During the day, the exact time was unclear, there were two suns overhead, and the temperature was scorching.

The ground was covered with yellow sand, and a crab made of grit and water waved its claws, dug through the sandy soil, and burrowed into the sand.

A hand reached out and grabbed the crab.

The crab was placed inside an ecological glass cabinet.

A man wearing work clothes with functions such as insect resistance, sun protection, and warmth lifted the ecological glass cabinet and put his face close to it, "Hehe, another addition to my collection."

"The composition is very simple, just water and sand," said another person with grit at the corner of his mouth, as he took out a bottle of Farmer Spring to rinse his mouth.

"The air and soil are nontoxic," a third person put away a silver needle.

"No natives have been discovered in the vicinity," this person said with closed eyes, his eyeballs moving under his eyelids as though he was seeing something.

"Nobody underground either," the man emerged from the sand, patting the sand off the contours of his ears.

"Leader, a thousand meters in the surrounding area are under alert," someone reported.

"Just call me Captain," said the Captain, who was around forty-five years old, with a distinctly commanding presence. "Everyone, let's start the meeting. All of you are masters among masters. Let's hear everyone's ideas and pool our wisdom."

"It's simple, first from—"

"Wait!" A man in a suit interrupted, "There's a proper way to hold a meeting."

Without waiting for others to speak, he pressed his hands against the ground, and the sand and grit rose up, forming a fan-shaped outdoor amphitheater. The audience seats were in a stepped formation, and there was a lectern on the stage.

The crabs and bugs hiding in the sand, as if facing an apocalypse, desperately ran for their lives.

Little Radish crouched on Li Changzhou's shoulder, catching a long insect that had fallen and watching it struggle and twist in her hand as sand and grit flew everywhere.

"Get rid of it," Li Changzhou said, tilting his head to avoid the flying debris.

Little Radish tossed the insect aside, looked at her gritty hands, and with her anime-like large eyes scanned the surroundings before wiping her hands clean on the subordinate of Turquoise Pool.

These two were the safest.

Members of the group casually found seats in the audience area, and the Captain stood on the stage.

He glanced around and said with a chuckle, "I feel like I'm not here to preside over a meeting but to face trial."

Everyone laughed, feeling that the operatives from the Special Warfare Bureau weren't as rigid as they had imagined.

The Captain's expression turned serious, and he said solemnly, "I won't waste time, so please speak your minds directly."

"There's nothing much to say, kill!"

"That's right, with only a fifteen-day timeframe, collecting information won't be sufficient. Let's take immediate action!"

"There's no need to care about civilian casualties or environmental destruction. Go for a large-scale demolition! Carry out a destructive sweep over the entire planet's surface! Use any means necessary!"

"I don't endorse slaughtering 60% of life forms nor think it's possible, but I agree with using force first."

"We could use force while seeking negotiation with the natives, continuing until they agree to surrender."

"I suggest that all 79 of us take action together, destroying their cities one by one, flattening them!"

"Not good, we're few in number, the mission time is limited, and we don't know the size of this planet. It's better to act separately."

"Hmm, if something unexpected happens, the loss from a group action would be too great. The main issue is that we don't know the strength of the opposing side. A group action would be fine if the enemy is weak."

"How about this? Let's start with dispersed actions. Everyone intimidates and collects information in their own way for a period of seven days. After seven days, if the strength of this planet is mediocre, then we can take group action and hit them with full force, destroying the major cities."

"Everyone, pay attention to collecting maps of the city distribution, especially the large cities."

"Are we going to use force without attempting communication first? Maybe the people of this planet are weak and want to cooperate with us directly?"

"To hand over their planet to 79 people without even knowing our strength? Even if a part agrees, it won't be 60%. Don't be naive!"

"There might be such a possibility, but it's too small, and time doesn't allow us to waste. I agree with using force directly."

"That's right, this concerns us all. I don't want to stay on this planet forever. My wife and children are waiting for me back on Earth."

Before coming to Four Seasons Star, there wasn't a single Player who hadn't spilled blood to make it through the First Stage.

In the name of survival, even against "one's own people" on Earth, they had to take action, let alone the alien species of other planets.

No matter how nobly phrased, natural selection is always bloody, and the universe is a dark forest.

...

After discussion, the method of combat was determined.

The 79 Players were divided into eight groups: Li Changzhou's group had eight people, the national team had eleven, and the remaining six groups each had ten members. Taking the landing point as center, they dispersed in all directions, each intimidating and collecting information in their own ways.

For important intelligence or when in need of support, they could call out to "Land," which was the Instinct of a Player codenamed 'Old Man of the Land.'

"Land": Life Forms existing in the same time segment, on the same piece of land, and knowing the password, could call out to land to transmit or inquire about information.

Note: In a sense, it's like a phone.

In order to make the most of time, everyone acted immediately.

Before leaving, most of the Players came to rub shoulders with Li Changzhou, expressing their admiration and asking for protection.

To quote one of the Players, out of the 7.8 billion people on Earth, if they were ground into mincemeat and molded into a humanoid shape, they would stand 3500 meters tall, but Li Changzhou alone stood 3000 meters tall!

Who else but him would be the ultimate savior to cling to?!

Li Changzhou said it was no problem—it was only right for fellow villagers to help each other.

After these people left, Special Warfare Bureau personnel found him.

"Mr. Li, here is the Contract," the Captain said without wasting words, handing over a sheet of white paper and a brush.

Written in black ink on it was: During New Year's event, the Special Warfare Bureau shall not engage in any action that harms fellow group members.

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