Star Abyss Walker

Chapter 286 The Insect Nest Under East Lake
"Keyi Chain Hotel..."

I glanced at the sign from the passenger seat and then asked Cheng Shuang, "What do you mean?"

"The hotel has a pretty good location, but it doesn't seem to be doing very well."

Cheng Shuang said, "This place is less than a kilometer away from the East Lake Campus of Huaining University, separated by a food street. And there is a reed bed behind the hotel. If you really decide to run this hotel long-term, I can use my connections to clear the reed bed, spend money to build a lakeside platform, and turn the entire first to third floor of the east side of the hotel into lake-view rooms."

Hearing her say that, I couldn't help but feel my heart flutter.

"Let's get out of the car and see if the hotel is willing to transfer ownership."

"Ok!"

So the two went downstairs and walked into the hotel together.

"Welcome! Do you two have a reservation?" the hotel receptionist asked with a smile.

I was taken aback. The receptionist was actually less than 80 points in terms of looks, but her smile was very friendly and gave people a feeling of warmth and comfort.

If we can really take over this shop, it would be best to keep this young lady; she would be perfect as a receptionist.

"We're not staying in a hotel."

Cheng Shuang smiled and said, "Is your boss here? We have something we'd like to discuss with him."

"Oh, please wait a moment!"

The receptionist made a phone call, and soon after, an old Santana appeared outside the door, followed by a man with a slicked-back hairstyle walking in.

"Mr. Xu, these two are looking for you," the receptionist said.

"President Cheng!?"

The man addressed as General Manager Xu recognized Cheng Shuang at a glance and smiled, "We met at the Donghu District Industry Summit, but General Manager Cheng is in charge of the Donghu International Hotel project. That's a big project, so she probably wouldn't notice a small franchise like ours..."

"how could be?"

Cheng Shuang smiled warmly and said, "President Xu, this is my friend, Ding Han. We just happened to be passing by and would like to talk to you about something. Is this a convenient time for you?"

"It's convenient. There's a small coffee shop on the first floor of the hotel. Please come with me, we'll talk over there."

Following Mr. Xu, we arrived at the lakeside coffee shop of the hotel. We each had an Americano, and then Cheng Shuang started the conversation about the operation of this chain hotel.

"Sigh, don't even mention it. We've been losing money every year, and we can't keep going anymore. Luckily, the rental contract only has a few years left."

Mr. Xu said with a distressed expression, "I even sold my second house to open this franchise store, but after five years, I've lost everything..."

"Mr. Xu, how large is this franchise store? Why is it losing money? Can you tell me?" I asked.

"There's nothing I can't say."

Mr. Xu gave a bitter laugh: "This hotel has three floors and a total of 50 rooms. It's close to the Huaining University branch campus, so business should be good. But students just don't come. The decor is old and not competitive. The most important thing is that the rent is too expensive. It costs 400,000 yuan a year. With the staff salaries, we need to have a turnover of at least 50,000 yuan a month to make a profit. At first, we set the daily room rate too high, which scared away a lot of people. Later, we simply lowered the room rate to a minimum of 100 yuan per room, but we still couldn't book many rooms every day. It had a chain reaction, and we lost even more money."

I said in surprise, "Your hotel is near East Lake, which is one of the most famous tourist attractions in the city. Logically speaking, you should be able to make a big profit during the peak tourist season."

"it's useless."

Mr. Xu shook his head: "The renovation is terrible. There's just a reed bed in the back, you can't see anything, it's like a rural area. I tried to find a solution before, using pictures of other guesthouses in our shop, but customers complained about false advertising, and we got a hefty fine from the Industry and Commerce Bureau, which made things even worse..."

I'm utterly speechless. This is too awful. This kind of business tactic is so outrageous that even a dog would shake its head at it.

Cheng Shuang laughed and said, "Have you thought about selling the remaining five years' rent? At least you can recoup some of the losses. Otherwise, just like you said, continuing like this will only create a vicious cycle, and there's no point in doing it at all."

"What, Mr. Cheng wants to acquire this land?" Mr. Xu asked with a smile.

"I am not interested."

Cheng Shuang smiled and said, "However, Ding Han wants to open a themed hotel that caters to students, so I brought him here to ask if you are interested in transferring the business."

"Transferring it is also an option."

Mr. Xu said, "The franchise agreement I signed has just expired. But Ding Han, are you really planning to open a store here? That reed marshland behind is unlucky. I heard that someone was fishing there and was dragged down by a big blue carp weighing dozens of kilograms and drowned. Nobody dares to walk by the lake at night."

"It's alright. I'm a staunch materialist. I'm not afraid of ghosts or anything like that."

"That's fine."

Mr. Xu took out a business card and handed it over: "This is my business card. If you really want to take over, I can help you contact the landlord. Then we can have a three-way meeting to discuss the transfer of the shop. How about that?"

"Yes, thank you, Mr. Xu!"

I also took out my business card and handed it to him.

Afterwards, he walked out of the hotel with Cheng Shuang.

"How about we drive around the lake and take a look at the surrounding environment? I'd like to confirm the application to clear the reeds here," she said.

"it is good!"

I nodded emphatically. Perfect timing. I also wanted to check out the surroundings and confirm the development direction of our first Feiyang e-sports chain hotel.

So, we drove slowly along the lake shore.

After walking for about a kilometer, I suggested we get out of the car and walk. Cheng Shuang parked the car in a lakeside parking space, and the two of us began to walk slowly along the lakeside walking path.

Just as Mr. Xu said, there are few tourists in this area, and there are basically no people.

"Cheng Shuang, will clearing that reed bed be particularly troublesome?"

"Not really. I can't speak for other districts, but I have connections in Donghu District. Clearing a reed bed is just a matter of a leader's word. Using the excuse of improving the water quality of Donghu Lake, how difficult do you think it is?"

"..."

I was speechless: "Well, sometimes this is how corruption breeds."

Cheng Shuang chuckled: "There's no such thing as absolute white or absolute black in this world. As long as things get done, that's all that matters. Also, in my opinion, if we really take over this hotel, we should make sweeping changes and extend the hotel's backyard all the way to the lake to build a lakeside restaurant. This would not only satisfy the needs of young people who want to play games, but also meet the psychological needs of customers who want to stay at the inn. What do you think?"

"It must cost a lot of money, right?"

"There are thousands of hotels and inns around East Lake. If you are not willing to invest, how can you expect a return? Hotels are different from internet cafes. Customers have very high requirements for the hardware."

"Ok!"

I glanced at the 800 million star coins in the other-dimensional storage space. That should be enough. With Lu Xiaobei also providing 40% of the investment, we can basically turn this e-sports hotel chain into a true flagship store in the south, which can serve as a model for future development.

……

As we were walking, we heard the roar of an engine behind us.

Cheng Shuang and I turned around and were immediately stunned. Two teenagers had ridden motorcycles onto the lakeside walkway. One of them was wearing Iori Yagami's clothes and had dyed red hair, while the other was wearing Kyo Kusanagi's clothes, with a flushed face and a sleazy look. They both looked like they had been drinking.

"Beauty."

Iori Yagami whistled and laughed, "Alone?"

Instantly, veins popped out on my forehead. Was this guy treating me like I didn't exist?

"Beautiful lady? Why aren't you responding?"

Kyo Kusanagi whistled, his eyes sweeping over Cheng Shuang's chest and hips, and laughed, "You're so beautiful, and you have such a great figure, how about I take you for a ride around East Lake?"

"Hmph~~~"

Cheng Shuang couldn't help but laugh: "You little brat who hasn't even grown all his feathers yet, get lost!"

"Wow, what a temper!"

Iori Yagami tilted his head and stared intently at Cheng Shuang's chest, saying, "People say that flat-chested women have bad tempers, but how come you, a woman with big breasts, have such a bad temper? It doesn't make sense, it's completely unreasonable!"

"Nima..."

I took a deep breath, turned around, and clashed my fists together, making a series of cracking sounds as I prepared to beat them up.

But at that moment, it was suddenly discovered that the water level in East Lake was visibly dropping!

"wrong!"

I turned to look at the lake and saw a huge whirlpool appear, like a gluttonous maw frantically swallowing the lake water, sucking in the weeds and fish along the shore!

"Ding Han, what's wrong?" Cheng Shuang also noticed that my expression was off.

"This is not good..."

My heart was pounding, and a strong sense of crisis gripped my heart!

The next second, a figure suddenly shot out of the lake with a frightening speed, leaving only a blur as it instantly passed over the heads of the two ghost fire boys.

"what?!"

The two were shocked and hurriedly lowered their bodies, but it was too late!

"Pfft!"

With two sharp cracks, the two men were cleanly severed along their chests. The monster that killed them was covered in spiky claws. Its limbs, encased in dark carapace, plowed through the stone slabs of the walkway. With a loud "squeak," it bent its legs, leaped suddenly, and swung its pair of mantis-like scythe-like claws across the path!

"Cheng Shuang, step back!"

In a flash, I let out a low shout and entered battle mode with a thought. My inner energy erupted, quickly condensing into pieces of cyan armor around me. Then, my cyan cloak billowed up, and I gripped the Flame-Breaking Shield in my left hand, holding it horizontally in front of me!
"Clang~~~"

Amidst the flying sparks, the opponent's scythe carved a deep trench in the middle of the Flame Shield, simultaneously inflicting over 4000 points of shock damage on me!

Although its body is only about three meters long, its strength is terrifying!
The next second, the opponent's attributes appeared before my eyes—

【Kareban】(Blue Boss)

Rating: 60
Attack: 5050-5800
Defense: 3500
Qi and blood: 10000000
Skills: [Slicing Attack Lv.10], [Strength Enhancement Lv.10], [Swarm Health Enhancement Lv.10]

Details: Kaleban, a Tier 5 Zerg unit, evolved from the Overlord Zerg. It possesses innate strength and speed, and also has some chameleon genetic characteristics, allowing its body color to change according to the environment. It is a notorious assassin in the Zerg swarm!
……

Karebran, a Tier 5 Zerg unit!

My heart pounded. Huaining City was clearly protected by the Wall of Life, so why were there such high-level Zerg units here?

"Ding Han!"

Cheng Shuang was terrified and turned pale, but she still refused to leave me behind.

"Go start the car!"

I shouted, "The swarm never acts alone. The appearance of one insect means there's already a swarm here. Hurry!"

"it is good!"

She turned and ran.

"Sigh~~~"

Kareban's bright red compound eyes were fixed on Cheng Shuang's direction, his carapace behind him rose up, and a pair of hidden wings spread out!

"Fuck you!"

I immediately took out my bomb gun, aimed at Kareban's eyes at close range, and fired a burst. Kareban screamed in pain as the left scythe pierced his left breastplate with a "thud." Just as he succeeded, I switched my main weapon to the Power Sword Firewood!

"Click~~~"

"2466267!"

Brown liquid shot into the sky, severing one of Caraban's scythes in two!

"Pong!"

With a burst of energy, he charged forward, instantly stunning the enemy. Then, he unleashed a barrage of battle cries, divine craftsmanship, and unstoppable momentum, followed by a chilling sword strike that froze the enemy in place. Then, a storm of attacks rained down, severing all of Caliban's remaining scythes and limbs!
At the same time, he directly activated the Star Chart system and shouted in the regional channel of Huaining City—

"Attention all players! Attention all players! A Tier 5 Kaleban has appeared in the East Lake area of ​​the East Lake District, suspected to have been invaded by a Zerg hive!"

After this sentence was shouted three times in a row, the Star Chart exploded with excitement.

Gunners like Dragon and Uncontested Spirit announced their arrival, and the message was also sent to the guide and the military stationed in Huaining City.

"Click~~"

Amidst the sharp sword light, Caliban's toilet-sized head was directly cleaved apart by the power sword. Although its carapace was tough, even the bomb gun was somewhat helpless against it, but under the destructive force field of the Fire, it was no different from being made of paper!
The next second, two ringtones sounded in my ears—

[Congratulations! You have defeated [Kareban] (the blue BOSS) and obtained the item: [BOSS Ability Crystal] x1!]

[Battle Notification: You have defeated [Kareban] (Cyan BOSS), gaining 8000000 character experience points. The Elemental Furnace extracted 4000000 experience points!]

……

"Ding Han!!!"

From afar came Cheng Shuang's scream. Sitting in the car, she pointed outside and exclaimed, "Over there... come back quickly!"

In East Lake, the water level dropped rapidly, and insects could be seen rushing out of the mud. Four of them were extremely fast, and their movements seemed to leave afterimages!
Bladebug, a Tier 4 Zerg unit, an orange-tier boss!

They headed straight for Cheng Shuang!

Cheng Shuang's face was deathly pale, and her beautiful eyes stared straight at me, filled with deep despair and fear.

I think she must have been terrified at that moment that I would abandon her and leave, just like her ex-fiancé had.

"Cheng Shuang, don't be afraid, drive!"

I immediately activated Cloud Chaser and Lightning Chaser, which greatly increased my movement speed. I leaped into the air with my power sword, landing on the back of the MC20 with a "thud." I grabbed the convertible seat with my left hand and raised my right hand to raise the Firewood. With two "crack" sounds, I chopped a flying attacking worm into many pieces. Green sap spilled in the wind, and a foul smell spread throughout the air!
"go!"

He gently pressed Cheng Shuang's shoulder with his left hand: "Go back to the Cheng Group building, drive faster!"

"it is good……"

Cheng Shuang finally stepped on the gas, and with a roar of the engine, the convertible sports car drew an arc along the lakeside and rushed directly onto East Lake Avenue.

Behind them, countless insects emerged from the lake, with the three knife-like insects chasing them the most closely!
"Drive steadily!"

I leaped forward, kneeling backward in the passenger seat, and simultaneously raised the bomb gun with both hands, aiming at the rear. "Bang bang bang!" A whole magazine of bullets hit the heads of the knife worms. When one magazine was empty, I immediately switched to a new one, repeating this process until I shook off the two knife worms and blasted the head of the one that was chasing me the most!

Behind them, swarms of insects invaded, plunging the human city into chaos.

……

The East Lake International Hotel project building.

"Ding Han..."

As we went upstairs, Cheng Shuang was still in shock, holding my hand tightly and refusing to let go.

Along the way, many people from the Cheng Group looked over, their faces full of surprise.

"never mind."

After returning to Cheng Shuang's office, I turned to look at the location of East Lake, only to find that the water level of East Lake within a nearly three-kilometer radius had sunk and completely disappeared, replaced by a dark, gaping insect nest.

"Cheng Shuang."

Turning around, I put my hand on her shoulder: "Take responsibility. Order all external exits to be closed, raise the security doors, and don't let the bugs in."

"Ding Han...and you..."

She suddenly grabbed my hand and pleaded, "Don't go...don't go...it's too dangerous..."

"I have to go."

Looking downstairs, I frowned and said, "I'll go distract the swarm of insects, and that will save a lot of innocent lives. Listen to me, quickly order the building to be placed under lockdown. I'm off!"

As he spoke, he turned and walked out of the office, only to see Liu Yan walking towards him.

"Ding Han, what happened?" she asked in surprise. "The swarm of insects has entered the city. Liu Yan, don't wander around. Stay here with Cheng Shuang. She came into direct contact with the swarm by the lake and was frightened. She needs someone to stay with her now."

"Okay, what are you doing..."

"I still have something to do!"

As he spoke, he followed the crowded people into the elevator. After arriving on the first floor, he rushed out before the safety doors rose. Amidst the panicked crowd, he took out his off-road motorcycle, switched back into combat mode, drove with one hand and held his power sword with the other, and charged directly onto Donghu Avenue!
The city was in complete chaos, and in the distance, swarms of insects were spreading, leaving behind piles of white bones everywhere.

Humans have become food for insects!

"Oh shit!"

I frowned, a sense of responsibility as a player welling up inside me for no apparent reason. At that moment, only one thought came to mind: I had to protect the city I lived in!

The motorcycle sped by, and the longsword flashed past!

"Crack!"

On a corpse wearing a high school uniform, the head of a knife worm that was gnawing on flesh flew out in the wind. The orange BOSS was instantly killed with a single sword strike!

As they charged forward, they saw thorny snakes writhing everywhere, their bodies arched.

"You son of a bitch, die!"

With a steady left hand on the wheel, the motorcycle traced a perfect arc, while at the same time the power sword sliced ​​through a group of hydras, cleaving them in two!

"drop!"

At this moment, Ruolin sent an invitation to join the team. After confirming, she saw their seven little dots rushing towards her from different locations in the South District.

"Ding Han, how is it?" the fat man asked.

"It's not good, the situation is very serious."

I immediately put away the off-road motorcycle, grabbed my power sword, and charged towards the lake, saying, "You guys need to regroup before you get close to East Lake. The swarm is too large, so don't fight alone. The swarm tactic is no joke."

"understood."

Just then, the phone rang; it was Lin Qingying's number.

I didn't want her to worry, so I took out my Bluetooth earphones and put them in my ears. Then, I swung my sword with my right hand to slash at the bugs and used my bomb gun with my left hand to fire at close range, moving through the swarm of bugs as if they were nothing!
"Xiaoying, you've heard about the insect swarm in Donghu District too?"

"Um……"

She said urgently, "I know you and Cheng Shuang were looking at houses near East Lake today... You didn't encounter the insect swarm, did you?"

"We weren't so lucky; we just happened to run into the Zerg swarm."

As I swung my sword, panting heavily, I laughed and said, "I don't want to lie to you. In fact, Cheng Shuang and I were among the first to be attacked by the swarm of insects. But I really didn't take these insects seriously. Cheng Shuang is safe now, and I'm fighting by the lake. I was thinking... if I can hold back more of the swarm, many fewer civilians will die in the East Lake District."

"Ding Han, you..."

Lin Qingying's voice sounded like she was about to cry: "Be careful, I won't bother you anymore..."

With that, she hung up the phone.

Just then, another swarm of sword insects, leading a group of lower-level insects, emerged from the dried-up East Lake. They were so numerous that there was no choice but to draw my sword and charge at them.

"Young man..."

Not far away, a window on the third floor of a building by the roadside opened, and an elderly woman with white hair shouted loudly, "There are so many bugs over there! Don't go there, it's dangerous..."

"Grandma, I'm alright!"

I wiped the insect blood off my face and gave her a bright, sunny smile: "Quickly close the window and draw the curtains, it's dangerous outside!"

As he spoke, he ran towards the lake.

“Zizzizi~~~”

In the distance, the ground was lush and green.

Here it comes again, a Tier 2 Baneling, a blue BOSS!

Thousands upon thousands of exploding insects emerged from the swarm, a truly terrifying sight. But without the slightest hesitation, I sheathed my power sword, switched to my bomb gun, activated my ammo, and began to unleash a barrage of fire upon the exploding insects!
The bombs deal high damage, and it's an area-of-effect (AOE) attack, like a giant shotgun. The swarm of exploding bugs couldn't get close at all; their health bars were emptied and they exploded at a distance of ten meters.

Even if one or two exploding bugs get close and explode, it doesn't matter. The damage they cause is only 5000-7000 points. With my 8 HP, I have nothing to fear.

Just as the shooting was in progress, the phone rang again, this time from Lu Xiaobei—

"Hey, boss, what can I do for you?"

"Ding Han..."

Lu Xiaobei's voice was full of worry: "Milo just called me and said that an insect nest has appeared in Donghu District. Are you alright?"

"I already answered your call, do you think I'm okay?" I laughed.

"Damn it, get serious!"

Lu Xiaobei was almost in tears: "You're still laughing..."

"Xiao Bei, I'm fine, don't worry..."

I calmly said, "To be honest, I'm less than a hundred meters from the insect hive right now, and I'm already surrounded by the swarm. But who am I? Why should I be afraid of insects? You should ask those insects if they should be afraid of me. They have teeth, and I have guns. I'm not afraid of them at all. Okay, you can continue recording without worry. I'll continue killing insects."

"it is good……"

Lu Xiaobei finally burst into tears: "Ding Han, please don't let anything happen to you. You went to Donghu to help me choose a location for the Feiyang Esports Chain Hotel. If something happens to you, I will blame myself for the rest of my life. People online say that the most terrifying thing is the dead white moonlight. If something happens to you, my life will be gray, you know?"

"What nonsense! I'm focusing on killing the bugs now. I'll message you to let you know I'm safe when I'm done."

"Ok!"

……

After hanging up the phone, I continued to kill bugs with my pink bomb gun, switching to my power sword every now and then to slay dozens of bugs, replenishing my health bar before unleashing a barrage of AOE attacks with the bomb gun.

A few minutes later, the beeping sound rang out again, this time surprisingly from Su Wei.

"Ding Han, how are you now?" she asked.

"I'm about 100 meters away from the insect nest, trying to attract the attention of the insect swarm to prevent them from killing innocent civilians. If you look down from the sky, the center of the darkest, most swarming insect swarm around East Lake is me."

"I go……"

Su Wei was slightly startled and said, "Don't be so aggressive. We must not let anything happen. Our 99th Division's airborne brigade is already in the air and will arrive at Donghu in about ten minutes to carry out the airborne strike!"

"Hmm, hurry up, I can't attract many bugs by myself."

"Don't worry, we'll be on the battlefield soon!"

……

Soon after, a group of figures walked from the direction of the overpass. They were all well-trained and controlled the frequency of their shots perfectly. They quickly cleared the area south along Donghu Avenue. Finally, the Huaining City player team arrived!
"Ding Han!"

With spear thrusts like a dragon, he charged forward, leading the Crimson Sky Alliance in a sweeping advance.

Hehehe~~~

Just as a fourth-tier blade insect soared into the air, brandishing its scythe and charging towards the spear that shot out like a dragon, he suddenly unleashed a stunning attack, the power gun's edge cleaving through the blade insect's head, instantly killing it!

"Wow, having powered weapons really makes a difference!" I exclaimed.

Gunshot Like a Dragon revealed an embarrassed expression.

"Boss!"

Not far away, Nana, Hoya Asahi, Koumei, and others also arrived.

Zhang Ruolin took the lead, wielding a shield and a power sword. The shield propelled her forward against a swarm of insects, while the power sword slashed, constantly cutting through the insects' bodies. She had become an absolute main force on the battlefield.

"Ding Han, how is he?"

Zhang Ruolin quickly led her people to my position.

"The insect hive is over there."

I pointed ahead and said, "But there are just too many insects. I can't push them in by myself. It's good that you're here. Let's work together and break into the insect nest to see what's going on inside."

"Ok!"

With a wave of his hand, the man, seemingly unconcerned with worldly affairs, declared: "Continue the push!"

Just then, transport planes slowly passed overhead, followed by bursts of white blossoms in the air. The 99th Division's airborne brigade had arrived, airdropping not only light infantry but also a group of powered armored soldiers and even heavy armored vehicles.

Unfortunately, Donghu is located in the city center of Donghu District, making it impossible to use heavy weapons or drop heavy bombs to attack the insect hive, as that would result in too great a loss.

"attack!"

In the distance, Su Wei, clad in fourth-generation armor and wielding a power sword, led the vanguard forward.

Behind them, more and more Crimson Dragon Legion power armored machine gunners appeared. Under the sweeping fire of the large-caliber machine guns, all beings were equal. Insects below the fifth tier could not withstand it at all, and the trend of the swarm's expansion was quickly stopped.

"Advance towards the insect hive!"

I also took out my power sword and charged ahead, hacking and slashing. Anyway, the experience points were free, and this was the time when I needed them the most. Reaching level 60 as soon as possible and entering the "retirement" phase of the game was the best strategy!

"Oh, right, Ruolin."

Looking at Zhang Ruolin beside me, I opened the trade panel and put the Forest Whisperer Armor on it: "I've outgrown this chest armor, so it's perfect for you to use."

"Wow~~"

Ruolin's face lit up with joy, and she immediately threw up 30 coins, saying, "For cyan equipment, we'll use the internal price of 30 coins?"

"can."

I nodded and smiled: "You're making money pretty fast, aren't you? You've saved up 30 so quickly?"

"That is……"

She waved the Windseeker in her hand and said, "With this thing, why would I be short of money? It can instantly kill orange-level bosses. It's truly heaven-defying."

"Too."

I laughed and continued forward, soon passing the place where the two will-o'-the-wisps had died. How pitiful, there were only two pools of blood on the ground, and even the bone fragments had been gnawed away by insects.

Further on, they entered the muddy area. There's not much to say; in their battle form, clad in full armor and unfazed by the terrain, the group immediately charged into the mud and began hand-to-hand combat with the insects.

A few minutes later, a huge crack appeared in front of them.

"We've arrived at the insect hive."

Su Wei, carrying her power sword, said, "Ding Han, shall we go down first?"

"You're a division commander, don't be so eager to lead from the front. I'll go down first."

As I spoke, I leaped directly into the crevice. Instantly, everything was bright and sparkling, and countless insects swarmed towards me. Behind me, Su Wei led several third-generation armored warriors to jump down as well, followed by Ruolin, Qiang Chu Rulong, Yu Shi Wuzheng, and others. Everyone looked fierce and unwilling to fall behind.

The insect nest was completely empty.

"Look over there!"

Zhang Ruolin pointed to her right and said, "Is that thing the ultimate unit of this insect hive?"

I turned my gaze over and saw a huge queen insect perched in a corner of the nest. It looked like a big fat man, with a bloated body and a diameter of about ten meters. Strands of fluorescent mycelium extended in all directions, which looked like some kind of substance that could emit nerve signals. It probably used this to command the swarm of insects.

"It's a Star Cave Insect Queen..."

Su Wei gritted her teeth: "It's this thing that directs the swarm of insects to infiltrate the heart of our country..."

The next second, the Star Cave Insect Queen's attributes appeared—

【Star Cave Insect Queen】(Pink BOSS)

Rating: 60
Attack: 9000-10500
Defense: 5000
Qi and blood: 20000000
Skills: [Infinite Reproduction Lv.10], [Life Enhancement Lv.10], [Neural Network Expansion Lv.10]

Details: Star Cave Queen, a Tier 6 Zerg unit, is a type of queen that can reproduce Lord Zerg. Star Cave Queens come from the depths of the universe and are not life forms on their home planet. No matter where it is, it is as if it carries a powerful Zerg army with it, producing Lord Zerg in an endless stream!

……

Reproduction is touted as the greatest advantage of insect colonies.

The Star Cave Insect Mother nurtures an embryo called the Lord Insect, which is of a much higher rank than the Queen Insect nurtured by the fourth-tier Mother Insect.

In the Zerg's strict genetic hierarchy, the Lord Zerg can evolve into a Tier 5 Nest Lord, a Tier 5 Kaleban, a Tier 5 Spirit Blast Zerg, and with good luck, even a Tier 6 Claw Zerg or Blood Beast. Therefore, the Star Cave Zerg Queen is undoubtedly the core unit of the Zerg.

"Fuck it!"

Everyone opened fire from all directions, but a pink halo shimmered on the surface of the Star Cave Queen, and its extremely high armor of 5000 almost completely ignored the players' attacks, making its damage reduction against firearms exceptionally high!
"Molotov cocktail!"

I took out a Molotov cocktail from my storage space, lit it, and threw it out. With a "crack," the Molotov cocktail exploded, and the green fur on the surface of the Star Cave Insect Mother sizzled as it burned. Its swollen and thick outer skin also began to spasm wildly.

The Star Cave Queen doesn't have many attack methods. As long as you don't get close, she can only passively take hits. Her greatest strength lies in her rapid reproduction, relying on the destructive power of her swarm.

However, this insect nest that emerged from the bottom of East Lake is not actually a large insect nest. The insect swarm has been almost completely wiped out, and the Star Cave Insect Mother, which cannot move and has no ranged attack capabilities, has undoubtedly become a reward for the players!

After throwing a bunch of Molotov cocktails, I switched back to the pink bomb gun and fired armor-piercing rounds. With the combined fire of many players, the Star Cave Queen's health bar began to drop visibly.

After about five minutes and a lot of firepower, the Star Cave Queen was finally killed!

A bell rang in my ear—

[Congratulations! You have defeated the Star Cave Insect Queen (pink BOSS) and obtained the item: BOSS Ability Crystal x1!]

[Battle Notification: You have defeated the Star Cave Insect Mother (pink BOSS), gaining 64000000 character experience points. The Elemental Furnace extracted 3200000 experience points!]

……

Success! A pink treasure chest is yours!
Open it now!

Congratulations! You have successfully opened your [BOSS Ability Crystal] and obtained the item: [Star Cave Insect Mother's Helmet] (Quality: Pink)!

Luck wasn't on my side, but I got a pink item!
I felt a surge of excitement, quickly opened my storage space, took out the helmet, and its attributes floated out—

【Helmet of the Star Cave Insect Mother】(Quality: Pink)
Rank: Fifth Tier

Defense: 780
Strength: +60
Physical strength: +58
Agility: +55
Specialty: Accuracy +100
Blessing: Damage reduction +4%
Specialty: Attack damage +17%
Blessing: Mighty Force - II, increases attack power by 600 points.
Blessing: Resilience, increases your maximum health by 7500 points.

Biography: The Helmet of the Star Cave Mother, a product of alien technology, is extremely sturdy.
Strength required: 1000
Required Agility: 500
……

It's alright. The three major attributes of damage reduction, damage increase, and Mighty Force II are not perfect, but I am completely satisfied. I immediately equipped it and replaced my previous Frostfire Helmet. The Frostfire Helmet did not have the Mighty Force attribute, but it did have the Rock-II attribute. So this equipment iteration sacrificed some armor in exchange for higher attack values, which is not bad. After all, the base of pink equipment is good, and this kind of iteration update must be very beneficial.

"Ruolin, do you have any money left?"

I looked at Ruolin beside me and showed her the Frost Armor.

“I’m really out of money, but I still have 20 yuan left. Do you want it?” she asked.

"middle!"

So the transaction was completed again, and in just one hour, he made a killing of 50 from Ruolin!

……

On the ground, a large number of armored vehicles entered the streets. The next task was to thoroughly clear out the insects that had entered the city. Although the number was not large, it was by no means something that ordinary civilians could handle.

The players were divided into several groups to work with the 99th Division to carry out the subsequent cleanup work.

I was sitting in an infantry fighting vehicle, working with Fatty on the cleanup. Only then did I finally have some free time, so I edited a group message for Lin Qingying, Lu Xiaobei, and Cheng Shuang and sent it out: "The insect hive has been cleared, and we are currently doing the final cleanup work. I am safe and sound, so don't worry."

(End of this chapter)