Wow! The item-dropping rate is really high!

With combat experience, Bai E had already roughly confirmed the capabilities of those bioengineered soldiers.

Flesh and blood could not escape the punishment of arrows!

As long as they could get the upper hand and reduce the enemy's numbers significantly before the engagement, it would be much better than relying on the few worn-out soldiers present for close combat.

Perhaps this method of long-distance killing could cause the enemy to lose the will to fight, causing them to flee and seek reinforcements, but it was still stronger than engaging in hand-to-hand combat with these few battered and beaten soldiers.

As long as they could find the others who had entered before as soon as possible, then their mission would be considered complete.

"Take off your boots when we move," Bai E continued to make arrangements.

The inside of the base had smooth floors, and going barefoot wouldn't result in injury, at worst it would just reduce their kicking power in close combat, but he didn't expect they would still be capable of kicking.

The metallic soles of their boots were what had exposed their presence; these veterans from the battlefield were not adept at concealing themselves in this kind of stealth operation, easily losing the advantage of taking the initiative.

"Yes!"

They had made an impression with the battle.

Bai E's will was thoroughly executed.

Having completed emergency treatment and basic arrangements, Bai E also leaned against a wall corner for a brief rest, quickly flashing back through everything that had happened in a short burst of time.

18 points of hand-to-hand combat mastery experience, 12 points of ranged weapons mastery experience, 140 points of combat experience, and 9 points of recharge value—that was all he gained.

The time was short, the fighting fierce.

Drawing non-data experience from each battle was also the quickest route to improving oneself.

The bioengineered soldiers lacked those more mechanical-looking implants mentioned in the data; the exposed wounds showed more of the biological structure of the body itself.

Was the data incorrect, or were the samples too rare?

Thinking of this, Bai E turned his head to glance at the corpses on the ground not far away.

The bioengineering significantly enhanced their physiques and vitality, but it seemed they still could not break through the limits of the human body; otherwise, after centuries of training, even at a slow pace, they should all be like superhumans by now.

He also wondered what the combat support chips that caused them to fall under the control of the electronic demon looked like.

[Should I take this opportunity for a dissection?]

Understanding the opponent was also an important means to dismantle them.

If he could destroy the chip with a single arrow, could he then ignore their bioengineered bodies and death-defying traits to force them into a mandatory "shutdown"?]

This thought circled in his mind, growing more appealing.

It was somewhat cruel though…

He had decapitated enemies in battle without a second thought, but now, the idea of dissecting corpses...

Made him feel a bit nauseous.

"Which one of you knows how to dissect?" Bai E suddenly asked aloud.

The soldiers looked at each other, and one hesitated before raising his hand, "Sir, I've learned how."

Bai E cocked his head, his face cold as he commanded, "Go dissect those corpses, and find out where their chips are inside."

"Yes!"

Hearing Bai E's orders, Likok, who was only staring at the computer screen, glanced over and felt a bit of admiration.

[Such meticulous thinking.]

As a fellow researcher, he also had the idea of obtaining important information through the scientific act of dissecting corpses; it was just not his field of expertise, making his reaction slower.

Now, hearing Bai E bring it up, he realized that he might have made the same choice if he were in his shoes.

He didn't know the twists and turns behind this soldier, and no one would talk to him about the backdoor, last-minute allocation of a spot.

He only knew that this unassuming-looking soldier unexpectedly possessed the potential to become a true commander.

This is the advantage of power...

Bai E sighed inwardly, no longer looking at the slightly bloody dissection scene.

Dissection took time, and meanwhile, there were other doubts to be tested.

Even while waiting outside, Bai E used all the information at hand to think about the entire mission.

"Test to see if the voice communication can be used."

Since entering, it seemed assumed that the voice communication couldn't be used, but the actual range of the blockage preventing radio use was unknown. Whether it could be used within the same building was also untested.

Practice leads to the truest knowledge; any seemingly insignificant finding, accumulated to the end, might turn out to be an important detail that could reverse the situation at a critical moment!

"Yes!"

Bai E pressed the channel button on his shoulder and first asked in the current squad's voice channel: "Hello? Hello?

"Can hear you."

"Can hear you."

The soldiers sitting around didn't make a sound through their headsets. Instead, they simply gestured with their hands, indicating they could receive the message.

It works?

Bai E frowned slightly and opened the general channel.

"Commander Gregory? Commander Gregory? If you can hear me, please respond."

"Can hear you."

"Can hear you."

Still there was only silence from the voice communication and responses from the nearby soldiers.

Was it distance related?

"You, move back a bit, maintain a three-meter distance," he ordered, pointing to the farthest soldier at hand.

As the warfighter turned around and stopped, Bai E asked in a low voice, "Hey?"

"Can hear you."

"Five meters."

"Can hear you."

"Ten meters."

"Can hear you."

"Twenty meters."

"Twenty-five meters."

"..."

There was silence.

Bai E gestured to him with his hand, signaling that he could come back.

The warfighter was already nearly ten meters away from him, and after walking twenty-five meters, he had lost contact altogether.

Does this mean that the communication blackout range was roughly between thirty to thirty-five meters in a straight line?

Bai E's eyes flickered as he silently took note of this number.

Likok, the minister who had been silent all this time, admired the warfighters even more as they carried out their tests.

He had also planned to have everyone try it, but seeing them resting, he had intended to wait a bit before mentioning it, but then...

[This really is an exemplary warfighter who makes one's job easier...]

"Sir, dissection complete!"

Not long after the communication test ended, the warfighter responsible for dissection had fulfilled his duty.

"Where is it?"

"Didn't... find it."

Bai E was slightly taken aback, "Didn't find it?"

"Yes! Didn't find it," the warfighter declared with conviction. "I've almost turned over the whole body and found nothing. But there's another discovery!"

"What?"

"In their bodies, I found two hearts, two stomachs, and three lungs. The implanted preset stomach is in front of the main one, where I found a lot of... things that normally shouldn't be edible."

[You are exploring the characteristics of the target relic's guardians, and the exploration rate has greatly increased. Current exploration degree: 22%]

"..." So this was the reason they were able to survive for so many years in this resource-scarce base without starving to death?

But even so, they still required a stable source of meat to provide the energy their bodies needed.

"Three bites, one pig" wasn't false as seen on their loot panel...

Bai E waved his hand nearly ruthlessly, "Dissect them all."

"Yes."

How could it not be found?

What concerned him wasn't whether they could hit the chip and overpower the enemy in one move later on.

Battle wouldn't limit his thinking; considering from a higher perspective might be more beneficial in uncovering the truth.

His gaze had already shifted to 439 years ago—

Bai E pinched his chin and silently stared at the ground in front of him, lost in thought.

According to the data previously obtained, these bioengineered humans had betrayed humanity because chips in their bodies, which were supposed to help control mechanical inserts and assist in judgment, had been turned by the electronic demon.

But now... not found?

How had they rebelled?

Was it because the warfighter responsible for dissection didn't recognize the chip, or was it hidden in some special place that was hard to discover... or perhaps, the data was incorrect?

With this in mind, Bai E looked towards Minister Likok not far away.

This matter, only he would have the most say.

However, Likok just stared blankly at the ground, muttering to himself.

"Not found, hm?"

...

After a while, the warfighter in charge of dissection came to report again.

"Sir, dissection is complete, still nothing."

Bai E nodded in acknowledgment, "Understood."

He glanced at Minister Likok, who showed no reaction.

This minister was not the type who liked to be mysterious; if he had a discovery, he would probably talk about it himself, and it seemed he had no ideas at the moment either.

But in any case, the bioengineered fighters' actions were indeed enigmatic.

In actual combat, their reactions were normal, as if they were real humans with their own on-the-spot judgments.

Yet whether it was the silent attack decisions upon encountering enemies or the choice to abandon everything and flee when outnumbered...

Moreover, they had no intention of communication, neither with the enemy nor with their own side.

It was just like some red name monsters I'd encountered in games before, akin to robots set with certain preset mechanisms, rigidly following strict commands.

It's really like clearing mobs in a dungeon...