"Your Highness!"

"Your Highness!"

"Congratulations, Your Highness!"

"This harvest is too abundant!"

"Still, it's His Highness's skill that led everyone to victory right from the start. A good omen indeed."

Above the Black Scroll Absolute Peak, the frigid temperatures seemed not to affect the enthusiasm of the Huo'er Star People in the slightest. Facing Prince Zimu, who had returned from the hunt, they did not spare any variety of praise.

Since they had come to the Planet Hunting Ground to participate in this large-scale hunt, they were all part of a community of shared interests. The greater the harvest, the more each person would receive. Although within a super-large clan like the Huo'er Star People—where the total population numbered in the tens of millions—everyone had their own inclinations, who cared about that here?

Moreover, Prince Zimu's succession ranking was low; there was no possibility whatsoever of his becoming the future leader. He was, however, likely to take control of the Sheke Star. Building a good relationship with him would bring a hundred benefits and no harm.

Everyone understood tacitly that this hunt was meant to put a favorable face on Prince Zimu. The final results would certainly be credited to him. Since that was the case, exchanging a few compliments cost nothing. A few harmless words of praise and a smile—whether genuine or not—could potentially earn the goodwill of a prince. Why not?

Zimu also wore a broad smile. From the moment he had entered the camp from outside, it never faded. By the time he returned to his own tent, the muscles in his face had grown a bit stiff.

The instant the tent flap closed, Zimu's expression darkened immediately, a stark contrast to the warm and pleasant demeanor he had shown moments before.

Beside him stood his personal guard commander, who had protected Zimu since childhood and was his most trusted confidant within the clan.

"Oplis, is the information you sent me true? Did the Star-Eye Clan and the Su Clan really obtain a Kepaisi Sky Cover?"

The guard commander Oplis nodded. "Yes, here are the images."

He tapped on his terminal, and several pictures were transmitted to Zimu's terminal.

After looking at them, Zimu's expression grew even darker.

"Also, while our squads were reconnoitering the area around the Overlapping Water Dead Zone, they discovered some… unsettling things."

"Hmm?" Zimu frowned and looked at his guard commander.

The guard commander was already a top-tier expert. Though he remained loyal to Zimu, he inevitably carried the pride of a top-tier expert and sometimes spoke without due care. Ordinarily, Zimu did not mind, but today his mood was particularly sour, so he showed a hint of displeasure.

The guard commander gave an awkward smile but did not explain further. He continued, "We had originally intended to choose the Overlapping Water Dead Zone—at the very least, it was one of our backup locations. But later, the Su Clan and the Star-Eye Clan chose it. During the landing, they were attacked, and only by taking the risky step of setting up the Kepaisi Sky Cover did they manage to drive back the horde of beasts. During our reconnaissance, we discovered that someone had actually spread certain drugs in the surrounding hunting grounds beforehand, drugs that made the prey agitated and prone to anger."

Zimu's eyebrows rose. "Who did it? Was it aimed at us?"

Oplis nodded. "It appears so. At another location where we were very likely to set up camp, the same type of time-release drug was found. The targeting is very clear."

Zimu was silent for a moment, then said, "There's a spy among us."

Oplis sighed. "Almost certainly. But it will be very difficult to find out who. Too many people knew our preselected camp locations in advance. There's no way to trace it."

"But there are only a few who would dare to make a move against us, aren't there?"

Zimu's eyes brightened slightly as he stared at the ground, lost in thought.

"Mm, just a few."

"What a pity. If the Su Clan weren't there, perhaps we could have tried to pin the blame on them. But now, trying to shift it onto them would be treating others like fools."

Zimu said this with a note of regret.

Oplis knew in his heart that the prince harbored deep resentment toward that individual from the Star-Eye Clan, and by extension, toward the Su Clan for allying with them.

"How many people can we spare?"

Hearing Zimu's question, Oplis sighed inwardly but could only answer, "About forty, perhaps."

"So few?" Zimu was clearly dissatisfied.

Oplis replied, "That is already the limit. After all, we need people who are loyal to Your Highness and also skilled. That pool is… not large to begin with. Moreover, too many people would draw attention. Given the current situation, it's ultimately not good to openly clash with the Su Clan. Even if other races found out, it would affect our standing with the Sheke Star."

Zimu snorted coldly. Though displeased, he knew the guard commander was telling the truth. If his intention to kill White Robe here were discovered, it would cause a massive public relations disaster. It had to be done quietly.

"Continue monitoring them. As soon as White Robe leaves the camp, notify me immediately."

As he spoke, Zimu toyed with a crystal key in his hand.

"Without the Qian Formation, I really wouldn't have a way to deal with him. What a pity. But fate has decreed his death."

…………………………

Fishing?

The squad members were utterly confused. Hunting was hunting—how was this fishing?

"Here. Shallow Pearl Lake."

Ye Zhongming pointed to a spot on the map. A red marker flashed. Everyone saw on their terminals that the lake was quite large and not too far from them. If all went well, they could be there in three hours.

"So it really is fishing?"

Oliga, straightforward as always, spoke his mind. He had thought they were going to ambush some mutated lifeform. He had not expected actually to go fishing at a lake.

He could fight, but he knew nothing about fishing.

"Yes. I'm very interested in a type of fish inside called 'Fizz.'"

……………………

Several hours later, the three squads—ninety-one people in total—arrived at the shore of Shallow Pearl Lake. Though they had encountered some obstacles along the way, they had made it without serious incident.

"Captain, we can stay here for at most two hours. Then we have to head back, otherwise we'll be delayed."

Emi reminded him quietly.

The First and Second Regiments had come out to hunt for three days. The next three days were for the Third and Fourth Regiments. If they did not return on time, it would throw off the entire plan.

Ye Zhongming smiled. "Two hours will be enough."

With that, he began pulling fishing rods out of his spatial equipment. Soon, everyone had one.

The squad members exchanged bewildered glances. Even Shi Yong and He, who were closest to Ye Zhongming, were completely in the dark.

"Put this bait on. It works very well." Ye Zhongming then produced some bait of unknown composition and distributed it to everyone.

They did not understand, but they had agreed earlier to follow orders without question. So they suppressed their doubts and stood by the lake, fishing.

Yet the confusion in their hearts lingered.