No, one person understood. The bodyguard, face rigid, walked over and spoke the first words to Yang Ying since they met: "It says its master will avenge it." His voice was deep and resonant.

"Master? Who would this fellow's master be?" Yang Ying mused for a moment, stepping forward to retrieve the identification tag from the ape-man's neck. Although the threat felt vague and ethereal, understanding the identity of a potential enemy was still necessary. Using this tag as a lead to gather intelligence offered a strong possibility of tracing the ape-man's master.

Yang Ying weighed the tag in his hand, sensing a spiritual energy clinging to it, identical to the one taken from the first ape-man he killed. With practiced ease, he neutralized the spiritual energy, then handed the tag to one of the Ghost Agents who had followed up, to be kept for future necessity.

He then used his communicator to instruct Lilia to lower the alert level. The reason he didn't lift the alert completely was that he still didn't know if the ape-men who breached the port were limited to those currently present; there might be stragglers.

After the bodyguard delivered his message, he turned and proceeded to open the cargo ship's door.

Christina stood calmly at the threshold, eyes closed. Only when she sensed the door opening did she blink them open. Seeing the bodyguard, a flicker of joy appeared in her eyes: "Are you all right?"

The bodyguard nodded, wordlessly, and moved to stand behind her.

Christina stepped out of the hatch and surveyed the scene. Seeing the ape-man corpses cleaved by light sabers, and others slain by Gauss and laser rifles, she couldn't help but frown as she approached Yang Ying.

Yang Ying had already retracted his light saber. Since it left no blood when cutting, he remained spotless, showing no trace of the battle.

Soon, through their conversation, Christina learned the full account of what had transpired.

At that moment, a squad of Kussen Legion Marines, fully armed, stormed out of the passageway. Upon entering, they immediately fanned out, pointing their weapons at everyone. Seeing only humans standing amongst the downed ape-man bodies, they lowered their firearms.

They were like the police—always arriving a little late to any incident.

In the small plaza now, besides Yang Ying and Christina's group, there were other casualties scattered nearby, along with a few survivors. Those severed at the waist by the water blade were long dead, but some who had lost limbs held the hope of having them reattached. Among the relatively uninjured survivors was a doctor who, while Yang Ying fought the ape-men, had directed others to concentrate the wounded and apply bandages; otherwise, excessive blood loss would have posed a mortal danger.

A man dressed as an officer entered next. Upon assessing the situation, he instructed his soldiers: "Detail some men for perimeter watch, the rest will clean this up."

Thus, the soldiers advanced in two lines, dragging corpses, attending to the wounded, and securing the area.

Then, the officer’s face seemed to bloom with a smile as he approached Yang Ying and his party: "First, on behalf of the Kussen Legion, I offer our deepest apologies for the trouble caused to you all by the events in the port." He executed a sixty-degree bow. "Would you be so kind as to explain the situation here to me?"

The officer’s demeanor and bearing displayed excellent social aptitude, completely devoid of any impatience. Naturally, such tedious administrative matters would not fall to Yang Ying himself; one of the Ghost Agents stepped forward to engage him in negotiation.

As the officer conversed, his eyes would occasionally drift towards the bodyguard, holding a trace of familiarity that he just couldn't place.

Christina, meanwhile, had rewrapped her scarf and was using a voice modulator; even those who knew her would struggle to recognize her now.

Shortly thereafter, Randall also returned. Yang Ying exchanged a few words with him, inquiring about his visit to the Mercenary Alliance office. He learned of a rather coincidental development.

Randall arrived at the Alliance office just as Commander Batches of the Kussen Legion was present, and they reported together on the successful elimination of a Triceratops.

Commander Batches was greatly surprised upon learning that a mercenary group he had never heard of had also destroyed a Triceratops that had required the Legion's utmost effort to sink. He pressed for details repeatedly and insisted on hosting Randall for dinner.

He didn't believe Randall was exaggerating his success. He had received intelligence when the other Triceratops appeared earlier; at that time, he almost thought the heavens had abandoned Kussen, fearing the city would be utterly ruined. However, subsequent reports indicated the Triceratops had been lured away by a mysterious fleet and vanished—who knew it had actually been eliminated!

Upon learning that the Tran Mercenary Group had only recently established itself in the asteroid belt, Commander Batches eagerly proposed an alliance with them. Randall used the excuse of needing to report back to his superior to stall for time, intending to return and let Yang Ying decide.

As Christina was not officially part of the Tran Mercenary Group, she remained apart during Randall’s report to avoid any appearance of impropriety. However, later, when Yang Ying realized the matter touched upon her father, he included her in the discussion.

The resolution to the matter, as usual, would be to wait for the General Staff to formulate a conclusion, after which a designated representative would be sent to formalize the alliance.

On the other side, the conversation between the Ghost Agent and the officer concluded. The officer approached Yang Ying and asked, "Mr. Psionicist, how do you intend to dispose of these ape-men? Do you require our assistance in declaring them to the Mercenary Alliance office for a bounty? These ape-men, especially the head of this high-level one, is worth a million."

"I am not a Psionicist," Yang Ying corrected the error first. Then, "As for how to deal with these ape-men, that is up to you. Today, I saw the spirit of the Kussen Legion outside the city. If possible, please give the bounties to the families of the soldiers who sacrificed themselves today."

The officer’s eyebrow lifted slightly, showing a flicker of surprise, but he replied in a pleased tone, "Then, on behalf of the soldiers' families, I thank you for your generosity. May I ask what name I should use when addressing you, Sir? So I can answer if the families inquire."

"I believe it should be in the port's registration records," Yang Ying said with a smile. He then recalled something else. "Right, I have one small request."

"Please state it," the officer adopted an air of respectful attention.

"Regarding the fact that I am an Awakened, please keep it as confidential as possible. If feasible, delete the surveillance footage here." Yang Ying then glanced toward the survivors. "As for them—they are merely tourists visiting Kussen. You have no jurisdiction over them; leave their resolution to us."

The officer gave Yang Ying a strange look, as if questioning whether he intended to silence witnesses.

"Don't worry. I just plan to invite them aboard my vessel for a chat."

Yang Ying hadn't decided against having the Dark Praetorians brainwash everyone present, but the crowd was simply too large. With the current handful of Dark Praetorians, they couldn't manage the entire cleansing operation; only those most likely to leak information could be dealt with first.

(Still the same plea: recommend!)