The day after Zheng Zha returned from the warship of Luo Si, nothing much happened until the afternoon of the following day, when Chu Xuan, Ba Wang, Wang Xia, and Zheng Zha gathered for a meal and discussion, and Chu Xuan finally dropped the earth-shattering news, leaving the other three momentarily stunned.

Zheng Zha immediately sprang up from the table, his movement so abrupt that his calf knocked against the chair behind him with a loud clatter. Everyone else in the dining hall looked over, bewildered, until they clearly saw it was Zheng Zha. Then, these people nodded respectfully with admiration, and several even rose immediately to salute him.

Zheng Zha managed a brief, apologetic smile toward the surrounding soldiers, then turned back to Chu Xuan, murmuring, "What do you mean? How can a living person just disappear? You must be joking with me, right?" Chu Xuan continued to slowly eat his red watermelon, saying as he chewed, "I’m not joking. He truly vanished. I checked the surveillance system at noon today and couldn't find any trace of him. Then I checked the report for his squad; it seems he hasn't returned to his room since last night. That's the situation. What are your plans?" Zheng Zha was grinding his teeth in anger. As he sat back down, he whispered, "You’re the one analyzing everything and speaking here, and now you’re asking me what my plans are... And I remember what you said, didn't you? You wouldn't use any trap to test Luo Gandao, wouldn't let him die... Now what? What's the situation now? He’s actually vanished! You…" Chu Xuan set down the watermelon rind, picked up a red apple, took a bite, and then said, "Is he dead?" Zheng Zha was utterly bewildered with anger.

He muttered furiously under his breath, "How should I know if he’s dead... Uh, he’s certainly not dead yet."

As soon as Zheng Zha uttered those words, he snapped back to reality, realizing he had misspoke. If a team member were to die, the remaining members would be informed of a deduction of points. In other words, Luo Gandao had indeed vanished right now, but he should still be quite safe; at least, he hadn't died yet.

Chu Xuan ate the apple and stated calmly, "Do you understand now? Nothing has happened to him yet. We only need to rescue him before he dies. I don't think that should be too difficult, right?" Zheng Zha had been anxious and angry, but once he calmed down, he thought for a moment and said, "You mean he's currently under the control of the Southern Flame Continent team? And he's on their warship? And we can find him just by getting onto the warship? The Southern Flame Continent team could set up such a grand scheme. They wouldn’t make things that simple... Also, there are things I need to ask you. Since you brought it up yourself, the three of us will listen closely to your explanation later."

"Explanation?" Chu Xuan only spoke this single word.

His demeanor remained completely calm and indifferent. After Ba Wang and Wang Xia had finished eating and drinking, the four of them proceeded to the officer's room where Zheng Zha was located. Then, Zheng Zha meticulously laid out his deductions, and the more Ba Wang and Wang Xia listened, the more astonished they became.

They both looked at Zheng Zha with expressions of profound shock.

After Zheng Zha finished speaking, he turned to the other two and said, "Right? Feel shocked, don't you? I felt the same way when I first heard it. Such a massive plan, with one loop connected to another. Although there are still many detailed problems I haven't figured out how to proceed with, undoubtedly, Chu Xuan's plan is truly staggering."

"Not exactly, hehe..." Ba Wang let out a slightly simple-minded laugh.

Wang Xia scratched his head as well, saying, "Yeah, compared to Chu Xuan designing this plan, your analysis and reasoning are even more shocking to us, haha. I never knew you were such a formidable person; how can you know what Chu Xuan is thinking? Don't you think that’s a bit incredible?" Zheng Zha stood stunned for a long time before he finally grasped their meaning. They were essentially implying that his intelligence shouldn't be sufficient to grasp Chu Xuan's thoughts. If he could understand this man's thinking, the truly incredible thing wasn't Chu Xuan's stratagem, but that he could analyze and deduce it—that was simply unbelievable.

"Come on, please... Forget about my intelligence issue for now. Chu Xuan, is this truly what you're thinking? To use all of us as bait, and then use the enemy's scheme to design an even larger one, possibly even triggering a war with the Federal Army? And we wouldn't just be destroying the warship with our own hands; we'd get reward points for that too? Let's put that aside for a moment. Do you have absolute certainty you can complete this setup? If there’s any slip-up, won't all of us fall into danger?" Chu Xuan had been sitting, listening to Zheng Zha speak. When Zheng Zha finished, Chu Xuan glanced at him with slight admiration, and then the cold man said, "Any action or any plan carries risk; the difference is only the level of danger. In fact, the moment they sent someone to probe you, it already meant they had failed. Whether or not that rune stone exists, they have failed. I am merely leveraging the momentum... Trust me, the success rate this time is at least over seventy percent if we proceed according to my plan."

Zheng Zha hurriedly said, "Although the success rate is high, this is staking the lives of every member of our team. Don't you think you should let us all know what we're about to face? That would be giving us an explanation, wouldn't it? If we are just passively being arranged and designed, this kind of thing..." Chu Xuan stated calmly, "If we execute this plan, the probability of all of us surviving is over seventy percent. If we don't execute this plan, and instead search for their location and personnel only to engage them in nearby combat, that plays right into their hands. What awaits us is a greater than fifty percent chance of total annihilation... If this plan were told to every member of the team, the possibility of this plan being leaked would be one hundred percent!"

"Why?" Zheng Zha, Ba Wang, and Wang Xia all asked curiously.

Chu Xuan smiled and said, "If Luo Gandao is captured, to guard against the possibility that the opposing team has someone skilled in mind control, and also to guard against the possibility that they might directly search Luo Gandao's memories, this plan absolutely cannot be known by the majority of the team. Even if Luo Gandao isn't controlled or his memories searched, the possibility of him revealing the names of our team members is extremely high. Of course, to save his own life, he wouldn't reveal them all at once; he'd probably gradually reveal all our names over the next three to five days. Do you understand? So this plan cannot be told to every member of the team."

Zheng Zha sighed, "From what you’re saying, it sounds like you planned to let Luo Gandao be captured from the very beginning, didn't you? Is that also part of your plan? Why? You've set up such a huge scheme, but I can't figure out how this scheme proceeds next. The enemy isn't just some puppets waiting for us to strike, and judging by the current situation, the enemy holds the advantage. How can you possibly control the majority of the soldiers? That doesn't seem like an easy task, does it?"

Chu Xuan remained silent. He walked silently to the computer setup in the room, turned on the machine, and began speaking while looking at the screen. "This scheme... was set up by the opposing side. Using the Parasitic Zerg as an excuse, and using their official ranks and professions as 'leverage.' Once people are convinced that we are humans parasitized by the Zerg, then we have truly lost. And the most venomous part of this scheme is that we must find them and eliminate them without outsiders knowing before they identify us. Otherwise, once they successfully label us first, we won't be able to retaliate. Any retaliation will be interpreted as definitive proof of parasitism. Therefore..."

"I could only follow this scheme and set up another scheme—using a scheme to break the scheme... Zheng Zha, although your progress is significant, you just fell into a misconception: why should we be afraid? This is actually a double-edged sword. The key to them pointing fingers at us is our dazzling combat record. When all the armies instantly collapsed, we held the line for seven hours, killing hundreds of thousands of Zerg, which gave the high command a moment of relief, but it absolutely made them suspicious of us. That is their leverage. But... do we not have leverage? No, this dazzling record is our greatest leverage!"

"If a true hero is questioned, who benefits? The Zerg! Yes, if we were not parasitized, then when we are purged, everyone will think the Zerg benefited from it. Rather than letting them regret it after we are purged, it's better for me to start making them hesitate right now. That is the key to my plan."

"We have about three to five days before the high command arrives here. If they are fully convinced of their victory by then, they will certainly inform the high command about our alleged parasitism, and at that point, they can arrest or confine us. The key to my plan lies precisely at that moment. Since they want to take the high-level route, we will take the low-level route. We don't need to convince the high command; we only need to convince the soldiers... High-ranking officers are parasitized by the Zerg, then they slander heroes, control the generals, and attempt to kill all the soldiers..."

"The key to making them full of confidence in victory is Luo Gandao, who has been captured by them!"