It’s a strange invasion, is it okay for me to fight back?

Chapter 608 Hostage Exchange
The worker ran with great difficulty, stumbling and falling. After running dozens of meters, he fell to the ground, trembling as he crawled toward Huang Yi, his face covered with crisscrossing oil stains and tears.

Huang Yi said to the military officer in Lisa on the other end of the headset: "A hostage has been found and we need to provide assistance."

One of Huang Yi's team members, an inspector, had a treatment card. He went up to treat the worker and, a few seconds later, turned around and said, "He only has some abrasions, but his mental state seems to have been greatly affected. His heartbeat is irregular, and he also has some abnormal muscle spasms."

"You were scared, weren't you?" Feng Ling said, unfazed, and walked straight over.

As she passed by the workers, the trembling worker suddenly reached out and grabbed Feng Ling's ankle!

Feng Ling: "???"

The worker uttered a string of gibberish.

Feng Ling stopped. "What is he saying? Someone translate."

The team member, whose headset had simultaneous interpretation capabilities, replied, "He said you can't go, no one can get close to the monster, otherwise the monster will kill all the workers."

At this moment, the troops sent by Risa arrived, and footsteps came from behind.

When the workers saw people from their own country, they became even more emotional and talked more.

"He said the monster released him to deliver a message, demanding a hostage exchange. He said the monster would release all the hostages if we delivered the dwarf sheep and the meteor before sunset," the team member translated.

Feng Ling was dumbfounded. "Does that monster think it's eating at a restaurant? It even ordered food!"

A group of Risa soldiers ran quickly over, two of them carrying stretchers, and helped the worker up from the front and back.

The workers wailed and cried out in Risa, "Please save us! Save us! There are 120 workers waiting to be rescued in the factory!"

The soldiers looked solemn.

The officer in charge looked at Huang Yi and they seriously discussed the next course of action.

Huang Yi nodded, speaking with righteous indignation: "Of course, the safety of the people is paramount. If sacrificing one administrator can save 120 lives, we cannot refuse. The only question now is, how credible is what the monster says?"

Feng Ling thought something was wrong. There were only twelve hostages in the third-person perspective, so where did the 120 lives come from?

With a quick thought, she realized—those scattered little red dots were also hostages.

As for why humans appear red in third-person perspective, it's probably because their genes have been contaminated by monsters; although they are still alive, they are no longer human.

Hmm... Is it because of the fusion of bodies?

As mentioned in the previous intelligence report, the monster can integrate any living creature it comes into contact with into its body. No wonder it hangs humans on its body like a skewer of candied hawthorns.

As she was pondering, she glanced over and noticed Huang Yi winking at her.

Feng Ling was slightly taken aback, and then Huang Yi coughed twice and said, "Feng Ling, let's discuss the details of the operation."

He casually removed his headset and gestured for Feng Ling to take a few steps to the side.

The two walked to the bottom of the huge oil storage tank, and Huang Yi asked Feng Ling, "What are you thinking?"

“I have no idea,” Feng Ling shrugged. “We’re not allowed to bomb the oil refinery, and we’re not allowed to kill the monsters. I should have known better than to come.” “This is the most troublesome situation when carrying out a mission in a foreign country. Compared to long-term goals like fighting the aliens and contaminants, we need to prioritize national interests.” Huang Yi sighed, slightly annoyed, and looked at the squad of soldiers not far away. “The military’s original intention was to eliminate the monsters at all costs, even if it meant using weapons of mass destruction. The Risa military didn’t care how many hostages the monsters were holding. Now they’ve changed their minds and want us to protect the hostages. They’re actually afraid that the oil refinery will be damaged.”

"It's normal to be reluctant to part with a pillar of the economy." Feng Ling didn't care.

Huang Yi said in a deep voice, "Now the monster is demanding that dwarf sheep and meteors be exchanged for 120 hostages."

Feng Ling pouted, "There's definitely something fishy going on. Let me make this clear first: it's not that I'm reluctant to part with the dwarf sheep, but I really only saw twelve living people. The remaining hostages have been contaminated, and even if they are rescued, they probably won't live for long."

She paused for two seconds, then suddenly thought of another possibility: "Maybe these hostages are carrying the virus or some kind of infectious disease. Who knows? Cards are always unpredictable; it wouldn't be surprising if they suddenly tricked us."

Huang Yi listened thoughtfully, "Perhaps we can use this reason to refuse the request to exchange hostages."

"Hey, Lao Huang, don't mess around like this!" Feng Ling glared at him. "If word gets out that we'd sacrifice saving 120 lives to save one sheep, we'll be infamous for eternity!"

Huang Yi raised an eyebrow, "...Old Huang?"

Feng Ling was stunned for a moment, then realized what was happening. She touched her nose and said softly, "It's strange. When I called Su Yuqing 'Old Su,' it sounded quite friendly. But when I called you 'Old Huang,' it felt like an insult."

Huang Yi didn't comment, but said calmly, "I didn't realize you had such a broad perspective. I know you put a lot of effort into getting that sheep."

"It's alright, it didn't actually take much effort. Besides, I have a lot of fans now, so I'm a bit concerned about my image." Feng Ling patted Huang Yi's shoulder, very optimistic. "Don't worry, it's fine if we exchange it. I can mark the short-legged sheep and find a chance to snatch it back later. There's just one problem..."

"What's the problem?" Huang Yi asked.

Feng Ling said, "The problem is that Meteor can't be swapped. As you know, the current Meteor is an inspector I found in China who is in disguise. He can fool people by filming videos, but once you get close, he'll be exposed."

Huang Yi asked, "At what distance will the mistake be exposed?"

“I don’t know the specific data, but I heard Little Skeleton mention before that she can see some marks when she encounters her own kind,” Feng Ling suggested. “Why don’t we ask the Taoist priest? He should know.”

“Okay.” Huang Yi nodded. “You’re in charge of contacting the Taoist priest, and I’ll keep the military calm.”

After discussing the matter, the two began making their own arrangements.

Feng Ling dialed Qingyou's number and briefly explained the situation at the scene.

Unable to speak, Qingyou buried himself in writing, waiting until he finished before asking Ye Zheng to relay the message.

While he was writing furiously, Ye Zheng expressed his strong dissatisfaction first: "I must be present when the hostages are exchanged! Almost all the administrators are dead, and we cannot afford to lose any more! Otherwise, the maze's contamination will worsen to an uncontrollable degree!"

"It's just an exchange, not sending it to its death." Feng Ling felt that Ye Zheng was overreacting.

Ye Zheng cursed on the phone: "Who knows what kind of crazy things the aliens will do! Before, they deliberately kept the administrators alive so that they could easily enter the maze and farm points. Later, they went on a killing spree to settle the points! They're all like madmen, completely unreasonable!"

Feng Ling asked, "Has the Taoist priest finished writing? Can you read it aloud?"

Ye Zheng took a deep breath, held back his anger, picked up the Qingyou tablet, and quickly read through it, saying, "I'm done writing. Now I'll read it aloud. Listen—"

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　　(End of this chapter)