Obviously, Xu Yun Cheng knew that as long as he entered Huo Li’s mental power range, he would be immediately controlled. Even Xiao Yi hadn’t expected that his ability not only allowed him to teleport himself but could also distort space to transfer objects!

However, such actions likely consumed a significant amount of Xu Yun Cheng’s energy, as each piece of paper he transferred was only the size of a palm and appeared tattered, as though it had been torn apart by space-time distortion.

Yet, these hundreds of small, ragged notes were like water droplets falling into a boiling pot of oil, causing the entire prison to erupt into chaos! Especially among the saviors who had already been cleared of suspicion and could have joined in the fight against the Parasites. Now, even they were filled with doubt about the main system and the situation before them.

Regardless of whether someone was aware of the full truth or hadn’t had their memories read, the moment they saw the contents of the notes, they all had one thought: escape immediately! Compared to the aliens, the bombs in their hands were no longer the greatest threat!

Moreover, half of those aware of the truth had long been unwilling to continue carrying out what was likely a plan devised by the aliens and the main system that might have already turned against mankind with an unknown purpose. Thus, they shouted to their companions nearby: "The bombs on the handcuffs are fake! Everyone, run!"

From the moment a youth snatched the note, less than 20 seconds had passed, and the temporary base formed by the starships was already filled with explosions and shouts echoing everywhere! Hundreds of swift-moving ability users had charged out of the metal pods, and several had even escaped into the outer hallways.

The carefully devised plan by Xiao Yi and Huo Li to capture the traitors was about to completely collapse!

"I’ll deploy the painted black-thread soldiers!" Huo Li informed telepathically.

“Wait!” the youth said. “There’s no time to fight with them now! Don’t move, leave it to me.”

The black-haired youth swiftly pulled out a teleportation talisman and, within seconds, teleported to three positions along the prison corridor—front, middle, and back—as well as to the control room and the outer hall. He quickly pulled ten tons of black silk from his spatial storage at each location and threw it to the ground.

By the time the youth returned to the main control room, nearly a hundred tons of black vines had already spread out.

“The bombs on the handcuffs are fake! Everyone, hurry up and escape!”

“These D-System mechanical soldiers are completely worthless! Come with me to blow open the door!”

“Everyone, keep pushing! , victory is in sight!”

And then...

“Aaaaaah! Black... black thread! It’s black thread!”

“Don’t let the black threads touch your skin!”

“Help! Help! It’s wrapped around me...”

The ability users who had just learned that 2d14 was an Alien panicked at the sight of those unmistakable black tendrils. Terrified, they ran for their lives, fearing that even a single touch would leave them drained into a pool of blood by the horrifying black threads.

The saviors entangled by the black thread were so terrified that they unleashed their abilities wildly, hacking desperately at the black vines.

Amidst the multicolored flashes of abilities, the shredded black thread turned into sticky black slime, splattering across the struggling ability users. The black thread, which had transformed into droplet-shaped black insects, began to crawl slowly over the bodies of the ability users...

“Aaaaahhhhhhhhhhhh!”

“Mom! It-it-it’s…”

Impatient, the youth abruptly retracted the black thread. Along with the thousands of escaping prisoners, chaotic flashes of multicolored light, and a chorus of panicked screams, the black torrent surged back into the metal pods at an incredible speed.

Under the youth’s control, each strand of the black thread wound tightly around the necks of the ability users. A fine thread extended from each vine, piercing into the neck of every single task force member!

“Shut up!”

The hundred tons of black thread transformed into an enormous amplifier, vibrating to convey the youth’s words.

Although the threads only penetrated shallowly into the skin of the ability users, the multicolored displays of abilities and screams within the hundreds of cells abruptly halted!

The base, which had been in utter chaos moments ago with explosions echoing all around, instantly fell silent.

Each ability user, trembling with fear, kept glancing at the black thread piercing their necks from the corner of their eyes. They had to summon all their willpower to suppress their body's shivering. They were terrified that even the slightest movement might trigger the delicate threads and cause them to drain their bodies dry.

Or, even worse, become incubators for the Aliens’ offspring.

Seeing that the previously chaotic prison suddenly became orderly, the youth nodded in satisfaction. At the right moment, Huo Li directed the mechanical soldiers to restore power to the starship’s broadcast system and display screens. A few seconds later, panels in the walls of every metal pod automatically slid open, revealing large monitors within.

The image of the black-haired youth appeared before every ability user.

“Everyone, it’s best to stay quiet and avoid any unnecessary movements,” the black-haired youth said. “Xu Yun Cheng was right. I am the Alien who has been on the Interstellar Federation’s most-wanted list.”

A small commotion arose in the prison, but it quickly subsided under the oppressive threat of the black thread.

“Very good!” The black-haired youth on the screen gave all the ability users a satisfied smile. “I have no intention of harming anyone. However, at this critical moment for humanity’s survival, I won’t hesitate to turn the flesh and blood of those who disobey into nutrients for the black thread.”

The prisoners grew even quieter. The only sound in the entire base was the chattering teeth of those ability users whose nerves couldn’t handle the pressure.

In the metal pod where the youth had been, four people wrapped in black thread looked in astonishment at the unconventional girl still sitting in her chair, untouched by the black thread.

“Xu Yun Cheng told you in the notes that I am a hidden Alien and that the main system is a criminal shielding Aliens. He wasn’t wrong,” the black-haired youth said.

The over 2,000 ability users sank deeper into despair. Was this Alien about to go on a killing spree?

“But I want to tell you another piece of information: seventeen years ago, a parasitic beast specimen from the Weyland Laboratory escaped containment and infested Happy Planet. Over the past seventeen years, the parasites have secretly invaded over a thousand planets and firmly taken control of the Interstellar Federation,” the black-haired youth conveyed. “Xu Yun Cheng has already joined forces with hundreds of ability users to side with the parasites. Meanwhile, Huo Li, the main system, and I have been relentlessly hunted by the parasite-controlled puppet Interstellar Federation because we are the only remaining forces capable of resisting the parasites. This is the truth.”

“Xiao Yi is right.”

“What Xiao Yi said is true.”

The voices of the main system and Huo Li simultaneously echoed in the minds of the task force members.

Even those whose lives were hanging by a thread couldn’t help but display expressions of disbelief that seemed to say, Are you kidding me?An Alien and AI are claiming to be the only forces resisting the parasites? Why would an Alien want to save humanity? Who would believe that? Besides, wasn’t the main system out of power earlier?

What exactly was this cunning and devious Alien plotting?

“If you don’t believe me, there’s nothing I can do about it,” the black-haired youth said. “But I just want to point out a fact: if I wanted to destroy humanity and rule the entire galaxy, I could easily use the anti-human main system’s transmission ability to spread black spores across thousands of planets in the galaxy within a day. Within another day, the infected would use their flesh and blood to give birth to countless newborn Aliens. Within a month, billions of planets across the universe would fall to the Aliens. At that point, the main system and I would reign supreme over the entire universe. Why would we need to keep hiding and running like this?”

All the ability users who were not under Huo Li’s control fell silent. Yet, their fear of the unknown compelled them to believe that this Alien must have some unspeakable agenda! An Alien would never save the world!

“Of course, the reason I gathered everyone here today is to discuss the murder of my Guardian a few months ago.”

The crowd stared blankly at the black-haired youth on the screen, momentarily unable to keep up with the abrupt shift in the conversation.

“As some of you were informed by the main system,” the youth continued, “Huo Li and I detained everyone on this starship to quickly identify the traitors among you.”

“But now, even if no ability users have betrayed humanity, doubts have already been cast on our plan to fight the parasites. So, the matter of distinguishing between loyalty and betrayal can be set aside for now. Let us return to the subject of my Guardian's murder!”

The 2,000-plus ability users, suffering under the oppressive threat of the black thread, all felt that this Alien must have gone mad! At a time like this, why was he still concerned about the death of his Guardian?

At that moment, Huo Li personally directed two mechanical soldiers to carry a stretcher into view of the main control room’s camera.

“This is the corpse of Xiao Yi’s murdered Guardian,” Huo Li’s voice resounded in the minds of all the ability users, carrying an air of solemnity toward the lifeless form.

The black-haired youth standing beside him, however, had no such reservations. Instead, he smiled and lifted the icy, frost-covered hand of the body beneath the white cloth, waving it playfully at the camera.

“So, ability users watching the screen, do you really believe that a lifeform mutated from an Alien’s black thread could be killed in one second by an old man wielding a brick?” the youth asked.

The ability users: So what? We don’t care! Just get these black threads out of our necks already!

“But in fact, that’s exactly what the surveillance footage shows,” the youth said, then quickly launched into a rapid analysis:

“Since this black-thread-mutated creature couldn’t possibly be killed by a brick, it leads to several conclusions. First, an ability user must have killed this guardian spirit using an invisible method. Second, another group of ability users staged the crime scene to cover it up.”

The crowd: Aaahhh! And? So what?!

“From the extent of damage to the Guardian's brain, we can deduce its cause of death: it was suddenly pierced by an ice spike! However, the ice ability user, Douglas, died a month ago, so we can no longer question him. Still, it’s evident that Douglas was the one who initially killed the guardian spirit. Later, someone else covered for him by using a psychic ability to control—or suggest actions to—that old man walking his dog, steering him off the street to hit the guardian spirit with a brick.

But how could these two separate events occur simultaneously? Only one person could achieve that—Xu Yun Cheng, with his space-time ability! By using his ability, he overlapped the timeline where Douglas killed the guardian spirit with an ice spike and the timeline where the old man hit it with a brick. That’s how the surveillance video effect was fabricated!”

The ability users found themselves struggling to keep up: So, Xu Yun Cheng really used his powers to help fabricate the evidence? But what does this have to do with the parasites?

“However,” the youth continued, “my analysis today isn’t just to clarify that my black-thread-mutated creature didn’t meet the inglorious end of being killed by a brick, nor is it to convict Xu Yun Cheng. After all, I’m an Alien—killing a part of my body hardly counts as a crime. But this incident proves one thing: there is a mysterious organization within the Savior Alliance, one you’re unaware of, and it is undeniably connected to Xu Yun Cheng!

As for the Guardian’s death, another person must also bear responsibility! Someone with invisibility abilities helped Douglas sneak behind the guardian spirit to carry out the murder while avoiding surveillance. Based on the ability records you submitted earlier, there was only one invisible ability user on Earth at the time—PC2354. However, Huo Li has already scanned his memories, and PC2354 had no involvement in this murder. Therefore, the accomplice can only be Lang Tai, the only one among us with the ability to replicate powers.”

After finishing his statement, the youth briefly disappeared from the screen. Half a second later, he reappeared in the control room, dragging a chubby and dark-complexioned Lang Tai along with him.

The black-haired youth casually let go, tossing Lang Tai to the floor. “Now, with Xu Yun Cheng and the programmer both missing, you’re the only SSS-ranked ability user we’ve managed to capture from the rebel organization. You’re also the only one likely to know their core secrets. For the sake of your own life and health, don’t you have something to say?”

Still entangled in black threads, the other ability users stared in stunned silence as the scene unfolded: Could there really be traitors within the Savior Alliance? Has the parasite race already infiltrated humanity?

Surprisingly, Lang Tai showed no fear when confronted with the black threads inches away from him. Instead, he grinned and cheerfully replied, “Hey, hey, hey! 2d14, calm down! We’re on the same side! If you don’t believe me, just ask the main system.”

“What? You’re on our side?” Xiao Yi exclaimed in astonishment. For the first time in his less-than-four-year-long life, the youth felt the rare and unfamiliar emotion called "surprise."

The supposedly 'out of power' main system spoke again. “Xiao Yi, Lang Tai did indeed defect to me in the past. However, given his opportunistic nature and frequent flip-flopping, I couldn’t trust him at the time. But now, considering the dominant position we currently hold, aligning with the traitor organization would no longer bring him any benefits. Therefore, I’m now inclined to confirm that Lang Tai is indeed on our side,” the system explained softly.

“Exactly! So, hurry up and get rid of these black threads already. Thanks in advance!” Lang Tai replied in his usual slick manner, scratching his head. “When Xu Yun Cheng tried to recruit me into his organization, I wasn’t keen on the idea. After all, all my abilities come from others—I collect them! Suppose things ended up like Xu Yun Cheng said, with only 1% of humanity left and each ability user ruling over a few planets. In that case, I’d have no more abilities to copy! I can’t generate powers on my own, so I’d be useless in a world dominated by parasites.”

“So, after weighing your options, you realized humanity’s side offered better conditions, which is why you didn’t betray us?” the youth asked, raising an eyebrow.

Lang Tai didn’t see anything wrong with this logic. “Yep! But Xu Yun Cheng was way stronger than me back then. Anyone who disagreed was killed and silenced in the apocalypse. I didn’t dare refuse! He controls time and space—anyone who tried to report him didn’t end well. I was also scared that if the parasites really took over, I’d have no ability to steal—I mean, copy. So, yeah, I gave Douglas that awful idea. Otherwise, how would you have discovered Xu Yun Cheng’s organization so quickly?”

The black-haired youth stared at the boasting Lang Tai. “Why didn’t you say anything back then?”

“I wasn’t saying that because Xu Yun Cheng has time-space abilities—”

The black-haired youth interrupted sharply, “And you don’t?”

Lang Tai, visibly reluctant, finally admitted, “I didn’t have enough of Xu Yun Cheng’s abilities at the time! From the meeting to the execution of his plan, there were only a few hours…”

Seeing the youth’s face grow darker, Lang Tai quickly remembered who he was speaking to—an Alien—and hurriedly tried to salvage the situation. “But I know a lot of Xu Yun Cheng’s secrets now! He had the programmer develop a trackable chip. Every traitor has one implanted in their brain—it’s how he controls their loyalty!”

This revelation sent a wave of panic through the crowd. Among the thousands of traitors already under suspicion, the hundreds who had yet to have their memories read could no longer remain still. The idea that their brains had unknowingly been implanted with chips struck terror into their hearts.

Despite being restrained by the black threads, many began frantically reaching for and probing the backs of their heads. Their actions, watched by the surrounding taskers who had initially been skeptical, finally validated Lang Tai’s claims.

Though the taskers still didn’t fully trust the Alien on the screen, it was now undeniable that Xu Yun Cheng had betrayed the Salvation Alliance.

As the only human in the anti-Parasite trio with a semblance of credibility, Huo Li stepped forward to speak. “All traitors, step forward now! The fact that Xu Yun Cheng implanted chips in your brains shows he never cared about your lives. Stop being stubborn and rejoin humanity’s side. If we work together, we might be able to figure out a way to remove those chips!”

Under the dual threat of the black thread and the chip, hundreds of traitors had no choice but to compromise.

Everything seemed to be improving as hundreds of people voluntarily stepped forward. The missioners beside them began to ask questions one after another:

"Did the parasitic beasts really infiltrate the Salvation Alliance?"

"Wait, you really betrayed us? Was all of this orchestrated by Xu Yun Cheng?"

From the words of the traitors, everyone finally learned the truth. The black vines, which had been lurking nearby, finally withdrew their tendrils from everyone’s necks.

However, suddenly, there was a loud explosion!

The heads of nearly 500 ability users, either already controlled by Huo Li or who had voluntarily surrendered to expose the rebel organization, exploded with a deafening crash!

Brain matter and blood splattered across every prison cell.

"Ahhh!" The ability users who witnessed this horrifying massacre up close screamed in shock.

"Damn! Has Xu Yun Cheng lost his mind?!" Huo Li shouted, unable to believe what was happening.

At this moment—

"Beep—The starship missiles are automatically activating! Warning! The starship missiles will explode within 10 seconds! Warning..."

"Beep—The starship's main doors are automatically locked."

"Run! Programmer is attacking the system space. The space reboot will take 15 seconds!" This was the anxious warning from the main system.

The alarm in the command room was broadcasted on the big screen, and every ability user immediately realized two things: Xu Yun Cheng want to kill everyone! And there's no way we can escape in such a short time!

At this critical moment, the black-haired youth disappeared again and reappeared in half a second, now with a 14 or 15-year-old girl by his side.

The youth pulled out a pistol and aimed it at Xiao Mao's forehead, firing three shots in quick succession!

The girl didn’t even have time to react before her brain splattered. Her headless body was knocked to the ground by the recoil.

The black-haired youth’s face was ashen as he muttered:

"I'm sorry..."

Huo Li quickly rushed to Xiao Mao's body. Upon seeing that the girl’s brain had been completely destroyed and that even the black thread couldn't restore her, he finally believed this wasn't some illusion from Xiao Yi or another act: "Xiao Yi, you..."

The people who had just reacted were almost paralyzed by the sudden turn of events. Had this creature gone mad? Why did it suddenly kill someone? Meanwhile, the black silk remained firmly binding all the ability users who hadn't been blown to death, leaving everyone unable to escape!

Even the previously carefree Lang Tai was startled. He quickly shrank back and tried to make himself as inconspicuous as possible, moving aside.

Three seconds passed, and the youth still had a cold expression on his face as he stared at the increasingly unrecognizable body of Xiao Mao. Huo Li could tell that the youth’s whole body trembled slightly as if he was waiting for something.

At that moment, the air in the control room finally warped, and Xu Yun Cheng’s figure appeared out of thin air! He almost lunged towards Xiao Mao’s body, and a powerful surge of energy emanated from his side. Even Huo Li and Xiao Yi had to fight against the urge to either resist or escape.

An invisible energy field enveloped the girl’s body. Xiao Mao’s blood and flesh were slowly drawn back toward her original body. The blood-soaked floor began to slowly return to its original state, even the scattered dust floating back to where it had been before…

Time was reversing.

The missiles, which had been hacked and were counting down to explode, also returned to normal when Xu Yun Cheng appeared.

The few people who should have been at odds in the control room stood quietly, watching Xu Yun Cheng desperately trying to save Xiao Mao’s life.

At that moment, Xu Yun Cheng half-knelt and looked up at the black-haired youth, his eyes still filled with lingering shock, fear, and regret:

"How... How dare you... How dare you!"