Chapter 455 Preparations Before the Return Trip

Zhou Jue quietly looked at the captain kneeling on the ground. The smile on her face disappeared, and she regained her emotionless calm.

"Join the Federation?"

She seemed to be asking herself, or perhaps she was asking the air.

"That sounds like a good suggestion."

A glimmer of hope flashed in the captain's eyes.

Zhou Jue stopped looking at him, turned around, and waved to Cheng Gan.

"Take him and the other crew members into custody."

"Yes!" Cheng Gan immediately understood, stepped forward, and gave orders to the special forces soldiers behind him.

"Wait!" The captain cried out anxiously, struggling to stand up. "Sir! I'm telling the truth! I can introduce you! With your abilities, you're absolutely capable of securing a place in the Federation!"

Thor couldn't stand it anymore. He stepped forward, hammer in hand, and said in a gruff voice, "Why are you so long-winded? I can't understand what you're saying!"

He grabbed the captain by the back of his collar and lifted him off the ground like a chick.

"My lord! Please believe me! The darkness of the universe far surpasses your imagination! Without the protection of the Federation..."

Before he could finish speaking, a member of the "Sharp Sword" team used specially made energy handcuffs to lock his mouth shut.

Cheng Gan directed his team to quickly subdue all the prisoners on the bridge and escort them to the makeshift solitary confinement cell.

Soon, only the Chinese cultivators and a few "divine descendants" who had come to watch the spectacle remained on the bridge.

"Is that all?" Thor scratched his head, slammed the hammer on the ground, his face full of unsatisfaction.

"I thought we could play a little longer."

Marcus walked to a control panel that was not completely extinguished, reached out, and a wisp of golden electricity emanated from his fingertips as he carefully touched the circuitry on it.

Lu Changfeng also picked up a piece of broken ship armor, tapped it with his finger, and then examined it with his divine sense, his brows furrowing slightly.

"The material is very special. Even our flying swords need to put in some effort to cut through it."

"This ship is mine!" Thor suddenly shouted. "I have the highest battle merit points! I'm going to use it as my new temple!"

"Bullshit!" Marcus turned around instantly: "In terms of effective damage, my Thunder Spear is the highest! This ship is mine!"

"Can you two be quiet for once?" The Supreme Elder of the Qingyun Sect appeared behind the two of them at some point, his eyes full of disdain.

"What's the point of fighting over such a broken iron can? Once we reach their homeland, what kind of floating palace won't we have?"

Seeing that a new round of infighting was about to begin, Cheng Gan cleared his throat and spoke.

"Congratulations everyone, we have won the first battle! The preliminary statistics of battle merit points are in, and will be sent to you shortly!"

Her words immediately stopped Saul and Marcus from arguing, and they both looked down at their Kunlun instruments.

Cheng Gan then continued, "However, let me make this clear from the beginning."

"All spoils of war belong to all mankind."

"No one or any organization may use, disassemble, or study this material without the consent of the Alliance’s professional technical staff before the analysis is completed."

"Those who violate this rule will have all their points reset to zero and will be dealt with according to battlefield discipline."

Thor's excited expression froze.

Marcus's lips also drooped.

Points reset to zero? That's worse than killing them.

At this moment, Lu Changfeng's voice rang out, his tone softening somewhat.

"I know everyone is very interested in these new toys, but don't rush."

"We're going to pack them all up and take them home now."

"Once we get back to Earth, we'll have plenty of time for you to do your research, provided you have enough points to redeem 'research qualifications'."

He glanced at the two men and added, "Now, everyone, return to your posts. The Great Wall Fleet is ready to execute the next order."

Thor and Marcus exchanged a glance, both seeing a hint of helplessness in each other's eyes, but even more so, a fighting spirit rekindled by the "research qualification".

Zhou Jue ignored these minor incidents and walked to the huge porthole, looking at the three black beetles floating in space outside.

"Great Wall Fleet, activate gravity traction beam."

Her voice rang out from inside the bridge.

"'Kunlun' fleet, maintain the 'Heavenly Net' formation, we are preparing to return to port."

"Returning?" Cheng Gan was taken aback. "They're going back already?"

Zhou Jue nodded.

"We've gotten everything we were supposed to get, there's no point in staying here."

...

The massive fleet embarked on an unprecedented undertaking.

The six Great Wall-class starships each extended dozens of soft gravitational beams, like countless pairs of careful hands, slowly enveloping the three powerless alien reconnaissance ships.

On the other side, a Kunlun-class scout ship broke away from the main fleet and accelerated into deep space to meet the lone pioneer.

The whole process proceeded slowly.

Thor and Marcus were assigned to act as human batteries, and at this moment they were idly outputting their divine power to maintain the energy stability of the traction beam, while also earning some hard-earned points.

"Aren't we going to help?" one of the team members asked Cheng Gan, who was standing next to him, looking at the busy scene outside.

Cheng Gan shook her head, her gaze falling on the earthen-yellow planet shrouded in the great formation.

G-581.

"Our mission is not over yet."

Zhou Jue had somehow walked up to her side and was also looking at the planet.

She turned around and glanced at the people on the bridge.

“Cheng Gan, Elder Lu.”

“Saul, Marcus,” she called out directly through the communicator.

The two people who were acting as batteries were jolted.

"You lot, bring your men and come with me."

"Where to?" Thor's booming voice rang out over the communicator. "Weren't we going back?"

Before Zhou Jue could answer, Cheng Gan spoke first, his tone a mixture of excitement and seriousness:

"On an exploration mission!"

"Since we're already here, of course we should go up and take a look at G-581."

"Just now, the command center officially marked planet G-581 as a 'resource planet to be explored'."

"Although the latest regulations of the Alliance stipulate that the ownership of the planet belongs to the Alliance, the 'priority development rights' and 'resource revenue sharing' can be redeemed with points."

"Whether there are any minerals or rare treasures that can be exchanged for points depends on who has the best luck and who is the fastest!"

"roar!"

Thor's enthusiasm instantly returned: "I want to be the captain!"

Marcus also let out a soft chuckle.

Zhou Jue stared at the lonely planet on the screen, his eyes deep and unfathomable.

"Set off."

A small landing ship detached from "Kunlun-1" and, like an arrow released from a bow, rushed into the atmosphere of G-581.