Chapter 104: The Sha Sect Has Arrived

After hearing Lianna’s report, Ye Hai’s expression grew exceptionally grim.

The scope of these thefts was very clear.

Since the camp’s establishment and the start of construction, few unfamiliar faces had appeared around the perimeter.

Now, discrepancies had arisen in the supplies.

It was impossible for an external force to be responsible.

That left only one possibility: there was an internal problem within the Reaper Organization.

Embezzlement from within was absolutely intolerable.

Moreover, he had taken great risks to rescue these people from the clutches of ART-2.

They lacked nothing in food, drink, or necessities; their children were even given the chance to return to school.

And yet, in just a few days, someone was betraying that trust by stealing supplies?

How could Ye Hai tolerate this?

Being new to the position, Ye Hai did not want to draw too much attention and had refrained from using bioweapons to guard these crucial warehouses.

Firstly, he did not want the Timber Forest inhabitants to discern his true strength.

Secondly, it also provided some employment opportunities for the organization.

But the reward for such generosity was this kind of betrayal.

Suddenly, an intense chill radiated from Ye Hai, making both Qiao and Lianna feel their spines grow cold.

“Investigate!”

“This matter must be thoroughly uncovered…”

“In just a few days, no external enemies have appeared, yet we have such a big rat within our own ranks!”

“I want to see exactly who has the audacity to do such a thing.”

“With such a large quantity of supplies transferred, I refuse to believe they left no trace whatsoever.”

“Qiao, you’ve been working hard lately. Go to the Timber Forest black market and find out if any faction has received a substantial amount of supplies!”

“Our goods are extremely conspicuous—whether winter provisions or the high-energy weapons from Giant Tree Star, they are unique!”

“The stolen batch can only be offloaded in the black market.”

“If we find any faction dealing in large quantities of our supplies, we can follow the trail!”

Upon hearing Ye Hai’s orders, Qiao nodded without hesitation and immediately set off for the Timber Forest.

Qiao understood well that without clarifying the whereabouts of this batch of supplies and rooting out the internal pests, the organization would suffer tremendous harm.

After watching Qiao depart, Ye Hai pondered briefly.

He then looked up and instructed Lianna, “Do not make the warehouse theft public!”

“Have Lister handle it—use the nanobots he controls to monitor all guards of these three warehouses!”

“Anyone who has approached the warehouses within the last few months must be covered by the surveillance…”

“Then secretly move the Lickers and Tyrants into the warehouses.”

“Hide them in the ceiling cavities and underground…”

“If those rats reach out again, arrest them immediately.”

“Also, have Mr. Big Lung take several zombie dogs and Lickers—bioweapons extremely sensitive to scent—to collect odors at the warehouses…”

“See if we can track the direction of the stolen supplies.”

“Everything else remains as usual.”

Lianna nodded and promptly began preparations following Ye Hai’s commands.

After Lianna and Qiao left, Ye Hai fell into deep thought.

He could not fathom the motives of these thieves.

There is always a cause behind an effect.

What was the true purpose of these thieves?

Were they merely reselling a batch of supplies?

But they could hardly gain much profit from selling these goods…

On Zombie Star, all trade was conducted through barter—no currency existed.

Trading such a large batch of supplies would yield a sizable amount of goods in return, making concealment difficult.

Ye Hai could not imagine what they hoped to exchange for.

Wood?

Impossible. Such materials only held value for factions that had contact with alien merchants.

For ordinary survivors, they were worthless.

Moreover, the traces from exchanging large quantities of wood would be too conspicuous to hide.

Food?

Also unlikely. Intelligence gathered by Qiao indicated that the entire Timber Forest black market survivors—regardless of whether they were followers of the Shesha sect—were living in great hardship.

Even the direct guards of the cult leader had far less abundant food than the most ordinary members of the Reaper Organization.

Weapons?

Even less likely. The Reaper Organization’s warehouses had surplus arms.

After resupply during the migration, Nangong had brought enough weapons for the Reaper Organization.

Though Ye Hai had forbidden the use of any gunpowder or energy weapons within the camp, the ample weaponry ensured that each member could be armed.

If conflict arose, they could retrieve hidden firearms from home and fight.

The quality of weapons from Giant Tree Star and the Talan Army was superb.

At the very least, it was certainly not inferior to the equipment in the hands of several Shesha sect’s cult leaders.

So… here lay the problem.

If this batch of supplies was not intended for resale… then what was its ultimate use?

This was the aspect Ye Hai could least comprehend.

But if the thieves had not resold the goods, before they struck again, it was very likely that nothing could be traced.

Since they dared to steal and yet no major anomaly had appeared in the camp, their methods must have surpassed all imagination.

Inventory checks were conducted monthly.

If the theft did not occur in recent days, all scent traces would have vanished without a trace.

Ye Hai’s arrangements might prove completely ineffective.

Rubbing his tense temples, Ye Hai shook his head helplessly and set the matter aside for the time being.

In a few days, Nangong’s people would arrive, bringing not only the supplies needed by the Reaper Organization but also an exploration team.

The Talan Army was ready to begin exploiting Zombie Star.

According to Javier’s introduction, there were many rare metals deep underground on Zombie Star.

These could be utilized in numerous technological fields.

Since the biochemical outbreak on Zombie Star, these rare metals could only be mined in asteroid belts on the outskirts of the Leviathan star system, such as the Corin Belt.

This vast asteroid belt was under the control of Sea Wolf Star.

It was one of Sea Wolf Star’s pillar industries.

One significant purpose for Giant Tree Star and the Talan Army in developing Zombie Star was to obtain these rare metals, which were widely used in space warships.

This would break Sea Wolf Star’s monopoly and blockade.

Just as Ye Hai was considering how to allocate personnel to protect these explorers, a soldier hurried to his residence and reported:

“Lord Ye Hai, over a dozen people have arrived outside, claiming to be envoys of Qi Beishan, the Blue-Robed Cult Leader of the Shesha sect…”

“They want to see you!”

“They are currently being held by our men at the camp entrance…”

“How do you wish to handle this group?”

Ye Hai was momentarily stunned, murmuring, “People from the Blue-Robed Cult Leader? What could be their purpose at this time?”

“Disarm them completely and bring them here…”