"The Third Military District has screened and found 10 parasitized individuals. Our environment is mediocre here, and there aren't many animals that can survive, but the district has completed lockdown..."
Mu Ning's silver hair was combed back neatly, her complexion not great, yet she remained highly spirited.
The commanders of several military districts were reporting the latest developments to Meng Chongyun. The Third Military District had the lowest number of parasitized individuals, followed by the Ninth Military District.
"Emergency green corridors for food and medicine have been opened. No other issues have been found so far."
"Good. Please make sure to stabilize the morale of both soldiers and civilians. In a couple of days, a new batch of state-of-the-art scanners will be released, but quantities are limited, so we'll prioritize the First and Second Military Districts, which need them the most..."
After Meng Chongyun finished laying out the series of deployments, Mu Ning spoke again,
"Chief, could you have Dean Xue send me a copy of the Academy of Sciences' Super-S-class warrior training plan?"
Meng Chongyun looked up at the Third Military District's screen upon hearing this, and Mu Ning continued,
"We shouldn't give up on ourselves too early. With years of combat experience as our foundation, it's not wise to pin all our hopes on other warriors.
Relying on heaven or earth is not as good as relying on ourselves. No research has shown that mental strength advancement is tied to age."
Raymond of the Ninth Military District couldn't help but nod at that. As expected of her—nearly fifty and still this unwilling to admit defeat!
But Mu Ning wasn't wrong. Every commander seated here had been through countless battles of all sizes, and each of them had climbed up from the bottom step by step. No one understood the use of mental strength better than they did. Even the gifted young warriors might not wield mental strength with the same precision.
"Commander Mu is right. Then I'll need one as well, Chief."
Shan Yuantao of the First Military District spoke up a step ahead of Raymond.
Meng Chongyun swept his gaze across these "old-timers" on the virtual screens. The youngest person in charge, from the Seventh Military District, was forty this year...
And they wanted to undergo training plans that even teenagers of eighteen or nineteen and soldiers in their twenties found grueling?
"...I will inform Xue Jie to create a tailored mental strength enhancement training plan for each of you based on your individual circumstances.
But let me remind you all—this is a critical period. Please take care of yourselves. There is too much waiting for us to do. At this juncture, not a single one of you can afford to have any problems."
"Yes, sir."
"Understood."
The basement of the quarantine control center remained heavily guarded.
"Qi Chengyan" lay on the ground, rolling around out of sheer boredom. Before long, he started filing his nails against the floor.
The loudspeaker hadn't gone off today. No matter what he said or what gestures he made, no one responded to him or engaged him in conversation. But the moment his mental strength so much as brushed outward, it was instantly suppressed by a coordinated surge from many sources...
The tightly sealed door slowly slid open. "Qi Chengyan," lying on his stomach, turned his head to look at the figure stepping in against the backlight,
"Oh, hello there, Chief~"
Meng Chongyun carefully checked his surroundings, then let his mental strength spread out like a canopy,
"Come in."
At that command, a line of engineers in protective suits filed in one after another. "Qi Chengyan" appeared a little surprised,
"My, my! You brought so many friends to see me today? Did you know I've been terribly lonely in here all by myself? I'm just so touched~"
The bug creature immediately perked up, standing upright and pressing itself against the glass, its pair of golden eyes sizing up every single person.
The engineers entering the isolation center to install equipment had no choice but to steel themselves and work. They could feel its mental strength slithering down from above, probing for weaknesses and constantly trying to press in on them... It felt sticky and revolting.
But that sensation was quickly cut off when Meng Chongyun's power intervened. "Qi Chengyan" seemed to be grabbed by an invisible giant hand.
Suspended midair, the Alpha Gold Crown seethed with fury. This trick again? He retracted his external mental strength and barely managed to steady himself before being slammed into the ground,
"Always the same routine isn't going to cut it, Chief."
The young man actually managed to stand up against the pressure Meng Chongyun was exerting.
That old man's mental strength seemed to have been overused lately—its effect on him wasn't as strong as it was at the start.
Heh. Now that's good news.
Meng Chongyun finally spoke,
"Do you know what's going on out there?"
The Alpha Gold Crown pursed his lips, flicking his eyes to the right,
"Heh... I'm not sure what you're talking about. Why? Is your Federation about to fall apart?"
Shi Zhixin couldn't help but glare at the bug wearing "Qi Chengyan's" skin from inside his highest-grade isolation suit. If he had to skip eating and sleeping to build a machine that could suck every drop of that thing's mental strength dry, he would—and then we'd see if this bug was still so cocky!
"Oh! This one here is glaring at me. Chief, you Federal folks have absolutely terrible hospitality! If I ever get the chance, I'll be sure to show you the proper etiquette of us Alpha bugs."
A malicious smile curled at the corner of "Qi Chengyan's" lips, as if his words were a promise that would definitely come true.
The engineers inside the isolation chamber quickened their pace, no longer able to listen. Letting his words disturb their focus would be far too dangerous.
Meng Chongyun took a long, hard look at "Qi Chengyan,"
"So you have no intention of telling me about the bugs' battle plans."
"Qi Chengyan" raised an eyebrow,
"Are you sure you don't want to reconsider the peaceful coexistence plan I proposed earlier? There's still time..."
Before he could finish, he was hoisted high into the air by mental strength again.
"I don't have much patience. How many of you bugs have infiltrated the Federation? How many of you are preparing to attack? How are you communicating with the outside world from underground? And who are your spies?"
"Heh."
"Qi Chengyan" didn't seem particularly bothered by being suspended in the air. After hearing the entire series of questions, he answered with only four words,
"In- fi- nite- ly- many."
That answer sent a chill down the spines of the engineers in the chamber and the commanders watching from the monitoring room—infinitely many, was it...
"WHAM!"
The figure at the center was slammed viciously into the ground.
"WHAM. WHAM. WHAM..."
It went on like that, over a dozen times, while his mental strength also came under viciously sharp attacks.
"Empty bluster."
Meng Chongyun's voice carried over, utterly clear.
"Federal forces show no fear for trash bugs like you. The moment you dare to make a move, I'll make sure you see with your own eyes how the bugs are annihilated."
"Who's the one blustering here?"
"Qi Chengyan," face bloodied on the ground, spat through gritted teeth,
"We will trample the Federation into dust."
The engineers finally finished installing the equipment, filing out of the top-secret isolation zone one by one.
Meng Chongyun confirmed that the last person to leave carried no issues, ordered them to proceed with decontamination immediately, and only then turned back,
"Then we'll be waiting to uproot every last one of you. Beg for forgiveness for what you've done, Alpha Gold Crown."
