Strike First

In an unknown corner of the Dark World.

Explosion had just sealed a dimensional breach when he felt a cold fury radiating from the distant Dark Matter planet. His expression turned grave.

"What's gotten into that guy now?" A woman floating nearby looked equally concerned.

Six others were there with them. They wore combat suits much like Explosion's, though they appeared to belong to vastly different species.

Some resembled Orks; others were not humanoid at all.

Explosion did not know why Kami had suddenly grown agitated, but he knew they could not let him interfere with another world so easily.

"Keep at it, everyone. Check the surrounding area for dimensional breaches. That guy may be planning something big."

"I'll take the K Star Sector!"

Explosion quickly assigned them to pairs and sent each pair to a different region.

This seemed to be their daily work, and they appeared to know Kami well.

Deep beneath City Z.

Psykos and Great Eye, still wrestling with the New World Group's strength, finally came up with a preliminary plan.

"Great Eye, arrange for those Subterraneans to—"

Great Eye blinked. "Lady Psykos, fewer than two hundred Subterraneans remain."

"What? There were more than five thousand when I last left the base. How long has it been? How have you been managing them?" Psykos demanded, clearly displeased.

Great Eye replied helplessly, "It isn't that I mismanaged them. Centipede Elder and Pochi keep eating them."

Psykos's gaze sharpened as she issued an absolute order:

"Since Centipede Elder ate those Subterraneans, he can take this job. Within a month, I want him to excavate a temporary base in the outskirts of City F. It must be no smaller than headquarters."

After some thought, Great Eye did not object. Given Centipede Elder's digging ability, excavating an underground space