Inspection

"Have you considered exchanging this technology for the Epoch Clan? It would definitely fetch a good price. Oh, I misspoke. We all belong to the Epoch Clan now. Shouldn't you be considering donating this technology to your clan?" the muscular giant asked, looking up. Although he appeared honest and simple, his words were cunning, not only wanting to get something for nothing but also trying to sow discord.

What he said was true to some extent.

The Zerg member shook his head. "This Parasitic Armor was issued to the Zerg, and its technology is strictly confidential." He then gestured with his hand in a wide arc. "None of us Zerg here know the specifics of this technology."

"Tch!" The muscular giant curled his lip. "Fine, that's beyond my authority. Let's leave this to the higher-ups." He muttered to himself, "Fortunately, reporting this information itself will bring in a fair amount of profit, so it's not a complete waste."

Then, unwilling to give up, he added, "From now on, we're all on the same side. If you have anything good, bring it out in advance to exchange for points." Before the Zerg members could ask what the points were for, he answered his own question, "What are the points for? They're great! With points, not only can life be more comfortable, but you can also obtain more resources, apply for more advanced laboratories, and access more profound knowledge. In short, the more points the better."

Unfortunately, after all his advocacy, no one from the Zerg responded. He was slightly embarrassed, but fortunately, his dark skin concealed his blush. It turned out that these testing personnel, besides being responsible for transporting foreign researchers, were also tasked with extracting technology— Keep It in the Family Project.

For example, if the foreign researchers they receive possess a technology that their own Epoch Clan doesn't have, and this technology can be exchanged for 5 points, then the receiving personnel and the researcher providing the technology each receive half of those points, which they then split equally. This way, when the researcher's home tribe wants to exchange this technology for points again, it will show that the technology is already in reserve and cannot be exchanged.

In this way, the acquisition of points by outsiders was curbed, and the relationship between researchers and their mother tribes was sown, achieving multiple benefits at once. However, as the number of outsiders increased, and as they were more or less influenced by the technological path of the Epoch Clan, homogenization became serious, and the unique technologies that could be exchanged became fewer and fewer.

However, the Swarm is one of the few civilizations in the Star Sea Alliance that primarily focuses on biotechnology, so they must possess many unique technologies. This lucrative position was something that "Iron Tower Muscle Monster" and "Blue-Haired Monkey" had worked very hard to secure. They discovered something good right from the start, but now they feel like they've entered a treasure trove only to return empty-handed, which is extremely frustrating for them.

Besides the room for personnel screening, all luggage and personal belongings of those boarding the ship are in another room, where they also need to undergo multiple screenings before being taken onto the spaceship. The Epoch Clan is quite humane towards its new members; each researcher who passes the assessment can bring 50 kilograms of inanimate objects onto the ship.

However, the checks here are much stricter. Compared to the checks on personnel, which have almost never had any accidents, the personal belongings section is a major area where accidents occur.

Who were the people boarding the ship? They were all researchers from various fields. The things they brought most were various electronic storage devices and paper books. Then there were some clothes and souvenirs, and the third most common items were their favorite experimental materials.

These things come in all shapes and sizes. It's normal for them to have some radiation. Explosive items that are unstable are also common. Some may even carry various bacteria and toxins.

Although these things were explicitly prohibited in the handbook distributed before boarding the ship, they still kept coming despite the bans. After all, what bad intentions could those researchers have? They just wanted to bring some experimental materials.

"What is this?" a member of the Epoch Clan group asked his colleague.

What he was holding was a pendant he had found in the luggage of a researcher from Ricken. The pendant looked rather ordinary, appearing to be amber formed from some kind of plant secretion, strung together with a very ordinary woven cord.

What's quite peculiar is that a tiny golden insect, smaller than a fingernail, is encased in pale blue, transparent amber. It's remarkably well-preserved; not only are its limbs intact, but even its antennae are undamaged. It gleams with golden light and is exceptionally beautiful.

"It looks like a small insect, but I've never seen this kind before. Maybe it's a specialty of the natives." His companion glanced at it, then lost interest.

"Hey, don't do that, this thing might be very dangerous," the inspector exclaimed dramatically. Although his words and actions were indeed exaggerated, they were not without reason. In the history of the Epoch Clan, there was once a foreigner who had just boarded the ship carrying a specimen of a native creature.

Although the Epoch Clan in charge of the inspection discovered the specimen, they didn't pay much attention to it, treating it merely as an ordinary souvenir. However, after the spaceship took off, more than twenty Epoch Clan died one after another, and the cause could not be determined.

This caused panic on the spaceship, and it wasn't until more than a hundred Epoch Clan had died that they finally found the cause. It turned out that the culprit was this specimen, which could emit a weak neurotoxin. This toxin was not in the Epoch Clan's knowledge base, so it did not trigger an alarm when detected.

The toxin has a mild stimulating effect on indigenous people, so it is often used to make decorations. However, for many ethnic groups, it is a slow poison that can cause breathing difficulties and eventually lead to suffocation.

After this incident, the Epoch Clan personnel responsible for transporting outsiders became very attentive to any strange biological specimens found in their luggage. Although there was no explicit prohibition, they took strict precautions in this regard.

"Alright, let's find out what this little thing is." His companion took out a stick and scanned the amber several times. The data was quickly uploaded to the computer and the search began.

The information was quickly found.

"According to the information, this is a common small insect from the Zanga Forest near the equator of the home Mother Planet Riken, called... well, that's their native language, I don't recognize it. Locals often wrap it in the sap of Blue Fir Tree, solidify it, and wear it, believing it will bring good luck..."

Seeing that his colleague was about to launch into a long explanation and finish reading the entire document, the inspector quickly interrupted, saying, "Stop, stop. We have a lot of work to do. You know what I want to know. Don't waste time."

"Okay, our IT department has noted that it's a safe species and can be carried."

Upon hearing his colleague's words, the inspector shrugged, said nothing more, simply tossed the pendant back into the suitcase, and let it pass.