Granary

"Ha, I thought they didn't need to eat. Turns out they've been hiding so many here."

"Good heavens, this is a huge Granary!"

Looking at the White Silk Tumor on the ground, walls, and even hanging from the cave ceiling in the distance, the team members began to discuss the matter.

But at this very moment...

"Ah!!!!" came a gasp.

Winter was the fastest, crossing over in just a few steps.

"What's wrong?" The soldier who exclaimed was not from his squad, but a soldier from a regular guard unit, though his rank was much higher, and therefore he was qualified to ask what was going on.

"Sir, there's someone inside." The soldier pointed tremblingly at a White Silk Tumor and said. He had just witnessed Winter's actions and, out of curiosity, had also peered through a tumor-like object, only to be startled. It seemed he was still a new recruit; although he had some combat experience, his mental fortitude was somewhat lacking.

Upon hearing his words, Winter quickly peered through the gap created by the White Silk Tumor, only to see a pair of large eyes staring unblinkingly at him, which was quite eerie.

If Winter hadn't been so mentally strong, he might have screamed upon seeing such a scene. Even if he hadn't screamed, he would have been startled and taken two steps back.

He calmed himself down slightly and went to take a closer look. This time, he was more prepared and saw that the tumor indeed contained a member of the Riken Person.

His pale blue face and large eyes revealed a mixture of fear, confusion, and relief, making Winter realize that eyes could convey so many emotions.

He was huddled inside the tumor-like mass, whether due to the white silk binding him or some other reason, he remained motionless and kept his mouth tightly shut even when discovered by his kind.

If it weren't for his big eyes, Winter would have thought he was dead.

Winter quickly called over several team members, and together they cut open the White Silk Tumor, freeing their fellow tribesman.

However, for some unknown reason, even after the restraints were removed, the Riken Person remained motionless.

A Special Operations Team soldier stepped forward, held a small device up to his face, and quickly displayed a series of information.

"Captain, it was one of the patrol members who went missing first!"

Winter was also taken aback. Although he had suspected it, he couldn't help but sigh inwardly when he learned the exact answer. This guy was really lucky.

After all, it has been almost ten days since they went missing.

It's been so long and it hasn't turned into poop yet, what else could it be but a lucky escape?

"Carson, go out and report the situation immediately. Everyone else, separate all these tumors. Be careful when cutting them; there might be your colleagues inside," Winter ordered.

Carson, a communications soldier in the Special Operations Team, received the order and jogged back the way he came, carrying his equipment and adjusting it as he ran to check if he had escaped the magnetic field interference range.

Fortunately, everything went smoothly. After receiving the information from the communications officer, Colonel Chloe immediately reported the situation. This wasn't just a problem with this one hideout; there were missing patrol members around all the ground bases, and if they were still alive, the situation would be much more serious.

"Chloe, please give everyone another update on the situation." Just a few minutes later, an emergency meeting was convened. Fortunately, it was a video conference, and the captain and staff were all on standby on the ship, which enabled such efficiency.

"Everyone, the Special Operations Team that just broke into the underground cave has reported that they discovered a cave that appears to be Zerg Granary. Inside, they found one of the previously missing patrol members. He still has vital signs, but for unknown reasons, he is unable to move or speak." Chloe gave a brief overview of the situation.

A silence fell over the crowd.

"Captain Chloe, have we only found one person?" an officer asked.

Chloe shook her head and said, "The situation is very complicated. The search and rescue operation is still ongoing, but due to communication disruptions, the specific details are unknown."

Everyone fell silent again.

"Then let's wait a little longer," a captain sighed and said.

For a moment, the video conference fell silent, as if the sound system had been turned off.

As time passed, the Engineer Ant urgently erected a wired transmission cable in the tunnel, and more and more images and information from underground were transmitted back.

A huge underground cavity, white silk threads, and tumor-like structures were presented to the commanders attending the meeting.

The rescued patrolman was not the only lucky one; several more survivors were found during the subsequent search and rescue operation. Hours later, all the sac-like objects in the cave, including those hanging from the ceiling, were separated with the help of small equipment.

In the end, a total of 112 survivors were found.

It's worth noting that Chloe Base suffered the least damage because it was the first to detect the anomaly. A total of 21 ten-person patrol teams were attacked, and now almost half of them have been found as survivors, which is a very high percentage.

This is a bit tricky to handle.

Apart from Chloe, everyone else was having a headache, especially the commanders of the other bases who were caught in a dilemma.

Although most of the missing patrol members were new recruits, they still had to be rescued. If they hadn't known about this, it wouldn't have mattered, but now that they did, no one dared to say they wouldn't try.

Because no one, when trapped in such a situation, wants to be abandoned by their own people. If anyone dares to say they won't go to the rescue, at best they'll be called heartless and their military career will be over; at worst they'll be targeted. In an operation light-years away from their Mother Planet, being targeted by their comrades is no good thing.

But if we were to try to save them, the trouble would be even greater.

It took the Special Operations Team nearly ten days of effort to successfully penetrate the Zerg's "Granary" location from this Crypt. There simply isn't enough time to replicate this rescue elsewhere.

Since these patrol members were arrested around the same time, they probably can't hold out for another ten days. Anyone who suggests a safer rescue, digging slowly, would be tantamount to murdering them.

This means the only way to rescue them is to send troops deep into the Crypt and fight their way down as quickly as possible. But the underground tunnels are Zerg territory, and they had previously tried to directly storm the Crypt, but suffered heavy losses.

Now, however, they are sending troops to directly attack several Zerg nests that they knew nothing about before, which is why the commanders have remained silent.

Although reason tells them that abandoning the patrol members is the best option, in reality, in a civilization where every member is an independent and intelligent individual, this operation is simply impossible to implement.