Full-Time Public Enemy

Ma Shuwen and the others watched as the Alien Insect Race began to descend, tremendous vibrations and roaring sounds coming their way. Each Troop Nest Beetle was enormous and terrifying, and there was no telling how many powerful members of the Insect Race were hidden within.

Elton was counting, "One hundred thirty-four, one hundred thirty-five…"

This time, the Alien Insect Race had gone all in; the number of Troop Nest Beetles had reached two hundred!

The scouts felt chills running down their scalps. Ma Shuwen saw Chen Gu's piercing gaze fixed on her, and she smiled resignedly, "There's no need to look at me; I'm well aware that this is a suicide mission. But we're all active military personnel, and we're very clear about the serious consequences if the Insect Race obtains these gene chains. So, come on, let's start this suicide mission together!"

Chen Gu smiled faintly and said, "With a Sixth Energy Level expert to back us up, it may not necessarily be a suicide mission."

When Gong Shuxu heard the annoying Brain Domain Hacker, he thought, He's actually trying to shift the burden onto an old man like me? He immediately said with restraint, "On your way here, you've destroyed two insect nests, and the total number of Troop Nest Beetles you've annihilated has already exceeded two hundred. This batch of insects, for you, is just a little more trouble."

Ma Shuwen and the others nodded in agreement. In their eyes, the old and the young were "heroes recognize heroes, with mutual admiration."

Chen Gu and Gong Shuxu exchanged glances, both feeling something was off. How does it seem like the two of us aren't trading sarcastic barbs and shifting blame, but are instead… engaging in mutual flattery?

Gong Shuxu said, "Let's head out and take a look at the insect nest."

As everyone was about to move, Gong Shuxu's communication device suddenly started making a SIZZLING noise.

The old man was puzzled. Personal communication devices have a limited range, and there was no base or army nearby. Consequently, throughout the various emergencies they had encountered, Gong Shuxu had no way to report the situation to the military. That's why Bai Yunpeng's later deployment of an armored unit to support them never managed to find them.

He curiously opened the communication device, and a voice came through, "This is Bai Yunpeng. There is a war satellite above you, and I'm using it to contact you. The connection is very unstable due to the magnetic field interference from the planet you're on."

Contacting them through the war satellite required some technical adjustments, which caused some delays.

Gong Shuxu immediately said, "We have figured out the Insect Race's aim."

After sharing his and Chen Gu's speculation, Bai Yunpeng quickly responded, "Follow Master Chen Gu's plan, and I will try my best to provide you with support."

The communication was filled with CRACKLING sounds. Indeed, the connection was very unstable.

Bai Yunpeng concluded, "This war satellite will follow you continuously, and we'll stay in touch."

Ma Shuwen and the others noticeably breathed a sigh of relief. What they had thought would be a suicide mission now seemed to carry a glimmer of hope. It always feels good to have the military backing you up.

The location where the Alien Insect Race descended was about a hundred miles from the crater of the super lifeform—they clearly dreaded the super lifeform and dared not come too close.

The professionals moved swiftly. When they arrived at the landing site of the Insect Race, they were taken aback. The ground was shattered, covered with signs resembling meteorite falls.

But those two hundred enormous Troop Nest Beetles were all dead! Their bodies were all dried up, exhausted of the last bit of nutrients and energy. And the ground around them was covered with the traces of insect feet.

Chen Gu shook his head again. "The Insect Race this time directly brought most of the already hatched insect soldiers. Inside the Troop Nest Beetles, there were only a handful of embryonic seeds. After landing, they immediately used the energy of the Troop Nest Beetles themselves to hatch, quickly forming a large insect army, and then chased after those victors."

Gong Shuxu gritted his teeth with some regret. "Chase!"

Chen Gu felt a heavy weight in his heart, knowing that a tough battle was inevitable. The previous two insect nests he had wiped out had involved some luck, but what was key was his need to control powerful members of the Insect Race, like the Skyrocketing Insect. However, those fully hatched Skyrocketing Insects were very difficult to control with "Mind Remote Control." If I really have to kill the members of the Insect Race one by one... then we'll truly have to rely on Gong Shuxu.

The traces of the swarm were easy to follow. They pursued the trail, and after several hundred kilometers, they arrived at another gruesome battlefield. But the corpses on the ground were all of the mechanical species; the defeated local mechanical species and the pursuing extraterrestrial mechanical species had erupted into a second major battle here.

"The Insect Race has split their forces," everyone concluded after a thorough search.

The defeated local mechanical species must have scattered here too, with the extraterrestrial mechanical species hunting them down everywhere. The Insect Race also split their forces to chase them. But since Chen Gu and his team were few in number, they could only pursue one group.

Chen Gu wondered, "How does the Insect Race know where those victors have fled to?"

Regardless, everyone decided to follow the Insect Race.

...

In a narrow valley, a nimble mechanical species was creeping along in hiding. It was very alert, its massive metallic body moving across the rocks without making a single sound. There were no other mechanical species following it.

The intellect of the Energy Gathering Mechanical Species was naturally higher than that of the steam mechanical species. After receiving the blessing of the super lifeform, the intellect of this victor was accordingly enhanced. After fleeing with its clan, it understood after the second battle that sticking with the large group was a sure path to death.

So it had driven away its followers and escaped alone. Unquestionably, this strategy was very successful. It had smoothly arrived at this valley; just beyond it was the entrance to an underground cave. By entering it, it would reach the world it was familiar with, and those extraterrestrial visitors would never be able to catch up to it.

Any mechanical species knew that once it gained the favor of the "Ancestor," its future potential was boundless. With their intelligence, of course, they could not be fully aware of what this "future" entailed, driven only by instinct to desperately strive for it. And once successful, the five of them suddenly understood that they were in the most direct competition with each other, much like wild beasts fight for their right to survive, to mate, and so on. That is why the subsequent relentless battles between the two species were also fueled by these five.

This one quickly understood that two couldn't beat three, so it decided on a "strategic retreat."

Peeking out from among the sheltering rocks, the blazing sunlight poured down from above the narrow canyon, shining on its metallic body, which reflected a prismatic glow. The body proportions of this victor, which had received the genetic chain of the super lifeform, had become even more perfect, making anyone who saw it marvel at the wonder of creation.

But just as the mouth of the valley was within reach, suddenly some strange creatures emerged along the sides of the valley walls, RUSTLING about in great numbers with large bodies, instantly filling the narrow mouth of the valley.