Dr. Vincent from the research institute and Commander Cage stood in front of the huge monitor, observing everyone's every move in the confinement room and discussing Li Ke's upcoming arrival.

“Joan wrote to say they’ve already set off. At their current speed, they should be here in seven days,” Cage said, straightening his back, hands behind his back, facing the monitor.

Vincent looked on with anticipation: "I really want to see what level of evolution this mysterious Eastern woman has reached now."

Cage cautioned Vincent against being overly optimistic: "This woman is very strange. Our methods may not be able to control her. Besides, you know about Cheng's research institute. Not only did they fail to capture this woman, the entire institute disappeared."

Vincent's excitement became even more palpable upon hearing this: "There is no such thing as an invincible being in this world. Defeat is simply due to a lack of understanding of the opponent or an insufficient use of forceful methods."

Knowing Vincent's obsession with these mutants, Cage knew there was no point in saying more. He asked, "How are things going with these hostages? According to the information Joan sent, Li Ke isn't worried about their capture and might not necessarily fall into our trap for them."

Speaking of this topic, Vincent thought of the tissue samples he had extracted from these people, and his smile faded. He had originally thought that several of them were related to Li Ke by blood, and that there would be some unexpected gains. However, apart from the one named Mo Bao'er who was more outstanding in all aspects, the genes of the others were quite ordinary.

"These people are all quite ordinary, nothing special. You know their relationships better than anyone else. It's up to you to figure out how to utilize them. We've basically completed all the preparations we need to make."

"Is the weapon implantation complete?" Cage asked.

Vincent shook his head: "Yes, they are currently in a dormant state. When they do, as soon as Li Ke gets close to any of them, he will be precisely attacked."

Cage nodded. This was one of the capture plans. In addition, they had set up other traps, just waiting for this cunning fish to take the bait.

Nurses and guards pushed a large meal into the solitary confinement cell. The people inside were somewhat surprised. The food was good for the first two days after they were brought here, but it became simpler and the portions became smaller.

Today is the third day since their eggs were retrieved, and the sudden delivery of such a lavish breakfast gave them a bad feeling.

The nurse delivering the meals noticed their reaction and seemed to understand their thoughts. She spoke sweetly in Mandarin, "Please don't worry, everyone. We have received word that Miss Li Ke will arrive in five days. She specifically instructed us to take good care of you. To fulfill our esteemed guests' requests, please feel free to make any requests you may have, and we will try our best to accommodate them."

The people who heard the news had different feelings. Apart from Mo Bao'er, who was worried about Li Ke's trip, the others did not feel grateful for Li Ke's arrival. They just felt that she still had some humanity, since they had encountered such a thing because of her.

Before setting off, Li Ke received a message from the captain. This time, the captain did not ask Li Ke if he needed help, nor did he advise Li Ke not to go. However, he told Li Ke about all the methods the captain might use to deal with him.

"Don't underestimate their current technology. Although I don't know how you accomplished those things before, as long as you are still human, you will still have weaknesses."

Li Ke thanked the captain. Regardless, it was a kind gesture, and he had indeed explained a field she was not very familiar with to her.

As the call ended, the captain smiled warmly and said, "I don't know when we'll meet again. I wonder if you could grant me a request?"

Li Ke urged him to continue, and the captain coughed before saying, "As you know, we've been working on a seed program and constantly optimizing our gene pool, so I was wondering if you could leave some behind..."

Li Ke answered decisively and firmly: "No."

She never denies the efforts or paths others have chosen, but she has never thought of excessively sacrificing herself. Since her rebirth, she has been constantly pursuing the power of progress, with the ultimate goal of being herself and loving herself.

The captain had actually expected to be rejected, and since he didn't have much hope to begin with, he wasn't too disappointed.

"Then I wish you a safe journey, young friend, and success in rescuing the hostages. We look forward to meeting again soon."

Five days after setting off, Li Ke stopped his advance. Qiong's small warship, which had been following him, also stopped and asked Li Ke why he had stopped.

Li Ke: "I will stay here and will not take another step. I will bring the hostages to me. If they are all safe and sound, then we will move on to the next step."

Joan naturally couldn't agree to stop here. How could they stop here? This woman hadn't even entered the outermost area of ​​the traps they had prepared.

Looking at Li Ke, who appeared relaxed and composed, she suspected that Li Ke might know about their plan, otherwise why would she have stopped here at this particular spot?

Li Ke was genuinely unaware of the other party's plan, but according to the captain's explanation, their methods of dealing with him could be roughly divided into three types.

One is the most commonly used physical energy attack, another is a mental control attack, and the third is gene invasion and destruction, which allows a person to quickly and painlessly launch a miniature robotic weapon into the human body without feeling it. It can carry any virus researched by the opponent and can be placed in a designated location in the human body to cause local or comprehensive destruction according to instructions.

Li Ke chose to stop here because her senses told her that continuing forward would lead her into a danger zone.

She wanted to save people, but the premise of saving people was naturally not to sacrifice herself. Moreover, among that group of people, only Mo Bao'er had any value in her heart.

However, her value was only enough to make Li Ke willing to make this trip once and try to rescue her. If rescuing her would put him in danger, Li Ke would rather give up.

Qiong had no choice. She wanted to use force, but Li Ke could instantly seize her lifeline and force her to do it again.

Qiong had no choice but to send a message to her superiors, requesting further instructions.

After receiving the information, Cage went to discuss countermeasures with Vincent, who was very reluctant: "Can't you find a way to drive her in, or bring her in? If not, kill two hostages."

He had prepared so many high-tech traps, not just for show. The thought that they might be wasted made him feel uncomfortable and he couldn't stand it.

Cage also found Li Ke difficult to deal with, but because of Li Ke's previous threats and the potential dangers at the mining base, they didn't want to break off relations before they had Li Ke under control unless absolutely necessary.

"Let's try to communicate with her again first. If she still refuses to come, then we'll use hostages to force her to come."