The miners desperately hid themselves behind the large spirit stone mines around them, hoping not to be discovered by the monsters outside.

Meanwhile, a group of people wearing simple armor and holding standard Qin En Particle Guns stood at the entrance, engaging in fierce combat with the Desert Worms. They were the security team on this spaceship, and now the only armed force among this group of people.

"Sir! These insects are getting crazier! We’re barely holding them back!"

A soldier frantically pulled the trigger of his gun, while like the others, being forced back step by step to the wall by the Desert Worms.

"It seems they have mutated! Damn it! What’s wrong with these insects! Why can’t they be killed!"

Someone couldn’t help but break down and scream, even though their guns could break through the insects’ defenses, it had little impact on their movements, leaving them in despair.

"How is it possible... how could they be infected into mutants? Be careful! Aim for their heads, not their bodies!"

In the middle of the crowd, a man in his forties was directing everyone to attack, but no matter how much they increased their firepower, the insects continued to approach, growing in number and seemingly impossible to kill.

There was no other way; though this group was a security team, their weapons were only ordinary Qin En Particle Guns, which, although advanced hot weapons, paled in comparison to the Qin En Spirit Guns used by the Mad Bee Team.

Though the names differ by a single character, the power difference is enormous.

On any other planet, or back on Water Blue Star, these Qin En Particle Guns would be an invincible force for a single soldier, capable of penetrating even the thickest cover.

However, they were now facing the Desert Worms, which had evolved an adaptive exterior shell that was incredibly defensive against such weapons, so even at full power, the Qin En Particle Guns could only manage to break through their defenses.

"Sir! We should retreat! We can’t hold this position!"

A soldier ran over, speaking urgently.

The white commander sighed and said helplessly:

"Retreat? Where can we retreat to... Behind us is the ore warehouse - a dead end. Our only option now is to fight our way out..."

"But, sir..."

The soldier wanted to say more but was interrupted by the commander with a pat on the shoulder.

"Little Hank, you’re very brave, I’ve always believed in you, and I hope you won’t turn your back on the enemy at this moment, as this might be our last battle. May we pass through the quagmire of catastrophe and reach the starry shore..."

He looked at several familiar faces around him, his eyes moistening slightly.

"Brothers, it has been a pleasure working with you. Our sacrifice today will be remembered by those who come after us! Charge with me!"

Their morale was once again invigorated, and the group calmed their fear of death, their eyes filled with determination.

With no way to retreat, their only chance of survival was to charge out, although they were well aware of their slim chances of success.

The white commander led the charge, the group expending their last ammunition, rushing towards the swarm of insects that outnumbered them fivefold.

"Swoosh swoosh swoosh swoosh swoosh!"

As the Qin En Particle Guns fired, the insects blocking their way fell to the ground one by one, miraculously clearing a path before them.

"Wait... What is this!?"

The white commander appeared puzzled, but quickly realized that the attack just now seemed to come from someone else; someone was approaching from the other end of the corridor.

"These rays... It’s a Spirit Gun! The Anti-Demon Army’s reinforcements are here!"

The white commander, recognizing the type of attack, immediately identified their identity from the unleashed offensive.

"Get down!!"

At this moment, a loud shout came from behind the insect swarm, followed by dozens of rays shooting over, killing the insects around them one by one.

The soldiers quickly reacted, though they were merely security guards, they were professionally trained and immediately crouched down to avoid being accidentally hit by the reinforcements.

As waves of spiritual power attacks came, the previously terrifyingly defensive Desert Worms were torn to pieces like poorly constructed mere debris under such onslaught.

"It’s rescue! We’ve been rescued!"

The group saw that they were finally saved and burst into tears of joy.

"Huff huff huff~"

Li Zixuan and his team were quite exhausted after the battle.

"Finally found them, they’re here indeed."

He looked at the seven or eight security guards before him, knowing he had found the right place this time.

"We are the Mad Bee Team from the Third Fleet, responding to your distress signal and here to rescue you. Are there any other survivors here?"

Li Zixuan noticed the white man seemed to be the highest-ranking person here, thus walked directly to him to inquire.

"Hello, Commander, I am the security chief of this spaceship, my name is Fegar Marklos, it’s a pleasure to meet you!"

The white man performed a Star Touching Ceremony, addressing Li Zixuan as ’Commander’.

At the first meeting, he had already identified Li Zixuan’s rank from his emblem—a Third-level Commander, two positions higher than his own First-level Commander, on par with Captain Olson of this spaceship.

Although Li Zixuan was only an apprentice captain, being in the combat pilot sequence naturally ranked higher than the logistic captain sequence.

"Commander, we have ninety-seven survivors here, all mining engineers from this spaceship, currently taking refuge in the warehouse behind."

The white man, Marklos, pointed to the alloy door behind them, housing the last survivors on this spaceship.

Li Zixuan nodded, both sides briefly familiarizing themselves with the situation before entering the mineral warehouse.

The door opened, and the survivors inside instinctively curled up, fearing monsters had come in.

Fortunately, they were lucky; instead, the security team and Mad Bee Team entered, sparing them the terrifying scenario they imagined.

Of course, the clever ones had already realized it was humans rather than monsters coming, stepping out of their hiding spots—for if it were monsters, they wouldn’t have entered so orderly but would have smashed the door open.

"Captain Marklos, you don’t seem surprised by what’s happening outside?"

In this short distance, Li Zixuan had already informed them about the Emperor’s situation and their current plight, but the latter, though looking a bit grim, didn’t seem too surprised as if he had already known about it.

"Well, sort of, I suspected something earlier, but knowing the truth now is indeed quite despairing..."

Marklos shook his head and sighed, saying:

"Those damned insects all came from outside, and now have mutated, which only indicates they were already subjected to Crimson Light’s erosion outside the spaceship..."

"However, this mining area is protected by a Purification Array, suggesting they shouldn’t undergo mutation, so the possibilities remain those few; either the Purification Array has failed, or the one in the Constant Star is awakening, strengthening the Crimson Light, in which case, I lean towards the latter..."

After his analysis, Li Zixuan silently nodded, appreciating how Marklos, despite appearing brawny, had keen insight into the current situation.

He pondered for a moment, then looked into his eyes and said seriously:

"Captain Marklos, I have a plan that might help us hold on, even escape from here, but it requires your cooperation..."