Chapter 19 How come the Paper Boat Interstellar Pirate is here?

Colonel Huo looked at his followers and nodded.

Sergeant Ji took off the bracelet on Alpha's wrist and handed it to Ascle who was standing beside him.

Ascle set the detection range of the S-level pheromone and then handed the bracelet to Ji He.

Ji He picked up the exquisite bracelet, and her slender white fingers stroked the silicone buckle of the bracelet and buckled it on Huo Yubai's wrist.

Colonel Huo did not lower his head, but glanced at Ji He's hand lightly. It was whiter than his own hand and a circle smaller than his own hand, so small that he could wrap it easily.

"alright."

The next second, Second Lieutenant Li entered the conference room. He first saluted the colonel and then stood aside.

Huo Yubai sat down and asked about Asclepius's treatment.

Medical resources on the desert planet are scarce, so it is rare that the headquarters is willing to transfer an expert in the field of pheromones here.

"Patients with mild symptoms can basically be cured by taking oral medications."

"For patients with moderate or severe conditions, I gave them inhibitors and they are doing well."

"How does this virus spread? Why here?" Colonel Huo lowered the brim of his hat with his hand and turned to look at Li Lie standing beside him.

Now, Lieutenant Li was in a dilemma. They had investigated before, but did not find anything unusual.

"Colonel, we have checked our diet and daily life here, and all the internal personnel have also been strictly checked."

“No issues have been found so far.”

This virus seemed to appear out of nowhere.

There are not many troops stationed on the desert planet. When the virus was at its peak, they couldn't even replace the soldiers on duty.

"Where's the water?" Ji He asked.

"It was specially supplied to us by the Oasis."

“The water is fine.”

When something is abnormal, there must be something wrong.

Colonel Huo nodded and asked, "Has anyone come to the desert planet recently?"

Li Lie thought for a moment and replied, "October 15th is the Lower Yuan Festival, and there are quite a few tourists coming to the desert planet."

Ascle wiped the sweat from his forehead and asked in surprise, "There are tourists here?"

“Is the Lower Yuan Festival a big day?”

Ji He looked at the doctor and replied in a gentle voice: "The Lower Yuan Festival is the day when the Water God relieves disasters. It may be of special significance to the desert planet."

“Have all tourists had their ID checked?”

Lieutenant Li nodded and replied, "No problems have been found so far."

Huo Yubai hummed softly and asked Li Lie, Ji He, and several Alpha soldiers familiar with the oasis to change into civilian clothes and conduct an investigation.

"Colonel, do you suspect there is something wrong with these tourists?"

Ji He changed his clothes and casually put his gun behind his waist.

The black gun just covered half of Beta's strong waist.

The muzzle of the gun was pointed downward, across the slender waistline, and hidden between the buttocks and the trousers.

Huo Yubai turned around and caught a glimpse of this scene. He turned his head away uncomfortably, reached out to pick up the shirt and jacket on the table, and even forgot to respond to his subordinates' questions.

A few people mingled among the tourists and moved with the crowd.

The night wind blew, and it was finally not as hot and humid as during the day.

The river flows across the oasis, and the sound of the water is as soft as a whisper, floating in the wind.

Many residents of the desert planet gathered at the river bank, releasing colorful paper boats into the water.

Paper boats are made of tree branches and covered with colorful paper. They carry countless wishes and float on the water.

Li Lie put his arm around Ji He's shoulders and asked in a low voice, "Do you have a good relationship with the colonel?"

Ji He didn't know how to answer, so he said perfunctorily, "It's just so-so."

Second Lieutenant Li pursed his lips in anger, uttered a "huh" and said jokingly, "I think it's extraordinary."

"We've already been through these places. I think there's no problem." said the Alpha Private behind him.

"This paper boat smells so good." Ji He squatted down and picked up the blessing paper boat being sold in front of her mother-in-law, wondering whether to buy one.

Although his mother died and he had never seen his father, even if he was alone, he could still pray for blessings.

The old lady, who was toothless, said, "This is the popular incense paper this year. Not only does it smell good, but it also dissolves more easily in water."

Li Lie walked up to Ji He and felt that this man was not here for investigation but rather for tourism.

Alpha came over, took the paper boat from Ji He's hand, smelled it, and commented: "It smells so good that my nose hurts."

Huo Yubai turned around and asked coldly, "What's wrong?"

Ji He paid the money, took the paper boat and said, "Colonel, look."

The waves of the river were reflected in Ji He's eyes. Huo Yubai approached him, waiting for him to speak.

"Since we arrived here, the number of soldiers with pheromone disorders has not decreased, but increased."

Colonel Huo's expression became solemn, which was exactly the reason why he started the investigation.

"The lieutenant said that they did not find any problems with their diet and daily life."

"I was wondering if it was an environmental problem."

"Go on."

"My mother-in-law said that this is the colored paper that has become popular this year and is easily soluble in water." Ji He said as he casually folded a paper boat, half-knelt down, and put it into the river.

Following the direction of the water flow, you will reach the edge of the oasis.

"The paper boats drift with the current, and the colored paper dissolves in the water. If there really is a virus on them, it will gather more and more at the end of the river without anyone noticing."

"Do you think this sudden popularity of colored paper is weird?"

Sergeant Ji nodded and heard Colonel Huo say "Take some back for testing", which seemed to indicate that the other party agreed with his guess.

But if that's the case, why go to all that trouble?

"Go and ask where the incense paper comes from." Colonel Huo stood next to Ji He, half a head taller than him.

Li Lie whispered "yes", walked back to the stall, and asked, "Grandma, where did you get the goods?"

The mother-in-law looked at the young man who had returned and replied with some caution: "Why are you asking this?"

"I want to buy more." Li Lie tried hard to force a sincere smile.

The mother-in-law thought that the Alpha in front of her was trying to steal her business, so she waved her hands and said, "You are a big man with hands and feet, why are you trying to steal my business?"

As she was talking, the mother-in-law packed up her things and was about to leave, but was stopped by Ji He who came over.

Ji He was born with a kind face. He smiled and said, "Mother-in-law, we have no ill intentions. We just want to ask where you got the colored paper."

Li Lie was already getting a little impatient and was about to reveal his identity and get people to cooperate with his work when he heard his mother-in-law's answer.

"Underground market?" Ji He repeated her mother-in-law's words.

"But the guys selling colored paper have probably already left. What do you want to do with them?" The hoarse voice of the mother-in-law floated in the air like a pile of sighs.

Several people went to the underground market, which was originally an air-raid shelter during the war and later became an oasis for gray transactions.

The underground city is like a maze, with very narrow entrances and exits. The deeper you go, the larger the space becomes.

Ji He raised his head and faintly heard the sound of flowing water and even sporadic footsteps above his head.

Perhaps because it was the Lower Yuan Festival, most of the businesses here were closed and not open for business, making it seem a bit deserted.

They looked around but found nothing.

"What clues can this lead to?"

"Even if there really is one, he has already left."

An Alpha soldier under Li Lie muttered something again. Ji He was standing nearby and naturally heard it carefully, but did not say anything.

Colonel Huo was walking in the front. He sensed that besides them, there were other Alphas here, and their pheromone levels seemed to be quite high.

According to Lieutenant Li's report, the oasis residents should not have Alphas of this level. He frowned slightly.

"Bang--"

"careful."

The originally bright lights suddenly went out, and the underground market fell into darkness.

The group was clearly in a passive situation.

"Bang--"

Just as Colonel Huo finished speaking, another bullet suddenly shot out from somewhere and exploded at the feet of several people.

After all, they were well-trained Union soldiers, and they were able to draw their guns almost instantly.

“Bang, bang, bang—”

Three bullets were fired in succession again. Huo Yubai's ears moved, and he found the rabbit in the three burrows by listening to the sound.

Colonel Huo took the gun so quickly that Ji He didn't even notice someone pointed a gun at him at the three o'clock position before a bullet was fired into the air.

The two bullets collided, igniting a bright flame and making a loud bang.

Those people in the dark fled very quickly, obviously very familiar with the terrain here, scattering like a ball of ink.

In a flash, Huo Yubai fired another shot. While firing, he ordered, "Two people in a team, chase!"

"yes!"

Huo Yubai and Ji He followed the one who fired the first shot, while the others divided into teams and went through different entrances.

Those people were as nimble as loaches. They suddenly fired a shot at the entrance of each hole and then ran away.

While running, Ji He observed the surrounding environment and found that they were almost being dragged by these unidentified people.

Given the accuracy of the leading sniper's first few shots, the opponent was fully capable of killing Li Lie's soldiers with headshots, but he didn't.

Huo Yubai naturally reacted as well. He leaned against the cold stone wall of the air-raid shelter and said to Ji He, "They are deliberately stalling for time."

Seeing that the man was not chasing him, Alpha stopped and revealed half of his chin. A black face with a white skull flashed by.

Ji He held the gun in both hands, with his arms bent in front of his chest, about an arm's length away from Colonel Huo.

"Why are interstellar pirates here?"

It's no wonder that Ji He was surprised. This group of people often appear at the edge of the galaxy, and their usual targets are planets rich in minerals.

Could it be that the desert planet also has what they want?

The sound of hurried footsteps came closer and closer. It was Li Lie and his team chasing after one of the masked Alphas.

Huo Yubai held the pistol expressionlessly until the man was half-surrounded. The bullet he fired grazed the masked Alpha's shoulder, leaving a bloody hole.

The man narrowed his eyes and gently pulled the trigger, and the second bullet was perfectly embedded in the hole of the first bullet.

The masked man immediately bleeds everywhere, screams in pain, and rolls on the ground holding his injured shoulder.

Li Lie stepped forward to restrain the man and took off his mask, revealing a strange face.

Everyone's light computers began to chime one after another, forming layers of echoes in the hollow cave.

"The base was attacked. Please reply if you receive this."