So let the battle outside the fortress perimeter flow like a river of blood, let the endless swarms of bugs appear on the plains, let the reports of falling warships keep coming, and even as "The Main God" incessantly prompted that the military fortress had been taken by the Zerg, the seven members of the Zhongzhou Team remained utterly unmoved. Only Chu Xuan seemed tirelessly engaged in arranging and deploying the soldiers and defensive fleets outside the Storm Fortress. At his level of expertise, the Zerg had managed to chew through merely a dozen warships over the span of a full day and night. The remaining twenty-plus warships, coupled with an initially impregnable large military fortress, could comfortably hold out for three days.

As the appointed time drew nearer, everyone began checking their weapons and gear. With only a dozen hours left, they no longer feared being seen by the surrounding soldiers displaying their equipment. Zheng Zha's flashy greatsword, Ba Wang's attention-grabbing firearms, and that utterly comical cartoon bear robot... In fact, upon the appearance of Zheng Zha's and Ba Wang's showy weaponry, Luo Gandao, seated inside the cartoon bear robot, felt like dying; the external appearance of that robot was simply too... Ba Wang continuously wiped down the barrel of his tubular pulse cannon with a cloth. This silver-white sci-fi weapon attracted the gazes of countless nearby soldiers. Every eye was fixed upon this machine. While many soldiers and even officers were practically drooling, they refrained from stepping forward to disturb the group due to rank and other considerations. Similarly, Zheng Zha's Tiger Soul Greatsword also drew a large crowd watching from a distance. Although this greatsword was an ancient melee weapon, which offered little utility for ordinary people on this modern high-tech battlefield, its crimson styling, with the embedded spinal bone within the crystal blade, was arresting.

And the hilt, which itself was an extension of the spine forming the grip—such a greatsword looked coolly extreme. Every man present couldn't help but reveal looks of envy.

Compared to the men's admiration for Zheng Zha and the others' weapons, the female soldiers nearby showed great interest in the cartoon bear robot.

Especially some of the battlefield medics; several even deliberately approached to touch the cartoon bear's irresistibly cute big eyes.

This enraged Luo Gandao, who waved his hands and shouted loudly, "Moni! Moni!" with such words.

And apart from these seven individuals,

the little girl from the Nanyanzhou Team was also following this group. Initially, the two members of the Nanyanzhou Team had hoped Chu Xuan would allow the little girl to remain within the base. However, Chu Xuan refused, citing the need for a psychic controller to assist in team operations, coupled with his distrust of the Nanyanzhou Team’s sincerity. Yet, this little girl was exceptionally well-behaved. She showed no signs of dissatisfaction, even comforting the two members of the Nanyanzhou Team before quietly taking a place among the seven members of the Zhongzhou Team.

Then... the time slowly edged toward twelve o'clock, leaving only twelve hours until departure back to the "Main God" Space.

At this very moment, it was time for the Zhongzhou Team to strike! Ever since Zheng Zha decided upon the second option, Chu Xuan had already detailed the entire arrangement for him. Zheng Zha had no choice but to admire Chu Xuan's grasp of the situation and the meticulous planning. Chu Xuan had been setting these things in motion ever since the Nanyanzhou Team surrendered.

Zheng Zha let out a breath and stood up, gripping the Tiger Soul Saber. "Zhan Lan, how is it? Is there a psychic controller scanning us?" Zhan Lan shook her head. "No, we haven't detected any psychic controller scanning us continually, but earlier, there seemed to be a sense of interference coming from the hills to the southeast. It's just that they didn't scan us either, so we can't be entirely certain."

The little girl, Xue Ling'er, also spoke quietly, "Yes, Jie Jie is correct. There was a feeling of psychic dampening coming from that direction, but it wasn't very pronounced... It could also be that their psychic power is much weaker than ours, which is why the feeling is less obvious."

Zheng Zha nodded. "That's possible. After all, they are the weakest team compared to our two. It's highly likely their psychic controller isn't very strong. So, let's proceed then... Zhan Lan, shield our team. Xue Ling'er, shield Aya and Richard. Let's move out!" This was one of Chu Xuan's strategies: to confuse the enemy's senses. Since three teams were involved in this battle, the Senzhou Team might assume the Nanyanzhou and Zhongzhou Teams had already resolved their conflict. When two distinct areas of shielding appeared, they would be thrown into confusion... After all, not every team possessed a strategist, and even if they were guessing based on probability, such a guess could be highly plausible. Therefore, confusing the enemy's hearing and sight meant that regardless of whether the enemy fell for it, their hesitation was guaranteed upon detecting two shielding signatures.

The reason Chu Xuan agreed to the Nanyanzhou Team's surrender, allowing the three of them to live, lay right here. Instead of eliminating these three and facing the scrutiny of the Senzhou Team alone, it was far better to keep them alive, utilizing them as combat strength against the Senzhou Team. Sacrificing three lives to potentially gain rewards worth seven or more from the Senzhou Team—this was the true intent behind his calculations.

"It’s actually quite simple. I can't think of a way to truly deceive the Senzhou Team. After all, psychic controllers can detect each other; the general location won't change despite the shielding. But having a decoy would make things much easier. If the Senzhou Team believes we have sent out a weaker contingent to attack them, or if they think the fortress is sparsely manned and decide to assault the fortress directly—whichever choice they make benefits us greatly. We just need to seize the opportunity to ambush the Senzhou Team. If luck is on our side... there might even be a major side-plot mission waiting for us before we return."

The eight individuals emerged from inside the base. The soldiers here were working feverishly: either firing their weapons into the distance or transporting ammunition to transport aircraft. In short, only these eight looked the most leisurely, especially when Zheng Zha produced two Green Goblin Gliders. All surrounding soldiers immediately turned their attention. They watched inexplicably as Zheng Zha and the others assembled the small airborne sled apparatus. Once assembled, they watched even more mystified as the group either stepped into the basket or stood on the Green Goblin Gliders. Before any soldier could ask, the two gliders lifted into the air. Under the gaze of all the soldiers, the eight people flew over the platform and out of the base.

Outside the base, smoke and gunpowder filled the air. Space warships were not like infantry armies; they were killing machines inherently equipped with powerful heavy weaponry. Of course, such heavy weapons were also perfectly capable of slaughtering bugs. After two full days and nights of continuous combat, the Zerg outside the warship encirclement were piled high with corpses. At least a million bugs had been killed by the terrifying firepower of the warships. This included many flame-spitting beetles and giant tank bugs. Yet, the terrifying numbers of the Zerg were fully displayed at this moment. In addition to the continuous descent of octopus-like transport bugs from space, a massive quantity of bugs constantly erupted from the deep earth: burrowing bugs, flying bugs, flame-spitting beetles, tank behemoths, and even those specialized laser bugs that fired in unexpected angles—they would close in near the warships and shoot diagonally upward, causing damage to the ships even exceeding that of the tank bugs. These bugs became the primary targets for the warships.

Zheng Zha looked at the countless dense swarms of bugs on the ground. He spoke to Zhan Lan, "Zhan Lan, scan the nearby bug distribution. See if the bugs have all moved near this fortress. Oh, and connect my consciousness with Chu Xuan."

Zhan Lan nodded and began scanning with her eyes closed. After a long while, she reported, "Yes, the underground is completely filled with bugs converging on this location; bugs are still rushing over from the distance... Also, thousands of flying bugs are heading towards the fortress from the northwest. I'm worried they might be targeting us..." Zheng Zha shook his head. "Don't worry. Their target is the fortress. Chu Xuan set up this elaborate trap precisely to draw the main force of the Zerg to surround the fortress. Otherwise, how could we possibly attack the Brain Bug and the Senzhou Team? Chu Xuan, what is your assessment?" Chu Xuan's consciousness replied, "Then proceed according to the plan... Things have reached this stage. From our previous experience on the Zerg home planet, the Brain Bug doesn't plan or adjust according to the Senzhou Team's thinking; otherwise, we would have died on that planet already. Since the Brain Bug has begun attacking here, we should be temporarily safe from now until we approach the Brain Bug... Attack! Earn as many reward points as we can!" Hearing this, Zheng Zha nodded. He then roared at Ba Wang and Wang Xia, "Attack! Ba Wang, Wang Xia, Zero Point, do you see the countless bugs below? Those are all reward points... Begin the assault!" Ba Wang, Wang Xia, and Zero Point had already been holding back, waiting only for the order to attack. Moreover, previous battles had involved either strategy or restrictions on their weaponry—how could such fights compare to the satisfaction of unleashing their full power with their own weapons? As the words left his mouth, Ba Wang's tubular pulse cannon roared to life. Next, Wang Xia threw his plasma bombs into the bug masses, instantly vaporizing everything within a hundred square meters. Then, Zero Point's Gauss sniper rifle bellowed, instantly blowing off half the head of a flame-spitting beetle... The Zhongzhou Team was powerful! Zheng Zha thought this while gripping the Tiger Soul Greatsword as he flew.

Jumping to