82: Get lost, you old lecher!

Deep in sleep, Li Shilan was startled awake by the phone ringing. She immediately sat up and reached for the phone on the nightstand.

She knew that at a time like this, the only person who could be calling was Ai Yue.

Sure enough, Ai Yue's anxious voice came from the other end. "Mom, the Plague of Insects has arrived early. How are you guys? How is the Safety Tower doing?"

"What? The Plague of Insects is early?"

Ai Guosheng, who woke up shortly after, was shocked to hear this. He immediately ran to the bathroom to check, and finding nothing, he breathed a sigh of relief.

However, he didn't dare to be careless. He immediately took the insecticide Ai Yue had left behind and sprayed every corner of the bathroom, kitchen, and other areas.

"Mom, the Bloodthirsty Worms are ubiquitous. You must be careful. Also, tell the leaders as soon as possible to take precautions. If they don't believe you, don't say too much; just go home, lock the doors and windows, seal the floor drains and toilets, and wait for me to get back," Ai Yue urged.

"Oh, don't worry about us. We know how to handle it. You, on the other hand, must stay safe out there. Don't let those Bloodthirsty Worms get near you."

"I know, Mom. Don't worry."

...When Ai Guosheng finished his task and returned to the room, his wife had already hung up.

"Is Yueyue okay? What's going on?" Ai Guosheng asked while getting dressed.

"Yueyue is fine; she's on her way back. The city she was in has already been surrounded by Bloodthirsty Worms. If nothing unexpected happens, I'm afraid there isn't a single person left alive in that city by now," Li Shilan said blankly, staring at the phone in her hand.

"Sigh, go back to sleep for a while. I'll keep watch." Ai Guosheng sat on the edge of the bed, patted Li Shilan's hand, and sighed.

Li Shilan snapped out of it, shook her head gently, and put down the phone. "I can't sleep. Yueyue said to inform the leaders so the Safety Tower can prepare early."

"Alright, I'll make the call." Saying this, Ai Guosheng made a satellite phone call to Gu Yan to tell him about the Plague of Insects.

Gu Yan took the news very seriously and called an emergency meeting overnight to deploy defenses.

Li Shilan sat dazed on the bed, murmuring, "I wonder how much longer we can hold on..."

"Don't talk so pessimistically. We will definitely survive until the end of the Apocalypse."

Li Shilan gave a hollow grin. "Am I being too sentimental? We're people who have already died once!"

Ai Guosheng gave her a firm hug. "I love you no matter how you are. I love your sentimentality even more; it makes you feel real to me."

Li Shilan burst into a laugh, pulled away from Ai Guosheng's embrace, and said crossly, "Get out, you old pervert. Go squat in the toilet."

"Yes, ma'am! Following my wife's orders!" Ai Guosheng chuckled and checked every room again.

The night passed peacefully.

But things weren't going so well for Ai Yue and the two others.

Ai Yue had driven for half the night. The next morning, on the only road back, they encountered trouble. In the middle of the road, a massive sinkhole had appeared, and Bloodthirsty Worms were swarming out of it incessantly.

The army of Bloodthirsty Worms was constantly spreading in all directions. This meant that even if they got past this hole, the road ahead would be covered in them.

"Holy shit," Mo Li couldn't help but curse at the sight.

"Sister, what do we do?" Ye Rui asked nervously.

Ai Yue took a deep breath and spoke helplessly, "What else can we do? We have to take a detour. This hole is too big; our car can't get across."

"But, but where do we detour to?"

Ai Yue pulled a map of China from her backpack, studied it carefully, and quickly pointed out a route.

"Sister, those worms are coming over!" Ye Rui suddenly cried out.

Ai Yue immediately turned the car around and drove back, getting onto the highway at an intersection, praying inwardly that the highway was clear.

The highway was a mess, with trash, cars, and various obstacles blocking the way.

Ai Yue relied on her superb driving skills to slowly weave through the obstacles.

At this moment, she missed the marauder immensely. With it, these obstacles would be nothing; she could have just plowed through them.

The speed advantage of the kaibaihe battle shield couldn't be used at all; it could only crawl along like a turtle.

After more than two hours, they finally reached the next exit. They could get off the highway here, having perfectly bypassed the sinkhole.

After exiting the highway, the three found that there were very few worms here. The army of Bloodthirsty Worms hadn't reached this area yet. It was clear that the Plague of Insects didn't break out across the whole country at once, but radiated out from specific points.

By sheer coincidence, they were right at an outbreak site. It was hard to say if this was lucky or unlucky; lucky because they knew early, unlucky because they were right in the middle of it.

They passed Xusui Mountain without incident. She didn't know if Gu Xiheng and the others had left yet, but Ai Yue didn't have the leisure to worry about others; she only wanted to get back to the Safety Tower as quickly as possible.

Meanwhile, deep in Xusui Mountain.

"Young General, we've searched everywhere. There isn't a second energy stone," Yan Li said to Gu Xiheng.

Gu Xiheng still felt a bit of regret, but considering that being able to get one energy stone was already a rare feat, he stopped dwelling on it.

"In that case, return to the base immediately."

"Yes, sir."

The group mobilized, packed their luggage, put on their backpacks, and left the area with their flashlights on.

An hour later, they emerged and found the marauder they had parked earlier.

Walking up to the car, Gu Xiheng stepped on something squishy. He lifted his foot and saw a large insect oozing green liquid, but he didn't pay it much mind.

Suddenly, the captive Lao Wu screamed. The others were startled. "What happened to you?"

"It hurts! Something bit through my sole and is biting the bottom of my foot!" Lao Wu's face turned pale with pain, his features twisting in agony.

"Quick, lift his foot."

Gu Xiheng and the others looked and saw a hole in the bottom of Lao Wu's shoe.

"Take off his shoe," Gu Xiheng said with a heavy expression.

What kind of thing was so powerful it could bite through the sole of a shoe?

Lao Zhang yanked off Lao Wu's shoe. To everyone's shock, they found a large black worm biting him hard on the sole of his foot, which had turned an unnatural greenish-white.

"Not good." Gu Xiheng was quick to act. Wearing gloves, he grabbed the worm and pulled it off.

The large fleshy worm hissed silently, its circular mouth lined with rows of sharp teeth, writhing constantly in Gu Xiheng's hand.

"Ah, what kind of worm is this? It's so ugly and disgusting!" Gu Xitian took two steps back in revulsion.

Everyone frowned. No one knew; they had never seen such a powerful insect before.

"Could it be a bloodsucker or a leech? Look at his foot; it's clearly showing signs of excessive blood loss," Cheng Siyu said coolly.

The group looked at Lao Wu's foot and then at the large worm, nodding in agreement.

"Probably not. Bloodsuckers aren't this big and don't look like this. It's definitely not a leech either," Yan Li said.

"Maybe it mutated?" Gu Xitian retorted stubbornly.

"Everyone, look! What is that?!" Lao Zhang suddenly pointed to one end of the road, shouting in surprise.