Gong Shuxu gave him a faint glance, and Chen Gu quickly stopped him, knowing that the Sixth Energy Level powerhouse was about to use psychological suggestion to make these warriors back down.

"There's no need for that." He stopped Gong Shuxu, then turned and said in a low voice to Yustadak, "There's something not quite right with me... you know, it's a necessary precaution. It's okay, I'll go back for a check-up and will be free again soon."

Yustadak looked dubious, but Chen Gu smiled. "Don't worry, I still want to try being a first-class war strategist."

Yustadak hesitated, then stepped back. Chen Gu relaxed his shoulders toward Gong Shuxu. "Let's go."

Three heavy armored war vehicles departed, when suddenly a scout trooper rushed back. "A bug hive has been found!"

Yustadak and the others were startled. "Prepare for battle..."

"No, no..." The scout trooper waved his hands repeatedly. "An exterminated bug hive!"

Yustadak and his adjutant exchanged glances, both recalling the beginning of the war when the Insect Race's reinforcements had been ceaseless, only to abruptly stop later on.

It was clearly at that time the bug hive had been wiped out. But by whom?

Who else could it be?

If it were the military, Marshal Bai would certainly have reported it to him by now.

It had to be that one.

Yustadak looked towards the three heavy armored war vehicles disappearing in the distance, murmuring, "Truly a divine being..."

Inside the vehicle, Chen Gu suddenly remembered something. "Wait a minute..."

Instantly, everyone from Gong Shuxu down to the other professionals became vigilant. "What trick are you trying to pull!"

Chen Gu couldn't help but laugh. "Don't be nervous. I just remembered something; I need to ask Marshal Bai."

Gong Shuxu agreed, and the call to Bai Yunpeng was connected from inside the vehicle. Chen Gu reported truthfully, "I encountered a Troop Nest Beetle earlier that was a bit strange."

After hearing this, Bai Yunpeng acutely realized that this already dead Troop Nest Beetle might hold special significance.

He immediately ordered, "You lead the way. Make sure to bring back this creature."

So, the convoy temporarily changed its route, heading towards the battlefield nearby, to where that "pocket-sized" Troop Nest Beetle was.

Upon arrival, even the professional scout troopers were amazed. "I've seen many a Troop Nest Beetle, been in six or seven clearing operations, but never one this small."

Gong Shuxu stood to one side, silent, embodying a sense of self-importance. Because he was from the Bureau of Mystic Security special service and had never been on the battlefield, he wasn't familiar with the Alien Insect Race.

However, among the professional scout troopers, an old woman with a weather-beaten face showed a grave expression. "This creature is no simple matter." She walked around the Troop Nest Beetle, and after giving Chen Gu a deep look, said, "You're really lucky; I have a premonition that this beetle holds a great secret of the Alien Insect Race."

A young girl, about thirteen or fourteen years old, surprisingly also a scout trooper, always followed her, somewhat like a grandchild. "Why?"

"The Alien Insect Race's Troop Nest Beetles are launched directly from the Star Sea. Before they are fully prepared and ready inside the giant bubble-flying insect's body, they are already equipped with various insect embryos. Once they land, they can rapidly cultivate an Insect Race army according to instructions."

The little girl was also aware of this fact. "So all the Troop Nest Beetles we can see are enormous."

The elderly woman, Ma Shuwen, pointed at the beetle in front of her. "It's empty inside and doesn't contain those insect embryos. It seems this one did not come from the giant bubble-flying insects, but must have undergone some incident and mutated from another insect."

A stocky man standing nearby spoke up, "I'll do it."

He volunteered, and the other professionals stepped back. This man, named Elton, whose profession was "Elemental Navigator" at the Second Energy Level, was able to change the arrangement of elements to a certain extent, achieving the effect of altering material properties.

He approached and gently rubbed his hands on the Troop Nest Beetle, which was almost burnt to charcoal, and then activated his ability.

Chen Gu wore the highest level of "security fetters," which truly resembled the full-body shackles of ancient times and restrained all his abilities.

Yet, he still felt an indescribable power at work in the space around him.

The power was not overbearing but had a feeling of being "ingenious."

Chen Gu saw the sand around the Troop Nest Beetle slowly turn into an oily liquid.

In this state, it would be easy to pull out the entire Troop Nest Beetle. However, the beetle's tendrils were embedded very deeply. Elton had only changed a portion of the surface sand. His ability continued to extend downward. Even as a Second Energy Level professional, it took him nearly half an hour, leaving him puffing and panting, before he finally said, "Done."

Gong Shuxu gave a signal, and a heavy armored vehicle came over. A mechanical arm extended from the back of the vehicle, lifted high, grabbed the Troop Nest Beetle, and slowly dragged it out.

Its roots were nearly a hundred meters long!

Several professionals worked together to pack and bundle up this Troop Nest Beetle, placing it on the roof of another vehicle. Then the group set off again.

Their destination was a temporary human base seven hundred eighty kilometers away, where aircraft could send them into the starry sky, then aboard a battleship to return to the rear.

All Insect Races on the road had been cleared by the "Roaring Mecha Corps." Theoretically, it was very safe. Thus, everyone was relaxed on the journey, and with the convoy's speed, it would only take a few hours to arrive.

More than an hour after departure, they encountered a severe sandstorm, with flying sand and rocks, and darkness all around.

The convoy stopped temporarily to wait for the storm to pass, which delayed them by over three hours.

Then they continued on their way, without further incident, and smoothly reached the temporary base.

It was an unmanned base on top of a low mountain peak with a sizable flat area. Originally, it served as a logistics supply transfer point for the "Roaring Mecha Corps."

For the "Roaring Mecha Corps," their actual reinforcements from the rear had previously been over a hundred kilometers away.

The electronic system verified the team's identities, and they were permitted entry. The base's heavy armored gate slowly opened, and the three vehicles drove in one by one. Gong Shuxu did not dare to delay for a moment, immediately taking Chen Gu and heading straight for the warehouse housing the aircraft, following the electronic map's guidance.

However, as they were halfway through the base, everyone suddenly sensed something and abruptly looked up. In the distant sky, a series of shining lights appeared.

The professionals' faces changed drastically. Those lights were all too familiar to them: "Insect Race!"

At a glance, there were hundreds of lights, meaning there were at least a hundred Troop Nest Beetles. Once they landed, they could form a vast army within half an hour and then come swarming over!

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