Sitting in the flying vehicle, she rubbed her head wearily. Mercenaries couldn't join the Star Alliance, so she had to find them herself.

After sleeping for four or five hours in his seat, Xia Shizhao arrived at the Desert Star and then took a taxi to the meeting place.

In the gray region of a desert planet, all sorts of trinkets are sold.

And there were the shouts of food vendors:

"Come and check out the local delicacies, everyone!"

"Baked naan, fragrant and crispy baked naan!"

Xia Shizhao wandered through the alleyways and pushed open the wooden door of the tavern. The interior was dimly lit, with only a few pale yellow pendant lights on. A handful of people were sitting at the bar drinking.

Xia Shizhao's gaze swept skillfully to one side, settling on the scarred man smoking a cigarette and the woman playing with a curved knife.

It looks different again.

Having roughly confirmed that the mercenaries were the ones he had hired, Xia Shizhao went over and exchanged the password.

The meeting was a success.

The woman handed Xia Shizhao a ring, saying, "I've collected many stones containing energy; I wonder if there's anything you'd like."

Xia Shizhao took the ring, handed them ten million, and said, "You know about the anomalies on Earth, right?"

"Know."

"Go there and see if any new energy containers have been discovered."

"How could there be anything like that on a deserted planet like Earth? Besides, the Triads have strengthened Earth's defenses. If we go there..."

Xia Shizhao interrupted the woman and held up one finger: "One hundred million."

The scarred man stopped smoking and clapped his hands: "Really?!"

That's too much.

The woman who had been chattering away shut up as well, "Answer!"

The woman agreed readily, then paused, "But we don't need the 30% deposit anymore, just 3%, because we're not sure if it will work out."

"OK."

Xia Shizhao transferred the money, saying, "Pleasant to cooperate."

"Thank you, sponsor."

The woman, beaming with pride, reached out and shook Xia Shizhao's hand. "Please feel free to contact us if you need anything else next time."

Xia Shizhao nodded and silently withdrew his hand.

I helped them settle the bill for the drinks.

They left the alley at a leisurely pace.

I just walked out of the place where the mercenaries met.

Something that looked like a small cannonball hit her lower abdomen.

Thud—

A small, emaciated child, who looked to be about seven years old, was covered in tattered clothes and splattered with blood. He had many whip marks and cuts on his body, indicating that he had been subjected to inhuman treatment.

She grabbed Xia Shizhao's clothes as if they were a lifeline, repeatedly crying out, "Help! Save me! Please save me! I don't want to go back! Please! Sister, save me! There are demons! They are all demons!"

The scene before him felt strangely familiar. Xia Shizhao's mind went blank for a moment, and he rubbed his head uncomfortably. He steadied the terrified child in front of him with one hand and asked, "What's wrong? Is someone abusing you? Or are you being chased by human traffickers?"

"No, no...it's..."

The girl was incoherent and trembling.

Xia Shizhao looked at her arm and saw that there were still many needle marks on her shoulder.

"What are you doing? Why are you grabbing my daughter?" A woman looked at Xia Shizhao with anger in her eyes and reached out to snatch the girl away.

Xia Shizhao pulled the trembling girl behind him to shield her: "Your daughter? You can say she is, but why don't you just say I'm your mother!"

"What nonsense are you spouting, you little brat! Give me back my daughter!" The woman cursed and pointed at Xia Shizhao, but she couldn't touch her.

Xia Shizhao found it strange; this person seemed afraid to cause a big scene.

Something seems suspicious.

He grabbed the girl and ran into the street, shouting, "Human trafficker! Catch the human trafficker!"

The crowd immediately descended into chaos. Those with children picked them up, while those without children, acting out of a sense of justice, searched everywhere for the kidnappers.

After Xia Shizhao ran far away, she patted the girl's back reassuringly, "Okay, don't cry. Tell your sister what happened. I'm a soldier, and I'll protect you."

She touched the girl's tear-streaked cheeks and gently patted her head.

The girl choked up for a long time, seemingly unable to believe that she had really escaped. She sobbed, "The demon, the demon... my brothers and sisters are all dead, the brothers and sisters who protected us from escaping are all dead, waaaaaah, the demon killed... killed all my brothers and sisters... only we escaped... they are all dead, waaaaah."

She spoke incoherently, clearly terrified. Xia Shizhao used his mental power to soothe the child, then frowned and asked, "Where are your mom and dad?"

"I was sold... I... I didn't know..."

Xia Shizhao took a deep breath and touched the girl's body again, feeling something hard on her arm.

Positioning device.

His eyes suddenly turned cold.

It's not something normal; it's most likely from human experimentation.

"Do you know the location? Tell your sister, where are your younger siblings?"

“We got separated, and I was the fastest runner. I don’t know where they are… I don’t know…”

The girl looked at Xia Shizhao with a lingering sense of shock, her eyes filled with panic.

Seeing that her breathing was becoming increasingly rapid, and fearing that she might be suffering from respiratory poisoning, Xia Shizhao quickly spoke up to comfort her:

"Okay, okay, calm down. It's alright, it's alright. Your sister doesn't blame you. Calm down."

Let's not worry about that for now. The locator is inside the skin, so we need to get it out quickly.

Xia Shizhao pulled her away quickly, when suddenly there was a loud bang.

The splattered blood and flesh landed on Xia Shizhao's face, and she looked at the severed limb she was holding in disbelief.

…………

No wonder you didn't pursue it; it turns out you were planning to give up.

Xia Shizhao touched the blood on his face and looked at the pool of blood on the ground with complicated emotions.

Upon investigation by the local police, it was discovered that the girl was an unregistered resident with no record and was not permitted to be buried in the cemetery.

Looking at the vast desert, Xia Shizhao found a suitable spot and built a simple tombstone for the girl.

She didn't know her name; all she could do was bury her remains.

The unexpected situation prompted Xia Shizhao to decide to stay on this planet for a few more days to investigate what was going on.

However, there was no news from the laboratory for several days.

Moreover, no local agency cooperated with her investigation, even after she revealed her identity.

They still acted as if they didn't know and wouldn't agree.

Someone is protecting this experiment.

Xia Shizhao was certain.

However, Xia Shizhao had no connections on the desert planet, and money was useless, so he simply hired a group of mercenaries to gather information for him.

After the message was released, Xia Shizhao gently tapped the table and fell into deep thought.

This planet belongs to which general's jurisdiction? It must be one of General He's men.