The old man in the wheelchair intently scrutinized the visual data presented by Major General Fei Ji, his gaze so penetrating it seemed capable of stripping away all surfaces to reach the very core of things.

After a long silence, the old man finally spoke slowly: “It seems sending those savages to the planet was a good move.

It’s a pity that the Iron Bloods have already noticed this.

After this failure, they are likely to strengthen their defenses and won't give us another chance—unless we go to full-scale war, but the Council will never agree to that.” Major General Mongo said grimly: “At least they still have nearly eighty hours to bring us some good news.

I think this group of people is extremely capable; perhaps they can still surprise us.” Just as Major General Mongo finished speaking, the rank insignia pinned to the chests of both him and Fei Ji suddenly began to flash.

This time, Mongo didn't give Fei Ji a chance, immediately interjecting: “Pardon me, General, but it seems new intelligence has arrived from that sector.” The old man uttered an interested “Oh,” and immediately commanded: “Connect the live broadcast signal to me, now.” Soon, the room began displaying the previously received information via holographic projection—it was the very scene where Artificial Human No.

1 obtained the dog tag, with a close-up shot of the tag itself.

Evidently, the reaction on this end to the dog tag was also significant.

The first thought for Mongo and Fei Ji, naturally, mirrored that of Fang Senyan and his team: That the owner of the dog tag was a survivor who had managed to escape the previous deployment to the planet Epross.

However, it was clear that the access rights of the androids’ offline database could not compare to those of an Imperial Grand General.

The General used the dog tag's serial number to quickly ascertain Douglas’s true military affiliation.

After obtaining the file, his expression immediately darkened.

Although he already had a strong suspicion, he needed to guard against potential procedural violations by his subordinates.

Thus, he inquired with a sinister tone: “Before we conscripted those savages, we conducted three previous deployments.

Which war zones did you select personnel from for those three initial drops?” Major General Mongo and Fei Ji were both taken aback.

Major General Mongo quickly responded: “I was not in charge of the first three deployments, but I have reviewed all the prior documentation.

Because the person who previously managed the operation came from the 156th War Zone and had connections to the upper echelons of Andromeda, he requested personnel from the Andromeda Light Speed Special Forces.

I am certain of that.” The old man closed his eyes.

When he reopened them, he was seen tapping on a keyboard.

About a minute later, the holographic image flickered.

Immediately following this, a waterfall of data cascaded down: “Name: Douglas Tony, Private First Class.” “Affiliation: S.

Bermuda Experimental Special Forces.” “Gender: Male.” “Age: 25.” “Current Status: Missing under mysterious circumstances six months ago while executing a mission on the 87th Star in the Southern Cross Arm.

Due to the highly classified nature of his mission, the Imperial Investigation Bureau intervened.

The current conclusion is a 53% probability of being bought over by the Alliance and defecting!” “……” Reading this series of data, the pupils of both Major General Mongo and Major General Fei Ji contracted.

They knew that any unit named using familiar terminology from Old Earth belonged to units directly under Imperial jurisdiction.

For instance, the previous Alpine Base No.

7 implied it was the seventh offshoot of the Alpine Base… and the Alpine Base was rumored to be the Imperial Emperor's temporary residence! Clearly, compared to the S.

Bermuda Experimental Special Forces, the Andromeda Light Speed Special Forces they had previously mobilized were several tiers lower.

It was like the difference between a provincial basketball team and the national team.

Therefore, the possibility of Private First Class Douglas being one of the operatives previously sent to infiltrate Epross could basically be ruled out, because even an Imperial Grand General could not directly overstep authority to direct or issue orders to a special unit under central command.

“So, after eliminating all impossibilities, the remaining answer, no matter how bizarre, must be the truth,” Major General Mongo stated gravely.

“The planet Epross is a hunting ground set up by the Iron Bloods.

Those selected by them are considered beings capable of providing intense tempering and training for the next generation.

Do not forget, in their eyes, humans are the same as sharks, lions, or even pet dogs and cats…” It was clear that Private First Class Douglas met the Iron Bloods’ criteria.

The Iron Bloods had captured Private First Class Douglas stealthily and deployed him onto Epross.

His status was not that of an invader as they had imagined, but unequivocally that of a carefully confined prey! Evidently, Fang Senyan and his team were completely unaware of the astonishing conclusions being drawn on the space station 2.7 million kilometers away.

The Little Eagle was running at full power, maximizing the suppression of the Iron Bloods’ interference.

Even so, they could only passively receive the data transmitted by the androids; they lacked the energy reserves to transmit data back.

This undoubtedly meant that Fang Senyan’s current team was doomed to continue sinking deeper into this quagmire of error… In fact, driven by the two M-rated members, the entire team began working intensively, attempting to find any trace, any clue, to locate the "prospecting team" members who might still be alive.

It had to be admitted that the power of the collective was indeed immense.

Ronnie first purchased all detailed information regarding the Slathrach species.

Although they had already captured one specimen and obtained a good deal of data, purchasing the complete set of detailed information still cost over thirty thousand universal credits.

But quickly, Ronnie’s eyes lit up: “I found it… This chaotic and vicious species, the Slathrach, actually adheres to strict territorial boundaries.

Because the currents bring them a continuous supply of food, these lazy monsters usually only operate within a five-kilometer radius!” “This means the location where Private First Class Douglas was attacked is very likely near the river within five kilometers! We won’t expend too much effort finding the battlefield.

And in the hand of Mr.

Douglas that we found, he was tightly gripping a ray pistol.

The energy gauge indicated he fired two shots before he died, unfortunately missing.

So there should be distinct markers around the battle site.” Hedikuli heartily clapped Ronnie on the shoulder: “Nicely done, my friend.” Ronnie’s expression turned slightly awkward as he continued reading: “The special abilities of the Slathrach are quite peculiar.

They only ** once in their lifetime, producing an egg sac containing between five to ten thousand fertilized eggs.

If they inflict damage upon an enemy, they implant one fertilized egg into its body.” “…….Normally, this fertilized egg rapidly hatches inside the host, developing into a crimson demon tadpole.

The tadpole initially secretes large amounts of anesthetic substances, quietly absorbing the host’s flesh and essence until it infiltrates the main nerves, at which point the host begins to feel something.

Once the crimson demon tadpole absorbs sufficient flesh and essence, it matures, secretes massive toxins, forcing a 50% reduction in all the host’s attributes, before the tadpole violently bursts out of the body…” Undoubtedly, in that instant, the expressions of both Hedikuli and Aziza changed simultaneously.

They immediately glanced at their own arms, because when they were attacked by that Slathrach earlier, both, being small shield-bearers, had managed to block most of the force, yet they still sustained injuries.

However, they were M-rated members after all, powerful individuals with vitality exceeding one hundred, so they hadn't paid much attention at the time.

They never expected the Slathrach’s special ability to be this perverse.

Hedikuli trusted Ronnie the most.

He immediately drew a dagger and slashed viciously across his own right hand.

The M-rated members’ powerful recovery ability had already allowed the previous wound to scab over, but upon this cut, blood immediately flowed again.

He didn't seem to care, but his brow was deeply furrowed.

Because after this cut, Hedikuli clearly saw a deep bloody cavity beneath his skin, as if blood vessels had vanished into thin air.

The surrounding area of the cavity felt numb, clearly having been corroded by the crimson demon tadpole.

He mercilessly dug the dagger further up, slicing until he reached his armpit before finally flicking out a blood-red tadpole the size of his thumb.

The pattern on the tadpole’s back resembled a devil leering in a sinister grin.

It had already developed hind limbs, and its tail thrashed wildly, spraying blood everywhere.

It possessed a hideously bizarre mouth, resembling that of a piranha, lined with sharp teeth, making it look extremely ferocious.

When the tadpole hit the ground, it actually displayed a look of venomous hatred in its eyes.

Its mouth incessantly snapped open and shut, its sharp teeth colliding and clicking with a “pa-pa-pa” sound! Ronnie saw the disgusting creature and stepped on it with his foot.

The crimson demon tadpole let out a piercing shriek! But this was understandable; the Slathrach were highly intelligent, humanoid creatures, so displaying some human-like reactions was not surprising.

Aziza was even more unfortunate.

Gritting her teeth, she carved out two crimson demon tadpoles from her arm, sweating profusely from the pain.

Fang Senyan watched the two of them grinding their teeth while cutting their own flesh, feeling a chill crawl up his spine, a sense of shared doom.

If his M-rated status had been exposed, and he hadn't even had a shield, then three people would have been infected this time… Fang Senyan certainly didn't share the sentiment of facing life and death together with them.

To be continued..

.RT