Chapter 476.2: A Prisoner Only Counts If They're Officially Acknowledged

Old Six sighed, "I think the Enterprise is more advanced, those androids watch art films and even know how to shop and pay."

"Actually, I’m not sure," someone else muttered. "That mantis blade freak almost got me..."

Night Ten, stretching his neck as he realized something. "Hey, where’s Quit Smoking?"

Old Six replied, "Oh, that guy’s dead again. Did you just notice?"

Raising an eyebrow, he muttered, "Wait, why did I say ‘again’?"

Night Ten blinked. He hadn’t really paid attention earlier. "What about Prop Master?"

Old Six laughed awkwardly. "He took two rounds to the leg. Back in the reeds, he asked me to finish him off and told me not to tell anyone."

Night Ten snorted. "What a waste."

Old Six smiled shyly. "He’s an intelligence type and has a weak body. It’s understandable."

The others laughed as Gale stayed silent.

Meanwhile, Chen Yutong watched these people nervously.

Seeing two recovered exoskeletons, she knew someone had died, but she couldn’t understand how those people were still laughing.

She was especially uneasy about Zhao Xiao. His argument with the Enterprise’s pilot was escalating, and she was worried they might turn violent.

But the one surprise was what the man in the exoframe had said earlier.

They weren’t with the Enterprise?

She pondered that. But it didn’t really matter now. Their mission had clearly failed.

A short distance away, Falling Feather gently patted Little Feather’s head.

"It’s okay, don’t feel bad... That guy wasn’t even a proper guy. It’s fine if you can’t eat him. Controlling him helped a lot. And stop stuffing everything you find into your mouth, you’ll get a stomachache."

The Burning Corps had used ropes to secure the metal lump, so there was no need for Little Feather to keep it restrained with its tentacles.

Still pouting, Little Feather mumbled to itself. "Yiwu..."

It still couldn’t understand.

Why can’t I eat that thing?

Just then, Peepo returned from logging off to report their mission status.

"We got a new mission."

Old White looked at him. "What did the administrator say?"

Peepo replied helplessly, "He said... We’re to stand by near the crash site."

Old White frowned. "We can’t stay here long... Did you mention the firefight with the Academy?"

"I did. He even praised us in the mission window..." Peepo scratched his head. "Anyway, he’s negotiating with the Enterprise, trying to get them to send another plane... But they’re shocked as they didn’t expect to lose one."

‘You guys did great’! Or whatever it was he said...

Old White stared at him in shock before asking in a soft voice, "

Uh...

That’s not going to be a problem, right?"

"As long as the pilot’s okay, it’s fine," Peepo said, glancing at the still-arguing duo. "The Enterprise says if the plane can’t be fixed, it’s fine to blow it up, but the pilot must survive. That’s their bottom line."

The players looked stunned.

After a long pause, Night Ten scratched his head, eyes lingering on the transport aircraft and the co-pilot still fussing with the manual.

He couldn’t help but complain, "Damn... Scrapping a plane just because one engine’s busted?"

What a damn waste.

...

On the edge of the Golden Lizard Kingdom.

A man dressed in ornate robes stood atop a sand dune, a column of well-dressed cavalrymen dismounted behind him. His name was Blair, a prince of the Golden Lizard Kingdom.

As he saw the tracked vehicle approaching from afar, a pleased smile spread across his face. From a great distance, he opened his arms wide. "Welcome! Friends from afar! On behalf of the royal family of the Golden Lizard Kingdom, I welcome your arrival!"

In contrast to the shining cavalry behind him, the angular tracked vehicle looked completely out of place. Yet in the context of the wasteland, it blended in perfectly.

The vehicle halted atop the dune and Li Ke stepped out. Walking to the noble-looking man, and extended his right hand with a faint smile, replacing a hug with a handshake.

“I am Li Ke, B-class Researcher. On behalf of the Special Projects Unit of the Academy’s Foreign Affairs Department, I greet you.”

Blair didn't seem offended by the absence of a hug. In fact, he was quite surprised by the status of the visitor.

Normally, A or B-class researchers almost never left the Academy, much less the Wandering Swamp. It was only the second or third time in the history of the Golden Lizard Kingdom that someone of such rank had visited.

“We’ve prepared a palace for your stay... Please, come with me.”

Then, his eyes fell on the tracked vehicle as if remembering something. He quickly offered a sheepish smile. “Of course, you may remain inside your vehicle. We’ll guide you over.”

Li Ke nodded politely. “Then I’ll gladly accept your hospitality.”

In recent years, the Academy had learned the importance of adapting to local customs. They had sacrificed much in that regard.

Long ago, it was their inability to compromise and their disregard for politics that caused two traitors to usurp their inheritance.

Under the leadership of Dr. Conclusion, the Academy, having fled to the Wandering Swamp, undertook a painful series of reforms, strengthening cooperation with the outside world and establishing the Foreign and Internal Affairs Departments alongside their Research and Prospecting branches.

Following Dr. Conclusion’s ideology, the Academy spent the past 150 years using basic technology to win over weaker survivor settlements and formed the Scientific Committee centered around the swamp.

With their framework, the Academy could absorb fresh blood from subordinate settlements, share limited technology in exchange for agricultural and industrial output, and turn those settlements’ dependence on the Academy into a defensive moat.

The Golden Lizard Kingdom was one of those layers of protections they built for themselves, and perhaps the greatest achievement of the Foreign Affairs Department.

Its food production not only supplied the Academy itself but also sustained other allies scattered throughout the Wandering Swamp.

But the war in the Sunset Province had begun to seriously affect food production.

The previous month had even seen the detonation of a tactical nuke, throwing the entire Scientific Committee into a panic. Many feared that the radioactive dust would be carried by desert winds into the farmlands of Oasis No.8.

While such concerns might sound absurd in the wasteland, where almost everyone was contaminated to some degree, the Academy's Chief Technology Officer still took action to calm the fears of the young scientists, and assigned the mission of conflict mediation to the Foreign Affairs Department.

To be honest, Li Ke thought the task was near impossible.

Judging by the current situation, with the Enterprise smashing the Army’s face into the ground, even his android assistant estimated a 60% chance of full-scale war.

Come next spring, it was likely a tide of Clones carrying the Army’s nuclear arsenal would storm the Sunset Province.

Still, if he did nothing, the Academy’s ancestral legacy in the province might not survive the next few years.

A good option was to convince the Enterprise to take their winnings and stop. But according to the pilot named Yker, it wasn’t the Enterprise that was crushing the Army, it was a group of wastelanders who had joined forces.

What he learned completely blindsided him.

Even if the Army’s deployment in the Sunset Province had been weakened, they were still the dominant force on the West Coast. Those people had fought mutants and Slime Mold day and night, how could they not handle a group of wastelanders?

Li Ke had suspected Yker was lying, but couldn’t think of a motive.

In the end, he decided to visit a vassal kingdom first to assess the real situation before planning his next move.

If what Yker said was true, and the New Alliance was leading the war with the Enterprise merely fanning the flames from behind, then convincing a regional survivor faction to stop would be far easier than convincing their old enemy to back off.

Li Ke returned to the vehicle and signaled the driver to follow the cavalry.

The next second, he received a call from the Foreign Affairs Department.

“You failed?!” Leaping up from his seat, Li Ke’s face twisted in disbelief. That couldn’t be.

Their team, the ‘Signal’, was one of the elites. Those people were veterans!

How could they possibly fail to handle a half-dead Cruncher and a Mother Body?

Realizing the situation might be far more complicated than he thought, Li Ke furrowed his brow and quickly asked, “What happened exactly?”

The voice on the other end continued, “According to the squad leader, they encountered an Enterprise transport aircraft... A team disembarked and took the Mother Body into their custody. Evidence suggests that the Mother Body is connected to the Enterprise. Not only did it refrain from attacking their personnel, but even helped them capture one of our android operatives.”

The Enterprise's aircraft...

Li Ke froze as his expression turned grave.

He didn’t want to jump to conclusions, but the fact that an Enterprise plane had appeared near the Wandering Swamp was by no means a friendly signal.

Especially when they were secretly researching Mutant Slime Mold.

Pressing his fingers against his brow, he thought for a moment and said, “Can we contact the captured android?”

“No... We believe they’ve either encased it in some kind of metal or removed its chip.”

Of course. The other side wasn’t stupid.

Li Ke closed his eyes and pondered in silence. His top priority was conflict mediation.

As for the Mother Body, yes, he was intrigued, but if the Enterprise created it, it was beyond his authority. It would be up to the Director of the Foreign Affairs Department or even the Chief Technology Officer to decide what to do.

“Don’t act recklessly on this matter. Tell the Signal to halt and await further orders. Do not expose our identity.”

There was a brief hesitation on the line. The voice came the next second. “But... We shot down their plane.”

Li Ke’s face twitched slightly. “... It’s fine... That kind of industrial trash would’ve crashed sooner or later. Maybe it just fell on its own.”

A bitter laugh came from the other end next. “They have prisoners. Not just androids, E-class operatives. Maybe two or three of them. The retreat was done too quickly for us to confirm anything.”

These useless fools!

Li Ke swore internally, took a deep breath, and tried to calm his rising blood pressure.

However, he conveniently forgot he was the person who gave the order to capture the Mother Body.

Prisoners... That could be a problem.

AI agents like the android was definitely loyal, but humans were another matter, especially E-level personnel.

Fortunately, E-level agents shouldn't know the full mission details. Even if they were interrogated, it was unlikely they would reveal anything sensitive.

The top priority was mediation.

As for the Mother Body...

Without authorization from the Chief Technology Officer, even if he wanted to act, he wouldn’t be able to do much with his authority. He couldn’t just send another team, the Investigation Department wouldn’t allow it.

Tapping his finger on his armrest, Li Ke muttered, “A prisoner only counts... If they’re officially recognized.”

There was a pause on the other end before the reply came. “... Understood.”