Before Yunyang could set out, You Lu also came out with her eleven beast husbands.
When she learned that Yunyang was going to see Commander Lei Ou to arrange the purification, she exchanged a few words with the members of the guard team and hurried to catch up.
The two females walked arm in arm, leaving all their beast husbands and the two guard members completely excluded.
The husbands exchanged glances with one another, all of them looking somewhat helpless.
At the central command tower of the First Army’s base, Leo had just finished studying the recent movements of the insect race when he spotted Yunyang and You Lu on the surveillance monitor.
He looked up, remotely opened the tower’s entrance, and rose to go out and greet them.
As Yunyang and You Lu arrived at the tower with the group of males, they saw Leo walking out to meet them.
Leo gave a slight bow. “Good morning, Your Excellencies Yunyang and You Lu. Were you able to adjust to your new accommodations last night?”
“We were very comfortable. Commander Lei Ou, you’ve been most thoughtful.” Yunyang curved her lips into a smile. “Lulu and I came to confirm the purification arrangements with you.”
You Lu nodded in agreement.
“I’ve already drawn up several plans. The two of you will need to choose the specifics. Please, follow me.”
Leo straightened. Even in a relaxed state, his figure remained as upright as a sturdy pine tree.
It was a habit formed over many years.
As they followed him deeper into the command tower, You Lu quietly opened her terminal and sent Yunyang a message.
[Commander Lei Ou looks so reliable. What a pity he’s a little old. Otherwise, Yangyang, you could take him as one of your beast husbands.]
Yunyang: […]
Commander Lei Ou was the pillar of the First Army—the person the insect race hated and feared the most.
If she really brought Leo into her harem and made him focus solely on her, then what would happen if the insect race went into an uproar and invaded T01 Star? Wouldn’t she become a sinner in the eyes of the Federation?
Still, Leo was indeed a very reliable elder.
After learning about the purification efficiency of Yunyang and You Lu, Leo proposed three plans, all of which would ensure that they had enough time to recover their mental strength.
However, Leo did not know about the other method of restoring mental strength, so he suggested that Yunyang and You Lu purify for half a day each and rest at night.
Yunyang and You Lu exchanged a glance.
Yunyang asked, “Commander Lei Ou, could you show me the contamination data for the members of the First Army?”
Leo hesitated.
Overall, the First Army’s situation was very grim.
According to the data, more than eighty percent of the First Army had contamination levels above seventy. But behind that figure lay the suffering of countless soldiers who could not sleep at night and had no choice but to survive on suppressants.
But he did not want to burden the two Excellencies. Their very presence here was already a blessing for the First Army.
“If the two of you need it, I’ll have someone retrieve the data immediately.”
The battle-hardened commander concealed his thoughts perfectly. There was not the slightest hint that he was lying.
Unfortunately, Yunyang had Fu Shiyi, a human contamination detector.
On the way there, Fu Shiyi had told her that nearly every member of the First Army they had encountered had a contamination level above seventy.
From one small detail, one could infer the whole picture. Even if Leo did not wish to show them the data, Yunyang knew that the First Army’s situation was far from good.
“Commander Lei Ou, I don’t like your arrangement.”
Yunyang’s expression was serious, and Leo was momentarily stunned.
“While we’re on T01 Star, I’ll conduct group purification for Federation soldiers with excessively high contamination levels in the morning. In the afternoon, I want you to arrange at least five males with contamination levels above ninety. I’ll purify them individually.”
She did not say this as a request. Instead, she informed Leo of her decision in a tone that brooked no argument.
There were no males on T01 Star with contamination levels between ninety-five and one hundred, but there were many above ninety.
Suppressants no longer worked on them. All they could do was wait for their contamination levels to rise to ninety-nine, then head to the insect planet and await their deaths.
Leo frowned. “Your Excellency Yunyang, that would be too much for you.”
“Commander Lei Ou, this isn’t a request.” Yunyang rose to her feet. Though she was much shorter than Leo, she somehow radiated an imposing presence nearly two meters tall. “It’s a notification.”
Leo did not argue again.
As an S-rank Excellency, Yunyang had given him an order. He had no reason not to obey.
You Lu also rose. “Arrange the same for me. Let’s begin this morning.”
The two women said no more to Leo. They turned and prepared to leave with their beast husbands and the guard team.
Just before they left, Yunyang suddenly thought of something and stopped.
She turned to look at Leo. “Commander Lei Ou, if we help with the purification, we should be able to receive military merit, right?”
“Your Excellency Yunyang needs military merit?”
Leo’s gaze fell on Qin Mo, who stood behind her.
Had the military merit of this young man from the Twenty-Third Army not been transferred to Your Excellency Yunyang’s account?
Yunyang said, “I could use quite a bit.”
Leo did not ask any further questions. “According to Federation regulations, any Excellency who assists at a Federation military base may receive, in addition to Federation credits, twenty percent of the military merit belonging to the person they purify.”
For the Federation troops stationed on the frontier stars year-round, military merit was nothing more than a string of numbers.
If they could, they would gladly exchange all their military merit and property for a purification slot with any Excellency.
Yunyang’s eyes widened.
Twenty percent?
Didn’t that mean the more military merit the person being purified had, the more she would receive?
Yunyang immediately summoned her mental strength and purified Leo once.
A long-lost sense of ease spread through his body. Leo froze for a moment, then quickly understood what she meant.
He did not hesitate. He decisively opened his terminal and transferred forty percent of his military merit to Yunyang.
Yunyang: !
What an astronomical number.
Twenty percent was already that much. Just how many insect creatures had Commander Lei Ou killed?
Of course, Yunyang had no idea that Leo had transferred forty percent of his military merit to her.
She was simply delighted that she had obtained so much merit. Now she could exchange it for more high-level insect cores.
In a good mood, Yunyang waved at Leo, then linked arms with You Lu again and walked out of the command tower.
Only after they had left the tower did You Lu ask curiously, “Yangyang, what do you need military merit for?”
For females like them, military merit was practically useless.
After all, they lacked nothing that could be exchanged with military merit, and they did not particularly need insect cores either.
Oh, no—that wasn’t quite right. Yangyang needed them.
Remembering the supernatural energy fluctuations she had sensed at the purification tower on Central Star last time, You Lu opened her terminal and transferred half of her military merit to Yunyang.
Yunyang had not even had the chance to explain before she was completely overwhelmed by Lulu’s sheer extravagance.
“Lulu, why did you transfer so much military merit to me?”
You Lu blinked. “I’ve visited quite a few Federation military bases before and accumulated too much. I can’t spend it all, so help me use some of it.”
What a way to describe “having too much to spend.”
Yunyang thought for a moment, then transferred an equal amount of Federation credits to You Lu.
“Lulu, I can’t spend all mine either. Help me use some of it, too.”
She truly could not spend it all. Aside from the dowries for her beast husbands, she had already received quite a few payments from males, as well as Leo’s astronomical compensation.
You Lu burst out laughing. “Fine. I suppose I can reluctantly help you with that.”
Chatting and laughing, the two women soon returned to their residence.
Since purification would begin shortly, Yunyang crooked a finger at Qin Mo after entering the room.
“Qin Mo, come rest with me for a while.”
How could Qin Mo possibly refuse? He immediately nodded and carried her toward the bedroom.
