410: Chapter 407 I just love watching CG.

Golden Bone flipped open the file, glanced at it twice, and then looked up.

"This mantis spilled quite a lot," he said. "First and foremost, it's about the New Federation's foundation—everything is pretty much laid bare. Who the leader is, who the core members are, the locations of several major strongholds, the internal factional conflicts... it's all been confessed."

Shen Mingyuan raised an eyebrow. "That's good, then. Saves us the trouble of investigating ourselves."

Golden Bone nodded, then shook his head.

"However, we already knew most of this stuff. So, to be honest, the intelligence value is limited."

Ye Ouyang was stunned for a moment and interjected, "Already knew? Is it because you interrogated others before?"

Golden Bone glanced at him.

"No. We knew it before the interrogation."

Ye Ouyang grew even more confused. "Then... if you knew from the start, why didn't you just deal with the New Federation directly?"

The office fell silent for a second.

Shen Mingyuan and Wei Ziqing exchanged a glance, neither speaking. Golden Bone closed the file and leaned toward the window.

"It's not that simple," he said. "Right now, animals all over the world are evolving. If we completely eliminate the New Federation, another organization will just pop up. You can't kill them all—you can't possibly kill every animal on the planet, can you?"

Ye Ouyang opened his mouth but found no words.

Golden Bone continued, "The current New Federation is actually in a half-dead state. Those radicals who truly dared to overthrow human rule have mostly been wiped out by us. Those left in high positions now are all... how should I put it, cowardly, or individuals with personality issues."

He paused.

"We deliberately left them there to let them continue ruling the New Federation. To protect their own power, they will desperately suppress any new organization rising among the animals. Those Awakening animals are either recruited by them or suppressed by them. This way, the animal side can never make a comeback."

Ye Ouyang was silent for a while.

"Then... is there really no way to resolve it completely?"

Golden Bone looked at him.

"There is. Peace."

"Peace?"

"If peace can truly be achieved, it's either through pure suppression—using force to keep them down completely—or... true coexistence." Golden Bone's voice dropped. "But as you know, as long as the food chain exists, this is a fated dilemma."

Ye Ouyang didn't speak again. He lowered his head, staring at the floor as if deep in thought.

Shen Mingyuan cleared his throat, breaking the silence.

"Coming back to the point," he looked at Golden Bone, "what exactly were they collecting that algae for?"

Golden Bone flipped the file open again to the later pages.

"You know in the Paleozoic era—I can't remember exactly which period, the Carboniferous? Or something—back then, the oxygen content on Earth was exceptionally high, and insects grew incredibly large. Dragonflies could grow over a meter long, and centipedes could be two meters long."

Shen Mingyuan whistled.

"Their goal is to modify this algae and cultivate it on a large scale globally—especially in the oceans. This would create an environment with ultra-high oxygen concentrations. When that time comes, the insect race will have the chance to return to their giant states from ancient times."

He closed the file.

"That is to say, their Peak era."

Shen Mingyuan leaned back and laughed.

"Ho, so they're a race reminiscing about the past. A bit of vintage sentimentality, eh?"

Golden Bone shook his head.

"They are destined to fail," he said. "Setting aside whether we humans would allow it, even without us, a war between them and the New Federation would be inevitable—do you think those mammals and birds would just stand by and watch the insects become the sole power?"

He looked out the window, his gaze somewhat distant.

"And even if they actually did it, no one can say for sure what the Earth would become in the future."

He paused.

"But to be honest, I don't really think insects can return to that Peak era. The wheels of time roll forward; you can look back at the past, but you can never fully go back. Stubbornly clinging to the past..."

He sighed softly.

"...will only result in being crushed by those very wheels."

Wei Ziqing stood up, walked over to Ye Ouyang, and patted him on the shoulder.

"Stop overthinking it," he said. "Some things can't be figured out just by thinking. Go and do it; only by actually doing can you understand what's going on."

Ye Ouyang looked up at him.

"You can think, and you can also experience it properly," Wei Ziqing continued. "Be more diligent when you go on missions in the future. Whenever it involves animals, go out and see—see what they're all about, see what this world is all about. Once you've experienced enough, perhaps you'll be able to figure out... how peace should truly be achieved."

Ye Ouyang was silent for a few seconds, then nodded.

"I understand."

He sighed softly and didn't speak further.

Shen Mingyuan stood up from his chair and stretched.

"That's about it," he said. "I need to go get some photos."

Wei Ziqing glanced at him. "Photos?"

"Yeah, I'll have Long Qingyun take a few for me." Shen Mingyuan pulled out his phone, scrolling as he spoke. "They have to be taken outside, not indoors. Indoor shots look too fake; even an idiot could tell."

He quickly typed a few words and sent them off.

"I'll have him secretly take a few photos of back alleys while he's out and send them over. Then I'll send them to the other side and say, 'I have a lead'—to scam some sponsorship fees or something."

He paused.

"Then I'll make up a story, saying I was spotted while tailing and lost them, but found some clues. I'll send it just like that."

He put his phone away and looked at Golden Bone.

"If I do that, there shouldn't be any problems, right?"

Golden Bone nodded.

"That's basically everything," he said, then paused. "By the way, Lu Jianchuan is coming back soon."

Wei Ziqing's eyes lit up. "That's good."

Shen Mingyuan also nodded, then headed toward the door.

"Alright, I'm heading back. Still got that undercover business to attend to."

He pulled open the door and walked out.

—

In the room, Shen Mingyuan sat before his computer. On his phone were several photos Long Qingyun had just sent—alleys, corners, distant silhouettes from tricky angles, looking exactly like candid shots. He picked two, opened that familiar chat window, and sent them over.

[I have a lead.]

The other side replied quickly.

[Well done. Keep it up.]

[As long as you find this person, we will allow you to join our organization. Then, we can fight alongside the future new race—the New Federation.]

[And we shall be the residents of the new world.]

[These foolish and ignorant humans of the old world will exist as stepping stones for the new world.]

Shen Mingyuan stared at the messages on the screen, his lips twitching.

"That's wonderful!" he typed, his tone feigning immense anticipation and excitement. "I can't wait!"

After sending that, he paused and continued typing.

"But I'm really out of money. If I'm to continue investigating, I'll have to find a part-time job first and wait until I've saved enough to keep looking. Do you think you could... provide some support?"

The other side was silent for a few seconds.

Then a message popped up:

[Fine, fine. I'll spend a huge sum to give you some then.]

Immediately after, a transfer notification jumped out—3,000 yuan.

Shen Mingyuan stared at the number, stunned for two seconds.

"My goodness..." he murmured. "This guy is really stingy."

He shook his head and clicked to receive the money.

[Thank you, thank you!] he typed. [I'll definitely send you more photos! Every day, don't you worry!]

The other side replied quickly:

[Good, good. If you perform well, even though I've only spent 3,000 yuan, I will still introduce you to the Master.]

Looking at the words "even though I've only spent 3,000 yuan," Shen Mingyuan couldn't help but roll his eyes again.

[OK OK.]

After sending that, the other person's avatar went dark.