Fang Senyan glanced at the others again, noticing they were utterly engrossed, and continued: "When I realized those captives weren't being immediately devoured by the Berserkers, I started considering the creatures' motive for capturing them. Since they were clearly starving and food-deprived, the idea of keeping humans as a reserve for famine must be discarded. So, besides eating them, what use could humans possibly have for them? Most likely, they are intended as sacrifices to the higher authority within the clan—the Xenomorph!"

"And why would they go to such elaborate lengths to set an ambush, using humans as bait to lure rescuers? Their goal must be to acquire more human material for the Xenomorphs to parasitize!"

"Cough, cough, cough... no need to argue further. That thing is indeed a Xenomorph." A hoarse voice suddenly sounded by the campfire; it was Paul, who had woken up. He said wearily, "Do you know how I managed to break out?"

At this, everyone looked at Paul with admiration. This man was truly formidable, escaping under those circumstances through his own power. Paul seemed to enjoy their gazes and couldn't help but boast a little:

"I knew I was in a desperate situation, so I took advantage of Vasily's self-destruction, summoned my beloved Achilles, and then exploited a blind spot in the enemy's thinking to charge deeper into the monster's lair with Heracles."

Fang Senyan asked in surprise: "The depths of the monster's lair? Where is that?"

Paul gave Fang Senyan a helpless look: "You certainly ran fast enough; you must not have noticed that just a few centimeters beneath the feet of those two hostages was actually a massive pit. The Xenomorphs placed great importance on those two unfortunate souls; they must have already implanted eggs inside them with Facehuggers, so they wouldn't tolerate the hostages being rescued—it was as if their own offspring were being abducted. As soon as we approached within ten meters, those two hostages plummeted in first."

"I followed the tunnel where the hostages were dragged away, pursuing relentlessly. I caught those foolish monsters completely off guard, and in their panic, a total of three Xenomorphs chased after me! Hmph! If I hadn't drawn their attention away, under the sniper fire of the Swamp Xenomorphs, probably only Sailor and Altarys would have escaped."

"I tracked the two hostages who were dragged away to an underground chamber in the swamp and found five Xenomorph eggs inside. I left Achilles behind to destroy the eggs and draw attention, while Heracles covered my escape. In the end, Achilles successfully tied up enough time—my feint worked, which is why I managed to escape alive."

Ronnie frowned suddenly: "Does that mean among the enemies we have to face, there is also a Xenomorph Queen?"

Paul shook his head: "I certainly didn't see one. Well, that was probably my luck. If I had seen one, I would definitely be in many pieces right now, slowly dissolving in stomach acid."

Bokan mused thoughtfully: "When we attacked the Unicorn Flyers earlier, we heard Dardanion mention that before a biological collective has fully expanded, it wouldn't generate a lifeform with the singular focus and inability to hunt like a Queen, as there wouldn't be enough food to sustain it."

"If we deduce based on Dardanion's theory—the Xenomorph collective only has three individuals, one of them is likely a versatile combatant and hunter, capable of reproduction, though perhaps not as specialized as a Queen. It might be capable of laying eggs while still hunting."

"For example, if a Xenomorph Queen can lay one egg per day, this female might only lay one per week. However, once the Xenomorph population increases to a certain level, providing this female with sufficient nutrition, she should then gorge herself, burning her life force to lay the final egg of her existence—the Queen's Egg."

Fang Senyan let out a long sigh and shook his head: "Hedykuri and the others had truly terrible luck. I initially estimated their chances of survival at about 50%, but with your actions, their prospects are now almost nil."

Everyone immediately understood Fang Senyan's meaning. If the Xenomorphs still had eggs, given their preference for parasitizing strong humanoid beings, they might forcibly use the Contract Holders. And being parasitized wouldn't mean instant death; they would have to wait for the larvae to grow and hatch before bursting out. Even for ordinary humans, the Xenomorph larva's gestation period is around twenty-four hours; much stronger Contract Holders should be able to last longer.

But now that the Xenomorph eggs were destroyed, and the female Xenomorph's laying cycle was so long, there was no doubt that Hedykuri and the others' only remaining value was to fill their stomachs.

Thinking of their comrades' fate, the group couldn't help but feel a chill run down their spines. The most frustrating part was that they died without even utilizing their greatest strengths and specializations. If they could have faced off openly, deploying each person's specialty, even if victory wasn't guaranteed, they certainly wouldn't have ended up in such a miserable predicament.

For a moment, a somber mood of shared sorrow settled among them.

Staring at the campfire, Fang Senyan was silent for a while, then said: "Everyone should rest now. The magic users must get proper rest; ensure the quality of your meditation is high, as it affects tomorrow's MP recovery rate. I will temporarily create two Cultivators to stand guard."

Meanwhile, at the Eagle Base, two million seven hundred thousand kilometers away, the unfortunate news had already been transmitted.

Fiji paced around his office like a trapped beast, while Mongo sat before his desk, head buried in his hands, showing a rare look of dejection.

"Those fools, those absolute fools!!! They walked right into it!!" Fiji roared uncontrollably.

On the large screen in Fiji and Mongo’s office, footage transmitted by the Androids was playing.

Indeed, just as Fang Senyan suspected, both the Berserkers and the Xenomorphs showed no interest in the androids created from plastic, rubber, and additives. They craved steaming internal organs, sweet blood, and firm, savory muscle. Thus, the motionless androids and metal objects were swept into the underground 'storeroom'—no, more accurately, a junk pit—and faint, shrill screams could occasionally be heard from beyond the screen.

Mongo let out a long sigh: "How many of them can possibly survive?"

This question revealed Mongo's shrewdness; when faced with adversity, his first thought wasn't blame or anger, but immediately considering the future. It was like a gambler who, having lost, immediately calculates the remaining capital available for a comeback, striving to emerge from the slump of defeat as quickly as possible. Compared to him, Fiji, known as the Black General, lacked this sharpness.

Fiji didn't answer Mongo because he didn't know either. Fortunately, a relevant expert soon answered Mongo's question via the network: "Under those circumstances, no more than three people have a chance of survival."

Mongo suddenly raised his head, his eyes filled with ruthless determination. He pressed the intercom: "Connect me immediately to the Commander of the Eleventh Fleet. Tell them we've made a major breakthrough and instruct them to approach the Asir Sector wormhole immediately for large-scale exercises! Make the Predator ships reroute again."

Fiji immediately looked at Mongo with the gaze one reserves for an idiot: "You... don't you understand? We lost! We lost the gamble. You're actually going to mobilize the old man's resources now? Have you lost your mind from the defeat?"

Mongo said coldly: "Being demoted to Lieutenant Commander or Lieutenant makes no difference to me anymore. I can only win now, I cannot lose! Since I know at least three people are alive, even if those three only offer me a 3% chance, I will work to cooperate here and try to turn that 3% into 4%!"

"You are a damn lunatic... I really didn't see that coming." Fiji looked terrified, then pushed the door open and hurried out: "I won't be buried with you. My family's influence can still protect me; at worst, I won't get promoted while the old man is in power. Goodbye, Mongo."

Mongo watched Fiji slam the door and flee like a frightened stray dog. He suddenly burst into laughter, but the laughter soon turned into a bitter chuckle, finally dissolving into a long sigh.

Fang Senyan’s judgment was accurate once again. Humans had indeed come looking for their missing comrades, and they had arrived faster and sooner than he had anticipated.

Three hours after everyone had gone to sleep, the two Cultivators temporarily created by Fang Senyan sounded the first alarm, followed by the explosion of Altarys’s psychic ward, emitting a loud bang—anyone who wasn't deaf should have been awakened.

Immediately after, under Bokan’s transmutation spell, a rectangular patch of ground rapidly subsided, exposing a group of fierce soldiers crawling forward—if adjectives could be applied to them, the soldiers could be preceded by terms like "tattered," "lean," and "well-trained."

Fang Senyan was the first to step out. He was immediately pointed at by N rifles, a mix of high-tech plasma guns and primitive throwing spears. Fang Senyan spread his hands to show he was unarmed and held no hostility, then shouted loudly: "I am human, a completely normal human being. Interested in joining me for a beer and a couple of hot dogs?"

.RT