Who this God of War was, and how he selected his suitable partners, and what the criteria were.
"Have you named your original human?"
Pei Jingnan said nervously, "Rookie, that's my game ID."
"Rookie, that's interesting. We're all rookies the first time."
"Director Xiao, where are we going? Why is it getting colder?"
Xiao Xun, with a cold face, asked, "Didn't you receive training on the confidentiality regulations before entering the base?"
Pei Jingnan quickly lowered his head, not daring to speak.
The transport plane passed through a special light curtain, similar to the aurora, and arrived in a vast area.
The pilot said to Xiao Xun and Pei Jingnan, "You two have high-temperature down jackets beside you. It's cold outside and easy to get frostbite." Actually, it wasn't necessary to wear them; the nano-body suit could lock in the body's moisture and heat, making it immune to severe cold.
The two put on their white down jackets. Someone opened the cabin door, and they slowly descended the spiral stairs. This was the Icebound Continent, with half the year being day and the other half being night, known as polar day and polar night.
And this time of year was precisely polar night.
Pei Jingnan looked up at the sky and couldn't help but exclaim, "So beautiful!"
Under the guidance of four base personnel, the two arrived in front of an ice-sealed, iron-gray gate marked with the number 01.
After a series of verifications, the gate opened, first from top to bottom, then the second gate from left to right, and the third from top to bottom. After passing the second gate, the first gate would close, and so on, until after fifteen gates, they finally reached Base No. 1.
The personnel working here were a diverse group. They wore dazzling white training uniforms and were all busy.
The person who brought them in said to Pei Jingnan, "I'll take you to your dormitory first!"
Xiao Xun looked at him, "And me?"
"You can look around the base at your leisure. If you get tired, find a place to rest. If you're hungry, you can go to the mess hall or use the vending machines."
Then he led Pei Jingnan away. Xiao Xun looked at the base, which was many times larger than Area Eight, and thought, They really don't treat me like an outsider! Just letting me wander around. When these people saw Xiao Xun, they all nodded expressionlessly and went back to their work.
If he were really allowed to wander, he wouldn't dare. If he stumbled upon something he shouldn't, it would be hard to explain.
He walked to a sofa and sat down. The sofas here were still made of fabric, unlike the genuine leather sofas in Area Eight.
After sitting down, he started to overthink. He had clearly commanded a victory, so why was he being transferred? And judging by the timing of Pang Jiadong's appearance, it seemed that preparations were already made to replace him before he even started fighting.
As he was thinking, someone walked up to him. "Xiao Xun, let's go!"
Xiao Xun looked up at the person in front of him, "Go where?"
"To give a statement."
Xiao Xun was taken aback. "What statement do I have to give?"
"You'll find out when we get there."
Xiao Xun followed the person, his hand gripping the spatial ring tightly, ready to leave at any moment if something felt wrong.
"The headquarters won't be upset because I didn't negotiate with the aliens, will they? What's there to negotiate with those aliens? If there was a point of negotiation, why would they have captured so many interstellar spies?"
"Don't yell at me. I'm just a staff member. You can say these things to the leaders."
After speaking, he walked to a door and pressed the switch. The door opened.
The person gestured for Xiao Xun to enter. Xiao Xun glanced inside, couldn't see much, and walked in.
Inside was a large conference room, much like the conference room in Area Eight. It was dark, with only numbered nameplates.
"Why did you bring me here?"
But the person who had brought him in had already closed the door. Helpless, he could only sit in a chair, waiting for the next arrangement.
The voices in the regional conference were specially processed, so even if they knew each other, they couldn't discern the true identities of the speakers just by listening. And this was precisely the time for the regional conference.
"Number One is quite late today."
Xiao Xun was stunned. Number One! Could it be that they wanted him to be Number One?
He looked at the button next to his hand, wondering whether to press it when Number Eight spoke, "Perhaps Number One has something going on and can't attend for now. You all know about the matters in our Area Eight, right?"
"We know. Impressive."
"Amazing. Truly the head of the Cradle Project."
Number Eight continued, "Not at all. Under my command, we successfully repelled the original humans. Although they are still in our Area Eight's airspace, I believe their next stop will be directly crashing onto our planet."
"When that happens, don't forget about us when it comes to any advanced alien technology!"
"If we can't eat the meat, we'll be content with a sip of soup."
Number Eight smiled and said, "Don't worry, we'll all share the meat. I won't keep it to myself."
Just as Xiao Xun was about to retort to Number Eight, the door opened, and a lizard-like creature walked in. Although it was dark, its scales shimmered with a faint, colorful light, which was very beautiful.
Xiao Xun stood up and was about to speak when the other party spoke first.
"Why are you standing? Sit down! There's not much to discuss in the meeting today. Sometimes we can be capricious and just not have one."
As he spoke, he sat down on a chair next to Xiao Xun and stared intently at him.
"Who are you?"
The lizard-like creature looked at Xiao Xun with a peculiar expression. "My name is Rong. Strictly speaking, we are from the same place, but you live above ground, and I live underground."
"I'm very curious, why did the headquarters build the base on the Icebound Continent?"
"This wasn't always the Icebound Continent ten thousand years ago. It had mountains, water, flowers, and grass. But after a prehistoric war, the planet's orbital trajectory changed, leading to its current state. But it's good this way. Haven't you noticed that since recorded history, there haven't been any world-ending great floods like those in mythology?"
Xiao Xun thought for a moment. "There haven't been, but what does that prove?"
"There's an invisible hand pushing this world forward."
Xiao Xun looked at Rong. "You've relieved me of my position as the general supervisor of Area Eight and brought me here. Surely it's not just to listen to this?"
"Of course not. After all, you drove the Cradle Project forward and won the first battle against the aliens. For all intents and purposes, you are a meritorious official."
"Since that's the case, what is the purpose of calling me here?"
"I heard that you were once arrested as an interstellar spy by your predecessor. What was her basis for judgment? And why did she release you later?"
Xiao Xun clenched his fist tightly. "Her basis for judgment was the future technology on me. She thought it was alien technology."
He paused and continued, "As for why she released me, it was because I passed the lie detector test with high-voltage current."
At this moment, the regional conference also ended. The entire conference room was silent, with only the indicator lights representing each region blinking with an eerie red glow.
"Are you still suspecting my identity?"
"No, you've misunderstood. We absolutely didn't mean that. Since you are so loyal to us."
"It's not me who misunderstands, it's you. I'm loyal to humanity."
The lizard-like creature spoke without any intonation, as if he were a robot. "Alright, no matter what you say, there's a more important task for you now."
"Is there anything more important than defending against aliens and protecting Blue Star?"
"We have developed a short-range space-jumping device. We hope you can secretly infiltrate the spaceship in the sky and acquire its core technology. If necessary, you can also directly sink them."
Xiao Xun looked at the lizard-like creature. "Why me?"