Soon, Iron Guards entered from the rear cargo hold, showing no intention of helping.

Once all the mechs returned, the cargo hold doors began to close.

By this time, the large transport ship had already ascended to a thousand meters.

The Kuihu mech vigorously swung its chain gun, sweeping across and cleanly eliminating the surrounding harassing monsters. With a sharp tug, it retracted the chain gun.

Then, the rear thrusters roared to life, propelling it towards the large transport ship. A dedicated entrance on the side of the transport ship quickly opened, and the Kuihu rushed inside, entering its designated hangar.

At that moment, the large transport ship's engines roared to full power, speeding towards space.

Inside the cargo hold, the returning rescue team members opened their mech cockpits and jumped out one by one.

The survivors, Zemo and the others, approached, offering their heartfelt thanks.

"Thank you so much for the rescue! If you hadn't arrived in time, we would have been finished. How should we address you?"

However, the elite officers before them merely glanced at Zemo and the others, responding calmly.

"You're welcome."

With that, they headed towards the inner cabin, showing no interest in idle chatter.

Xiao Wen and Su Mo also approached.

"Hello, brothers, I'm Colonel Xiao Wen. Thank you very much for the rescue!"

Xiao Wen sincerely expressed his gratitude.

The leading captain couldn't help but take another look at Xiao Wen, his attitude softening slightly as he said.

"It's our duty, no thanks needed."

"Could we ask which unit you belong to? And which superior officer personally came to rescue us, so we can thank them in person?"

Xiao Wen asked curiously.

Currently, anyone piloting a third-generation mech was a general-level officer, and a very important one at that.

In fact, Xiao Wen and the others were somewhat flattered.

It was equivalent to General Mai Han of the Third Army personally coming to the rescue.

"Colonel Xiao Wen, we belong to General Zhao Wushuang's direct unit in the First Army. And you don't need to thank us. It was Lord Wang Hai who asked our general to come to the rescue. I must say, Colonel Xiao Wen, you have a lot of influence."

The captain couldn't help but give Xiao Wen another look as he spoke.

"Wang Hai?"

Everyone present was stunned to hear the name.

"That's right. Well, we need to go to the inner cabin to rest. Goodbye!"

Then they headed inside.

Xiao Wen and the others exchanged glances, unsure of what to say.

Chen Shan snapped back to reality and said excitedly to Xiao Wen, "Old Xiao, is he talking about that young, incredibly strong, high-ranking, handsome guy who's the perfect idol in the hearts of countless girls—Wang Hai?"

"Probably. Besides him, I don't think anyone could ask General Zhao Wushuang to do anything."

Xiao Wen said hesitantly.

Zhao Wushuang was a veteran general, and used to be his direct superior. His strength and position were both extremely important.

Su Mo pondered for a moment and said, "Are you talking about the one who received the First Class Merit award at the awards ceremony? He is quite handsome."

"Su Mo, you probably don't know much about Wang Hai. Let me tell you, he's super awesome. He's famous and well-known within the military. Forget it, let's not talk about that. Old Xiao, you're something else. I didn't expect you to have so much influence, to get Wang Hai to rescue us. Did you guys know each other before?"

Chen Shan wiggled his eyebrows as he asked.

"What influence? I know him, but he doesn't necessarily know me. Also, I just requested help normally. I didn't expect it to be Wang Hai who sent help. I feel like it's just a coincidence. Maybe the rescue mission was assigned to him, and he just happened to be busy, so he asked Zhao Wushuang to do it."

Xiao Wen said, gradually calming down. His thoughts were still a bit confused.

"It seems like that's the only explanation that makes sense. But Xiao Wen, are you sure you're not fooling us? Or did you know Wang Hai before?"

Chen Shan still found it a bit hard to believe.

"I told you, I really don't know what's going on."

Xiao Wen was really starting to feel like he couldn't explain himself.

......

The surviving Zemo and the others, while shocked, were also filled with envy.

Having such good relationships and connections was also a kind of capital.

But while they were envious, they didn't say anything. After all, they had benefited a little this time.

Meanwhile, in the hangar, Qian Chengxue piloted the Kuihu back. She opened the cockpit and jumped down, a hint of joy on her face. She was eager to see Su Mo in the cargo hold. But as she took a step, she suddenly stopped in place. Some memories surfaced in her mind, and she felt a bit dazed for a moment. Her heart was a little chaotic.

She really wanted to go to the rear cargo hold to meet Su Mo, but she hesitated. A complex expression appeared on her cold face.

She remembered that day when she waited for him for a whole day and night, but never got to see him.

Maybe he really liked Lin Zinuo, that's why he didn't reply to her messages.

Why should she bother him with her own feelings?

In the end, she sighed.

"Forget it."

But for some reason, Qian Chengxue felt unusually lost and heavy, inexplicably sad...

......

Several hours later.

Inside the cargo hold, Su Mo and the others were chatting and laughing.

After escaping death, everyone's tense nerves relaxed, and everyone seemed very excited.

At this time, a broadcast sounded.

"Dear companions, we are about to return to the Black Obsidian. We will then arrive at the L01 Special Operations Hangar. At that time, please act in accordance with the Black Obsidian's wartime rules and follow all return regulations..."

"Xiao Wen, are we almost there? Is there a mandatory quarantine inspection?"

Su Mo asked curiously.

"Yes, under normal circumstances, we need to be quarantined for three days. Of course, if you're just temporarily returning for rest and still have missions to do, and you don't enter the interior of the Black Obsidian, you don't need to be quarantined. You can set off directly after resting."

Xiao Wen explained the rules to Su Mo.

"These rules are well-established. They don't delay anything and are reasonable."

Su Mo replied, agreeing.

-------------------------------------------------- -

Inside the Black Obsidian's operations room.

An operator urgently reported to Sperder: "Reporting, Lord Sperder, the captain of the 17th Division of the First Army, operating in the royal capital of Planet Batak, has sent an urgent inquiry. The Flying Fish, which was scheduled to transfer supplies, has not arrived. They are now under attack by monsters, and the situation is very urgent."

Sperder frowned and asked, "Where is the Flying Fish? Is there a problem?"

"The Flying Fish is returning and has just applied for an entry permit."

Another operator replied, looking confused.

"Nonsense! Check what mission the Flying Fish just performed."

Sperder was also very annoyed. It was obvious that the Flying Fish had not followed the planned operational mission.

"Report! The Flying Fish just performed rescue mission number 132."

An operator reported back.

"A bit of a mess, but it's normal to prioritize rescue missions, especially since it happened suddenly. The top priority is to get the Flying Fish to complete its scheduled mission as soon as possible."

Li Ruiqi suddenly spoke, already cursing Zhao Wushuang in his heart for screwing things up.

In a sense, this was already disobeying military orders, but Li Ruiqi couldn't let Sperder get angry. So he quickly smoothed things over and took over the situation.

"Let the Flying Fish carry out its mission immediately."

Although Sperder was a little displeased, he didn't say anything more. After all, he couldn't say that it was wrong to prioritize saving people.

......

In the L01 special operations area, the Flying Fish slowly entered and then docked.

The rear hatch slowly opened.

Su Mo and the others, piloting their damaged mechs, walked off the ship and then opened their cockpits and jumped down. Looking at the noisy hangar, everyone took a deep breath of relief.

They were finally back alive.

At that moment, many soldiers silently wiped away tears.

Su Mo also deeply felt that it wasn't easy. Just then, several officers ran over.

They pleaded with Su Mo and Xiao Wen.

"Brothers, sorry to bother you. We are officers from the Third Army, [Division Name]. Many of our brothers are trapped on Planet Batak. Can you help us rescue them? They were originally from the 64th Army of the Z country."

"Can you also save my brother? My brother is missing, and his situation is even more urgent."

.....

Before Su Mo and the others could figure out what was going on, they were surrounded by a group of officers.

Chen Shan quickly explained, "Sorry, we can't carry out any rescue missions right now. We ourselves were rescued. And the mechs are almost completely damaged. Look, if you don't believe us."

"This..."

"Ah~"

.....

The officers who had gathered around showed expressions of extreme disappointment, one by one.

"Xiao Wen, something doesn't seem right."

Su Mo keenly noticed the abnormality.

Xiao En looked around and found that there were many officers waiting for returning ships, all looking for acquaintances and asking them to rescue their loved ones.

Although they were all rescue missions, there was a difference in who was rescued first.

Also, although the Federation had merged, everyone was family. But in this situation, normal people would favor people they knew, because people weren't cold-blooded animals.

.....

"It seems the situation on Planet Batak is even worse than we thought."

"Are you saying that Wang Hai specifically asked someone to save us?"

Su Mo snapped back to reality and replied.

"Most likely, that's right."

Xiao Wen nodded in response.

"Then why did he do that? Should we find a chance to ask him?"

Chen Shan asked.

Xiao Wen said in annoyance, "Do you think we can just see Wang Hai whenever we want? And don't question Wang Hai's motives. Although we don't know him, based on his past actions, he is an extremely upright person and worthy of trust."

"That's true. Then, Old Xiao, are we going to quarantine next?"

Chen Shan scratched his head.

"Yes, our current state is too bad. And we don't have mechs or ships, so we can't go on missions."

Xiao Wen nodded.

"Okay!"

Chen Shan responded.

At this moment, Su Mo felt like someone was watching him, so he turned his head back.

He was slightly taken aback. He saw that the third-generation mech, Kuihu, was standing directly at the cargo hold door, looking in their direction.

Su Mo had a slight illusion that the other party seemed to be looking at him.

Inside the Kuihu cockpit, Qian Chengxue's expression grew even dimmer as she saw Su Mo looking at her.

Just then, the communication device rang with the voice of Zhao Wushuang's adjutant, Jiang Heng.

"Miss Qian Chengxue, the superiors have issued an urgent order to send the Flying Fish back to the royal capital of Planet Batak to carry out the unfinished operational mission. The general is dealing with other matters and doesn't have time to come over. Can you help us with another mission?"

"No problem."

Qian Chengxue agreed without hesitation.

"Thank you so much."

"I should be thanking you."

After Qian Chengxue finished speaking, she hung up the communication. She took a deep breath and couldn't help but look at Su Mo again before controlling the Kuihu to return to the cargo hold.

At this time, the other members of the Flying Fish boarded the ship one after another.

The hatch quickly began to close, and the ship was about to set sail again.

"Su Mo, Su Mo..."

"What's wrong?"

Su Mo suddenly came back to his senses and said.

"What are you spacing out about? It's time to go."

Chen Shan asked, puzzled.

Gu Jiu [missing word] "Oh, maybe I'm just a little too tired."

Su Mo replied with a smile.

"You really worked hard this time. After the inspection, we can rest well in the quarantine room. And we can have a good meal and never have to eat those damn nutrient bars again."

Chen Shan comforted him.

Ever since nutrient bars were invented, basically everyone ate them during combat, even if there were other options.

Because eating this stuff didn't easily cause stomach problems, and it could greatly reduce the number of times people needed to go to the bathroom.

It could be said that it had many advantages, but the disadvantages were also obvious.

Eating too much of it was really unbearable.

"Wait a minute."

Su Mo suddenly called out to Chen Shan and Xiao Wen.

"What's wrong?"

The two stopped and looked at Su Mo, puzzled.

Su Mo thought for a moment and then said, "I picked up a pretty-looking rock during this mission. Would that be considered a violation of the rules? Should I hand it over?"

As he spoke, he took out the strange stone from his pocket.

Xiao Wen took it and looked at it for a few seconds, feeling that it was quite high-end and should be worth a lot of money.

"Chen Shan!"

"Leave it to me."

As he spoke, Chen Shan took the stone and ran towards his Iron Guard mech.

Xiao Wen said to Su Mo.

"I'll say hello to the mech pilots in the maintenance crew later. Normally, it's not allowed to bring things up privately. But actually, everyone who goes down to work carries some things, more or less. As long as it's not too much, they usually turn a blind eye."

"I understand."

Su Mo nodded.

Soon, Chen Shan ran back and said with a smile, "Done!"

Before long, Su Mo and the others arrived in the area on the right, where the GT department had set up a giant inspection station.

Only those who passed the inspection could enter the internal quarantine area.

And, unusually, there were two second-generation mechs and fully armed soldiers guarding the area.

There were a lot of people coming for inspection, and they were all lined up in a long queue. Everyone's face was filled with happy smiles. The people who came here had all gone through hardships to return alive.

Su Mo followed Chen Shan and the others to line up for inspection. Looking at the giant inspection equipment inside the transparent inspection station, he felt a little nervous.

The equipment here seemed to be much more advanced than the equipment that Fendi had. From the outside, it looked a bit like an MRI. People could just lie down inside.

Just then, there was a commotion inside the inspection station.

An officer took advantage of the doctor's inattention and rushed out of the inspection station.

A doctor followed closely behind and shouted to the guarding soldiers outside, "Catch him! He's been infected!"

Instantly, the soldiers guarding the inspection station rushed up and directly restrained the fleeing officer.

"Don't move!"

The officer struggled desperately and shouted in horror, "I'm not injured! Your tests are wrong! I don't want to be quarantined!!! You'll send me to the crematorium! You're not treating me, you're murdering me! I don't want to die!"

The desperate shout caused a commotion.

Many people nearby were attracted by the commotion, and everyone looked at each other with bewildered expressions.

The doctor who had rushed out immediately took out a tranquilizer and quickly injected it into the officer.

Soon, the officer's eyes began to glaze over, and he quickly lost consciousness.

"Send him to a separate treatment room."

"Yes!"

The guarding soldiers replied.

Perhaps sensing that the atmosphere wasn't right, the doctor turned to look at the people watching around him and forced a wry smile, saying, "Everyone, disperse. He's just a little too nervous. Nothing's wrong."

The onlookers grew even more silent, and the people queuing for inspection couldn't help but show worried expressions.

The excited and joyful expressions on their faces instantly vanished.

Before long, it was Su Mo's turn. A young female doctor began to verify Su Mo's identity.

"Name."

"Su Mo."

"Position."

"External consultant."

......

Soon, the verification was over. The female doctor said to Su Mo, "Please take out everything you're carrying. We will register and verify them for you. Then, please enter the examination room for examination."

Su Mo handed over the automatic pistol and nutrient bars in his pocket and walked into the examination room.

Following the instructions of the doctor inside, he lay down in the equipment, and the examination began.

Soon, the results came out. Everything was normal.

The doctor who performed the examination said to Su Mo, "Officer Su Mo, your test numbers are fine for now. Please go ahead. There is a disinfection room where you will be disinfected. Also, you need to change out of the protective clothing and clothes you are wearing. There are clean clothes in the disinfection room. If the clothes you are taking off are of special significance, please throw them into the designated washing slot. If they are of no significance, then throw them into the incinerator."

"Okay."

Su Mo nodded in response.

Half an hour later, Su Mo completed all the procedures.

He finally arrived at an isolation room constructed of high-strength glass, with a bed, a TV, and everything else.

Although the glass was transparent, there was a switch on the headboard that could adjust the color of the glass, completely turning it into a room with excellent privacy.

"Su Mo!"

Chen Shan walked into the isolated room to his left and waved to him.

"Chen Shan."

Su Mo smiled. It seemed that he was lucky, and the quarantine wouldn't be too boring.

........

-------------------------------------------------- -

Three days later, inside the Black Obsidian's command room.

Li Ruiqi reported to Sperder: "The last transport ship has returned, and all the working personnel teams that could be contacted have returned. However, more than forty-three military working teams and sixty-three Kai Tuo Corporation working personnel are completely missing. The probability of annihilation is more than 90%, but the possibility of survivors cannot be ruled out."

Sperder took a deep breath and said, "I officially announce the end of Project Thief. I am deeply sorry for the companions who could not return. Let's set sail!"

It wasn't that Sperder was ruthless, but the scale of their operation this time was a bit too large.

He had a strong premonition that if they didn't evacuate, big problems might occur, and the Black Obsidian itself might be threatened.

"Understood."

Li Ruiqi replied after a few seconds of silence.

"Putemi, I will entrust you with the aftermath. After a while, we will personally hold a memorial service."

Sperder stood up and said to Putemi.

"Understood."

Putemi replied respectfully.

Then Sperder turned to look at Di Lier.

"Mr. Di Lier, please come with me."

"Okay."

Di Lier said with a slightly uneasy expression. Now that the mission was over, and based on the information received so far, the operation, although with many casualties, also had considerable gains.

Especially since that thing was obtained. Now it was time to divide the spoils.

It was impossible for him not to be apprehensive. There were too many people who had turned their backs on others since ancient times.

Soon after, Sperder took Di Lier to the Special Operations Conference Room, which was as heavily guarded as ever.

After verifying their identities, the door opened.

Sperder and Di Lier walked in, and they saw Auglas was already inside. In front of him stood a mechanical pillar, and on top of the pillar was a special black box, which was covered by an energy shield.

This box was the one Kevin had taken from the national treasury's secret room.

After seeing the box, a trace of uncontrollable greed appeared on Di Lier's old face, but reason quickly suppressed it.

Good as the thing was, life was more important.

Auglas and Sperder looked at each other, nodded, and then activated the interstellar remote communication device.

Before long, the communication was successfully established.

The virtual images of Long Ming and Yse Lin appeared.

Auglas and Sperder saluted Long Ming.

"Chairman!"

"How did things go?"

"Although there were some accidents in the middle, it was generally smooth, and we got the thing."

Sperder said in a deep voice.

"Very good. Open it!"

Long Ming said directly.

Sperder stepped forward, waved his hand, and summoned a virtual operating platform to operate from a distance.

Two small mechanical hands extended out and opened the black box. Inside, quietly lying, was a square metal black box covered in patterns. The black box exuded a faint black halo.

For some reason, the black halo made Sperder and others feel a little uncomfortable, but also extremely eager.

Then Sperder controlled the mechanical arm to carefully open the black box.

Inside the black box, a black crystal shard floated up. The entire crystal shard constantly emitted a black halo.

Looking at the black crystal shard, Di Lier's old face twitched constantly.

Long Ming turned to look at Di Lier and said, "Mr. Di Lier, shouldn't you explain to us what this is and what it's used for?"

Di Lier took a deep breath, calmed his fluctuating emotions, and said bitterly, "We call this thing a negative energy crystal shard. We don't know its specific use. We only know that this thing will attract a large number of monsters, and monsters that devour this crystal will evolve and become exceptionally powerful."

Hearing this, Sperder and Auglas's faces instantly turned very ugly. Wasn't this a bomb?

Long Ming thought for a few seconds and replied, "Mr. Di Lier, we are being honest with you. I hope you think carefully about what this thing is used for. Have you forgotten something?"

Di Lier's face twitched upon hearing Long Ming's words. He naturally understood the warning in Long Ming's words. He sighed.

"Chairman Long Ming, I'm really not lying. I really don't know the specific use of this thing. But one thing I can tell you is that this thing is definitely a good thing, because Star Ring City recycles this thing, and the price is extremely high. Each of these shards can be exchanged for 10 billion Star Coins!"

Hearing Di Lier's words, Sperder and others also jumped in their hearts. This thing was so valuable.

"Really?"

"Of course, it's true. Actually, we didn't know this thing was so valuable at first. We only learned about it after coming here, through the mouths of the remaining personnel from the former Cup of Heaven. To tell you the truth, you are the third batch of selected participants in the Cup of Heaven, and we are the second batch. Before that, there was another batch of selected participants in the Cup of Heaven. And this crystal was discovered by the first batch of participants. It is said that only the first batch of participants knew its purpose. But this cannot be verified, and the first batch of participants are basically all dead. But none of this is important. The important thing is that Star Ring City is willing to spend so much money to recycle this thing. You can imagine how precious it is."

Di Lier replied. He actually felt infinite regret in his heart. If he could have taken this thing with him when he escaped, the money he could have exchanged would have been enough for himself and his family to live in Star Ring City until they died.

"Chairman Long Ming, how about we sell this thing? It just so happens that we can exchange it for urgently needed supplies."

Sperder said excitedly.

Long Ming shook his head. "Our current situation is still good. There's no need to sell it so quickly. Mr. Di Lier is right about one thing. Anything that even Star Ring City wants must have extraordinary uses. People must have foresight. We can't rely on Star Ring to survive forever. Let's keep it and study it first. We can consider selling it if we really can't hold on any longer."

Long Ming replied simply.

"I agree. I think Long Ming makes a lot of sense."

Auglas nodded heavily in response.

"Okay, how are the other aspects of this operation going?"

Long Ming asked about other matters.

"The harvest is quite rich."

Sperder replied simply.

Long Ming turned to look at Di Lier and said, "Mr. Di Lier, thank you very much for providing assistance. You have made a great contribution to the successful completion of this mission. According to the agreement, I will have them allocate 5% of the proceeds to you. Of course, this crystal is not included in the distribution. I think you can understand that, right?"

Di Lier's face suddenly became a little unnatural, and then he replied helplessly.

"Okay."

"Also, I don't want anyone else to know about this. If it leaks, you understand. Well, that's all for now. I look forward to your next performance."

Long Ming stared at Di Lier, a trace of murderous intent flashing in his eyes.

Di Lier couldn't help but shudder and replied quickly.

"Okay, okay!"

It wasn't that Long Ming wanted to warn Di Lier, but he had been watching this guy the whole time since just now. He noticed the trace of greed that flashed in Di Lier's eyes, so he decided to give him a good warning.

........