Seeing the military insignia on the starship, Yunyang and You Lu opened their wrist terminals in perfect understanding, took a picture, and sent it to the group chat.
Yunyang didn’t know whether Chu Zhiwei had seen the photo. In any case, she hadn’t replied yet.
Afraid they might have mistaken the ship, Yunyang and You Lu specifically asked the reception staff at the spaceport. Only after confirming that it was the starship carrying Chu Zhiwei did they go forward together to greet it.
Once the starship settled onto the landing platform, the hatch slowly opened.
Before any figures appeared in sight, Yunyang caught the strong smell of blood.
Her brows knitted, and she immediately waved to the little fox, who was being crowded out by the other beastmen husbands. “Leon, come here.”
Only after their female master spoke did the other beastmen husbands make room for Leonardo.
Leonardo quickly came to Yunyang’s side.
He made no unnecessary movements. He simply lowered his eyes and looked at Yunyang attentively, waiting for her instructions.
In that brief interval, the starship’s hatch opened completely.
The first people to enter everyone’s view were several males covered in blood.
Yunyang and You Lu recognized them as Chu Zhiwei’s beastmen husbands.
Worry appeared on both women’s faces. “What happened? Where’s Sister Zhiwei?”
As soon as they finished speaking, Gu Yun emerged as well, covered in blood and carrying the unconscious Chu Zhiwei in his arms.
Yunyang and You Lu hurried forward.
Gu Yun’s expression was calm, but panic was suppressed in his eyes. “Our female master is fine. She only fainted because she overused her spiritual power.”
“Please forgive us for failing to receive you properly. I need to take our female master to the treatment center first.”
Yunyang gave Leonardo a meaningful look. He immediately stepped forward. “My ability is healing.”
After explaining, Leonardo activated his ability and began treating Chu Zhiwei and her beastmen husbands at the same time.
The unconscious Chu Zhiwei’s brow relaxed slightly. Yunyang and You Lu both breathed a little easier. Then, seeing the treatment center’s starship behind them, they quickly stepped aside.
Leonardo could only treat external injuries. Something like exhausted spiritual power still required treatment at the center.
Gu Yun gave the two women a grateful look before carrying Chu Zhiwei onto the treatment center’s starship as quickly as possible.
The rest of Chu Zhiwei’s beastmen husbands followed him. Yunyang instinctively counted them.
Before this, Chu Zhiwei had eighteen beastmen husbands. Now, only ten remained, and all of them were covered in injuries.
According to federal regulations, a female returning from the frontier planets was required to have a federal military escort. Yet Yunyang could not see a single federal soldier accompanying her.
Something serious must have happened.
Yunyang drew a deep breath and did her best to remain calm. “Qin Mo, go see how the pilots are doing.”
Qin Mo strode into the military starship. In the cockpit, he found the two pilots, who were also injured.
Compared with Chu Zhiwei’s beastmen husbands, however, their injuries were relatively minor.
Qin Mo took out healing potions from his spatial device and handed one to each of them.
“Thank you, Deputy Qin.”
The chief pilot injected the potion immediately. While waiting for it to take effect, he spilled out everything that had happened before Qin Mo even had to ask.
The more Qin Mo listened, the graver his expression became.
“I understand.”
He turned and returned to Yunyang’s side. “Lady Yunyang, on her way back, Lord Zhiwei encountered a vanguard force of insectoids led by a ninth-level insectoid. The federal soldiers escorting her and some of her beastmen husbands stayed behind to hold them off.”
A ninth-level insectoid was comparable in strength to an SSS-level beastman with special abilities.
The strength of a single ninth-level insectoid was equivalent to that of over a hundred S-level beastmen with special abilities, not to mention the numerous other insectoids of various levels under its command.
Thus, although Gu Yun and the others had successfully brought Chu Zhiwei back, they had paid a devastating price.
You Lu hurriedly asked, “Have you contacted the Second Army?”
Qin Mo nodded. “We have. We don’t know the exact situation yet.”
Yu Wenxu frowned. “The route from the Second Army’s base back to the Federation doesn’t pass through Desolate Star, and it’s a long way from Insect Star. How could a ninth-level insectoid have appeared there?”
Although insectoids could not speak, insectoids above the fifth level already possessed intelligence comparable to that of beastmen.
No matter how foolish that ninth-level insectoid was, it would never dare attack an S-level female so openly within federal territory.
“We’re not sure yet.”
Qin Mo’s expression remained grave. A ninth-level insectoid’s spatial-jumping ability made it possible for one to jump from Insect Star directly into federal territory.
But before this, they had never done such a thing.
Could it be because the destruction of the insect queen’s breeding grounds had driven the insectoids to launch a large-scale retaliation against the Federation?
Qin Mo was uncertain, but he immediately reported the news to the military.
By then, the healing potions injected by the two pilots had taken effect. Supporting each other, the two of them walked out of the starship.
Yunyang glanced over. The pilots’ injuries were not serious, and the potions were more than enough.
There was just one thing she couldn’t understand.
As federal military pilots, shouldn’t they have essential supplies like healing potions on hand at all times?
While Yunyang was thinking about this, Fu Shiyi, standing behind her, suddenly lifted his glasses slightly.
Then, the wrist terminal on her arm vibrated softly.
Yunyang raised her hand and glanced at it. Fu Shiyi had sent her a message.
After scanning it, Yunyang felt a jolt of surprise, but her expression did not change in the slightest.
She turned to You Lu. “Lulu, go check on Sister Zhiwei at the treatment center. Something came up on Jenkins’s end. He’s asked me to go to the purification tower.”
You Lu had been worried sick, but she hadn’t wanted to leave Yunyang alone, which was why she hadn’t followed Gu Yun and the others onto the treatment center’s starship.
Now, hearing Yunyang’s words, she asked anxiously, “Yunyang, how are you going to get there?”
The spaceport was where large starships landed, and there were no small starships available there.
“I called a starship through my wrist terminal.” Yunyang smiled at her. “Go ahead first. If Sister Zhiwei needs anything, contact me immediately.”
There was already a starship pilot available, so You Lu had no reason to worry. She quickly boarded the starship she and the others had arrived in with her beastmen husbands.
Before leaving, Yu Wenxu gave Fu Shiyi a suspicious glance.
If he remembered correctly, Designer Fu’s glasses…
He saw Fu Shiyi give an almost imperceptible nod.
Yu Wenxu understood. Although he had noticed that something was off, he was even more concerned about his own female master. Lady Yunyang had her own beastmen husbands as well.
Only after the starship carrying You Lu took off did Yunyang turn to the two pilots.
“Can you still fly the starship?”
The chief pilot hurriedly nodded. “Lady Yunyang, our injuries aren’t serious. We can still fly.”
As he spoke, the starship Yunyang had summoned through her wrist terminal arrived outside the spaceport.
Surrounded by her eight beastmen husbands, she boarded. At Qin Mo’s signal, the two pilots also took their places in the cockpit and co-pilot’s seat.
After setting the destination as the Central Star Purification Tower, the starship took off at top speed.
On the way, Yunyang opened her wrist terminal and sent Jenkins a message.
[How is Qilin doing?]
Jenkins froze when he saw the message.
Wasn’t Lady Yunyang taking the day off today? Why had she suddenly asked about that boy Zhuonian?
Could it be that the boy had gotten lucky and caught Lady Yunyang’s eye?
