Chapter 253

Chapter 253

Each time the Dawn team members returned with supplies of reagents, they also brought along a few purple bee pupae. On every planet they delivered reagents to, they would observe the movements of the pupae.

The nearby planets had all been surveyed, with special focus on the planets where Yellow Family's underground experimental bases had been detected previously. So far, there had been no new findings.

Mo Yan collected the messages sent back by his team members and marked the explored planets on the star map in his optical brain.

Most of the marked planets were in star regions that had already been illuminated by the Fire Seed. However, this area of over a thousand stars was still relatively small compared to the entire star system.

But this wasn’t too challenging for him. He switched to another star map, which contained planets that Dawn had detected over the years where Yellow Family labs had appeared, or planets that had been identified through years of data analysis regarding the Yellow Family's lab distribution.

Mo Yan and several specialized Dawn members screened and selected key planets. Nearby planets were manageable, but distant ones were out of reach.

A Dawn member frowned as he looked at these planets and spoke, “Boss, should we make a plan? Divide into small teams like before? Right now, we’re still responsible for transporting reagents, and we only have enough people for one or two teams. It used to take years even with the full team, and now it’ll take even longer.”

The others nodded in agreement.

Seeing their serious faces, Mo Yan didn’t seem worried; he even chuckled.

“Boss, what are you laughing at? Are we wrong?”

“Yeah, if not, you come up with the plan.”

Mo Yan stopped smiling and turned to look at them. “How come at critical moments, you guys forget that I’m your boss, but we have another boss above us?”

The team members suddenly realized. In the past, they had searched planet by planet themselves, forgetting that they had a backer.

Mo Yan sent the marked star maps to Bai Xiaoyu. “Boss, it’s up to you now. These are the key markers, but there’s no guarantee we’ll find anything.”

For precise results, they’d need a full star system scan. But not many people could do that.

Bai Xiaoyu was observing the dragon cubs and was a bit confused after receiving the star maps from Mo Yan.

Timing-wise, it was about the period when a batch of pupae would grow wings and mature. Dawn’s initial scan results had also arrived.

He glanced at the star maps from various regions across the star system, all gathered over the years by Dawn.

The dragon clan genetic samples had already been dispatched. The primers on the genes were well-hidden, but there was still a chance of discovery. To avoid complications, he needed to expedite the tracking of the bee pupae.

Soon after, Mo Yan got a notification to send the pupae to the Sixteenth and Twenty-ninth Legions, their usual contacts, as well as to occasionally deliver reagents to over a dozen legions. While delivering the reagents, they would also send a batch of mature bees and pupae for tracking purposes.

Mo Yan and the core team members were impressed. With the territories guarded by these legions, they covered a third of the entire star system.

The various legions were more than happy to receive double the amount of reagents and secretly began scanning planets with the tracking bees. Regular rotations meant scanning a planet required just one person, making it an easy task.

For the remaining areas, the Sixteenth Legion had special intelligence search teams stationed on various planets. As long as they had the tracking bees, there wouldn’t be any major issues.

However, even so, it would still take some time.

The Sixteenth to Thirtieth Legions began their operations.

Meanwhile, Bai Qi was examining the newly arrived dragon clan genetic samples. Unlike before, he took extra time to inspect them. After repeated tests confirmed that these genes were safe, he had Old Qi begin the cultivation process. The remaining samples were divided and sent to other experimental bases.

"A clever rabbit has three burrows." Ever since the madmen from Dawn had set their sights on them, even if they occasionally lost a few points, a group that didn’t pose much threat, the repeated successes of the ants had made the Yellow Family more cautious.

With Dawn’s capabilities, they probably wouldn’t be able to find this place. And if they did, it would be an opportunity to keep them here.

He logged back onto the star network. It was still two weeks until ‘Big White’s Invincible Little Treasure’ would be inducted into the Star Network’s Hall of Fame.

The teenagers he sent out have been racking up consecutive wins in mech battles, with the one who has an SSS talent achieving over 800 consecutive victories.

Every opponent he faces now is basically pre-arranged.

That invincible little darling from back then had extremely strong combat abilities, maxed-out operation, and a very high rating from the system, earning a lot of points. Even if someone were to win consecutively now, it would be extremely difficult to earn more points than him with the same number of matches.

However, this person isn't always fast, fierce, and accurate against all opponents. Especially in low to mid-tier matches, he would practice with other players, which prevented his ratings from being perfect.

This gives others a chance to take advantage.

Bai Qi thought about the match from years ago that ended in just 15 seconds. After all these years, the frustration and anger still welled up inside him.

There are still two weeks left. He needs to bring that person down in the next two weeks.

At this time, the little white tiger and the dragon cubs had also won more than 500 battles in a row, with the little golden tiger having over 300 consecutive wins.

After finishing his work, Bai Xiaoyu went online again to check on the cubs. Recently, they have been fighting intensely on the star network.

Especially the dragon cubs.

After a fight with some suddenly appearing strong cubs, the dragon cubs hadn’t logged in again.

The data team had been tracking their movements but recently came up with nothing, so they had to temporarily set this matter aside.

However, after logging in recently, instead of rushing into the next level or going to subdue more followers like before, the dragon cubs started wandering around.

For example, the dragon cub next to Bai Xiaoyu at this moment had a round baby face, tightly set, with sharp eyes as it carefully surveyed the area. It looked like a fierce beast whose territory had been invaded by others. If this weren’t the star network, it would have already transformed and bared its teeth to scare off any intruders.

The dragon cub bared its teeth slightly as it walked, repeatedly confirming that there were no cubs who were evenly matched with them a few days ago before doing anything else.

The first thing they did was check on the bug-race cubs that had been subjugated by those powerful cubs. They had come online the next day and were immediately taken under the dragon cubs' control.

But they still weren’t completely at ease, checking in from time to time.

This took more time than usual, but it didn’t impact their progress or the recruitment of new followers. In fact, because of the intense rivalry with those opposing cubs, the dragon cubs felt a sense of crisis and became even more diligent in training, their fighting spirit ignited, which subtly accelerated their evolution.

Their recent progress could be described as rapid.

Bai Xiaoyu could almost see the changes in the dragon cubs with his own eyes. Their size or the color of their scales differed from the previous day. The same went for their combat abilities.

Scanning them with his optical brain, he found that their physique and mental energy had also significantly increased.

The dragon cubs were highly agitated and had plunged into frenzied combat, which was why their winning streak was quickly catching up to the little golden tiger's.

Seeing the restless and combative dragon cubs, Bai Xiaoyu frowned.

On the other hand, the Little Prince following him snorted. Seeing Bai Xiaoyu turn his head and look at him questioningly, he reluctantly said, "What's there to worry about? The stimulation last time has pushed them into the third transformation stage."

Little Bai nodded agreeably, pulling Bai Xiaoyu's hand and said, "Eggy is right. Soon you'll get to see their form after the third transformation."

The dragon cubs' dragon form didn’t change much, with only the bug race showing their future form during the third transformation. Right now, after the second transformation, the differences were only in color, antennae, scales, and other minor details, with a 90% similarity in form.

After completing the third transformation, they would enter a sub-adult state, and their combat abilities would increase explosively. During the current third transformation stage, all their physical data was rapidly soaring.

Hearing the two cubs' words, Bai Xiaoyu's worried heart settled, and he asked softly, "How long does this stage last?"

Little Bai: "Usually three to six months. But in the dragon den, it's hard to say. White Papa, aren’t you planning to bring them back? The third transformation of the chief requires real battles and devouring, and they need to start building their team, leading their followers into battle. Through various fights, they establish the chief's prestige and confidence. They have to go to our base for at least three months."

This base, of course, refers to F73.

The Little Prince pouted when he heard this. In his opinion, F73 was Bai Xiaoyu's territory. For a royal, owning just one small planet was nowhere near sufficient.

Even with the future gathering of the supreme leaders, there wouldn't be enough to go around for each of them to have their own.

Once he and Little Tail grew up, that small planet wouldn't even have enough space for them to stretch out and sleep comfortably in their true forms.

And that's not even accounting for those guys being sent there.

Facing the Little Prince's hums and Little Bai's confusion, Bai Xiaoyu reached out and patted the heads of the two little ones. "I don't have custody of the dragon cubs," he said.

When the dragon clans took back the dragon cubs, they intended for them to stay in the Dragon Den for life.

He had no right to overstep his bounds.

In the following week, the dragon cubs became even stronger, and with the guidance of Big Black and the Dragon Captain squad leaders, their rankings rose rapidly.

Their earlier performances had already caught the eye of numerous factions.

This was still within the acceptable range, but in recent weeks, their frighteningly rapid advancement had stunned those watching their fights. Everyone was shocked by the cubs' rapidly growing combat power.

Several factions had wanted to recruit them, and now even more so. Moreover, they began to sense something unusual about these cubs' identities.

Somehow, word got out that these were the cubs recently reclaimed by the dragon clans!

While ordinary people knew nothing about the dragon clans, some influential factions were well aware, especially the forces behind Bai Xiaoyu's siblings.

Previously, they sent peers to befriend the dragon cubs, but now they were sending various deputies with real authority, and even the principals themselves appeared.

The first to arrive were relatively younger ones, several of them around ten years old.

When Bai Xiaoyu arrived, two boys who looked exactly the same were pinning two teenagers around twelve or thirteen to the ground, their small fists striking fast and fiercely, making the teens howl in pain. Several adults nearby couldn't pull them apart and were even kicked away by the cubs. For a moment, the scene was chaotic.

Seeing Bai Xiaoyu and the two princes approaching, the twins' anger softened a bit. They kicked the teenagers again before finally retracting their fists, beaming brightly at Bai Xiaoyu.

Their identical faces looked innocent and pure when they smiled.

The adults quickly ran over to pull the beaten teens up. The two teens, with bruised and swollen faces, scowled even darker when they saw Bai Xiaoyu's star network avatar.

Just as Bai Xiaoyu was about to say something, the two teenagers glanced over, then turned around and left. "Let's go," they said.

Seeing them leave, Bai Xiaoyu didn't try to stop them, but he couldn't shake the feeling that they looked familiar.

He turned to ask the cubs, "Do you know them? Why did you fight?"

The two cubs shook their heads in unison, and one of them said angrily, "We don't know them, but they came over and wanted us to be their subordinates, saying we could ask for anything we wanted."

The other cub clenched his fist, his face full of disdain. "How dare they try to make us their subordinates when they can be taken down with one punch?"

Bai Xiaoyu: "..."

No wonder they got roughed up.

These twins are Blue Sword Dragons by birth and offspring of the Fifth Legion Commander. They also have the bloodline of one of the twelve supreme leaders of the insect clan. Usually, it was them who recruited subordinates, and now someone actually tried to recruit them?

But they did look familiar. He thought carefully and soon realized their identities. These two were his younger brothers, ranked 151 and 152 among his many siblings.

Not only are they biological brothers, but they're also cousins through their mother. Among so many siblings, they were rarely seen to have such a close relationship from a young age.

But why had they come to find the dragon cubs?

When the dragon cubs gathered to rest, a group of them surrounded Bai Xiaoyu, chattering and murmuring.

Bai Xiaoyu soon realized that not just the twins, but all the other dragon cubs were involved too, and everyone who showed up got a good beating.

He found himself torn between amusement and exasperation. After the dragon cubs finished communicating, they all started checking their optical brain’s stash.

Their eyes lit up, and Bai Xiaoyu could almost see dollar signs in their eyes.

Before the dragon cubs were born, they would fight fiercely for those gems, and now they were interested in credit points too?

Seeing Bai Xiaoyu’s interest, the dragon cubs handed over their optical brains. Bai Xiaoyu took a look and was amazed—each of them had billions in spare change.

So he quietly moved his own optical brain, held by his little dragon cub paw, backward.

At this moment, the dragon cubs, with their young faces, sighed like seasoned veterans.

"All the birth bonuses from the adult dragons add up to this much. How can we possibly fund our troops with such a pittance?

"The old man said this is barely a drop in the bucket compared to their legion’s funds."

Bai Xiaoyu couldn’t help chuckling. So, they were worried about military funds even before their army was built?

The furrowed brows of the dragon cubs were a perfect mirror image of the expressions of Da Bai, Xiao Xi, and the legion commanders he had seen before.