The whole nation: You're put to survive on a desolate planet, you'll be running an alien b

"No way..."

Li Haotian stared at the silver metal cocoon in the basket. His first reaction wasn't worry, but heartache—this basket was shared, and if it was later judged as "human-made modification," his deposit would probably be gone.

But the next second, he couldn't laugh anymore.

The patterns on the surface of the silver cocoon resembled some kind of living circuit, flickering and changing light and dark as it contracted and expanded. With each pulse, the air seemed to be gently touched by an invisible finger, producing an extremely subtle "humming" echo, so close it felt like it was vibrating inside the eardrum.

Immediately afterwards, all the surrounding electronic devices went "crazy".

The screen of Qin Yue's body camera at her waist first showed static, then the image distorted into stripes of color; the display screen in the temporary command area went black and restarted; the walkie-talkie was crackling and making noises, like someone was welding something and lighting a fire inside.

"The signal's completely gone!" someone shouted from behind the cordon. "The command system's down! The drone footage's gone too!"

"Back off! Everyone back off!" Qin Yue finally found her voice. She picked up the communicator and found that the screen was so blurry that she could not see any words. Only an error code kept flashing.

She looked up and saw Li Haotian still riding on his bike, one foot on the ground, like a deliveryman who had wandered onto a film set.

"Li Haotian! Put that thing down!" Qin Yue's voice was strained. "It's not as simple as evolution, the scene here—"

"I know you want to say 'dangerous,' and I think it's dangerous too," Li Haotian interrupted her, his gaze never leaving the silver cocoon. "But don't get too close yet, lest another 'scientific containment' traps you inside."

Qin Yue's face stiffened, clearly her sore spot had been hit. She took a deep breath, waved her hand, and led the people forward, proceeding according to procedure.

"Group Two, carry containment boxes and stabilizing clamps! Group Three, establish a temporary shield! Note: maintain a three-meter distance and measure the gravity field first—"

Several team members approached in small steps, holding some kind of folding device in their hands. But just as they crossed a meter inside the cordon, their footing suddenly sank.

It felt like gravity had instantly doubled.

"Ugh!" The teammate at the front suddenly buckled in the knees and almost knelt down, the equipment on his shoulder crashing to the ground with a "thud." The two behind him also leaned forward at the same time, as if a stone roller had been pressed down on their backs.

The silver cocoon throbbed once more.

A visible ripple spread through the air, like a pebble thrown into water. The ripple swept across the warning line, and the headlights of a nearby emergency vehicle suddenly crackled and sparked, before the entire vehicle's screen went black.

Qin Yue's pupils contracted, and she immediately shouted, "Retreat! Retreat immediately!"

The team members gritted their teeth and dragged themselves back. The pressure suddenly eased when they were three meters away, and everyone gasped for breath, sweat rolling down their foreheads.

"Gravity disturbance!" someone exclaimed in alarm. "The fluctuation range is unstable; getting too close will crush you!"

Qin Yue's face was grim, but she forced herself to remain calm: "Establish an outer perimeter cordon and clear the area! Evacuate the crowd first—"

Before she could finish speaking, the crowd outside the cordon had already erupted in chaos.

"What's that? An alien egg?"

"Why is my phone black? Where's the video I just recorded?"

"Don't push! The child is here!"

The evacuation routes were already crowded, and with the collective failure of electronic devices, the loudspeakers went silent, and the hand signals were blocked by the crowd, the scene instantly changed from "controllable chaos" to "out-of-control chaos".

The silver cocoon's pulsation became more regular, like a heartbeat accelerating rhythmically. With each "thump," the ripples in space became clearer, and as the ripples swept across the edge of the crowd, even a few roadside pebbles rolled eerily, as if pulled by an unseen slope.

Li Haotian narrowed his eyes.

He doesn't like things getting out of control.

He dislikes causing trouble that affects innocent people—of course, whether he himself is innocent is another matter.

"Tsk." He clicked his tongue lightly, looked up at Qin Yue, and said, "If you keep clearing the area like this, it'll take until tomorrow."

Qin Yue gritted her teeth: "Then what's your plan? To take it away? You saw it yourself just now, it got close and—"

"I won't come closer, I'll keep it from bothering others." Li Haotian's tone was impatient, but his eyes were much more serious than before. "You guys move aside."

"What are you going to do?" Qin Yue subconsciously raised her hand to stop her.

"Let me do something you can't do." Li Haotian reached into his coat pocket, pulled out an ordinary-looking black token, and ran his fingertip along the edge of the token.

A ring of pale gold patterns appeared on the token, like an engraving that had been ignited.

He whispered, "[Guild Territory Order] - Remote Access, activate."

The air seemed to have been switched on by someone pressing an invisible switch.

An invisible force field instantly unfolded around the shared bicycle, starting as a thin layer, then rapidly thickening until it formed a semi-transparent "shield"—more precisely, an isolation zone. The edges of the isolation zone were as clear as glass, and tiny specks of light could even be seen flowing along the boundary.

The ripples released by the silver cocoon collided with the boundary, making a crisp "clink" sound, like a coin bouncing on a steel plate. The ripples were forcefully deflected back and disappeared into the force field.

The surrounding devices with distorted screens visibly improved, at least stopping their frantic flickering. Some people tried to turn on their phones; although the screens were still choppy, they finally lit up.

"...What is this?" Qin Yue was stunned, her gaze falling on the isolation zone, as if she had seen a set of equipment that was completely out of her system.

"My house has a security gate," Li Haotian said casually, then called out to the crowd outside, "You all saw that, right? It's alright now, disperse, don't block the road. Anyone wanting to take pictures, don't come too close, or I'll charge you an entrance fee."

This statement was utterly absurd, yet in such a moment of panic, it had a strange calming effect. Furthermore, the isolation zone did indeed suppress the most bizarre fluctuations, and the screams and shoving of the crowd finally subsided.

Qin Yue reacted swiftly, immediately taking over the command: "Seal off the outer perimeter, execute the evacuation plan! Quickly! Take everyone away first!"

The team members felt relieved and, taking advantage of the equipment regaining some functionality, reorganized the passage using hand gestures and shouts. The cordon was expanded outwards, and the temporary command area was moved to a safer location.

Within the quarantine zone, the silver cocoon continues to dance.

But its jumping was like that of a wild beast trapped in a glass jar, making a "clinking" sound, but unable to get out.

Li Haotian frowned and looked down at the basket: "Xiao Hei, you better not blow up my bike."

Silver Cocoon, of course, did not answer him.

Just then, a clear, cold female voice came from behind the crowd: "Don't get too close, it's not 'evolving'."

Qin Yue turned around abruptly: "Su Wan!"

Su Wan strode over from outside the temporary command area, her coat flapping in the wind, her face paler than usual. Her gaze swept over the crowd, locking onto the silver cocoon in the center of the isolation zone, a rare solemnity rising in her eyes.

"I rushed over as soon as I received the report." She stopped two meters from the edge of the isolation zone, not daring to approach rashly. "This is not a transformation of an ordinary life form. It's more like... the digestive backlash after the Devouring Law."

"The Devouring Law?" Qin Yue's heart skipped a beat. "You mean it just—devoured that monster's ability?"

"It's not an ability, it's a 'fragment of the law'." Su Wan spoke quickly. "The existence of that thing itself was polluted by the distorted rules. Xiao Hei swallowed it in some way, which was theoretically a purification, but if the carrier is not stable enough, it will be backfired, manifesting as spatial disturbances, gravity anomalies, electronic malfunctions... all of which are side effects of the overflow of conflicting rules within its body."

Li Haotian's eyelids twitched upon hearing this: "So, it might explode?"

Su Wan paused for half a second: "The worst-case scenario is that it 'spits out' here. What spits out might not be a physical entity, but rather a temporary rift in the rules. I'm not sure if your isolation domain can contain it then."

Li Haotian clicked his tongue in annoyance and tapped his finger on the token: "Then what are you sure about?"

"I'm sure of one thing." Su Wan looked up at him, "Don't stimulate it anymore. Its current beating pattern is a form of self-calibration. If you forcibly take it away, forcibly contain it, or forcibly cut it open, it might turn 'digestion' into 'vomiting'."

Qin Yue couldn't help but ask, "So we just have to wait?"

"Wait and prepare." Su Wan looked at Qin Yue. "The outer perimeter must be cleared thoroughly; at least no ordinary people should remain within fifty meters. Medical teams, structural support, and emergency evacuation routes must all be set up. Also, notify the higher-ups—this is not a routine anomaly; don't send a bunch of people to watch. The more people, the more chaotic it will become."

Qin Yue nodded, suppressing her emotions: "I understand."

She then looked at Li Haotian, her tone complex: "How long can your isolation field... last?"

Li Haotian looked up at the sky, as if calculating electricity costs: "If I don't sleep, it'll last until it stops on its own. The question is, will it stop?"

As if it heard the word "quiet down," the silver cocoon suddenly jumped even harder.

The edge of the isolation zone vibrated with a "hum," and the speed of the light spots suddenly increased, like a river encountering a flood. Several walkie-talkies that had just been restored simultaneously emitted a piercing howl.

Su Wan's expression changed: "It's here—it's trying to reject the foreign substance!"

Qin Yue subconsciously took a half step back, her hand already reaching for the weapon at her waist, but then she remembered that shooting it wouldn't do any good, so she could only grit her teeth and stand still.

Li Haotian, however, did not back down.

He stared at the silver cocoon, then suddenly whispered, "Little Black, stop playing dead. If you dare to open a hole at the foot of the mountain for me, I'll switch your cat food to vegetarian."

The silver cocoon did not respond, but the frantic vibration seemed to be suppressed by something, and it slowed down for a brief moment.

Just when everyone thought the storm had passed—

The patterns on the surface of the silver cocoon were dazzlingly bright. The next time it throbbed, instead of spreading outwards in ripples, it collapsed inwards.

The air made a very soft "click".

Like the first crack appearing in glass.

Within the isolation zone, a black dot the size of a fingernail was twisted out of the space, and the light around the dot was stretched thin, as if it were about to be sucked in.

Su Wan's voice tightened: "Don't touch it! Maintain the force field stability!"

Li Haotian's palm sank, and the golden patterns on the token instantly shone at their brightest. He gritted his teeth: "I know!"

The black dot trembled, as if something was struggling inside. The next moment, a deeper silver light seeped from the surface of the silver cocoon, directly covering the black dot and forcefully "sewing" it back in.

The black spot disappeared.

The quarantine area returned to normal, with only the slow, heavy pulsation of the silver cocoon remaining, like a panting breath after exhausting its strength.

Everyone held their breath.

Qin Yue's throat went dry: "What was that just now...?"

"A nascent rift." Su Wan closed her eyes briefly. "It pushed itself back, which means it still has some control. But it also means the backlash has reached a critical point."

Li Haotian stared at the basket, his voice so low it was almost inaudible: "Xiao Hei, you better hold on."

The silver cocoon trembled slightly, as if in response, or perhaps as a warning.

The evacuation route in the distance was finally cleared, and the crowd was led to a safer area further away. The chaos at the foot of the mountain was gradually brought under control, leaving only a few people inside the cordon and the shared bicycle parked in the dust.

A chilly wind blew through the temporary command area.

Looking at the silver cocoon, Qin Yue felt for the first time how pale the word "containment" was.

Li Haotian held the token, his eyes dark and gloomy, as if guarding a bomb that could explode at any moment.

The silver cocoon throbbed once more, but the rhythm was half a beat slower.

But it's more like the unusual calm on the sea before a storm.