Full-Time Public Enemy

Witnessing this scene, the Empress showed no sorrow for her countless dead offspring. Instead, she shrieked with excitement.

She cautiously issued an order for the insects on the battlefield to watch out for accidents.

Last time, at a crucial moment, a bizarre individual had suddenly appeared and inexplicably snatched away the prey already within her grasp!

This time, she would not allow such an incident to occur.

Therefore, the crawler Troop Nest Beetle, having received the order, abandoned its usual habits and swiftly advanced. Its body was petite compared to a normal Troop Nest Beetle, yet it remained a behemoth among common insects. It shoved aside other bugs and rushed to the victor, coiling its tentacles to restrain the immobile creature.

Then the crawler Troop Nest Beetle deemed it appropriate—or rather, the Empress controlling it did, as the Troop Nest Beetle possessed no independent thought.

The Empress, of course, knew professionals existed among humans. In fact, all Empresses had attempted to engineer offspring capable of effectively resisting them.

However, professionals hadn't appeared en masse on the battlefield. Consequently, even if such modifications were successful, they weren't widely utilized. It was a matter of "cost"; these specialized offspring consumed too many resources, and with professionals being so rare, the enormous expense to specifically counter them wasn't justified.

If needed, Troop Nest Beetles could be modified on the fly.

When prey she had nearly captured suddenly vanished previously, the Empress recognized it as a professional's ability. However, she also understood that professionals had their limits; otherwise, they would have easily flattened the Insect Race.

With such a large Troop Nest Beetle now entangled with the Energy Gathering Mechanical Species, the professional likely lacked the ability to take them both.

Besides, even if they were taken together, the presence of the Troop Nest Beetle would allow her to immediately pinpoint their location.

All she desired was the gene chain. Whether the Energy Gathering Mechanical Species lived or died made no difference to her.

The vast insect swarm behind them surged forward. Just then, that accursed pale blue ripple reappeared, followed by that damned human.

The surrounding insects were already close, swarming forward. But the energy ripple rapidly collapsed inward; a group of bugs pounced to bite and, with a SNAP, bit nothing.

It wasn't entirely empty space they bit. The crawler Troop Nest Beetle was still there, and hundreds of large insects sank their fangs into it simultaneously! The unfortunate Troop Nest Beetle shuddered violently in pain.

From her nest at the rear, the Empress watched the abandoned Troop Nest Beetle and suddenly realized her mistake: a professional's ability could let him take what he wanted and leave what he didn't.

This meant that unless the Troop Nest Beetle completely merged with the Energy Gathering Mechanical Species—even if it were to enter the Mechanical Species as intimately as a lover—the professional could still callously leave it behind.

A miscalculation! The Empress silently berated herself but would never admit her mistake to her offspring. Instead, her fury erupted anew as the prey was snatched away just before being secured.

This time, her roar, a terrifying sonic wave, washed over the battlefield. Tens of thousands of Insect Race members collapsed in agony, their bodies unresponsive.

This was the Empress's punishment for them!

The punishment lasted over twenty minutes, leaving all the insects paralyzed. If a human bombardment had occurred then, nearly one hundred thousand members of the Insect Race would have been annihilated.

But the Empress had all but abandoned this generation of offspring. She quickly contacted her other broods, informing them of the spoiler's presence. She then issued a difficult command to the crawler Troop Nest Beetles serving as mere tool-commanders within the swarm: modify and adjust.

This command caused the insect swarm, which was splitting up to pursue the victor, to immediately slow down.

This was because these new Troop Nest Beetles, to maintain communication with the Empress and their own mobility, had sacrificed much of their modification and incubation capacity.

The Empress's orders required them to modify a portion of the Insect Race, enhancing their resistance to professionals' abilities.

However, their current form couldn't extract energy and nutrients from the planet, yet this modification demanded immense energy. Thus, they had to pause temporarily. The Troop Nest Beetles extended their feelers deep underground to draw power and sustenance.

Then they slowly began the transformation process.

They were much smaller than regular Troop Nest Beetles, which limited the number of large insects they could modify at once.

But it was the Empress's command, and they obeyed unconditionally.

...

Chen Gu had initially expected the insects to pursue them relentlessly after he brought back the second victor, just like before. Unexpectedly, this time, an inaudible sound had paralyzed all the insects on the ground, allowing Chen Gu and his group to escape easily.

Chen Gu tossed the severely injured, dying victor onto the Combat Rooster's back. The rooster squawked unhappily but, cowed by Chen Gu's intimidating glare, obediently galloped off, carrying its mortal enemy.

In the sky, the battle satellite faithfully relayed every scene back to the Central Operations Room. Bai Yunpeng, seeing Chen Gu snatch the second victor, heaved a sigh of relief. Beside him, Nan Zhendong couldn't help but exclaim repeatedly, "This kid is really good! How did you meet him?"

Bai Yunpeng replied, "We met playing games."

Nan Zhendong roared with laughter. Then, with the shrewd expression of a seasoned tactician, he said to Bai Yunpeng, "Such talent is wasted at the Bureau of Mystic Security! We need to find a way to get him into the military department. Whatever it takes, I'll support you!"

Bai Yunpeng's eyes lit up. Why else would I have dragged this old fellow here to witness Chen Gu's performance? Wasn't it precisely to hear him say this? That old hag Aviloya is too difficult for me to handle alone, but with two Marshals working together… this is practically a done deal!

He gave Nan Zhendong an "it's settled" hand gesture, and the two tacticians shared a conspiratorial smirk.

...

After escaping for dozens of kilometers, Chen Gu and his group slowed slightly, preparing to change direction and pursue the third victor.

At that moment, Ma Shuwen suddenly said, "It's dead."

The second victor on the Combat Rooster's back had died.

The Combat Rooster, in a previous near-death state, had unleashed a latent potential bestowed by its super life force. But the second victor's injuries were far more severe; it had first been pierced by four barbs from Swordtail Beetles and then bombarded by a salvo from Arrow Beetles.

Throughout their journey, it had repeatedly tried to cheat death. Each time the red light surged, however, it would slowly fade, powerless to heal its grievous wounds.

Now, it had finally succumbed, dying completely.

With a roar, the Combat Rooster tossed its dead enemy off its back and then bit into the carcass.

However, just as it took a bite, it glanced sheepishly at Chen Gu. Chen Gu nodded. "Go on, eat. Can't let good food go to waste. Make sure you eat every last bit."

Overjoyed, the Combat Rooster began to devour its meal ravenously.