The entire lecture hall was grand but not ostentatious, with warm lighting that gave a particularly cozy feeling.
"Ahem, let's continue. The current intelligence I have is that this creature appears out of nowhere, with no discernible origin. They seem to have no purpose and attack anyone they see. According to survivors' recollections, this creature is extremely prolific."
Seeing that all the necessary people had arrived, Xie Wen went to the podium and began projecting the data he had compiled over the past few days.
He shared all the intelligence he had gathered and knew.
Truthfully, he was hesitant to reveal this information, as he knew it would cause a massive uproar.
Therefore, when the Federation first received this intelligence, their initial reaction was not to inform the entire universe but to conceal it. If the general public knew about this, it would spread like wildfire, and the entire universe would be thrown into panic.
The cost of that would be too great.
The reason for revealing it now was because he saw the Insectoids had joined the fray.
With the formidable military power of the Insectoids and their near-perfect combat and mental prowess, he believed this crisis would be easily overcome.
He could only hope so.
As expected, the moment he finished speaking, a commotion erupted opposite Xie Wen.
"What the hell, extremely prolific? Is this plant trying to take over the world?" a young man in a dark green military uniform exclaimed.
He was representing a small local legion, expecting a relaxed affair.
Who knew that such a disaster would strike so quickly and so fiercely?
"I've encountered it too. This creature seems to only need a single flower to reproduce into an entire plant," another young man added after the first one spoke.
"It seems this creature is not easily destroyed," a soft female voice echoed from a corner.
Since everyone present was not lacking in ability, even though the girl's voice was faint, it was still captured by them.
The crowd, who had been arguing vociferously due to Xie Wen's words, suddenly fell silent at the girl's statement.
Standing on the podium, Xie Wen heard the arguments below and thought, indeed, this information shouldn't have been revealed so soon.
He also heard the girl's voice from the podium and, putting aside his previous thoughts, focused on her words.
He knitted his brows.
If, as the girl said, this creature could not be destroyed, would humanity truly face extinction?
But how did this girl know that this species could not be destroyed?
This matter was rather suspicious.
He looked up, his gaze falling on the girl who had spoken. She was the eldest daughter of the Zhao family of the Empire, the fiancée of the Crown Prince.
He couldn't simply apprehend and interrogate her.
After all, her connections were quite troublesome.
A hint of regret appeared on Xie Wen's face.
Everyone turned to look at Zhao Feier, their faces filled with questions.
They were all contemplating the credibility of her statement.
Meanwhile, Lin Hao, sitting in a corner, also wore an expression of disbelief upon hearing this.
Because the news that this creature was indestructible, they should have been the only ones to know.
To be precise, only the Mermaid tribe should have known this information.
How did Feier know?
Qin Mohan, sitting beside Zhao Feier, also had a flicker of doubt in his eyes, and then voiced the question on everyone's mind.
"How do you know?"
"Because, when you were injured last time, although that species appeared to be destroyed, after professional examination, they still found some clues, such as a new bud. That's why I guessed that this species cannot be destroyed."
Zhao Feier showed no discomfort under their gazes, maintaining her dignified and elegant demeanor.
Upon hearing Qin Mohan's voice, a smile appeared on her face as she explained to him.
Qin Mohan heard her explanation and said no more, turning his head away from Zhao Feier.
If it were truly as she said, that new plants grew even after the creature was cremated, what could be done?
Xie Wen put aside his previous thoughts upon hearing this and carefully considered Zhao Feier's words.
"May I ask where the person who gave you this information is? I have some things I need to confirm with him."
Xie Wen suddenly thought of something and said to Zhao Feier.
If it were true as Zhao Feier stated, the only thing they could do now was to find the person who provided Zhao Feier with the information and see if any new discoveries could be made.
Zhao Feier looked at Xie Wen upon hearing his voice and replied with a hint of apology, "That person sacrificed himself. I only have the data he gave me at that time."
"Sacrificed himself?"
Li Huan, who had been observing the proceedings, suddenly heard something useful. Just as he was about to listen further, he discovered that the useful person had sacrificed himself, which inevitably made him agitated. He then exclaimed loudly.
"Yes, sacrificed himself." Zhao Feier's face held a touch of sadness as she transmitted the last record of the deceased to everyone present.
"Actually, I didn't want to tell anyone about this information. Because if this news spread, the entire universe would fall into panic. It's possible that before the unknown creature even arrives, we would already be in chaos. That's why I planned to keep it a secret."
Zhao Feier explained.
"So, before, only you knew about this?" Shi Tian, sitting in the second row, turned to look at Zhao Feier behind him and said.
Upon hearing this news, he was also shocked for a moment. Although the main base had not found any traces of that plant, he had encountered it when he went out.
He had fought for a long time before managing to defeat that plant.
It was precisely because this plant posed a significant threat in the future that he decided to join the alliance.
He wouldn't have gotten involved in such a mess before.
He just hadn't expected this plant to be not only powerful in combat but also so prolific.
Now, one truly couldn't underestimate it.
"Yes, only I knew." Zhao Feier looked at the young man sitting in front of her.
Everyone present received the files transmitted by Zhao Feier.
The content within was about him cleaning up the remains and preparing to take them back for research when he suddenly discovered a new bud.
As he was about to investigate further, he was killed by that small juvenile.
Until the end of the meeting, nothing was discussed, and it was hastily adjourned.
Lin Hao watched as they all gradually left, then turned to Elfa and the others and asked, "What are you going to do about this matter?"
After conversing with them, he realized the situation was not as optimistic as he had imagined; it was even more terrifying.
Was this creature truly here to purge them?
"Doesn't that fish have a way?" Elfa heard Zai Zai's words and after thinking for a moment, proposed his method.
This fish might be their last chance to resolve this crisis.
"No, he cannot use that kind of magic array again." Hill, who had been by their side all along, blurted out anxiously upon hearing Elfa and Zai Zai's words.
If he used that magic array to seal that thing again, he would truly die.
Lin Hao, who had been contemplating the feasibility of the idea, stopped talking to Elfa upon hearing Hill's tone.
His guess was indeed correct.
That magic array had some powerful side effects.
A few days ago, he had felt a subtle strangeness in the atmosphere between Lan Jia Ruo and Hill, a strangeness he couldn't quite pinpoint.
He always felt they had some secret they couldn't let him know.
So, he had hypothesized many versions, one of which was about the dangers of the magic array.
At that time, he had considered many kinds of side effects, all sorts of versions.
Now that Lan Jia Ruo had become smaller, he guessed that this was merely an outward manifestation, and the real side effects were either not apparent or even more severe.
This fish absolutely could not be revealed to them now. If they knew about this fish, they would undoubtedly push Lan Jia Ruo forward at all costs.
They would probably even bestow many honors upon this fish.
After all, humans often did such things, it was nothing new.
Humans already owed the Mermaid tribe too much. They couldn't sacrifice the last of the Merfolk for a so-called hope that might not even succeed.
If such a thing were to happen, Lin Hao would be the first to object.
Therefore, the only thing to do now was to protect Lan Jia Ruo.
Besides, they didn't have the right to decide who lived or died. This matter would ultimately depend on his choice.
"We must protect Lan Jia Ruo. We are his last shield," Lin Hao said to the few insectoids.
Hearing this, they naturally understood their king's intent and nodded without question, saying in unison, "As you command."
After they finished speaking, they walked out of the lecture hall.
None of them paid attention to the cameras in the lecture hall.
All the cameras were cleverly hidden in the corners, and if one didn't deliberately search for them, they would be impossible to find.
And the person sitting in front of the cameras, speaking in a low voice, said, "Fish, method?"
Hearing their conversation, that person suddenly burst into laughter.
This was truly a significant gain.
Interesting, truly interesting. The situation had become much more engaging.
There was still hope. Don't let him feel bored too quickly.
Keep it up.
Meanwhile, on the other side, Lin Hao walked along a corridor and out of the palace, where he saw a girl dressed as a maid waiting at the entrance.
The girl showed no signs of nervousness or fear upon seeing them. She bowed and said, "Distinguished guests, I am sent by His Excellency the President to escort you to your resting place."
Lin Hao nodded to indicate he understood and then smiled at the maid, saying, "Thank you for your trouble."
The President was quite thoughtful; knowing they had no place to stay, he had prepared accommodations for them.
In response to Lin Hao's politeness, a different expression finally appeared on the maid's face.
This was probably the first guest to ever say "thank you for your trouble" to her.
When she learned she was to receive the Insectoids, she had been terrified. But when she saw that no one else was willing to receive the Insectoids, she was sent out.
Her heart had been pounding; she had heard that Insectoids were merciless killers, who ate without spitting out bones, and who liked to verbally abuse others.
At that moment, she had been on the verge of collapse.
But the moment she saw Lin Hao, her heart was instantly soothed.
At this moment, Xie Wen arrived at his conference room and sat down, not looking at the documents in his hand.
His mind kept replaying what Zhao Feier had said.
He picked up the Star Network and made a call.
The call was answered quickly.
Xie Wen held the Star Network and said, "Help me check if there have been any movements in places where unknown creatures were previously eliminated."
"Yes, that's right. Investigate as quickly as possible, check every corner."
"Alright, thank you for your trouble."
After speaking, Xie Wen hung up the Star Network.
He looked at the document and no longer dwelled on whether Zhao Feier's words were true or not.
Instead, the current situation was whether this was an inevitable event or a random one.
If it was an inevitable event, the situation would be difficult to handle. This would prove that after the unknown creature was eliminated, new buds would definitely appear. It could be said that they had only suppressed it, not truly eliminated it.
But if it was a random event, it would prove that they still had the ability to eliminate a portion of the unknown creatures, in which case they could vigorously develop that weapon.
Or they could find the transmission routes of the unknown creatures. Whether it could regenerate in any state or only in a specific organ were all good starting points. Finding these would also be a valuable discovery.
He truly hoped this crisis would pass sooner rather than later.
Meanwhile, Lin Hao was led by the maid to a comfortable residence that could accommodate many people.
Lin Hao glanced at the house where he would be staying for the next few days and found it to be truly excellent.
There was also a large floor-to-ceiling window, making the entire room feel very warm.
"Thank you," Lin Hao said to the maid after inspecting the room.
The maid replied, "You're welcome," and then left the room.
Mini Theater:
Qin Mohan: Another day to see my wife, happy, happy.
Guazi: Happy for what? Coward, you didn't even dare to say a word to him, tsk.
Qin Mohan: So what? As long as my wife is in front of me, everything else is just a passing cloud.
Hill: Simp.
Elfa: Simp.
Ryla: Simp.
Li Huan: Simp.
Aslan: Simp. (Though I don't know what's happening, following the crowd is never wrong.)