It was unclear how long it had been before Zheng Zha silently opened his eyes. The first thing he saw was a hazy, watery blue, and when he opened them, he felt a stinging sensation in his eyes. He blinked several times, finally adapting to the strange environment. He realized he was submerged in a fluid, with two breathing tubes inserted into his nose, and his right arm still felt a faint throbbing pain. Looking down, he saw two strange devices constantly repairing his right arm, the wound there rapidly healing.

He had seen this scenario in movies—when the original protagonist, Johnny Rico, was pierced through the thigh, he was also treated in a similar containment unit. He had to admit, while the military standards of this era were abysmal, the technological programming and civilian infrastructure were highly advanced, definitely belonging to a high-tech world.

The moment Zheng Zha opened his eyes, the container immediately began to emit a rhythmic ticking sound. Two nurses rushed over. They quickly checked the data sheet outside the container, then smiled kindly at Zheng Zha before slowly moving away.

Before Zheng Zha could make a move, Chu Xuan's voice transmitted directly into his consciousness: "Zheng Zha, do not make any movements. Listen carefully to me... We are still aboard the rescue vessel, approximately twenty minutes away from reaching the supporting space fleet. After Zhan Lan’s mental scan, it has been confirmed there are no psychic controllers on these three rescue ships. However, we do not know if the space fleet harbors any. If they do, using our Mind Chain or psychic scanning will expose us to their controllers. Therefore, once we reach the fleet, we cannot use any psychic skills. That is point one..."

"Point two: the four members of our team who have been exposed are you, myself, Ba Wang, and Wang Xia. Zero Point might also be exposed. Only Zhan Lan and Luo Gandao remain completely hidden. Luo Gandao is a special combatant, whose fighting strength is extremely weak without robotic support. Zhan Lan possesses no combat ability whatsoever. But this is internal to our team. The opposing team is unaware of our situation, and their count might not be limited to just seven people. Based on the presumed size of their team, we have at least two members whose existence is unknown to them. This unknown factor is the sole guarantee preventing us from being attacked or outmaneuvered—the existence of unknown team members. This guarantee must be maintained..."

"Point three: Four members of our team are known to them, while we remain completely ignorant of the other team. This places us at an absolute disadvantage. Yet, conversely, as the strongest team among the three, this fact inherently grants us a certain 'momentum'—the recognition by the 'Main God' as the strongest. Regardless of whether the other team accepts this acknowledgment, they will subconsciously resist direct confrontation with us, or rather, avoid it. This is our advantage. Therefore, we can act without restraint, as long as we do not involve the Federal Government—for instance, by using high-tech weaponry beyond this era's scope. Under normal circumstances, we can relentlessly search for them from now on, while they must remain hidden. This is our advantage..."

"The three points above form the basic framework for this intellectual battle. From here, we must adapt. Since we cannot rely on the Mind Chain skill for communication, we must find an alternative method—a method known only to us... Now, Zhan Lan, distribute these thoughts from my consciousness to everyone. Everyone must commit these to memory firmly. We have twenty minutes left; absorb as much as you can. The following few words are the most critical..."

At the same time, in an officer's quarters aboard one of the supporting battleships, a fair-haired young man mumbled while eating a chocolate bar: "...This is our disadvantage: direct engagement. I don't care what you all think, do not engage the Central Continent Team head-on, especially before revealing our identities. Do not attempt to defeat them through sheer force. Doing so will likely push our team into danger... We must rely on our advantages to defeat the Central Continent Team; ideally, we should annihilate them... The other team is not worth worrying about—the weakest, the Sen Zhou Team..."

Then, a fair-haired girl timidly spoke up, "But... can't we coexist peacefully with the Central Continent Team? Since they are the strongest team among us, they naturally know many secrets of the horror movies we don't. What if we use our 'momentum' to exchange information with them? Then we could cooperate to eliminate the Sen Zhou Team..."

The fair-haired young man gritted his teeth and snapped the chocolate bar in his hand. He licked his fingers: "Don't be so naive! Do you think the strongest team is inherently merciful toward the weak? Remember this: only the weak are merciful because they lack the power to do evil and cannot become strong. Therefore, they can only be kind weaklings... If we are to exchange intelligence with the Central Continent Team, the first thing we must do is make contact with them... Who do we send? How do we approach them? Do you dare guarantee that the person sent to contact the Central Continent Team won't simply be killed? We cannot afford casual confrontation; they have no such reservations. As long as a battle is possible, they are likely to defeat us anywhere... And what about us? Can we do anything to them before we fully ascertain the numbers and personnel details of the Central Continent Team?"

A middle-aged, strong man sighed, "I don't follow your meaning, Nios. Why don't we eliminate these four people first? Wouldn't that weaken the Central Continent Team below our level?"

The fair-haired young man, Nios, sneered, "Are you an idiot? We don't know how many people the Central Continent Team has, what powers their remaining members possess, or what skills they have. Killing these four will expose our tracks and trails because the orders issued by senior officers are recorded. What if the strength of their remaining members is still greater than ours? Then the stronger ones will be hiding in the shadows, and the weaker ones—us—will be out in the open. Do you understand, you idiot? At that point, we won't be far from total annihilation!"

The middle-aged strong man did not get angry; he smiled and continued, "Then what do you suggest we do, Nios?"

Nios pulled a piece of chocolate from his coat pocket, popped it into his mouth, and said, "We stick to the original plan: leverage our advantages, hide in the shadows, and identify every member of their team. Once we know the entire roster of the Central Continent Team, it will be time to close the net... Hahahaha, let's kill every member of the Central Continent Team!"

Zheng Zha and the others were completely unaware of what was transpiring with the other team. He was still discussing with Chu Xuan how to maximize their team's advantages while mitigating the weakness associated with their 'momentum.' Chu Xuan stated calmly, "Besides searching for them through clues and engaging in intellectual warfare, another key point is momentum generation. Since our inherent 'momentum' is insufficient, we must employ strategies to raise it! Do you understand, Hero..."

"Hero?" Zheng Zha asked quizzically.

"Precisely, Hero!" Chu Xuan affirmed. "In a protracted war, what troubles a commander the most? Not armament, not supply lines, but the lack of will among soldiers and the populace to keep fighting. The axiom 'an army fighting in sorrow will surely win' is merely a manifestation of this desire. That is why the government released reports about the meteorites recently—it was a form of engineered sorrow, leading to the first engagement, which resulted in immediate and crushing defeat... So, how can they redirect that desire? They can only rely on heroes..."

"The military high command, or the government, will cultivate one or several heroes. Based on the current situation, these candidate heroes are either us survivors or the crew members of the fleeing vessels. However, they fled! We were the victors who held the line for seven hours—the distinction is obvious! Furthermore, we are veterans, recognized heroes, and officers among this surviving group. Thus..."

"We are the heroes. The government is certain to portray us as such. When the brilliance surrounding us surpasses the force of 'momentum' possessed by the other team, we will gain the opportunity to locate them and the chance to confront them..."