Zheng Zha stood behind him, his voice cold, "Then why aren't you thinking of a way to remedy this deficiency? Just letting your team members be discovered or killed by the opposition? You! Do you still remember what you promised me?" Chu Xuan still didn't raise his head as he replied, "Of course, I remember... Then do you trust me? Trust my stratagem completely, thoroughly..." Zheng Zha paused for a moment, then nodded: "Yes, of course, I trust your stratagem, that's a given, isn't it? You said they were going to attack me, and it certainly happened. Everything you analyzed has unfolded exactly as you predicted, even every contingency you foresaw has come true. Of course, I trust your stratagem..." Chu Xuan looked up at him briefly, then continued speaking with detached indifference, "...Then, you trust that once they find Luo Gandao, and when they expose their vulnerabilities, I will definitely be able to locate all of them and eliminate them before they can harm Luo Gandao!" These words made it difficult for Zheng Zha to voice any more blame. He was more aware than anyone of Chu Xuan's capabilities; it was a super-intelligence far surpassing that of ordinary people, making his decisions and strategies flawless in many aspects. Deep down, he trusted Chu Xuan's intellect even more than his own combat prowess. The reason the Central Continent Team remained powerful was not just because of his martial strength, but because Chu Xuan's intellect was an equally crucial element.

Furthermore, since Chu Xuan had stated things this firmly, it would be utterly unreasonable not to believe him now... Yet, that was a life on the line, and moreover, the life of a team member. Could one so casually use that life as a mere pawn? At least, he himself could never bring himself to do such a thing.

What worried him wasn't that Chu Xuan's stratagem was insufficient, but rather that it was too sophisticated, leading to Luo Gandao being unknowingly subjected to a "test"—pass, and he lives; fail, and he is killed, much like the sudden occurrence with the Alien species... Zheng Zha took a deep breath: "Then tell me truthfully... do you sincerely intend for Luo Gandao to survive? You aren't setting up a life-or-death trap to 'test' him, are you? If there are no crucial traps, then I will trust you completely and continue to engage the other team in a protracted battle according to your plan. But if you have set such a trap, I will stop you right now from putting Luo Gandao in danger!" Chu Xuan replied calmly, "There are no traps set to harm him, nor is there any 'test' whose passage is mandatory for his life. What I need you to do now... is to meet this person, Captain Rose. Two days ago, she filed a report stating that the remains of an insect had been discovered on Pluto's satellite. The remains were found inside the brain of a human soldier... She suspects that insects might be able to infiltrate human brains and control their actions... If I haven't guessed wrong, she is a member of that other team. I need you to see her. Do not converse about anything else; simply meeting her will serve as a test, and this should cause an interesting shift within that team."

Zheng Zha curiously accepted the specific file details for the Captain. The forces were currently resting; partly because the Earth Federation's follow-up units had not yet arrived, and partly because the military's middle and high-ranking personnel were still en route. Thus, the soldiers had considerable freedom to move between the warships during this period, allowing Zheng Zha to use the data to locate the officer on another vessel.

"Fine, I'll go see her first... But promise me again, you won't use any life-threatening traps to 'test' 'Luo Gandao,' right?" Zheng Zha asked seriously.

Chu Xuan nodded affirmatively, his expression as impassive and cold as ever. Zheng Zha stared at him for a long moment before finally nodding and walking out the room's door. Only long after Zheng Zha had departed did Chu Xuan lower his gaze to the computer screen, murmuring to himself, "I lied to you... They really are making a move. Parasitic worms controlling the brain? That makes eliminating certain individuals far too easy..." (Though doing so will take time. The military high command arrives in a few more days, and when they do, that will be the moment we establish our commanding 'presence.' So, are they trying to define our identity in these few days? Do they want to ferret out every member of the Central Continent Team? Come then, let me see the trap you have laid...) "Indeed, the Central Continent Team is truly powerful..." The blond youth said, popping a chocolate into his mouth while watching the recorded combat footage before him. In that footage, Zheng Zha dispatched the black youth with ridiculously exaggerated speed and strength, the entire engagement lasting barely two or three seconds. The crisp, efficient fighting techniques, the speed and power far exceeding their expectations, and finally, Zheng Zha pointing at his own eye as he spoke—the blond youth replayed every detail, every movement, a dozen times over. By the time a large box of chocolate was finished, he snapped his fingers at a nearby young girl, who smiled and retrieved another large box from a drawer.

The blond youth took a piece of chocolate, snapped it near his lips, and then began, "Here is the breakdown of the situation. The Central Continent Team is powerful; that is undeniable. But the extent of their power might not be as exaggerated as you imagine. Basically, the combat capability maintained by the man in this footage can only be an explosive exertion—meaning it’s used only occasionally during combat, not a state he can maintain constantly. Otherwise, he could have survived alone on that insect-infested planet. Therefore, if such terrifying power and speed are maintained continuously..." "That is the first point. The second concerns the rest of the Central Continent Team members you are worried about. Their combat power might also be formidable, but the gap between them and this man is likely vast, as evidenced by the urgency of this man's engagement. Uh, let me give you an example: if you were fighting, would you unleash your full strength and your ultimate hidden trump card from the very beginning? At least, I certainly wouldn't. I would conceal my strength, first probing the opponent's power and special techniques, and only then strike with the full force of a lion hunting a rabbit. But this man began his attack with his maximum strength without hesitation, ending the fight within seconds. Apart from the possibility that his combat time was extremely short, the most likely scenario is... he intended to establish his dominance with this single fight, making us feel threatened, leading us to believe the Central Continent Team is overwhelmingly powerful, and then deliberately exposing weaknesses to locate all of us. During this time, we would likely cease attacking the other Central Continent Team members out of caution. In other words, even if the rest of the Central Continent Team is strong, they won't be much stronger than us..." The surrounding figures exchanged glances. A burly white man and a dark-skinned man both sighed in relief. The white man said, "But their objective wasn't achieved. Neos, you truly are amazing; you exposed their trick instantly. Otherwise, we surely would have believed the Central Continent Team was terrifyingly strong, resulting in the needless sacrifice of one person, and letting this fat target slip away."

Neos sneered, swallowing the chocolate in his hand, then continued, "No, the Central Continent Team is truly powerful. They are not the fat target. The person who designed this scheme is truly astonishing. Not only did he know about the disharmony within our team, but he also exploited that discord and my overconfidence... to essentially locate us all..." The faces of those around him instantly changed, a strange expression settling on everyone. Neos tore open the wrapper of another piece of chocolate and stated, "It’s quite simple. It was just a brief illusion that the Central Continent Team was overwhelmingly strong. Before you learned the truth, you wouldn't dare probe the others again. After being frightened, the most likely thing you would do is come back to me. Although I don't know how he managed to deduce my move-by-move calculations and thought process, he has definitely deduced the fact that our team is divided into several segments. Therefore, the one attacking is one segment of the team, and the one designing the search is another. When you are threatened and frightened, you will return to us... During this period, all they need to do is check the maintenance logs of the shuttles moving between the simple vessels and the vessel where the killed man was stationed. While they still can't easily find all of us, the person who designed all this must have already pinpointed our location to this specific warship... What a maneuver!" As he spoke, goosebumps rose on everyone's skin. They looked around uneasily, as if an unseen eye were peering at them. Neos ate several more pieces of chocolate before saying, "Don't worry too much. There are over three thousand two hundred people on this warship; he won't find all of us that easily. And it's not just us who exposed a flaw... they have exposed one too!" With that, Neos opened the laptop on the table, turned the screen toward the others. On the screen was a young man looking around in confusion—this young man was none other than the newest member of the Central Continent Team... Luo Gandao!