"Because the elevator is malfunctioning."

The warrior demonstrated for them, pressing the controls again and again. None of the other floor numbers lit up.

Only the first floor and the top floor were lit, indicating those were the only accessible destinations.

Jiang Qin grew even more uneasy. At the same time, her head started to spin.

She smelled sea salt.

The scent made her feel even more nauseous. It was coming from the warriors, mingled with the smell of blood.

’They just came from a battle, so it’s natural they’d carry some sort of scent.’ She forced herself to bear it.

Her hand instinctively went to her swollen abdomen.

But in the next moment, she abruptly lost consciousness.

Terrified, Long Yue lunged to catch her, only to faint herself.

When the elevator doors opened on the top floor, several figures in heavy gear rushed in. They carried everyone out one by one and loaded them onto a waiting spaceship.

...

Jiang Qin had no idea how much time had passed. When she woke up, she found herself in a completely sealed, dark space.

She instinctively reached for her Light Computer, only to find it gone. 𝗳𝚛𝚎𝚎𝘄𝕖𝕓𝕟𝕠𝚟𝚎𝕝.𝗰𝕠𝐦

Her Space Button was gone, too. Even her clothes had been changed. She couldn’t find a single personal item on her.

’They didn’t even leave me a hair tie. These people are incredibly cautious.’

With the situation so uncertain, she didn’t dare use her Superpower. She could only climb to her feet cautiously, bumping into someone else’s body in the process.

"Sister-in-law..."

Hearing Long Yue’s voice, Jiang Qin quickly answered, "I’m over here."

Long Yue quickly made her way to her side.

"Sister-in-law, are you okay?"

Jiang Qin replied, "I’m okay. How are you?"

"I’m fine, too." Long Yue sat down beside her.

Feeling the cold floor, she grumbled, "I don’t know who grabbed us, but they didn’t even give us a room. Just dumped us in here."

Jiang Qin had only just woken up herself, so she was still trying to get her bearings.

"What about the warriors who were protecting us? They..."

A female voice suddenly spoke up from nearby. "Hah. The ones who captured us *were* those warriors!"

"That can’t be right." Long Yue didn’t believe it. "I’ve seen those warriors before. They’re all outstanding warriors from our Empire. They aren’t short on money, and their families live in the Empire. Why would they risk everything to kidnap us?

Besides, even if one or two warriors betrayed the Empire, it’s not like an entire unit would, right?"

The Empire’s military code is strict. Kidnapping and imprisoning a female is a crime punishable by a fate worse than death!

’Why would so many warriors betray the Empire for no reason? It can’t be that the rebels from centuries ago are making a comeback, can it?’

The female voice spoke again. "Then you should be asking yourselves that question.

All I know is I personally saw those warriors hand us over to that group of people in heavy gear."

"You saw that? When did you get here?" Bai Xingguan suddenly asked.

"I got here a little before you all, but I woke up briefly after I first passed out."

Bai Xingguan asked, "Then do you know where we are now? Or who captured us?"

"I don’t know. After they put me on the spaceship, I was out cold. The next time I woke up, I was here. Later, they brought in more females, already changed into different clothes."

Everyone fell silent. A few of the females began to cry softly.

One female said, "I didn’t see any warriors. I was going upstairs with my partner, and he led me to a back exit.

In the elevator, we met a few other females who were also with their partners. Then we all passed out."

"Me too."

"Me too... I had only just met my partner."

"I’d just found a new partner, too. There were no warriors in our elevator, only us females and our partners. Why were we taken?"

Hearing this, the female who had first scoffed at the Imperial Warriors let out another cold laugh.

"Why? Isn’t it obvious? You were sold."

"Impossible! He worked so hard to win me over. Why would he sell me?"

"That’s right. The males who can afford to be on this cruise ship either have high spiritual power, are powerful and influential, have great merits, or are exceptionally talented. Besides a partner, what could they possibly be lacking?

It makes no sense for them to sell a partner they went to so much trouble to win over just for a few Star Coins, right?"

None of the females could understand it.

One female, who seemed to be experiencing betrayal for the first time, spat viciously, "Damn it. I don’t care if he was behind this or not, he’d better be dead. Otherwise, when I get back, I’ll make sure he pays!"

"Hah. Then you’d better pray you can actually make it back."

"Where are they taking us? We’re not going to be used as test subjects, are we?"

No one answered the question.

"Bai Xingguan, what do we do now?"

As the female in charge of an entire Federation Branch, Bai Xingguan naturally commanded a great deal of trust.

So now, they all looked to her to come up with a plan.

"Alright, everyone, let’s count off and see how many of us are trapped in here.

I’ll start. One."

"Two."

...

"Ninety-eight."

"Ninety-nine."

...

"One hundred and nine."

After a few moments of silence with no one continuing, Bai Xingguan asked, "Has everyone counted off?"

"We have," they replied in unison.

"Alright. The situation is unclear, so for now, all we can do is wait. We wait for someone to show up so we can figure out their objective.

Logically, with this many of us, and all of us being High-level females, it’s unlikely they’d send us to a laboratory.

It’s more likely they’ll send us to the Underground City on Chaotic Star to be auctioned off, or perhaps give us to the leaders of some Star Thief Gangs.

Whatever happens, you must be patient. Pretend to be compliant for now, and look for an opportunity to call for help."

Perhaps sensing how terrifying these possibilities sounded, Bai Xingguan tried to offer some comfort. "Everyone, don’t be too afraid. Our warriors aren’t incompetent.

They might be on their way right now. Our partners, too."

"If they don’t find me, I swear I’m dumping all of them when I get back."

"Useless men! If they’d just come down to get me, I never would have been captured!"

"I’m divorcing them the second I get back."

Long Yue was heartbroken, too. "Sister-in-law, do you think there’s really something wrong with Chenchen?"

She truly liked this new partner. He was different from her other partners, the ones from aristocratic families.

He was fervent and passionate, bringing her endless excitement. He was the only male who had ever made her feel the thrill of a passionate romance.

Jiang Qin never condemned someone based on speculation alone; she always needed evidence.

So she simply replied, "I don’t know for sure. We can investigate once we’re home."

"You’re right. Someone will definitely come to rescue us. When that happens, I’m going to dig up his entire family history, and I’ll find out exactly why he wanted to hurt me!"

BEEP—Verification passed.

A light suddenly appeared ahead as a large door slid open.