121: Human Base

Zhao Zicong drove the car while a drone circled high above to scout.

Lin Fei closed his eyes to rest, feeling the bumps of the jeep speeding across the Gobi Desert.

Lin Mengzi, full of curiosity about new things, leaned against the car window and looked outside.

As for Ishida Ryunosuke in the passenger seat.

He did not possess Lin Fei's strength that allowed him to disregard everything, so naturally, he dared not be negligent.

He cautiously observed his surroundings, ready to deal with any danger that might appear at any moment.

After driving for about an hour, Zhao Zicong's expression suddenly changed slightly.

"Three kilometers ahead, a large number of heat source signals have been detected, and they are approaching us rapidly! Judging by their size and movement, they must be insectoid creatures!"

"I'll go take care of them!" Lin Fei said, opening his eyes.

Zhao Zicong slammed on the brakes, and the jeep came to a halt amidst a cloud of rising dust.

Rumble—!

Almost at the same time, the Gobi ground in front of them suddenly surged violently, and sand and stones flew everywhere!

Immediately after, a massive insectoid beast, over ten meters long, resembling a sand worm but covered in a hard carapace with mouthparts filled with sharp teeth, burst out from the ground!

It let out a deafening roar, and its massive body lunged toward the jeep, carrying a foul wind with it!

【Sandstorm Stalker (Elite-Rank Insectoid Beast)】

【Rank: Lv35】

【Skills: Sand Escape, Carapace Hardening, Toxic Fangs】

"It's a Sandstorm Stalker! They are gregarious creatures; the one that came out first must be their leader. There should be more underground!" Zhao Zicong said with a grave expression.

His tablet database contained some data and weaknesses of the insectoid race from the Starship network, allowing him to name the insectoid beast immediately.

"Understood."

Swish!

Lin Fei activated his teleportation Spell immediately.

An afterimage flashed by, and he had already appeared outside the jeep, just in time to meet the Sandstorm Stalker that had lunged forward first.

Facing that gaping maw and sharp fangs, Lin Fei remained expressionless.

"Become my Spell Power!"

Boom!

Without the slightest hesitation, Lin Fei leaped up and charged forward.

His right leg, like a burning battle-axe, carried blazing flames and the momentum of a thunderbolt.

It struck hard against the head of the Sandstorm Stalker!

Blazing Fire Leg!

Crack!

A crisp sound of bone cracking rang out.

The Sandstorm Stalker's hard carapace shattered instantly like glass under the kick that contained Lin Fei's terrifying power!

The scorching flames instantly surged into its brain, burning it directly into charcoal!

The massive insectoid body collapsed with a bang before it could even let out a scream, kicking up dust everywhere.

【You killed a Sandstorm Stalker Lv35 (Leader-Rank), Endless Source talent activated, Spell Power +100!】

"The insectoids here give quite a lot of Spell Power."

Lin Fei landed and commented.

"Brother Lin is too terrifying! No matter how many times I see this scene, I can't help but want to say, 'Holy crap!'"

Ishida Ryunosuke and Zhao Zicong looked at the instantly killed Sandstorm Stalker and the charred ground beneath Lin Fei's feet, unable to help but gasp.

They already understood Lin Fei's strength.

But feeling this pure violent aesthetics from such close range still made their hearts tremble.

Lin Mengzi had a proud little expression on her face.

Lin Fei felt the Spell Power surging into his body, the corners of his mouth curling up slightly.

While they were talking, the ground behind them began to break open one after another, and dozens more slightly smaller Sandstorm Stalkers crawled out, surrounding him completely.

Facing the death of their leader, they did not flee immediately, but instead developed an even stronger desire to devour Lin Fei.

"I'll take care of them all at once!"

Lin Fei's eyes narrowed, and he reached out with his left hand, gripping the air.

"Ice Dragon Twister!"

Whoosh—!!!

An icy blue tornado of extreme cold appeared out of thin air.

A powerful suction force swept all the Sandstorm Stalkers that had just crawled out of the ground into it.

The cold storm tore at their carapaces, slowing down their movements.

Immediately after, thunderous light shone again in the palm of Lin Fei's right hand.

"Palm Thunder! Five Thunders Soul Chaser!"

Hum—!!!

Under the augmentation of his Great Great Great talent.

Ten thunder dragons, three times thicker and longer than before, roared out.

Each one had a diameter of half a meter and a length of more than seven or eight meters.

Those thunder dragons, carrying an Aura of destroying everything, rushed into the insect swarm bound by the Ice Dragon Twister!

Rumble—!!!

Upon impact, it immediately triggered the conduction of the lightning chain rune.

Crackle crackle! Pop pop!

Chains of lightning linked those sand worms together.

A deafening explosion resounded across the Gobi Desert again!

Thunder and frost raged; the Sandstorm Stalkers could not resist this destructive power at all, and in the blink of an eye, they were all torn apart and charred by electricity!

Easy peasy, swift and decisive, the battlefield was cleared again!

【You killed Sandstorm Stalker Lv35 (Elite-Rank) x45, triggered 'Endless Source', Spell Power +600!】

【You killed Sandstorm Stalker Lv30 (Elite-Rank) x52, triggered 'Endless Source', Spell Power +520!】

In just a short moment, Lin Fei's Spell Power surged by more than a thousand points!

The improvement brought by this slaughter made him feel incomparably comfortable.

"Too exaggerated!" Zhao Zicong didn't know what words to use to describe his feelings.

Ishida Ryunosuke also shook his head with a bitter smile.

After these insectoid beasts were killed, besides providing experience points, they actually dropped loot.

Lin Fei landed on the ground and walked to the remains of the killed Sandstorm Stalkers.

After these insectoid beasts died, they left behind some crystalline cores that flickered with a faint light.

【You obtained Insectoid Core (Common-Rank) x12】

【You obtained Insectoid Core (Common-Rank) x13】

"These insectoid cores are good Materials for manufacturing and strengthening equipment. They are worth a lot in the outside world. In the Early Stage, one can sell for fifty or sixty thousand killing coins," Zhao Zicong said.

Lin Fei collected the gathered insectoid cores.

Fortunately, these things can be stacked in the safe box, with each slot holding up to 999, so they don't take up much space.

He collected a total of over forty insectoid cores of varying quality, which counted as an unexpected windfall.

Everyone got back in the car and continued toward the abandoned base.

During the rest of the journey, although they encountered some sporadic insectoid attacks, they were all easily resolved by Lin Fei, which instead increased his Spell Power quite a bit more.

About an hour later, under the guidance of the navigation System, a dilapidated metal building complex, half-buried by yellow sand, appeared in their field of vision.

This was that abandoned human base.

The base's gate had long been destroyed, and the surrounding alloy walls had collapsed in many places, revealing jagged holes.

Obviously, this place had experienced countless fierce battles.

"Everyone be careful, there might still be residual insectoids inside," Zhao Zicong warned.

Lin Fei nodded and was the first to jump off the jeep. He sensed it and indeed, there were still some faint signs of life.

"Brother Lin, leave this place to me."

"Mm." Lin Fei nodded.

Ishida Ryunosuke was not weak; after all, he was a professional who could enter this trial.

It was just that next to Lin Fei, he seemed a bit underwhelming.

Ryunosuke formed hand seals and summoned several small but swift reconnaissance shikigami to enter the base first to investigate.

Lin Fei, Lin Mengzi, and Zhao Zicong followed behind.

Inside the base, sure enough, there were still some sporadic low-level insectoid monsters wandering around.

Their intelligence was low; seeing intruders, they roared and pounced.

However, these underlings didn't need Lin Fei or Lin Mengzi to take action.

Ishida Ryunosuke controlled his shikigami, and with the coordination of Zhao Zicong's precise shooting, they quickly cleared out the remaining insectoid monsters.

Inside the base, Ishida Ryunosuke was experienced; relying on his understanding of building structures and the keen sense of smell of his shikigami, he quickly found an entrance to an underground warehouse that had been cleverly hidden.

The warehouse door was a heavy alloy gate, which seemed to require special permissions to open.

"Let me do it. You can't forcefully break into this thing, or it will detonate the bombs inside and destroy all the supplies."

Zhao Zicong stepped forward, took a small decoder from his backpack, and connected it to the control panel next to the gate.

In reality, this was a decryption task that required players to search for clues themselves to crack the password door.

However, on Zhao Zicong's side, he could attempt to crack the six-digit password at light speed.

On the screen, countless complex data streams flashed by rapidly, emitting light beeping sounds.

In less than a minute.

A crisp click sound appeared.

The heavy alloy gate lifted upwards, revealing the mountains of supplies inside.

"Wow! So many!"

Lin Mengzi looked at the dazzling array of supply boxes in front of her and couldn't help but exclaim.

In the underground warehouse, a large amount of military compressed biscuits, energy bars, and canned pure water were stacked and categorized.

As well as various sterilized medical supplies, such as bandages, disinfectant, antibiotics, and some special medicines for common planetary diseases.

All supplies were sealed and stored in special metal boxes, with production dates and expiration dates clearly marked on the labels.

The items in the base had a shelf life of up to 300 years.

These things.

Were obviously still within their shelf life.