10: Chapter 10: A Bloodbath in the Zergling Hunt? A First Try of a New Tactic!

Inside the Underground Command Post, all was silent; Li Yuan was sleeping soundly.

This was his first night since arriving in this world.

Although various insects were screeching outside, he slept with complete peace of mind.

The Light Guardian standing quietly beside him gave him an unprecedented sense of security.

This "baby" was not only incredibly tanky—even Roaches couldn't cause significant damage to it—but it could also provide early warnings and wake-up calls. What else did he have to worry about? He might as well rest well to recover his energy as quickly as possible.

As for the death countdown of over seventy hours still hanging over his head!!

What else could he do! It wasn't even dawn yet; was he supposed to go out and deliver breakfast to the bugs...

The planet's night belonged to the Zerg. The intermittent screeches, the sound of rubbing carapaces, and the occasional violent explosions all reminded him of the dangers outside. Without night vision or enough energy to sustain a long battle, going out in the dark was pure suicide.

Only by staying alive could he find a way to live longer.

The countdown had ticked away another two and a half hours for nothing.

Just as dawn was breaking, Li Yuan was startled awake by a slight vibration.

He opened his eyes and saw the Light Guardian slightly tilt its head, its visor made of light facing him as if confirming whether its master was awake.

"Morning," Li Yuan yawned, rubbing his somewhat throbbing temples.

It had to be said, having a highly intelligent summon was convenient; it even saved him from needing an alarm clock.

"Not only is this baby tanky, but it's also way too smart." As he stepped out of the Underground Command Post, Li Yuan couldn't help but marvel, "It has a rich repertoire of tactical combat moves to ensure effective containment of the bugs. It also performs timely tactical maneuvers like lifting, pushing, or repositioning—it has everything. It can even understand complex tactical intentions; even a strategy as ridiculous as the 'Human Meat Guided Arrow' was executed perfectly."

"Furthermore, in this three-story deep underground command room, how did it know it was dawn? Could it be calculated through the recorded angular velocity of the star, gravity, atmospheric density, scattering rate, and so on?" This wasn't just a summon; it was clearly an AI.

He instinctively glanced at the system interface.

[Remaining Lifespan: 68 hours 33 minutes]

[Energy: 24.2]

[Essence: 34]

Great, his energy was even a bit higher than before he fell asleep last night, thanks to the weak effect of [Intent of the Northern Darkness]. His sense of security increased slightly.

But thinking about how the Rescue Fleet wouldn't arrive for fifteen days while he only had three days of "stock"...

There wasn't much time left for him to MF (grind mobs).

"I need to speed up the progress."

After some light exercise and eating some rations scavenged yesterday, Li Yuan once again opened the system's Life Essence Guidance Map.

On the map, the light dots representing the Zerg were still scattered everywhere.

"Zergling..." Li Yuan's gaze locked onto a pale green dot about three hundred meters away from the command post.

Today's first task was to see if the efficiency of hunting Zerglings would be higher than that of Drones.

According to the information in his predecessor's memories, Zerglings were the basic combat units of the Zerg. Their biggest characteristic was speed! Far exceeding that of Drones!!

While hunting Drones yesterday, he had accidentally attracted a few; that ghost-like speed had left a deep impression on him. At that time, he had chosen to avoid combat and flee without hesitation, only escaping because the Light Guardian covered the retreat.

But things were different now.

After the fierce battle with the Zantar Cockroach, Li Yuan's mindset had undergone a subtle change. Even a Roach had been slaughtered by him; what was there to fear from a mere Zergling?

More importantly, the huge gains from the Roach gave him great expectations for the rewards of hunting combat Zerg.

Li Yuan calculated, "A single Drone only gives half an hour of lifespan and 1 point of essence. No matter how bad a Zergling is, it wouldn't be too much to expect an hour of lifespan and 2 points of essence, right?"

"You're the one!"

Having made up his mind, Li Yuan took the Light Guardian and crept toward the light dot representing the Zergling. He carefully used the ruins for cover, slowly approaching.

Soon, the target appeared in his field of vision.

The Zergling was curled up on the ground; except for its sickle-like forelimbs, it looked about as big as a large wolfdog.

"Target confirmed." Li Yuan took a deep breath, preparing to attack from a distance.

After dozens of hunts yesterday, his hand holding the bow was now very steady.

According to the "optimal experience" summarized from hunting Drones yesterday—staying at a safe distance, aiming precisely, and achieving a one-shot kill was the most efficient and least risky method.

His thoughts flowed, and the familiar skill combinations were woven onto the bowstring:

[Song of Battle - Normal Shot]

[Elemental Resonance: Thunder Element Enchantment]

[Elemental Resonance - Wind Blade]

[Elemental Resonance - Fire Rocket]

This was his most comfortable combination at the moment. Thunder and wind ensured accuracy, while fire provided sufficient lethality. Against Drones, they would basically die if even grazed.

2 points of energy were quietly deducted.

An energy arrow entwined with purple lightning snakes had already taken shape.

"Goodbye."

Li Yuan's gaze sharpened; he aimed at the Zergling's torso and released the bowstring.

"Swoosh—!"

The arrow turned into a beam of light, swiftly shooting toward the target!

However—

The originally sleeping Zergling suddenly lunged upward! Its reaction speed was so fast it practically defied common sense!

"Pfft!"

The energy arrow grazed the Zergling's forelimb, and the violent power instantly blew one of its appendages to pieces!

"Skreeee—!!!"

The intense pain caused the Zergling to let out a sharp, ear-piercing screech, its compound eyes instantly locking onto Li Yuan in the direction the arrow had come from!

Without the slightest pause, the Zergling was like a cannonball out of a barrel, turning into a brown flash of lightning as it lunged straight at Li Yuan!

Its speed was far beyond Li Yuan's imagination!

"Holy crap! It missed?! It's so fast!!!" Li Yuan's expression changed drastically.

He instinctively took a step back, but in the time it took to do so, that brown lightning had already charged within twenty meters!

The breath of death was once again so close!

At this critical moment—

"Buzz!"

The Light Guardian, which had been quietly standing by Li Yuan's side, moved!

It turned into a streak of white light and lunged straight at the Zergling.

Starting later, yet arriving first!

The white light moved in a perfect straight line, instantly cutting in between Li Yuan and the Zergling, blocking the Zergling's charge path!

It began to tangle with the Zergling!!

The Zergling was like a brown demonic wind, pushing its speed to the limit as it tried to break through the Light Guardian's defense from various tricky angles, its sickle-like forelimbs waving into a storm of death!

However, no matter which direction or angle it attacked from, that white streak of light always appeared in its path first!

The Light Guardian's speed completely suppressed the Zergling!

"Clang, clang, clang, clang—!"

A dense, rain-like sound of impacts rang out; it was the sound of the Zergling's claws fruitlessly hacking at the Light Guardian's shield.

They fought for a long while.

One couldn't be damaged (too tanky), and the other also couldn't be damaged (tickling).

Li Yuan had already retreated further away, drawing his bow and nocking an arrow again, trying to find an opportunity to shoot.

But both sides were moving too fast and were tangled together; his bow and arrow simply couldn't aim at that Zergling.

"Damn it, how am I supposed to fight this?!" Li Yuan was getting anxious. The battle was at a stalemate, but precious time was slipping away second by second.

"No, I have to break the stalemate!" Li Yuan's brain worked rapidly, and suddenly another thought flashed through his mind.

"Since I can't hit you... then I'll let the one who can touch you 'help' me shoot!"

He thought of the ultimate move he used to kill the Zantar Cockroach last night—the Human Meat Guided Arrow!

No sooner said than done!

Li Yuan immediately focused his mind, and his thoughts flowed once more:

Energy arrow construction!

[Elemental Resonance: Thunder Element Enchantment]!

[Elemental Resonance - Wind Blade]!

[Elemental Resonance - Fire Rocket]!

2 energy points deducted!

An energy arrow flickering with lightning appeared in his hand again. But this time, he didn't nock it onto the bowstring.

He shouted with all his might at the Light Guardian, which was perfectly containing the Zergling, and simultaneously threw the energy arrow in his hand:

"Baby! Catch it! Stab it!!"

At the moment Li Yuan threw the arrow, the Light Guardian seemed to have already anticipated it!

It used a subtle shield parry to knock away one of the Zergling's lunges, creating a tiny opening.

Its left hand reached back as if prepared, moving as fast as lightning—

"Snap!"

The arrow containing terrifying energy was caught firmly in its hand!

In the next moment, the Light Guardian moved!

Before the Zergling could make any reaction—

The Light Guardian had already closed in, holding the energy arrow in its left hand, and stabbed it hard into the Zergling's slightly open mouth!

"Pfft—!"

The arrow, strengthened by the Thunder Element Enchantment, easily pierced through the Zergling's mouth like a hot knife through butter!

Immediately after—

"Boom!!!!!"

A violent explosion erupted from inside the Zergling's body!

Its body was blown apart in mid-air, limbs and carapace fragments mixing with dark green fluid like a foul-smelling rain, clattering to the ground.

The battle began and ended in the blink of an eye.

Li Yuan let out a long sigh of relief, feeling his back drenched in cold sweat.

He walked forward quickly, his gaze falling on the newly appeared life essence beside the Zergling's remains.

"Let's try it." With anticipation, Li Yuan picked it up and put it in his mouth.

The crystal melted upon entry, turning into a cool stream of energy that surged through his body.

He immediately looked at the system interface.

The data began to fluctuate:

[Remaining Lifespan: 68 hours 15 minutes] → [68 hours 30 minutes]!

Increased by 15 minutes.

[Energy: 20.5] → [21.5]!

Energy recovered... 1 point.

[Essence: 34] → [35]!

Essence increased by 1 point.

The anticipation on Li Yuan's face instantly froze, then slowly crumbled. He blinked, even wondering if he had misread it.

He checked it carefully once more.

Lifespan +15 minutes. Energy +1 point. Essence +1 point.

That's right.

That's it???

To take down this Zergling, he had fired a total of 2 arrows! Consuming 4 energy points!

In the end, the gain was only 15 minutes of lifespan and 1 point of essence—a net loss of 3 energy points?!

"What a massive loss!!!" Li Yuan almost spat out a mouthful of blood. "Is this Zergling a stingy miser?! It barely has any feathers to pluck!"

"As expected, theory must be combined with practice..." Li Yuan smiled bitterly and quickly adjusted his hunting strategy. "From now on, when I see a Zergling, I'll walk around it! Unless I'm forced to, I'll never touch one! Sticking to grinding Drones is the way to go!"

Could this hunt be considered an utter failure... or was it?

Li Yuan's gaze involuntarily drifted toward the Light Guardian, standing quietly by the Zergling's remains, its light still pure and brilliant.

It seemed... it wasn't a total failure after all.

I feel like I'm really about to take off!!!!