Chapter 171: These are our clansmen!

Chapter 171: These Are Our People!

No, thinking about it still makes me furious!

This time, Tianlan Star won—otherwise, the consequences would have been unthinkable.

But what no one expected was that something even more infuriating was yet to come.

"It's not like the defeat of the Wanlan Empire's army meant the end of the matter."

"In fact, after witnessing the combat prowess of the half-demons and demons on Tianlan Star—especially a few powerful Great Demons and half-demons—their radiant presence and formidable power only attracted more covetous gazes."

【"Such powerful and beautiful women are the only ones worthy of me!"】

【"Such powerful women must be able to produce even stronger descendants!"】

"After the initial shock and refusal to accept, the Wanlan Empire soon began to celebrate this realization."

"Their resolve to conquer Tianlan Star only grew stronger."

"Not only the men of the Wanlan Empire who eyed Tianlan Star greedily—but even the women were no different."

"They were consumed by astonishing greed, hungry for the secret that allowed women to continuously evolve and grow stronger."

"Driven by their women’s demands, the pressure from their higher-ups, and the drive of their own desires, the Wanlan Empire poured all their resources into the war, sparing no cost."

"They fought this war with their entire nation’s might."

"The sole consolation was that, although the Wanlan Empire's technological level was relatively advanced, their combat strength wasn’t insurmountable. After the Spiritual Resurgence, Tianlan Star could still stand its ground."

"The worst was avoided."

That’s good, that’s good!

Just as everyone was letting out a sigh of relief, they suddenly heard Sheng Qingquan’s thoughts abruptly darkened.

"But..."

Sheng Qingquan himself was stunned when he saw this. He never expected things to unfold this way.

"This war drew the attention of other races."

"While the frontline battle remained deadlocked, Tianlan Star was struck from behind."

"Someone looted amid the chaos?"

"When the snipe and clam fight, the fisherman profits? [Footnote: A Chinese idiom meaning 'when two parties fight, a third party benefits.']"

"Had a third party stepped in? Had Tianlan Star’s resources been uncovered, prompting someone to seize the opportunity?"

The more they talked, the likelier it seemed.

War devours resources. Often, wars are won or lost by supply lines.

For a minor, underdeveloped world like Tianlan Star to sustain such prolonged combat was bound to raise eyebrows among those paying attention.

While the advanced star systems paid no attention, they might have noticed nothing.

But once their gaze turned toward it, a closer look would reveal everything.

Once any star system learns about the resources present on Tianlan Star, no star system could resist the temptation.

Even the famously wealthy ones are no exception.

Who would ever complain about having too much wealth?

As for those star systems with high combat capabilities but struggling economies, the temptation is even greater.

Devouring Tianlan Star might not completely solve their economic crises, but it would at least provide significant relief.

How could anyone resist?

Just think about the cobalt-blue crystal deposits, and then look at those vast deserts on Tianlan Star—all packed with Aurisand Placer.

Even saints would drool over this.

Tianlan Star alone is worth several top-tier resource planets combined.

Not long ago, Sheng Qingquan even submitted a report to higher authorities, hinting at a potential spirit stone vein forming, though it wasn’t yet confirmed. The area was cordoned off, with officials stationed to monitor it.

They’d have to wait for the vein to fully form before making a judgment.

Aliens might not care for spirit stones, but what if some aliens knew their worth?!

Not to mention Tianlan Star’s tea and seawater resources—goldmines for certain races.

Hell, even Tianlan’s humans were a commodity.

To those aliens, if Tianlan Star lost the war, they’d snatch up prisoners to sell.

Even if Tianlan Star won, war would bleed them dry. While the planet was still weakened and recovering, they’d pounce and swallow the planet whole.

And if both Tianlan Star and the Wanlan Empire were left battered, they’d gladly clean house.

The longer they stewed on it, the more perilous Tianlan Star’s situation seemed.

It felt like, at any moment, shadowy hands—dozens of them—might shove Tianlan Star down, making sure it stayed down.

"With entire fleets surrounding Tianlan Star, there’s no hiding this—not that we should."

"Small skirmishes? They’d hush those up. But this is far beyond that."

"This is war!"

Officials went public instantly and declared a state of wartime readiness across the planet.

Tensions aside, civilians kept living their lives. At most, folks glued themselves to news updates between work, afraid of missing frontline developments.

Training regimens got brutal.

Enlistment offices got swamped, with countless citizens volunteering and many veterans reappling for service.

People badgered the government to open donation channels to bankroll the war effort.

"Every day, people are asking online what ordinary folks can do now to help the country."

"'Feels like even turning screws at a drone factory wouldn’t need me.'"

"'I cook well and want to go to the frontlines to cook for the troops. But my private messages got politely declined.'"

"'You can be a spiritual battery! Didn’t the authorities just develop a new technology that uses jade or gemstones as carriers to transfer spiritual energy in advance? When needed, the stored energy can be released in one burst.'"

"'Is this the legendary spirit stone alternative?'"

"'They say the spiritual energy in normal spirit stones can be absorbed effortlessly by anyone. But since our planet's Spiritual Resurgence hasn’t reached the point where spirit stones appear, the authorities came up with this alternative.'"

"'Just transfer spiritual energy into jade or gemstones through a converter, and it can mimic spirit stones.'"

"'Though the stored energy can be absorbed by anyone, the energy yield is pitiful—nothing like the perfect absorption of real spirit stones.'"

"'It’s kinda half-baked, but these are wartime conditions. Even if it’s not ideal, having it is better than nothing.'"

"'I heard if you store ten units of spiritual energy, only one unit can be extracted when used.'"

"'And not just any jade or gemstone will do—there are quality requirements. If the quality is too low, the jade or gemstone will explode as soon as energy is transferred, making preservation impossible.'"

Sheng Qingquan scanned some of the netizens’ comments from the original text and his eyes lit up.

He had always known that since obtaining the spirit stone shell, the research institute never stopped studying it.

He’d heard there were some breakthroughs earlier, but he didn’t expect it to be deployed this quickly!

A 10:1 conversion rate might sound shockingly low.

Under normal circumstances, it wouldn’t be cost-effective—they’d definitely need further research to improve efficiency.

But war is coming.

During war, frontline soldiers may be strong and highly cultivated, but their energy expenditure is enormous.

Once their spiritual energy is depleted, recovery isn’t quick. If the battle ends then, fine—but what if they run out mid-fight?

Though conventional weapons can compensate, Sky Blue Star is no match for the Wanlan Empire in a straight firepower comparison.

That’s where these "spiritual batteries" come in handy.

"Who cares about the low conversion rate? Even if it’s 100:1, we can afford it!" someone snapped.

After all, Sky Blue Star has universal Immortal Cultivation. Even if individual cultivation levels are low, we've got numbers on our side.

There's no way we'd fail to supply the frontline’s spiritual energy needs with everyone working together.

Residents less familiar with the research were blown away, exclaiming, "Hell yeah, this rocks!"

"More studies like this—beneficial to the nation and its people—are exactly what we need."

"I’ll grind even harder. If I’m going to be a spiritual battery, I’ll be the quickest-charging, highest-capacity one!"

"With war on the horizon, I was really anxious—especially feeling like I couldn’t help. Now, at least I can do something!"

"Gotta cultivate more. Every extra spiritual battery sent to the frontlines might save another ally or waste another enemy..."

"Having tasks to do and being able to contribute, not dragging the nation down—keeps people's spirits up. Though a few are extremely restless, as long as the frontline holds, it won’t cause major issues."

"In this situation, the impact on children is even smaller."

"At most, the kids just know there's a war going on, that enemies are invading Azure Star, and that the soldiers on the front lines are working hard. Their parents are very worried, so they should be extra well-behaved during this time."

"They should eat well, practice hard, and grow up to protect their families and their country from invasion."

"The kids still have their innocence."

"Kids who should be in school still go to school, and those who should go home still go home."

"So when school was already over, and it was the usual time for the kids to come home, but no child was seen, the parents knew right away something was off."

"Parents checked with the teachers, thinking they had kept the kids after class."

"But the teachers said class had let out a while back. The kids had left quite a while ago. The school was deserted by then."

"The security footage showed the kids leaving the school gate with their backpacks at dismissal time."

"The kids looked totally normal—no different from usual."

"But the missing kids weren’t just one or two. But dozens."

"The same thing happened at other schools."

"Most were grade-schoolers."

"And all the missing kids were plant-blooded half-demons."

"Even though there’s a war on the front lines, to Azure Starians, when kids are involved, it’s always serious."

"The whole country was on high alert."

"But despite a long investigation, the police still couldn’t find them. Later, because the kids were being watched more closely by their families, making them harder to snatch, some adult plant half-demons also went missing."

"Eventually, even full plant demons started vanishing—dozens of them."

"Though none of these missing demons were Great Demons. Most had only just gained sentience and hadn’t yet taken human form."

"But precisely because they hadn’t taken human form, unless they spoke up, they just looked like ordinary trees or flowers."

"In such cases, the likelihood of them being noticed and dug up should have been even lower."

"Yet they still disappeared. All that remained were just gaping holes in the ground."

"Was someone else behind this?"

"Is this the ‘home invasion’ they meant? Why are they capturing plant demons and half-demons?"

No one could make sense of it.

If they had the same goal as the Wanlan Empire, then since they’d already acted, there was no reason to spare demons and half-demons of other races.

Or perhaps, like those Wanlan Empire fanatics who only cared about ‘females,’ those targeting plant demons and half-demons were similarly discriminatory.

Were they only capturing plant demons and half-demons to obtain something from them?

Whatever the reason, finding them came first.

If we delay any longer, there might not even be a single leaf remaining.

Hold on—this hasn’t even happened yet, so there’s no need for rescue. More importantly, we need to figure out who the real enemy is.

Since we already know about this in advance, we can’t afford to make the same mistakes again. Better we capture them first than let them get us.

That creeping feeling of being watched is downright unnerving.

Especially when kids going missing is bad enough, but if some of those missing kids have parents or family members fighting on the front lines, the fallout...

No one dared dwell on it.

Some were already spinning wild theories: "What if the Wanlan Empire’s behind the kidnappings?"

"Are they using the kids to force our hand, making us retreat or surrender? Or at the very least, to shake our morale?"

"No, if that were the case, they’d want as many hostages as possible. They wouldn’t spare other children."

As the team agonized over it, Sheng Qingquan had already spotted the key issue.

"A group of treants had caught wind of the chaos on Azure Star. After being drawn here, they immediately took note of the plant monsters and half-breeds in the fray."

"The treants went dead still."

[‘"These are our kin!"’]

[‘"Treants are inherently peace-loving. Why are these treants fighting? They must have been forced!"’]

[‘"And those who look human but wield vines or attack with toxic blooms and spores."’]

"Treants can’t interbreed with humans due to reproductive isolation. The treants witnessing this never even considered the possibility that these were hybrids."

"Some treants immediately leapt to the worst conclusion."

[‘"Could this be some kind of twisted experiment by Azure Star to deal with their enemies?!"’]

"The more the treants thought about it, the more convinced they became. Especially since they’d noticed earlier while observing the scene—"

"Azure Star’s tech is downright primitive."

"The reason they’ve held out this long, even gaining a slight upper hand, is all thanks to their people."

"These powerful individuals either sport plant features or animal traits."

"As for those without any plant or animal features, they must be the results of a whole other line of experiments."

"Treants and beastmen have decent relations. Maybe some treants and their beastmen friends were out messing around, only to crash-land and end up stranded on Azure Star."

"While they were severely injured, Azure Star wiped their memories clean, making them remember only Azure Star, swear loyalty, and dedicate themselves entirely to it."

"But even with such formidable warriors, they got greedy."

"After witnessing the treants’ and beastmen’s extraordinary power, the Azure Starians looked at their own frail bodies and cooked up something twisted."

"They sent treants and beastmen to the labs, treating them as test subjects, conducting monstrous experiments to extract cellular genes and fuse them into their own people."

"Thus creating those who appear human but possess traits of treants and beastmen."

[‘"We can’t let this stand!"’]

"The Ents decided to take action. They needed to gather evidence and expose Tianlan Star's crimes to the interstellar community!"

"Ents—are they the kind I'm thinking of? Like the ones often seen in Western-style fantasy, who have good relations with elves?" Someone paused, then realized the difference between Ents and plant spirits.

"Honestly, when I read Western-style fantasy before, I also thought Ents were just sentient trees, quite similar to our plant spirits."

"But these two probably aren’t the same species!"

"Especially since Ents seem to be large trees, while here, any plant can become a spirit. Once they gain enough cultivation, they can assume human form. Ents don’t seem to have this ability?"

Though this is all from novels, who knows how accurate it is?

Regarding the Ents' actions, someone couldn’t help but protest: "If you want evidence, just search properly. Why kidnap people?!"

"If needed, talk directly with Tianlan Star."

"Since when do legitimate investigators act like kidnappers?"

"Anyone unaware would think they’re child snatchers!"

"The reason most of the initial missing cases involved elementary school students was that there weren’t many Ents joining in, and their strength was limited. Kids are easier to handle, and unlike kindergarteners, they don’t have parents picking them up."

"Nor do they live on campus like middle schoolers, where dormitories are guarded."

"Elementary schools rarely have boarding. As long as the school isn’t too far from home, parents generally trust their kids to walk to school with friends after starting school. Lower grades might still have someone pick them up, but middle and upper grades usually do so independently."

"That makes them easier targets."

"As for the plant spirits getting dug up, it’s also because the Ents’ appearance is super misleading."

"The Ents mistook the plant spirits for their own kind. The plant spirits had no idea Ents even existed. Seeing a talking tree, with a face appearing on its trunk and roots acting as legs, they naturally assumed they were also tree spirits."

"Just freakishly advanced ones who could move freely without assuming human form, hence running wild."

"Being of the same kind, and with Tianlan Star’s chill environment without infighting—"

"Under the watch of authorities, everyone abides by the law and avoids crime. These not-yet-transformed tree spirits had no reason to be suspicious."

"Especially since they were of the same kind, trust came naturally."

"When asked if they wanted to go for a stroll together, the curious tree spirits, dying to know how these 'tree spirits' could move without transforming, readily agreed. They were very cooperative."

"Their cooperation left barely any traces."

"Making the police’s job much harder."

"The tree spirits truly had no clue they were in danger. When they followed the Ents’ instructions to uproot themselves, they genuinely believed the Ents were being generous, sharing tricks."

"After all, for tree spirits, uprooting carelessly before transforming can easily harm their vitality. Such tricks are usually kept secret!"

"Only after uprooting as instructed and getting injured did they realize something was wrong. But it was too late."

"Injured, their ability to resist dropped sharply. The Ents overpowered them easily."

"The Ents didn’t realize their 'advice' caused the injuries. Instead, they assumed Tianlan Star had imposed restrictions to prevent escape."

"This only made them even angrier."

"And those missing adult half-spirits, their cases are even more absurd."

"Same reason—Treefolk just look too deceptive at first glance."

"Though the Spiritual Resurgence has been going on for a while now, and most spirits who should be registered have already done so with the Special Affairs Bureau..."

"But there are always some slip-ups. Every now and then, new spirits pop up to register."

"Plus, the number of spirits isn't fixed."

"Every once in a while, plants, animals, or objects awaken into spirits. Though rare, as the spiritual energy in the air grows denser, you'll see a new spirit every so often."

"So the Special Affairs Bureau's mission to guide spirits to register has never been taken off the table."

"These missing plant half-spirits all saw the Treefolk, noticed how unfamiliar they looked, checked the registry network, and found no records of them. Observing their behavior, the Treefolk seemed unfamiliar with their surroundings and people."

"Perfect!"

"Bingo—freshly awakened treants!"

"Probably trees from remote areas that awakened."

"If they were from urban areas, they wouldn’t feel so out of place. They'd be familiar with people, food, tech—you name it."

"They might not know every detail, but they’d recognize things at a glance. Seeing them now, they’d just be curious if things matched what they’d glimpsed."

"What does food actually taste like?"

"Is a phone really that fun?"

"How do people stand wearing clothes?..."

"To them, these things are new, but not completely unfamiliar."

"Registering new spirits earns you rewards."

"And the rewards are quite generous."

"So these adult half-spirits jumped at the chance, afraid the Treefolk might run off, and hurried over to chat them up."

"Some even walked with them to out-of-the-way spots without a second thought."

"A few even secretly rejoiced that fewer people would notice the Treefolk this way."

"No one would steal their mark."

Reading this, Sheng Qingquan facepalmed.

"Holy crap! Everyone else got unlucky and got caught—but these guys? They tripped over themselves to get caught!"