In the three days that 109 females have been missing, the Empire, the Myriad Races, and the Federation have nearly gone mad searching for them.

Every warrior was locked up in prison and investigated over and over again.

At last, the investigation yielded a result.

"It was brain-eating worms."

"The Insect Race?? What are they trying to pull? The treaty period isn’t over yet!"

An Empire official replied, "They claim to have no knowledge of it. They said someone might have stolen the Insect Race creatures from under their noses."

"They think they can brush us off with a simple ’we didn’t know’?"

"That’s exactly what I asked them. Only then did they say they would give us an explanation after they’ve investigated."

"Hmph. Nothing but excuses."

"Exactly! These are brain-eating worms we’re talking about. I refuse to believe the Insect Race is completely in the dark!"

This type of insect can enter through the ear and devour a Beastman’s brain. It can then control the body for up to a week.

Only after a week, when the body has completely died, will the worm leave and search for its next target.

The Beastmen once suffered catastrophic losses because of these worms.

The number of Advanced Beastmen who died directly or were tricked to their deaths was immeasurable. The situation only improved when the research institute finally developed an antidote to counter the worms.

Afterward, important locations were equipped with instruments to detect the worms, ensuring that controlled Beastmen could be identified.

But the cruise ship was different this time.

The Insect Race was likely just an accessory to the crime, not the mastermind.

Someone had planted these worms on the cruise ship after it entered the sea region.

The warriors had been checked and cleared when they boarded the ship, but they were infected while it was at sea.

Once a single person was controlled, it became trivially easy for them to carry out any sort of scheme.

And the one who was controlled was none other than the squad leader in charge of all the warriors on this mission.

He used his familiar face to betray his own subordinates, directly controlling half of them, eliminating the other half, and replacing them with a different group.

He also shut down some of the important detection instruments.

The people who were swapped in then lured some of the females away during the chaos.

This time, a total of 568 females were lost. Among them was even Bai Xingguan, the Star Official who headed the Female Protection Association’s Federation Branch.

If the High-level males hadn’t discovered it in time, the losses would have been even more devastating.

"The most important thing now is to get the females back."

"Our contact on the Dark Web sent word that there’s an auction for females today at the underground auction house on Chaotic Star D."

"Those must be the females who were taken!"

"That’s right. He said he’ll try to buy as many females as he can, but his funds are limited, so he probably won’t be able to get many."

The Empress, seated on her high throne, asked calmly, "Send the Seventh and Eighth Legions. Have them surround D9 directly.

Also, notify the Federation and the Myriad Races. Have them each send a legion as well.

Notify the Female Protection Association, too."

’With five whole legions, there’s no way I can’t take down a single Chaotic Star.’

However, the Grand Commander didn’t move. "Your Majesty, D9 is already an abandoned Chaotic Star.

Marshal Yate purged that place years ago. There’s nothing there now. The auction house is just a relic from the past.

So, they will evacuate the planet the moment their transaction is complete."

In other words, even if they leveled the entire planet, it would be useless because they couldn’t get there fast enough.

The invitation from the Dark Web only arrived yesterday. Those who can make it today will go; those who can’t are simply out of luck.

The Empress frowned. "Once they’re scattered, won’t it be much harder to find them again?"

"Mm..." Just as the Grand Commander was about to continue, his Light Computer suddenly blared with an emergency alert.

He opened it to find a message from another one of his contacts.

"We’ve received word that there are also auctions on stars D15 and Z3 today, and they are both auctioning females."

"It seems the 568 females aren’t all in one place."

The Empress made a swift decision. "I’m putting Marshal Yate in full command of this matter. Commander Jiang Qingfeng will assist him."

The two men who were named stood and saluted.

"Time is of the essence. You must do everything possible to rescue them. Meeting adjourned."

***

After Jiang Qin and Long Yue were sold, they were carried, cage and all, directly onto a spaceship.

The ship’s owners were two masked males.

"It’s just two females. Isn’t your auction house being a little too cautious? You even use a cage to deliver them to the ship."

"It’s better to be careful. These females may not have much fighting power, but they’re very likely to try to kill themselves.

If they find an opportunity to injure themselves, that would be unfortunate."

Delivering them cage and all was the safest way.

As for what might happen after these males took the females away, that had nothing to do with the auction house.

Once the spaceship’s hatch closed, the two masked males took off their masks.

The male with long, red hair had a rebellious look in his eyes. He had a lip ring, and both of his ears were covered in piercings, making him look like an edgy punk.

The other male, with long, wavy, golden-blond hair, had a rather sensual face.

His skin was very fair, and his brown eyes sized up Jiang Qin with amusement. A mole on the bridge of his nose was perfectly placed.

He reached out a slender hand, gently lifted Jiang Qin’s chin, and nodded in satisfaction. "You’re truly beautiful. I like you.

From this day forward, you are my partner. I will treat your cub as my own.

Of course, that’s on the condition that you behave. Don’t think about running away, and don’t even think about finding other partners.

I’m a somebody on the Dark Web, so I will not accept my female having other males.

Also, you can be violent with me at home, but not in front of outsiders. And you’re not allowed to hit my face. Understand?"

Jiang Qin: "..." "I..."

Before she could say anything, Long Yue exploded. "What kind of crap are you spouting? You think you’re worthy of my sister-in-la—MMMPH—"

"Miss Female, I’m your partner, so how about we shut our mouths, hm?

Don’t say such unpleasant things. If you anger him, it’ll break my heart to see you suffer."

Seeing this, Jiang Qin gripped the bars of the cage anxiously. "Let her go!!"

"Uh-huh, letting go." The red-haired male raised an eyebrow and removed his hand from Long Yue’s mouth.

Seeing that she still wanted to say something, he prepared to cover her mouth again if things went south.

Long Yue quickly stopped him. "Don’t cover my mouth! I just want to ask, since we can’t escape anyway, can you let us out?"

The red-haired male looked at the blond male, who nodded. Only then did he open the cage and let them out.

But as soon as the two were out, the red-haired male pulled Long Yue into his arms. Jiang Qin tried to go help her but was pulled back by the blond male.

"What are you doing???" Long Yue struggled with all her might.

"Calm down, Miss Female. I just want to take you to your room to rest for a bit.

As for your sister, you don’t need to worry. She’s a pregnant female. What could we possibly do to her?"

The main reason was that he couldn’t wait to start building a relationship with his female, and it would also give Xiao space to do the same with his.