I'm in Honkai: Star Rail, and the Players are Going Feral Over Me!

Chapter 417 - 78 - The Fool's Gambit

A week passed in the blink of an eye. During this time, the scale of conflict on the five battlefronts escalated further. Casualties on the [Alliance]'s side were increasing daily. In contrast, on the side of Destruction, four Lord Ravagers had yet to even show their faces, yet they kept the four fronts completely suppressed. The only bright spot was the Xianzhou Yaoqing. Under the personal command of Marshal Hua, the strategic victories achieved by the Yaoqing were beginning to slightly outweigh the enemy's, creating a delicate stalemate between them and Xingxiao.

During this period, Marshal Hua had engaged Xingxiao in one-on-one combat several times, but the two were evenly matched in both martial prowess and strategic cunning. For a time, this front became the most stable one, aside from the Astral Express's.

Looking at the Express's situation, under the dual watch of the Luofu and the Express itself, not even the shadow of a single Voidranger could be seen on their defensive line. It was possible the Antimatter Legion had given up on this route into the central star systems, but it could not be ruled out that this was a deliberate ploy by the enemy.

Within this week, panic spread within the [Alliance]. Supply convoys continued to be attacked and suffered varying degrees of damage.

Welt's investigation was not progressing smoothly either. Even with the help of the IPC, and even after Himeko and Stelle pulled some strings to bring in a few geniuses from the Genius Society, the scope of their search remained locked on the "grand conference room"—that is, the representatives of the various major factions...

Although Welt had the geniuses run their own deductions, in the end, only their initial theory held water.

For now, they still needed to find the whereabouts of this mysterious force, and the location of the Lord Ravager who was likely hiding somewhere among them!

Finally, a scholar from the Intelligentsia Guild, Professor Veritas Ratio, made the boldest decision, which was also the simplest and most direct method.

He would hide within a cargo shipment, using himself as bait to lure out the big fish hiding in the dark and find their location.

This method was the most direct, and also the most dangerous.

But faced with everyone's attempts to dissuade him, the professor, who referred to himself as a fool, pulled out an object, much to Herta's surprise.

It was one of Herta's prized Curios: the Phasing Flame!

With this item, his safety was guaranteed. The rest was up to them.

---o---

On the docks of Pier Point, Dr. Ratio did not bid farewell to anyone. He walked into a container without a backward glance and closed the door.

He carried only two books, some dry rations, and a canister of Phasing Flame.

Among the previously hijacked cargo, the IPC had intentionally let an escort fleet "lose" a shipment to the raiders. That cargo contained hidden IPC trackers. As soon as the trackers stopped in one location, the Corporation would be able to find the enemy's hiding place!

But strangely, the cargo containing the trackers vanished after being hijacked. The trackers failed to perform their function; they went offline before even traveling ten kilometers.

This was the true reason for Professor Ratio's risky venture. By his logic, he was just a fool, skilled at using the simplest methods to solve problems.

And so, the cargo ship carrying the professor set sail. Only Welt and a few geniuses knew about this. Even the soldiers transporting the cargo had no idea there was a living person inside one of the containers.

Of course, Welt also told Wende and Himeko about it. After learning of Dr. Ratio's plan, Wende went straight back to his bedroom, using his "eyes" to cross vast star sectors and lock onto the ship where Ratio was hiding.

Compared to the "Bio-Genetic Detection Radar" provided by the geniuses, Wende felt it was more reliable to keep a personal watch with his own eyes.

As it turned out, his thinking was correct.

The moment the cargo ship started its engines, Wende's eyes keenly sensed that something was wrong.

He shifted his focus, concentrating on the ship's engines.

Within the propulsion thrusters, a few flickers of color that were clearly not energy reactions caught his eye.

Zooming in, Wende found something unexpected.

If he wasn't mistaken, these things were called... "Suiyang."

"Could it be..."

Wende seemed to have thought of something, but he didn't rush to a conclusion, instead continuing to watch the sailing vessel.

Using the star rails, the cargo ship needed to make two jumps to reach the front line. Between them was a very, very long stretch where the ship had to rely on its own propulsion for six system hours to reach the next star rail and begin the second half of the jump.

It was during this six-hour journey that the various fronts had lost so many supplies, causing widespread panic.

Wende's gaze had been fixed on the cargo ship carrying the [Truth Doctor] from the moment of the first jump. Then, four system hours and thirty-eight minutes into this leg of the journey, the entire cargo fleet and its escort formation once again came under fierce attack!

The attacks came from their port-side rear and their direct starboard!

The attacks utilized nearby planets and asteroid belts, so Wende didn't initially spot the attackers' positions.

But soon, by following the trails of their attacks, Wende found their hiding places.

And when Wende saw the true faces of these attackers, his heart sank...

They were not soldiers of the Antimatter Legion, but... "Abundance Abominations."

Abundance Abominations, Suiyang... these two discoveries frayed Wende's nerves. Had Yaoshi of [The Abundance] secretly entered the fray?

No... that wasn't right. There was something wrong with these Abundance Abominations...

Wende focused his gaze on the group of "Abundance Abominations" again. After careful observation, he noticed many inconsistencies.

The armor on these Abundance Abominations... seemed a bit too uniform... as if they were all cast from the same mold. Even the branches and trunks growing from their bodies were in the exact same positions...

If this were a game, it would be excusable. After all, why create a bunch of different models when one would suffice?

But this was reality, and Wende happened to have treated many Mara-Struck Cloud Knights.

When a person falls to the Mara and succumbs to the curse, they become an "Abundance Abomination." The twisted branches that constantly erode their bodies are the curse of immortality...

Hmm... alright, Wende had found the "crucial detail." These guys... they were Voidrangers of the Antimatter Legion wearing Abundance Abomination cosplay!

Wait a minute...

Wende seemed to have thought of something else. He shifted his perspective to the Voidrangers attacking the convoy from the other side.

Well, what do you know. This time they were cosplaying as the IPC's own employees. He hadn't expected this Lord Ravager to be so meticulous as to have all his subordinates dress up in costumes to avoid detection. The ones cosplaying as Abundance Abominations were clearly wearing props, but the ones in IPC uniforms were wearing the real deal!

They must have looted those from the previous supply raids, right?

Wende frowned, speculating.

The IPC escort fleet was quite capable. While counter-attacking, they were still protecting the cargo ship at the center of their formation, trying to help it escape. Seeing that the transport was about to break free, Dr. Ratio also prepared to act.

He knew that their opponent possessed great strategic cunning, but his subordinates might not share that intellect.

Therefore, after boarding the ship, he had taken direct control of the cargo bay section. Now, all he had to do was fake an accident...

"Vmm..."

Just as Dr. Ratio was about to open the cargo bay, jettison all the goods, and create the illusion that "the ship's cargo bay operating system was accidentally hit during the attack, causing all goods to be abandoned," the ship's engines suddenly shut down, leaving it dead in space.

Wende, witnessing all of this, noticed it as well and immediately identified the cause.

It was the work of those Suiyang loitering near the ship's engines!

These Suiyang were invisible to ordinary people. They were energy-based lifeforms that could even frolic in engine thrusters with temperatures of over a thousand degrees.

Just now, they had emitted a type of energy particle that directly obstructed the normal operation of the ship's engines and triggered its emergency procedures.

To prevent the ship from exploding, its entire energy reaction began to shut down sequentially. It would take a certain amount of time to restart!

---o---

"What's the situation? Why has the cargo ship stopped moving?!"

The security chief in charge of this transport mission stared in shock at the cargo ship below. It was fine just a moment ago, why did it suddenly go on strike?!

"Quick, send a message to Pier Point! Tell them to send reinforcements!" the chief shouted at the communications officer.

"N-not good, Chief! Our communication system is down!" the communications officer stammered, looking at the console. Their communications were being jammed by something! Right now, they couldn't even receive messages, let alone send them!

"Shit! What the hell is going on! Why didn't the previous escort team tell me about this stuff! Son of a bitch! Those bastards!"

The security chief was like a ball about to burst, roaring at everyone on the bridge.

But then, his survival instinct calmed him down. A powerless rage would only get them killed faster. With no way to contact the Corporation, they had to save themselves!

"Check if our engines are damaged!"

"Report! Intact!"

"Ship status?"

"Hull damage at five percent. Energy shields at twenty percent."

"Can we contact the cargo ship below?"

"Yes, communications between us have not been blocked!"

"Good! Tell them all to get to the lifeboats! We'll provide cover! Have them pilot their escape pods into our cargo bay!"

"Chief, our cargo bay is full of..."

"Cut the fucking crap! Jettison it all! Do you want that cargo, or do you want your lives?!"

"Yes, sir! Open the cargo bay! Clear out the supplies and make room for our brothers on the transport ship!"

To Wende's surprise, the escort ship began dumping the supplies from its rear cargo bay into space as if they were worthless, then started laying down suppressive fire on the ambushing Antimatter Legion forces like a madman.

From the very top of the cargo ship, a small shuttle carrying a full load of people slowly lifted off and entered the escort ship's cargo bay.

"Chief! They're in!"

"What the hell are you waiting for?! Full thrusters! Floor it! Let's get the hell out of this dump!"

The security chief decisively pushed the engines to their limit. Ignoring wear and tear, he cranked the power to maximum. The entire ship shot out of the area as if fleeing for its life, leaving behind the massive, abandoned cargo vessel floating alone in the sea of stars.

"I didn't expect that security chief to have some skill. If it weren't for him, all those people would have died here... But..."

Wende recalled the scene from just now. The moment the escape shuttle took off, those few Suiyang had slipped aboard unnoticed...

Looks like I'll have to have a talk with the ancestor of those Suiyang later...

Watching the Antimatter Legion Voidrangers slowly approach the cargo ship, Wende quickly checked on Dr. Ratio, who was still lying in the cargo hold reading a book. Seeing that he was calm and unhurried, Wende breathed a sigh of relief.

He had to admit, this unit of the Antimatter Legion wasn't just well-dressed, they were also well-equipped. Wende even saw a Voidranger Reaver carrying something very familiar.

A Stellaron.

The Antimatter Legion had used this Stellaron to cut off the supply team's communications with the outside world. This also explained why the IPC's trackers had failed. It was the Stellaron's doing.

This was far more civilized than just tossing Stellarons around randomly.

After the Voidrangers had searched the ship inside and out without finding Dr. Ratio, they began to collect the cargo from the ship and the surrounding space with the efficiency of professional movers. They then brought out a ship that didn't seem to belong to any known faction, loaded all the goods onto it, and left without a backward glance.

In just thirty minutes, they had completely emptied a fully loaded cargo ship, leaving the hollowed-out behemoth behind without the slightest sentiment.

"This particular group of the Antimatter Legion... they were practically born to be pirates."

Wende shook his head in感慨 (gǎnkǎi - with deep feeling). He hadn't expected to discover so much just by watching. If this group's disguises were so effective, could it be that they had infiltrated the central star systems a long time ago?

It was a reasonable suspicion. But Wende's gaze remained fixed on the fleeing ship.

From its trajectory, their destination seemed to be an asteroid belt in this star sector, just as the various factions had previously guessed.

But upon reaching the asteroid belt, the ship made a sharp right-angle turn and headed for the nearest star system, stopping at a moon orbiting a very inconspicuous planet.

It was a planet whose moon alone was the size of Wende's home planet, Earth. Piled on that moon were large quantities of military supplies—from the IPC, from the Family, but none from the Xianzhou.

Strange. Apart from that first attack, this Antimatter Legion unit had never attacked a Xianzhou supply team again. Wende had reason to suspect that someone had given the Xianzhou a green light, and... that person was, nine times out of ten, Xingxiao, who was currently fighting the Yaoqing.

We're colleagues. Don't interfere. I want to defeat the Xianzhou fair and square.

That's probably what Xingxiao had said to the hidden Lord Ravager.

It fit perfectly with the image of Xingxiao that Wende had read about in the records.

Wende observed patiently for a while longer and found several other moons of nearby planets that also housed many Antimatter Legion troops and a large amount of supplies.

Moreover, to sneak into the central star systems, this unit hadn't even brought a single Doomsday Beast... He didn't see any figures resembling a Lord Ravager on these moons, or even many high-level Voidrangers.

But this was enough. As long as the Voidrangers here were eliminated, it was only a matter of time before the Lord Ravager hidden within the Alliance was caught.

---o---

Afterward, Wende turned his attention back to Pier Point. He saw the geniuses trying every method to adjust the "Bio-Genetic Detection Radar," but the radar still showed no reaction, as if it were broken.

Seeing their troubled expressions, Wende couldn't help but chuckle, then quickly suppressed it.

Then he sighed with emotion.

"Stellarons really are a useful signal jammer..."

He took out his phone, bundled up all the information, and sent it to Uncle Yang. Seeing Welt's astonished expression, Wende nodded in satisfaction, put down his phone, and lay back on his bed.

Hiding his merit and fame.

--'--

After reading the information Wende had sent, Welt did not question him with things like "How did you know?" or "Where did this information come from?" Instead, he immediately chose to trust its authenticity and analyzed it with the geniuses.

Although they were surprised by the source of Welt's information, as geniuses, "not asking what shouldn't be asked" was a good habit that could save you a lot of trouble.

There was no need to get to the bottom of everything. As long as everyone understood, that was enough.