Chapter 222

Chapter 222

White Papa was completely stunned by the sight of so much black mineral.

He never imagined that in such a short time, the two little guys would gather so much black mineral for him. After discovering the Bug larvae, he stopped having the cubs direct the eight-legged brown insects to transport the black mineral to avoid any danger. During that time, he wasn’t around and didn’t urgently need so much black mineral, planning to take it slow in the future. But now, the two cubs had given him a big surprise.

This was the underground area previously dug by the cubs. The vast underground area, crisscrossed by thousands of tunnels, had been hollowed out and replaced with black mineral. The quantity here was almost comparable to a small mine.

White Papa scooped up the two cubs and said, "You guys are amazing! Come here, let me give you a kiss."

Little Bai eagerly leaned in, and White Papa gave him a gentle kiss. When he turned to Little Prince, the little guy immediately looked resistant. As White Papa got closer, Little Prince pushed his face with his small hand and stammered, "I... I'm so big now, why would I need a kiss?"

White Papa knew this was the same little guy who could lift a cow with one hand, but now his push was weak and hesitant—clearly, he was just pretending to resist. White Papa gently leaned into Little Prince’s half-hearted push and gave him a quick kiss. The moment the kiss ended, Little Prince pushed harder and huffed, "Okay, let me go now."

White Papa let go, and Little Prince jumped down from his arms, pulling Little Bai, who was reluctant to leave, along with him. The two cubs stood together, looking at White Papa.

White Papa: "Is there something else you need to tell me?"

Little Prince snorted, "In the future, if you need anything, just look for us."

Little Prince was waiting for White Papa’s response, but White Papa didn’t react immediately. Little Prince immediately raised his voice, "What, do you think we’re not as good as those others?"

White Papa then realized that this was a message not to seek help from the cubs. He pinched Little Prince’s puffed-up little face, "You guys are the best. From now on, I’ll come to you for this."

Little Prince was satisfied, and even Little Bai nodded beside him, which almost made White Papa laugh.

After sending the two cubs off, White Papa glanced at the mound of black mineral through the two tentacles. Thinking about the cubs and parents from F73, who had been arriving steadily for the past half-month, the population had already swelled to over a hundred thousand, including the parents.

Everything—from clothing, food, housing, to transportation—required credit points. Currently, only part of the infrastructure on this planet had been built, and the crops planted not long ago were still just seedlings, which would take several months to mature and be harvested.

In the coming months, more cubs and parents would continue to arrive. Every day, a large amount of supplies had to be purchased from outside, requiring a significant number of credit points each time.

For example, the cubs of the human-insect race were now eight years old, and they needed new clothes. At this age, they could also start learning to use various cold and hot weapons alongside the warriors, as well as mecha operation. Additionally, there was the expansion of schools and the improvement of various infrastructure, all of which required a large number of credit points.

More and more cubs would undergo their second transformation in the future...

White Papa instinctively checked his balance. He could see the recent expenditure where the warriors had purchased fitting clothes for the cubs. Next, he would need to transfer a sum to Tao Limeng’s team, and there was more...

Staring at the mound of black mineral, he hadn’t originally planned to extract it on a large scale, but now it seemed necessary to prioritize its extraction.

White Papa immediately contacted Tao Limeng. At that moment, Tao Limeng was studying a marrow-washing potion refining instrument. Upon connecting, White Papa saw the large refining instrument in front and the tall pile of energy conversion instruments in the finished product area beside it.

Tao Limeng was visibly excited when he realized it was White Papa. He immediately stopped what he was doing, turned around, and patted the stack of conversion instruments, saying, "Boss, do you have enough conversion instruments? I’ve prepared a lot more for you. When are you coming to pick them up?"

White Papa wasn’t surprised to see so many energy conversion instruments. Tao Limeng had previously mentioned several times that he hoped White Papa would convert more high-level energy boxes. After the last batch of conversion instruments was delivered and White Papa indicated he still had some capacity, Tao Limeng immediately prepared even more.

White Papa: "Next time. But with so much black mineral here, it’s impossible to rely on me alone."

Tao Limeng immediately understood and asked, "So, you’re looking for me to create large-scale energy conversion instruments?"

White Papa nodded, "Do you have a solution? With so much black mineral, I plan to build an energy box production line first."

As for the operation of the conversion instruments and production line, there were professionals among the parents who could help, also solving some employment issues. With the rapid increase in the number of parents, the construction and recovery speed couldn’t keep up, making it difficult to arrange employment for so many people immediately. The various processes of manufacturing energy boxes required quite a few people, which could slightly alleviate the current crisis. Starting with one production line for now, as more large conversion instruments were added in the future, more production lines would follow, providing more employment opportunities for the parents.

Tao Limeng: "Of course I can, but you need to prepare all the materials. The energy boxes from the large converter are far inferior in grade and price to yours."

After speaking, Tao Limeng felt a hint of regret. His boss's energy boxes were nearly 3S grade, at the peak of 2S+, while the highest grade currently achievable by large converters was S, and only a handful of top-notch instruments could reach that level.

Bai Xiaoyu: "Even if they don’t fetch as high a price as mine, black mineral energy boxes are still expensive on the market. By the way, I believe you can research a more sophisticated large converter. Just like the potency-enhancing effect your bone-washing potion refiner had on potions, the converter should do the same. The converters you gave me last time helped the warriors extract energy boxes of a higher grade. Xiao Meng, I have faith in you. Keep it up."

Feeling confident, Tao Limeng replied, "No problem! I’ll let you know when it’s ready."

Recently, while researching the bone-washing potion refiner, he had gained many new insights. Combined with the various equipment and instruments previously provided by Bai Xiaoyu, he was naturally confident in his ability to improve the converter.

Thinking for a moment, he turned to Bai Xiaoyu and made a bold request, "Boss, if I'm going to manufacture this, I'll need these materials... and that..."

In the end, Bai Xiaoyu let him draft a list. Seeing the dense array of materials on the list, Bai Xiaoyu quickly wrapped up the call. Based on past experience, if he didn’t act fast, the list would keep growing.

After assigning these tasks, Bai Xiaoyu looked at the materials and felt a twitch in his mouth. If he were to purchase everything on this list, the credit points required would be overwhelming.

But since he had already brought back the black minerals, the energy boxes extracted were supplied to three legions, with some reserved for the Herb Base and internal military base, leaving only about a dozen remaining.

The last time the Dawn team delivered optical brains and potions to F73, Bai Xiaoyu had them bring back more black minerals on their return trip. Now, they just needed to wait for the team to complete their potion delivery tasks before they could return with the black minerals.

Previously, Bai Xiaoyu had planned to wait until Dawn's potion stock was nearly depleted before restocking. But now, it seemed they would need to bring it back earlier.

At that moment, the Dawn team also received a message from Bai Xiaoyu. The team leader, Mo Yan, happened to be on leave and was crouching with a dozen team members around a few planets near where Huang Family's aircraft had been spotted previously.

They were no strangers to the Huang Family's labs. Using their unique identification methods, they quickly selected the most likely location for an underground lab based on the Huang Family's past habits and quietly waited there. Generally, various mercenary groups disguised by the Huang Family would appear around their underground labs, patrolling discreetly.

Having dealt with these mercenaries the most, there was a 30% chance of finding an underground lab on the planet if Huang Family mercenaries appeared.

In the past, it was more likely, but after their labs were discovered multiple times, the Huang Family's underground facilities became more hidden.

However, they wouldn’t always catch the disguised mercenaries, and sometimes they couldn’t recognize them, leading to a high failure rate in their stakeouts.

Just like now, after waiting for a long time without any findings, they began to suspect that these planets might not have any issues, and the Huang Family aircraft that gave them a strong sense of crisis might have just passed by coincidentally.

Upon receiving Bai Xiaoyu's message, they were about to pack up and leave when they suddenly made a new discovery. On the outermost planet, team members who had split up finally spotted a few individuals suspected to be Huang Family mercenaries.

They looked like ordinary herb-gathering civilians, but the unique bloody smell surrounding Huang Family mercenaries was unmistakable. As mercenaries for the Huang Family, they had committed acts of burning and looting. As space pirates, the Dawn team had also encountered plenty of ruthless fellow pirates, and the bloodiness of Huang Family's mercenaries was no less than those of other space pirates.

The mercenaries were just conducting a routine inspection. After casually opening an underground entrance, they disappeared from sight. Once they left, Mo Yan and his team emerged from their hiding spots one by one.

They exchanged glances, their eyes inevitably drawn to the gray-black combat suits the mercenaries wore, feeling a hint of excitement.

The material of these combat suits was the same as the outer layer of their mechs. Wearing it could prevent detection by the enemy. Now, every member of Dawn had one. The boss had provided them, concerned for their safety, so that even if their mech was damaged, the combat suit could still save their lives in critical moments.

Before, they had to stay far away, and even from half a planet away, they would be detected. But now, they could hide much more easily.

Next, they began planning how to infiltrate the underground lab. Each of them was skilled and daring, adept at bypassing various traps and surveillance.

The mercenaries ahead of them were there to destroy this base. It was just a temporary base, completed only recently and set to be destroyed in less than a month. It was an order from above, and they were just following it.

Most of the researchers and important data had already been evacuated, leaving only thirty inactive eggs. The order was to destroy them all.

They hadn’t noticed anyone sneaking in. Mo Yan and his team also found it strange—this was the easiest lab they had ever infiltrated. They hadn’t encountered a single person for so long. Were they in an abandoned lab by chance?

Following their usual approach, they began inspecting the surroundings, ready to rescue any trapped individuals. But after searching, they found no one, only a batch of dull-shelled eggs.

They exchanged glances. Rescuing people was their specialty, but saving eggs? This was uncharted territory for them.

They weren’t sure if these eggs could survive even if they brought them back. But then again, wasn’t their boss here to handle it?

The surroundings showed no signs of an incubation pod for the time being, and just as they were about to search further away, the mercenaries triggered the self-destruct sequence and quickly evacuated with their mechs, causing the entire laboratory to shake.

In a hurry, the members of Dawn tore off their mech space buttons from their necks, released their mechs, and swiftly placed the eggs inside, then climbed in themselves and sped out.

However, the explosion was too fast, and even though they found the exit, they were still caught in the blast. The mechs were blown away and buried in the soil.

Fortunately, Dawn's team was unharmed, but they worried that the eggs in the mechs might have been destroyed, as the eggs were at their most vulnerable stage right now. To their surprise, the eggs' thick and sturdy shells held up, with only a few cracks from the impact, and none had shattered.

Still, even a small crack in the eggs was dangerous, and they needed to bring them back as soon as possible. The group safely retreated from the underground laboratory, as the Huang Family mercenaries had already left the area due to the large disturbance. The soldiers stationed on the planet would arrive soon, and they couldn't afford to be caught.

Dawn's team also understood that as star pirates, they were outlaws, and encountering soldiers was one of the most troublesome situations.

Before leaving, they suddenly decided to take the eggs out of their mechs again.

The eggs with cracks weren't suitable to be left unprotected inside their mechs during the journey; the bumpy ride might really compromise them. They also couldn't just bring these experimental eggs of an unknown species back to their boss; if the owners or creators of these eggs came looking, they wouldn't be able to explain themselves.

Moreover, leaving the eggs here would allow the soldiers to notify the Cub Breeding Association, and professional handlers would come to take care of them as soon as possible.

After leaving the eggs behind, they quickly made their escape. Soon after, the stationed soldiers arrived and immediately notified the Cub Breeding Association. The association responded promptly, and it was President Luo who came.

The eggs had dull, cracked shells, and only one person had the hope of saving them.

President Luo's batch of eggs was also about to hatch in two or three days, so this batch arrived just in time.

Dawn's team took a detour to avoid detection and returned to D36, only to see the members of the Cub Breeding Association carefully carrying the eggs down for their boss to inspect.

This batch of eggs seemed to have arrived a bit early, requiring the president himself to deliver them. Could these be another batch of eggs that had been dormant for many years? They were curious and took a closer look. Didn't these eggs look familiar?

Meanwhile, Bai Qi wasn't concerned about the thirty eggs that were likely to fail. In the same batch of cubs, any egg could potentially hatch into a different Bug leader.

If one egg failed to hatch, they would just move on to the next. Out of one hundred and nine major leaders, under the same young emperor's banner, there would be no duplicates. Once one hatched, no other would be the same. If these thirty eggs successfully hatched, he would never give up on them easily. After all, the number of major leaders was fixed, and missing one meant he wouldn't know if another would hatch from this batch.

If these eggs didn't hatch, he had plenty of others ready to go. He wasn't overly attached to this batch. However, when he received the news that the eggs had been rescued, his expression changed drastically. Upon learning that the eggs had been sent to Bai Xiaoyu, Bai Qi was furious but also hesitated. He had originally intended to use Bai Xiaoyu to hatch the eggs, and now by a twist of fate, they had ended up in Bai Xiaoyu's hands. He ultimately decided to wait and see if Bai Xiaoyu had the ability to hatch those eggs before making any further plans.

A Bug leader wasn't something a human could raise. If Bai Xiaoyu managed to hatch a few, they would definitely be sent to the F73 planet. A mid to high-level cub would easily submit to a major leader.

He had been eyeing these human cubs recently, but Bai Xiaoyu had beaten him to it. Now, only he could make the hatched leader cubs submit. If the previous twelve major leaders were involved, even better.

Bai Qi's plans were carefully laid out, and in the end, he didn't stop the Cub Breeding Association from contacting Bai Xiaoyu.

He hoped Bai Xiaoyu wouldn’t let him down.

When Bai Xiaoyu saw the eggs, he immediately examined their condition, finding that their vitality was slowly decreasing, and he planned to start the breeding process as soon as possible.

After the members of the Cub Breeding Association left, Mo Yan and the others approached Bai Xiaoyu and explained the origin of the eggs.

Bai Xiaoyu hadn't expected that these eggs were rescued by Mo Yan and his team from the Huang Family's underground laboratory, left there to await rescue before eventually ending up with him.

It seemed fate had brought these eggs to him. Their shells were not only hard but also thicker than usual, resembling the batch of dragon cubs' eggs.

Could these be the same batch of eggs?

At that moment, the Little Prince pulled Little Bai over, and upon seeing the additional dozens of eggs, he snorted. They had only been gone for a short while, and Bai Xiaoyu had managed to bring back another batch of major leader eggs.

After settling the eggs, Bai Xiaoyu thought about how he hadn't had time to spend with the two cubs earlier, and now that they were gone, his attention reflexively shifted to the other two tentacles.

Stepping into a dark area, he found himself in the underground black mineral zone of the eight-legged brown bug. Just as he was about to ask what the two tentacles were doing, he saw that they had turned black and swiftly burrowed into the black mineral, breaking it apart block by block within a few breaths.

No wonder the cubs were always missing, even though they had free time. It turns out they were hiding here to mine.