“Since you Sunil people consider the underground xenotypes a hidden danger, then pay a price to eliminate them.”

Han Xiao shook his finger. “Let me remind you, strictly speaking, those surrendered underground xenotypes are now my prisoners and spoils of war. If you want me to abandon my spoils, you at least have to pay something of equal value.”

He was sure that Sunil wouldn't add money, so this was a subtle refusal.

Since he had decided to relocate them, he couldn't change it to a massacre. Otherwise, he would be deceiving Fording, and that lucky goddess's kept boy would probably be disheartened, and his favorability would plummet.

Moreover, going back on his word would not be conducive to establishing the image of the Black Star Army in the players' minds.

Okiez's face turned ashen. He wanted to eliminate the underground xenotypes, but the thought of having to pay exorbitant additional fees made him very unwilling.

"Sunil's financial situation is not optimistic. This time, hiring you has already cost us a lot of savings. Our people have suffered a lot and cannot afford any more risks. This is just a piece of cake for you..."

Okiez didn't give up. As Sunil's leader's right-hand man, he was equivalent to a buffer zone for communication between the two parties. Therefore, although he saw Han Xiao's perfunctory meaning, he still pretended not to understand Han Xiao's meaning and forced himself to complain.

Hearing this, Han Xiao lost his patience, his smile gradually disappeared, he stared at Okiez faintly, and his tone became heavier, "Your finances are not optimistic? Don't forget, if I hadn't given you a discount, you wouldn't be able to afford me."

Okiez was startled.

"What does the plight of the Sunil people have to do with me? If it weren't for Melos, do you think I would care about your life or death?"

Okiez was speechless. Everything at the moment was due to Melos, and he couldn't deny it.

Han Xiao's eyes were like torches, and his tone was sonorous, "Don't take my kindness as your capital to make excessive demands."

This could already be regarded as a warning.

The atmosphere became tense.

"You, you misunderstood..."

Okiez hurriedly explained, looking uneasy, his palms sweating. He didn't dare to have any conflicts with Han Xiao.

"In short, I don't want to hear the suggestion of extermination a second time." Han Xiao waved his hand. "Sivia, send him out."

The door opened, Sivia was expressionless.

"Please come with me."

"Your Excellency Black Star, you really misunderstood..."

Seeing Han Xiao's indifferent face, Okiez had to stop talking, not daring to explain too much. He followed Sivia dejectedly, turned around at the door, and bid farewell with a stiff smile.

"I'm very sorry for the disturbance."

"Mm."

Han Xiao waved his hand and watched Okiez leave, unable to help but curl his lips.

"He's thinking too much. He's unwilling to pay the price and wants others to be the bad guy. There's no such good thing."

This was a private meeting, so Han Xiao wasn't worried about affecting the relationship between the two parties. Now, Sunil was begging him and didn't dare to do anything behind his back. However, he never had any hope for any politician. As long as the other party fulfilled the transaction conditions, he didn't care how they viewed him.

Han Xiao thought for a while, took out the communicator, and contacted the two financial groups.

The mission was halfway through, and it was time to start preparing for the relocation. Relocating two or thirty billion underground xenotypes was a major project, requiring the dispatch of a large number of spaceships. With the help of the financial groups, it would be twice the result with half the effort.

...

Underground world, Nest No. 77.

Nest No. 77 is the largest underground xenotype tribe to date. The entire gathering area is only occupied by Nest No. 77. There are no other tribes here. This is the new target of the punitive expedition.

According to radar statistics, the population of Nest No. 77 has reached 30 to 40 million. Even Melos didn't dare to act rashly. He used the old method, letting the traitorous Sprout Tribe negotiate and try to persuade Nest No. 77.

The Sprout Tribe leader approached Nest No. 77 with some of his tribesmen and found guards at the edge of the nest who stopped them.

After expressing their intentions, the Sprout Tribe connected to the mind network and met the leader of this tribe.

"I am Sprout, Black Star's messenger."

"I am Solusolo, the leader of the New Rock Tribe. I am very happy to communicate with you." The other party quickly replied in a friendly manner.

Sprout became happy, "Great, you also have names!"

It had persuaded so many tribes to surrender, and this was the first tribe with a name.

Solusolo was also very happy, "We guessed correctly, there are indeed other members of our race in the world."

Underground xenotype tribes are relatively independent. The evolutionary level of the New Rock Tribe far exceeds that of many of its kind. However, the Sprout Tribe leader did not understand the meaning of this, and the two sides began to communicate.

Solusolo introduced the history of the tribe to Sprout.

"Originally, there were four nests in this area. Under the leadership of my ancestor's ancestor's ancestor, we engaged in fierce battles with other tribes and finally annexed the other three tribes, merging into the New Rock Tribe. We live here, multiply and thrive, and have always believed that there are species like us in the world. Today, we have finally found our kind. This is a major discovery..."

Solusolo was very excited.

The Sprout Tribe leader listened with rapt attention. It was the first time it had heard a historical story. If Han Xiao were here, he would know that the civilization level of the New Rock Tribe had reached a new level. They had a concept of history, understood recording, learned inheritance, and their thinking ability and emotional expression were all breaking away from animalistic habits and transforming into intelligent species.

If it followed the normal development trajectory, the New Rock Tribe might have a chance to unify the underground xenotypes in the future.

When it was the Sprout Tribe leader's turn to speak, it didn't forget Black Star's instructions, relayed the meaning of the threat to surrender, and popularized the basic cosmic knowledge that Han Xiao had taught it.

However, after listening, Solusolo was not only not afraid but also furious. "This is our home, we will never leave!"

The information brought by Sprout far exceeded Solusolo's imagination. However, the New Rock Tribe had already developed a sense of home. Facing the enemy who was slaughtering their kind, it chose to resist.

In the mind network, the members of the New Rock Tribe were all filled with hatred and anger, scaring Sprout. It didn't understand why this tribe suddenly became so excited. It didn't understand the concept of hatred yet.

"Black Star's messenger, thank you for your kindness, but we have decided to resist to the end!" Solusolo's attitude was firm.

Han Xiao's positioning of himself played a role. In the xenotypes' minds, he was a good person who prevented the evil Sunil from saving the xenotypes. As Black Star's messenger, Sprout bore the mission of saving their race. Therefore, Solusolo did not make things difficult for Sprout and sent them away from the New Rock Tribe.

Back at the temporary camp, the Sprout Tribe leader relayed the New Rock Tribe's refusal to surrender.

Melos was helpless and had to lead his troops to attack the New Rock Tribe. The enemy's number of 30 to 40 million weighed heavily on his heart, nearly a hundred times the size of the punitive expedition.

It was another punitive expedition battle. The Sunil soldiers and players had repeated it many times and were already numb. The difference was that the battle to attack the New Rock Tribe was even more tragic.

...

Bang bang bang—

The scorching curtain of steel bullets pierced through the bodies of the underground xenotypes in rows, blooming into blood flowers. Countless xenotypes fell on the way of their charge. However, the xenotypes of the New Rock Tribe seemed endless, surging like a tide.

A Sunil armored squad was responsible for this defensive line, their fingers tightly pressing on the triggers, regardless of the fact that the barrels of their large-caliber assault rifles were already overheating. The ammunition boxes at their feet were emptying at an extremely fast rate, and the ground was covered with bullet casings.

At this moment, a wave of elites, two or three times larger than ordinary underground xenotypes, appeared on the defensive line responsible for this squad. Their tentacles swayed on their heads, and a mental wave quickly crossed the distance, ignoring the armor's protection and directly piercing into the brains of these armored soldiers.

"Ah—"

Several Sunil soldiers felt as if their brains were being cut into pieces. Blood spurted from their mouths and noses, and their vision spun. They lost control of their bodies, and the defensive line's firepower suddenly stopped.

The result was fatal.

The underground xenotypes acting as vanguards suddenly rushed into this defensive line, submerging this armored squad. Their tails and mouthparts left dazzling sparks on the armor. The hard armor quickly shattered, and behind this defensive line were more Sunil soldiers.

Whoosh—

At this moment, a dazzling crescent-shaped blade swept over, cutting hundreds of xenotypes in half with a single slash.

Melos dragged his ten-meter-long ship-cutting blade and quickly arrived, making large and powerful sweeps, slashing and killing countless underground xenotypes, curbing the offensive, and defusing the danger of this defensive line.

The original armored squad was almost completely wiped out. Soon, backup troops came up and replaced the original squad to guard this defensive line.

Melos wiped the blood and sweat on his face. He had no time to rest. As he was about to return to his original position, he subconsciously looked at the armored squad lying on the ground. The armor was riddled with holes, and the soldiers inside were disemboweled, looking inhuman.

After just one glance, Melos suddenly felt that the face of one of the fallen soldiers looked familiar. He slowed his pace and carefully identified him.

This soldier was covered in blood and dirt, his eyes were wide open and lifeless, and he was tightly gripping an armored dagger in his hand, piercing the body of a xenotype, as if he had perished together with the enemy. However, his face still looked immature.

Melos suddenly remembered that this young fallen soldier was the child of a neighbor near his bar in Senyuan City. He seemed to be called Lana.

I didn't expect this kid to join the army too...

Memories surfaced like bubbles in boiling water. Melos's face twitched. He ruthlessly shook off the distracting thoughts, shouted loudly, and continued to engage in the battle.

...

The punitive expedition was pushed back by the underground xenotypes for the first time.

The New Rock Tribe was too large. The enemy was endless. Even after slaughtering a large number of xenotypes, the New Rock Tribe did not run away like other nests. Instead, it became even more violent, unafraid of death.

The tactics of the New Rock Tribe were more varied, making use of the advantage of digging. The underground was their home field. They would dig tunnels from the top or bottom of the underground space and directly kill their way into the punitive expedition. Under the effect of the mind network, the coordination of the New Rock Tribe was orderly and very difficult to deal with.

The casualties of the punitive expedition continued to rise. Even many players had died two or three times. Everyone was exhausted. Melos finally decided to strategically retreat, wanting to retreat back to the temporary camp.

However, the New Rock Tribe pursued all the way, directly attacking the temporary camp. Melos led his troops to resist for a period of time, but he couldn't withstand the consumption. He had to retreat again and again, retreating along the underground tunnel back to the surface, and was forced out of the underground world by the New Rock Tribe.

It was midday, and the sun was shining brightly. After the punitive expedition retreated from the underground, the New Rock Tribe did not continue to pursue. The underground xenotypes hated the sun. Many xenotypes were sunburned, so they did not rush to the surface and retreated back.

The New Rock Tribe completely forced the punitive expedition back with their lives. The casualty ratio between the two sides was extremely exaggerated.

Because the punitive expedition retreated urgently, many of their companions' bodies were left in the underground. Melos was in a heavy mood. He let the troops rest and recuperate, counted the casualties, and contacted Han Xiao to report the situation here.

"You were pushed back by the underground xenotypes?"

Han Xiao looked strange.

"There are too many enemies. To eliminate Nest No. 77 by fighting, we can only slowly nibble at them. Our casualties are also very high..."

Melos gritted his teeth.

"Black Star, I hope to use biochemical weapons to avoid casualties."

"Just do what you think is right." Han Xiao shook his head and hung up the communication.

Melos took a deep breath. The corpses of the young soldiers kept appearing in front of his eyes. He hesitated no longer.

He called the officers of the logistics unit, looked at their faces covered in blood and dirt, and said in a deep voice: "Send people to release all biochemical weapons, execute immediately!"

"Understood!" The officer saluted and did not hesitate.

...

The members of the New Rock Tribe dragged their tired bodies back to the nest, cleaned the battlefield, and collected the bodies of their fellow tribesmen, piling them into many small mountains.

In the mind network, the members of the tribe were communicating endlessly. The battle just now had also had a huge impact on them. The deaths of a large number of tribesmen made them fear, anger, and hate. But at the same time, there were also cheers of victory, defeating the powerful enemy and successfully defending their home.

Although the tribe suffered heavy casualties, Solusolo was full of fighting spirit. The experience inherited from his ancestors told him that he must pursue the enemy's victory. If he repelled them once, the enemy might come back. The real victory was to take the enemy's "nest."

Many underground xenotypes collected the corpses of the Sunil soldiers. An old underground xenotype stepped out, and the surrounding tribe members bowed down, showing respect.

This underground xenotype was an anomaly in the tribe. It could read the memories of dead individuals. Only it in the entire New Rock Tribe possessed such an ability.

If Han Xiao were here, he would know that this was a naturally awakened native esper.

The tentacles on its head touched the heads of the Sunil soldiers one by one. Fragments of various memories flashed and quickly reorganized into the information it wanted. Then, it shared the memory images in the mind network.

These were the images of Senyuan City in the memories of the Sunil people, as well as the map of Sunil Star.

"The surface creatures' nest is also on the surface."

"What a strange nest."

"The enemies are on the surface, how should we find them?"

The members of the New Rock Tribe communicated in the mind network.

At this moment, the thick fog of biochemical weapons appeared at the edge of the nest and spread out.