Chapter 370 - 340: Landing on Terra Star (2)

Chapter 370: Chapter 340: Landing on Terra Star (2)

As long as this place was captured, the Parasites in other regions would lose their core. Even if they could continue to hide and flee, they wouldn’t be able to pose a threat to humanity as a whole in the short term.

At this moment, drone formations filled the sky, forming a matrix as they swept forward. On the ground, mine-clearing vehicles detonated and eliminated all the hidden mines the Parasites had deployed near the city.

As for the soldiers, they were all waiting.

In an era where human life was paramount, the allied forces would rather lose a thousand drones than a single human soldier.

First, drones would eliminate threats, then robot soldiers would lead the charge, with human soldiers handling the cleanup. This was the human-centric doctrine of war.

And even more valuable than ordinary soldiers were, of course, the allied forces’ special combat teams—squads composed of powerful Ascenders from various nations.

"War is truly terrible... If I were a Parasite and saw all these drones swarming the sky, I think I’d just feel despair."

A blue-eyed young man with waist-length blond hair gazed at the sky over Wuze, a hint of wistfulness in his tone.

"The Parasites only have themselves to blame for picking the wrong country to seize. The Black Banner Country’s military was already weak, with few high-tech weapons. How could they possibly contend with the allied forces?"

"Their dumbest move was daring to declare themselves a nation. They completely underestimate us humans."

"This is our chance to wipe them out in one fell swoop. We can send them to Sisiya before the ’rules’ end, use them as food for that Alien Intelligence, and get to ask our questions in return."

The elite Ascenders from various nations discussed the matter, their contempt for the Parasites evident in every word.

The blond young man sensed this sentiment and said, "Let’s not get too complacent, everyone. The enemy is quite cunning."

"Adam, with your level of power, there’s no need to be so cautious."

"The hosts these Parasites take over are mostly ordinary people. Even if they unlock some of their host’s physical potential to enhance themselves, they’re still no match for us. Let alone you, Adam."

This blond young man was Adam, the Ascender sent by the Soloma Empire.

In the past, the Soloma Empire had promoted Adam relentlessly, making him extremely famous among the world’s Ascenders.

Moreover, unlike other famous Ascenders, Adam’s reputation was overwhelmingly positive. Almost no one spoke ill of him, nor had he ever done anything controversial.

In contrast, his fellow famous Ascender from Soloma, Lucifer, was just as well-known, but for all the wrong reasons—he was infamous and had long been considered a public enemy.

Then there was Shadow. He was even more famous, but many people could not condone some of his methods.

This was especially true of his various assassinations. Even when later investigations proved that his targets were all heinous criminals, many people still could not approve.

They argued that his actions set a dangerous precedent, fearing it would encourage a culture of vigilantism among Ascenders and plunge the world into greater chaos and lawlessness.

For all these reasons, the moment Adam arrived on the battlefield, he became the central figure among the allied Ascender teams, earning their deep respect.

Hearing the others’ dismissive and disdainful comments about the Parasites, Adam gave a slight shake of his head but said nothing more.

"Ascender teams, your orders."

The voice of the allied forces’ Commander crackled in their earpieces.

"We’ve received intel that the Parasite leadership is likely hiding in a shelter deep beneath the city’s National Sacrificial Hall. In twenty minutes, the allied forces will commence a bunker-buster strike on that area."

"You have a single objective: take transports, paradrop over the National Sacrificial Hall, and capture any surviving members of the Parasite leadership in the underground shelter."

...

「Sennantata Town.」

After Guan Tong finished speaking, Shangyuan Zi fell silent, not knowing how to respond.

’The man he killed for revenge was the own brother of Sisiya’s Governor.’

’No matter how good his relationship with Yelena was, this was her brother he’d killed. How could their friendship possibly compare to that?’

Shangyuan Zi found it absurd that Guan Tong could casually get a night’s sleep in this town. ’Shouldn’t the safe and sensible thing to do have been to leave immediately after getting his revenge?’

Moreover, she couldn’t fathom how Guan Tong thought he’d ever get permission from Yelena to approach the Alien Intelligence. ’Through deception?’

"If you don’t say anything, maybe she won’t know you were the one who killed him?"

"...No. As long as she knows I’m in Sisiya, she’ll know I’m the one who killed him."

"Why? Don’t tell me you told her you were coming to Sisiya to kill her brother?"

"I did."

"..."

Shangyuan Zi simply couldn’t make sense of the situation.

Guan Tong explained, "It sounds complicated, but it can be summed up in a single sentence: Yelena and her brother had no deep affection for each other."

’If he, as the older brother, had any affection for his sister at all, why would he have sent assassins to threaten and kill her teacher?’

From that incident alone, Guan Tong could see their relationship was purely superficial.

’Besides, the fact that Yelena later became Governor while Rijeka was exiled to the Icefield Prison suggested the power struggle between them had been even more vicious.’

"But... he was still her brother, wasn’t he? You should probably be careful."

"Mm."

BUZZ. BUZZ.

His pocket vibrated, and Guan Tong took out his phone.

"It’s from Zhang Minglu."

"The doctor from the research room?"

After the last joint operation targeting Mizusawa Chun, Shangyuan Zi had learned that Dr. Zhang Minglu was Guan Tong’s liaison with the North Star Strategy Research Room.

"That’s him."

Guan Tong read Zhang Minglu’s message, his expression surprised.

"Mind Network... Come on, Shangyuan. Let’s go."

Shangyuan Zi got up and followed Guan Tong out of the tavern, back to the room they had rented.

"Zhang Minglu told me the Human Federation asked that alien black sludge the question of ’how to identify Parasites.’ The only part of its answer that humans could understand was ’Mind Network’."

"The Mind Network can identify Parasites?"

Shangyuan Zi was also surprised to hear this, failing to see the connection between the two.

She guessed, "Is it just a way to filter out ordinary people?"

Only Ascenders could use the Mind Network, and the vast majority of Parasites were transformed from ordinary people. If the Mind Network could be re-established, then with ordinary people excluded, those within the network could trust one another.

"Not necessarily," said Guan Tong. "Ascenders are rare, but some of them have been turned into Parasites too. Even if the Mind Network is restarted..."

He paused, then added uncertainly, "Could it be that an Ascender who’s become a Parasite can no longer form a Mind Network with a normal Ascender? Is that the key to telling them apart?"

Shangyuan Zi asked, "Does Zhang Minglu have a way to re-establish the Mind Network?"

"Not yet. He just said some Academician Han at the research room proposed gathering the world’s top Ascenders for a test."

"That would definitely include you. Are you going to agree to it?"

"If it were just Zhang Minglu asking, I might agree. But this Academician Han... Even though he’s from the research room, I’ve never crossed paths with him. I don’t trust him."

"Then refuse."

Shangyuan Zi was quite decisive. Ever since Mizusawa Chun’s death, she seemed to have moved past many things, becoming more direct in both her words and actions.

"That was my plan. Especially since Zhang Minglu implied I’d have to go to the Strategy Research Room’s base to participate in the test, which is out of the question."

Shangyuan Zi nodded. She knew Guan Tong was still looking for a chance to ask the Alien Intelligence a question, so he definitely wouldn’t leave Sisiya to return to North Star right now.

"However, we can test it ourselves," Guan Tong said, looking at Shangyuan Zi. "The upper limits of our Psychic Power rank among the highest of all Ascenders in the world. If we fail, it’ll prove this path is a dead end."

"Alright."

Wasting no time, they decided to try.

Establishing the Mind Network had originally been extremely simple. All it required was for two people’s Psychic Power to make contact while they both held the thought ’establish network’ in their minds.

Guan Tong held out his hand, and Shangyuan Zi removed her glove, revealing a palm completely covered in scales.

Her Psychic Power could flow freely across the scales, while Guan Tong, using Psychic Power Flow, could concentrate his Psychic Power into his hand as a form of energy.

After they clasped hands, they both thought in unison: ’Establish Mind Network.’