Progress

"Wright said earlier makes sense. Perhaps the Rat-folk want to deify this First Empress. But have you considered that the Rat-folk believe in these things? They understand what gods represent. And regardless of whether the gods represent the Zerg or something else, isn't it strange that an indigenous empress dared to aspire to be on par with them, yet was not stopped, and instead died peacefully and has been celebrated ever since?" Bianca analyzed.

"Indeed, if I were to raise a colony of ants, Ant Queen tried to rival me and challenge my authority, I would have to pour boiling water on them," Wright chuckled.

"Perhaps the relationship between the Rat-folk and the Zerg is far closer than we imagine?"

"Yes, the Rat-folk technologically backward and only have two satellite colonies. Their social division plan is completely meaningless."

"Unless they can gain something much greater!"

"That's right! Those upper-class elites who know the truth can consciously maintain this division. Ideals alone are simply not enough to sustain it; they can only do this to reap sufficient benefits."

"Perhaps there are some restrictions, such as a limited number of spots? This would allow them to consciously keep this secret to prevent more competitors from getting a share!"

"Then this benefit must be quite tempting."

"Xiya, can you continue to disguise your identity and extract more information?" Bianca asked.

Xiya thought for a moment and said, "They are very vigilant; they even have some kind of screening mechanism. I had already attracted some attention before, and I only managed to escape thanks to Warwick's help. If I'm not afraid of causing a diplomatic incident, I can try again."

Can you guarantee a good harvest?

"It's difficult. Even if they're at the same level, they won't say much. Maybe they really don't want to increase the number of competitors."

"That won't do. We don't have enough evidence yet, nor enough incentive for the elders to break the Alliance rules. We need to proceed with caution." Bianca shook her head. "Right now, we can only hope that the Captain's side can make some progress. We must gather more intelligence to uncover the answer."

"Now that we have the permission, perhaps our next stop should be the Rat-folk's colony. The hierarchy there might help us learn more."

"That's right!"

Unfortunately, Colonel Edres and the Captain, on whom high hopes were placed, failed to live up to expectations. Their numerous applications and requests were rejected by the Rat-folk various reasons.

This dragged on for almost a year before things took a turn for the better.

Elder Humins of the Epoch Clan arrived at the Origin Star. As the resident elder of this region, he came here to sign a formal alliance agreement with the Rat-folk, a process that the Riken Race and the Zerg had both gone through.

As the highest decision-maker of the Epoch Clan, the elder's rank was incomparable to that of a construction team leader or the Captain of an unidentified unit. The current Rat-folk Emperor personally greeted Humins.

The agreement was signed very smoothly, as it was just a formality. However, after the meeting, Humins, representing the Epoch Clan, expressed concern about the Rat-folk's refusal to allow Epoch Clan members to enter the country for tourism.

The Rat-folk could ignore the construction team leader and the Captain of the unidentified unit, but they could not ignore the Epoch Clan elders. Therefore, the Rat-folk's city was reopened to the Epoch Clan.

"The elder is truly amazing!"

"Yeah yeah!"

"It's a pity that Elder Humins is too old and doesn't suit my aesthetic."

"What? Do you have any other ideas?"

Hehe~

The intelligence team set off again in their spaceship, filled with laughter and chatter, except for the Captain whose forehead veins bulged. This time, their target was the Red Moon Colony of the Rat-folk. The Rat-folk had initially refused to open the colony to them, but Humins was still there, and after some "civilized discussion," the Rat-folk finally compromised.

"Everyone, be careful and stay safe. I'm not sure if the Rat-folk will resort to desperate measures when we get closer to the truth," the Captain instructed as the spaceship began to descend.

"Don't worry, Captain, everyone here is an experienced person; they know what they're doing."

"Exactly, besides, the Rat-folk wouldn't dare do anything."

The Captain remained silent, saying nothing more.

The Red Moon Colony is located within a large crater on the planet, with its main body underground and very sparse surface structures, consisting of only a few Landing Pad.

"This place is really shabby!" Wright complained.

"Given the Rat-folk's technological level, they'd be lucky to even establish a colony."

After the group disembarked from the spaceship, several Rat-folk officials waited at the hatch. After a brief introduction, they walked together into the building.

"Please forgive us, distinguished guests, but this place is rather simple, with few staff, and everyone has their own work to do, so we are unable to hold a welcoming ceremony for you." The Rat-folk official was very polite.

"It's alright, we're just taking a look around," the Captain replied politely.

While the group exchanged pleasantries ahead, the few Epoch Clan members at the back of the group began their operation. Because they were in an outer space colony, their protective suits were relatively thicker, allowing for the concealment of more integrated instruments.

"Wright, you go last, focus on collecting samples, the rest of you cover." The Captain didn't have time, so command was temporarily handed over to Bianca. At this moment, she was giving instructions to everyone in a very obscure language. It was the native language of a civilization on the other side of the Star Sea Alliance's territory, and even the civilization itself didn't have many people who could speak it, let alone the Rat-folk.

Wright, who was at the back, received the order. He pretended to touch the wall, but suddenly a steel needle-like sampler emerged from his palm. It was incredibly sturdy, and the wall was as smooth as tofu, with the sampler easily inserted into it. Then it retracted in a flash, and Wright lowered his hand, leaving a tiny hole in the wall that was invisible to the naked eye.

They traveled at a leisurely pace, perhaps because the number of Rat-folk in the colony was indeed too small, or perhaps because the Rat-folk were subtly expressing their unwelcomeness. After a day's journey, the Epoch Clan team hadn't encountered a single Rat-folk other than the Rat-folk official who had greeted them.

Nighttime, in the lounge.

"Captain, we've checked; there are no surveillance devices."

"Captain, there's no biological response. There are no other living beings in this room besides us."

The two team members, carrying instruments, walked around the room and then reported back.

"It seems the Rat-folk know why we're here, and while they're on guard against us, they won't leave any evidence against us."

"Hmph, they've gone too far. It's one thing if no one shows up in the research labs, but to find no one even in the living quarters? I don't believe there wasn't prior notice of a lockdown."

"Alright, has anyone made any discoveries today?"

"I obtained the samples collected by Wright. After a preliminary test, the building materials of the colony itself seem to be fine, but the construction time seems to be not long, less than a hundred years, which does not match their records."

Thank you Barbarian King with Ultimate, for the generous donation of 100 Qidian Coins.