Make money by hiding in the interstellar battlefield!

A heavy stench of blood and decay assaulted the senses, a mixture of the acrid smells of molten metal, charred flesh, and carbonized wood. The closer one got to the temporary fortress, the thicker the stench became, suffocating the chest and making it hard to breathe.

Jian Sheng raised his hand to signal everyone to be quiet. The damaged Libra mech slowly took heavy steps, its mechanical joints creaking and groaning from excessive wear and tear, the sound particularly jarring in the deathly silent forest. The White Mongoose followed closely behind. Lin Zhizhi gripped her heated twin blades tightly, her eyes fixed on the surrounding shadows, each step taken with extreme caution. Little White, perched on Jian Sheng's mech's shoulder, its snow-white fur bristling, its long nose twitching wildly, and its throat emitting low, fragmented hums. Its usual lively and playful nature had completely vanished, replaced only by extreme vigilance.

The four walked a short three-kilometer stretch with trepidation, every nerve stretched to its limit.

After passing through the last patch of low bushes, the outline of the makeshift fortress finally came into view. But the sight before them froze everyone in place, a chill running from their feet to the top of their heads.

This makeshift outpost, built of rough timber and intended for frontline squads to rest and garrison, was now unrecognizable. The surrounding fortifications were dilapidated and collapsed, broken wooden pillars lying crookedly on the ground, stained with blackened blood. On the ground, the corpses of intelligent beasts lay piled haphazardly: spider-like intelligent beasts with severed limbs, canine intelligent beasts with their flesh turned inside out, flying intelligent beasts with shriveled bodies… Various grotesque carcasses lay layer upon layer, rotting bodily fluids soaking the soil, the stench filling the air—a scene so gruesome it was nauseating.

The more they stared at the mess, the deeper the chill ran through them.

Jian Sheng stepped into the fortress's territory, his gaze rapidly sweeping over every corner, his brows furrowed tightly.

The ground was littered with the remains of intelligent beasts, but there wasn't even a single human corpse to be found.

On the ground and the ruined fortifications, a few dried, dark red bloodstains were scattered about, the amount of blood eerily small. It was far less than what one would expect from a brutal battle, let alone ordinary close combat. There were no severed limbs, no remaining weapon fragments; only a few large pieces of engineering equipment remained, all the mechs, weapons, supply crates, communicators… all the combat supplies of the human squad that had been stationed there had vanished without a trace.

Only an empty fortress, piled high with animal carcasses, remained, standing silently in the forest like a giant, lifeless tomb, every crevice exuding an indescribable eeriness.

"Where are they?" Hill's voice trembled, his face ashen, his fingers gripping his sleeve tightly. "How could there be no one from our side on such a vast battlefield? Where did they all go?"

Jian Sheng crouched down, his fingertips brushing against the dried bloodstains on the ground, his knuckles trembling slightly uncontrollably: "The bloodstains are too shallow, and there are no signs of dragging or struggling, so it's definitely not a case of everyone being killed... But all the equipment has vanished into thin air, which is completely illogical."

Lin Zhizhi circled the fortress, kicked away a beast corpse beside her, her brows furrowed, her tone full of confusion: "This is too strange. A full 600 people just vanished into thin air."

Jian Sheng silently examined the wounds on the beast corpses. Most were precisely pierced by firearms, enough to prove that a fierce battle had taken place here, but the ending was utterly absurd. He slowly stood up, looked into the empty interior of the fortress, and said in a low, chilling voice: "Don't delve into it yet. Collect all the blue beast crystals. As long as they are general-level crystals, we can't stay here any longer. After we've collected them, let's move on to the next fortress."

Suppressing their unease and chill, the four split up. Little White remained crouched on high, vigilantly scanning their surroundings. At the slightest disturbance, it would immediately emit a rapid warning siren, the oppressive atmosphere almost suffocating them.

Before long, the scattered blue beast crystals were collected and filled the entire medical kit. Because the crystals were extremely dense, they could only be carried by a mech.

Jiansheng led the group on their way, but the road was eerily silent. They didn't see a single living creature, only the rustling of leaves in the wind, which sounded like someone was watching from the shadows, sending chills down their spines.

Two hours later, a second military fortress came into view.

The exact same scene, the exact same eeriness.

The ground was littered with the corpses of intelligent beasts, reeking of decay. There wasn't a single human body, and the few scattered traces of blood were pitifully small. All combat equipment had vanished without a trace, leaving only an empty, dead fortress.

Their hearts sank to the bottom. This fortress was a reinforced concrete structure, far more sturdy than before. The number of beast carcasses on the outer perimeter far exceeded what they had found before, and even after clearing the area until nightfall, they still hadn't managed to collect all the crystals. Left with no other choice, they could only spend the night in the empty fortress, while also searching for any usable remaining supplies.

At night, they finally used the water from the fortress's water tank to thoroughly wash their mechs and themselves. For three whole days, the stench of spider bodily fluids, sweat, and blood covering their bodies had seeped into the fabric of their clothes. Even after repeated washing, the lingering odor still lingered in their noses; it had truly been pickled to the bone.

The next morning, the four walked along the road, the damaged Libra and Meerkat struggling to move forward. Little Whitey, perched on Jian Sheng's shoulder, finally relaxed a little, occasionally twitching his nose and letting out a few light, low whimpers.

The stench of blood and decay in the air was still strong, but the suffocating oppression of facing the beast tide was gone, and the howling wind no longer echoed with the frenzied roars and thunderous charges of the intelligent beasts.

As Jian Sheng gazed at the gradually opening terrain ahead, his tense brows relaxed slightly, and he said in a deep voice, "The beast tide has retreated."

The anxiety that had been building for days finally eased, and the fatigue and exhaustion accumulated over the past few days instantly overwhelmed them, only to be dispelled by the faint sounds of voices and machinery coming from ahead.

After walking for another half an hour, the scenery suddenly opened up before us.

Tens of thousands of intelligent beast corpses littered the entire wilderness and forest, a dense, endless expanse. Thick blood and bodily fluids soaked the earth, and a pungent stench permeated the air. Thick trees were snapped in half, and scattered fires raged in many woodlands, black smoke rising into the sky, depicting the utter devastation of the post-war era.

But the Seven Rings City in the distance still stands majestically, its walls intact with only a few faint scratches from animal claws, the entire city unscathed.

This unprecedented beast tide was firmly contained outside the city and in the northern forest. The human defenses held firm and refused to retreat, resulting in a complete and resounding victory.

More and more combat squads came into view. Dressed in uniform combat suits, they operated engineering mechs to clean up the battlefield in an orderly manner. Some carried beast corpses, some extracted blue beast crystals, and others carefully identified and placed the rare intelligent beast corpses in good condition into special sealed cabins. These were high-value spoils to be sent to the Star Beast Research Institute in the city, the exclusive harvest of the frontline warriors who had fought bloody battles.

Hill lowered his voice, explaining the intricacies to his sister beside him. Jian Sheng's gaze swept over the rare beast corpses, his eyes calm and unwavering, devoid of any greed. These spoils of war were earned by others at the cost of their lives; morally and logically, they had no right to covet them.

The soldiers along the way glanced indifferently at their battered mechs and blood-soaked, disheveled appearance before continuing their work. With so many survivors of the great battle, no one paid much attention to this inconspicuous squad of remnants.

The group moved forward in silence, avoiding the busy cleanup teams, and headed towards the city gate of Seven Rings City. Smoke, blood, and the smell of cooking fires mingled together, and the sounds of machinery and personnel being mobilized filled the air. The city was bustling with the energy and vitality of a victorious battle, but this liveliness seemed completely out of place for them.

After enduring the eerie atmosphere of the empty fortress, days of fleeing, and brushes with death, they finally returned to the foot of Seven Rings City. At the city gate, the guards rigorously checked identities. Looking at the majestic city and the orderly guards before them, the four men, whose hearts had been hanging in suspense for days, finally felt completely at ease.

But this sense of security only lasted until the moment they stepped through the city gates.

They returned safely to the mech officer academy, but there was no welcome, no words of comfort, not even a single inquiry. Everyone was immersed in the busy work of bringing the great battle to a close, and no one cared about this remnant team that had escaped death.

Jian Sheng didn't say much, but silently stayed at the school, hoping that someone in the team could miraculously survive.

He quietly tallied his spoils: the collected blue beast crystals weighed a full 150 kilograms. They only targeted the more valuable general-level beast corpses, as the number of soldier-level intelligent beasts was too large to handle. Furthermore, they also needed to leave some benefits for the subsequent cleanup team.

The Hill sisters refused the crystal because they came from wealthy families and weren't short of money. Besides, they owed their survival to Jian Sheng and Zhi Zhi, but Jian Sheng didn't want to take credit and only told her to thank Marcus.

Not long after, the Hill sisters completed their school registration and went home.

In the following days, members of other teams in the school returned one after another. Even though they all suffered casualties, no other team had a casualty rate approaching 90%. An entire squad was almost wiped out, with only the captain, Jian Sheng, and Lin Zhizhi returning safely with two non-combat personnel.

Strange glances began to fall on him.

Whispers, veiled suspicions, and all sorts of rumors spread silently.

Some people secretly speculated about how they managed to escape unscathed, some questioned the truth behind the entire squad's deaths, and some even made sarcastic remarks, speculating that he abandoned his teammates to escape alone. Those gazes contained curiosity, inquiry, and sympathy, but more than anything, they held subtle suspicion, like an invisible net quietly enveloping him.

The atmosphere around them grew increasingly oppressive. All the discussions were kept hidden, yet every word struck a nerve, leaving people feeling stifled and unable to defend themselves.

On the third day, an urgent order was issued: all mid-level officers of the Seven Rings City mech force were summoned to a meeting.

Jian Sheng stood by the dormitory window, watching the hurried figures outside. His fingertips gently caressed the blue beast crystal in his palm, his eyes cold and indifferent.

He muttered to himself, his tone calm, yet concealing a hint of self-mockery and certainty: "It's been three days, and the Windsor family still hasn't spoken to me."

The implication couldn't be clearer:

There's no need to hide anything or fabricate anything; just tell the whole story.

Whether it's innocence or suspicion, merit or accountability, this meeting will ultimately provide the answer.