"Overthrow the Imperial tyranny!"

Among the remaining thirteen people, four excitedly responded at once, while the other nine looked bewildered.

"What are you trying to do?"

"We are on the side of the Empire! We've already informed the Empire's authorities; we don't need to join this uprising!"

"Are you looking to die? If you want to die, don't drag me along, damn it!"

But those five, as if possessed, jumped up in unison, forcefully breaking a path above them, and quickly advanced towards the underground weapons laboratory of the experimental center.

With toxic gas chasing them from below, the remaining nine supermodified people had no choice but to jump out.

The center laboratory's alarm blared loudly.

The secret forces of the Heavenly Fury Fortress, who had been waiting for a long time, swarmed in from all directions.

...

Was it over?

Catherine hadn't yet come back to her senses.

During this period, Catherine distinctly felt an undercurrent, a force continuously surging in the dark.

That force rapidly eroded the core system of the supermodified organization, staying out of her sight.

She could even sense that many staff members with whom she was not familiar, who had merely exchanged glances, now looked at her with a more enthusiastic gaze, their lips involuntarily curling into a smile.

Like now.

Catherine was about to reach a sliding glass door ahead, when two young girls in white lab coats hurried forward, opening the glass door swiftly with sincere smiles at Catherine.

"Please come in!"

"Thank you."

Catherine whispered, lowering her head even further as she quickly made her way to the floor where her lounge was located.

Boom—

The building suddenly trembled, with tiny cracks appearing on the outer layer of the floor-to-ceiling window glass nearby.

Catherine looked up towards the direction of the explosion, seeing only a high wall, and immediately rushed toward an adjacent safe passage.

Half a minute later, Catherine appeared on the viewing platform of the sixteenth floor, peering towards the direction of the central laboratory.

There, thick smoke was surging upwards.

Swarms of drones hovered in the sky, with a large number of Mechanical Guards setting up weaponry at various locations, and reformed soldiers equipped with flight backpacks shuttled back and forth.

The sound of explosions came one after another.

Catherine suddenly thought of something, opening her communicator.

She was about to verify who was conducting the experiment now when a light laugh suddenly sounded beside her.

A few projection spheres, waiting for a long time, floated over, and Bryant's holographic projection appeared below.

Bryant softly asked, "Captain, who are you trying to contact?"

Catherine frowned at Bryant, just about to speak when Bryant gently blinked.

She understood, and said softly, "Bryant, why have you appeared here?"

"Just watching the show," Bryant chuckled warmly, "In fact, I received an order from Director Riva. She told me to keep an eye on you... Isn't it ironic, you've been watching me for years, and now it's my turn to watch you."

Catherine clenched her fist slightly.

Bryant sighed, "Everyone wants to find a tree to rely on for shade, to shelter from rain, to shield from the wind."

In his words, Catherine detected a hint of sarcasm.

Bryant continued, "Some people are like that; they're too afraid to confront the big tree, so they willingly hide under it, betraying their own team."

"Do you have evidence?" Catherine asked.

"Evidence? You shouldn't be asking me," Bryant said, "I just heard them mention it, and thought the matter was particularly interesting."

Catherine understood immediately.

If she wanted evidence that those individuals were traitors, she could go seek out her relied-upon tree—Hanton.

"Alright, it's over."

Bryant spoke softly,

"Take a few days to rest, Captain Catherine, for the higher-ups will surely continue to monitor you."

"I also didn't expect the factional struggles within our supermodified people to be so intense, but you did nothing, successfully completing the second branding, embedding [Loyalty to the Sherman Empire and His Imperial Majesty the Emperor, dedicating everything to the dimensional ascension experiment] into your subconscious, and the Empire should no longer doubt you."

"I still have a lot of work... Ugh, truly a laborious life."

Catherine immediately memorized the content of the new thought branding.

Bryant's projection vanished straight away, and the three projection spheres turned around and quickly disappeared.

Were those individuals traitors within her own team...

Catherine watched the flames emerging from the central laboratory building, remaining motionless for a long while.

Beyond the planet.

The East Wind silently departed the asteroid belt, heading toward deep space in secret.

Yang Ming heard Lyu say "the traces have been cleared," and the heavy stone hanging in his heart finally settled down.

In recent days, thanks to the efforts of him and Bryant, they successfully identified the traitors within Catherine's small team, helping Catherine preserve the basic core group and successfully navigated through this crisis.

This was as much as he could do for Catherine.

Whether Catherine could become a competent leader... that, she would have to discover for herself.

Incidentally, Yang Ming also gained a minor influence expansion, equivalent to the level at which Bryant had infiltrated most of the leadership within the supermodified organization.

"Boss, we have a few days of leisure time; should we go visit the Valkyrie or return to the Dark Star?"

Yang Ming said, "Then let's go see Po Suo."

"Uh," Lyu listened intently, then said, "I suggest you return to the Dark Star."

"Why?"

Lyu laughed, "Just checked the news, and Miss Hera's fleet started the return journey; with the established route and continuous jump coordinates, they should reach Dark Star Base Two about a day later."

"We should go back and see... wait."

Yang Ming thought carefully, a hint of doubt crossing his eyes, and said softly,

"Pick up Po Suo and let's return together."

"Understood," Lyu's expression immediately became much more serious.

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