"Of course they are not stupid, but this is our arrangement, you either choose to obey or choose to stay here, and we don't force you, what do you think?" Zhang Yu said.

Oakham was stunned for a moment, thinking that he had misheard, and he looked at Philim beside him, who was sitting precariously with a serious face, as if he felt that there was nothing wrong with such an arrangement.

So Oakham couldn't help but think to himself: 'Is this what Philim is talking about?' ’

Thinking of this, Oakm said again: "Okay, but I am with my brother, I will go wherever he goes, I will listen to him." ”

Philim smiled slightly when he heard this, but did not speak.

Zhang Yu was surprised: "Huh? I thought you were the leader of the 'Golden Lightning Regiment', why, you're just a spokesperson? ”

Oakm glanced at Zhang Yu coldly and said, "This is a matter between our brothers, you don't need to know." ”

Zhang Yu smiled: "Okay, okay, it doesn't matter, then ...... What did Mr. Philim plan to do? ”

Philim shrugged: "I don't have any opinion, since you can use us, just tell us what to do next, don't have to be so troublesome to explain." ”

"Pleasant." Jin Yuan, who was on the side, liked Philim's character very much.

However, Philim only smiled.

"Okay, we have a small operation at three o'clock this afternoon, but we only need one of you to participate, you go back and discuss it, and tell us an hour in advance." With that, Zhang Yu got up and planned to leave.

Seeing this, Philim stopped him and said, "Wait. ”

"What's wrong?"

"I'm curious to see how far we have to go, or rather...... What do you want to get before you let us go back? ”

After Zhang Yu and Jin Yuan glanced at each other, Jin Yuan replied: "Until you are worthless, or we find out the black hand behind the scenes, in short, when the time comes, we will naturally let you go back." ”

What do you say......

Philim smiled, he understood: "Okay, I understand, then let's go back and discuss it first." ”

With that, Philim and Oakm left the meeting room.

……

After the two left, Jin Yuan said: "This Philim is indeed a little weird. ”

"Huh?" Zhang Yu was puzzled.

"I can't say exactly what blames him, but when I see him, I feel uneasy......

Zhang Yu raised his eyebrows: "Tsk? Do you also have times of uneasiness? ”

Jin Yuan: "Nonsense, my hunch has always been accurate. ”

"That'...... Try him first in the afternoon action? ”

"Hmm...... Consider...... But with Oakm's relationship with him, this can't be fought or touched, is it really that easy to try? ”

"No problem, I just applied for a MARK IX exoskeleton with the 'puppeteer' system pre-installed, what else do you have to worry about?"

Jin Yuan's eyes lit up, patted Zhang Yu's shoulder and smiled: "You can wow, little comrade!" I've grown a lot lately! ”

Zhang Yu glanced at him and said, "Please be a little smaller next time, I'm not as resistant to beating as you!" ”

Jin Yuan laughed: "Okay, good." ”

……

Back in Philim's room, Oakm asked directly, "Brother, what do you think?" Why do you have to cooperate with them? ”

Philim motioned for Oakm to sit down before explaining, "Don't you think what's been happening lately is strange? ”

"Huh?"

Philim looked Oakham in the eye and said, "It's not the first time you've done this kind of thing in the cargo, right?" ”

Oakm snorted and decided not to hide it anymore.

"Yes...... But so what, I've always been very good, secretive, and making a lot of money, you know, I really need that money! ”

Philim had already thought of this.

Oakm is not a gambler and has no other expenses, and his choice to take the plunge has most to do with his daughter.

But......

"I can understand that you want to save Ophelia, but are those guys from the Elves really reliable? Do you really think they'll be able to turn Ophelia back to normal? ”

Oakham was silent for a while and then said, "What if it's your son Phyllis instead?" Would you just give up? ”

Hearing this, Philim froze for a moment, then waved his hand and said, "Okay, don't talk about this, I can understand...... But you shouldn't hide it from me. ”

Oakm smiled wryly, "I know that although you are now a 'free citizen', you have always wanted to go back to live in the dome...... And if you get involved in this kind of thing, you don't stand a chance at all...... So...... I'm sorry, brother, but I'm the one who bothered you. ”

Philim was very moved when he heard this, he patted his brother on the shoulder and said, "Don't talk about it, since you have reached this point, let's think about what to do next." ”

Oakham thought for a moment and said, "Although I have never dealt with an arbiter, I know the style of these guys, especially this Zhang Yu, I don't think he will let us go free, so ...... We have to plan ahead. ”

Hearing this, Philim subconsciously looked up.

Oakham knew what he was worried about, so he said, "Don't look at it, everything here is monitored, but the arbiter's monitoring system is controlled by the highest management, and even if they want to see it, they have to approve it at all levels." ”

And what's going on?

Philim felt a little relieved, and after thinking for a moment, he said, "Then you have to tell me what exactly you sold to the 'disciples'

Stuff? ”

Ocam hesitated for a moment before replying, "It's a base ingredient collected from the ruins of Afania. ”

Although Philim already knew about it from the encrypted information package given by Zhang Yu, he was still stunned when he heard that it was mined from Afania.

Because he was so familiar with the ruins.

Afania, one of the Empire's outposts, was razed to the ground in the early days of the Zanspor Empire's war with the Union, when most people thought that Afania had been completely wiped out of Gaia.

However, when the freedmen entered the area of the former site and explored, they discovered that there was a large ruin beneath Afania.

The antiquity of these ruins can even be traced back to the Dark Civilization period, which must be 4,000 years ago, to say the least.

However, there is nothing mysterious about this underground ruin, it is just large enough, as if it were a vacant underground palace left by the ancients, and the archaeologists of the Zanspol Empire discovered it and built what would become Afania on the basis of this ruin.

The underground ruins were turned into Afania's material arsenal, and a large amount of pre-war equipment was piled up, which became a feast for the later "free people".

When Philim first visited the underground ruins of Afania, it had been largely emptied.

So in his mind, that place should be an empty city with no secrets.

But......

"No way, I've been to Afania many times, it's a big place, but it's not complicated, how can you possibly find a base material in such a place?"

Oakham explained with a smile, "I know that the place of Afania may be mysterious to ordinary people, but what are we pioneers for? Yes? ”

Philim smiled: "I'm also a pioneer, why didn't I find it?" ”

Oakm raised his eyebrows and said proudly: "Then it depends on some luck." ”

"Oh?" Philim couldn't help but tease him, but his expression made Oakm understand.

He smiled and said, "Okay, don't spare the bend, anyway...... It was found that there was indeed a lot of luck in these base materials...... And I'm telling you...... There is more than a little secret where the raw materials of the base are stored, so ...... When we get out, we can go back and have a look, maybe we'll find something else! ”

"Other secrets?" Philim originally just wanted to know the details of the matter, but after listening to Oakm's words, he couldn't help but be a little curious.

"For example?"

"For example......" Oakham said after a moment's reflection, "for example...... 'a door'!" ”

"A door?" Philim looked puzzled.

"That's right! That door is wicked! As soon as I got close to it, all the equipment would fail, and I always felt like there was something in the door. ”

"Tsk...... Hearing you say that, there's something evil about that place. Philim felt like he was listening to a ghost story.

Oakm smiled: "Yes, but I was in a hurry to ship the base materials out, so I didn't check it much, probably because I thought too much about it." ”

Philim nodded, making a secret note of the place.

"Let's talk about these base materials......

"Hmm......" Oakm's face narrowed into a serious smile.

"Whether we are free people or citizens of the glorious Republic, 'disciples' are not a good thing for us, and you deal with these people...... Did you really not think about the result? ”

"Yes, of course I did...... However, only the 'disciples' are willing to buy this kind of thing at a high price, and no one else dares to touch it, so I can't hand it over to the arbiter. Oakm, who heard the blame, was a little upset.

Philim sighed, "I didn't mean that, I mean...... Have you ever wondered what these 'disciples' plan to do when they buy the base materials at a high price? ”

Oakm stopped talking, of course he knew.

"If you've ever thought about it, do you feel strange when you think about what happened in the past few days?" Philim wasn't actually blaming Oakm, on the contrary, his tone was calm, so these words were not so much blaming as guiding.

Oakm frowned, and after a serious recollection, he exclaimed, "You mean...... All of this is in their plans? ”

Philim nodded: "Well, if my guess is correct, they have prepared two plans a long time ago, one of which is to use us as bait to catch big fish, and the other is to capture us and cut off the 'disciples' access to these base ingredients. ”

Oakm listened attentively, but there was one thing he didn't understand: "But both plans have drawbacks, right?" ”

Philim smiled slightly: "Yes, whether it is the first plan or the second plan, on the surface, it is just superficial work, and it can't hurt the foundation of the 'disciple' at all, but ...... If you get caught, things will be very different. ”

"Oh?" Oakham was confused again.

"For arbiters, their goal is always to be 'disciples', and we are at best a bait, but the problem is, if our bait is irreplaceable, then do you want to ...... What happens next? ”

Oakm heard that and then he understood it completely.

"Are you saying that ...... 'disciples' will definitely try to continue to obtain more base materials in order to realize their plans...... And I'm ...... Is it the only channel they have to take risks? ”

Philim didn't speak, but judging by his expression, Oakm was right.

Hiss......

Thinking like this, Oakm suddenly felt a chill down his spine.

If this is the case, then even if they escaped from the Ninth Free Trade Platform at that time, they would definitely be caught by the "disciples", because the key point of the whole incident is the "base raw material".

"Oh...... I said how could they be so kind to let us live here, it turned out that they treated us like treasures. Oakm sneered and said, "In this case, wouldn't it be safer for me to stay here honestly." ”

However, Philim said in a deep voice at this time: "Indeed, as long as we choose to stay here, we are the safest...... But...... Have you ever thought about the camp, about our family? ”

Oak was stunned for a moment, and then couldn't help but scold: "Grass! ”

"The arbiters are not in a hurry because they have already got the cards they want, and as for the rest, they don't care at all...... But I think that as long as they want to take advantage of us, they will definitely make us care about other things, and even remind us, so ...... There is no such thing as obedience or disobedience, because there is only one option from the beginning, and there is only one option from the moment you get into the quagmire between the arbiter and the disciple! The difference is only in whether you choose or not. Philim's sober analysis made Oakham fall into an ice cave.

He had never thought about it so much before.

Even when he brought those contraband into the goods, he only felt that it was a simple transaction, he was just a middleman, and even if he was discovered, no one could help him as a free man.

But that's no longer the case.

By the time Oakham realized, it was too late......

What he didn't know was that Philim had a reservation when he analyzed it, and he didn't tell him all his conjectures, because it was too dirty and dark.

"That'...... So what do we do now......" Oakham panicked, his only reliance now was Philim.

After comforting Oakm, Philim said, "Don't worry, I'll go out with them in the afternoon to see how big the fish they have locked down is, and then we'll make plans." ”

Although Okomi was more inclined to let himself take risks, he was really at a loss now.

"Good...... You have to be careful. ”

"Well, don't worry, it'll be fine."

……

April 14 at around 2:11 p.m.

Philim was escorted to the assembly room by the guards.

Compared to the simple manual assembly room he had in the camp, the fully automated matrix assembly room in front of him was too much more upscale.

Putting on the fitted underwear made by Yi Yuanzi Leng Xian, Philim slowly walked onto the assembly platform.

The floor beneath his feet glows with fluorescence, and the various weapon assemblies pre-built in the matrix structure are pushed out, and then the assembly is completed automatically as long as Philim stays in place.

It looked like it was about three minutes.

Heavily armed, Philim lowered his mask, his eyes lit up, and then he took a deep breath and raised the corners of his lips slightly.

……

"Our original plan was to attack an enemy manor at three o'clock this afternoon, but the outpost just sent back a report that the target's manor had been invaded by xenos, and now the outlying area has been occupied by xenomorphs, and the target has fled into the manor's underground security fortress, so ...... We need to clear the manor of the xenomorphs first, and breach the fortress and capture the target alive before their support arrives! Hear me all! It's captured alive! ”

"Yes!"

Thirty heavily armed arbitrators sat in the deployment cabin, with Philim and Zhang Yu sitting at the back near the exit hatch.

Hearing such a deployment, Philim couldn't help but be a little nervous, because this was far from the small operation he imagined.

Zhang Yu seemed to feel Philim's uneasiness, so he comforted: "Don't worry, I called you here today to focus on participation, your main job is to find out the secret passage inside the fortress after the fortress is breached, this is your old job, you are okay, right?" ”

Philim laughed dryly, he didn't believe in any nonsense about participation.

Every contact with the vultures before was a fight for their lives, and how could a raid like this be left alone.

So Philim replied, "I'm fine, but can you turn off the puppeteer system for a while?" ”

Zhang Yu smiled: "That's not good, this system on your body is monitored by the highest management level, and I don't have the right to shut it down for you privately." ”

Philim was speechless, what he hated most was to give his life to others, let alone a puppet system, but now he could only accept it, and prayed that the level of those aliens was as low as possible.

But Philim apparently overlooked a very important point.

That is, how can xenomorphs that can move during the day be low-level xenomorphs......

At 2:55 a.m., the altitude of the aircraft began to decrease, and the orange warning light on the deployment compartment lit up.

Philim took a deep breath and the mask fell.

Jin Yuan got up and said: "Give me some spirit, do things beautifully, let's call it a day as soon as possible, and then I'll invite everyone to drink in the evening!" ”

"Good!"

Philim looked at the novelty, he thought that this guy named Jin Yuan was an unkind iron-blooded general, but he didn't expect him to lead the team quite interesting.

Just thinking about it, the alarm sounded before deployment.

Philim checked his fixtures, then closed his eyes and began to pray, a habit he had that would remain unchanged even after his memories were fused.

"Tick !!!!"

The green deployment light comes on, and the deployment pod detaches from the battleship, and then begins to dive vertically towards the target area.