115: Chapter 115 Encountering Insects

The third Otherworld.

When Su Mingyuan opened his eyes, his first reaction was — wanting to vomit.

The sky was a disturbing dark red, as if stained with fresh blood; there was no sun, no clouds, and the entire sky presented a viscous, flowing texture.

The ground beneath their feet was even more bizarre.

A dark purple fungal mat densely covered the ground, and cysts on the surface ruptured from time to time, spewing foul gases.

"Ugh—"

The sound of dry retching came from behind; it was a young warrior who couldn't hold it back.

"Damn it..."

Zhang Dabiao's voice came through the communication channel, carrying suppressed anger, "I've spent a week in the Zombie World, and I've never seen such a disgusting place."

The scent permeating the air was indeed unbearable—

Rotting, sour, and with a sweet, nauseating smell, even through the filtration System of the protective mask, that sickening aura could still be felt.

In the distance, the dilapidated architectural ruins had long been eroded by the fungal mat, turning into a bizarre mixture of organic and inorganic matter.

"Everyone, establish a defensive formation immediately!"

Su Mingyuan forcefully suppressed the churning in his stomach and gave a deep command.

The thirty people instantly scattered, forming a 360-degree dead-angle-free defense circle in squads.

Tao Zhe had already taken out the detection equipment and quickly scanned the surrounding environment.

"The air is breathable, but it's full of filthy things." His voice was a bit tight, "Never take off your protective suits; the fungal mat on the ground is corrosive."

"It's a good thing we put them on beforehand," Zhang Dabiao said in a low voice, "Otherwise, the soles of our feet would have rotted away by now."

"Check the status of the protective suits!" Su Mingyuan ordered.

"Group one, normal!"

"Group two, normal!"

"All members of group three, equipment intact!"

Just at that moment—

Rustle, rustle, rustle...

A scalp-numbing sound came from all directions.

That was the sound of countless arthropods crawling on the fungal mat—dense, hurried, and full of malice.

"Something is approaching!" Zhang Dabiao abruptly raised his electromagnetic rifle, "Activate thermal imaging!"

The warriors turned on the thermal imagers on their helmets one after another.

Through the display screen, dense red light spots were closing in on them.

"Damn it..." Zhang Dabiao gasped, "At least fifty, and still increasing!"

Su Mingyuan stared fixedly at the fungal mat in the distance, his pupils contracting abruptly—

The first bug crawled out.

No, calling it a "bug" was no longer accurate enough.

It was a terrifying creature about two meters long, with an overall shape similar to a centipede magnified dozens of times.

Its body was composed of seven or eight segments of dark green carapace, with complex patterns on each segment, and mucus oozed from the surface from time to time.

It had dozens of pairs of arthropods, each pair resembling a sharp sickle, with the tips flashing a metallic cold light.

The most terrifying thing was its head—there were no eyes, only a huge mouthpart containing three layers of annular sharp fangs inside, each as sharp as a scalpel.

"Chirp—!!!"

The bug let out a sharp hiss, a sound so ear-piercing that it felt as if countless steel needles were piercing the brain simultaneously!

"Damn it!" Zhang Dabiao cursed, "This screech sounds even uglier than my old squad leader!"

Right after that—

Rustle, rustle, rustle, rustle!!!

From all directions, dozens of identical bugs swarmed out!

They moved quickly on the fungal mat, their dozen pairs of arthropods coordinating perfectly, moving faster than a human running.

Some even climbed the walls of the ruined buildings, hanging upside down as they closed in on the humans.

"Open fire!!!"

Su Mingyuan gave the order.

Da da da da da!!!

Thirty electromagnetic rifles fired simultaneously, and the blue-white projectiles were fired at three times the speed of sound!

Bang! Bang! Bang!

The projectiles hit the bugs' carapaces, splashing large swaths of green mucus.

However—

The bug only paused slightly, then continued crawling forward!

"The carapace is too hard! Can't pierce it!" exclaimed a warrior.

Su Mingyuan narrowed his eyes, staring fixedly at the bug's body structure.

Joints.

At the joints where those arthropods connected to the body, the carapace was obviously weak.

"Aim for the joints!" Su Mingyuan shouted, "Break their legs!"

He took the lead in adjusting his muzzle, aiming at the forelimb joint of the nearest bug—

Bang!

The electromagnetic projectile hit accurately!

That arthropod snapped in response, the bug's body tilted, and its speed suddenly slowed down.

"Effective!" Zhang Dabiao laughed aloud, "Brothers, aim for the joints!"

The warriors immediately changed their shooting targets.

The bugs whose arthropods were broken fell one after another, green bodily fluids splashing everywhere.

But they were still not dead, continuing to crawl with their remaining arthropods.

"Focus fire! One by one!" Su Mingyuan ordered.

Five or six rifles concentrated firepower to attack the same bug.

After having six pairs of arthropods broken and its carapace pierced in three places, the first bug finally stopped moving.

"It's dead! This thing can be killed!"

But the other bugs had already charged to within less than 50 meters.

A more terrifying thing happened—

The mouthparts of those bugs suddenly opened, and eerie green fluorescence began to emanate from inside.

Su Mingyuan's pupils shrank, and a strong premonition of danger surged into his heart.

"Scatter!!!"

As soon as his voice fell—

Puff! Puff! Puff!

Dozens of dark green liquids jetted out from the bugs' mouths!

The acid sliced through the air and landed on the fungal mat, instantly corroding large pits smoking with white smoke.

"Holy shit! This thing can spray acid!" Zhang Dabiao rolled aside to dodge, "Everyone pay attention!"

The warriors moved quickly, using the ruins as cover.

Just at that moment—

A bug bypassed the fire network and lunged straight at Tao Zhe, who was operating the detection equipment!

Tao Zhe was completely unaware, still staring at the data on the screen.

"Dr. Tao!"

Su Mingyuan, with quick eyes and fast hands, suddenly turned around—

He had no time to aim, raising his gun entirely by instinct.

The moment the bug's sickle-shaped arthropod was about to hack into Tao Zhe's back—

Bang!

The electromagnetic projectile accurately hit the base of the bug's mouthpart!

The entire head exploded, and green bodily fluids splattered out, splashing all over Tao Zhe.

Under the effect of momentum, the bug's body slid forward for two meters, heavily slamming beside Tao Zhe's feet, completely motionless.

Tao Zhe only then reacted, turning his head abruptly, and seeing the corpse of the bug close at hand, his face instantly turned pale.

"...Thanks a lot."

His voice trembled as he wiped the green mucus on his mask.

Su Mingyuan nodded, having no time to say much, because more bugs were surging over.

"Dr. Tao, how is the situation?!"

Tao Zhe forced himself to calm down, staring at the detection equipment:

"Not good! These bugs are releasing pheromones to attract more of their kind! Within a radius of one kilometer, at least 500 are rushing over!"

"What?!"

"And…" Tao Zhe's voice became even more tense, "A big guy is approaching! The size is at least three to five times that of these bugs! Distance is less than 500 meters!"

Su Mingyuan's heart sank.

500 bugs, plus a giant monster.

Thirty people, limited ammunition.

This battle couldn't be fought.

"Everyone! Tactical retreat! Fight while moving!"

"Received!"

The Longyan Warriors began to retreat in an order, covering each other alternately, moving and shooting at the same time.

The blue-white trajectories of the electromagnetic rifles intertwined into a fire network under the dark red sky, and the green bodily fluids of the bugs splashed everywhere.

"Squad leader! Three o'clock direction! Five!"

"Saw it!" Zhang Dabiao turned around and fired a magazine, breaking the forelimbs of two bugs, "Run faster, brats! Don't let these disgusting things touch you!"

But the bugs were getting more and more numerous, denser and denser.

Just at that moment—

Rumble!!!

A deafening sound came from the distance, as if something huge was running.

The ground began to shake violently.

The fungal mat also undulated accordingly, surging like waves.

Everyone stopped shooting and looked in the direction the sound came from.

Zhang Dabiao swallowed a mouthful of saliva, his voice strained:

"That… big guy… is here?"

Su Mingyuan gripped the electromagnetic rifle in his hand tightly, his heart beating violently.

The ruins in the distance were collapsing, and some behemoth was closing in on them.