Chen Gu looked again at the Super Life-form. It stood imposingly, its presence dominating the entire planet, showing no hint of injury or a lurking stance.

Outside the meteorite crater, countless mechanical species were prostrating themselves on the ground, daring not to move. The Super Life-form rotated its massive head, surveying its surroundings. Then, two mechanical creatures, one from each faction, rose into the air: one from the off-world mechanical species and one from the indigenous mechanical species.

In front of the Super Life-form, a transparent platform constructed purely of energy materialized. The two mechanical creatures landed on it and immediately began to roar and clash. After probing each other a few times, they engaged in a ferocious battle.

The Super Life-form's 'gaze' was sharp and penetrating; these two mechanical creatures were top contenders within their respective groups and quite evenly matched. The battle lasted for over half an hour, and ultimately, the indigenous mechanical creature lost; it was torn into several pieces and thrown down from the energy platform.

The off-world mechanical species roared in unison, while the victor, battered and limping, made its way to the front of the Super Life-form and bowed its head. The Super Life-form nodded slightly. From the coronet on its head, a beam of light shot out, enveloping the off-world mechanical creature.

Chen Gu was astonished to see this off-world mechanical creature begin to undergo significant transformations, showing signs of developing toward the form of the Super Life-form itself! The light lasted for only about ten seconds, yet the off-world mechanical creature had unmistakably transformed into a miniature version of the Super Life-form!

Afterward, this mechanical creature was sent back, and the Super Life-form selected another pair to come up and fight. The victor, once again, received a reward from the Super Life-form.

There were five such combat rounds in total. The off-world mechanical species won three times, and the indigenous mechanical species won twice. After everything concluded, the Super Life-form let out a long howl to the heavens, and its massive body slowly sank back into the meteorite crater. As the last glimmer of red light from its coronet faded into the ground, it was as if a war cry had sounded for total war, prompting both factions to begin a violent onslaught.

The five mechanical creatures that had received the Super Life-form's boon undoubtedly became the "peerless warriors" in the ensuing war. Mechanical creatures fell constantly, only for more from the rear to surge forward and join the fray. The five special mechanical creatures first slaughtered a great number of their adversaries' rank-and-file soldiers, then finally encountered each other on the battlefield.

Three against two—the outcome was predictable. When the two special indigenous mechanical creatures beat a hasty retreat, the indigenous faction completely crumbled, and the off-world mechanical species began a massive pursuit.

Chen Gu and the others watched the entire battle in shock. Of course, with Great Actor Chen present, they had followed his suggestion and left their original spot for a much safer "audience seat" on a tall, distant mountain. This way, should one side suffer a rout, they would not find themselves caught amidst a "crumbling army."

However, this time, the indigenous mechanical species retreated in the opposite direction from them. They watched from the mountain. About half an hour later, the mechanical species, having left behind a field of corpses, pursued their fleeing enemies towards the north, much like human armies in full pursuit.

Elton shifted, about to stand, but hands from either side pressed him down. One hand was Gong Shuxu's, the other Chen Gu's. However, since Gong Shuxu only had his left arm remaining, it was somewhat awkward for him to reach over and hold Elton down.

Elton looked puzzled. Chen Gu pointed towards the sky, where specks of light were already faintly visible.

"The Alien Insect Race!"

"What does the Alien Insect Race want?" the others wondered, puzzled. "They're certainly no match for the Super Life-form."

Chen Gu frowned, remaining silent. With his experience from the scripts in his past life and his personal experiences at the Bureau of Mystic Security in this one, this war seemed increasingly bizarre. There were too many strange and illogical aspects.

Both the off-world mechanical species and the indigenous mechanical species are here for the rewards offered by the Super Life-form. For the off-world mechanical species, it was, of course, a race to be first, worried that arriving late would mean missing the competition and this opportunity. As for the indigenous mechanical species, they were obviously weaker than their off-world counterparts; hence, they ambushed them en route, hoping to weaken their rivals. Perhaps there was some unspoken, unfathomable understanding among the indigenous mechanical species: one contingent lay in ambush along the way to attack the off-world mechanical species—these off-world mechanical species themselves were the prize for the ambushers, as consuming them presumably provided some sort of enhancement. The cost was that they would be too late to participate in the Super Life-form's 'imperial examination.' Another contingent waited around the Super Life-form's meteorite crater to battle the off-world mechanical species.

After analyzing for a while, Chen Gu was still puzzled. What exactly is the reward from the Super Life-form? Does it transform these victorious mechanical creatures to resemble itself?

Gong Shuxu said slowly, "This reward... is extremely generous. It's most likely a genetic strand from the Super Life-form. These victors gain the potential to evolve into Super Life-forms themselves!"

Chen Gu had an epiphany. "That's it!" He looked at the descending Alien Insect Race. "So it seems these bugs aren't here for the Super Life-form itself, but for its genetic strand."

"The bugs wouldn't dare challenge the Super Life-form directly," Gong Shuxu also figured it out. "But if they capture one of the victors, they can obtain this genetic strand. And the Alien Insect Race's evolutionary adaptation and modification capabilities are terrifying; they could use this genetic strand to birth even more powerful offspring."

Ma Shuwen and the others were only scouts. When it came to analysis, dissection, and peeling away the fog to see the truth, they were naturally far behind a former veteran operative like Gong Shuxu. What secretly surprised them, however, was that Chen Gu, despite his youth, could hold his own against a veteran operative like Gong Shuxu in analytical reasoning. They could only remain silent and listen intently.

Chen Gu continued, "Given the Alien Insect Race's greed, their target is probably not just one victor; they likely want to capture all the victors in one fell swoop!"

Gong Shuxu laughed too. It had been a long time since he had such a passionate and open-minded discussion about a perplexing issue. Moreover, both could follow each other's train of thought, making the entire discussion smooth and natural. It reminded Gong Shuxu of his early days at the Bureau of Mystic Security, working through the night to crack cases with his fellow rookies. It was a potent wave of youthful nostalgia.

Then Gong Shuxu suddenly remembered this kid was an irritating Brain Domain Hacker! His demeanor instantly turned cold and awkward. "So," he asked indifferently, "what should we do next?"

"Of course, we're going to ruin the Alien Insect Race's plan!" Chen Gu gestured decisively. "Think about it—why did we follow these off-world mechanical species all this way? It was to uncover this planet's hidden secrets. Now that we have, and those secrets involve the Alien Insect Race, we certainly can't let them succeed!"

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