Among this assembly, besides the six members of Team China including Chu Xuan, there were also five members of Team Southern Flame present. However, one Caucasian and one Negro among them looked utterly miserable. The Negro was covered entirely in swollen bites, while the Caucasian had all four limbs broken, lying on the ground half-conscious like a slab of meat.

In addition to the extreme suffering of these two, behind the others, a middle-aged, sturdy man soaking in a solution also appeared wretched. This man was covered head to toe in knife wounds, sliced and severed; overall, he looked as if he had just walked out of a slaughterhouse.

Compared to the misery of these three, Zheng Zha's condition was vastly better. When he first met the others, he too was covered in wounds, and these injuries were constantly shedding ice crystals. But before long, the wounds on his body began to heal automatically. This level of physical resilience terrified the two remaining conscious members of Team Southern Flame beyond measure.

As the groups met, Chu Xuan conveyed his decision to Zheng Zha. Zheng Zha offered no objection to this decision. After all, securing the combat strength of Team Southern Flame was far more important at this moment than acquiring a few reward points and side missions. Otherwise, clinging to those points and side missions only to lose one or two members during the fight against Team Forest would be unacceptable to him... his own team members.

They had no chance for resurrection again; it was that simple.

Therefore, after the initial meeting, excluding the two—the Caucasian and the Negro—the middle-aged man was immediately given emergency treatment. Then, the group sat down quietly to discuss the upcoming situation... the Bug swarm was arriving.

While the human fleets engaged in fratricide, and Overlord and Wang Xia seized the opportunity to destroy three space battleships, granting every member of Team China three thousand reward points, the scanners monitoring the space battle had detected numerous unknown objects. These objects were extremely numerous.

They were converging on the space fleet from three different directions, their numbers at least five times greater than the number of battleships in the fleet. Although they had not yet begun their attack, this sheer volume of unknown entities was terrifying enough, quickly causing the previously chaotic cluster of warships to halt.

And, with the flagship as the center, they formed into a battle formation.

Chu Xuan pushed up his glasses and stated calmly, "Putting aside the issue of the flagship's core for now, its critical functions were not severely damaged. The current situation is that Team Southern Flame has surrendered. As agreed, these two will be executed by us, and she will be under our protection. As for the two of you, you must follow our arrangements until this horror movie concludes. Any objections?" The mixed-race girl from Team Southern Flame shook her head. "No problem. You make the arrangements... Decide how you plan to deal with those cosmic bugs."

"In a battle out in space, our impact is negligible. Any single explosion could wipe us all out. Are you confident you can proceed with such a fight?" Chu Xuan replied calmly, "You don't need to worry about that aspect. Have you seen the topographical map of those cosmic bugs' distribution? Why are they surrounding us on three sides while leaving one open? Because they are offering us the hope of escape. In truth, I don't think highly of the offensive power of these cosmic bugs; their numbers are their greatest reliance. To think that a mere fivefold advantage in numbers can conquer these massive iron weapons—those bugs cannot win through such means. Therefore, they must use other methods to defeat us, and the best way is to make us rout without a fight. Because the hope of escape is present, they are less inclined to concentrate on battle. What is more interesting is that the 'one' side in the three-sided encirclement... that direction is Tango Ghost Star."

Zheng Zha had been meditating to recover his energy, so he hadn't seen the bug distribution map or other information. He asked curiously, "What do you mean? Are you suggesting the bug race plans to let us land on that planet before surrounding and annihilating us? We aren't fools; why would we descend from the battleships? Wouldn't that mean facing the sea of bugs all over again?" Chu Xuan waved his hand. "That is where their cleverness lies. I guarantee there are still a massive quantity of cosmic bugs waiting outside Tango Ghost Star. When our fleet attempts to flee in that direction, the cosmic bugs will naturally encircle us. Under such a massive encirclement, the fleet will surely be thrown into a bitter struggle, where any ship explosion means certain death. Landing on Tango Ghost Star doesn't guarantee death. What would be your choice then? Judging by the current situation, Tango Ghost Star doesn't have an ocean of bugs. In fact, the Federal Government maintains several fortified strongholds on that planet. When you compare the two scenarios, where would you prefer to be: landing on the planet, or remaining in space?"

Zheng Zha picked up the photo of the cosmic bugs taken from the table. It depicted a centipede-like creature about twenty meters long, slender and massive, yet completely without legs. Its entire body appeared encased in crystallized shell—only such an evolution could adapt to the harsh vacuum of space. Given its bulky size and thick crystallized armor, such a creature would certainly move sluggishly in an environment with gravity. These seemed to be an evolutionary form adapted only for space. Besides this type of bug, behind them was an incomparably huge, spherical mass of flesh, so colossal it resembled a small moon. The shell of this meatball was also crystallized, exhibiting a bronze hue. In addition to the crystalline shell, the surface was covered with several upright fleshy tubes. According to the photo, some tubes were ejecting streams of blue plasma, which served as its propulsion.

"These beings... they are terrifying. To evolve to this extent purely through flesh. Speaking of which, doesn't the intent of the Starship Troopers horror movie suggest that the Main God is showing us how physical evolution and intellectual evolution manifest when they reach their limits?" Luo Gandao leaned over Zheng Zha's shoulder to examine the photos. As he looked, he suddenly burst out laughing. Since being rescued, Luo Gandao had fully reverted to his previous cheerful disposition, never mentioning his capture or subsequent rescue, as if those moments hovering between life and death were merely a joke.

Chu Xuan nodded affirmatively. "Very likely. These cosmic bugs have completely abandoned technological evolution, presenting instead a mode of physical evolution. Their social structure is that of a hive mind, like bees or ants, directed by a single will, where every component forms the body. In essence, humanity is fighting against a single organism that can be termed a Super Organism. The extent of the bugs' physical evolution has actually surpassed the technological evolution of humanity in this era. This might also be a hint from the Main God: which holds greater weight, flesh or technology?"

The mixed-race girl from Team Southern Flame sighed inwardly. She was entirely convinced by Chu Xuan's intellect. He was a sage who had defeated Neo-Qi. Reflecting on the battle of wits between them afterward, combined with some details Chu Xuan had revealed, the mixed-race girl had pieced together most of it. She finally understood that Neo-Qi's defeat was not unjust. Neo-Qi’s initial objective was the total annihilation of Team China. Because Neo-Qi had to contend not only with selecting from Team China but also with the challenge of internal disunity... he was defeated from the very start. Team China, with Zheng Zha as the core of unity, Chu Xuan as support, and the rest as combat strength... this team was indeed far superior to Team Southern Flame.

As the mixed-race girl, Aya, sighed continuously, Zheng Zha and Chu Xuan finalized their discussion. The conclusion was that the current combined fleet lacked the strength to breach the giant sphere, and they had no part to play in space combat anyway. Thus, the final agreed plan was to direct the combined fleet toward Tango Ghost Star. They needed to contact the Earth Federal Government and the soldiers stationed in the planet's major strongholds to ensure necessary support upon landing.

"In fact, we will have a significant advantage once we land. First, those cosmic bugs definitely cannot move freely under gravity. This means the landed battleships will no longer need to fear attacks from them. Furthermore, the massive warships effectively form iron fortresses. As long as we don't scatter haphazardly during landing, the ships can absolutely form mutually supportive positions. Adding the tens of thousands of soldiers under our control, there's nothing much to worry about in this battle. The only concern is... the true mission the Main God is about to issue. Based on the timeline, traveling from here to Tango Ghost Star, plus landing and fighting, means we will have to remain on that planet for approximately twenty-four to forty-eight hours. During this time, the Main God will certainly issue a mission that requires us to coordinate operations with Team Forest... Are you ready, Zheng Zha?" Chu Xuan looked at Zheng Zha and asked.

Zheng Zha nodded. He stood up from his seat. "Then command the fleet to proceed toward Tango Ghost Star... If we are enemies, destroying all of Team Forest would be acceptable, wouldn't it? Skip to the next—"