Hao Ren led Lily and Vivian back to the Giant Turtle Rock Platform. As the ship gradually descended toward Eio's equator, Izax asked curiously about what they had found in that space wreckage.
The Siren Queen immediately came over with keen interest.
"That was the Zalazane. It failed to escape and was destroyed in high orbit." Hao Ren shook his head. "There were countless penetrations where the pipes in the starship's side wings and lower section converged, stretching for several kilometers. They were all made by artillery fire. We found an unexploded warhead inside the ship—and that damn thing almost ruined my hairdo."
"Artillery?!" Izax hadn't expected that answer. "The ones who destroyed the Siren civilization weren't the Firstborn or the Brain Monsters, but a... mortal race that knew how to use artillery?"
"The Firstborn and Brain Monsters are mortal races too. They may be powerful, but in essence, they still can't escape the category of 'mortals.'" Hao Ren first corrected Izax's wording in his capacity as the "True God-certified chief pope, traffic cop, and neighborhood police officer." "Of course, I understand what you mean... Being able to use artillery means this race definitely wasn't the Firstborn, and they didn't sound much like the Brain Monsters either. Those big-headed creatures didn't even wear clothes. They really didn't look like a species capable of using tools."
"Whether or not the ones who fired the guns were the ones who destroyed Eio, at least the Zalazane was shot down by artillery." Vivian pursed her lips. "Hah... That's really not good news. Things are getting more and more complicated. The Firstborn and Brain Monsters were already tangled up together, and now there's another unidentified high-tech race. Who knows whether they're working with the Firstborn?"
Hao Ren shrugged. "At least we're getting more and