Chapter 251: Zerg Attack
After Ye Yan dropped off Bai Rao, his mood finally relaxed a bit as he took a Hovercar back to the palace.
These past few days of travel, he had been on edge the entire time, so he simply switched the Hovercar to autopilot.
The autopilot maintained a steady, moderate speed.
He settled back comfortably, his gaze drifting outside. Suddenly, his eyes narrowed. Thinking he’d seen it wrong, he immediately had the Hovercar reverse.
After a moment, he stared at the massive advertising screen and laughed with delight. "Oh, big brother, big brother. You really have lost your mind. To actually propose to a ’waste female’?"
"Will Father agree?"
He stroked his chin with great interest. He had planned to go home and sleep, but now he decided to head to the palace first to watch the drama unfold.
Ye Yan was still unaware of the various news circulating online. After all, he had only recently returned from a Deserted Star and had been constantly with Bai Rao. After seeing Ye Ming’s proposal ad, he took manual control of the Hovercar, his spirits revived, and sped toward the palace.
In truth, the palace was indeed lively, but not in the way Ye Yan expected. The Monarch wasn’t holding anyone accountable, nor was Ye Ming the only one there.
After dinner, just as Shi Lan and her group were preparing to leave, He Hanshi received a message from the Monarch summoning him to the palace to discuss the Insect Clan. As the heir, Ye Ming naturally had to attend as well.
Reluctantly, He Hanshi could only take her home first before heading to the palace with Ye Ming.
Upon arriving at the main hall, the Monarch briefly asked about their proposals. With advertisements plastered everywhere outside and the internet buzzing with discussion, the Monarch was naturally aware of the situation. He even had subordinates asking when the Eldest Prince would be preparing for the wedding.
The Monarch chuckled and remarked with a sigh, "I never expected you two would both fall for the same female—and one the public used to call a ’waste female,’ no less."
At the words ’waste female,’ He Hanshi felt a pang of discomfort. He pressed his lips together slightly. "Your Majesty, rather than saying I like Shi Lan, I consider myself fortunate that she chose me. She is wonderful. It’s just that outsiders are too prejudiced."
’That ’prejudice’ included the Monarch himself.’
The Monarch’s smile deepened, the wrinkles at the corners of his eyes stretching. "Very well, very well. As long as you two like her, that’s all that matters. I’m not the kind of parent who can’t tell right from wrong. If Ming’er likes this female, I won’t stand in his way. It’s just... Ming’er, next time you decide to get married, please don’t keep it a secret from your own father."
Ye Ming lowered his head. "Yes, Father."
The Monarch changed the subject back to the urgent matter of the Insect Clan. "Han Shi, you mentioned last time that the Insect Mother took a certain Energy Body, and that it might cause it to mutate. Has there been any other activity from the Insect Mother since then?"
He Hanshi wasn’t surprised by the Monarch’s form of address. His parents had passed away when he was young, and with his 3S Spiritual Power, he was raised in the palace’s training camp. The Monarch had often called him by his given name back then.
He collected his thoughts and shook his head. "No. We’ve been monitoring it closely. We’ve also placed Insect Clan monitoring devices on many remote residential stars and Deserted Stars. This allows us to detect the Insect Clan’s movements early and minimize casualties."
He Hanshi’s leave of absence had, of course, been approved by the Monarch, and he had actually briefed him on these matters once before.
The Monarch nodded. "Mm. Continue to heighten the alert. If that Energy Body is truly as powerful as you say, then we don’t know if the Insect Clan’s attack power will increase. That would certainly not be good news for us."
"However, it’s fortunate that your spiritual power collapse values have decreased. Otherwise, losing you all would be a great loss to the interstellar forces; I don’t know how we would resist the Insect Clan."
He remarked, his gaze filled with relief.
He Hanshi and Ye Ming exchanged an impassive glance. They both just grunted in affirmation and said nothing more.
"By the way, keep a close watch on the Insect Mother’s movements. If it values that Energy Body so much, it’s possible that the place it appears next will also have a related energy source. The Insect Mother has already obtained one; we cannot let it get a second."
He Hanshi’s expression grew much more serious. "Understood. We’ll be on the lookout."
Suddenly, He Hanshi’s chip vibrated. His military-issued chip was linked to the Insect Clan monitoring network.
His gaze sharpened. He opened the alert and saw that the location was, of all places, the Capital Star.
As a major population center, the Capital Star had long been equipped with numerous Insect Clan monitoring devices. He checked the coordinates—it was near the city center.
He Hanshi immediately announced, "Your Majesty, the Insect Clan has appeared on the Capital Star. I must depart at once to provide support."
At that very moment, a soldier rushed in. "Bad news, Your Majesty! There’s an Insect Clan attack on the Capital Star! We’ve received a distress signal from the Bai Family!"
He Hanshi glanced at the coordinates again. The Bai Family’s residence was indeed about two kilometers from the city center, and his own home was only a kilometer from the Bai Family’s estate.
’Shi Lan is still at home.’
He Hanshi left in a hurry. Ye Ming followed him out, and the Monarch dispatched rescue teams along with the Four Great Families to provide support.
By this time, the entire Bai Family had already taken refuge in the safe passage built into their home. Even Bai Rao had been temporarily taken out of the Treatment Pod by Mr. Bai to be brought to safety.
The Insect Clan could burrow through the ground, rendering the Bai Family’s defenses largely useless. By now, their house had been torn to pieces, a complete and utter wreck.
Mrs. Bai huddled fearfully in her Pet Servant’s arms. "Tell me, how could this be happening? Why is our family so unlucky? Why would the Insect Clan attack us and not someone else?"
"Yes, it would be so much better if they attacked the Jiang Family."
Her Pet Servant was being very agreeable, and Mrs. Bai nodded in approval, gloating, "The Jiang Family isn’t too far from our house. The Insect Clan will probably head there next."
"Oh, and the other great families too. Tsk. If a few more of their members die this time, maybe our Bai Family can finally become one of the Four Great Families."
"Yes, yes, My Lady will surely get her wish."
As the two of them spoke so intimately, Mr. Bai stood to the side, looking at his daughter with a bleak and worried expression.
Meanwhile, at He Hanshi’s home, Shi Lan had just finished washing up when she heard chaotic, explosion-like sounds from outside, as well as the noisy clamor of a large crowd.
Worried, she went to the top floor to look into the distance. She couldn’t tell where the fire was, but thick black smoke was drifting toward her on the wind.
Moreover, she narrowed her eyes. In the distance, a colossal figure looked vaguely familiar.
Shi Lan stared intently for a few moments before her face filled with shock. "How did the Insect Clan get to the Capital Star again?"
’Her thoughts immediately went to the spiritual power status of her friends. Jiang Xia and the other three on the Capital Star were fine; they likely hadn’t encountered the Insect Clan recently. But He Hanshi was a different story. Even though she had specifically used Basic Healing on him over the past two days, his collapse value was still stuck around 30 and wouldn’t go any lower.’
’She had been planning to use Deep Healing to help him recover tonight, but then he was suddenly summoned by the Monarch.’
’And now the Insect Clan had appeared. As an Admiral, he would definitely be sent to the front lines to provide support.’
Shi Lan was fraught with worry. She could only hope that nothing else would go wrong.