Chapter 532: The Smallest Host

The clouds above Qinghe Base continued rotating until a dark shadow appeared within them.

At first, it resembled an approaching storm. However, as the transport vessel descended, its enormous silver body gradually became visible through the clouds. It was several times larger than the two aircraft Leng Pan’s group had captured, and its lower section had begun opening.

The alien prisoner stared at it with growing fear. "They are preparing to release the gate anchor."

Leng Pan did not look away from the infant. "How long will that take?"

"If the beacon remains stable, the anchor could be deployed within ten minutes."

The child’s mother held the infant tightly against her chest and stepped back when Commander Han’s soldiers approached. Her face was pale as she pleaded, "Please do not hurt my baby. He has not done anything."

Commander Han raised one hand to stop his soldiers. "No one will harm him, but you need to put him down."

The woman shook her head and retreated another step. "You said something is controlling him. How could leaving him on the ground help?"

"It would allow us to examine him safely," Leng Pan explained as she approached slowly. "The device inside his body is guiding the vessel above us. We need to remove it before the aliens reach the base."

The infant turned his head toward her.

The movement was too deliberate for a child his age.

Silver light covered his eyes as his small hand rose from his mother’s shoulder. A faint energy gathered around his fingers before moving into the woman’s neck.

Her frightened expression disappeared.

When she looked at Leng Pan again, the same silver light had appeared in her eyes.

The woman tightened her arms around the infant and turned toward the partially open western gate.

"Stop her!" Commander Han ordered.

Two soldiers blocked her path, but the controlled survivors behind the metal barriers reacted at the same time.

Dozens of abilities struck the barriers from within. Fire spread over one section while sharp pieces of ice damaged another. The people who had remained unconscious began waking, and one after another, their eyes turned silver.

Ouyang Jin strengthened the barriers as he called to the soldiers near him, "Do not attack them unless you have no choice. They are being controlled."

The woman carrying the infant walked faster.

Leng Pan sent a ribbon of water around her waist, but the infant released a pulse of silver energy before the water could tighten.

A painful sound entered Leng Pan’s head.

The water ribbon broke apart.

Little Vine trembled on her shoulder as the silver particles it had consumed reacted to the infant’s command.

The plant’s leaves curled inward.

Leng Pan immediately held it against her chest. "Do not listen to it."

Little Vine wrapped a tendril around her wrist, but its roots continued trembling.

Lu Zhen stepped between Leng Pan and the infant. Flames surrounded his body and weakened the next wave of energy before it could reach them.

"The beacon is using the control particles inside Little Vine," he said. "Send it into your space."

Little Vine slapped a leaf against his arm in protest.

Even in such a dangerous situation, Lu Zhen glanced at it with displeasure. "This is not the time to argue."

The plant tightened around Leng Pan’s wrist and refused to move.

Leng Pan could sense its determination. Little Vine did not want to hide while the other plants and humans were in danger.

She touched one of its leaves and said, "You may stay, but if the signal overwhelms you, I will send you into the space without asking."

Little Vine finally loosened its grip.

Lu Zhen looked at his wife. "You should not encourage it."

"I agreed to one condition."

"You gave in."

"It is a brave child."

"So is Lu Tao. That does not mean we should allow him to fight everything he sees."

Lu Tao, who was standing several meters away with the alien communicator, turned toward them. "Why did I become part of this conversation?"

"Watch the signal," Lu Zhen replied.

Lu Tao looked down at the communicator and wisely stopped asking questions.

The controlled mother continued moving toward the gate.

Captain Wei watched her while fighting against the device connected to his own body. "The controller...is transferring more of the network to the child. If it completes the transfer, removing the beacon might kill him."

Leng Pan looked toward the alien prisoner. "How do we stop the transfer?"

The prisoner hesitated before explaining, "You could interrupt the connection by placing the host inside a space without access to the signal."

Everyone looked at Leng Pan.

She had not revealed her space to Commander Han or the soldiers of Qinghe Base. However, with the transport vessel above them and less than ten minutes remaining, hiding it was no longer important.

Leng Pan moved toward the controlled woman. "I need to touch the child."

The woman raised her free hand.

A strong mental wave rushed toward Leng Pan, but Lu Zhen’s flames formed a barrier around her.

Unlike ordinary fire, his ability burned through part of the energy within the signal. The silver light in the woman’s eyes flickered.

Leng Pan used the moment to appear in front of her.

The woman swung her arm, but Leng Pan caught her wrist. She wrapped water around the woman’s body before carefully pulling the child from her arms.

The moment Leng Pan touched him, the infant disappeared into her space.

The mother’s body went limp.

Leng Pan caught her before she could hit the ground and lowered her carefully.

Above them, the transport vessel stopped descending.

The rotating clouds became unsettled as the signal disappeared.

Lu Tao studied the alien communicator before announcing, "The beacon is no longer showing on the map."

Commander Han released a breath of relief, but the prisoner did not relax.

He stared at the vessel as its lower doors continued opening. "It already confirmed the location before the signal disappeared. The ship’s crew might decide to deploy the anchor anyway."

"Then we should make sure they regret that decision," Lu Zhen replied.

Assistant Yao’s aircraft appeared in the distance.

It approached from the south and remained close to the ground, using Qinghe Base’s walls to hide from the larger vessel’s sensors.

Assistant Yao’s voice came through the communicator. "We are in position. The aircraft scanner has detected the transport vessel’s energy source, but there are several layers of armor around it."

"Can you attack it?" Lu Zhen asked.

"The main weapon requires the prisoner’s authorization code."

Lu Zhen looked at the alien technician.

The prisoner immediately shook his head. "My authorization does not include military weapons."

Little Vine lifted its leaves toward him.

The alien stepped back and quickly added, "However, I might be able to bypass the restriction if I enter the aircraft."

Lu Tao pointed toward the sky. "You should have started with that."

"I said I might be able to do it."

"If you cannot, Little Vine might be disappointed."

The prisoner glanced at the plant and did not ask what would happen if it became disappointed.

Lu Zhen turned to Vanish and Sonny. "Take him to Assistant Yao’s aircraft. Do not remove his restraints."

Vanish grabbed the prisoner’s shoulder. Both of them disappeared before reappearing several hundred meters away. Sonny followed at full speed to make sure the prisoner could not escape if Vanish needed to rest between movements.

The transport vessel responded to the smaller aircraft’s approach.

Several sections along its lower surface opened as dozens of black objects fell from them.

Leng Pan originally thought they were bombs. However, the objects changed direction before reaching the ground and began spreading across the sky.

The alien communicator released another warning.

[Guardian Units deployed.]

The black objects unfolded into creatures that looked like a mixture of machines and insects. Each one had six narrow wings, a long metal body, and a glowing weapon beneath its head.

They divided into two groups.

The first group flew toward Assistant Yao’s aircraft while the second descended toward Qinghe Base.