Wei Guang Xing Hai (located on the outer rim of the Gray Scorpion Galaxy).

The vast star sea twinkled with starlight, as dazzling and beautiful as a galaxy of stars.

Deep within, a jellyfish-like planetary fortress, emitting a soft halo, came into view. Its massive jellyfish head was covered with openings that could open and close at will, easily accommodating countless ships. From its bottom hung branch-like mechanical tentacles, undulating incessantly.

Its internal area was filled with bizarre, uneven buildings of various styles.

This was the Sleeper, the proud planetary fortress of the Everlasting Slumber Clan, the Hemwos.

At the very core of the Sleeper fortress stood a grand hall constructed of a special silver metal. In the center of the hall sat a humanoid creature three meters tall, with an unusually large and swollen head, which was transparent and clear. Inside, one could see strands of nerves emitting spots of light that flowed. Its features were ugly, its forehead extremely protruding, its face sharp. It wore a loose black robe, and its three-fingered hand gripped a special mechanical scepter. It sat upon a mechanical throne.

Upon closer inspection, one would notice that the back of its head was connected to faint neural tendrils. These neural tendrils extended backward, eventually reaching the top of the hall, connecting to the entire fortress.

Beside it, on the right, stood several Hemwos, slightly smaller in stature.

And on the left stood a human wearing a brown mask and bizarrely patterned mechanical armor, who said respectfully.

"Great Thinker, Mankati, I am very pleased that you could grace us with your presence. To show my sincerity, I happen to have a worthless subordinate who has stumbled upon some interesting finds, which I can offer to you."

"Interesting? Xiluo Ke, I hope your suggestion does not disappoint us."

Mankati slowly uttered in a deep voice.

"Rest assured, Great One."

A subtle, almost imperceptible, strange light flashed in Xiluo Ke's eyes.

Before long, Lu Lawei walked in, a humble expression on his face, and bowed to Mankati.

"Great Thinker."

"You are the worthless subordinate Xiluo Ke spoke of? I heard you brought us a gift?"

Mankati asked with some interest.

"That's right. Please allow your people to bring up the gift I have brought."

Lu Lawei said humbly.

"Mm."

Mankati replied slowly.

Just then, three middle-aged men, bound by beams of energy and with terrified expressions on their faces, were brought in. They looked around in horror, their bodies trembling uncontrollably.

"This is the gift you speak of?"

Mankati's gaze swept over the three present, asking without a trace of emotion.

"That's right."

Lu Lawei replied respectfully.

At this moment, the subordinate standing beside Mankati let out a mocking laugh.

"I thought it was some important gift, but it turns out you've brought three of your companions. What use is this? Barely enough to fill a tooth."

"No, no, honored sirs, you misunderstand. These three are not our companions, but are from a newly emerged civilization, the Federation."

Lu Lawei quickly explained.

"Hmph, those Star Ring City fellows are truly shameless and cunning. They're starting to summon cannon fodder again."

Hearing Lu Lawei's words, the Hemwos present let out a trace of angry murmurs.

"Xiluo Ke, is this the gift you spoke of, a bad news? Star Ring City is up to its old tricks again, using cannon fodder to take the hits, and then screening out the elites to absorb."

Mankati looked towards Xiluo Ke.

"The Thinker is right. Star Ring City is just that filthy and shameless. That is why the great Thinker, you are our only hope. It is our honor to serve you. However, the gift Lu Lawei brought is not so simple. I believe it will definitely interest you, Great Thinker."

"Are you sure? Something that can interest me?"

Mankati seemed to perk up with a trace of interest.

Lu Lawei then said humbly, "Great Thinker, one of these three people from the Federation knows clues about negative energy crystals."

"You speak of the crystals of the Negative God?"

Hearing Lu Lawei's words, a trace of change appeared in Mankati's gaze.

"Of course. Besides that kind of thing, what else could catch your eye? However, the three of them are very uncooperative and unwilling to speak, which is a bit of a problem."

Lu Lawei quickly explained.

In fact, these three people were all secretly sent to Lu Lawei by Mai Han for him to interrogate.

"Great Thinker, rest assured, leave the interrogation to me. Just give me some time."

Xiluo Ke said confidently.

"No need for such trouble. We can handle it ourselves. Bring them forward."

Mankati rejected Xiluo Ke's suggestion.

So the Hemwos soldiers holding the three men directly dragged them forward.

"What are you going to do..."

"We really don't know anything."

"Have mercy."

...

The three men pleaded in fear, their faces filled with terror. All three wore translation metal pieces, so they could naturally understand what everyone present was saying. Even the dumbest person would know that these monsters were going to harm them.

But it was useless. Mankati slowly raised his right hand and tapped each of the three men on the forehead with a fingertip.

"No!"

...

The three screamed in horror.

In the next second, a magical scene appeared. The bodies of the three men began to undergo special changes.

Their skin began to turn transparent. In the next second, their internal organs and bones began to decompose. However, all the neural pathways were preserved and emitted a green fluorescence.

And Mankati, as if able to resonate with the nerves within their bodies, frantically read their memories. From their birth, growth, to the present, all their memories were read.

Whether it was personal knowledge, where they came from, the structure of their civilization, what they had experienced, and so on, nothing was missed.

After doing all this, Mankati withdrew his hand, his expression slightly moved.

The ground cracked open, and three transparent glass cylinders rose up to align with the three men, containing them. Then, a viscous blue liquid was injected, completely submerging them. In an instant, the three became special specimen carriers.

And this technology and ability was precisely the special signature ability of the Mankati clan. They never killed their captives. They only made their enemies into special intelligent carriers.

Preserving all their neural circuits, then providing them with sustenance.

Letting them live in a virtual world, endlessly providing the Hemwos clan with a steady stream of products of intellectual crystallization.

In a sense, they were miniature biological brains, endlessly enslaved.

This was also an important reason why the Hemwos were called the Everlasting Slumber Clan.

Seeing Mankati's methods, Lu Lawei lowered his head slightly, not daring to look Mankati directly in the eye. If he gave the other party a bad feeling, if he got hit, he would be finished.