"Boss, should we open fire?" Che Zhen's voice was tense and excited.
"Don't rush, go scout it out and see what kind of creature it is," Jiang Ye said.
If it was a valuable alien creature, blasting it to smithereens with cannons would be a waste. Moreover, even if it was a dangerous species, they needed to scan it first to get specific information before unleashing their full firepower.
"I'll go, Second Captain, Third Captain, follow me!" Che Zhen said.
Jiang Ye waited quietly. Three spiders detached from the main group and slowly advanced towards the valley.
Soon, they entered the detailed scanning range. The closest red dot was only thirty meters away.
After a brief data analysis, the scan results appeared on everyone's screens. Including Jiang Ye, many people gasped in shock!
[Species Information: Terran]
[Specific Classification: Caucasian]
[Identification: Unidentified]
[Danger Level: Possesses particle weapons and miniature nuclear weapons, extremely dangerous!]
"Holy crap, it's people!" Che Zhen exclaimed, "I see them! They're dressed strangely, and they all have guns!"
"Don't make any rash moves!" Jiang Ye broke out in a cold sweat. "The origin of these people is unusual! They're likely not from this planet."
"They're trapped in the sandstorm and can't move. Should we help them?" Che Zhen asked.
"Go and make contact with them. Don't go in the armored vehicles, get out and walk," Jiang Ye instructed. "Make contact, ask if they need help, and don't show any hostility. These people have nuclear weapons, and we're no match for them if it comes to a fight."
"Understood! Second Captain, Third Captain, let's get out and go!"
Jiang Ye waited anxiously, his mind buzzing.
This time, they had really run into a tough opponent. From the scan, there were at least several hundred people in the valley, and possibly more deeper inside, almost like a small army. Many of them carried particle weapons, and Jiang Ye didn't even know what particle weapons were, but miniature nuclear weapons alone indicated the formidable nature of these people.
He regretted bringing his troops out. The only thing that slightly reassured him was that these people were not Mil people.
But being of the same species didn't necessarily mean they were safer.
It took a full ten minutes before Che Zhen's voice returned to the communication channel.
"Boss, they said they want to meet with their respective leaders, and they specifically named you," Che Zhen reported. "Are you going yourself, or should you find someone to impersonate you?"
"I'll go myself," Jiang Ye said decisively. "What do they look like?"
"They all look tired, many are covered in dust, wearing very strange clothes, with large hats and big backpacks," Che Zhen said. "When I approached, they didn't seem very wary of me. They were all exhausted and huddled in rock crevices to shelter from the sandstorm."
"They don't seem hostile, it's worth trying to make contact," the Second Captain added.
"There are men and women, quite a few women, and most of them are young," the Third Captain said. "I guess they might be some kind of interstellar merchant caravan that had a ship malfunction and crash-landed here, and they just happened to run into the sandstorm."
"Alright, I'll go. Che Zhen, you lead the team," Jiang Ye said. "I don't know how long I'll be gone, so don't make any rash moves."
"Yes, sir!"
Jiang Ye tucked his pistol into his waist and covered it with his clothes. He drove his spider next to Che Zhen's spider, lowered its height, and opened the cockpit hatch.
The moment he opened the hatch, he was almost blown away by the gale!
Tens of kilograms of sand poured in like a geyser. In just a few seconds, the cockpit was covered in a thick layer of sand.
Jiang Ye finally understood the true terror of the sandstorm outside. He struggled to exit the cockpit and quickly closed the hatch behind him. If he didn't close it, it would be filled in a few minutes.
The wind hit him head-on, making it incredibly difficult to walk. He couldn't lift his head at all, and he had to cover his mouth and nose with his sleeves. Even so, with every breath, he felt like he was inhaling a lungful of dust.
Jiang Ye ran a few steps desperately, reaching the side of a rocky outcrop. The sandstorm was slightly less fierce there. Most of the sand hit the rocks above and then cascaded down, drenching Jiang Ye from head to toe.
After walking forward for more than forty meters, he saw a light.
A faint orange glow, like a will-o'-the-wisp, flickering continuously.
Jiang Ye walked towards the light, getting closer and closer, until he finally saw the person.
It was a short man, about 1.5 meters tall, wearing a gray-white jacket that looked like a raincoat, tight pants, and high-top black boots. His attire was quite professional, resembling military dress.
The man also carried a large silver-white backpack on his back. An antenna-like long rod extended from the side of the bag, with a cross emitting an orange glow at the top, rotating occasionally, its brightness dazzling.
Jiang Ye waved at him.
The man waved back and slowly walked over.
He was wearing a black mask and black goggles, completely obscuring his face. He took out a mask and goggles from his pocket and handed them to Jiang Ye.
Jiang Ye instinctively wanted to say thank you, but as soon as he opened his mouth, it was filled with sand. He quickly spat out twice, then put on the mask and goggles.
"Are you Jiang Ye? Nod if you are! Good! You don't need to talk to me, my rank isn't high enough to chat with you!" the short man shouted. In the midst of the hurricane, shouting was the only way to be heard. "Our leader is waiting for you, follow me!"
Jiang Ye nodded and waved for him to lead the way.
The two of them moved along the rock face. Several times they were almost knocked over by the sand. The ground flowed like liquid, the sand was so abundant it resembled a stream. Jiang Ye covered his ears, which were almost completely filled with sand.
Except for the orange-yellow cross above the short man's head, he could see nothing. It was dark in all directions.
As they moved forward, more and more orange-yellow crosses appeared, flashing in the darkness. Jiang Ye knew they were people, scattered throughout the valley, filling the mountainsides.
Occasionally, people were sitting by the roadside, in the leeward side of rocks, back to back in small groups, motionless like corpses, possibly asleep. A few individuals were even holding weapons that looked like grenade launchers.
After advancing a few hundred meters, they finally entered a cave.
The suffocating sand disappeared, and the depths of the cave were illuminated by a silvery-white light.
Jiang Ye and the short man removed their masks and goggles, brushed the sand off their heads and faces, and gasped for air.
Only then did Jiang Ye get a clear look at the short man's appearance. He was a Caucasian boy, about thirteen or fourteen years old, his skin already tanned to a brownish hue, his cheeks peeling, and he had a few freckles.
His eyeballs were a bright blue, unnaturally so, like fluorescent paint.
"Follow me, the leader is ahead," the boy gestured for Jiang Ye to follow.
Jiang Ye followed him forward. After more than a hundred meters, they reached a spacious cavern. White lights were mounted on the walls, illuminating the surroundings brightly. Several holographic screens were displaying, with red prompts popping up neatly:
[Network Disruption. Please check your network connection.]
"Sir, Jiang Ye has arrived," the boy bowed in one direction and slowly retreated.
Jiang Ye then noticed someone standing in the shadows of a corner.
The person slowly emerged, wearing the same gray-white clothes, but without the large backpack.
It turned out to be a strikingly beautiful white woman, about 1.7 meters tall, with black hair. Her facial features somewhat resembled Jiang Ye's childhood movie star, Léa Seydoux, and her expression was melancholic and weary.
As she approached, Jiang Ye noticed that this female leader also had bright blue eyes. Although she was more beautiful than most young women, she appeared to be in her thirties.
"Hello," she said, staring at Jiang Ye with a blank expression. "You can call me Sophia."
"Jiang Ye," Jiang Ye extended his hand, intending to shake hers formally.
"I'm sorry, I have a skin phobia, I can't have skin contact with others," Sophia said, not extending her hand.
Jiang Ye awkwardly retracted his hand, thinking to himself that she had quite a few peculiar habits.