Chapter 49

"Qin Zhong is dead."

On the desks piled high with documents at the Federation and the Military Department, a new report appeared.

Before this, it was...

Du Nan, a disciple of Zhou Zhishan, was exiled to Iron Shavings Star, sparking a strike at the Military Academy that has yet to subside.

Then, Li Wenfu boasted about purging the supreme power and went to the planet where pirates and mercenaries gather, Gun Star, with the young prodigy Lu Sheng. This incident sparked disputes among the Eighty-Eight Noble Clans, and even the intervention of the Eight Master Clans could not resolve it. The Li Clan's patriarch would rather secede from the Eighty-Eight Noble Clans than recall the young Li Wenfu.

The third event involved Yinxing, who single-handedly defeated six teams from the Dongyi region and crippled thirty-six magic energy students. When the results were announced, the entire Blue Sea Planet was in an uproar. All news media in the Jiangnan region used the same statement: "Thirty-six against one, and you still want an apology? Are your brains broken? No apology, but we'll pay for medical expenses. Jiangnan isn't short of money. If you get crippled again next year, we'll still pay for medical expenses, and even double it."

The fourth event was about the Blue Sea Federation sending people to track Li Yinzhu, but six Red Steel Armor Masters lost him... When they returned, a message was added to their back armor: "Don't follow me again, or I'll take your lives next time."

The fifth event was about Ye Binghua.

She spent seven minutes advancing from a White Iron 9th Class to a Red Steel 9th Class. Eighteen levels, fifty-four victories... Each match ended in less than ten seconds. For a time, the power of the Ice Mountain Cannon shook the entire Azure Star Alliance, surpassing the other nine famous snipers. Now, eighty percent of the documents on the Federation President's desk are invitation letters from various top universities in the Star Alliance.

The Silver Leaf Team.

They stirred up a massive storm on the desks of major forces on Blue Sea Planet.

Half a year ago, they were just a group of kids.

Now, they have shaken the entire planet.

"You go out first, we don't have the mood to care about those who died long ago." The President, upon receiving the report, threw it away without a second thought. These days, there aren't many people brave enough to challenge Qin Zhong, but it's not a small number. Every time the Shallow Sea explosion happens, Qin Zhong 'dies' once. What's there to talk about?

"It's not that!"

The Secretary-General picked up the report and loudly said, "Mr. President, you didn't understand."

Unfolding the report, the Secretary-General pointed to a line of data and said, "Mr. President, look at these data. Eight days ago, in this historical battle, the battle report shows that Qin Zhong died six seconds before the Shallow Sea Fortress exploded."

"Then, what the hell are you trying to say?" The President was furious, indicating that there was no difference between Qin Zhong dying six seconds earlier or later.

Am I that idle?

Do I have time to care about such trivial matters?

"In every battle of the Shallow Sea Fortress, Qin Zhong died one second after the explosion. If he died six seconds earlier, it means: someone killed Qin Zhong." A patriarch beside the President spoke. To this President, who has no magic energy, his understanding of battles is about the same as an idiot's.

"Oh!" The President understood a bit, but his reaction was not significant.

His mind quickly turned to the 'Promise of a City' from the Red Dragon Federation. He thought that if he could find this person, he could make a fortune. The Red Dragon Federation has publicly spoken, so they shouldn't go back on their word.

"Idiot." Qiao Banzhai snorted angrily, "What are you thinking? In the entire Azure Star Alliance, no one can kill Qin Zhong, and now... he's dead!"

"Yes, I understand." The President made a slight response to Qiao Lao's anger.

But his eyes still showed little reaction.

The people around him thought: If the Eight Master Clans hadn't been at an impasse, how could you have risen to power? Any idiot would be ten times better than you. In the entire Azure Star Alliance, who doesn't see Qin Zhong as an insurmountable wall? You show no reaction at all, such ignorance is rare.

"Is there any other news? Have you found out who killed him?" The President felt something was off, and his sensitive political instincts made him ask another question.

As soon as the words were out, he regretted it.

Magic energy isn't a market where anyone can pay and take what they want.

To know the outcome of the Shallow Sea map, one must be the uploader of the map. To find out who did it, the person would have to publicly release the recording.

"No." The Secretary-General was speechless and could only answer, "There is no public team name or account name. This historical battle still ended in failure. All I know is that Qin Zhong died six seconds before the explosion. I don't know who he fought or how many people he fought. The failed team has no data, no numbers, no ranks."

The President fell silent.

He was puzzled; if Qin Zhong was dead, why didn't the other side win?

As a leader, especially in front of Qiao Lao, he couldn't show too much ignorance, so he didn't ask further.

The others also fell silent.

Qin Zhong was dead, but the battle wasn't won... This wasn't too abnormal, but the war had too many variables, and there could be hundreds of explanations. Once the Shallow Sea Fortress exploded, the battle was lost, regardless of what happened before. Conversely, if you were on Qin Zhong's side, the explosion of the Shallow Sea Fortress meant victory, no matter how fierce the Red Dragon's attack was.

The outcome wasn't important; what was important was that Qin Zhong 'died' before the explosion.

Qiao Lao's face was grim.

A few days ago.

He was used as a pawn to 'drive away' the genius Du Nan. Now, Qin Zhong's 'death' and the explosion of the Shallow Sea Fortress made him sense a conspiracy. The Shallow Sea battle back then was probably not as simple as it seemed. The restored magic network map couldn't be altered. If Qin Zhong's death or survival didn't affect the explosion of the Shallow Sea Fortress, this was definitely not normal.

Qiao Banzhai had always believed that Qin Zhong had manually triggered the self-destruction. Today, hearing that he 'died' and the explosion was still inevitable... Suddenly, a voice echoed in his ear: "Longtu, what is he? As the commander of the Shallow Sea Guard, he didn't even dare to avenge Qin Zhong. This coward isn't worth my Li Wenfu following."

What does this little fatso know?

Has he ever met Qin Zhong in the Shallow Sea? Has he guessed any conspiracy?

"Mr. President, you must see these materials." Just as everyone was in distress, a military communications officer quickly entered, turned off all the lights, and opened a set of photos: "We lost twenty-six satellites to get this set of photos. We won't be able to take any photos on Iron Shavings Star for the next three to four years."

In the light of the images.

Countless giant corpses, one after another, piled up in layers, forming a long corridor of corpses. Dozens of meters of corpse mountains, plus scattered small piles, extended for tens of thousands of meters. All these dead bodies were of the same species.

"King of the Mountains, Ice Spine Ban Tu Bear, one of the three major pests on Iron Shavings Star."

Qiao Lao, with his extensive knowledge, recognized them at a glance.

Seeing the confusion on everyone's faces, he added, "On Iron Shavings Star, the eight kings of the criminals, the mountain lords Ban Tu Bears, and the sea lords Silver Horn Dragons are known as the three major pests. Ban Tu Bears are extremely powerful star beasts, more terrifying than most insectoids. They are around four-star level when they reach adulthood, with some even reaching five-star and six-star levels. Due to their group living, even the military avoids them."

Everyone felt a strange sense of unease.

In this world, a group that could make the military 'avoid' was extremely rare.

"These battle scenes are a bit strange. Such a large number of deaths suggests that the eight kings of the criminals reached a consensus and launched an attack on the mountains to expand their territory. There are many tech talents among the criminals, so they must have started eyeing the mountain's mineral resources." Qiao Banzhai speculated.

"Qiao Lao, are you sure?" The President was worried.

If the people on Iron Shavings Star rebel, it would be a huge problem.

"Let's hold off on the debate, let's see first." The military officer continued to show the photos, one after another, all of Ban Tu Bear corpses. Some were still bleeding, still warm. After seeing dozens of photos, everyone felt something was missing.

"No human corpses?" Qiao Lao stood up in shock and asked urgently.

The military officer shook his head.

Continuing to show the photos... no human corpses, no mech fragments, no craters from ammunition explosions. The more they saw, the colder their hearts grew. Until the last photo, they finally saw a human figure. A human, slightly looking up at the sky, covered in blood.

He stood on a hundred-meter-high pile of corpses.

Beneath his feet, the corpses were piled in layers, and dozens of nearly thirty-meter-tall Ban Tu Bears were bravely climbing to the top, trying to crush this human.

Seeing the face of the last person.

Qiao Banzhai took a few steps back.

His old face was filled with panic as he fell into a wooden chair.

"The military has hundreds of photos, and the content is similar. There's no point in looking at them. The Ban Tu Bears on Iron Shavings Star have been exterminated, not a single one remains. Preliminary estimates suggest that this person, along with some unknown force, killed all the Ban Tu Bears within seven days. According to the military's repeated simulations of the battle process, he is at least a fifth-level physical strength expert and possesses magic energy. According to Li Qifeng's response, if he could infinitely replace mechs, he might have achieved the extermination in seven days. Without infinite mechs, he couldn't even kill a thousandth of them. Humans, no, any life form, don't have the 'infinite stamina' gene. Continuous fighting would break your own arms."

The military officer closed the device, turned on the lights, and said, "The military only captured one person, and now there isn't even a piece of mech metal. We can't confirm if this was the work of one person, so please discuss how this was achieved."

Qiao Banzhai didn't speak, knowing he couldn't do it either.

Star beasts are strong, and Ban Tu Bears are numerous and fierce.

One, he could kill instantly.

Ten, he could still kill instantly.

A hundred, a thousand, ten thousand... When the number reaches a certain point, even a swarm of cockroaches would be impossible to kill. An individual's magic energy is limited, and an individual's physical energy is even more limited. Anyone would eventually run out of energy and be unable to fight. When a person reaches their limit, they are like a gun without bullets, unable to function.

Was the person in the photos the one who killed all these Ban Tu Bears?

The military officer took out another document and asked, "This is the report from eight days ago, when you sent a magic energy student to Iron Shavings Star. The designated location was Prison City, but the pilot dropped him in the center of the Ban Tu Bear territory. The pilot committed suicide by taking poison upon return. Do you have any explanation for this?"

Everyone fell silent upon hearing this.

The military officer added, "The military generals are still in a meeting, waiting for your answers."

Qiao Lao's eyes flared with anger as he shouted, "The pilot didn't drop Du Nan in Prison City but threw him into the Ban Tu Bear territory and then committed suicide for love? Mr. President, can you explain this to me? Did I hear wrong, or did this soldier say something wrong?"

"Qiao Lao, this matter..." The President had already received the news but couldn't explain it publicly.

How did this turn into such a big issue? If that student Du Nan had just died, it would have been nothing.

Now, he's in a difficult position both inside and out.

"Ha ha ha ha..." Qiao Banzhai, seeing the President's speechless response, suddenly burst into laughter, feeling an intense pain: "So it's like this, I'm the one who's confused. You are young, and I am old. I shouldn't have interfered in your affairs. Good, very good. I, Qiao Banzhai, have dedicated my life to the public, but I never expected this... Forget it, from now on, I won't interfere in your affairs. I'll retire and enjoy my old age."

"Qiao Lao, this isn't directed at you."

"Stand still." Qiao Banzhai waved his hand, and the President stumbled back a few steps: "Today, I'm really leaving, and I won't bother you anymore. Remember, don't come to me, no matter what happens. If anyone from you comes to my house in the future, I'll throw their corpse out. I, Qiao Banzhai, mean what I say!"

Qiao Lao's final roar left everyone with ringing ears and blurred vision.

They couldn't calm down for a long time.

Those who understood felt a deep chill: Qiao Lao was truly enraged, thunderously angry. Time and again, Qiao Lao, this guardian deity, was toyed with. This old hero, who had fought for over two hundred years, was finally thoroughly provoked.

Everyone vaguely felt that one of the three major mountains of Blue Sea was collapsing.