Hearing this, Deacon Tong sighed, "Now I really believe it. They... must have cost a fortune."

Others laughed upon hearing this. Little Tiger made a weird sound in his northeastern accent, "A whole lot."

"There's one more point." The speaker was Xia Lei. "They have a good leader. Although Xia Bai is also an eight-star evolved being, her combat power truly approaches that of top-tier experts. Especially when she's injured, she's like a monster, making people fear and tremble. One ability of the Female Guard's large Team Book is transferring power to Xia Bai. At that time, she is essentially a top-tier life form."

So that's how it was. Deacon Tong and others looked at Xia Bai, Xiao Min, and a few other Female Guard leadership members standing in the corner. They remained silent, as if everyone wasn't talking about them. This silence made Deacon Tong and others feel awe.

No wonder Cloud Peak rarely used the Female Guard. So they truly were a major weapon.

Then she suddenly realized: such a team, all equipped with purple gear...

"I estimate, three top-tier life forms shouldn't be a problem, right?" A Yang said with raised eyebrows.

"I'd say it takes four. Purple equipment and gold equipment are completely different; purple is much stronger." Yun Shao objected.

"Four top-tier life forms together? I don't think that's possible. How could we let the Female Guard face four top-tier life forms alone?" Little Tiger chuckled. Actually, during the Mei City battle, because he didn't clash head-on with top-tier life forms, his hands had been itching.

Xia Lei clapped her hands, stopping the discussion.

"After Zhongming transmitted the equipment down, Xia Bai and I went to look and studied a few pieces. At that time, we both felt that after re-equipping, if truly needed, the Female Guard could indeed deal with four to five top-tier life forms. But Little Tiger is also right: we can't do that because even if we win in the end, the Female Guard would be wiped out; the gain wouldn't be worth the loss. If we want to win with minimal losses, three top-tier life forms are the limit. If we want zero deaths, two at most."

This was a definitive statement. But even so, it was astonishing enough. A group of eight-star evolved beings could kill two top-tier life forms without dying? That was really a bit exaggerated.

"Alright, discussion about the Female Guard ends here." Xia Lei moved on to the next topic.

"Besides transmitting equipment, Zhongming also transmitted down something else." The Black-Hearted Queen didn't keep them in suspense; she said directly, "Technology, a lot of technology."

There was silence below because no one knew what to say.

Technology transmitted down by the Leader—it must be absolutely excellent. Everyone just had to listen. Speaking would only expose one's lack of knowledge; what use would it be?

"Among these technologies, there is one that can explain why we fought the Mei City battle and can also eliminate the last trace of doubt in many people's hearts."

Xia Lei said this for everyone's benefit.

This time, Cloud Peak's losses were too severe, severe enough to damage its foundation. Six-figure casualties, an entire combat team wiped out, plus massive equipment damage and magic crystal consumption, in exchange for only four million corpses. If Ye Zhongming's prestige in Cloud Peak weren't so high, if going to the cosmos couldn't make everyone trust and execute orders, if it were someone else, these core members and ordinary warriors would have had objections long ago.

But still, a reasonable explanation was needed to put this matter to rest in everyone's hearts completely.

Now, the Cloud Peak King gave the answer.

"According to the message Zhongming sent back, the Earth we are on now is actually enveloped by a life form called the Slave Race."

This news was too shocking. After Xia Lei finished, everyone took a moment to react.

Several seconds later, these core members, already major figures in the country, exploded in uproar.

They knew about the Slave Race, but they originally thought the parasites were the Slave Race. Even Guangyao and Commander-in-Chief Mu, who knew quite a bit of information, were somewhat stunned.

"I don't know why, with Earth enveloped, there are still sunrises and sunsets, cold moons and tides, seasonal changes. But, yes, this is the fact. Zhongming wouldn't deceive us about such things. There truly is a monster enveloping our planet outside, and it is feeding on Earth."

The core members listened dumbfounded, their feelings similar to when Ye Zhongming learned the truth: shocked, then at a loss.

"Because transmitting information, equipment, etc., all costs money. Yes, money. What kind of money, I'll tell you in a moment. But the fact is, these life forms in Mei City, and the life forms we scouted in other places, are all parasites, products of the Slave Race enveloping Earth outside. It obtains nutrition through these parasites to drain Earth. As for more specifics, Zhongming didn't say, and I don't know either. I only know that the wheel technology creating the post-apocalyptic world wasn't meant to destroy us; instead, it was promoting our evolution to resist the Slave Race and the parasites it produces."

Digesting the information from Xia Lei's mouth, everyone took a while to accept it all slowly. Little Tiger, Young Master Yun, and others couldn't help but exhale, uttering strong exclamations like "Damn!" and "Holy crap!"

Reality was absurd and ironic.

"The Cosmic Races are just pitiful creatures like us. They even lost their home planets and can only build artificial fortresses drifting in the cosmos. The only difference from us is that they are our future."

After speaking, Xia Lei felt a bit relieved. When she first received this news, she wasn't much better off than everyone else. Now, letting more people know seemed to share some of the pressure on her.

"Of course, the Cosmic Races faced tragedy earlier than us, so naturally, they are stronger than us, both in technology and individual strength. So in their war with the Slave Race that lasted who knows how many years, they discovered and extracted something from the parasites called Moonspan Gold. It has now become the core and pillar of all aspects of the Cosmic Races. Not only do many devices require Moonspan Gold as energy, but this thing has also replaced magic crystals, becoming the sole currency. For Zhongming to establish contact with us across the Slave Race requires expending a large amount of this thing."

Xia Lei looked at everyone below and said seriously, "Yes, what everyone thinks is correct. This Moonspan Gold is extracted from parasite bodies. These four million-plus corpses aren't corpses; they are... money! A lot of money, a huge sum!"

"Now, Zhongming transmitted down the extraction technology. So we're going to make money."

Everyone sighed endlessly. So that's how it was.

"Besides this, Zhongming also transmitted down various technologies far beyond Earth's. With Moonspan Gold and these, we can even manufacture equipment stronger than purple-grade, and manufacture spaceships capable of flying in the cosmos!"

"From now on, Cloud Peak's true center is no longer combat, but technological development. So I decided to formally establish Cloud Peak's Technology Department, with Master Le as the department head and chief engineer."

"He will lead everyone to recreate these Cosmic Races' technologies... on Earth!"