Captain's quarters.

Qin Xie was observing the distance with the Light Imprint Telescope.

Floating on the fog sea 4000 meters away from the Heavy Cruiser "White Dove" was a colossal creature.

Its main body resembled a crescent moon, with three pitch-black gaping maws and eight long, straight sharp teeth.

An alien form that could move autonomously on the Dead Sea without falling into slumber was an extremely rare occurrence.

What most troubled Qin Xie at the moment was how to write a good report to submit.

The command issued by Commander Feng Ji was to investigate the situation of the alien code-named "Moon Teeth" and to ensure the related merchant groups were properly reassured.

This alien blocked the most important Dead Sea trade route in the area's winter season, causing many merchant groups to be very nervous and having to take long detours.

Taking detours made them more likely to encounter monsters from other regions, break into dangerous areas such as Light Bursts, rapids, and High-pressure Vortexes, or even run into sea lords out on campaigns—they wouldn't mind collecting some spoils of war along the way.

When the merchant groups suffered losses, the Dead Sea Knights responsible for safety could hardly escape blame. If the Seventh Fleet's credit rating was downgraded as a result, the loss would be severe.

Qin Xie knew.

The harm from panic was greater than disaster itself.

But, how could he convince the merchant groups that although "Moon Teeth" was large and tough, it posed no threat to the ordinary vessels sailing on the Dead Sea?

He turned to his side, "Teddy, what do you think?"

On the table to the left hand of Qin Xie stood a half-human-tall, furry teddy bear.

The gray-brown toy bear moved its body, "I still suggest that you tell everyone it's completely harmless, but due to certain safety and confidentiality principles, we can't reveal too much."

"We first declare that nothing is happening."

"If something really happens, we say there may have been an incident, but according to the current situation, no excessive action should be taken."

"If the situation worsens, we'll say we might need to take action, but can't do anything."

"And if it completely gets out of control, just claim it's too late."

Teddy bear put its hands on hips, "That's the process for solving most problems—deny, delay, create obstacles, and shift blame. Simple and effective."

Qin Xie felt somewhat helpless, "I admit, your method is useful, but it won't solve the current problem."

"Ah? You're not actually thinking of solving this problem, are you? Have you lost your mind?"

"If you really want to solve the problem, the entire Seventh Fleet should be here!"

Teddy bear threw a cotton-filled punch at Qin Xie, "The Commander sent you because he wanted you to say these things. Others are useless, but with your family background, even if you run into problems later, the worst you'd get is a reassignment. The only difference is who to choose for this task."

"Ah Xie, you also know very well, whether the merchants, the Knight Order, or those sailors on the ships, they all know that the incidents here are difficult to deal with. But they also need to give an account to others; everyone wants to shirk responsibility but is reluctant to give up the benefits."

The young ship captain said, "What I mean is, this method is too crappy, it's obviously just shirking responsibility, and the report won't pass the logistic technical assessment in the Knight Order. We at least need to think of a convincing strategy that might not solve the problem but shows we tried to solve it."

"..."

The teddy bear looked impatient, "Then you need to move it away from here, can you do that?"

Qin Xie said, "I'll think about it some more."

Just as the two were about to erupt in a new round of argument, there was a knock at the door.

"Captain, there's a situation near 'Moon Teeth'!"

Qin Xie opened the door and saw the Knight Huo Bing looking tense on the outside.

"Come to the lookout tower! We've detected an unidentified object."

Qin Xie and the teddy bear made their way to the top of the ship's cabin.

A Class-C Light Imprint Device, the "lookout mirror," was fixed here, capable of seeing real-time situations as far as 4000 meters away. Although the light fog of the Dead Sea affected visibility, its special components could detect suspicious targets through Death Light.

Next to the lookout mirror was an imaging silver plate engraved with bearings and distance layers, which showed a luminous body approaching this position.

Huo Bing said with some tension, "Captain, this unidentified object is moving at a speed of 45 kilometers per hour, faster than the two fastest supply ships here."

Qin Xie glanced at the mechanical watch on his wrist and immediately gave an order, "Notify 'Chang Feng' and 'Thorny Bird' as well as the two supply ships to enter formation 3 and prepare for combat."

"Yes, Captain!"

The order was relayed through the speaking tubes, traveling along iron pipes into every cabin.

Soon, the two Class-C medium-sized patrol cruisers that had originally been in a line with the White Dove immediately contracted, forming a triangle around the flagship, the Class-B Heavy Cruiser White Dove. The lighter supply ships then moved into the protected center.

Huo Bing suddenly said, "Captain... the unidentified object has disappeared."

In a moment, Qin Xie responded again, looking at his watch, "Switch Light Imprint orbit. Prepare the Light-blocking Bombs and High-pressure Bombs. Fire High-pressure first, followed by Light-blocking, three seconds apart. Open covering fire around us in 40 seconds."

Light-blocking Bombs could disrupt the aggregation of Death Light and were known as weapon killers.

Its flaw lay in the limited strength of scatter attacks, which could only weaken an enemy's first offensive round. Combined with its long firing interval, it was mostly used for initial interception or the last round of cover.

High-pressure Bombs were designed to instantly pressurize an area, temporarily disrupting the local stability of Death Light to create a special light and shadow phenomenon. This weapon was primarily used to identify hidden enemies.

On the mechanical watch, the hands ticked steadily.

3

2

1

The guns roared!

White Dove's four secondary guns fired in four directions at the same time, creating peculiar light bands in the surrounding sea, like auroras stretched thin.

The High-pressure Bombs were immediately followed by Light-blocking Bombs, this time dispersing part of the Dead Sea fog while also creating sputtered gaps on the light streams.

Huo Bing said, "Target spotted, it's... over by 'Moon Teeth'."

Qin Xie looked through the lookout mirror of the observation tower.

Beside the sea monster, there appeared a strange black ship.

The ship wasn't big; it was even smaller than a medium-sized patrol boat. In contour, it closely resembled a typical enhanced ship, with no weapons visible on the deck or the sides.

But on closer inspection, Qin Xie discovered that it was entirely different from a normal ship's structure. It was composed of square and spherical black building units, resembling more a stone ship.

The black ship flew no flags and had no sailors, yet it remained steadily afloat.

The only good news was that its target was the alien "Moon Teeth".

Suddenly, silver rings grew out of the spherical part of the black ship, as if activating some Light Imprint Structure or Guangna Organ.

This black ship covered in silver eyeballs circled "Moon Teeth", its many silver eyes rotating as if the ship had opened hundreds of eyes, sizing up the alien.

The scene before him made Qin Xie's scalp tingle.

What kind of monster was this?

He observed calmly, trying to recall anything similar he had encountered.

...

This form and structure, it was the Sheng Snake.

Qin Xie grew even more puzzled.

Sheng Snakes were ferocious with strong killing power and indeed social creatures, but he had never heard of them forming a ship... This form of an enhanced ship structure must have been commanded, forcing them to maintain this uncomfortable formation.

"Sheng Snake?"

Huo Bing was a bit confused, "Commander, that's not right. There must be over two hundred of them. Such a large number of Sheng Snakes usually assemble to fend off enemy invasions. But 'Moon Teeth' hasn't attacked them..."

Knight showed a bizarre expression, "Could it be that they want to hunt this alien?"

Qin Xie said, "Let's continue watching."

About an hour later, it was confirmed that the black ship comprising Sheng Snakes was indeed focused on the alien, circling it. This time, the black ship could be seen diving into the Dead Sea, as if observing "Moon Teeth" from the bottom.

However, the size of "Moon Teeth" was comparable to a small piece of land; the black ship was like a sand rat circling a giant beast.

It seemed unlikely to pose any threat.

The Sheng Snake's "Poison Break" was useless against the alien, as it had no such thing as Guangna Organs.

Qin Xie saw that the black ship soon docked alongside "Moon Teeth", disintegrated into individual Sheng Snakes, and began entering the alien's surface.

Were the Sheng Snakes planning to settle on "Moon Teeth"?

His headache worsened.

With a new group of Sheng Snakes emerging, rival companies would likely be even more hesitant to approach this area.

At this point, Teddy suddenly said, "Forget it, I'll negotiate with them, see what's going on."

Qin Xie frowned, "The number of Sheng Snakes is too great, and you're not a combat unit. It would be very dangerous for you."

Teddy slapped its belly, "Sheng Snakes communicate through scent, but I am a master Dream Stealer. I can converse with any living being in their dreams. Any creature capable of dreaming is within my reach."

"Don't worry, although Sheng Snakes have a fierce reputation, they are quite reasonable towards neutral electromechanical life like me. Aliens also rarely target us."

Eventually, Teddy drove a small enhanced ship there alone.

Qin Xie watched nervously, ready to assist in the rescue of his friend at any moment.

The stuffed bear was indeed not attacked among the Sheng Snakes; they all just stared fixedly at it.

Teddy promptly fell asleep.

Half an hour later, the toy bear returned safely by boat.

...

"We've cleared it up."

Teddy made a gesture, signaling to talk in private.

By the side of the deck, Teddy then said, "Those snakes belong to the Wasteland Development Company, they're acting under orders from the chairman Zhou Yi, to retrieve this alien."

Wasteland Development Company, Zhou Yi?

Qin Xie had an impression.

White Dove had gone to trouble this person, and then never reappeared.

This matter was hushed up internally. But Qin Xie knew very well that it was the scandal behind this incident that led to Deputy Commander He Jiu being transferred.

As for Zhou Yi, the Commander had no comment. No comment meant that he was not an enemy at the moment.

However.

Retrieve the alien?

The alien "Jade City" was indeed well-known in the Sand Port Region. It was said to have absorbed many homeless Scavengers due to a rescue operation, and even birthed a second generation of Jade City... It was certain that the chairman really understood aliens.

Could "Moon Teeth" actually be related to the Wasteland Development Company?

Teddy added, "There is one more thing. There is a Hunter high in the sky, also an employee of their company, who came to check the situation. It's possible to negotiate with that Hunter, which serves as an observer sent by the chairman."

Qin Xie thought.

There seemed to be a solution to the "Moon Teeth" problem.

He immediately ordered, "Communications, contact the Hunter in the sky, and say that we wish to cooperate with the Wasteland Development Company."

"Yes, Commander."

Soon, the other side responded.