Kes had already confirmed with the leader that he was on his way to Blizza, though his speed was slightly slower than anticipated.
The leader had indeed been keeping an eye on the live broadcast from Blizza and even said he was doing well — what a blessing!
Looking at the “sleeping” students on the screen, Kes unconsciously licked his lips. Every single one of them intrigued him.
If the leader didn’t want their bodies, he would have loved to see what was really going on inside that head of Hiranuma Yusho.
Always acting so mysterious, yet somehow knowing everything — he could even call out the name “Alpha” with such familiarity.
With his memories, Kes would surely fill in many of his own gaps, and then he could become the leader’s most capable subordinate!
After ending the communication, Qi Chengyan continued to direct their course from the starship’s cockpit.
Theoretically, they could be moving faster, but that’s what happened when you hijacked a military vessel.
People kept trying to crack their signals and flight paths. Fortunately, the subordinates had possessed enough hosts — using the knowledge and skills in those people’s minds to counterattack the signal sources and lead the military in circles. That was the only reason they hadn’t been caught yet.
If only they’d gotten Shi Zhixin’s memories, things would be even easier! But he’d already escaped that godforsaken place, so there was no point dwelling on a dead man.
Using his psychic power as a radar to clear the way took more time, but overall, it was worth it.
Sure enough, the military’s newest mech design had Wang Tianwei’s involvement. He hadn’t misjudged her — that girl was the key to the insect race’s revival!
“For this next stretch, full speed ahead.”
“Yes, sir!”
Meng Chongyun escorted the 276 Federation civilians back to Tianshu Star and immediately followed up with a post-battle analysis meeting with military district officials.
Watching the suicide footage of Shi Zhixin, Li Qin, and the others once more left everyone with a heavy feeling in their chests.
But it was unavoidable, because those images contained the information they needed most.
“…To sum it up, the insect race’s large-scale invasion this time had two purposes: first, to rescue their Jin Guan; second, to steal Federation technology.”
The voice of Shan Yuantao, commander of the First Military District, was heavy with suppressed emotion.
Whether it was Qi Chengyan or Li Qin, both had been outstanding soldiers of the First Military District.
To be possessed and corrupted by the Alpha Gold Crown, and then broadcasted to the world with their original faces…
The soldiers died brutally, and Li Qin’s family had fallen apart, refusing to accept the truth even now. He couldn’t help but carry that resentment.
“The Alpha Gold Crown asked Xiao Shi in the surveillance room whether it would build mechs for them… They’re no longer satisfied with just psychic attacks and physical possession.”
Mu Ning spoke gravely.
“The first ones possessed inside the surveillance room were all mech engineers. Our newest mech blueprint has likely been leaked again…”
“I understand.”
Meng Chongyun furrowed his brows, then suddenly seemed to connect the dots as he looked at the school league live broadcast screen on the other side.
“Prepare a starship. We’re heading to Blizza!”
Guo Hongfan objected.
“Chief Commander, most planets haven’t finished post-battle repairs yet…”
“It wants our students, don’t you understand!?”
Raymond was the first to catch on.
“You mean… it’s after Wang Tianwei’s kid!?”
“Not just Wang Tianwei. Xue Jie and Chi Yongxin had already discovered earlier that the insect race obtains human knowledge through possession.
So the behaviors they replicate are mostly just copy-pasted from whatever was originally in those people’s minds.
The Alpha Gold Crown might be an exception, but based on our analysis so far, their imitation ability is strong — yet they have almost no capacity for innovation!
No Federation engineer has ever designed a mech for the insect race. They’ve been watching the school league live broadcast, occupied Blizza, and still haven’t killed our students. There’s only one reason!”
“It wants our students’ creativity, so they can design mechs for them!”
Yu Qian slammed the table and stood up.
“Wang Tianwei only has A-grade psychic power, but she’s an incredibly gifted mech designer! The Alpha Gold Crown can manipulate her all too easily! I’ll organize a team right now and head to Blizza!”
“Don’t act rashly. The Alpha Gold Crown is probably heading there too. We can’t hand the enemy more fighters for nothing. I have to go personally.”
“Chief Commander!”
“This is currently the only point where I think humanity can beat them. Does anyone have a better idea?”
“…No.”
“Post-war screening and reconstruction will be managed by Deputy Chief Guo, following the plan we set. When it comes to dealing with the insect race, we can never be too careful.”
“Yes, sir!”
“Commanders of other military districts…”
The Federation military’s response speed was second to none.
Orders were issued in a flurry throughout the night, and before the next day even arrived, post-war reconstruction efforts were already underway in an orderly fashion.
Before setting off, Meng Chongyun also received a piece of good news from the students of the military academy.
They all believed that the sudden stuttering in the league broadcast was highly abnormal — it was possible that some of the teams currently in competition had noticed something wrong and were using this method to signal them.
Though the truth of this speculation was still unverified.
Still, Meng Chongyun had specifically asked engineer Ji Gang, who helped design and build the “Little Bee” cameras, and the latter said the competition’s livestream cameras were at military grade.
To prevent sabotage by individual students, they had been reinforced and modified. Under normal conditions, signal loss or stuttering simply wouldn’t happen.
After learning this, both Meng Chongyun and Guo Hongfan felt a spark of hope.
If it really was Wang Tianwei’s doing, it meant the kids had at least guessed their situation and weren’t completely defenseless.
But what worried them now was the possibility that, before military reinforcements arrived, the insect race would strike first…
“Try to see if we can contact them — do not, under any circumstances, alert the insect race.”
“The connection channels for these livestream cameras are bidirectional. For image clarity and security, the authority usually sits only with the safety officer.
We’re too far away from them right now…”
Ji Gang replied while packing his things.
“Once we can share the same transmitter, we might succeed. Please, you have to let me come to Blizza with you.”
On the video call, the young man’s face was haggard, but his eyes burned with resolve. Old Shi’s most promising kids — he had to protect them no matter what!
“Ji Gang…”
“Chief Commander, Wang Tianwei has taken apart one of my cameras before. I’m fairly sure I can guess how she broke the comms. If we can work with the students from the inside and out, wouldn’t their chances of coming back alive be that much higher!?”
“…Bring your gear. 20 minutes. Rally at Spaceport 1.”
“Yes, sir!”
