From Joy of Life, the Tian Gang is reversed

Chapter 472 That Glimmer of Light Before Dawn

Earth 167, Smolwell

The jungle on the outskirts of the city was mostly empty, and the air was filled with a rotten, sweet smell.

Upon closer inspection, one would discover that most of the ravaged jungle floor was covered in a glaring purple, thick, mud-like substance. This substance, like a living thing, silently spread, covered, and devoured everything. The roots of trees were eroded, turning into conduits for transporting nutrients; the soil was assimilated, becoming a breeding ground for monsters.

That was the biggest anomaly to appear in Smallville in recent months, and also the paradise for those disgusting insects, the creep.

Months ago, at the Talon restaurant, a mutated tarantula suddenly appeared and attacked Whitney, a rising star in Smallville, causing a commotion. At the time, with Whitney's help, Amanda Waller captured the mutated tarantula and was quite pleased with himself for having a mutated creature. Little did he know that it would be the beginning of a nightmare.

Isn’t there a saying like that?
When you find one cockroach, there's already a cockroach infestation in places you can't see.

The same was true for Smallville; by the time they discovered the first tarantula, a real threat had already formed in the woods outside Smallville.

First, people who entered the jungle discovered strange fungal carpets. Then, residents found some obviously abnormal large insects in their homes. Next came a series of disappearances, which caused panic among the people of Smallville.

After several incidents of insect attacks, Sky Eye fully deployed to Smallville to investigate and quickly identified the suspect, Grek. However, by then, Grek had already disappeared.

Under Amanda's orders, Sky Eye agents and combat teams began searching the suburban jungle, taking samples of the mud-like fungal carpet on the ground. The results surprised Amanda; this seemingly living substance was rich in various organic materials, making it a natural breeding ground for insects. The entire jungle ecosystem had been transformed into an insect paradise.

Soon, her squad was attacked without warning. The once warm jungle had become strange and dangerous, and the team suffered heavy casualties. According to the survivors, they encountered a giant praying mantis in the jungle. These mantises ranged in size from over a meter to nearly a meter in length. They moved as fast as ghosts, had shells as hard as tanks, and their sickle-like forelimbs could easily tear through bulletproof vests. Almost none of the team members could catch a glimpse of them...

In this situation, she had to report the situation to higher authorities, who then deployed troops, heavy armored vehicles, and air power to blockade the jungle and launch several carpet bombings, but the results terrified her.

The first aerial strike successfully destroyed most of the jungle, exposing the purple carpet that was completely covered by the creep. However, the second strike was far less successful, as the purple creep was not afraid of the firepower. In fact, the energy from the firepower became its own power, and the creep expanded at an accelerated rate!
In response, she had to abandon her offensive operations and instead quickly sent samples of the fungal mats to the rear to search for weaknesses, but the results were unsatisfactory.

In just three months, all the residents of Smallville have moved out. It wasn't organized by the government, because the government of the United States doesn't have that function, but the residents of Smallville aren't stupid. They couldn't have missed such an obvious change. Now, Smallville is a ghost town.

It was precisely because of this that Amanda was able to send military aircraft to bomb with impunity. However, she never imagined that today's impunity would become the noose around her neck in the future.

Tianyan Association Temporary Command Center

Amanda Waller stood before the enormous screen, where the purple areas representing the creep expansion were visibly eroding the last few uncovered blocks of Smallville. Her face was more grim than ever. Even if the air strikes weren't working, it was the only means they could muster now…

"Report! The activity of the mycelium in Zone C has increased dramatically! Ultra-high energy biological signals have been detected!" A technician's voice trembled slightly.

Waller's gaze instantly locked onto Area C—a small hill outside Smallville, one of the core areas where the swarm initially broke out, now completely covered by creep, forming a wriggling hill.

"All units, high alert! Air strike formations, lock onto Sector C, prepare for saturation..." Before Waller could finish his order, a sudden change occurred!
Boom——! ! !
The ground in the entire command center was shaking! It wasn't an explosion, but a terrifying shockwave caused by some enormous thing bursting out of the ground!
The holographic image flickered violently before being covered by a spray of mud, shattered fungal carpet, and a suffocatingly large shadow!

Suddenly, the raised "hill" of fungal carpet in the town center park burst open! A colossal creature tore through the earth and stood proudly! It was a praying mantis, but much larger than the ones that had appeared before.

Its size rivals that of a main battle tank! Its entire body isn't covered by a carapace, but by incredibly thick, chitinous bio-armor that gleams with a dark metallic sheen, with ominous kryptonite green light flowing through the gaps. Its back is no longer fragile wings, but several thick, cannon-like biological organs, with dark green energy surging deep within the muzzles.

On the triangular head, the huge compound eyes were like a furnace, burning with a pure will to destroy. The high-frequency mental screams were like a real shock wave, instantly sweeping across the entire area. All the glass objects in the command center shattered in response, and the personnel who were not wearing protective gear clutched their heads in pain and rolled on the ground!

"Fire! All firepower! Take it down!" Waller's roar rang out in the communication channel. She endured the excruciating pain in her head, and for the first time, horror appeared in her eyes.

In an instant, the Heavenly Eye Society's firepower poured down on the terrifying behemoth like a torrential downpour!

Armed helicopters roared as they launched rockets...

Ground troops' heavy machine guns, howitzers...

But all of this didn't seem to cause any real damage to the monster.

The rockets and bullets fired at it struck the thick bio-armor, only creating tiny sparks!
Suddenly, the bio-turret on its back turned sharply, and dark green, viscous acid balls shot out like cannonballs!

An armed helicopter, unable to dodge in time, was hit head-on by the acid ball. Its sturdy alloy armor melted instantly like butter, and accompanied by the crew's shrill screams, it fell as a burning pile of scrap metal!

"Damn it, damn it..." Amanda growled, staring intently at the monster on the screen. Finally, she reached into her pocket and slammed her hand down on a communicator button.

Just as she pressed the communicator button, in a top-floor office of an office building in Mid-Levels, Hong Kong, a middle-aged man quietly watched everything happening on the screen and sighed softly.

"Damn it, an insect plague! No wonder it's a sign of impending doom."

At this time, the alarm sounded.

The man raised an eyebrow slightly. "They can't hold out any longer, Kenan, go."

————I am the dividing line————

Just as the giant mantis shattered the ground on Earth 167, on Earth 38, in the United States, on Capitol Hill, President Cleveland, who had been in office for a year, was passionately recounting the achievements of the extraterrestrial control bill she had championed over the past year. Below the stage, the Vice President, all cabinet members, leaders of the House and Senate, and the vast majority of members of Congress listened attentively...

Countless camera lenses were pointed at the president. In front of the television screens, Earthlings and aliens alike were watching, some with joy, some with excitement, some with anger, some with reproach, and some with disdain...

The next moment, a blinding flash of lightning streaked across the screen, and the screen went blank!
(End of this chapter)