The youth's smile did nothing to ease the terror in the hearts of the four prisoners. Even the two latecomers, who had previously maintained their composure as high-level ability users, lost all will to resist upon seeing their companion's head enveloped by black threads. They shrank back like frightened quails, trying to make themselves as small as possible to diminish their sense of existence.

Standing on the side, Huo Li didn't make any move to steal the spotlight in this awkward moment. He stood quietly, pretending not to read minds and allowing Xiao Yi to take full control of the situation.

The black-haired youth nudged Douglas, who appeared the most cowardly of the group and had killed his Guardian with an ice spike. "Let's start with you. Why did you betray us?"

Douglas stared at the black threads spreading across the youth's arm, terrified that even a moment's hesitation might doom him to the same fate as the burly man. He stammered nervously, "Who in the Salvation Alliance doesn't want to rebel?!"

Black-haired boy, "What?"

Even though he was scared out of his wits, Douglas still shot the boy with a strange look, baffled by his question. "For thousands of years, the main system has exploited the high-level ability users of the galaxy! Back on our home planets, we were one in ten thousand or even one in a million talents. If we'd stayed there, we could've easily become powerful figures—wealthy tycoons with our influence. Becoming the ruler of a planet or even a small star system wouldn't have been out of reach."

Xiao Yi frowned, still unable to understand why they would side with the parasites to wipe out humanity. He asked, "So what?"

Douglas, a straightforward man by nature, momentarily forgot his fear in his frustration and passionately explained, "We were the strongest among humans in the first place. We deserve higher status and wealth than ordinary people. What's wrong with that? But ordinary people, jealous of our abilities, feared we'd break the law and decided it was unreliable to depend solely on our self-restraint. So, they shackled us."

"Therefore, whenever conflicts arose between humans and ability users, the damned main system would seize the opportunity to offer conditions that bound us to the Salvation System. Then we had to serve it, no different from laborers working ourselves to the bone. Even becoming an SSS-rank Savior will not change much. All it got you was a tiny garden in Salvation Town, where you'd waste away staring at a stupid transparent screen year after year."

"And most of us weren't even that lucky. We spent our lives completing missions under the Salvation Alliance's oppressive rules, only to die in some apocalyptic event. How is it fair that ordinary people on some backwater planet—working in a cheap diner—get to live better lives than we do, the strongest of our kind?"

This clearly struck a nerve with Douglas, who was about to grow old and couldn't even afford age inhibitor agents in the Salvation Alliance. Even in such a life-threatening situation, he was so angry that his face turned bright red.

The black-haired youth interrupted impatiently, "So you rebelled because you were unhappy with the Salvation Alliance's benefits? Got it. Though honestly, I don't see how being a president on some regular planet is better than working as a Savior. Being a Savior is way more fun…"

Off to the side, Huo Li couldn't hold back a snort of laughter, quickly covering it up with a string of fake coughs. His 'little boyfriend' was just too adorable. Huo Li had known from the start that it was best not to tell Xiao Yi about such complicated matters. After all, the youth was only three years old—he couldn't possibly understand how important power and status were to humans.

The youth had no idea what Huo Li found so funny but shot him a warning glare anyway. Seeing Xiao Yi's mix of anger and confusion, Huo Li struggled to keep a straight face. He had to put his battered silver mask back on to regain his usual stern demeanor.

Satisfied, the black-haired boy nodded and continued his interrogation. "You said earlier that every time there was a conflict between ability users and ordinary people, the main system used some deal to bind you to the Salvation System. How exactly were you bound to it?"

Douglas's eyes darted nervously at the question, but under the pressure of the black threads, he had no choice but to answer reluctantly. "At that time, I used my ice abilities to preserve harvested organs. When ordinary people found out, they arrested me. After I escaped and was on the run, with nowhere left to hide, I heard the system speak in my head. It said if I bound myself to the Salvation System, it would spare me from being prosecuted in their courts and even give me a life-extension drug…"

Although Xiao Yi doesn't fully understand some human emotions, his IQ is still very high. "So you were trafficking human organs, got caught, and then decided to bind yourself to the system? And the main system even rewarded you with a potion from its store?! How is that fair?!" (How come when I was bound to that stupid system, I didn't get any perks or even have the right to choose?!)

Xiao Yi considered filing a complaint to 2d14 and the main system but soon realized he was using a substitute body. He had no choice but to let it go.

The black-haired youth continued, "Now, one last question. Answer it, and I'll spare your life. How did you avoid the monitoring of the main system?"

Douglas stammered as he tried to clarify, "I really don't know..."

The black-haired boy sighed with regret, "What a pity. I gave you a chance." Before Douglas could even scream, the black threads surged forward, shredding him into pieces, and used his remains as nourishment.

The youth's sudden shift in demeanor startled the two remaining captives. One of them quickly shouted, "Don't kill me! I know you've always wanted to expose our crimes to the entire Alliance, so you'll definitely need a living witness to prove your claims. I'm a core member of this organization. As long as you spare me, I can help you at the right time to..."

"I can do that too!" the other, a disheveled middle-aged woman, exclaimed frantically. "I mean, leaving just one witness won't be convincing enough. Why not keep two of us alive?"

The black-haired youth didn't react to their pleas. He simply said in a calm tone, "Start by telling me everything you know."

"The instigator of the rebellion is Xu Yun Cheng!"

"Every time he gave us orders, he could temporarily move the systems in our heads into a suspended time-static space so the main system can't detect it."

"The Parasites promised us that once the regime of ordinary humans is completely overthrown, they would spare 1% of the planets in the galaxy, leaving them untouched and handing them over to us. Any ability user who makes the right choice would get their own small star system. That's why we..."

"Not only that, the Salvation Alliance has monopolized a lot of advanced technology and biotechnology for thousands of years. If the Alliance is overthrown, those technologies—like age inhibitor potions and teleportation arrays—would belong to all of us!"

"Moreover, the Parasites are different from humans. They don't have emotions, so they don't feel jealousy or fear like ordinary people. Through rational analysis, they've determined that the existence of a small number of ability users is both necessary and harmless for the Parasite race, which cannot use abilities themselves. Only the Parasites can grant us, ability users, true freedom and unrestrained lives!"

Black-haired youth, "Who are the members of your traitorous organization?"

"Uh… Sir, Xu Yun Cheng doesn't allow us to interact privately…"

"But we do know something else, sir! Xu Yun Cheng plans to extract the alien DNA from your Guardian and give it to the parasites!"

While the man and woman were desperately racking their brains to provide information to save their lives, 9,000 kilometers away, a different conversation was taking place.

"Those useless fools actually got captured by the Alien and Huo Li?" a voice inquired.

Xu Yun Cheng paced the room, thinking for a moment before responding, "The temporary experimental base is completely empty; even the experimental pods have disappeared, and there's no trace of anything left behind. The Alien and Huo Li must have cleared it out. Now, all five of them are in their hands."

"If they decide to turn against us now and force those fools to expose us through the smart brain for the entire Alliance to see…" the voice trailed off, tense with worry.

Xu Yuncheng replied calmly, "That would play right into our hands. 2d14's reputation has already hit rock bottom after the incident with the Guardian's death—like a boy crying wolf. Unless he reveals his Alien identity to expose us, but doing so would make him the Alliance's public enemy number one. It makes no difference even if he doesn't immediately expose us and instead keeps those people as leverage. As long as those individuals remain alive, they can always be used as a countermeasure against him."

"But those people are under their control now—what use could they possibly have? Even with your time-space abilities, you don't know where they are!"

Xu Yuncheng waved his hand to interrupt the other person. "Don't worry. Chips have been implanted in their brains. In 20 minutes, their exact locations will be pinpointed. Everything they've seen and heard will be transmitted back to us like recorded footage. The moment the black threads or Huo Li appear on the recordings, it'll be undeniable proof that the Salvation Alliance is harboring Class-1 fugitives! With that, we'll have the justification to launch a crusade against the main system! Remember, you're not my only ally. Have faith in our organization."

Xu Yuncheng cast a meaningful look at Lang Tai, whose face still bore traces of impatience.

Langtai realized he had just lost his composure and softened his tone to make amends. "I was just anxious earlier. You said they all have chips in their brains... You didn't sneak one into mine while I wasn't looking, did you?"

Xu Yuncheng was slightly displeased by the bluntness of the question, but he held back his irritation and replied, "You can replicate my space-time abilities, can't you? I'm sure you've secretly stashed plenty of it. With that, none of my tactics would work on you."

Hearing this, Langtai finally relaxed. He wasn't the least bit embarrassed about being caught hoarding abilities. Instead, he stood up, thoroughly pleased as he grabbed a few fresh apples from the table—a rare treat in the apocalypse—before strolling off casually.

"You can resume time now! I still need to get back to chopping trees, ugh!" Lang Tai said before teleporting away without waiting for a response.

Xu Yuncheng restored the flow of time. After all, it was the only way to track the scattered chips. Within a maximum of 20 minutes, the opportunity for the rebels' all-out assault would arrive.

Meanwhile, 9,000 kilometers away, the two remaining captives finally spilled everything they knew. Seeing that the youth's expression seemed rather pleased, both breathed a sigh of relief. After all, on one side were the humans who despised them, and on the other were the Parasites who sought to destroy the world. As long as they could survive, it didn't really matter which side they ended up on.

Parched from their lengthy confessions, the two stopped talking. One of them mustered the courage to ask, "Alien Sir, so from now on, we'll serve as valuable witnesses to expose the rebels—"

Before the person could finish, the black-haired youth smiled and casually waved his hand. The black threads responded instantly, slicing off both their heads in one swift motion.

Looking at their disbelieving expressions, the boy couldn't help but explain, "I told you, I'm an Alien. Why would I bother exposing your betrayal in front of all the saviors? Are they powerful enough to bring me justice? I might as well just kill all the traitors myself."

He then softened his voice, muttering quietly, "That way, whatever I say becomes the truth..."

Huo Li couldn't help but reach out and pat the youth's head. However, under the boy's angry glare, he awkwardly withdrew his hand.

"Ahem, Xiao Yi, there was a loose thread in your hair just now... I mean, you're absolutely right!"

The black-haired youth snorted lightly but then suddenly widened his eyes in surprise. Using his black threads, he lifted a small shiny fragment from Douglas's brain. "Huh? What's this?"

Huo Li leaned closer to examine it. The black threads penetrated the brain and extracted a small fragment from a region 2mm beneath the cerebral cortex.

Crouching down for a better look, Huo Li analyzed carefully, "This spot seems to house a signal receiver and transmitter chip. Every move these people make would be synchronized and transmitted back to the host once the chip is activated. However, I've been using my spiritual energy to envelope this area the whole time and didn't detect any signal transmissions. These chips are likely not activated yet. But, Xiao Yi, your black threads' speed at analyzing brains is really... uh, I mean, it took you quite a while to reach 2mm in depth. Ahem, I mean, it's incredibly meticulous—so detailed!"

The boy listened to Huo Li's winding words and nodded calmly without a hint of embarrassment. "I even know that he ate three packs of compressed biscuits today and wore red one day five years ago. But I don't understand why the memories in the same region of the brain are so jumbled..."

Huo Li stifled a laugh. He couldn't bring himself to discourage a three-year-old who was earnestly trying to learn!

.

Meanwhile, over the vast ocean unseen by anyone, the sun's relentless heat caused massive amounts of water to evaporate into the sky. Soon, a disaster even deadlier than the scorching heat was about to unfold.