The opposing side was unlikely to possess such a potent psychic controller, but while they hoped it wouldn't happen, they couldn't dismiss the possibility.

If the enemy discovered their existence—they were already one of the five known individuals—the greatest fear was them discovering Zhan Lan.

Aside from exceedingly powerful psychic controllers, ordinary ones offered little combat utility; their fighting strength might even be less than that of a normal person. Thus, if the enemy learned of Zhan Lan's existence, they would likely move to surveil and control her immediately, potentially using her to coerce the entire Central Continent Team. One had to remember that individuals possessing psychic abilities were the rarest and most precious among all talents.

(In fact, whether the other side even has psychic controllers is still up for debate. If they lack psychic controllers, wouldn't we, possessing psychic scanning abilities, be able to find their location with minimal effort?) Zheng Zha thought, though he knew this was likely wishful thinking. Any team entering a team battle first needed to be powerful enough; teams unable to survive even some basic horror movies wouldn't even get the chance to participate in a team battle. Psychic controllers served as a crucial benchmark for a team's overall strength, along with the level of team coordination and the number of members who had unlocked the Genetic Lock. Whichever side's psychic controller held an absolute advantage could completely dominate the confrontation against the other side. It was as simple as that.

Zheng Zha lay in the **, slowly closing his eyes. His mind ceaselessly replayed the pictographic script that Chu Xuan had transmitted. These glyphs were unearthed from the ancient Mayan ruins in the Tomb Raider world. Only the undying priest Imhotep truly understood their meaning, but Chu Xuan had studied them under Imhotep, meticulously recorded them, and continued his study back in the "Main God" space. Chu Xuan had just shared these glyphs with the team, albeit only a selection of important, frequently used words.

For example: use, hide, psychic power, fight, escape, shield, and similar concepts.

"Memorize these. These pictograms can be written down under any circumstances—in the cafeteria, on walls, anywhere—scribbled randomly to act as clues pointing to the other team's location. If they are looking for us too, they will certainly pay close attention to the meaning of these glyphs, allowing us to pinpoint their location and numbers. Secondly, it's meant to disrupt their thinking, making them uncertain of our next move. Too much extraneous information will make them suspect we have a major operation underway or that we've already detected them, potentially causing them to expose a weakness in their agitation. Remember, if the scribbling is entirely random, conclude the writing with 'give,' 'don't,' or 'take out.' If the ending must convey a genuine message, repeat the concluding word twice..." Zheng Zha had initially objected, "But these pictograms are so complex. Are you sure Ba Wang and Wang Xia can master them in such a short time? That seems impossible, right?" Chu Xuan had replied with certainty, "Yes, it is impossible to master them quickly. The people I need to teach are you, Zhan Lan, and Luo Gandao. Once the Genetic Lock is unlocked, learning ability reaches an astonishing level. The other three only need to recognize the glyphs we create. For the rest, we must leverage our advantages, mitigate our weaknesses, analyze every possibility, and locate the other team..." (Locate the other team? That truly is... an incredibly difficult task, but with Chu Xuan on our team, there shouldn't be much to worry about, right?) Lost in thought, Zheng Zha drifted back into sleep in the **... He had to admit once more that while the Earth Federation's military discipline might be lacking, their technology and civilian engineering had truly reached a futuristic level. After several hours in this chamber, combined with Zheng Zha's own exaggerated recovery abilities, his body was fully restored, even the bone trauma in his right arm completely healed.

At that moment, the expeditionary soldiers arrived on the battleship from the rescue craft. As these soldiers disembarked, many who had already cried once began weeping uncontrollably again. The injured were carried by medics to the infirmary—either for bandaging or immersion in the repair pods. In short, among the tens of thousands of troops, the few thousand survivors were treated like heroes.

"That's right! They are heroes!" "When the main battle fleets abandoned their comrades to flee, when reinforcements never arrived, when one hundred thousand soldiers were slaughtered by the bugs in just over an hour, this single unit managed to cross dozens of miles and hold a key position on a high mountain for seven hours!

The military high command preliminarily estimates they annihilated over three hundred thousand bugs.

Yes, ladies and gentlemen, you heard correctly—they are all heroes! They avenged their fallen comrades, they did not disgrace the name of humanity, they are the true heroes among us!" This relief fleet comprised eighty-two first-class capital warships, seventeen supreme-class capital warships, and countless auxiliary vessels. Its scale surpassed the combined fleet from the first drop operation. The supreme-class warships were equipped with orbital bombardment capabilities; this fleet represented the concentrated final military might of the Federation government.

Aboard the fleet, alongside military personnel and high-ranking government officials, were numerous reporters from the Earth Federation. They clamored to interview the survivors of the drop operation. After gathering extensive factual data—though some data was deeply embarrassing to the military, such as the death toll and the flight of the battle fleets—there was information the military was eager to broadcast to the entire human race: the counterattack led by Zheng Zha and his contingent of a few thousand men.

Wiping out over three hundred thousand bugs in just seven hours severely countered the narrative of the military losing over one hundred thousand soldiers in just over an hour. This data gave the military the confidence to lift the news blackout and allow the reporters free access to interview the surviving soldiers.

What the soldiers reported, besides universally lambasting the high command as pigs (a bitter pill the brass had to swallow), focused most heavily on the four sergeants—Zheng Zha, who embodied decisiveness, fortitude, bravery, and wisdom—and the three captains he had selected. All unequivocally stated that without these four, the entire army would have surely been annihilated. Thus, their lives were saved less by the government than by these four individuals.

"...So, it still proves that humanity is a race that never lacks heroes. Compared to the barbaric insect race that relies solely on brute force, we humans possess a nobler spirit and will. You can hardly imagine it: a man with his arm impaled still managed to command troops on the front lines for six full hours—this is the hero who saved our army... Zheng Zha! But regrettably, according to official military statements, our hero suffered such severe injuries and expended so much energy that he immediately fell unconscious once the entire army was out of danger. Such noble soldiers are those who protect our people and government. Salute them, everyone!" "Smash!" In the officers' lounge, a blond youth quietly ate a piece of chocolate while watching a television broadcast covering the military's first drop operation. Suddenly, the television was switched off by a small hand. He turned and glared fiercely at an eleven or twelve-year-old girl who was tugging at his sleeve, looking at him pitifully.

"Brother Neos, Xue'er can't use psychic scanning, and it feels like my eyes are blind. It’s so boring. Brother, stop watching TV and play cards with Xue'er."

The little girl looked up at him pleadingly.

Neos frowned and roughly shook off the girl's small hand, but the girl merely giggled and immediately pounced in front of him again, grasping his sleeve. She laughed brightly, "Play with me, play with me..." Neos scratched his head in annoyance, forcefully shoving the chocolate into his mouth before speaking, "Xue Ling'er, I've told you many times, don't interrupt me when I'm eating chocolate! If you do it again, watch out or I'll spank you! Aya, take her out... and bring me a newspaper. I need to read their reports on this incident carefully."

Another long-haired girl walked over, smiling as she led Xue Ling'er away, while a thin man in black stated coldly, "Is there any indication that something is wrong? Neos, tell us what's happening?" The blond youth, Neos, picked up another piece of chocolate, a cruel glint flashing in his eyes, and sneered, "Don't you think they were too dazzling? For a small team of Reincarnators, even during a normal horror movie scenario, they would try not to draw too much attention because it causes unnecessary trouble... They were too bright, even if part of it was unavoidable, but... I think they are trying to build a reputation, hehe. It seems things are getting interesting..." Having said that, the blond youth placed the entire piece of chocolate between his teeth and bit down forcefully. With a crisp snap, half the chocolate was chewed into his mouth... Jump to