It turned out that the awakened individuals possessed significantly higher resistance to mental control than ordinary people; the leader, wearing the Sorrowful Ape mask, held out for a full hundred seconds under the dim glow before succumbing, while the Dull Ape mask managed thirty seconds. Under the illumination, the two Baiyuan cultists rolled on the ground clutching their heads, completely incapable of fighting back.

Although their resistance was fierce, control over both of them was ultimately established. Yang Ying waited high in the air, never revealing himself before them; there was no need to bother instructing them on how to behave.

This matter had been long planned; the Dark Archons knew exactly what to do. Everything that needed to be conveyed had already been implanted into their minds during the memory weaving process.

As for how to explain this failure to their superiors, they could resolve that themselves. Yang Ying merely assigned a Ghost Agent to be their liaison, responsible for intelligence handling, and then cleaning up any traces at the scene.

They were allowed to take the antenna back; Yang Ying didn't particularly care about it. The Floating Continent Research Institute had already cracked the technology of the previous antenna, and several had been manually fabricated in the lab with extremely satisfactory results.

The next morning, Yang Ying departed Earth, boarding a passenger vessel at the spaceport bound for a colony city in the asteroid belt—Grey Port. There were two types of colonies in the asteroid belt.

The first type consisted of only four colonies, established on four asteroids with diameters exceeding one hundred kilometers. The largest, Ceres, spanned a thousand kilometers in diameter, and this was originally where the Ninth Fleet was stationed.

These colonies were dug into the interior of the asteroids during construction, featuring both above-ground and subterranean structures. The second type consisted of space cities.

While their physical footprint was much smaller than the first category, they were still colossal artificial metropolises capable of supporting a population of millions. They navigated by absorbing solar energy and were mostly distributed in the inner asteroid belt, close to Mars' orbit, because any further out, they couldn't gather sufficient sunlight.

Grey Port belonged to the space city category. The entire city was oval-shaped and designed as a transportation hub from its inception, boasting more docking bays than the Earth spaceports.

It constantly served as a transfer station in the inner asteroid belt, with a population drawn from all corners of the cosmos. Upon arriving at Grey Port, Yang Ying disembarked with his luggage and surveyed his surroundings.

The signage indicated this was Port District Four, where several sanitation robots were busy cleaning up refuse left by travelers. Following the directional signs, Yang Ying emerged from the passenger exit and immediately spotted Kalia and Randall waiting ahead.

They noticed him at the same instant. The two approached him.

Randall said crisply, "Greetings, Officer. Welcome to the asteroid belt, Officer!" Kalia followed up, "We are here to guide you, Officer." "Where to?" Yang Ying handed his luggage to Randall, who appeared physically stronger.

Randall took the bag: "To our transport ship. This city has numerous ports.

The city perimeter is divided into fifty port districts. We rented a small berth in District Fifteen and parked the transport there." Stepping out of the gate of Port District Four, Yang Ying finally got a clear view of the city.

Buildings constructed with alloy frameworks and composite materials as the base were everywhere. Dozens of unmanned taxis were parked near the exit's taxi stand, eliminating waiting time.

Kalia retrieved the tickets from the control panel, and the three boarded a vehicle. On the road, Yang Ying gazed outside.

Many walls were covered in graffiti and various insulting slogans. Among the people moving about the streets, many sported grim expressions, their waists bulky, suggesting hidden weapons.

The taxi had driven for only five minutes before they witnessed two street fights—incidents completely unseen on Earth. "The public order here is quite awful, isn't it," Yang Ying let out a yawn.

"Worse than awful; you could basically say there is no public order," Kalia turned back to explain. "According to our investigation, the security forces in this city have very little influence.

They can only handle fights between ordinary individuals. Any incident involving more than a group brawl requires deference to others.

Mercenary guilds and pirates constitute the legitimate and illegitimate powers of Grey Port, and the security forces simply cannot control them." Randall took over: "The cities in the asteroid belt are mostly similar. People here have to learn to protect themselves.

But Grey Port is exceptionally bad; no one pays attention to laws and regulations here. Survival of the fittest is the only rule; the barrel of a gun is what matters most." Kalia added, "Cities in the asteroid belt usually have to choose a faction, either the mercenary camp or the pirate camp.

Grey Port, due to its unique position, has become a neutral zone, paying protection fees to both mercenaries and pirates simultaneously to maintain its space for survival, which is why it is particularly chaotic." The mercenaries have the Mercenary Alliance, and the pirates have the Pirate Federation. Both are loose organizations representing their respective interests.

A single word from either side carries far more weight in the asteroid belt than any declaration from the Earth United Government. "What is Grey Port's special status?" Yang Ying asked.

"Transportation hub," Kalia explained. "Firstly, both mercenaries and pirates require a buffer zone, and Grey Port happens to sit on the fringe of both their spheres of influence.

Secondly, as a transportation nexus, Grey Port is an excellent center for material and information exchange. Both sides need Grey Port to remain open, and neither will allow the other to gain complete control; thus, its neutrality must be maintained." Yang Ying caught the implication: "You mean a fencing center?" Kalia nodded: "Exactly that." Randall chimed in: "Furthermore, Grey Port is the nearest transportation hub to our base.

All the machinery we order from outside is traded in Grey Port before our own people transport it back to the base, just to prevent any prying eyes." Yang Ying raised an eyebrow: "In that case, our Terran Mercenary Corps should also have a voice in Grey Port. Upon our return, continue monitoring Grey Port's movements and draft a plan." "No problem, Officer.

Actually, the plan is already in the drafting stages," Kalia's eyes flashed with shrewd intelligence. Yang Ying nodded.

The taxi stopped at the entrance to Port District Fifteen. The three got out and walked in.

Due to the constant flow of people around them, none of the three spoke further, lest someone they shouldn't hear should overhear them. The port district spanned several square kilometers and contained dozens of small berths.

The three arrived at one, where an utterly ordinary-looking transport ship was docked. Five machine gunners were waiting on board.

Seeing Yang Ying ascend the ramp, they simultaneously stood at attention and saluted, shouting, "Good afternoon, Officer!" "And you as well," Yang Ying waved. After the three had boarded, Kalia instructed the pilot to depart.

The pilot reported to the port district command center, received clearance, and the ship slowly pulled away from the berth. After gaining distance, it accelerated forward, flying into the deep expanse of space.