Chapter 210: Chapter 210: Not Dying Fast Enough for You?
Zoe Pierce had also figured out the Imperial Squad’s plan.
Following Miles Sherman’s instructions, she raised her hand, accelerated, and charged into the center of the group.
The moment Miles Sherman entered the effective range, the few people who had been using their spiritual power lost it simultaneously.
Beau immediately felt his control over the Token slip away. He could no longer control its size, nor could he sense its existence.
Erin Xavier didn’t even know how he had ended up digging a hole, tossing snow to either side. He even asked, "Nathan, what’s the position?"
But when a long moment passed without a reply from Nathan Lockwood, he asked uncertainly, "Nathan?"
Nathan Lockwood sat in his mecha, his expression grim.
After a moment, he said, "Erin, twenty centimeters to your left, half a meter deep. Don’t go any further down."
Zoe Pierce extended her Perception in the direction Nathan Lockwood indicated. Her expression froze. She glanced at Miles Sherman, who turned off his communication channel.
"What is it?"
Zoe Pierce dodged the charging Owen. "Corpses."
"They’re all Xenobeast corpses."
Most of them were still buried in the snow, but if Erin Xavier kept carelessly digging and tossing, they would be exposed.
Dozens of Xenobeasts were all buried deep here.
If not for Beau and Erin Xavier’s blunder, the bodies buried beneath the frigid snow and wind likely would have never been discovered.
They lay here silently, air-dried and dehydrated, just shriveled husks that had been freeze-dried and then buried.
There were no external injuries, not even a discernible cause of death.
If they hadn’t encountered that red-eyed Xenobeast earlier, they probably wouldn’t have thought much of it.
But they had, so they couldn’t help but overthink it.
’Like they were experimental subjects.’
Meanwhile, upon seeing the Xenobeast corpses, Quentin Ford’s eyes had already turned icy. He stood and smiled at the Major General. "General, I’m feeling a bit unwell. I might have to head back for a bit. I’ll come back later."
Justin Lewis immediately walked over. "Councilman? Should I call a doctor?"
Quentin Ford waved his hand. "It’s nothing serious. I just want to lie down for a while and recover."
The Major General didn’t care whether Quentin Ford left or not. After all, there was nothing for a Beta councilman to do here. He was more like a mascot, attending with the Alpha and Omega council members to represent some kind of political correctness.
"If you’re tired, you should get some rest," the Major General nodded. "Don’t push yourself."
Quentin Ford smiled and gave a slight nod to the people around him. "Then I’ll be taking my leave."
As he left the lounge, the chill on Quentin Ford’s face grew colder the closer he got to his own room. Even Justin Lewis at his side could feel the oppressive atmosphere around him intensifying.
"Justin, you can go back first. I need to be alone for a bit." Opening the door, Quentin Ford let out a heavy sigh.
Justin Lewis immediately nodded. "Yes, Councilman."
He bowed to Quentin Ford and left.
The door locked shut. Quentin Ford took a signal jammer from his Space Button and placed it on the table. The Intelligent Brain’s projection of the friendly match was still playing, but his face was grim and terrifying.
He dialed a number.
The person on the other end felt their scalp tingle when they saw the caller ID, but there was no avoiding it now.
They had no choice but to answer.
"Old Gray."
"Councilman..."
Quentin Ford said with a humorless smile, "I recall that among the approved funds, there was a specific allocation for Xenobeast disposal. I assume you remember that."
The man called Old Gray also had the friendly match displayed in front of him. He had found out about this at the exact same moment as Quentin Ford.
"Sir, I hired people specifically to handle the corpses. It was a failure of my supervision."
Xenobeasts used in this type of research, once dead, are sterilized and disposed of unless they have special research value and are kept as specimens. To put it simply, they’re put into a grinder, completely pulverized, and then dried.
Then they undergo the next step of sanitation.
Either burial or incineration.
They certainly wouldn’t be left in a state like this, where you could see a complete corpse.
"Old Gray, the nature of this incident is extremely serious. I thought we were all comrades-in-arms on the same front. Is someone trying to backstab us now?"
"With this many corpses, both The Federation and The Empire will have their eyes on us. What, do you all feel like you aren’t dying fast enough?"
The pressure emanating from Quentin Ford grew heavier, and his words were laced with sarcasm.
"Find the person who handled this. I don’t want to hear any excuses. Since they can’t do the job, then find someone who can."
’Taking my money only to trip me up. Just wonderful.’
On the other end of the Intelligent Brain’s call, Old Gray repeatedly agreed.
Quentin Ford’s anger didn’t dissipate in the slightest. "Halt all experiments for internal review, effective immediately. If any irregularities are found, deal with them directly. Tell them it’s on my authority."
"Old Gray, you and Xiao Bai are the people closest to me. I don’t want to see you be the ones who get cast aside one day. Do you understand?"
Old Gray: "Understood, Sir."
"I will give you an explanation for this matter."
Quentin Ford’s eyes lifted, his cold gaze sweeping over the people on the screen. "Old Gray, I’m giving you eight hours."
"I want the results of your handling of this before dawn."
The Intelligent Brain call ended. He sat there quietly. Compared to the blizzard obscuring the sky in The Polar Region, they could still see the moon from their location.
But even the moon was now half-shrouded by clouds, dim and indistinct.
...
To say the Alphas in the squad had a telepathic connection would be an exaggeration, but their rapport was definitely beyond what anyone would expect.
From Nathan Lockwood’s hesitation and precise words, even without an explicit explanation, Erin Xavier keenly sensed there was something he couldn’t say openly.
The mecha’s hand didn’t move much, precisely and flawlessly retrieving the Token.
Erin Xavier even stomped some of the snow back into the hole.
The next second, Beau charged over, his mecha’s arm grabbing directly for Erin’s arm, repeating his old trick.
The first time Erin Xavier was hit, it was because he was caught off guard. Getting hit a second time would just be stupid.
He moved swiftly to Zoe Pierce’s side, kicking Owen’s mecha on the way and forcing its sword to plunge downward.
When Owen pulled it out again, Erin Xavier couldn’t help but curse at the sight.
’Damn it, just how many Xenobeasts are under this snow?’
Owen’s sword was now like a skewer, impaling seven or eight shriveled corpses.
Even the members of the Imperial Squad felt that something was wrong.
Even for a mass death, this number was far too high.
Not to mention they all appeared to be the same type of Xenobeast.
"Your Highness, something is strange." Renato, who had been fighting on par with Nathan Lockwood, took a few steps back. He couldn’t help but frown as he looked at Owen’s Longsword.
Even though Owen immediately flung the Xenobeast corpses from his sword, the sight of them lying on the ground was still somewhat terrifying.
By now, more than ten Xenobeast corpses were visible on the ground.
"Your Highness, I couldn’t find any data on this Xenobeast. I only found information on a similar one."
"The Rock Mongoose. Mostly lives in rainforests, has yellow fur and black eyes."
Renato sent the information to everyone on the team. The similarity to the Xenobeasts was immediately apparent.
The only differences were that the Xenobeasts lying in the snow had snow-white fur and eyes that remained blood-red, even in death.
