The moment Li Po caught sight of the black hourglass tattoo, his expression tensed. Without giving anything away, he lowered his gaze and tapped Lan Deng on the shoulder.

Lan Deng leaned in and asked, “What’s up?”

Li Po didn’t directly mention the black hourglass tattoo. Instead, he simply said, “That buzz-cut guy doesn’t look like a good person.”

Upon hearing this, Lan Deng naturally lifted his head to take a look at the man.

With just one glance, Lan Deng’s expression changed.

“You stay here, and don’t move,” he said seriously before rushing off toward Jin Mu, his face grim.

Jin Mu, seeing Lan Deng storming over, thought he was coming to pick a fight and rolled up his sleeves, ready to throw down. But before he could react, Lan Deng leaned in and whispered, “That guy with the buzz cut is from the Wusha Society.”

Wusha Society?

The moment Jin Mu heard those three words, his body tensed up. Wusha Society was the biggest threat to S District, aside from the pollutants.

But why were they here in the black market? Could it be…

As he quickly processed this information, Jin Mu lowered his voice and asked, “What should we do? Should we chase him and take him out?”

Lan Deng frowned deeply, then shook his head. “There are too many people here, and we might alert the others. Plus, we have Li Po with us. If the buzz-cut guy has backup, we could be outnumbered.”

Suddenly, a voice drifted in from behind them, “Don’t worry about me.”

The sudden appearance of another person made Lan Deng jump. “Oh my god, you scared me! I thought…”

“Thought what?”

“Never mind…” Lan Deng’s voice trailed off awkwardly.

Jin Mu coughed lightly to get their attention. “He’s leaving.”

Lan Deng resisted the urge to turn around. “Leaving? What do we do now, follow him?”

“Yeah.”

The buzz-cut man was highly alert, almost causing the trio to lose track of him several times. After much circling and sneaking around, they finally saw where the man was headed—the Flower Willow Pavilion!

Seeing the large sign for the brothel, Lan Deng looked embarrassed. “Wait, he’s here for… that?”

Jin Mu scowled. “How shameless!”

Li Po, who had been watching silently, lifted his gaze and asked, “Who is he? Why are you following him?”

Jin Mu and Lan Deng exchanged glances, hesitation evident in their eyes.

Lan Deng, seemingly cautious about revealing too much, mumbled, “He’s from a group that poses a threat to S District. That’s all. Anyway, there’s no point in following him further with Li Po here. How about we report this to the higher-ups and let them handle it?”

Jin Mu agreed with a nod.

Li Po didn’t object either. Although his face remained neutral, he was calculating something in his mind.

A group with black hourglass tattoos… what kind of organization could that be?

S District

After they got off the starship, Jin Mu and Lan Deng quickly returned to their usual state of mutual disdain, barely acknowledging each other.

Li Po, as usual, remained oblivious, his hand dipping into his pocket. Inside was a handful of candy and a communication device.

“Do you want me to walk you back to the dorms?” Lan Deng suddenly asked.

“No need,” Li Po replied indifferently. He pulled out his communication device, opened the screen, and hovered his finger over a name, hesitating.

Lan Deng’s blue eyes showed a flash of disappointment at the refusal, but he didn’t push further. “Alright then, I’ll head to the training grounds. I’ve got a mission report to submit later. Oh, and don’t eat too much of that candy—it’s fine if you throw it away. I’ll buy you better ones next time.”

Li Po absentmindedly nodded in response.

As he continued walking, he suddenly realized there was someone following him. Puzzled, he stopped and turned around. “Aren’t you going back?”

Jin Mu shook his head. “You seem to have something on your mind.”

Li Po’s lips curled slightly as he responded, “I’m just curious about that organization you mentioned.”

Jin Mu hadn’t expected him to be so interested and was a little surprised. “You really want to know?”

Li Po nodded seriously, fixing his gaze on Jin Mu.

Caught off guard by such an intense look, Jin Mu felt a bit flustered. His bronze skin flushed slightly, and for a moment, his thoughts grew fuzzy.

Feeling dizzy, Jin Mu, who was rarely this disoriented, cleared his throat and awkwardly looked away. “It’s called Wusha Society.”

Under Li Po’s expectant gaze, Jin Mu nervously and hesitantly began to explain what he knew.

It turned out that after the interstellar nuclear explosions and asteroid impacts, the planet they lived on was plunged into an unprecedented biochemical crisis. Viruses and bacteria leaked on a massive scale, causing species other than humans to become infected and mutate, eventually turning into pollutants.

These pollutants attacked everyone indiscriminately, posing a massive threat to human survival. The majority of people believed that the only solution was to exterminate the pollutants entirely. However, a small, fanatical group believed that pollutants could be used, seeing their immense destructive power and immortal genes as valuable assets.

This group secretly formed an organization called Wusha Society, conducting experiments on pollutants behind humanity’s back. Unsurprisingly, they failed. Instead of obtaining what they wanted from the pollutants, they damaged the pollutants’ genetic chains, triggering another round of large-scale contamination, mutation, and evolution.

But these lunatics didn’t give up. They intensified their efforts, collecting pollutants and searching for test subjects. In their pursuit of results, they even trafficked infants to use for their experiments, committing unspeakable atrocities.

Their actions soon attracted the attention of S District, marking the first time S District turned its weapons on fellow humans. Under the command of the first Combat Officer and Administrative Officer, Wusha Society was violently dismantled.

Yet, decades later, remnants of Wusha Society continued to lurk in the shadows, unwilling to abandon their research on pollutants. The black hourglass tattoo behind the ear was the only identifying mark of Wusha Society members.

…

“That’s all I know,” Jin Mu said, instantly regretting his words.

Only a select few knew about Wusha Society, and in S District, it was typically only those with A-level mental power or higher who had access to this information. How had he let it all slip to Li Po so easily?

Jin Mu’s regret was palpable.

At that moment, a small, colorful object appeared in front of Jin Mu. Reflexively, he reached out and caught it.

Looking down, he realized it was a piece of candy.

The wrapper was a pale green, containing a green candy that looked particularly appealing.

“Thank you for telling me so much.” Li Po pulled back his hand after offering the candy and took a step back. “I’ll head back to the dorm now. See you next time.”

With that, Li Po turned and walked away, holding the rest of the candy in one hand and his black communication device in the other. He had just sent out a message:

[Commander, how can I earn star coins?]

Meanwhile, Jin Mu stood there, staring at the green candy in his hand, feeling a bit dazed.

Could this be what they call “sugar-coated bullets”?

It’s way too sweet…

Back in his dorm, Li Po opened the mission log and uploaded the task details.

With the most urgent matter handled, he collapsed onto his bed to relax. However, within seconds, he shot up as if electrocuted—he had forgotten to change his clothes.

Though his clothes weren’t visibly dirty, Li Po could still sense a strange smell clinging to them. Annoyed, he quickly kicked off his boots, stripped down, and headed into the bathroom to take a shower.

The steam from the hot water enveloped his body as Li Po tilted his head back, letting the water cascade over his face and down his body. His eyes remained closed, and his long lashes trembled slightly, adding a touch of fragility to his appearance.

After a while, he shut off the water and wiped his face, drying his body hastily with a towel.

Wrapping the towel around his waist, Li Po walked back out. His communication device lay on the bed. His hands were still damp, and it took him a few attempts to unlock the screen. He opened his chat with Jiang Yu and glanced at it—no response.

His hair was still wet, half-dried and messy. Frustrated, he brushed his damp bangs back from his forehead. Droplets of water fell from the ends of his hair, landing directly on the screen of the communication device.

Tsk… Never mind, I’ll wipe it.

With his hands still wet, he clumsily tried to clean the screen but accidentally tapped a button.

Oh no.

Li Po held his breath, staring at the screen with wide, light brown eyes. To his surprise, nothing happened. The screen only flickered before going back to normal.

Hmm? Everything’s fine?

Li Po breathed a sigh of relief. He got up, grabbed a tissue from the bedside table, and returned to carefully wipe the screen, his face close to the device.

The communication device likely contained sensitive components. If water got inside and damaged it, there was no way he could afford to replace it.

As his hair continued to drip, more water gathered on his lashes, only to be blinked away. His fingers were dry now, and he held the communication device in one hand, wiping it clean with the tissue in the other.

Just as he was focused intently on his task, a cold voice suddenly came from the communication device: “Put on some clothes.”

…What?!!

“Commander, three more energy mines have been discovered in the human base. We’re sending teams to start extraction. The energy usage report has been prepared and sent to the Administrative Officer. Do you need a copy as well?”

“No need.”

“Understood, Commander. All related tasks have been reported. Please advise.”

Jiang Yu nodded slightly. He had just returned to Black Tower, still wearing his black leather gloves, which he used during missions.

His long fingers tapped rhythmically on the desk, creating a low, steady sound. To the subordinate standing in front of him, it sounded like a death knell, making his heart race with anxiety, fearing it was a sign the commander was displeased.

Just as Jiang Yu was about to speak, a video call request suddenly appeared on his communication device.

Irritated, he glanced at the screen. But when he saw the caller’s name, he paused.

Without any change in his expression, Jiang Yu lifted his gaze slightly, his voice cold but commanding: “Leave.”