Chapter 117: The Arrival of the Four Great Stars

After rounding up the Dusa Resistance fighters who had been terrified out of their wits, Ye Hai and Qiao escorted the six or seven hundred survivors toward their camp.

This force of two thousand had been cut nearly in half by the slaughter inflicted by Ye Hai and Qiao. After accounting for those who had fled, this was the number that remained. Although Ye Hai had failed to capture the psychic who used the portal that night, he had no reason for dissatisfaction. After all, the scattered fugitives would never realize that a portion of their number had been implanted with parasites. Ye Hai had already programmed these parasites to activate in a few days. Once they were triggered, he would be able to pinpoint the location of the Dusa Resistance’s headquarters, allowing him to wipe them all out in one fell swoop. He looked forward to the possibility of more psychics appearing at their main base.

After a long night of work, the inventory of captives was finally complete. In a single battle, the Dusa Resistance had provided the Corpse Hunter organization with two thousand human assets. Ye Hai was very pleased with this result. He prepared to transport them using the sea urchin-like vessels, intending to implant the parasites while en route to rendezvous with Javier and the others.

Ye Hai felt not an ounce of sympathy for these people. From the moment Lapulaxin mentioned that the Dusa Resistance had slaughtered the elderly and children, their fate as cannon fodder and test subjects had been sealed. Perhaps not everyone among them had committed such atrocities, but Ye Hai had no interest in sifting for pearls in a pile of excrement. However, he was quite interested in recruiting the psychics within the Dusa Resistance into his organization, as they would further bolster the organization’s strength.

After resting for a few hours, Ye Hai set out again for the Black Market in the Ironwood Forest as the sky began to brighten.

***

"Sir, there was a fierce battle here!"

"You can find traces of experimental mechs all over the mountaintop!"

"But the fighting at the base of the mountain seems rather peculiar..."

"There are vast amounts of human and mutant remains!"

"It seems this human settlement was wiped out by a mutant swarm not long ago!"

Amidst the ruins of the Prati Black Market—the former territory of the Corpse Hunter organization—a group of uninvited guests had arrived. This force of two hundred soldiers each possessed a powerful and sophisticated mech. These humanoid mechs stood over three meters tall; though their designs varied, every one of them bore a lion-head emblem on the right arm and a four-leaf clover on the left.

If Javier were here, he would have recognized them instantly: the lion head was the symbol of Sirius, and the four-leaf clover was the crest of the Broli family. This group was a mech cavalier regiment from the Broli family of the Four Star system of Sirius. Sirius was a federal regime controlled by a few prominent families, and the Broli family was among the most elite. The prototype antimatter mech that Sirius had plundered from the Zombie Planet was in their possession.

The Broli family served as the primary weapons developer for Sirius. The family consisted of scientists and weapons experts. Over the years, they had become obsessed with the research of antimatter mechs. While they had yet to replicate an antimatter mech suitable for human use, they had accumulated a vast amount of experience and technology by studying the mech, which far exceeded the technological level of a galactic civilization. Under the Broli family’s diligent research, Sirius had become the first planet in the Leviathan system to equip its entire military with mechs, possessing formidable ground combat capabilities.

The mech Ye Hai had stripped from Kobayashi was a product of the Broli family, though it was a "Mark I" model that had been phased out years ago. If it hadn't been to test the practical combat effects of integrating stealth coatings with mechs, Kobayashi would have only obtained a "Mark 0," the same as his subordinates—that thing was a relic from twenty years ago. It was one of the first batches of inferior products produced by the Broli family after they acquired the antimatter mech.

Hearing his subordinate’s report, the lead cavalier flicked the subordinate on the forehead and said with dissatisfaction:

"Remember, we are no longer federal soldiers."

"We are merely private troops of the Broli family!"

"So, stop calling me 'Sir'—you can call me 'Boss' or 'Chief'!"

"The cavaliers accompanying us this time are all members of the Broli family."

"Remember, everything you see on this trip to the Zombie Planet is to be treated as the family's highest secret."

"It must not be leaked to anyone, not even the Federation Speaker!"

"All profits from this operation belong to the great Broli family."

"You must understand this."

Hearing the leader’s reprimand, the subordinate immediately replied:

"Understood, Boss!"

Nodding in satisfaction, the leader continued to ask:

"Can you determine the direction they headed?"

"No problem, Boss!"

"According to the extensive traces, the local humans were captured by mutants and taken south..."

"There are also tracks of some fugitives heading south as well..."

"Though, their tracks were interrupted halfway."

The leader was slightly taken aback and asked:

"What do you mean by interrupted?"

"Reporting, Boss, interrupted..."

"It means... these fugitives either took to the skies... or vanished into the earth!"

"In short, they did not travel normally across the ground."

The leader exclaimed in surprise:

"The sky?"

"The skies of the Zombie Planet are a no-fly zone!"

"We killed so many mutants when we landed..."

"That dense, swarming number is truly a headache!"

"A group of natives couldn't possibly have the capability to fly on the Zombie Planet."

"As for underground..."

"Perhaps some mutants could do that!"

"Regardless, let's head toward the area with the massive concentration of mutants first!"

"We should be able to find some clues."

"Where did those mutants go?"

The subordinate immediately answered:

"To an abandoned nuclear power plant about two hundred kilometers south!"

"It seems to be called... the Radiation Zone?"

"That should be the name!"

The leader nodded and shouted to the mech cavaliers:

"Brothers!"

"Two hundred kilometers south, forced march..."

"Limit is one hour!"

"The last ten will be cleaning everyone's mechs for a month."

"Now... move out!"

At the leader’s command, intense roars erupted from the mechs. Their speed instantly accelerated to the limit. These guys didn't care at all about the mutant swarm that might be triggered by high-energy reactions. This level of energy dissipation would inevitably lead to interception by massive waves of mutants; the two-hundred-kilometer journey was destined to be a trip of slaughter. Yet, under these circumstances, their commander was in high spirits, deciding to turn it into a racing game!

Not long after this group roared away, a burst of lava suddenly erupted from the frozen earth. Before long, the lava slowly converged into a human shape.

"People from the Broli family of Sirius?"

"How did these guys with their noses in the air end up on the Zombie Planet?"

"It seems they are looking for someone?"

"Interesting..."

"The Radiation Zone is going to get lively now!"

"These tin cans are not easy to deal with."

"It’s a perfect chance to see just how much Arieta has evolved..."

"What exactly did Dr. Aivill Schmidt leave behind beneath the Radiation Zone?"

"It’s actually capable of suppressing our psychic powers."

"I hope these tin cans can create a few surprises!"