After the Zerg General Was Accidentally Marked - Chapter 32

Chapter 32: Contact

Last night, Sears accompanied the little high-rank to test various ways of using Amber. For example, wrapping an entire insect could stop its time completely; or wrapping only a part, such as a wrist, could serve to fix and restrain a limb.

They didn’t stop until the little high-rank’s mental power was entirely exhausted.

Today, besides comforting the little cub who had been suddenly forced to take a leave of absence at home, Sears had another important matter.

He had an appointment with Dean, the captain of the tower team, to go somewhere together a place with free Kalatin reagents.

Sears originally thought the other would take him to some kind of trading venue. After all, Kalatin reagents were an expensive commodity. He didn’t expect Dean to take him directly to the vicinity of the planetary engines.

The planetary engines were actually relics of the human era, vastly different from current Zerg technology. When this massive engine was built, a vast, flat expanse of about 30,000 square kilometers was cleared at its base, centered around the engine.

These open spaces, far from the city centers where high-ranks lived, were equipped with basic electricity and plumbing facilities, thus becoming a gathering place for a large number of military females. Local insects called it the “Underground District.” It was somewhat similar to the Fourteenth District on the Capital Star, but the population density wasn’t as high, and therefore it wasn’t as chaotic.

Dean took Sears to an underground boxing gym in the Underground District. Many insects here knew him, and insects greeted him from time to time.

Dean responded to each one, introducing Sears to the military females there along the way.

Among the faces coming and going, Sears noticed a military female named Geya, who seemed to have obvious genetic defects. His face still bore some un-regressed hard shell, and his wings couldn’t be retracted into the wing sheaths, only hanging limply behind him.

One must know that such military females with obvious genetic defects could not show their faces in the Capital at all. Once discovered, they would be thrown directly into a biochemical junkyard by law enforcers.

Sears leaned toward Dean’s ear and asked, “Can insects with genetic defects live normally here?”

Dean gave a hearty laugh and patted Sears on the chest. “Welcome to the free Military Female Underground!”

It was late when they arrived at the gym. The octagonal cage was already surrounded by three inner and three outer layers of military female spectators, with cheers or boos erupting from time to time.

Dean pulled him all the way to the front, letting Sears see the scene on the stage clearly.

Sears had never witnessed a boxing match in the underground district of this planet. However, he had participated in some underground fighting elsewhere before, and the rules were largely the same.

As military females, more or less bellicose blood and genes flowed through their bodies. Consequently, even though the living environment was often extremely harsh, this kind of extremely bloody and brutal combat remained very popular among military females.

The stage of an underground boxing ring is usually an octagonal cage, with eight pillars surrounded by barbed wire with thorns. Once you hit it, the hooked wire sinks into the skin, directly tearing away flesh and blood.

Although called a boxing ring, in this lawless underground arena, fists were no longer restricted as the only weapon. You could use any part of your body to attack hands, feet, head, nails, teeth, even insectification, or the use of mental power.

As long as you could win, there was nothing you couldn’t do!

When they squeezed to the front of the stage, one fight was nearing its end. A black-haired military female, bare-chested and covered in blood, was pinning down another red-haired military female, throwing punch after punch. Between the swings, blood occasionally splattered out.

Sears couldn’t help but frown. The red-haired military female on the stage was motionless, his face covered in blood; it was impossible to tell if he was unconscious or something more serious.

“The match is exciting,” he shouted loudly into Dean’s ear. “But what does this have to do with Kalatin reagents?”

“Just keep watching and you’ll see!” Dean replied.

“The insect who loses won’t die, will he?” Sears asked again.

“Don’t worry!” Dean replied, seemingly not caring at all about the loser’s life or death.

Soon, a referee wearing a black mask appeared and loudly announced the victory of the black-haired military female, raising his hand high above his head. The audience erupted in massive cheers! On the other side, the red-haired military female was sprayed awake with cold water and limped off the stage.

“Shh—” Accompanied by the referee’s hush, the restless scene gradually quieted down. Sears looked around and found that every face was faintly filled with expectation.

“Next!” The referee stood in the center of the blood-stained octagonal cage. “It’s the long-awaited event of the week—the Kalatin Challenge!”

A small cart covered with a black cloth was brought onto the stage. The referee pulled back the black cloth with an exaggerated gesture, revealing ten vials of Kalatin reagent beneath.

A small gasp erupted from the crowd. Judging by the size, each vial of Kalatin should be 100 ml. According to the recommended dosage of one milliliter per day, it would be enough for a military female to use for a long time.

“That’s right! The stakes for today’s match are increased again! The winner’s prize is 100 milliliters of Kalatin!!!”

The voice through the microphone echoed through the hall, stimulating the military females below.

“The rules are the same as usual! You must defeat the champion of our ring to obtain the reward. And today’s champion is—”

Heavy footsteps came from one of the passages leading to the octagonal cage, like a small mountain slowly moving. The entire ground could be felt vibrating noticeably.

Before long, a heavy mecha appeared on the stage.

The crowd became noisy and restless again. Even Dean nearby couldn’t help but frown. “Why is the mecha so big this time? This is a bit too much of a bully…”

“This is the free Kalatin reagent you mentioned?” Sears asked.

Dean nodded, but his face showed difficulty. “I guess we’ll have to pick another time. I didn’t expect it to be this kind of heavy mecha this time… I’m not sure I can win.”

“It wasn’t like this before,” he explained.

Sears briefly sized up the mecha model on the stage. It was a heavy Brock 32B model combat armor, over 4 meters tall. Its biggest feature was being thick and hard. For most military females, breaking through its defensive armor was indeed quite difficult.

But Sears was not most military females. Back then, the most important reason he could pilot the Ireson with mental power was that he knew every detail of that massive starship like the back of his hand. Before that, he had experience piloting hundreds of different mecha models—whether in training, teaching, or actual combat. And every mecha, no matter how perfect the design seemed, always had its own weakness.

The sturdy but clumsy Brock 32B was no exception.

“I’ll go up and try,” Sears suggested.

Dean hurriedly stopped him. “Forget it! I know you must have been very powerful before, but look at your wings… don’t force it!”

“The full name of this mecha is the Heavy Armored Brock 32B model. I’ve dismantled several; I know how to take it down!” Sears loosened the joints of his shoulders and neck, looking calm and full of confidence. “Don’t worry! I’m not forcing it.”

In the end, Dean accompanied him to sign up. Sears was ranked fifth.

Before going on stage, they watched the performance of the first four contestants. Although the most obvious disadvantage of heavy mecha is a lack of flexibility, this model’s defensive plates were simply too thick—it sacrificed a large amount of flexibility in exchange for the strongest defense. As a result, most attacks, including various sharp weapons and even small explosions, could not cause serious damage to it.

Once all attacks proved ineffective, the exhausted contestants could only let the mecha seize the opportunity to counterattack and be ground into the dirt.

So far, not a single contestant had successfully won the Kalatin reagent.

To win against this type of heavy mecha in combat, the most important thing was to avoid its thick defense and choose weak spots to attack as much as possible.

A few other contestants had realized this, but they didn’t know enough about the mecha and didn’t choose the right spots, causing very limited damage—like a kitten scratching a steel plate.

But Sears knew exactly where the weakness of this combat armor lay. Therefore, before he stepped onto the stage, his mental power had already reached out from his fingertips, condensing into thin, transparent wires that crawled along the floor, up the back of the mecha, deep into the neck through the gaps, and wrapped around the wiring harness used to control the mecha.

While Sears walked onto the stage, he used his mental power to carefully separate the main control circuit, stripped the insulation off the wires, and probed into the wiring with his own mental power, directly usurping control and replacing the operator inside the mecha.

Thus, when he stepped onto the stage, all the audience saw was him walking up to the mecha and lightly kicking its thick, solid calf. The opponent immediately fell to its knees.

On both knees, no less.

An uproar broke out below; no one understood what had happened.

Seeing the referee hadn’t made a declaration yet, Sears continued to control the now-kneeling heavy mecha, this time making it lie flat on the ground.

The massive object falling with a thud made the surrounding ground tremble twice. Sears simply took two light steps back to avoid being accidentally crushed.

“Did I win?” he asked the referee.

Some of the audience below began to curse loudly.

“What the hell!” “He must be cheating!” “This is fake!” “Is that mecha broken?”

Only Dean was supporting him with all his might: “Holy crap! Amazing! Solas!!!”

Faced with the numerous doubts and boos, Sears remained quite calm, standing there waiting for the referee’s decision.

In the noisy environment, the sound of a hydraulic hatch opening was particularly distinct. Sears originally had his back to the mecha; the moment he heard the sound, he turned quickly, simultaneously condensing his mental power in front of him—

But even so, he was knocked back a few steps by the opponent, and even accidentally caught on the barbed wire fence, leaving a bloodstain on his arm.

As the pain and blood surged, a thought flashed through Sears’ mind:

Everett would definitely worry if he saw this.

Sears got a little angry.

Consequently, facing the operator who crawled out of the mecha to ambush him, his movements became somewhat ruthless.

Relying on crushing combat skills and mental power, he pinned the opponent beneath him in a few moves, his sharp mental power pressed against the other’s throat.

The blade condensed from mental power had already pressed a bloodstain onto the operator’s throat. “Surrender!” Sears suggested sincerely.

The opponent was still stubbornly holding out, refusing to surrender. The referee finally arrived at this moment, announced Sears’ victory, and issued a vial of Kalatin reagent as the prize according to the agreement.

But it didn’t end there. After Sears came down, another fellow wearing a mask proactively found him.

“Your exceptional mental power leaves me in awe. I wonder if you are interested in joining us?”

It seemed he had been discovered?

Sears scrutinized the other cautiously and found that his height and build were almost identical to the referee just now. “Joining you… what are the benefits?”

“First,” Sears noticed the masked insect’s voice carried a stiff mechanical quality, “you will have free Kalatin reagents for life.”

“Is there no price to pay?”

“You only need to contribute a bit of your exceptional talent to the organization occasionally.” The masked insect handed over an electronic business card—two nested black squares on a pure white background, with its name below.

“The Society of Light?”

“Have you heard of it?”

Isn’t this the legendary cult? But Sears showed no change in expression. “No.”

“Is the Kalatin reagent you provide a legitimate product? As far as I know, this stuff isn’t cheap.”

“Absolutely legitimate.” The masked insect made a gesture of invitation. “If you don’t believe it, you can take a sip right now and taste it.”

Sears didn’t dare taste it, shaking his head in refusal, planning to take the reagent home for Everett to test and see if any clues could be found.

“If I join you, are there other benefits besides the Kalatin reagent?”

The masked insect thought for a moment, tapped a few times on a light screen, and finally said to him, “Would you like to visit our ‘home’?”

Home? The word was somewhat strange. But Sears also knew this was a rare opportunity to scout the opponent’s base.

He told Dean about it, who didn’t react much, as if he were already accustomed to the existence of the Society of Light on this planet.

“Go if you want; nothing will happen.”

Sears was blindfolded and taken onto a flyer. About half an hour later, they arrived at the Society of Light’s so-called “home.”

When he took off the blindfold and glanced around, he soon realized this was the bottom of an abandoned mine pit. The bottom was very flat and open, clearly having been renovated. The depth was between 200 to 300 meters. Looking up from the bottom, only a small patch of sky the size of a fingernail could be seen.

But that wasn’t what shocked Sears.

On the nearly vertical walls of the several-hundred-meter-high mine pit, small rooms were carved out one after another, each capable of accommodating a single insect living independently inside. Up close, one could see the layout of some rooms—completely transparent glass, doors, and windows, a bed, a set of tables and chairs, and such; further away, they turned into tiny black dots.

In this several-hundred-meter-high circular mine pit, it was filled with dense black dots. Most contained a military female. The countless rooms combined felt like the formation of an ancient, massive insect nest.

It wasn’t hard to imagine what a scene it would be when these military females swarmed out, their wings unfolding to cover the sky and earth.

Sears, who had been in the military for many years, immediately connected the use of this so-called “home.” This highly centralized and strictly managed life—wasn’t it just another form of military camp?!

Using Kalatin reagents as bait to build and manipulate an army composed of powerful military females. Was that their goal?!

Sears suppressed the waves in his heart and retreated back to the flyer.

“I need to consider it.”

When he returned home that night, Sears was indeed lectured by Everett for a long time about the new wound on his arm. Then he had the chance to synchronize the situation here with him. He handed over the obtained Kalatin reagent for testing.

Along the way, he also reminded the little high-rank that the Magic Lamp Company should have a significant connection with the Society of Light.

The next day was Monday. Originally, Sears was supposed to be responsible for dinner, but tonight he had his first night shift, so he had to swap with Everett.

When heading to the communications building this day, Sears brought that copy of The Little Prince.

Nowadays, most electronic passwords are easily cracked; instead, some old methods are more reliable.

For example, an ancient encryption method used by their First Legion was to use the same book to translate the transmitted information into codes corresponding to the positions in the book.

For instance, to express “I,” and if this character corresponds to the 3rd character of the 3rd line of page 1, the corresponding code can be translated as 001003003. By extension, an entire sentence can be translated into the corresponding numerical code. To avoid rare words, books with English characters were specifically chosen.

It was this book, The Little Prince.

Additionally, to prevent eavesdropping or misappropriation, an extra piece of information was added at the beginning. Usually, it was a sentence known to both parties; for example, the communication signal agreed upon between Sears and his adjutants was: Achaetus’s eyes are red.

Only those within their circle knew what this meant. Usually, Achaetus’s eyes were the clearest blue, yet his former adjutant’s eyeballs were completely dyed red by blood before he died. Thus, this sentence was born.

Sears arrived at the tower for the handover, and the duty room soon had only him left. In the silent and lonely late night, he typed out the encrypted information character by character.

The content of the information was actually very simple: The Admiral is still alive.

After selecting the coordinates for transmission, Sears began a long wait. He waited from 9 PM until 3 AM the next morning.

Then, he finally received an unreported abnormal piece of information from Sector H. The decrypted content was:

This is Adjutant Adam. Admiral, are you alright?

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