Chapter 132: The Situation Worsens

“Old Third Huang, don’t joke around!” Liu the Cripple knew this guy wasn’t the type to speak carelessly. Since he was telling him, there must be some basis for it.

“We’ve known each other for over 100 years, would I lie to you? It’s just that I feel uneasy,” Old Third Huang nodded.

“Tell me what you think. Maybe two heads are better than one?” Liu the Cripple looked at Old Third Huang and said.

Old Third Huang had intended to involve someone to share the burden, so he opened up: “Two hours before you informed us about the meeting with the Pirate leader, I already knew the news.”

Liu the Cripple almost spat out his drink again. He had just heard the Grey Ash Organization relay that message.

“I met a mysterious person who knew that this entire issue was a plot by certain people. Look, the Pirates suffered heavy losses, we suffered heavy losses, and even the Alliance Fleet took a great hit. So who benefited?”

“Some people tried to pull me in before. I don’t know if they approached you, but I refused them at that time. Luckily, I dodged this bullet. And look, those who didn’t suffer much—in fact, doesn’t it seem a little strange? We all acted together, but somehow, those guys took hardly any losses for various reasons?” Old Third Huang explained slowly.

Hearing this, Liu the Cripple’s face changed dramatically. He thought quietly to himself, then with a sinister expression, he said, “I knew something was off. How could things turn out like this? Who in their right mind would approve of contacting Pirates to attack an Alliance Fleet?”

“I’ve figured it out now. Some people want to weaken us so we’ll rely more on them,” Liu the Cripple continued.

“It’s not just that. I just heard that a certain Biological Mecha production base was destroyed, yet strangely enough, all the people inside were unharmed. Everything had been looted by four or five surrounding Tribes, including the main energy room,” Old Third Huang whispered.

“What are you suggesting?”

“The person I met implied self-governance. I don’t know where he’s from.”

“We should speak directly with the Alliance Parliament, cutting out the middlemen. Don’t you think then we could freely build cities on the surface?” Old Third Huang continued.

Liu the Cripple’s eyes widened as he mulled it over, his gaze shifting before asking, “So, what should we do?”

“That’s the part that confuses me. He says we don’t need to do anything special, just wait for the right moment to stand up. But it feels wrong to not do anything. The man’s origins are extremely mysterious. I’ve never seen him before, and I can’t gauge his strength.” Old Third Huang shook his head.

Liu the Cripple pondered for a moment and said, “Could he be from the Alliance? Lots of people in the Alliance covet the benefits here, but can’t get involved directly.”

“It’s possible.”

“Then let’s keep an eye on things. We should maintain intel contact with him and reach out to a few trustworthy friends. We can form a small alliance of our own to establish surface cities. Those two-faced fools and the local dimwits won’t be on our side anyway.”

“We don’t lose anything either. We just go with the flow, each as separate Tribes,” Liu the Cripple concluded.

Yang Bo slipped in two more times, scouting the two passages. There was nothing to say about the Pirates’ side, but on the other side lived some humans. These appeared to be members of various organizations or institutions.

Most of them were employees from the just-destroyed Biological Mecha base, while the rest came from all sorts of different backgrounds—some were researchers, others conducting experiments.

In another area, members of major organizations were housed. Yang Bo even spotted his nemesis—over 20 employees from the Four Seas Gene Serum Company. It was also rumored there was a hidden research facility somewhere nearby with over 100 people mainly testing whether mutated animals could be used as raw materials for gene injections. The mutants were catching residents to sell to this company for drug testing.

At the same time, Yang Bo learned about a disruptive agent. The agent was intended for the mutants to propagate their species. With it, their offspring would be less likely to be born deformed.

As for the Pirate and Mutant leaders’ conversation, Yang Bo didn’t attend. He wasn’t sure whether someone with Invisibility might be present. Don’t forget how he gained his own Invisibility skill.

The leader of the Grey Ash Organization looked grim. He had orchestrated the meeting between the Pirate and Mutant leaders, hoping they’d fight each other. Unexpectedly, the two now united against him.

“Return everything we gave you, and compensate for our losses. If our Tribe can’t survive, no one will have a peaceful life,” a Mutant leader stood up and loudly declared.

Old Third Huang, standing off to the side, nodded in agreement. The one speaking was a local Mutant of the second or third generation, not from high-tech society.

These guys followed the law of the jungle, where the weak were prey, without considering anything else.

“Give us back our stuff first. Our Tribe risked their lives to get it, and we lost over 30 warriors, all of whom had Biological Mecha. You need to compensate us with at least 50 sets of Biological Mecha.”

“That’s right! Our Tribe lost 40 warriors, also with Biological Mecha. The Alliance’s fighter jets targeted our Biological Mecha first.” The other Mutant leaders joined in, though a few remained silent.

The head of the Grey Ash Organization looked uneasy. How had he not been informed? He glanced at the Mutant leaders aligned with him, who also seemed clueless. This was definitely bad news—something was brewing among the Mutants.

The Pirate One-Eye and Bald Man had initially expected the Mutants to scream and shout, but to their surprise, the Mutants had brains. They joined in on the argument, “You gave us false intel, which led to the loss of two of our warships. We’re going to demand compensation, not to mention the loss of over 10,000 brothers. Who knows how many will make it out alive?”

“I find it strange, though. We Mutants lost, you Pirates lost—so who gained from this?” A Mutant leader spoke up again.

Everyone turned to the Grey Ash Organization. It was they who had arranged this operation and taken a cut of the profits.

“Don’t look at us like that. Our reputation was earned slowly over time. This time, we made a mistake with the intel, and we won’t shirk responsibility for the compensation. In fact, I have a task for you. Find this person, and there will be a hefty reward,” the head of the Grey Ash Organization said, presenting a photo. The picture showed a Biological Mecha.