Wow! The item-dropping rate is really high!

Looking at the mountainous piles of corpses, particularly the huge bodies of the sand bugs that rivaled the size of transport vehicles, the accompanying officers could only stare agape in astonishment.

So many Bug Race bodies, yet present were only... two special forces squads!

Ten people!

"Damn!"

Since when did our soldiers become so strong in combat?

"Basically, he killed most of them," reported the captain of the other squad honestly to the higher-up who queried about the situation.

All eyes then converged on the soldier whose figure remained upright, his body covered in blood yet hardly showing any other injuries.

That soldier was calm, as if the great battle had nothing to do with him.

However, the reality heard from the survivors was that he had nearly single-handedly exterminated the many huge creatures that ambushed the humans.

People might lie, but corpses don't.

The fresh corpses of the Bug Race were the best evidence, even if the feat sounded like a tall tale.

Thus, even the reinforcement soldiers who knew nothing of the incident could only feel deep reverence when they looked at the silent and upright figure under the glow of the lights.

["Lucky Hit" charge +50.]

Sitting in the vehicle on the way back to the city, everyone's bodies swayed, and Likok knew that the soldiers urgently needed rest, but curiosity regarding the full details of the operation tormented him terribly.

"You may ask."

It seems Bai E, who appeared to be resting with his eyes closed, had opened them at some point.

After a substantial consumption of Spiritual Energy, areas like his temples and forehead had always felt a bit swollen and bouncy; even after some rest, he still didn't quite feel accustomed to it.

But considering the eager eyes of the minister who had chased after his own vehicle, full of desire for knowledge, Bai E took the initiative to speak to him.

The moment he received affirmation, Minister Likok immediately became excited, "How did you realize that your signals were being jammed?"

Bai E took out several disfigured sensors and said, "The lights went out."

"Do you know when it happened?"

[I know.]

There was a moment when Bai E had a feeling, but this sensation was too metaphysical; he had not checked the status of the sensors at the time, so it could not be concluded definitively.

Bai E shook his head, "I don't know."

"Did you encounter any unusual circumstances before the sensors failed?"

"No... The other squad didn't either." After a pause, Bai E proactively looked towards Minister Likok and asked, "What about the other squads?"

"They... their situation was probably like yours. We have sent out scout squads to find them, but they didn't send out their location signals like you did, so finding them is going to take some time."

"Oh~"

Likok didn't care about the battle outcome; how the special forces soldiers encountered the attack and how they responded was something for the military officials to consider. As the minister of the information department, he was more concerned with the only technology that bypassed the special blockade in this battle and transmitted their location back to the military district.

"What did you use to send your location back to the reception center?"

"This." Bai E took out the modified device he had prepared earlier.

It was an indescribably ugly creation connected with irregular circuits, but could such a thing have broken the informational blockade?

Likok held it in his hands like a priceless treasure, unwilling to let go.

Research into the object in hand would of course wait until after returning to base, but the excavation of the talent before him could begin now.

"Did you make this yourself?"

"Um..."

"Where did you learn the technology?" Minister Likok asked eagerly.

Everything done in the barracks left records; Bai E discarded the idea of claiming he had learned these skills in the barracks.

"Black Street..." Bai E took out his badge that permitted him to leave the barracks anytime, "I have permission to leave the barracks at any time. In my spare time from training, I would go out and learn some new things."

"Have you considered joining our information department?" Likok looked intently at Bai E, waiting for the soldier who had impressed him twice to respond.

"I'm afraid I am not qualified enough." Bai E modestly lowered his head, "I only assembled it from those ready-made materials; in essence, it's still something you all manufactured."

In the process of creating it just now, Bai E knew he hadn't done anything special. The thing pieced together from various parts probably didn't hold much value.

As for why they were able to bypass the blockade and send information back to the base, perhaps it was because... it's a one-time thing?

Indeed, that was the only explanation.

To prevent Minister Likok from feeling disappointed after analyzing the composition of the modified object, Bai E directly took the initiative to lower his expectations.

"I see..." Minister Likok nodded, quite agreeing with Bai E's statement.

One couldn't always possess technology superior to that of their city's Information Department, let alone learn anything of real value from Black Street.

He was simply impressed by Bai E's comprehension, "But you really catch on fast. Have you considered developing your career with our Information Department? Plus, it's relatively safe here..."

As he spoke, Minister Likok paused suddenly, remembering that the warrior before him was an artificial human, probably indifferent to danger, life, and death.

"No need, Minister," Bai E shook his head, "I still prefer fighting on the front lines."

The atmosphere grew slightly silent, as Minister Likok was not particularly gregarious by nature.

In the quiet, Bai E spoke up again, "Minister, what are your plans regarding the technology after you return?"

"First, to find the source," Likok said softly with a sigh, sounding somewhat melancholic, "This was just a minor special operation with only ten squads involved. If a major operation that we're really counting on is compromised due to misinformation, causing all our arrangements to fall apart, that would be a real problem."

Having their newly rebooted information technology intercepted right off the bat was undoubtedly a tremendous blow to their confidence.

Bai E was stunned upon hearing this.

Yes...

This was just a minor military operation. Even if the enemy were to annihilate all ten of their squads, what significant advantage would they gain?

The Bug Race's intelligence would not fail to see such an obvious fact. Revealing this trump card during a critical large-scale battle to instantly sever human communications would undoubtedly be more effective in crushing humanity's foundation.

Logically speaking, if they willingly exposed this ability, it was either meant to instill fear in humans,

To tell humans that the Bug Race was strong in this regards, discouraging any further development in this area from humankind.

Or...

Bai E thought about his last retreat from the Bug Race battlefield.

"What if we can't find it?" Bai E asked subconsciously.

"Can't find it?" Likok murmured to himself before shaking his head decidedly, "If we can't find it, we'll keep searching. Our hard-won technology that we've finally picked up, there's now no threat from the electronic demons, so there's no reason to give up. Moreover, our predecessors' technology has never been afraid of any competitors aside from the electronic demons. If our technology is still insufficient to shield against any influences, it simply means our current technology isn't enough. Regardless, we cannot give up the information technology we've finally reclaimed."

"..."

Another possibility highlighted itself at that moment.

Bai E, who had faced the Bug Race's attacks twice, seemed to have a far more intuitive understanding of their purposes than others.

With rational consideration, the Bug Race would never engage in futile acts. A trump card capable of effectively striking at human strength would definitely be used in an even more suitable, larger scenario.

Unless their purpose was indeed to make humans wary... to prompt humans to value and elevate their technological advancement to higher levels.

Just like how that dominant behemoth Bug had allowed him to rescue so many human soldiers in the previous battle.

Exterminating humanity was never the primary objective of those Bugs.

They must have some demand from humans, unfathomable to them for the time being.

The train carriage fell silent for a moment.

Bright headlights pierced through the darkness on this deep night, as the massive rescue convoy carrying the fourteen sand worms that Bai E and the others had killed drove back to the military camp.

The journey was swift.

The trembling of the ground traveled deep into the earth, and as if feeling these vibrations, a pair of mountainous "crystals" suddenly lit up in the deep underground...

...

"He killed eleven sand worms by himself?"

"He extracted the essence of the Bug Race all by himself too?"

"Even the distress signal was his handiwork?"

The officer in charge of recording military merits was somewhat vexed, tugging at his hair.

"How much merit is that worth..."
Experience more on empire

"No, wait, it's this kid again!"

["Lucky Strike" charge +1.]