When Yu Wei woke up, the spot next to him was already cold. He couldn't help but wonder if last night was just a dream.

But the amulet in his hand felt so real. There was a gentle knock on the door. Yu Wei snapped out of his thoughts, put the amulet away, opened the door, and greeted Lin Gu.

"Wow, this is the first time in my life I've seen you get up later than me."

Lin Gu could not hide his surprise. There had been no movement in Yu Wei's room all morning, and he had thought Yu Wei had left long ago.

"Staying in bed a little longer can prolong your life, just wait a few minutes."

Yu Wei stretched, closed the door, quickly washed up and dressed, opened the door and walked out of the dormitory side by side with Lin Gu.

The vehicles carrying the supplies had already been covered with tarpaulins. Yu Wei jumped onto one of the vehicles and greeted Wu Ming.

"General Yu, Major General Lin, good morning."

"morning."

"morning."

Wu Ming put down his book, took off his glasses, and rubbed his eyes.

"What book are you reading?" Lin Gu craned his neck to glance at it, "Aitolan Laboratory Biology..."

"Good lad, you know to prepare in advance."

Wu Ming was trained by Lin Gu. This kid is usually quiet and reserved.

“I learned it from the Major General. Look at this. It says that the people of Etolan have developed an animal with a wolf's head, a fox's tail, and snow leopard's claws.” Wu Ming pointed to the picture and handed it to Lin Gu. “It was even seen near the Alliance headquarters base before.”

"Let me see." Lin Gu took the book and looked at it carefully, feeling that it looked somewhat familiar.

"Wow! Yu Wei, isn't this your family's milk-flavored steamed buns?"

Lin Gu held up the book, pointed to the pictures on it, and brought it close to Yu Wei's face.

"Nonsense, Milk-flavored Steamed Bun is just an ordinary little dog." Yu Wei glanced at it. "How could it be a wolf?"

He wouldn't accept it! His milk-flavored steamed bun is clearly a clever, obedient, and adorable little white dog with a fluffy tail, and has absolutely nothing to do with wolves.

“Look closely, it’s not a wolf.” Lin Gu held the book up to Yu Wei’s eyes: “Except for the size, it’s exactly the same, okay!”

"How are they exactly the same? The milk-flavored steamed bun is much fatter than this wolf cub."

Yu Wei gave a haughty snort. Whatever it's called, if it looks like a wolf, then it's a wolf. Milk-flavored steamed buns only resemble wolves in appearance; they have absolutely nothing to do with wolves.

Lin Gu rolled his eyes. You can never wake someone who is pretending to be asleep.

Besides, don't you know why your steamed buns are so fat? They eat and sleep all day long, and someone carries them when they go out. How can they not be fat?

The group chatted and laughed, and arrived at their temporary encampment in less than half a day.

"General Yu."

Lu Qin waved to the others, led them into the tent, and took out a map, placing it on the table.

“We’ve surveyed the outside many times and haven’t found any large creatures or other poisonous things, so this area is relatively safe and can be used as a transit point.” Lu Qin drew a circle with a pen. “But we haven’t found Major General Chu’s location. He may have entered the central or inner part.”

“Very good, Lu Qin. You are familiar with the surrounding area. Take twenty-five people and stay here to be responsible for receiving and protecting the supplies.”

"The rest of us will split into three teams. Lin Gu, Wu Ming, and I will each lead one team and head in one of the three directions. Once we find someone, we will immediately report and communicate. If we find someone in the central region, we will meet up here."

Yu Wei circled a point on the map provided by Lin Ling, a circular building located at the junction of the center and the interior, very close to the outside.

"If you're inside, meet up here."

Yuwei circled out another towering building, which was very conspicuous in the dense forest and could be seen from all directions.

The Secret Realm Planet, also known as the Twenty-Seventh Planet, is the smallest of all the planets, smaller than a single city on the First Planet. The planet is sparsely populated but rich in biological resources.

After the Etolan Empire occupied this place, it went to great lengths to divert all the water and energy resources of the entire planet to the laboratory, and forcibly moved countless plants and animals to the laboratory for research.

The entire planet's ecosystem was destroyed, and a large amount of vegetation outside the laboratory died. Within a few years, the area became a place of extreme weather, with yellow sandstorms and scorching sun mixed with blizzards.

The reconstructed ecosystem near the laboratory is intact, but it contains many mutated species and is extremely dangerous. To prevent the mutated creatures from escaping, the Alliance built a circular protective wall, hundreds of meters high, extending 100 kilometers outward from the laboratory. Only high-ranking Alliance officers and authorized personnel are allowed to enter.

"Retreat immediately upon encountering any mutated species," Yu Wei concluded. "Take care of yourselves; our mission is to save lives, not to die."

"clear."

The group nodded. To be honest, they couldn't be sure whether Chu Yunmu and his group were alive or dead. If the life monitoring system had malfunctioned and Chu Yunmu was actually dead, then their rash confrontation with the mutated creature would be tantamount to digging their own graves.

The alliance has attached a chip to every active-duty soldier, which can monitor each person's physical condition, adjust training programs based on the collected data, and count casualties after each mission.

However, the chip can only monitor whether a person is alive, but it cannot directly locate them.

"Check the equipment and prepare for action."

Yu Wei clapped his hands, and the group dispersed to organize their actions.

After putting on the protective armor, Yu Wei tried walking a few steps. The armor wasn't heavy and didn't affect his walking or movements.

With everything ready, Yu Wei, Lin Gu, Lu Qin, and Wu Ming stood in front of the tall gate, exchanged glances, and took a deep breath.

The gate slowly rose, and personnel and supplies entered in an orderly manner. Yu Wei took the list and began to divide the people into groups, but a commotion came from the trucks that were storing supplies.

My dear reader, there's more to this chapter! Please click the next page to continue reading—even more exciting content awaits!