88: Even more terrifying things have happened.

Unexpectedly, the Bloodthirsty Worms, which threatened human safety, would end up as a meal on human tables.

Ai Yue truly didn't expect that the Bloodthirsty Worms, which were ridiculously strong in her previous life and troubled her for a long time, would suddenly feel so weak in this life.

Time flew by like flowing water; half a year passed in the blink of an eye.

Over the past six months, people had completely grown accustomed to the taste of the Bloodthirsty Worms, and their nutritional value was very high.

Eating Bloodthirsty Worms every day, people's complexions became rosier by the day, and they grew much sturdier.

Since the emergence of the Bloodthirsty Worms, ordinary people within the Safety Tower rarely ventured out.

After all, the Bloodthirsty Worms were elusive; without a vehicle, anyone walking out would most likely be ambushed and drained of their blood.

Just as people thought life would continue this way, something even more terrifying appeared.

One early morning, a five-person squad went out on a mission and never returned.

The base sent people to investigate, only to find a battered and damaged car at the site of the incident; the five people were nowhere to be found, and there were three half-meter-wide deep holes in the ground.

Soldier A: "What kind of thing could cause holes this wide and deep?"

Soldier B squatted at the mouth of a hole and rubbed the soil at its edge. "It seems Captain Ma and the other four are in grave danger."

Soldier C: "These holes look like they were made by a large animal. There are no traces of the men nearby; they were most likely eaten by this unknown creature."

Soldier B: "What kind of animal could dig such large holes? Rats? Or snakes?"

Soldier A: "Let's leave first and report the situation to the higher-ups. Let them send experts to make a judgment."

The search and rescue team finished their search and confirmed that the five-person squad had been killed, though they had no clue exactly how it happened.

After gathering all the clues, the search and rescue team towed the ravaged car back to the base.

Listening to the search and rescue captain's report and looking at the wrecked car, Gu Xiheng's brow furrowed. From the limited clues, it seemed the five-person squad had encountered a very large, burrowing beast, but he couldn't determine which kind.

Before Gu Xiheng could analyze any useful information, more bad news arrived.

Another squad returning to the base after completing a mission was also attacked.

This time, however, they were lucky; a heavily injured soldier managed to escape and return.

After emergency treatment, the soldier successfully passed the critical stage.

In the hospital room.

"Zhao Wei, what exactly happened?" Gu Xiheng asked.

"Young General, it's a centipede! An exceptionally large and long centipede. It's so big it could swallow a person whole just by opening its mouth," Zhao Wei said with lingering fear.

"A centipede? Tell me everything from the beginning!"

"Our squad had finished the mission, and on our way back to the base, a behemoth suddenly burrowed out from the ground. With one swipe of its tail, it sent our car rolling several times."

"The few of us barely managed to crawl out of the car, only to see a giant centipede with its mouth wide open, lunging at Li Bin. He... he couldn't dodge it and was swallowed whole by the centipede."

"I was the only lucky one who crawled back into the car. Everyone else... everyone else was eaten. I... I'm the only one who drove back, sob..."

Having finished, Zhao Wei couldn't help but wail like a child.

Gu Xiheng patted his shoulder comfortingly. "Only one?"

"Only one!"

"How big?"

"It's about three meters long and half a meter wide. Its shell is extremely hard; bullets can't penetrate it at all, and no one can get close to it."

"It's actually that powerful?" Mo Li said nonchalantly, sitting with his legs crossed.

Zhao Wei didn't know Mo Li, so he didn't respond but instead looked toward Gu Xiheng.

Gu Xiheng waved his hand, signaling him to continue.

Zhao Wei continued, "That giant centipede has nearly three thousand legs. Each leg is like a knife; if someone gets close to its legs, they'll be sliced through upon contact!"

Zhao Wei paused here. "As for its weaknesses, I didn't find any."

"A centipede's weakness? It must be afraid of big roosters," Mo Li chimed in.

"In front of a centipede that size, I don't know who'd be afraid of whom," Zhao Wei whispered.

No matter how softly he spoke, everyone in the room heard him clearly.

"Zhao Wei has a point. A rooster probably won't work," Gu Xiheng said in a low voice.

"If we don't know what it's afraid of, how do we deal with it? At the previous scene, three deep holes were left behind, which means there isn't just one of those monsters," Mo Li said.

Gu Xiheng nodded, agreeing with Mo Li's subsequent point that there was more than one giant centipede. "Since we don't know its weakness, we can only rely on manpower to kill it."

"Why don't we go ask Ai Yue? She's smart and full of ideas; maybe she has a way," Mo Li suddenly suggested.

Mo Li's suggestion made Cheng Siyu, who had been silent, feel uncomfortable.

Although the mention of Ai Yue displeased her, she didn't voice an objection just because of her inner discontent.

However, she spoke up, "Why don't I go and ask for Miss Ai Yue's opinion? She and I hit it off immediately at Xusui Mountain. Unlike you men, she might be more willing to talk to me."

The way she said that... why did it feel so awkward?

Gu Xiheng's brow furrowed slightly. Before he could say anything, Mo Li immediately stood up in opposition. "Forget it. Ai Yue and I have faced life and death together; it's obviously more appropriate for me to go. Besides, I'm familiar with the way to her house, so I'll go."

Gu Xiheng closed his mouth, staring at Mo Li with a somewhat unfriendly gaze. Why was this guy so eager when it came to going to Ai Yue's house?

He thought, "What is he trying to do?"

Gu Xiheng opened his mouth to speak, but Mo Li cut him off. "Oh, let's just do that. The sooner the better. I'm going now."

With that, he slipped out the door in a flash.

Gu Xiheng stared resentfully in the direction Mo Li had disappeared, remaining silent for a long while.

"Xiheng, don't get your hopes up too high. Miss Ai Yue might not know everything; we should still make plans early." Facing Gu Xiheng, Cheng Siyu's cold voice vanished, replaced by a gentle tone.

"Yeah, I understand," Gu Xiheng said... At Ai Yue's house, a sudden series of knocks rang out.

Hearing the sound, Ai Yue's brow furrowed. Who was so blind as to come looking for trouble?

Just as she was about to go to the door in anger, Ye Rui had already skipped over and opened it.

"Brother Mo Li?" Ye Rui's pleasantly surprised voice drifted in.

Seeing Ye Rui open the door for him, Mo Li's eyes narrowed and his mouth split into a wide grin. "It's me. We haven't seen each other in so long; how have you been?"

"Mhm, I've been doing great. Never better!" Ye Rui said happily.

"Oh? That's good then."

"Brother Mo Li, did you come here for something?"

"I do have business, but that's secondary. I mainly came to see you, to see if you're used to living in the Safety Tower and if you've been bullied." Mo Li patted her head, speaking with a doting expression.