Intelligence

"But the Zerg only sent 3,000 researchers back then, which probably broke the Alliance record. Given their stingy nature, it's understandable that they didn't help," another male team member suddenly interjected.

"You're wrong, Yate. The Zerg Queen is quite shrewd; this move was brilliant," Amina retorted.

"How so?"

"Rumor has it that of their three thousand researchers, only a few remain. You know why, right?" Amina said mysteriously, giving her a knowing look.

Yate fell into deep thought, while Wright, as if struck by a sudden realization, exclaimed, "No way?"

"Kid, you're still young. The Alliance is a deep and dangerous place. Serve me well in the future, and when I'm in a good mood, I'll teach you something that you'll benefit from endlessly," Amina said smugly.

"No, things might not be that simple! Maybe they did all this on purpose to show us." Bianca, who had been silent all along, suddenly interrupted the team's chatter.

The Captain nodded. "That's what I think too. Even if they're not on good terms, with us mediating, it seems a bit unreasonable not to give them this much face."

"I've read the Zerg Empress's file; she doesn't seem like the type to act impulsively at all."

"The Koya Alliance's proposal came quite suddenly, and the Zerg were probably unprepared. Then they blocked us for twenty years, which means that the Origin Star System holds some secrets that the Zerg don't want others to know."

"Twenty years later, they left decisively, but now they don't want to come back; they simply don't want to have any further connection with the Origin Star System."

"Previous reports from within the clan indicated that the Zerg first appeared in the Origin Star System, which is their main base. Now, being suddenly forced to relocate, it's highly likely that some items cannot be moved or destroyed..."

"Now, they're so eager to distance themselves, just to cover up what's going on?"

The Captain and Bianca worked together, gradually clarifying their thoughts. Finally, Bianca face flushed with excitement, licked her lips and said seductively, "It's good to have a secret. Isn't that what we came here for?"

"But where will the Zerg hide their secret?" Wright interjected after listening for a while. A star system, while large, isn't actually that big for a civilization of the Epoch Clan's level. But to find something within it, especially without even knowing what that thing looks like, is extremely difficult.

"I think the best way is to ask the Rat-folk. They've lived with the Zerg for hundreds of years; there's no way they wouldn't know anything," Bianca thought for a moment.

The Captain shook his head. "We have too little information right now. Even if we ask, we don't know how to describe it. We must gather some information ourselves first, at least to know what to ask."

Construction of the Rat-folk's trading city has begun. Amidst the bustling activity, the Epoch Clan, under the guise of experiencing exotic customs and learning about different cultures, requested to visit the Rat-folk's city.

The Rat-folk, in a position of absolute weakness, had no way to refuse the Epoch Clan's various demands. However, citing their lack of contact with races other than the Zerg, they only granted the Epoch Clan half a month. Whether the opening would continue would depend on feedback from the people.

So the Epoch Clan's group set off, most of them genuinely going to experience life there, though some were using it as a cover.

Two weeks later, the team reunited.

"Damn it, I'm going crazy!" Wright exclaimed as soon as he entered the conference room.

"What's wrong, kid? Did you get scared by the female Rat-folk's enthusiasm?" Amina teased.

Wright was taken aback by the question, then replied, "Although I am dashing and debonair, my height doesn't seem to meet the requirements of female Rat-folk, and besides, they don't fit my aesthetic. I was focused on my work, how could I possibly mix business with personal matters and get involved in that kind of thing?"

"Tch, you've got a history of this. But tell me, if it's not that kind of mess, then what's driving you crazy?"

Amina's train of thought jumped around so quickly that Wright almost lost his train of thought. He paused for a moment before remembering the topic he was about to bring up. "You guys don't know, I went to a Rat-folk city and stayed for several days. Under the guise of shopping and such, I asked a lot of people, and they didn't even know what the Zerg were?!"

Seeing that Amina raised an eyebrow but didn't show any surprise, Wright took a breath and continued, "At first, I thought I was approaching the wrong class of Rat-folk, so I tried contacting Rat-folk of different professions, and even changed cities twice. It turned out that they didn't even know what the Zerg were!"

After Wright finished speaking, the Captain gestured to a chair. "Sit down. We understand the situation. Do you have any other information?"

Wright shook his head and sat down obediently. As the youngest member of the team, he had been the last to arrive, so he used an exaggerated performance to successfully divert attention. Now that his goal was achieved, he naturally wanted to minimize his presence and make everyone forget what had just happened.

"This is truly bizarre. Two races have lived together for hundreds of years, yet one side is unaware of the other's existence? Heh, this is quite interesting." The meeting, which had just been interrupted by Wright, resumed.

"The Rat-folk are lying. Those Rat-folk high-ranking officials clearly know about the Zerg," Bianca said, frowning.

"Our schedules and contacts are all random; they couldn't possibly arrange them in advance. Besides, what's their purpose in doing all this?"

"It's really strange; I don't see what benefit this would bring them."

"Ordinary people have no idea about the existence of the Zerg, while the higher-ups are eager to distance themselves. What are the Rat-folk and the Zerg up to?"

"Looking back now, the behavior of those Rat-folk's high-ranking officials during the negotiations seemed far too deliberate. I can no longer tell whether they were eager to sever ties or just creating a false impression."

"Are they doing this on purpose for us? But which version of events do they want us to believe?"

"A mix of truth and lies—perhaps they just want to see us struggle and distract us so they can hide the real secret?"

"That's possible, but what's the real secret?"

"Wait!" Just as everyone was seriously analyzing the situation, Bianca, who had only said one sentence at the beginning and had been deep in thought, suddenly spoke up, interrupting them.

"What's wrong, Bianca?" the Captain asked, turning around. Bianca was a veteran player and, in his opinion, the smartest person on the team besides himself.

"Have you ever considered that when you get caught up in that so-called real secret, your attention has actually been diverted?" Bianca said bluntly, without keeping you in suspense.

These words jolted everyone awake from their daze. They had been led into a vicious cycle of thought, and if they continued, they would either gain little or be trapped in one trap after another.

"Hateful!"

Thank you to Pili Zhutian and reader 20201010224344661 for the 100 Qidian coins reward.