Chapter 225

231. Chapter 231: Halftime Break

The outline shadow of the behemoth appeared on the big screen.

Although the full picture could not be seen yet, and it was unknown what this thing was, just looking at the outline, one knew that this thing was not to be trifled with.

It was completely incomparable to the Level 3 Brood Mother and the Level 5 Brood Mother.

Even the Annihilation Light, if it hit it, might not even qualify as a scratch.

Compared to it, the "Cloud Neon" starship was like a slightly larger ant in front of an elephant.

It didn't even need to use its feet to step on it, just a puff of breath.

The ant probably wouldn't be able to withstand it.

Although this statement was a bit exaggerated, once this behemoth launched an attack, the "Cloud Neon" and the micro-legion on it would face a life-and-death crisis.

This mission, progressing to the moment the behemoth appeared, could already be declared over.

It couldn't be counted as a failure; after all, there was still plenty of evidence proving that the micro-legion had indeed investigated the Zerg ecological structure, abnormal changes, and causes of mutation in the mission world.

They could even provide plenty of evidence that would make the agencies under the Supreme Council lose face.

However, this mission couldn't be counted as a success either.

Because they had to sneak away from the behemoth to save their lives before there could be any follow-up.

As deserters, how could they have the face to say they were successful?

"No need to run!"

Seeing this scene, Sandra's expression was extremely solemn, and after careful consideration, she said briefly.

As the words fell, she closed her eyes, took a deep breath, leaned back, and her entire spirit and energy instantly withered.

She just wanted to temper herself, by the way unify the thinking of the partners she valued, establish the same cognition, and then try to assess and recruit a few new partners.

Why did it suddenly have so many twists and turns when the mission was progressing smoothly halfway through?

There is no smoke without fire.

There must be a reason, right?

So, what was the reason?

"You all go out for a while first; I need to handle some private matters."

Sandra opened her eyes, her tone quite exhausted, completely lacking the high spirits she had when proposing three additional goals during the meeting.

After Lin Ke, the round-faced youth, the blonde wavy-haired girl, and the Flat-Head Brother walked out of the cockpit.

The Tower Spirit also thoughtfully closed the cabin door, activated the soundproof barrier, and checked for eavesdropping and recording.

Sandra ordered: "Contact Ms. Lisandra."

"Yes."

The Tower Spirit immediately sent a communication request to the first emergency contact.

"Oh, my lovely daughter, you actually thought of me, your poor, lonely old mother, in the midst of your busy schedule; I am truly so happy."

A face appeared on the big screen, without a trace of makeup, yet stunningly beautiful, every frown and smile capable of tugging at people's hearts.

It was just that the tone and manner of speaking were truly a bit exaggerated.

"Ms. Lisandra, please explain the things your daughter encountered during the mission."

Sandra pulled herself together, kept a straight face, and asked seriously.

"What things? Did any accident happen? Oh, my God."

A look of panic and concern immediately appeared on Lisandra's beautiful face, "My lovely daughter wasn't hurt, was she? This is truly... making me worried to death."

Sandra rolled her eyes: "Can you not talk to me in this tone? Please, I am your daughter, not your husband who is so handsome that it's earth-shattering and fills your heart and eyes."

"Oh ho ho ho..."

Lisandra covered her mouth and giggled, "Is my lovely daughter jealous? Mua... kiss, Mommy loves you the most, baby."

"Be serious!"

Sandra slammed her hand on the seat armrest, "I'm talking to you about serious business."

"You say!"

Lisandra seemed to be startled, quickly straightened her face, and put on a serious look.

"Are these things your doing?"

Sandra questioned unceremoniously, "You just want me to suffer setbacks, to make me realize that I can't do anything on my own, right?"

Upon hearing this, Lisandra no longer deliberately teased her daughter, a sneer curling at the corner of her mouth:

"It seems my lovely daughter still hasn't grasped Mommy's meaning.

Mommy's original intention was to say that leaving the family's resources and support, if you want to succeed, you will experience too many twists and turns, too many bumps.

Grassroots rising is not that easy.

Perhaps the process might be magnificent, full of heroic colors, and yearning.

However, have you thought about how much hardship, how much pain, how many partings of life and death exist in it?"

Pausing, Lisandra mocked:

"Besides, do you think the power-holders of those big families at the Academy Headquarters are all fools who can't see the so-called Sage ratio of the last fifty years?

Do you think they were brainless people who could develop their families to their current scale?

Why do you think they let their family descendants not seek progress and just wait for death?

Think carefully about the reasons for that.

The world is not just how you see it!"

Sandra's eyes dodged, subconsciously avoiding these questions, and instead questioned aggressively: "I'm just asking you, are the accidents I encountered in this mission your doing?"

"Even if it were."

Lisandra nodded lightly, "But so what?"

"How could you do this!"

Sandra was full of anger.

"Why can't I do this? You are my daughter; you can be reckless, naive, and willful, but you don't allow me, as a mother, to slap you awake and stop you from speeding on a wrong path until you finally walk into the abyss?"

"You are too much! You didn't consider my feelings at all!"

"The even more excessive things are yet to come; you haven't seen them yet."

"Hmph!"

Sandra argued with her mother for a few sentences, but looking at the approaching behemoth, she had to suppress her anger, force herself to calm down, and said in a slightly unnatural tone: "You clean up these accidents and things, and let my mission return to the right track."

"Hehehe..."

Lisandra burst out laughing, "My silly daughter, you actually believed it. You think too highly of your mother. I have some influence within the Academy's radiation range at most; how could I possibly influence the Zerg?"

"Then what is going on with these?"

Sandra asked in confusion.

"These?"

Lisandra laughed, "These are of course traps deliberately set by the Academy's rivals. It's just that they didn't expect that this mission would be requested by you and attract my attention. Otherwise, if things developed according to their expectations, the Academy's trouble would not be small."

"Is that so?"

Sandra knew her mother wouldn't lie to her about such things, so she turned to ask, "Then what should I do next?"

Lisandra asked back: "Apart from the mission, have you finished what you wanted to do?"

Sandra thought seriously and frowned, saying: "Barely finished."

"Then it's none of your business; leave the rest to me. You just go back yourself."

A cold light flashed in Lisandra's eyes, "Daring to bully my daughter, these bugs don't think about going back alive."

"Alright, be as ruthless as possible, help me vent my anger."

Although she was a little disappointed, Sandra still agreed.

Hanging up the video communication with her mother, she ordered the Tower Spirit to invite her partners into the cockpit.

"Due to force majeure, the mission ends here, and we are about to return."

Facing the gazes of her four partners, Sandra said, "The specific reasons involve secrets, so forgive me for not being able to tell everyone."

"It's okay, we can understand."

The blonde wavy-haired girl was the first to speak, supporting Sandra.

The round-faced youth and the Flat-Head Brother followed closely behind.

Lin Ke just nodded, indicating he understood.

The relationship wasn't there; how could it be his place to speak up in support or comfort?

The "Cloud Neon" entered warp state again.

This time, it entered the warp bubble very smoothly and returned to the rear camp at a speed exceeding light.

Coming in a hurry, leaving in an even greater hurry.

In less than 3 hours, burning a huge amount of magic stones, the "Cloud Neon" starship landed on the barren planet where the rear camp was located.

During this period, after treatment, the four wounded and Lanny, Tiffany, and Fried woke up one after another and recovered their state.

The 12 people of the micro-legion walked off the starship completely.

"Rest individually, return individually tomorrow."

Sandra was listless and returned to her tent without even doing the routine mission summary.

The remaining 11 people were stunned for a while and also returned one after another. Walking into the tent assigned to him, Lin Ke sat cross-legged on the soft cushion, recalling this mission experience.

Tiger head, snake tail?

It could indeed be counted as such; after all, it ended unclearly and very hastily.

However, this mission also opened Lin Ke's eyes and he gained quite a lot.

While deep in thought, footsteps came from outside the curtain.

"Is it convenient to come in?"

Lanny asked outside the curtain.

"Enter."

Lin Ke did not refuse.

He sat here instead of resting on the bed inside because he was waiting for someone.

"What happened later? Why did the mission end so hastily?"

As soon as Lanny sat down, she asked two questions in a row.

Lin Ke first described the process of the three of them being parasitized by parasites, as well as the process of the "Cloud Neon" attacking and being attacked several times, and then said: "Regarding the end of the mission, I don't know the specific reason either; I only know it has to do with Wizard Sandra."

This was the truth, not deceiving Lanny.

Lin Ke really didn't know the details, only had a few guesses.

Guesses without evidence support would not be spoken out, so as not to mislead others.

"Is that so?"

Lanny was half-believing, didn't get to the bottom of it, and turned to ask, "What are your plans for the future? Return to the mainland, or stay and continue to follow Wizard Sandra in action?"

Lin Ke asked with a smile: "Is this something I can decide?"

"Of course!"

Lanny nodded, very certain, "If Wizard Sandra really wants to recruit you, she will send you an invitation through the Academy's official channels. If you are satisfied with the benefits on the invitation and are willing to comply with the obligation clauses on the invitation, then sign the agreement. If you have other ideas, just don't sign; it won't have any impact."

"Did you sign?"

"Signed?"

"How does it feel?"

"It feels very good. Resources are sufficient, time is abundant, you can get training, and you can also increase your knowledge."

"I have to consider it; I won't agree rashly."

"You don't want to be constrained, right?"

"A little."

When the topic reached here, Lanny already knew Lin Ke's mind.

Thus, she could go back and report to Sandra.

Lanny stood up, and before leaving, left a sentence: "In that case, perhaps you won't receive an invitation."

"Hmm."

Lin Ke watched Lanny turn around, "Thank Wizard Sandra for her kindness for me."

Lanny waved her hand and lifted the curtain to leave.

After going out, she happened to run into Tiffany.

The two nodded to greet each other and passed by.

"Did I disturb you?"

Tiffany touched the soft cushion that was still warm, didn't sit down, and asked like this.

"No."

Lin Ke shook his head, then asked, "Anything for me?"

"Hmm."

Tiffany admitted frankly, and then said sincerely, "Came to thank you, thank you for your help in the mission, thank you for discovering the existence of parasites in time, and thank you even more for your magnanimity."

"You're welcome, these are what I should do."

Lin Ke stated his true thoughts.

Since they were teammates, they had to put aside prejudices and cooperate seriously.

There was no need to make trade-offs and delays in official business because of some minor grudges.

Tiffany laughed: "In most cases, it is precisely what should be done that is the hardest to do."

As she spoke, Tiffany's expression became serious, her tone solemn, and she gave a promise: "The Colonna family will not have any suppression or retaliation against you, and neither will Scotty Colonna."

This was returning the favor.

"Thank you."

Lin Ke responded frankly, not taking it as joy, nor taking this promise lightly.

Being able to have one less family targeting him was of course a good thing.

At least it could make his development environment more favorable.

"Hmm, that's it."

After Tiffany finished the serious business, she didn't intend to stay long and stood up to leave.

In itself, there was no friendship between her and Lin Ke; being able to live in peace this time, and even help each other, was all because of interests first.

Like Lanny, Tiffany left a sentence before leaving, or rather a reminder: "Beware of Lucia."

Upon hearing this, Lin Ke immediately attached importance to it.

As a local West Coast pure-blood family, the reputation of the Colonna family was much better than that of the Lionel family and the Lucia family.

One of the main reasons for this was that the stance and style of the Colonna family had always been very clear.

That was to take good care of the development of themselves and their allies, but never easily suppress others and other forces.

They would not deliberately target half-bloods, nor would they despise new-bloods.

The Paro Sage lineage actually had quite a lot of dealings with the Colonna family.

As a Colonna, Tiffany giving such a reminder could not be without reason.

Obviously, there was some situation Lin Ke didn't understand.

This matter had to be taken seriously, and he would have to find a way to figure it out after going back.

Time passed slowly.

The next day, Sandra announced the dissolution of the micro-legion, and everyone went back to their own homes.

Lin Ke indeed did not receive an invitation from Sandra.

Under the gaze of several slightly strange eyes behind him, Lin Ke walked steadily into the portal.

"Just let him go like this?"

One of the four wounded who had once lain naked in the transparent cabin's nutrient solution, a short-haired witch with a petite and cute appearance, asked Sandra.

"His ambition doesn't lie here; if I don't let him go, why force him to stay?"

Sandra replied in a gloomy tone.

"If you want to keep him, just keep him; his ability is very good, and he can help you."

The petite witch said casually, not taking this to heart.

"Forget it. There are some things I need to rethink; before I think clearly, I won't do any more conscription and recruitment. At worst, I'll just conscript him next time; would he dare to refuse?"

Sandra lost the mood to chat and went back to her tent.

Lin Ke walked out of the portal, returned to the Wizard World, and looked up at the bright sun, feeling an unreal sensation.

Peace and war, survival and death.

Everything was so unreal.

Taking out the "Phantom Coupe," Lin Ke drove straight to the North District villa.

He missed the green tea he stir-fried himself.

When he returned to the villa, only the smart butler greeted him.

Molly was still busy at the Grande Potion Shop.

In the backyard lawn, Lin Ke held a cup of green tea, sipped it lightly, and enjoyed the rare leisure.

"Back? How does it feel?"

Reminded by the butler Hamid, Molly, who rushed back quickly, hugged Lin Ke from behind and asked softly.

Lin Ke thought carefully and said seriously:

"I'm so poor!"