49: Chapter 49 The Insect King Appears: A Third-Order Golden Giant Centipede

He personally sat in the main pilot seat, gripping the cold metal control stick tightly with both hands.

"Luo Yao! Disengage the reactor safety locks!"

Lin Xiao's eyes were bloodshot as he stared fixedly at the Golden Giant Centipede, now less than fifty meters away on the screen, and roared.

"Squad Leader... disengaging the safety locks carries a risk of meltdown!"

"I told you to disengage them!"

"Yes!"

Gritting her teeth, Luo Yao's fair, delicate hands tapped frantically on the keyboard, bypassing the underlying defense code.

"Beep! Safety locks disengaged!"

"Micro cold nuclear reactor, pushing power output to... 120%!"

"Overload mode initiated!"

As Lin Xiao slammed the power lever down.

"Hum—"

Inside the entire Black Iron carriage, all the lights began to flicker madly, turning on and off.

An incredibly violent surge of energy flowed along the thick superconducting coils, rushing wildly into the "Thor" small electromagnetic railgun at the front of the train.

The originally silver-white barrel was now faintly glowing with an eerie dark red due to the extreme charging.

"Thor, load special ammunition."

"The trump card I couldn't bear to use, today I'll use you, big bug, as a sacrifice!"

Lin Xiao slammed a red button on the weapon control panel.

"Click!"

Inside the railgun's magazine.

A [Special High-Explosive Armor-Piercing Shell], made from the bones of a top-grade mutant beast mixed with highly concentrated TNT and encased in TC4 titanium alloy, was precisely pushed into the firing rail.

This was a weapon of mass destruction that Lin Xiao had crafted using a massive amount of materials from the material conversion ammunition box.

Radar locked!

The red crosshair was locked tightly onto the charging Insect King.

Seemingly sensing the fatal threat emanating from the barrel.

The charging Golden Giant Centipede suddenly halted, its upper body rearing up high.

It opened its abyss-like, barb-filled maw.

An incredibly thick, dark green cloud of acidic poison surged out from its mouth like a waterfall, attempting to strike first and corrode this damned train, along with its shields, into molten iron!

"Want to spit at me?"

"I'll stuff your mouth with a big surprise!"

Killing intent surged in Lin Xiao's eyes, and he slammed his thumb down on the firing button on the control stick!

"BOOM————————————!!!"

The entire world seemed to fall completely silent at that moment.

The Thor electromagnetic railgun, in its overloaded state, let out the most violent, thunderous roar in history!

An incredibly thick beam of deep blue light, which even distorted the surrounding space, shot out like a spear of destruction thrown by God!

Carrying terrifying kinetic energy that destroyed everything in its path, it instantly tore through the sky-filling dark green poison mist!

It didn't even encounter a hindrance of 0.01 seconds.

The special high-explosive armor-piercing shell, accurate and true, shot straight into the Insect King's wide-open maw and deep into its body!

Because the initial velocity imparted by the electromagnetic force was so fast, its seemingly indestructible carapace provided no defense at all; the bullet pierced directly through its fragile internal esophagus and deep into its abdominal cavity!

Time seemed to freeze at that moment.

The Golden Giant Centipede's massive body suddenly stiffened in mid-air, its thousands of legs twitching violently.

There was no scream.

Because its vocal organs had been instantly vaporized.

The next second.

"THUD————!!!"

An extremely muffled explosion, as if striking directly at everyone's hearts, erupted from within the Insect King's body!

The high-explosive armor-piercing shell detonated at the deepest point!

Its hard carapace could block external attacks, but it couldn't withstand the destructive force expanding from within.

The Insect King's dark golden abdomen suddenly bulged into a huge lump.

Then.

"BANG!"

Half of its body, just like a balloon being blown up, exploded from the inside with extreme violence!

The sky was filled with golden carapace fragments.

Countless foul-smelling green body fluids and shattered organs poured down like a heavy rain, splashing onto the flickering energy shield of the Black Iron, making a "sizzling" sound.

A peak Tier 3 Insect King, one hit, instant kill!

With the fall of the Insect King.

The invisible mental pressure that had been shrouding the battlefield instantly dissipated.

Having lost the command of their leader, the sea of insects, which originally lacked high intelligence, instantly fell into extreme chaos.

They stopped attacking the train.

Instead, following their hunger instinct, they began to bite and devour each other frantically!

A large number of insects even rushed toward the Insect King's remains, attempting to get a share.

In the end, this farce of mutual slaughter did not last long, and the remaining insect swarm, like a receding black tide, scattered and fled in all directions across the Gobi Desert.

The long-lost sunlight finally pierced through the clouds once again.

"It's over..."

Lin Xiao released the control stick, which he had squeezed out of shape, and his entire body went limp on the large leather seat, as if he were completely exhausted.

He gasped for breath, his clothes already soaked through with cold sweat.

Just then.

The cold notification sound of the heavenly dao system exploded in everyone's minds like celestial music.

[Ding! Global Announcement!]

[Congratulations to Train No. 9527 (Conductor: Lin Xiao) for successfully killing the area-level peak Tier 3 leader—the Golden Giant Centipede!]

[Obtained unique epic achievement: Swarm Terminator!]

[Reward 1: 100,000 heavenly dao points!]

[Reward 2: Conductor's personal total attributes +10!]

[Reward 3: All passengers on this train receive a massive infusion of survival experience!]

Boom!

As the system announcement finished.

A golden warm current appeared out of thin air and instantly enveloped Lin Xiao's entire body.

The exhaustion caused by his intense concentration was instantly swept away under the wash of this warm current.

He could even clearly feel his muscle fibers becoming denser and his bones becoming tougher.

All attributes +10!

This was equivalent to the effect of injecting two full doses of high-grade genetic agents!

This caused his already superhuman physical fitness to skyrocket to an incredibly terrifying level.

"Squad Leader!"

"We won! We survived!"

In the command room, the girls, who had been tense, could no longer suppress their inner excitement and began to cheer and jump with joy.

They crowded around him regardless of anything else.

Shen Man was the first to rush to Lin Xiao's side, holding a wet towel with a fresh scent, and lovingly wiped the sweat from his forehead.

Her plump and soft body pressed against Lin Xiao's arm, intentionally or unintentionally, bringing a surprising elasticity.

"I'm fine."

Lin Xiao smiled and patted the back of Shen Man's hand, then took the opportunity to pinch her pert buttocks, causing the intellectual housekeeper to give a coquettish pout.

Just then.

The alloy door of the command room opened.

Su Qingqian, Zhao Xiaotang, and Chen Yuanyuan, having disengaged from their Valkyries mechs, walked in.

Because of the high temperature inside the mechs and the high-intensity battle, the appearance of the three women was a feast for Lin Xiao's eyes.

To wear the mechs, they were originally only wearing the most form-fitting undergarments.

At this moment, those fabrics were already completely soaked with fragrant sweat, clinging tightly to their skin, presenting a translucent and seductive state.

Zhao Xiaotang's bronze-colored wheat-toned skin was covered in crystal clear sweat beads; her black sports bra accentuated a deep, unfathomable cleavage, and her abdominal muscles rose and fell with her heavy breathing, full of the ultimate seduction of wildness and power.

Although Su Qingqian still maintained her cold and noble expression, her fair, flushed skin, the damp black hair stuck to her cheeks, and the faintly visible edge of pink lace gave her a fragility and charm rarely seen at other times.

As for Chen Yuanyuan, this little girl clearly hadn't recovered from the excitement of piloting a mech for the first time.

Her legs went soft, and she fell directly onto the carpet.

The set of pure cotton underwear printed with bear patterns couldn't hide her well-developed, exquisite curves; her little face was flushed red, and her big, watery eyes looked at Lin Xiao, making her look pitiful and adorable.

Lin Xiao took a deep breath, feeling as if his +10 to all attributes had all been added to some strange places.

This was even more of a test of his willpower than fighting the Insect King just now.

"Alright, stop trying to seduce me."

Lin Xiao suppressed the heat in his heart, stood up, took off his legion commander trench coat, and draped it over Chen Yuanyuan.

"The bugs outside are dead, it's time for us to reap the harvest."

"Go take a shower and change your clothes."

"Then, come with me to clean up the battlefield!"

...

In the early morning Gobi Desert, the cold wind was mixed with a strong, burnt stench.

The sunlight struggled to pierce through the clouds, spilling onto this devastated land.

Lin Xiao had a lit Cuban cigar in his mouth, his hands resting on the titanium alloy railing at the front of the Black Iron, overlooking the battlefield below.

As far as the eye could see, there were nothing but charred insect corpses piled up like mountains, resembling a black Shura field.

And in the center of this Shura field, the Black Iron stood like an invincible steel beast, proudly holding its head high.

Although the armor plates on the outside of the train were covered in pits corroded by strong acid and scratches from insect strikes, this actually added an iron-blooded aura of having survived a hundred battles.

"Squad Leader! Look what I dug up!"

Below the carriage, a girl from the Dance Department wearing a tattered combat uniform excitedly held up a green Tier 2 crystal core.

Because of her bending motion, her collar, soaked with sweat and mud, opened slightly, revealing a stunning curve of snow-white, dazzling to the eyes in the morning light.

After two days and two nights of hellish slaughter, these once delicate greenhouse flowers had completely shed their naivety.

Their faces were covered in soot, their hair was messy, but their eyes revealed the resilience and ferocity of wild wolves.

At this moment, they were holding various tools, happily searching for loot in the piles of insect corpses.

Even when seeing those broken insect organs, no one would scream or vomit anymore.

"Well done, go to Shen Man later to exchange for contribution points."

Lin Xiao exhaled a thick ring of smoke and replied with a smile.

He withdrew his gaze from that unfathomable neckline and let it fall onto his own large palm.

There, quietly lying in his palm, was a crystal the size of a fist, radiating a dazzling dark golden light.

This was the [Tier 3 Top-Grade Insect King Crystal Core] that dropped after killing that peak Tier 3 Golden Giant Centipede!

Even just holding it in his hand, Lin Xiao could feel an incredibly massive, terrifying energy contained within, as if it had a life of its own.

"Boss! Boss!"

Accompanied by a burst of hurried footsteps, the alloy door of the weapon workshop was slammed open.

Xiao Ai rushed onto the front platform like a gust of wind, followed by Luo Yao, who was carrying a data terminal.

This genius mechanical girl was still wearing that dirty mechanic uniform.

Because she had run so hurriedly, her slender waist twisted, and the thin white straps on her shoulders were teetering, as if they would snap at any moment.

"Quick, let me see that treasure! Quick, quick, quick!"

A light called "extreme fanaticism" flashed in Xiao Ai's eyes, and even her breathing became rapid.

She threw herself onto Lin Xiao without any hesitation, her two fair, delicate hands gripping Lin Xiao's wrist tightly, wishing she could press her face against that golden crystal core.

Feeling the surprising softness and the girl's unique warm fragrance on his arm, Lin Xiao smiled helplessly.

Whenever this girl saw high-grade materials, she would enter this self-forgetful "mecha-girl-con" state, not caring at all about the boundaries between men and women.

"Take it and test it, be careful, don't blow it up."

Lin Xiao handed the crystal core to her and casually helped her pull the strap that had slipped onto her upper arm back onto her rounded shoulder.

His fingertips slid across her delicate skin, causing Xiao Ai to tremble slightly, and a blush instantly flew onto her fair little face.

"Th... thank you, Boss."

Xiao Ai stuttered, but was soon attracted by the top-grade crystal core in her hand again.

She took out a probe connected to a micro-detector from her tool bag and carefully touched it to the surface of the crystal core.

"Beep beep beep beep..."

The screen of the detector instantly erupted with dazzling red light, and data streams refreshed wildly like a waterfall.

"Oh my god... this energy level... this molecular structure..."

Xiao Ai's big eyes widened more and more, and finally she even screamed with excitement.

"Boss! Where on earth did you snatch this thing from?!"

She was so excited that she was incoherent, jumping up and down on the spot, and the curves on her chest, though not large, were in perfect shape and bounced happily along with her.

"Luo Yao, translate what she's saying."

Lin Xiao looked at Xiao Ai, who had fallen into a state of madness, and turned to look at Luo Yao on the side.

"Ahem, Squad Leader, what Xiao Ai means is that the attributes of this crystal core are too heaven-defying."

Luo Yao pushed up the tactical smart glasses on the bridge of her nose, her little face also full of shock.

"According to data analysis, this is not just a Tier 3 top-grade crystal core containing massive energy."

"It also has an extremely rare biological magnetic field solidified inside, with the trait attributes: [Biological Self-Healing] and [Absolute Toughness]!"

Hearing these two terms, Lin Xiao's eyes narrowed slightly.

He could understand Absolute Toughness; after all, that Golden Giant Centipede's carapace could even slightly block an electromagnetic railgun for a moment, and its hardness was abnormal.

But what did this Biological Self-Healing mean? Using it on a machine?

"Boss! Simply put, this thing is a living super armor generator!"

Xiao Ai finally recovered from her fanaticism, hugged Lin Xiao's arm, and looked up with an excited little face.