Perhaps We're the Ones?

Inside a private room to the side of the main reception hall.

Just as Lister and Roland sat down, a surge of extremely high energy suddenly erupted from Roland.

He simply raised his hand and made a grasping motion in the air, Lister's vision seemed to be stripped away, with all surrounding light sources disappearing.

Then came endless darkness, as if one were in an extremely remote star system in space.

"Notification: You are now within Light Barrier. You cannot be seen within this space. Your Resolute Heart... has taken effect; the barrier grants immunity at any time."

The next moment, a new light and shadow appeared.

It was Colonel Roland, who was holding two wine glasses, one of which he was already offering to him.

Inside the glass, the wine's deep blue base was dotted with colorful bubbles that rose to the surface, resembling jellyfish.

In this quiet darkness, the colors are especially vibrant.

"Don't be nervous, I just want our conversation to be undisturbed."

"Want to try some? This is my favorite drink, it's called 'Heart of the Ocean River'."

Despite Killing Intent Perception, the other party showed no signs of it.

Lister downed it in one gulp; compared to "Stardust Brew," this "Heart of the Ocean River" tasted rather spicy.

The fine bubbles in the mouth further stimulate the throat.

However, once inside her stomach, a sense of oceanic calm arose.

Notification: Current focus level increased by 3%, 1 hour remaining.

"How about it?"

"It's pretty good."

"But Roland, what exactly is the purpose of all this grand spectacle you've put on today?"

Lister spoke first; he wasn't really in the mood to drink with Roland, whom he was meeting for the first time.

On the contrary, the other party's enthusiasm and politeness made him feel increasingly uncomfortable.

Putting himself in Colonel Roland's shoes, he would never have acted in such a manner.

Furthermore, in joint missions, the proportion of military merit is very politely split 50/50, so in principle, one can simply command directly when there is a need.

The more things are like this today, the greater the demands the other party will likely make of him.

"It was just a simple welcome reception, nothing special!"

As if he could read Lister's mind, Roland immediately began to explain again.

"This is a remote planet. The wine is a specialty of our Glimmer Civilization. Only the officers from our two ships are participating."

"The Prismatic Band is also our own band from the Glimmer Civilization, and it's not as extravagant as Major Lister is thinking."

I never expected that the Prismatic Band was trained by the Glimmer Civilization.

However, Lister didn't really believe what the other party said. He wasn't new to the Galactic Federation, so he naturally knew how much this ostentatious display would cost.

Seeing that Lister didn't respond, Roland smiled and shook his head.

"As expected, you couldn't hide anything from Major Lister."

"I do have something to discuss with you, but I'm using the cocktail party as an excuse to have a private conversation."

"Roland, I personally prefer to speak my mind."

"You might as well just say what you're talking about now."

Major Roland wasn't angry about this and nodded.

He placed the wine glass in front of him, his expression becoming more serious.

"Then I'll be frank. It's actually related to this mission from the Zerg."

"Major Lister, have you ever heard of 'Soul Crystal'?"

Upon hearing this, Lister frowned.

Even though he was mentally prepared, he still didn't expect the other party to mention this item.

"What 'Soul Crystal'?"

"Haha! Major Lister, you came from the Arcane Civilization Army's recruit camp, you might not have heard of this title, but you've definitely used this thing before."

"That's right! This is the main material of the special resource in every recruit camp."

Lister naturally knew this information, but he was unsure whether the Soul Crystal Roland mentioned was the same type he knew.

Since they mentioned special resources in the recruit camp, it must be the same kind.

"Like you, Major Lister, I came from boot camp."

"We've all experienced the tremendous boost that special resource has given us."

"So?"

"You don't mean to say that this Zerg civilization can produce 'Soul Crystals', do you?"

Since the Soul Crystal was mentioned first, and it's related to this recruitment mission...

Lister immediately made these connections.

Sure enough, Roland, sitting opposite him, nodded with a smile.

Upon hearing this astonishing news, Lister was initially pleasantly surprised, but he was mostly wary.

Soul Crystals are a key resource for his passive Robust Soul and upgrade.

Even the Federation Military District doesn't have a way to exchange for it.

Over the years, Lister had been collecting and inquiring about this, but mostly to no avail.

I never expected to gain anything from this Glimmer Civilization today.

Since Colonel Roland knew about this Soul Crystal, it meant it wasn't a real secret.

Even most of the Quasi-Hegemon were aware of it.

Today, this extremely scarce resource was being told to him so directly, and Lister's expression grew even more solemn.

"It's not accurate to say they produce Soul Crystals, as Soul Crystals can't be produced everywhere. It's just that this type of Zerg civilization produces them more efficiently."

"Roland, I don't know much about Soul Crystals. Could you tell me about them?"

"How exactly is this Soul Crystal produced?"

Seeing that the other party knew so much about Soul Crystals, Lister couldn't help but ask questions.

"Haha! I almost forgot that you, Lister, have only recently become Quasi-Hegemon. I've never heard of you."

"Actually Soul Crystals, as the name suggests, are crystallized souls."

"The aggregate of the residual soul energy after the death of all living beings."

"So, as long as a living being dies, Soul Crystals can be generated?"

"That's not it, I was just explaining the reason why Soul Crystals are formed."

"In reality, Soul Crystals need to be collected and gathered within a certain timeframe using specialized equipment."

"After all, the soul is essentially a form of energy, but it is too complex to be structured for the time being, so it will dissipate over time."

"Furthermore, for life forms with extremely weak individual strength, their soul energy is negligible."

"Currently, the Soul Crystals provided by the Federation Military District's recruit camps are often collected when large numbers of high-ranking, high-combat-power life forms die in a concentrated manner."

As expected, the information possessed by Quasi-Hegemon is indeed different.

In particular, this person, who was also a founder of the Glimmer Civilization, had complete knowledge of the Soul Crystal.

Lister finally understood the source of the Federation Military District's special resources.

But... a large number of high-level, high-combat-power life forms died simultaneously?

Looking back, it seems like only...? Could it be...?

"Federal conscription...?"

Seeing the complex expression on Lister's face, and the few words he murmured, it seemed as if he had figured something out.

Colonel Roland's smile widened, and he nodded to confirm.

"That's right! Just what you think."

"I only learned about it after I established my own civilization and founded the Civilization Army."

"Otherwise, why should all Civilization Armies be required to maintain a certain number of soldiers on a daily basis, and why should all civilized recruit camps be guaranteed a special resource supply every time they are established?"

Essentially, this resource of the Federation Military District is not a gift to new recruits or to any civilization.

It's just another form of exploitation.

This civilization sacrificed a large number of lives during the recruitment missions to obtain this special resource supply.

The Federation Military District Headquarters must have received more; otherwise, how could the Central Army Group's recruit camp have such special resources?

It's no wonder that the Federation Military District doesn't care about class affiliation; it's essentially a game of exploitation, where class affiliation is of little significance.

"So... the ones who truly benefit are us, the Hegemon hegemons or the Quasi-Hegemon?"

"Does the Galactic Federation aim to cultivate more Hegemons?"

Hehe~!

"Then I have no idea!"

Upon hearing this, Roland's smile gradually faded.

He picked up the wine glass on the table again and slowly drank it all in one gulp.

Then he spoke again softly.

Who knows?

"Or are we also part of a higher-level nourishment?"