The entire saucer settled upon a vast, open plaza. The platform was ringed by spider-like robots, each several meters tall. When Zheng Zha burst through the wall, the aliens piloting the spider-bots were clearly slow to react. By the time Zheng Zha employed the super-speed of "Shave" and instantly closed the distance to one of the machines, the surrounding spiders finally jerked their cannon muzzles upward. But before they could unleash their laser beams, a crimson arc of blade-light swept from Zheng Zha's hand. The spider-bot, standing about five meters high, was shredded into metal fragments. The next second, this heap of wreckage detonated violently, the resulting fireball spreading outwards until it subsided over ten meters away, leaving behind a massive crater, a meter deep and three meters wide, gouged into the ground.

(It seems every spider-bot carries a substantial energy reserve; destroying one results in a violent explosion. But because of this, even an ordinary spider-bot possesses an energy shield. That last slash required four-tenths of my strength just to penetrate the shield... If this continues, I can destroy at most a hundred spider-bots before most of my Zhenyuan energy is depleted...) Since the battle in the ancient cultivator ruins, Zheng Zha had relentlessly experimented with channeling demonic power through the Hupo Blade. Indeed, this practice amplified the blade's might to an unbelievable degree. Conversely, greater power brought a greater burden. Even with Zheng Zha's current physique, even when entering the "Hidden Dragon Transformation" state, after swinging the blade five times at most, his entire arm would collapse, and the demonic energy within him would suffer a dangerous backlash. Thus, despite the immense power generated by wielding the Hupo Blade with demonic energy, Zheng Zha generally preferred to use his Zhenyuan power. Relatively speaking, Zhenyuan power had become akin to internal energy or the energy of a Blood Clan member for him, even though he possessed no specific cultivator techniques to channel either Zhenyuan or demonic energy.

The spider-bots were far tougher than Zheng Zha had anticipated. Even with the sharpness granted by wielding the Hupo Blade enhanced by Zhenyuan power, he still needed about forty percent of his strength to annihilate one. Against an ordinary object, the blade-light would reduce it to dust with the slightest touch. While forty percent strength might sound minimal, what if he had to cleave hundreds of times? His Zhenyuan would nearly be exhausted. Frustrated, Zheng Zha abandoned his plan to cause widespread havoc. After destroying several more spider-bots, he lifted one of the largest, a crimson-colored one. He then activated the "Destruction" state and hurled the seven or eight-meter-tall machine forward. Because the plaza was swarming with spider-bots positioned densely together, dozens of them were sent flying by the collision. Zheng Zha seized this moment of chaos and charged down from the saucer’s platform.

Simultaneously, a whirlwind of yellow sand erupted from the saucer. No matter how the spider-bots fired their energy blasts, the beams passed directly through the sandstorm, exploding against the steel walls surrounding them, while the sandstorm remained completely unscathed as it sped away, vanishing moments later past a corridor far from the platform. (As expected, Imhotep is most useful in this kind of sci-fi horror world. He is practically immortal; unless they have energy weapons that can counter him, how could they possibly harm him? Good. Zhang Heng takes the offense, Imhotep handles defense; their combined combat strength is also formidable. In that case... I will wait for you! The West Sea Team!) As Zheng Zha leaped off the platform, he saw countless transparent tubes below, many small shuttles floating within them. These shuttles, only about two or three meters long, hovered barely half a meter high—clearly the aliens' common transportation. Zheng Zha jumped straight down, pursued by a dense spray of energy beams from behind. The spider-bots were crammed at the edge of the plaza, peering down. Only the outermost robots could fire, and since these machines couldn't fly or hover, Zheng Zha endured only a few blasts before he reached the top of a transparent conduit. The crimson blade-light flashed again, and the next second, he plunged into the tube.

(The notebook computer is with Chu Xuan, and he has vanished again; whether he is dead or alive is completely unknown. That guy is truly infuriating... Fine. I'll wander around, familiarize myself with the surroundings, find a suitable place to engage the West Sea Team, and perhaps look for any captive members of the West Sea Team they might be "raising" here in the headquarters...) With his mind set, Zheng Zha charged in one direction, ignoring the small floating shuttles. He kept the Hupo Blade swinging, the crimson blade-light accompanied by violent explosions trailing in his wake. This entire sector was thrown into utter chaos. Meanwhile, high in Earth's atmosphere, another large saucer was speeding toward the alien headquarters—this was the ship belonging to the West Sea Team. After defeating and kidnapping members of the Central Continent Team’s subgroup, the three from the West Sea Team had chased after Zheng Zha and the others.

(This is strange. I feel like I'm overlooking some detail. What could it be?) Julian sat on the floor with his eyes closed, his fingers tapping his forehead rhythmically. Though he lacked concrete evidence, an indescribable sense of unease permeated him, a feeling that he had missed something crucial. Yet, when he tried to recall precisely, everything seemed logical, as if nothing important was unknown to him. If there were any variables, the biggest one would be the combat strength of the Central Continent Team's captain. (If their plan is to stall for time, hoping their captain, Zheng Zha, will come to rescue them, I can only say they are utterly foolish, completely unworthy of the expectations I placed on them. Firstly, the world of Reincarnation offers countless skills; there are no absolute strongest skills or attributes, only the strongest individuals. Every skill has its utility and destructive power. Now that they are our captives, Zheng Zha is constrained by their safety. It's uncertain how much strength he can truly exert. Even if he could unleash his full power, he is not the one from the Demon Team. Could he really defeat the three of us, considering our combined skills? The victory odds are about seventy percent... for us.) As Julian contemplated this, his head turned toward Reinhardt. Without opening his eyes, Julian could still "see" the man looking at the Central Continent Team members with a faint smile. While his exterior appeared refined and gentle, this was merely his customary demeanor towards the weak, using elegance to mask his arrogance—an arrogance rooted in a profound disdain for the lesser beings. Julian "saw" this and shook his head, a wry, fleeting smirk crossing his lips before he sank back into contemplation.

(Fine, I admit this man is an idiot. Always talking about being of royal descent, his name even sounds like a protagonist's—he probably deserves a protagonist’s chance... But overall, his strength is indeed impressive. Especially that "immortal" attribute; he can escape even when facing someone far stronger than himself. Combined with my mental control skills and "His" "Ideal Homeland Far From All Else," even if we face that person from the Demon Team, we might not necessarily lose...) Time passed as Julian pondered, until their saucer drew very near the alien headquarters. Like the saucer Zheng Zha’s group had used, this vessel automatically found an aperture and flew inside, soon resting on another platform.

"What's the situation outside, Julian?" Reinhardt turned and asked Julian. Julian’s mental energy swept out subtly, mapping the surroundings completely into his mind. The man smiled faintly. "There are many spider-bots surrounding us. It seems our prior deduction was entirely correct; the aliens will attack us once the time limit is reached. It’s fortunate we secured a saucer to leave this headquarters earlier. Captain, what do we do now?" As he pronounced the word "Captain," Julian's lips twitched again slightly. Reinhardt smoothly raked his fingers through his hair, glanced at Ansuna, and then stood up. "Your mental skills are most effective against these aliens. Hypnotize them. I can't be bothered to waste power on these pawns. Then we'll find the Central Continent Team's captain and kill him! Hahaha..." Julian’s lips twitched once more. His lips moved almost imperceptibly, as if mouthing the words, It's not that simple. Still, he offered no rebuttal, merely cracking open his eyes just a sliver. For an instant, everyone around them seemed to see countless Buddhist statues and rotating halos appear, but this abnormal vision lasted only a moment before everything returned to normal. "There. Heavenly Dance Wheel, at twenty percent power... Phew. So, what about these people?" Julian let out a breath and continued his questioning. Reinhardt glanced at Ansuna again. The stunningly beautiful woman stared back with a cold expression. He shook his head. "Hypnotize them... The Central Continent Team doesn't have a mental controller, right? Just hypnotize them. We’ll deal with them after we kill their captain... Oh, right, we can absorb members from other teams too, can't we? We should still have two slots remaining." "Uh, yes, two slots remaining..." Julian nodded, turning towards Xiao Honglv. After a moment's thought, he said, "We'll leave that for later. Let's get through this horror movie world first. Since the Central Continent Team lacks a mental controller, we shouldn't rush to fight their captain immediately once we find him. We’ll select a suitable location for our engagement; I can also control the aliens to assist us... Let's go." Reinhardt gave Ansuna one last look, then turned and strode out of the saucer, laughing heartily. On the platform outside, hundreds of spider-bots lay collapsed on the ground; the aliens piloting them were all unconscious, seemingly due to Julian's recent actions. Moments later, Julian and the Caucasian middle-aged man emerged from the saucer. Julian nodded lightly. "Everyone except the bomb controller has been completely hypnotized. But hypnotizing them doesn't mean much anyway. This is the alien headquarters, and I’ve set the saucer to my mental frequency—they can’t even fly back to Earth. And they lack a mental controller. After we eliminate Zheng Zha, whether they hide or run, finding them will be effortless... Captain, we can create women anytime we want; why insist on that specific one? Remember, we only have two slots left." Reinhardt’s handsome face flushed slightly, quickly followed by a surge of anger. He snapped, "Damn it, earlier you insisted on taking this one with the scabbard, but during the Qing Ri battle, she barely contributed, just protecting you from harm. Now I only ask for one slot, and you’re arguing semantics. That's the final decision. Damn it, who exactly is the captain?" Julian bit his lip lightly, then smiled and conceded, "Alright, whatever you say, Captain. It's just a minor slot, it doesn't matter... Since you're the captain, I’ll defer to you..." (The Captain? A disobedient Captain... Time for another change, perhaps?) Julian shrugged, ceased talking, and extended his mental energy to scan the surroundings. Although the alien headquarters was immense, he spread his consciousness out into countless fine threads, spreading like feelers in all directions. Within tens of seconds, his mental energy detected movement far in the distance—a violent explosion seemed to be occurring there, with countless spider-bots converging on the location. Julian’s lips twitched slightly, and he smiled faintly. "Captain, Zheng Zha is over there. Prepare for battle... Captain." With that, he was the first to sprint towards the direction of the explosion.