106: Newcomer

With one hand firmly gripping the Rabbit King, Lu Jianchuan used his other hand to quickly retrieve an encrypted communicator and connected it to the GUPA Command Center.

"This is silver skeleton. The 'Rabbit-form Evolved Entity Cluster' target has been secured, and its intelligent leader has been captured by us. Requesting instructions and dispatch of a retrieval team."

"Received!" came the immediate response from the communicator. "silver skeleton, please maintain your position on high alert and ensure the target remains stable. A support team is already en route and estimated to arrive in seven minutes!"

After ending the call, the scene fell into a tense, standoff-like wait.

Lu Jianchuan turned his gaze back to the Rabbit King held in his grip. Looking at its expression of calmness tinged with despair, he spoke in a low voice:

"You... do you have anything to say?"

The Rabbit King closed its ruby-red eyes. Through telepathy, it conveyed a sense of calm and resolute acceptance, having completely given up the struggle: "There is nothing more to say. Please proceed quickly."

Inside the warehouse, only the restless scratching of the surrounding rabbit horde and a brief, profound silence remained.

Seven minutes later, the GUPA support convoy arrived precisely on time. Fully armed operatives swiftly took over the scene. Using specialized restraint equipment and transport cages, they loaded the now docile Rabbit-form Evolved Entities, which had lost their commander, onto the vehicles in batches.

Before handing over the Rabbit King, Lu Jianchuan slightly tightened his grip on its neck and warned in a deep voice: "Control your kind. During transport and confinement, any act of aggression will result in their immediate execution on the spot. And you... will lose all your value."

The Rabbit King's telepathic reply carried a humiliated calm: "...I understand."

Upon returning to the GUPA Base, the Rabbit King was placed in the highest-level isolation observation chamber, while the other Rabbit-form Evolved Entities were separately confined.

After listening to the full report, Golden Bone immediately submitted a detailed report to his superiors. The final decision on how to handle this highly intelligent 'New Federation' cadre was handed over to a higher-level committee for judgment.

During the silent lull awaiting the resolution, Lu Jianchuan once again came to stand outside that isolation chamber.

The cold blue glow of emergency lights outlined the room's frigid contours. The white Rabbit King crouched silently in the very center, like a frozen sculpture.

A clear telepathic message, like a stone dropped into a still lake, pierced directly through the thick glass and entered Lu Jianchuan's mind:

"Will I die?"

Lu Jianchuan stopped walking, his gaze fixed upon it. He did not offer any false comfort to placate it, choosing instead the most brutal honesty.

"I don't know." His voice, transmitted through the communicator, sounded exceptionally clear in the empty corridor. "You hold significant research value for us. Your intelligence and organizational capabilities are key to understanding the 'New Federation'. However,"

He shifted his tone, his voice dropping to an icy chill, each word carrying heavy weight:

"If the decision were mine to make, I would advocate for your execution."

The Rabbit King's telepathic response carried intense confusion: "Why? Before... didn't you say you would seek a way for us to coexist?"

"I said I have personal motives." Lu Jianchuan's voice was low and firm. "That motive is that I value every one of my compatriots. To locate your position, we sacrificed two scouts. They are dead. That is the most direct reason I want to execute you at this moment."

"I do not understand..." The Rabbit King's bewilderment felt utterly genuine. "For the overall benefit of the group, sacrificing a few individuals is a reasonable choice. In our view, ensuring the survival of a core individual like myself is far more important than losing two ordinary ones."

"So, you have learned our language and history, yet you still cannot grasp one of the core tenets of our civilization." Lu Jianchuan shook his head, a complex glimmer flashing in his eyes—a light holding both sorrow and an unshakable conviction.

"For us, every person is an independent, irreplaceable individual. They have their own lives, families, and unfinished journeys. I... am a somewhat idealistic person. I do not wish to see anyone sacrificed."

He paused, looking at the creature incapable of understanding such emotions, and said slowly: "Perhaps this is the most fundamental difference between us, and also the root of why our human civilization, seemingly full of contradictions, can coalesce such powerful strength—we are unwilling to easily abandon any compatriot, no matter how weak.

We grieve for the passing of every individual and are willing to exact a price for it."

The Rabbit King fell into a long silence. This logic of placing the 'individual' on such a high pedestal completely exceeded its cognitive framework. It might learn human language, but it could never truly comprehend this kind of persistence and anger born from 'human sentiment.'

After a long while, a telepathic message carrying complex emotions slowly came: "Is that so... You really are... honest."

For the first time, its telepathy held no hostility or cunning. It was replaced by a peculiar calm. In its life, it had experienced the survival of the fittest within its species and witnessed human hypocrisy and greed.

But this was the first time it had been told so bluntly, by someone holding power over its life and death, and with such heavy conviction, 'I want to kill you because you must pay for my comrades' lives.'

This Cold honesty, however, made it clearly feel that it was being treated as an intelligent being worthy of equal communication and accountability. It was a strange, formal kind of recognition.

"Very well, human." The Rabbit King's telepathy finally settled. "I... acknowledge you."

Lu Jianchuan was slightly taken aback, seemingly not expecting such a response. He remained silent for a moment before simply replying: "Is that so."

With that, Lu Jianchuan left the heavy atmosphere of the isolation observation area and walked along the cold metal corridors inside the base.

Just then, a voice brimming with vitality sounded from his side front, carrying undisguised enthusiasm:

"Oh! Hello there!"

Lu Jianchuan looked towards the source and saw a boy who appeared to be around sixteen or seventeen smiling and waving at him. The boy had delicate features, bright eyes, and wore a well-fitted GUPA training uniform. Most notably, he wore a uniquely designed metal bracelet on each wrist.

"Hello." Lu Jianchuan stopped and nodded in response, feeling somewhat puzzled. It was rare to see someone of that age in the base.

"silver skeleton, right? I'm Wang Yu!" The boy bounded over to him in a few steps, his smile radiant with the unique vitality of youth. "I was sent by the higher-ups to report for duty, said I'm here to assist with your operations here!"

He seemed very familiar with Lu Jianchuan. Without waiting for a response, he continued excitedly: "I know you! I saw the trailer for that tokusatsu drama! So cool! I never thought the real person... uh, the real armor would be even cooler!"

Faced with this barrage of enthusiasm, Lu Jianchuan was momentarily at a loss for how to respond. He noted the key information in the boy's self-introduction: "Assist us?"

"Yeah!" Wang Yu nodded vigorously, patting his own chest, his tone carrying a hint of small pride. "I'm a secondary-stage Evolver. My codename is... 'Splitter'."

As if to prove it, he glanced left and right, then raised his right hand. As he willed it, the metal bracelet on his right wrist glowed faintly, as if temporarily lifting some restriction. Then, under Lu Jianchuan's slightly astonished gaze, a small lump of flesh and tissue separated from Wang Yu's fingertip and fell to the ground.

Upon touching the ground, that lump of tissue began to proliferate and extend frantically as if injected with life. Within mere seconds, it grew into another complete 'Wang Yu'! This newly formed 'Wang Yu' wore the same clothes, had the same brilliant smile, and waved at Lu Jianchuan. Then, as if its demonstration task was complete, its body rapidly turned transparent, finally dissolving into a puddle of transparent biomass that evaporated into the air.

"See, just like that!" The original Wang Yu said with a laugh, the glow on his wrist bracelet fading. "From now on, if there are any dangerous or troublesome reconnaissance missions, just leave them to me! Many hands make light work, right!"

Looking at this boy with peculiar abilities and a cheerful personality that seemed out of place in such an environment, Lu Jianchuan remained silent for two seconds before slowly speaking:

"...Welcome aboard."