Qi Xiuyuan's eyes flashed with anger. These women were so willful, caring nothing for the lives of others as long as they were happy. Those were soldiers who were protecting their country.

“I really need these fruits. Recently, many people in the army have suddenly suffered mental breakdowns, and many excellent soldiers are teetering on the brink of life and death. So I hope you can save them.”

Qi Xiuyuan tried to reason with her, and after thinking for a moment, he continued, "They were also your saviors. Not long after they returned from that battle, their mental strength collapsed."

His own mental strength had been unstable recently, until he ate that grape, and his mental strength immediately felt much better.

Thinking of those heroic warriors who fought valiantly, and the staff and passengers on the starship who faced death without fear, Lu Manman felt deep respect for them.

In the apocalypse, she witnessed too much of the ugliness of human nature. In dangerous situations, some people would abandon not only their relatives and friends, but even their own parents and children without hesitation, showing extreme self-interest.

Comparing the two, Lu Manman admired these people with faith even more and sighed softly.

"I can give you the fruit, but I really want you to let me go. I swear I will never harm anyone, nor will I have any ulterior motives or intentions. If I lie to you, may I die a horrible death."

Seeing that he still wouldn't budge, Lu Manman continued, "Since you can't let me leave, then for the sake of me helping you, send me to the Federation. I hope you can keep my identity a secret."

Qi Xiuyuan originally thought he would have to say a lot more, but to his surprise, Lu Manman actually listened. His impression of Lu Manman improved a lot, and since she was willing to give him fruit, his tone was also much better.

"Show me your fruit first. If the quantity satisfies me, I can consider it."

Fearing he might come and snatch it, Lu Manman deliberately kept her distance from him. To increase her chances of winning, Lu Manman poured out a lot of fruit, which was quite large, and soon piled up into three small mountains: one each of grapes, watermelons, and cantaloupes.

"That's all. Do you think it's good enough?"

Qi Xiuyuan nodded. "You stay here for now. After I've dealt with this, I'll arrange for someone to take you to the Federation. I, Qi Xiuyuan, keep my word."

Qi Xiuyuan knew she had some secrets, but she was too cautious and still had a kind heart. Perhaps it wouldn't be a bad idea to do her a favor first.

Upon hearing this, Lu Manman immediately and carefully put away all the fruit. "Okay, but I'm uncomfortable here. Please send me to a nearby planet, preferably a more prosperous one. I'll give it to you when we get there, and I'll keep my word."

Thinking of the soldiers who were almost sentenced to death, Qi Xiuyuan finally compromised.

"Come with me."

Qi Xiuyuan led Lu Manman out of the room and headed towards the takeoff point of the base.

Lu Manman carefully pulled her hair down and silently followed behind Qi Xiuyuan.

The soldiers saluted and greeted Qi Xiuyuan. Although they were curious about this person who had suddenly appeared, they did not dare to ask too many questions.

As Lu Manman passed by a warship, she was almost overwhelmed by the stench and quickly pinched her nose, complaining, "Why does this starship smell so bad?"

Qi Xiuyuan turned his head upon hearing this, his face filled with disbelief. "You're saying this starship stinks?"

Lu Manman nodded. "It stinks terribly." It stinks even more than a half-rotten zombie from the apocalypse.

How could this be? This warship is one of the ones that went to fight the Zerg Queen last time. According to custom, warships are thoroughly cleaned after returning from battle, so it's impossible for it to smell bad. Besides, he didn't smell anything at all.

Thinking of something, Qi Xiuyuan led him to the nearby warship and asked, "Does this one smell bad?"

Lu Manman shook his head.

Qi Xiuyuan asked about a few more ships and found that the others didn't smell bad, but the ships that had been in the last battle smelled terrible to the women.

Qi Xiuyuan instantly understood what was happening and dialed the personal terminal.

"Professor Hu, could you please come to the warship dock immediately and bring some instruments that can detect substances harmful to mental energy?"

Without saying a word, Professor An immediately brought his apprentice over.

Professor An was an elderly man with gray hair, wearing glasses, riding a hoverboard. Before the bike had even come to a complete stop, he eagerly asked, "Marshal Qi, where is the item that needs to be tested?"

This is where warships dock, and a large number of soldiers are here every day. An Jinghou simply cannot imagine what would happen if there were anything here that could harm one's mental strength.

No wonder there have been so many people in the military recently experiencing inexplicable mental breakdowns and mental disturbances.

Qi Xiuyuan pointed to the marked areas, which were the places Lu Manman had said smelled bad, and said, "These are the places to test these markings."

It turned out to be a warship. An Jinghou dared not be careless and immediately took his apprentice and used the dark matter detector in his hand to probe them one by one.

Everyone held their breath. Thank goodness! The dark matter detector was green, which means it's safe; there was no dark matter here.

Dark matter serves as a control group for beneficial matter, which is beneficial to mental strength, while dark matter is something that can induce mental collapse.

Qi Xiuyuan did not breathe a sigh of relief. There had been too many soldiers suffering mental breakdowns recently, and he felt that there must be something wrong with these warships. After thinking about it carefully, Qi Xiuyuan took out a bottle of water from his spatial storage and splashed it on them.

"Professor An, why don't you try again?"

As the dark matter detector was moved, it emitted a continuous, wailing alarm.

"Warning! Warning! Dark matter content is 98%, exceeding the standard! Please keep your distance with caution. For your safety, please wear appropriate protective equipment or do not appear within a 20,000-meter radius of this object."

The alarm blared, accompanied by a bright red light that stung the eyes of everyone present.

As expected, after several rain showers in the past few days, people started experiencing mental disturbances. There was indeed something wrong with the warship; it must have been put there when the Zerg surrounded it.

"How could this be?"

In this era where spiritual power reigns supreme, dark matter is strictly forbidden in interstellar space. Both the Empire and the Federation exercise strict control over items containing dark matter. Yet, these things have brazenly appeared in the military.

An Jinghou's eyes widened in horror. This thing couldn't be detected by normal examinations, and it could only be detected under specific circumstances. The wickedness of the intention was simply outrageous.

Qi Xiuyuan immediately arranged for the army to withdraw to a location 25,000 meters away, and then he and a few others also began to withdraw.

Lu Manman breathed a sigh of relief, unsure if she had done the right thing. After smelling the stench, she quickly realized what was going on.

Hearing Qi Xiuyuan mention several times that many soldiers in the army had mental problems after the last battle, and recalling that the Zerg hadn't completely wiped them out at the beginning, clearly trying to lure them into something, Lu Manman realized that this might be the Zerg's conspiracy.

Thinking that her current stable life was given to her by the military, Lu Manman hesitated for a moment but decided to speak out. If she didn't know, it would be fine, but if she knew, she would feel guilty for the rest of her life knowing that many warriors protecting the interstellar space would sacrifice themselves because of what she knew, and that she had done nothing.

Every day of her stable life afterward would make her feel guilty.