Everyone could see that something was wrong with Leo.
Yunyang, who had already taken a seat, asked, “Commander Leo, do you know something?”
Leo composed himself and quickly replied, “I don’t know whether T01 used to have an ocean, but before the First Army was stationed on T01, this place was once a secret base for a group of mad researchers.”
“They were researching live genetic mutations.”
“When the First Army was reassigned to T01, we wiped out those mad researchers.”
“I remember that among the beastmen they abducted for their experiments, there seemed to be several merfolk.”
Yunyang gazed into the distance.
Before the First Army had been stationed on T01?
How many years ago had that been?
Seeing her confusion, Qin Mo explained, “Female, the First Army hasn’t always been stationed on T01.”
There were only thirty-two armies in the Federation, while there were more than thirty-two planets in the outer star systems.
Before being stationed on T01, the First Army had been based on T17.
That was several decades ago, when the insect race acquired a new queen.
The new queen’s demand for resources was even greater than that of the previous one, causing the insect race’s attacks to become increasingly frequent. That was why the entire Federation military had moved its bases to outer planets closer to the front lines.
You Lu asked, puzzled, “What happened to the beastmen who were being experimented on?”
“A large portion of them were rescued and sent to the Federation for treatment.” Leo brought up the records from that time. “But the rescue failed for a small number of them. Among those beastmen, there was indeed one merperson.”
After hearing this, the merfolk all wore furious expressions.
Those lunatics had actually captured their people for live experiments!
If those mad researchers hadn’t already been wiped out, they would have dragged the scum out and taught them a lesson themselves.
Wait.
S-rank merperson Nan Meng stepped forward.
“Commander Leo, if this happened decades ago, those scum’s research base should have been abandoned long ago. Our people can’t survive without food for that long.”
No matter how strong a beastman’s body was, they still needed to eat.
Without food or water, even the strongest beastman could last no more than half a month.
It had been decades. Even if that member of their clan had been made of iron, there was no way they could have survived that long.
Yunyang nodded in agreement.
She also felt that it was outrageous for that unrecovered merperson to have survived for so long.
Besides, if it really was that merperson, why hadn’t anything like this happened to the First Army before?
Still, she turned to Fu Shiyi, silently asking for his opinion.
Only then did Fu Shiyi speak. “If that merperson’s genes had been artificially mutated, it’s possible they no longer needed to eat.”
Nan Meng froze for a moment but did not refute him.
He knew nothing about the experiments conducted by those mad researchers. Perhaps such a thing really was possible.
“Commander Leo, where was the base located?” Qin Mo asked. Rather than keep guessing, he felt it would be better to investigate directly.
Nan Meng quickly spoke up. “Deputy Commander Qin, you can’t go.”
“If it really is a mutated merperson, you’ll definitely be affected if you investigate. This matter should be left to the merfolk.”
Qin Mo did not insist on showing off his courage at a time like this.
They couldn’t bring the female with them to investigate the secret base.
If he went there and lost control, he might end up hurting his own people. It wouldn’t be worth the risk.
When that voice had appeared earlier, the ten merfolk had clearly been unaffected. Naturally, they were better suited to investigating the matter.
Leo agreed.
He sent the coordinates of the secret base to the ten merfolk.
Then he looked at Nan Meng.
“I’ll arrange the fastest aircraft available. If you need anything else, let me know at any time.”
“During the investigation, make sure you remain in constant contact with me.”
As for the weapons and medication issued by the Federation military, Pan En had already prepared everything for the merfolk on the first day they joined the guard unit.
“Yes, Commander!”
Nan Meng gave a not-quite-standard military salute.
The merfolk who had come to help were all quite powerful, and with the Federation military’s equipment, Leo felt completely at ease entrusting the matter to them.
Once the investigation of the secret base had been arranged, Leo turned to Yunyang and You Lu.
He rose and walked over to them, placing his left palm against his chest before bowing slightly.
“Ladies, I’m very grateful for all the help you’ve given the First Army over these past few days.”
“But now that the loss-of-control incident has happened for a third time, I believe T01 is no longer safe enough for you. I’ll arrange for someone to escort you back to the Federation.”
When Leo had initially invited Yunyang, he had never expected that two ladies would be willing to come to T01 and help.
So, even though Yunyang and You Lu had been there for less than half a month, the number of males they had purified had still far exceeded his expectations.
That was enough.
He could no longer disregard their safety.
The unknown voice was only one reason. Another was the intelligence they had received from Leonardo.
Regardless of whether the intelligence was true, the Federation military’s intrusion into an insect planet would be seen as a provocation by the insect race.
It probably wouldn’t be long before T01 was engulfed in war once again.
Yunyang hadn’t expected Commander Leo to bring this up so suddenly. In fact, when she counted the days, there were only four days left until the half-month deadline.
She also hadn’t seen Executive Director Monroe during the past two mornings when she and Lulu had trained on the parade ground.
The First Army must have taken some action, which was why Leo no longer felt comfortable letting her and Lulu remain there.
She didn’t really mind. She just didn’t know what Lulu thought…
Yunyang turned to You Lu.
At the same time, You Lu looked over.
The two females exchanged a glance. There was no need for words; they understood each other’s thoughts.
You Lu said, “Commander Leo, Yangyang and I still need to pack our things. Please arrange for a flight to take us back tomorrow afternoon.”
Yunyang added, “There’s no need to cancel tomorrow morning’s purification session.”
Leo remained in his slightly bowed position. “On behalf of the First Army, I once again thank you both, ladies.”
News of the two ladies’ imminent departure quickly spread throughout the entire First Army.
As one of the guard unit’s members, Liang Yixiao was among the first to hear.
During the evening break, he looked nervously and hesitantly at several of his fellow soldiers.
“Yunyang is leaving tomorrow. What do you think? If I confess my feelings to her, do I have a chance of becoming her beast husband?”
In the corner of the dormitory sat the little nest Liang Yixiao had bought online.
Leonardo had originally been sleeping sprawled across it.
But when he heard the news, his ears twitched, and he suddenly opened his eyes.
That noble lady… was leaving?
The little white fox climbed to his feet and jumped onto the edge of the bed, gazing out at the dark, gloomy sky.
Should he go see her off?
But what if she disliked him?
Under the same roof, two males found themselves caught in a dilemma.
The leopard beastman in the bed beside Liang Yixiao patted him on the shoulder. “Little Liang, there are definitely plenty of people who like Yunyang, but you’re different from them. You’re a member of Yunyang’s guard unit.”
The octopus beastman sharing the dormitory nodded. “You’ve spent so many days together. Maybe Yunyang has already taken a liking to you?”
The leopard beastman continued, “So if you like her, seize the opportunity. In my experience, there’ll definitely be a lot of people confessing to both ladies tomorrow. By then, you might not even get a chance to confess.”
