate had not happened. A black fighter jet was parked at the gate, and the tall, cool figure of Xie Mingan was there with several terrified guards in front of him.
On the floor lay two dead guards, both from the Admiral’s mansion.
Xie Mingan was holding a stun gun in his hand, and at his feet was a puddle of water stains that had fused with the lime ground.
“RDE376 is the same species that attacked me last time.” Gu Xiyu, who had turned into a tiger rabbit and been hiding in the bushes, quietly approached in their direction and heard Xie Mingan explaining to the guards at the mansion in a serious tone. “The most troublesome part is that it can move at super high speed, and ordinary physical attacks cannot damage it.”
“Remember to prepare salt water; the more concentrated, the better. The next time you see it, try to splash the salt on it; the outer layer of RDE376 secretes a mucus that protects it from all damage, and only salt water can dissolve that secretion. Without the protection of its outer layer, RDE376 has only one weakness, and that is electric shock.”
“Volts need to be above 50,000, so be careful when using electric shock weapons.”
Except for Wen Yu, Xie Mingan’s attitude towards everyone else was quite good. The guards of the Admiral’s mansion accepted the weapons he handed over and said, gratefully, “Thank you, Lieutenant General Xie!”
Xie Mingan checked around the Admiral’s Mansion to make sure there were no other abnormalities. Before leaving, he suddenly glanced up at the upper floors of the mansion and asked, “I remember that your Admiral was on a mission; is everyone in the house safe?”
“Lieutenant General Xie, everything is safe. Apart from the guards who were attacked, the rest are safe, thank you for your concern!”
He nodded and said nothing more, going straight into his spaceship and flying in the direction of the palace.
Gu Xiyu, who had sneaked into his spaceship while he was inspecting the Admiral’s mansion, tried to hold his breath and hide his furry body as much as possible in a dark corner, hoping Xie Mingan wouldn’t notice his presence.
Xie Mingan was a member of the military, and with something like this happening at the royal palace, he definitely had to make the trip. Gu Xiyu guessed that he was on his way to the palace and happened to see what was happening in front of the Admiral’s mansion, so he stopped by to help.
Gu Xiyu’s guess was indeed correct, and Xie Mingan did receive a briefing from the Unification Center at the first opportunity, asking him to go to the Royal Palace to help. The person who contacted him was Lieutenant General Xu Guizhong, and the other party sounded so guilty that Xie Mingan inexplicably had a sense of foreboding in his heart.
Upon arriving at the palace, he headed straight to the research base, where the real incident was said to have taken place, but was stopped outside before he could enter inside.
Xu Guizhong said to him solemnly, “Wait a little longer; inside is very dangerous at the moment; we’ve just cordoned off the whole place.”
Xie Mingan frowned: “What the hell is going on? Isn’t it an alien attack?”
“It is indeed an alien attack.” Xu Guizhong answered.
Xie Mingan asked again, “The royal palace is the most strictly guarded place in the empire; the main city doesn’t even have any major incidents; how did such a serious disaster occur here?”
Xu Guizhong hesitated for a long time before he said, in a guilty tone, “It was an accident with the experimental bodies.”
“Among the alien species studied in the underground base, there was a species with the ability to revive—or rather, regenerate. After doing some research and discovering that there was no further study we could take, we killed it and even cremated it. Little did we know that one part of the specimen’s body had not been completely burned, leaving a tiny, negligible fragment. It was this fragment that allowed it to regenerate and lurk around for a long time, replicating several identical versions of itself.”
“A while ago, there was a disturbance in the surveillance and some defense signals in the royal palace, and we suspect it took advantage of that time to invade the palace.”
Gu Xiyu, who had secretly followed Xie Mingan to the royal palace, listened in on this conversation.
He counted the days Xu Guizhong had spoken of and wasn’t that the day he had entered the royal palace with Wen Yu? He was still glad that his trip to the underground base had not been discovered, but it turned out that it was because the surveillance had been interfered with.
The only explanation was that Wen Yu had probably guessed what he was doing at the time, and perhaps helped him out since he was also an alien.
It does seem that way on the surface, but in reality, while he was helping him …… he may have also taken the opportunity to plant this bomb in the royal palace.
In the end, he was still the world’s villain, and even though the character of this world seemed mild and indifferent, the risk value of 53 points was still hanging brightly on the panel.
Gu Xiyu lowered his head and pondered over this matter. Outside, Xie Mingan and Xu Guizhong returned to the topic of the research base.
“Since it’s the palace that was in trouble, why was the research base cordoned off?”
After a short silence, Xu Guizhong wiped his face and said, “The experiments… An accident happened in one of the experiments.…and the situation got a bit out of hand.”