I created the myth of the Great Old Ones.

The singer explained.

"vomit--"

Lu Ban instinctively wanted to spit it out, but he swallowed the gushing sensation back down his throat.

"What's wrong? Are you feeling unwell?"

The singer patted Lu Ban on the back.

"No, I choked."

Lu Ban lied against his will.

"Eat slowly, it's not like you haven't eaten this before."

The singer made a joke.

"We also eat insect meat, but we always grill it directly."

He glanced at the campfire for a moment.

Lu Ban then realized that insects and insect swarms were not the same concept.

To be precise, most of the creatures that live in the wilderness are insects.

Some of these insects have soft shells, like giant cabbage caterpillars, while others have shells as hard as steel and wings. There are insects that swim in the desert and insects that fly in the sky.

In short, they are all insects.

The camel-like creatures that Lu Ban and his companions rode were actually a type of insect.

The whole world has mutated in the direction of insects.

Insect swarms are a completely different concept from insects. They are like insects that live in their own ecological niches, living honestly. Humans can form a complete and self-consistent biosphere by relying on these insects and the desert, which can continue to develop.

But the swarm is the destroyer of everything.

They devoured everything in their path, consuming all organic matter and producing endless sand and gravel, transforming this exotic land from a wilderness into the desert it is today.

These swarms of insects are like monsters created by some god with the greatest malice, existing solely to exterminate all living things on earth, ravaging the wilderness.

The people of Utopia wanted to find the weaknesses of these insect swarms.

“We regularly send out a group of scholars, like us, to search for swarms of insects and the nests where these insects are born. According to our research, there must be a nest in the swarm, and the queen in that nest is the culprit. As long as we deal with the queen, we can eliminate the entire swarm.”

Late at night, Shuangxin and Luban were on watch. She sat by the campfire, the firelight illuminating her profile, giving her an unusual look.

She became very excited and animated when she mentioned the insect swarm, as if she were talking about a nerdy guy in his professional field, recounting everything in great detail.

"But there might be more than one queen, or perhaps these swarms were originally one entity?"

Lu Ban noticed that their research didn't provide as much information as Feng Yu had, so he reminded him.

"More than one? No, impossible. A swarm can only have one queen, but one entity... Right, these swarms act collectively, there must be some special way of transmitting information. I originally thought it was pheromones or some kind of scent, but they are one entity. This idea is very interesting..."

Shuangxin quickly fell into thought.

"You really like insects?"

Lu Ban asked.

"No, I hate insects the most. My friends and family have all died because of insects. I hate these creatures the most."

Shuangxin clenched her fist.

"That's why I want to study insects and how to completely drive these things out of our world."

"This is truly a long and arduous task."

Lu Ban made a comment.

There are probably quite a few people in the wasteland who share Frostheart's aspirations. These people are like those who believe that the island can still be saved and those who are willing to resist the demonic tide. In this desperate world, they still hold onto hope.

Perhaps what follows will shatter their hopes, turn their remaining prayers into nothingness, and utterly destroy their reason in the most profound way.

But such people still exist.

"We discovered a ruin about 100 kilometers north-northeast of here. This ruin may be the location of the insect swarm's nest. Our goal this time is to investigate the surrounding ecology and, if possible, capture some of the insects that are free to roam outside for further investigation."

Shuangxin added.

"Insects that roam freely outside..."

If the swarm is truly a single entity, then the insects located at the edge of the swarm are not some detached insects, but rather the tentacles of that enormous creature, its most sensitive sensory organs.

If you come into contact with it, it might attract a huge swarm of insects in no time.

Lu Ban felt it was necessary to persuade them.

Chapter 486 Ice in the Desert

Since the mission did not require him to accompany these researchers, Lu Ban's initial plan was to obtain information about the swarm through these researchers, then go alone, use [Cat Poisoning] to lure the queen, and finally obtain the Heart of the Swarm before escaping.

But it seems that these researchers don't have much specific information either, and we'll have to figure it out ourselves.

If the other side makes a huge mistake and follows the swarm out of curiosity, only to be discovered by them, then Lu Ban can't say what will happen to his three companions.

This is similar to researchers who chase tornadoes and volcanic eruptions. Although they have obtained a lot of first-hand information about disasters for mankind, they are also racing against death. If they are not careful, they will be crushed to pieces.

The next morning, before the sun had even risen, the group was already preparing to continue their journey.

Ruins are rare in the wasteland. Due to years of weathering, most buildings have turned into rubble, no longer possessing the grandeur and magnificence they had before the disaster. The few remaining buildings have become a paradise for insects.

Buildings cast shadows, and during the hot day, insects gather in these shadows, and the food chain begins with these insects.

Therefore, encountering ruins while walking in the wilderness is sometimes not a good thing.

"It's so hot."

Lu Ban felt as if all the moisture in his body was being evaporated.

Fortunately, just as the sweat is about to be secreted, it is absorbed by the plants in the skin, achieving a perfect internal circulation and preventing excessive water loss.

"We need to replenish our water supply."

Shuangxin said after hearing Lu Ban's words.

She was wearing a hat to shield herself from the sun, and whether it was Lu Ban's imagination or not, he felt that the woman didn't seem to be very hot.

"Now?"

Lu Ban didn't quite understand. In the middle of the desert, surrounded by barren land, where could they possibly replenish their water supply?

Everyone else stopped, and Shuangxin took out a black pillar about the thickness of an arm from the backpack carried by the camel worm. She planted the pillar in the ground, and a subtle vibration spread from the gravel.

Lu Ban felt as if sonar was exploring something.

Suddenly, the earth trembled in unison with the pillar's vibration.

The next moment, Lu Ban saw the nearby sand begin to undulate, as if something was about to emerge and be brought into the sunlight.

"Is the big one coming?"

Lu Ban asked a question subconsciously.

Immediately afterwards, something burst forth from the ground. It was a huge worm with a dark yellow body the color of gravel. Its skin was rough, yet it gave off a soft, unsettling feeling. Lu Ban estimated that the worm was at least twenty meters long and nearly one meter in diameter. Its mouthparts resembled those of a lamprey, filled with tiny, densely packed teeth. Between these teeth were many grains of sand, as if it were a creature that fed on the sand.

As soon as the insect crawled out, Lu Ban saw Shana pull out the knife from her back.

The knife in the young man's hand looked like it was carved from the bones of some kind of creature; it was dull all over, with only the blade gleaming.

The crystals on his arm lit up at the same time, their eerie blue glow, like stars, making the surroundings even darker.

The boy charged at the giant worm with his knife.

At this moment, Lu Ban realized why his name was Setsuna.

It wasn't because he grasped the future, but because he was just too fast.

With a swift, almost imperceptible motion, the simple knife pierced the worm's rough skin, leaving a long gash. The enormous worm twitched as a result, but its fine teeth failed to catch its target.

In Lu Ban's [True Vision], Setsuna's actions were broken down. Only then did Lu Ban realize that, as the crystal on his arm lit up, Setsuna seemed to enter a special state. His body was surrounded by a blue light. Within this light, his movements were accelerated, or rather, the movement of everything except him was slowed down. This gave Setsuna a gap to easily dodge the worm's attack.

If this child appeared in Lu Ban's world, he would probably get the title of Flash or Quicksilver.

The worm's wound gushed out a pale fluid, which fell onto the sand and quickly soaked the ground, turning the sand a deep black.

Then, the singer tugged at her collar, revealing a necklace-like crystal on her throat, and then opened her mouth and began to sing loudly.

She was singing in a language that Lu Ban couldn't understand, or perhaps it was just a nonsensical idiom. Although it was a cappella, the melody was melodious. In this song, it seemed that all the despair and gloom had been swept away, leaving people refreshed and in a good mood.

As the song played, the insect's wound began to worsen, with more thick, white fluid gushing out, as if the song had torn open the wound and ripped out more flesh and blood.

The large gray worm struggled and tried to burrow back into the ground, but Frostheart had somehow appeared beside it.

Ignoring the filth and blood, she reached directly into the gaping wound.

A chill emanated from Shuangxin's palm and spread along with the wound.

click-

The insect was frozen at a speed visible to the naked eye.

The cold frost covered the insect's surface, and the splashed juices solidified in mid-air, blooming into a magnificent flower on the desert.

At this moment, dawn truly arrived in the wasteland, with sunlight shining from beyond the horizon, and the ice crystals reflecting the light, glittering brilliantly.

click-

Shuangxin pulled her hand out of the frozen insect corpse, revealing that her palm was red, a sign of mild frostbite.

Lu Ban finally understood why she was called Shuangxin.

Her heart must be frozen solid.

"Hurry up, we'll set off once we've replenished our water supply."

Shuangxin said, while pulling out the black pillar.

"This thing can emit a sound at a special frequency to attract these worms, and these worms contain the water we need."

Seeing Lu Ban's puzzled look, Shuang Xin shook the pillar in her hand.

"Get moisture from them?"

Lu Ban glanced at the frozen monster fluids, looking slightly disgusted.