The Shadow Demons were quickly repelled, but this was only temporary. Judging by the figures gathering from the darkness around, they could regroup and attack at any moment.

"Director Matthews, I am the Shadow Deacon of the Star Alliance’s Moon Shadow Hall, White Wolf, here to investigate the incidents at the GTBU base. This is a Healing Elixir; it can cure the wounds on your body."

"Shadow Deacon!"

Lune’s eyes froze at the words, understanding the significance of the title.

In the Star Alliance’s high-level combat forces, he’s heard some tales—the strongest among them are the seven Star Lords, followed by three Hall Masters, five Army Commanders, nine Deacons, and those unfathomable Elders.

The young man conversing with him was one such Deacon from the Star Alliance.

From the look of it, the woman in the same three-striped, gold-trimmed Daring Clothes beside him must possess considerable strength and status as well.

Lune was correct; Aaron and Bena are both Shadow Deacons of the Moon Shadow Hall, ranking just below the Hall Master.

As Lune swallowed the Elixir, he immediately felt an itch at the wound site, watching the torn muscles repair at a visible speed, helping him recover in no time.

"Thank you."

Lune expressed his gratitude.

Aaron had no intention of wasting time chatting and directly asked about the situation here.

Lune displayed a bitter smile and said:

"Those politicians are insane, building a containment base here. Even we were kept in the dark previously. The Hurricane Bureau suffered heavy losses cleaning up after them..."

While speaking, he glanced at a middle-aged man in a GTBU security team uniform beside him and continued:

"He’s Andrew, the Security Chief of GTBU base. With the GTBU leader dead, he’s probably the highest authority here now."

Facing Aaron’s scrutinizing gaze, Andrew, the Security Chief, felt a bit suffocated, a layer of sweat having appeared on his forehead somewhere along the way.

"I’m very sorry, we didn’t expect things would develop like this..." 𝐟𝗿𝐞𝚎𝚠𝐞𝚋𝕟𝐨𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝕔𝕠𝚖

"Forget the apologies, I’m not interested. You can let your superiors explain to the Anti-Demon Alliance’s parliament later. Now tell me the base’s layout, and why so many Shadow Demons appear here? Have you encountered a Dimensional Rift?"

Suspicion flashed across Andrew’s face as he spoke:

"No, sir. Just yesterday, none of our people noticed anything unusual here until the crisis suddenly erupted tonight. It seemed like a planned surprise attack, with them amassing strength. I’m unsure how long this took, but we haven’t found any traces of a Dimensional Rift."

He paused here, pondered for a moment, and then continued:

"Regarding the Shadow Demons, according to the information I know, the entire GTBU base only housed one Shadow Demon. Initially, when captured, its power was Third Level, later evolving to Fourth Level in the base. The then-leader proposed destroying it, but after a meeting, they abandoned the idea, believing they could control everything..."

"Later, we were unclear. That Shadow Demon seemed intent on hiding its strength, but we’re sure the base hasn’t captured other Shadow Demons. I’m baffled by the quantity now; maybe they summon their kind or something..."

Aaron meticulously relayed the intelligence back to Su Changqing, who fell into contemplation upon hearing it.

"Summon their kind? Impossible, Shadow Demons don’t have such abilities..."

"However, hiding strength is indeed likely. High-level alien species have high intelligence; sometimes, they hide their strength to achieve certain goals. It’s not impossible..."

"But, what is its goal..."

At this moment, Ziwei suddenly spoke.

"Hey, Little Trickster, what are you thinking? How are things underground, any news?"

Su Changqing promptly shared the intel he had acquired. Ziwei nodded upon hearing it and said:

"Shadow Demons indeed lack the ability to summon their kind, but hiding strength and staying underground might be because they discovered the presence of many Dark Spirit entities on your planet. Demon Clans aren’t foolish; those guys are clever. Maybe it sensed Naphaya’s presence and deliberately hid away."

Su Changqing squinted his eyes.

"So, this creature was more than Third Level when caught; it intentionally got captured to escape Naphaya?"

Ziwei shrugged.

"I’m merely suggesting the possibility."

Su Changqing frowned.

"Then why did it suddenly launch an attack, exposing itself? Unless... it believes it has gained strength surpassing Naphaya!?"

The two exchanged glances, seeing a trace of dread in each other’s eyes.

Stronger than Naphaya?

It’s worth noting that Naphaya is an Upper Control Level existence, and for a Demon Clan member to surpass even while restrained, there’s only one explanation.

"It broke through to Transcendent level!?"

"Impossible, impossible, Transcendent level isn’t like cabbages. How could one casually appear? Your planet already had two Transcendent invaders, right? No way a third one is here, doesn’t make sense..."

Ziwei wore disbelief.

Su Changqing had no mind to speculate further, as he suddenly thought of a possibility, one he previously overlooked.

"Assessing GTBU’s scale, the number of alien species contained inside must be significant. Except for Shadow Demons, the Exploration Team didn’t find any monster corpses, and earlier, the Hurricane Team found none, suggesting one scenario..."

"These alien species were consumed..."

Su Changqing’s gaze was complex.

"That Shadow Demon devoured other alien species, aiding its final evolution, until it now possesses the power to beat an Upper Control Level Divine Radiance Holy Angel..."

"No! We must quickly find the source! The creature still hasn’t surfaced, possibly still evolving. Maybe we have time to destroy it now..."

Su Changqing immediately urged the Exploration Team to accelerate their search of the underground base.

While Beelu and others were also following Andrew, reaching 5700 meters deep underground, this was where the Shadow Demon was contained, now their ultimate destination.

"The truth will soon be revealed, whether it’s a Dimensional Rift or something else. Regardless, I must stop you..."

Beelu clenched his fist; this was one of his rare chances to earn great merit before the organization. He must seize it well.

When the final heavy alloy gate was opened, the scene unfolding before everyone was astonishing.

"What...is this...?"

Andrew swallowed hard. Formerly envisioned as the F-52 containment area scene was now an unfathomably deep black hole, seemingly swallowing all light until Aaron and Bena cast several Holy Light Techniques, letting everyone barely see its appearance.

It was a massive heart covered in Black Shadow, with numerous vines extending from it, stretching across every corner of the hall.

The vines resembled black veins, pulsating with the faint heartbeat of the heart.

Around the hall, some twisted corpses were faintly visible, seemingly not human bodies.

Seeing the scene—the familiar heart and vine-like veins—despite being entirely covered by Black Shadow, Aaron recognized them at first glance.

His eyes widened; pupils contracted, face showing rage and surprise.

Aaron grabbed Andrew’s collar beside him and yelled:

"Damn it! You idiots brought Emperor Vine here too!?"