Having deduced the Zerg's thoughts, the leader of Aurora Life stood up and stepped into the sunlight. His body shimmered with iridescent light, making his features even more defined. This action was clearly a gesture of goodwill towards Roderick and Han Ling.
The person in charge of Aurora Life said in a friendly tone:
"So you are the strongest person in the interstellar space. I heard about you from old Flo. It seems that you were supposed to marry into the Flo family. Hehe, although it didn't work out in the end, we still got to know each other. I am your elder."
Actually, you've all misunderstood this virus.
This virus wasn't released by us, but it may have been brought from space.
I think this virus doesn't cause much harm to female insects, but it does impair their thinking and behavior.
However, after two weeks, once the females have fully developed their immunity, they will return to normal.
Will things return to normal in two weeks?
Han Ling and Roderick exchanged a glance, disbelieving what the Aurora Lifeform had said.
The person in charge of Aurora Life chuckled and said in a relaxed manner:
"Please believe me. After two weeks of infection with this virus, you'll be fine. Old Flo's men had the same symptoms before, but they all recovered completely. We have no intention of harming the Zerg. We're here to seek cooperation, without bloodshed or sweat."
Hearing this, Han Ling pondered silently: Indeed, since the Aurora Lifeforms arrived here, they haven't bled or sweated, so the Zerg's health is definitely guaranteed. It's just that their mental energy tendrils have turned into a crystalline state. If they can recover in two weeks, it will indeed prove that the Aurora Lifeforms are fine.
Roderick, clearly more sober, glanced at the dazzling figure in the sunlight and asked:
What evidence do you have? Can you guarantee the truthfulness of your statements?
The person in charge of Aurora Life sincerely said:
"Time will tell. Please believe us, we are here to seek cooperation, not to stir up trouble."
Seeing the Aurora Life form back down, Roderick and Han Ling were at a loss for what to do. At this point, it would seem that the Zerg were being uncouth.
Roderick could only say:
"Regardless, we need samples of this virus for research."
If you'd like, you can give us the original strain of the virus, or you can come with us to have your blood sample taken... uh... if you don't have blood, you can also study skin samples.
I think if this doesn't harm you, you'd be willing to hand it over, right?
The person in charge of Aurora Life gave a wry smile:
"Look at me, you two. I don't even have a body. How could I possibly carry a virus?"
Perhaps those viruses were just ancient viruses spread by the winds we stirred up as we traveled from space.
Sigh! This sentence put Roderick and Han Ling in a difficult position.
Indeed, the Aurora Lifeforms don't even have bodies, so where would they get any viruses? They don't even have any bags or luggage, so how could they provide anything?
At that moment, Han Ling had a flash of inspiration. Aurora Life had just mentioned Old Flo's company and its employees.
If you want to find the original strain of the virus, you might start from this aspect.
He jumped off Roderick, walked to the solid wood desk, kicked old Flo's stool, and asked:
"Is this old Flo, the Zerg leader who contacted you? He's become like this, a complete idiot."
Do you know how long he's been infected with the virus?
The head of Aurora Life was stunned for a moment, not knowing what Han Ling was going to do, and could only shake his head and smile wryly:
“I don’t know either, but he came to talk to me this morning. When I walked in, I found him like this. The secretary downstairs can testify to that.”
The secretary downstairs?
Upon hearing this, Han Ling skillfully extended his finger and touched the long table.
A screen the same size as the tabletop appeared on the long table, and Han Ling pressed a button.
This table is the boss's desk, considered a relatively expensive luxury item in interstellar space.
Each unit costs several million credits, and its functions are quite practical: it has a built-in quantum computer, allowing users to call secretaries and subordinates at any time. Moreover, it doesn't go through the StarNet and cannot be monitored, making it an internal company line.
This is an essential item for many companies when holding meetings or having confidential conversations.
Bernshan Flo, who comes from the Flo family, also has one, which is located in his home on Aphrodite.
Later, Han Ling requisitioned this table to use for communication with Parsons.
Han Ling pressed a button with practiced ease. Sure enough, after two beeps, the call was connected.
"What are your orders, boss?"
A strange female insect's voice came from behind. Han Ling glanced at Roderick, and their eyes met. They knew what the other was going to say.
Han Ling said calmly:
"Bring the entire secretariat up here."
Large companies like this often have more than one secretary. Just like Parsons, with so many subordinates, one secretary simply couldn't possibly communicate with or manage them all.
Therefore, old Flo must have had a secretary general and a secretariat.
The voice of the unfamiliar female insect came again:
"Okay, please wait a moment."
After the call ended, the top floor of the Flo Literature Society building fell silent again.
Both sides are waiting for the secretariat to arrive.
Two minutes later, the door to the chairman's office was pushed open.
Twelve secretaries filed in and entered the office one by one.
They stood in a row, dressed uniformly, with solemn expressions, looking very steady and reliable.
Han Ling raised his hand and whispered in Roderick's ear:
"Their spiritual tendrils were indeed all infected."
Roderick asked in a low voice:
"Is there any difference between this and the spiritual tendrils of Sophis and the other two?"
Han Ling shook his head:
"There's no difference for now, you can't tell."
Han Ling could see that the shiny spiritual tendrils on these 12 female insect secretaries were exactly the same as those on Sophis and the other two.
Roderick looked at the 12 people, scanned them up and down, then frowned and asked:
"Can you feel anything unusual in your bodies right now?"
All 12 shook their heads.
Roderick then asked:
"Have you noticed anything unusual while you've been staying in the office these past two weeks? For example, vomiting, slowed movements, etc."
The twelve female insect secretaries nodded. As if a switch had been flipped, they suddenly became talkative and began to speak.
"There have been cases like this. I felt my thinking had become a bit muddled before, but now it seems I'm slowly recovering."
"Yes, I used to find it very difficult to work, but I've recovered now and am as proficient as before."
Upon hearing these answers, Roderick continued to ask:
"So, what kind of physical discomfort are you experiencing right now? For example, having vivid dreams, night sweats, weakness, incoherent speech, or random thoughts? Do you have any of these special symptoms?"
The 12 secretaries shook their heads in unison.
At this moment, the person in charge of Aurora Life smiled and said:
"You two, you see, I was right."
This virus was not brought by us, and it has nothing to do with us.
And the virus was harmless; these female insects truly recovered. The rest of the patients will likely recover with time.
The person in charge of Aurora Life spoke with great certainty, as if victory was assured.
They didn't bring the virus with them.
But it was precisely because he was so certain that Han Ling and Roderick became even more suspicious.
The attitude of aurora life is very strange.
They wanted to cooperate with the Zerg, but they dragged their feet, unwilling to tell the truth or reveal the facts to them.
However, the Zerg currently have no evidence, and the Aurora Life form is very friendly, so the only option is to resolve the issue through discussion.
Moreover, Han Ling had been wondering what use this useless virus could possibly have. What purpose could it serve? Was it simply to make the mental energy tendrils sparkle?
It's really confusing.
Han Ling felt that he couldn't believe the Aurora Life's one-sided story. Fortunately, he had his own intelligence network to gather information.
Han Ling's own intelligence network comes from the bounty issued by Parsons. With the lure of the high bounty, he should be able to get the first batch of feedback by tonight.
Then, Han Ling looked at the person in charge of Aurora Life and said:
"Since the Aurora Life still wants to cooperate, then let's continue our cooperation."
Old Flo is currently willing but unable to do so, so it would be better if the two of us took over the responsibility of contacting you.”
The person in charge of Aurora Life, thinking he had gotten away with it, quickly said:
"Alright, let's continue our cooperation. But, sir, now that we've started cooperating, shouldn't you be able to withdraw the spatial blade you mentioned? I'm afraid of accidentally injuring someone."
Roderick nodded:
"Okay. We'll take these 12 secretaries away in a bit. After testing, if they don't have the virus, we'll withdraw the Space Blade. Your people will also be free to move around in the capital."
Of course, as the contact person, you must remain in this building at all times.
Roderick had his own reasons for saying that.
First, Han Ling is perfectly capable of identifying the infected female insects; second, the spatial blade does indeed consume too much energy.
Encircling the entire Flo Literature Society building with spatial blades would consume 1 billion credits worth of energy blocks in just one hour, like burning money.
Two weeks into the operation, the reserves of an entire resource planet have already been depleted.
This energy doesn't need to be wasted on these aurora creatures at all.
Because during their conversation, Roderick had already seen through the true nature of aurora life.
These are some issues related to biological logic.
Also known as the Art of the Emperor. It is something that every stag queen on the Emperor planet must learn.
When the strong interact with other creatures, they begin with selection.
He will accept every new creature, but to gain his favor and special treatment, one must wait until after the selection process.
The strong will select races that are equally powerful, and then engage in dialogue on an equal footing.
The weak, on the other hand, have no choice but to pick from the very beginning.
Simply put, the strong, because they are fearless, will ingest without question and then filter out, since nothing poses a threat to them.
The weaker party will be screened first before being contacted.
Because the weak have weaknesses, they cannot emerge unscathed from such interactions, so their interactions tend to favor the even weaker.
Roderick saw no signs of strength in the person in charge of Aurora Life.
The characteristics of aurora life perfectly fit the definition of the weak.
Therefore, in Roderick's mind, although the aurora life posed a threat to them, the threat was no longer significant.
After speaking with the Aurora Lifeform, Han Ling and Roderick used their personal computers to contact Marshal Ruda of the Third Protection Legion.
They wanted Marshal Lu Da to take the 12 secretaries away and temporarily put away the spatial blade.
Han Ling and Roderick will continue to be stationed at the Flo Literature Society, overseeing the aurora life.
Marshal Lu Da hesitated for a moment and sent a message asking:
"Wouldn't it be too risky to remove the spatial blades? We currently have no way to capture the aurora life form."
Roderick explained:
"It's alright. Han Ling just used his mental power to wrap the entire Flo Literature Society building with threads."
Although the aurora life forms lack mental power, this spatial locking is still effective.
If any aurora-like beings were to enter or leave the building, they could sense them passing through Han Ling's mental energy tendrils.
Marshal Lu Da replied:
"Okay, then please be careful. Should the joint operation between the Third Protection Legion and Lingtian Company to capture them continue tonight?"
Roderick asked Han Ling a question, and then said:
"Continue to investigate, focusing on the changes in the infected female insects."
Aurora Life claims that the virus poses no threat and that symptoms will disappear within two weeks; however, this information remains to be verified.
After speaking with Marshal Ruda, Roderick shut down his personal terminal and addressed the twelve secretaries in front of him:
"You can go downstairs now and wait in the lobby on the first floor. People from the Third Protection Legion will take you to the laboratory for comprehensive testing."
Also, take old Flo down with you. He's getting old and can't handle all this. Since he's sick, he should rest in bed. Someone will take care of you.
The secretaries nodded, helped the somewhat senile old man, Flo, to his feet, and turned to leave the office.
A moment later, the huge office was once again empty except for Han Ling, Roderick, and the head of Aurora Life.
In the quiet office, you could hear a pin drop.
Looking at the radiant figure in the sunlight, Han Ling still wanted to play a trick and put some mental pressure on the person in charge of Aurora Life.
Then he laughed and said:
“We’re not old Flo, and we don’t know much about aurora life. If you have time, could you tell us about it? What kind of civilization is aurora life? How many people did you send for this exchange? What are the specific cooperation requirements?”
The aurora life form smiled and asked:
“If you’d like to listen, then I’ll talk. May I sit on the sofa? I’m getting tired of standing in the sun.”
"Please go ahead."
The figure of the aurora creature disappeared from the sunlight; it was clear that he was slowly walking to the sofa.
Han Ling and Roderick sat side by side at the wooden desk, intently watching him as he listened to the story.
"Our Aurora Life civilization is very powerful, comparable to the Zerg. We are the overlords of a star field, occupying 234 star systems, and our people number 300 billion."
For this exchange, a team of two thousand people was sent, including 1,700 scientists responsible for the collaborative research. They were all accommodated at the "Foreigners' Reception Area"...
The head of Aurora Life slowly recounted the story, while Han Ling and Roderick nodded in response from time to time.
"The purpose of our cooperation this time is to convert all the Zerg into Aurora life forms. We promised old Flo that we would help the Zerg break free from the shackles of life."
The aurora life form has an exceptionally long lifespan, living up to five thousand years, ten times longer than the Zerg's lifespan.
Upon hearing this, Han Ling rubbed his chin and said:
"From this perspective, the Aurora Lifeforms are indeed very powerful. In terms of status and star field size, they are only slightly inferior to the Zerg, and they also have a longer lifespan."
Aurora Life laughed:
"That's right, our greatest king's dying wish was to help his friend, old Flo."
Our entire team set off from the star system 1,500 years ago, and it's only now that we've reached the Zerg. It's truly remarkable.
But long live friendship, so we should cherish each other even more when we communicate.
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