Xiaohai pointed at the ground beneath their feet. "Something’s wrong with the soil here. It looks like an area the Insect Race frequents. There might be tunnels underneath us!"
"Why didn’t you say so earlier!"
Sun Yang’s face was tense. He quickly took a few steps back, staring at the ground, terrified that the Insect Race would suddenly burst out.
"You didn’t ask!"
Xiaohai’s tone was flat as he continued to observe their surroundings. "But these tunnels look abandoned. The Insect Race probably hasn’t been active in this area recently."
Shen Qiuyue walked a few steps closer and squatted down to examine the ground. "Abandoned doesn’t necessarily mean safe.
Search the perimeter. Confirm if there are any signs of recent Insect Race activity!"
Sun Yang stood his ground, clutching his gun, clearly reluctant. "Search for what? What if a whole nest of them suddenly pops out? How are the three of us supposed to hold them off?"
"You can just stand there and wait to die!"
Shen Qiuyue replied coldly and had already started scanning the surroundings with her device.
"Ugh, fine! I’m scared of you, alright?"
Sun Yang grumbled and joined the search, muttering nonstop under his breath, "This is just my luck. Being on a team with you feels like a death sentence..."
In the dense forest, the first team, led by Li Chang’an, continued to approach the signal source as the atmosphere grew increasingly tense.
The faint rustling that occasionally came from the bushes made Han Ruoxi unconsciously tighten her grip on the Electromagnetic Emitter.
"Captain, do you think that scout-type insect sent a signal? If we keep approaching like this, could we be walking into an ambush?"
Han Ruoxi couldn’t help but ask, her voice hushed.
"It doesn’t matter if it sent a signal or not!"
Li Chang’an stopped and raised a hand, signaling for everyone to halt. His eyes were locked on a patch of shrubs ahead. "Our job is to assess the situation first. We don’t advance rashly, and we don’t retreat."
"But ambushes from the Insect Race are usually massive. For all we know, there could be a huge swarm nearby already..."
Han Ruoxi muttered, the electricity in her palm crackling more intensely.
"Quiet!"
Li Chang’an hissed, his sharp gaze sweeping their surroundings. "Bai Lin, what’s the status on the location?"
Bai Lin quickly operated the terminal in his hands, his brow slightly furrowed. "The signal fluctuation has intensified significantly. There might be more than one source.
The strongest signal is within a thirty-meter range, straight ahead!"
"Good!"
Li Chang’an nodded and waved his hand forward. "Stay close to me. Be careful."
The three of them slowly approached the target area. After crossing a few patches of low shrubs, they finally saw their target.
In the center of a clearing, several medium-sized insects were circling a deep pit. A faint green fluorescent light flickered from within.
"Whoa, what is this? An Insect Race power station?"
Han Ruoxi couldn’t help but exclaim in a low voice, her eyes fixed on the glow in the pit. "Something seems strange about this... that light... is there something wrong with it?"
Bai Lin quickly pulled up the analysis data. "The light is a reaction from some kind of special substance. It could be a trap the Insect Race uses to lure prey, or it could be some kind of resource point!"
"A resource point?"
Han Ruoxi raised an eyebrow. "So you’re saying... we can dig this stuff up and trade it for points?"
"Don’t move!"
Li Chang’an stopped her in a low voice. "You can’t just touch things in a place like this because they look weird.
Wait until we’ve confirmed what it is!"
"So what do we do now?"
Han Ruoxi asked, a little impatiently. "We can’t just stare at it forever, can we?"
"Observe!"
Li Chang’an spat out a single word, his gaze never leaving the clearing.
Meanwhile, the second team’s situation was rapidly devolving from bad to chaotic.
"See, I told you! The Insect Race really was nearby!"
Sun Yang glanced back as he ran. Several small insects were crawling out from underground, their mouths full of sharp teeth gaping as they chased after them. "Shen Qiuyue, I told you not to dig at that hole! But you just had to try it!"
"Shut up and run!"
Shen Qiuyue barked coldly, her Dueling Sword already drawn. She spun around and, with a single slash, decapitated an insect pouncing at them. "Are these insects tracking the reek of your sweat?"
"Don’t be ridiculous! I’m perfectly clean, what sweat smell?!"
Sun Yang clutched his Pulse Gun for dear life, trying to turn and aim as he ran. "Xiaohai, do something! The three of us can’t take on this many!"
Xiaohai, rapidly operating the terminal on his wrist, replied calmly, "The Insect Race is tracking us from the area we just scouted. They were probably drawn by the ground vibrations.
You two, slow down a bit. I need to get a lock on the swarm’s numbers and distribution!"
"Slow down? Are you crazy?!"
Sun Yang’s face was a mask of Despair. "If we slow down, we’ll be their dinner!"
"Shut up and do as I say!"
Shen Qiuyue retorted bluntly, then raised her sword and cleaved an insect chasing them from behind, successfully felling another one.
"You two, stop arguing!"
Xiaohai looked up, his gaze fixed on the distance. "There’s a Rock Area two hundred meters ahead. The insects’ movements will be restricted on that kind of terrain. We can use it to our advantage and counterattack!"
"Then say so earlier! Run!"
Sun Yang shouted and charged forward desperately, his steps heavy.
A few minutes later, they finally rushed into the Rock Area.
Amidst the complex crevices of the rocky terrain, the Insect Race’s pursuit speed dropped noticeably.
Shen Qiuyue took a deep breath and stopped. "Sun Yang, you’re on suppressive fire. I’ll clean up the stragglers.
Xiaohai, find a high point and get a count on the swarm!"
"You got it! Just watch me!"
Sun Yang dropped down behind a rock, set up his Pulse Gun, and sprayed furiously at the pursuing insects. "Come on, you ugly bastards! I’ll make you regret the day you were born!"
A few of the insects were forced back by the gunfire, but two of them dodged the bullets and tried to flank them from the side.
Shen Qiuyue was prepared. Leaping sideways onto a rock, she vaulted high into the air and lopped off both insects’ heads with a single slash.