Chapter 259

Group 16 was the first to complete their mission and return to Balenman. The hatch opened, and Sophia allowed everyone on Spaceship to leave the Spaceship.

Stepping out of the hatch, the Modified Humans, who had to adjust their visual equipment to its maximum range to see the pitch-black sky above, immediately realized that although they couldn't see the surrounding flat ground clearly, the anomaly above indicated that their location was likely completely covered.

This is a very large prison.

Despite knowing this fact, Modified Humans's emotions didn't cause much of a stir.

Compared to such a large prison cell, they chose the present.

Where is this?

"You country bumpkin, you don't even know someone as famous as Balenman?"

"I don't know what's wrong with that? So what if I go out a few more times? But what's Balenman? And what's a city bumpkin?"

"... How many years have you been imprisoned? You don't even know that?"

Seventeen years and three months.

"I'm sorry, I didn't know you were in this situation. Balenman is..."

Sincerity is always the ultimate weapon (facepalm). But how many seventeen-year periods does one have in a lifetime? This is terrifying. I suspect that those who have been locked up for years without ever leaving their homes have forgotten what it means to be imprisoned.

[Yes, it's the Military District that Group 16 took over. The entire area is 300 stories underground, with the bottom 250 floors being layers upon layers of tiny cubicles. It's even more outrageous than my tiny cubicle that I use an entire floor to store my shoes. I can leave my shoes untouched for years, let alone theirs. It's terrifying. They didn't go crazy thanks to the Optical Brain. By connecting to the videos provided by the Military District, they can immerse themselves in a virtual exercise scene and interact with the NPC Instructors, teachers, and classmates inside.]

No wonder they're so easily satisfied and have such frighteningly stable emotions. They didn't even flinch knowing they might still be in prison in the future; it turns out they were fed terribly before.

Under the watchful eyes of Sophia and the others, the Modified Humans gradually emerged from the Spaceship, looking around curiously.

Sophia hadn't received Qin Su's new instructions yet. As soon as the hatch opened, she quickly climbed up to the side opposite the hatch opening, estimated the Modified Humans that had been brought back on the Spaceship, and loudly instructed her crew members to keep watch around the perimeter. They dared not relax their vigilance for a moment to ensure that no one would leave their sight when she wasn't paying attention.

Amidst his busy schedule, Qin Su heard a pre-set "beep" notification from the Balenman Jump Point. He shifted his gaze from the Electronic Eye screens of other Spaceship and the "clear" interface, occasionally glancing at the Electronic Eye screen of Group 16.

"Sophia." Only after confirming that the Spaceship was empty did Qin Su call out Sophia's name, pausing deliberately for a second.

"Here!" Sophia responded immediately.

Once everyone present had stopped talking, Qin Su looked at the devices that had been emitting his voice from all directions. He stared at the pre-printed text on the screen of Group 16's Electronic Eyes, reading it aloud as he executed the command circled in brackets, "Distribute the weapons to them. Next, you will lead them to maintain order at the scene. The specific operational details are on your Optical Brain."

After reading the instructions aloud, Qin Su confirmed that the command had been successfully activated. One by one, the Warships switched from stealth to visibility, and the dense cannons below all pointed downwards. Sophia also received the specific action rules on her Optical Brain. With one task completed, she felt a slight sense of relief.

Fortunately, he didn't have much faith in his ability to adapt to changing circumstances and was used to making arrangements in advance.

Whether it's dealing with the words written by the students on the Electronic Eyes of each Spaceship, or secretly placing weapons into Balenman and hiding them in every part of Balenman while everyone is away, to ensure that he always has absolute control over the entire Balenman.

After confirming the end, Qin Su anxiously shifted his gaze to the other pages on the Optical Brain in front of him, feeling grateful once again for the invention and use of the Optical Brain. If it were a computer, manually switching pages would definitely not be as convenient as using the brain.

Even though every student in Class 6) who could be appointed as a group leader had basically never had any problems in terms of caution and ability, Qin Su, who had shifted his gaze, still occasionally spared a glance to look at them, while at the same time continuing to eavesdrop on the sounds in all the Communication Channels.

Because the entire city of Balenman was too large, even after emptying his coffers, he still couldn't truly fill it with his stockpiled weapons. He could only use ordinary weapons or some decorative weapon models that served only a stylistic purpose and were essentially useless in practice, on less important but conspicuous places, such as walls away from the crowd.

Feeling guilty, he could only be extremely cautious, never daring to truly relax for a moment.

"Receive."

Sophia quickly glanced down at the instructions she had just received. After reviewing them, she saw most of the newly brought-back Modified Humans below looking in the direction of the broadcast and at the dark, gaping cannon muzzle above, a sight that triggered trypophobia in anyone looking at them. Their eyes were filled with fear, apprehension, and confusion.

"I'm sure everyone heard what our Class Monitor Qin Su said just now, right?"

"... Um."

A series of responses rang out.

Given the dangerous threats overhead, how could they dare say they didn't hear clearly?

Compared to the fact that they went out to the Military District and pointed several to a dozen targeted weapons at them, Qin Su's current actions towards them were even more egregious, to the point that they just wanted to lie down and wait to die.

"Very good." Sophia didn't care whether everyone cooperated voluntarily or not. With a wave of her hand, she raised her voice, "Make a cut here. This group, come with me..."

"Alright, this is your position. You are not allowed to move an inch until you receive new orders."

Before long, the first batch of Modified Humans who were taken to Balenman were distributed throughout the various areas of Balenman that Qin Su had designated as their accommodations, from the Jump Point to Balenman, under Sophia's efficient arrangements.

In addition to the modified weapons they carried, they also held the specific weapons they had been assigned.

Seeing that Sophia had drifted further away from his group, David glanced at the Warships hovering above them, their cannons aimed at them, and then swept his gaze over the cannons that were also visible above the surrounding walls in an absorbing state. He couldn't help but speak up, "Gentlemen, the good news we can confirm now is that the cage Qin Su is using to imprison us looks very large. The bad news is that the density of weapons targeting us is many times more terrifying than that of the Military District."

"What nonsense are you talking about?" someone whispered in protest. "The good news is that Qin Su didn't conduct any investigation on them and directly distributed weapons designed for Modified Humans to us. That's an indication of trust."

"Wrong, wrong, wrong." David weighed the weapon in his hand, which was both visible and unusable. "Without a random code, what kind of trust is this? We can't use it at all."

"Just a heads up, let alone random codes, they didn't even teach us how to use them. So what main purpose do they serve in our hands? I'm more inclined to think they're a test of our obedience, or that they think we'll use them? Like the Modified Humans who hang out with that group from Class 6)?"

"You're making it sound so discouraging, like we're not even as good as them."

[Of course, it's for intimidation through their appearance. After intimidating them, it's also to prevent future generations from finding out that he used them as tools to intimidate others, and to prevent them from widely publicizing how many Modified Humans from the Military Districts Balenman had brought. These people will all be placed under separate supervision afterward.]

Qin Su, who was eavesdropping, silently replied in his mind.

In plain terms, they know too much, so we dare not let them out.

Sophia walked along, intermittently hearing the same doubtful discussions. Qin Su had no intention of having his group teach these people, so she pretended not to hear them. Her main strategy was to pretend she didn't know unless they asked, and if they did ask, she would simply ask in surprise, "What? You can't do it? I thought you could," and that would be the end of it.

Without Qin Su's orders, it's impossible to teach.

"What's wrong with you guys?" Returning to the closest point to the Hyperspace Jump landing site, Sophia saw the new team members exchanging knowing glances, their smiles barely concealed, and their heads held high. "Have you taken the wrong medicine?" she wondered.

"No, no, no, we're just happy."

"Yes, I'm happy."

Sure enough, below their second-best, there's an even lower-best.

The evidence is that they were taught how to use weapons designed for Modified Humans by Class 6), while the new batch of Modified Humans were brought back, despite having an absolute numerical advantage, were not qualified to learn. This shows that they were a level above the newcomers.

"..." Sophia looked away.

She doesn't understand, but she pretends she does.

Time passed second by second. As the second, third, fourth and fifth Spaceships arrived, the first batch of Modified Humans were brought back kept making eye contact with them from a distance. Their voices were like, "I guessed right. The other (Class 6 were indeed going to pick up Modified Humans from other Military District. I knew we couldn't be Qin Su's only choice."

When the Nth Spaceship arrived, many of the first batch of Modified Humans were already numb from standing. No matter which Military District the Modified Humans came from, they couldn't muster any emotion.

Some people, having been imprisoned for a long time, hadn't seen so many people at once. With nothing else to do, they were in high spirits, counting how many Spaceships had arrived and deducing how many Military District had been 'robbed' by Qin Su that night.

Under Qin Su's arrangement, no two Spaceships encountered each other. Therefore, apart from the first batch, no matter which batch of Modified Humans arrived in Balenman afterward, they did not know how many Modified Humans from the Military District had come to Balenman.

From the moment the second Spaceship returned to Balenman, every subsequent Spaceship Modified Humans was met with a terrifying Modified Humans of heavily armed cyborgs just like themselves, and a chilling density of targeted weapons all around. They dared not make a move and obediently followed instructions to be sent to their designated areas.

The target Military District chosen by Qin Su was one where the operation took place entirely at night, and where over 80% of the Military District voted to leave. Combined with the 'intimidation' effect created within Balenman, everything proceeded smoothly.

Before the entire Balenman was bathed in sunlight, all the dispatched Spaceship returned to Balenman.

At the same time, with the removal of the shield, Qin Su's secret operation of "deleting yours and then his" against the Military District, where "more than 80 percent of the Modified Humans" had been basically wiped out, was also exposed.