"Rumble——"
The rumbling sound of heavy trucks echoed through the forest around the Ba Mountain Sky Pit. One by one, vehicles covered in camouflage cloth emerged from the woods, gathering in front of the temporary command center to start calculating the actual operational cost.
Before the capture operation began, the total cost of all equipment and ammunition, including the optical satellites and aero-space platforms from the Robber Star, reached the hundred-billion level.
The price for a single rocket, excluding the launch vehicle, when factoring in the cost of the drone pod, was 800,000 per shot.
During the entire capture operation, 120 shots were fired in total.
The number of firefly drones amounted to 40,000 sorties.
There were 48 crab-type [Rampage] robots.
The laser was fired fifty-three times.
The fuel cost for the Robber Star satellite.....
Each item of the actual operational cost, along with the labor cost expenses, also included the installation cost for a city and its maintenance cycle...
When Foo Fox and Wang Qiqi returned, they saw Li Wenkang holding a handwritten statistics sheet, grimacing.
Soon, when the Ba Mountain Mosquito returned, they would open their palms and ask him for two liters of Spirit Particle Potion; he would be dumbfounded.
Foo Fox, perched on Wang Qiqi's shoulder, glanced curiously at the handwritten statistics on Old Li's sheet and couldn't help being dumbfounded.
"You might not be running a bar in Sichuan-Chongqing!"
"You've almost matched the Zero Surplus Event, give me ten percent of that price, and Ansheng will personally train the Ba Mountain Mosquito to be an all-around maid and butler for you all..."
Ansheng felt he had seen the mountain of gold, given his history of playing with Sister Lin Fu for so long.
But witnessing a single capture operation costing over a hundred million was still hard to comprehend.
The optical satellite fuel cost a ridiculous twenty million.
Give me two million, and even if two Ba Mountain Mosquitoes got out, I could tie their mouths together.
"Overbudget?"
Wang Qiqi, pretending to glance nonchalantly, asked Li Wenkang.
"Hmm... The Ba Mountain Mosquito is too fast, with a top speed of already 432 kilometers per hour. The number of firefly deployments doubled, costing an extra forty million."
Li Wenkang let out a deep sigh and said, "But it's still within a reasonable range."
Compared to the Longevity Club spending five billion to acquire a dominant-level Spirit Beast of China, a meager two hundred million or so now to capture an ordinary Guardian Level Spirit Beast is already considered economical.
Nevertheless.
The operational economy didn't quite reach the internal estimation Li Wenkang had made before the operation.
"Will your project be defunded?" Seeing Old Li's unsatisfied expression, Ansheng curiously inquired. "Your system, although a bit expensive, seems quite useful in urban settings."
"At the very least, small foxes like me would still feel weak at the knees seeing a rocket launch site..."
Foo Fox's comforting words trailed off into an awkward silence between Li Wenkang and Wang Qiqi.
Li Wenkang's chest heaved heavily, as if struggling to expel a deep breath stuck in his diaphragm.
"More than weakened knees, I trust you would use your fox's dynamic vision and keen hearing to toss nearby metal objects and intercept the rocket before it hits the ground...."
Looking towards Foo Fox, Li Wenkang let out a self-deprecating laugh and said:
"No need to worry about my funding issues, or to say, ever since the excavation of the Dragon Ruins, the path for future Spirit Particle Science development has seen a slight shift."
"In the past, extensive funds were invested in pixel-level recreations of former Spirit Particle Civilization creations, such as..."
At this point, Li Wenkang shook the metal box in his hand: "It..... in some sense originates from our mouths in the Second Epoch, which is the fungal symbiotic civilization established by the Dragon People which we see now."
"The First Epoch and the Second Epoch were intricately linked, having ventured beyond space, but their deep connections led to the destructive attack on the era of the Dragon People by the First Epoch."
"Retreading familiar paths inevitably leads to history repeating itself...."
The Dragon People once said their civilization advanced to the point where mythical creatures were common, but their genetic pool was polluted, leading to their forced sterilization and collapse.
Their civilization's fundamental logic was based on the flesh-and-blood civilization of the First Epoch.
On Blue Star, the First Epoch had clearly stepped out of Blue Star, heading into space to uncover the origin of the Primordial Gene.
However, they were likely destroyed along the way, as the Dragon People were infected by homologous transposon gene pollution, causing a chain reaction, while on their voyage.
Now, the people of Blue Star are the Dragon People's desperate attempt to save and carry on amidst hopelessness.
Though their civilization perished, on a genetic level.... the Dragon People lived on.
They simply had to develop again from tribal societies of the primitive era.
"The road ahead is thorny, and someone must personally forge a flat and wide new path.... "
"One step at a time," Li Wenkang chuckled, putting a concluding note on the Basan Mosquito capture operation.
"But what about before...." Ansheng said, full of shock.
"It's definitely worthy of research, maintaining deterrence just by successfully reproducing theories and running lab tests. After all, Blue Star isn't similar to the Dragon People's environment; they only faced their kin, while we, outside Xia Country, face other races."
"Therefore, I've been advocating all along.... "
"Aye aye aye!" Seeing Li Xiao about to continue, Wang Qiqi quickly grabbed Li Wenkang's arm and said: "Li Xiao...."
"In broad daylight, let's be cautious and not spread Xia-style philosophy...."
There wouldn't be any issue with Li Wenkang saying this.
But the Spirit Beasts are listening, aren't they!
We don't want the Spirit Beast babies demanding a monthly paycheck of two million one day.
......
At night, the long convoy orderly withdrew.
The field operatives of the Security Bureau cleaned up the battlefield.
The Robber Star provided full concealment, daring to pull out giant scissors at any satellite that dared approach.
Upon returning to the top of the Earth Mineral Group building, Li Wenkang, foregoing any philosophical thoughts about dissemination, immediately escorted the metal box in his arms to a secret facility for exchange.
Wang Qiqi took the Ba Mountain Mosquito to a resting room, taking out her clothes to change it into.
Meanwhile, behind the Ba Mountain Mosquito, a group of buzzing mosquitoes gathered in the Security Bureau office.
"......"
Lin Bingyun was stunned, looking at the mosquito swarm, then at Foo Fox, asking: "Master...."
"Don't bother asking; insect repellent won't work," Ansheng hopped onto the desk, wagging his large tail, and sitting down, gulped down a chilled coke: "Anyway.... these steroid-addled mosquitoes won't head to our house, no need to worry."
Although the Ba Mountain Mosquito incident had come to a close.
It was merely a participant in the Qinling Spiritual Particle Plant Outbreak, at most an accomplice.
The true culprit remained unaccounted for!
A tree capable of running and jumping.
Where could it have gone? It had escaped from the pit near Ba Mountain on the southern slope of Qinling six months ago.
Six months later, who knows? It might already be at an internet cafe, enjoying mom's love.
The clues the Ba Mountain Mosquito could provide were limited to describing that giant tree in the primeval forest—its appearance, its potential level of power, and its personality.
"Alright, Foo Fox, the record is done. The Ba Mountain Mosquito hasn't committed any criminal acts, so you can take it home, but it requires regular checkups and there's a special Ba Mountain Mosquito delivery service."
After recording the statement, Wang Qiqi handed over a stack of documents to Lin Bingyun, speaking a few words to Foo Fox, before heading out angrily, not even looking back, with the Golden Leopard in tow.
"Did you just bite her?"
Foo Fox curiously looked at the retreating figure of Wang Qiqi, her face spotting a red, round swelling as she stormed off. He then turned to the Ba Mountain Mosquito coming out of the office and inquired.
The Ba Mountain Mosquito, sporting a white blouse, its front buttons already undone up to the fourth one, wore black long pants on its lower body.
"I changed into a camisole, but it was stifling, I took a deep breath... " The Ba Mountain Mosquito stuttered: "The shirt was too tight, a button flew off and hit Wang Qiqi in the face while she was buttoning up her shirt; she then covered her cheeks and got extremely, extremely angry...."
Foo Fox sized up Ba Mountain Mosquito, carrying a subtle expression.
Those clothes were clearly Wang Qiqi's.....
But the Ba Mountain Mosquito busted the front innerwear, shooting off the buttons of the shirt, hitting Wang Qiqi's face.
The whole shirt worn by the Ba Mountain Mosquito resembled a crop top, yet the back hem somehow covered its waistline.....
"I get the feeling this must be a lesson in grasping what modern narrow-mindedness means."
Ansheng, filled with resignation, muttered a quip.
"Losing to humans is one thing, but losing to mosquitoes leaves no room for decline."