Chapter 3: Crazy Insects (Part 1)

The Void Insect suddenly collapsed into a black dot, only to expand abruptly and stop at about the size of a washbasin. Everything around it was drawn in by a powerful force. Li Ran, Guo Shier, and Qi Wu Zhen all struggled to control their bodies to avoid being pulled by the immense suction. Everything on the ground that wasn’t fixed flew up and rushed toward the small black hole, instantly forming a strange vortex—just like a whirlpool on water’s surface, only upside down.

Even the wreckage of the spaceship was drawn up by this powerful suction, flying off the ground and crashing toward the black hole. As it neared, it was torn to pieces by the force and disappeared instantly.

Li Ran firmly shouted, “Let’s go!”
Guo Shier and Qi Wu Zhen stepped back at the same time. The strong suction slowed their flight speed. But the three of them quickly broke free from the pull and flew away from the supply point. As soon as Guo Shier left the supply point, he dived downward, grabbed the stunned Celine, and said, “Go!”

Celine was so terrified that her limbs turned weak; she couldn’t move at all. Guo Shier picked her up in his arms. In that moment, she felt incredibly safe and immediately wrapped her arms around Guo Shier’s waist.

Kasa was terrified. As soon as he saw Li Ran and the others leaving the battlefield, he activated his Starship Armor and fled desperately. Fortunately, the Starship Armor could fly fast as long as it had energy. Although his limbs were weak, it didn’t affect his flight. And he was smart enough to try his best to keep up with Li Ran and the others. The Starship Armor was indeed remarkable—its speed might not compare to Li Ran and the others’, but when pushed to overload, it could barely catch up to them.

At that moment, the Starship Armor emitted an alarm sound again. With just a glance, Kasa was terrified. Thousands of insects shot out from the black hole, circled in the air for a moment, and immediately started chasing after them.

Li Ran and the others also noticed this change. Guo Shier exclaimed in shock, “Did that insect sacrifice itself to attract insects from elsewhere?”
Qi Wu Zhen was also astonished. “It used its own body to create a passage. I guess once those insects arrive, this insect will be finished… There are quite a few of them coming…”

Li Ran’s soul fluctuated rapidly. Soon, he figured out how many insects had emerged. He said, “No more than 1,200 insects.”

Guo Shier gave a more accurate figure. He said, “One thousand one hundred seventy-six… There’s no mistake. As the last bug comes out, that black hole disappears.” He emitted a series of soul fluctuations, allowing him to clearly perceive everything happening behind him, so he could know exactly what was going on.

Qi Wu Zhen said, “There are too many of them. We can’t deal with them.”

Selin suddenly said, “That elder from the Tianling tribe—no, the Grand Elder—is always following us.”

Guo Shier laughed and said, “Ignore him. Heh, he’s quite smart, but unfortunately, he doesn’t realize that we can’t handle those bugs either. Following us is actually worse for him.”

Li Ran said, “It’s herd mentality. He’s lost confidence, which is why he follows us. Heh, if he flew alone, he might have a chance of escaping. But now… there’s no chance left. He can only follow us.”

Over a thousand Void Bugs were chasing them relentlessly, but Li Ran and the others were just as fast, having already created a gap of about seven or eight kilometers. It wouldn’t be easy for the bugs to catch up, and the three of them had a trick up their sleeves—Li Ran released purple chains to pull Guo Shier and Qi Wu Zhen along as they flew. The three took turns leading the way, which saved a lot of energy.

Kasa, however, grew increasingly desperate. He could clearly see that the people ahead were flying at lightning speed, while he had to push his Star Armament to its limit just to keep up. But this overloaded state had a time limit. If he continued flying like this, his Star Armament would fail within a few hours. Yet he didn’t dare slow down, as doing so would mean being caught up by the swarm of bugs. Thinking about those eerie bugs made him break into cold sweats.

“Wait for me…”

Kasa couldn’t help but shout. Amplified by his Star Armament, his voice echoed throughout the sky. Desperately, he noticed that the people ahead didn’t slow down at all and continued flying at a terrifying speed. An idea flashed through his mind: retribution. He had ignored the cries for help from his own kind before, and now others were ignoring him—true retribution.

Actually, it can’t be blamed on Li Ran and the others for ignoring him—they were now pulling three people along while escaping on their own, and it was already difficult to maintain such high speed. Adding Kasa would surely slow them down, so they didn’t dare take risks. Kasa wasn’t their friend but a potential enemy; risking their lives to save him would be foolish. They were all old veterans who understood this clearly.

It was time for Qi Wu Zhen to take over pulling, but as soon as Li Ran’s speed slowed, Qi Wu Zhen overtook him. The three of them formed a triangle, circling in the air and taking turns pulling, switching every dozen minutes or so. Each person exerted all their strength, so their speed kept increasing. Guo Shier, carrying one person, pulled for a shorter time. Soon, Kasa’s figure disappeared. This full-effort flight actually meant they were constantly accelerating, far faster than flying alone.

Kasa watched helplessly as their speed increased again and again. He let out desperate cries, knowing that without extraordinary luck, he was doomed this time. He checked the detection devices—alarms blared incessantly, with two types of warnings: one indicating an approaching enemy and the other that the weapons could no longer operate under overload; forcing them to work would cause the flight devices to collapse.

Sweat dripped down as Kasa felt more weak and powerless than ever. As the swarm drew closer, he couldn’t help but look back. Though the detection devices provided a clearer view, he still turned to look. Dense clusters of dark dots in the distance grew larger, and he cursed angrily. By now, he no longer cared—he just wanted to live a little longer, so he increased the energy output of his Star Armors, completely going mad.

When overload reached its limit, the Star Armors unleashed tremendous power. It was a shame for these Star Armors—if they had been original, their speed would have matched Li Ran’s group effortlessly. But these were replicas; although the core devices were original, most of the rest was makeshift. Otherwise, Kasa wouldn’t have been so panicked.

As the swarm got closer, the Star Armors emitted dazzling light, and their speed soared abruptly, slicing through the sky like arrows with a series of whooshing sounds, reaching an extremely terrifying speed in an instant. In just a few moments, Kasa saw Li Ran and the others flying ahead. He knew that if they continued at this speed, his Star Armors would be ruined in just a few minutes.

After holding on for over ten seconds, Kasa dared not overload himself anymore and began to reduce his energy output. In less than a minute, most of the energy in his Star Armament was used up, forcing him to replace the energy cell once again.

Guo Shier saw Kasa dart past him from a short distance away at an incredible speed. Curious, he said, “Huh, this guy runs really fast… Strange, why was he so slow just now…” Before he could finish speaking, Kasa slowed down, and they quickly overtook him.

Selin couldn’t help but laugh and said, “That was his last act of desperation… He’s done.” She had never thought of saving him; not stepping on him further was already considered Kasa’s luck. As for rejoicing in his misfortune, she thought it was only natural. The Tianling Clan and the Blade Clan were enemies, not friends, and they had been at war for a long time. In this world, only the professionals of the Spellcraft Clan remained relatively detached, while the rest were mainly these two major races in conflict.

Guo Shier said, “Hmm, I guess his Star Armament has limited energy.” He hadn’t expected this guy to overuse it.

Li Ran suddenly said, “That’s not right… Not right…”

Immediately afterward, Guo Shier and Qi Wuzhen also sensed something was wrong. The three of them simultaneously sent out soul wave detections, with Guo Shier also casting an eye-clearing spell on himself. When the soul waves spread out, everything within a thousand square kilometers was recorded in their souls. They didn’t detect anything amiss, but each of them felt an instinctive fear.

A thousand kilometers was a distance they could cover in a very short time, so the three of them continued to expend their souls, taking turns scanning the surroundings. All three were experienced professionals highly sensitive to danger, and they didn’t dare to be careless. Even though they were extremely strong, they couldn’t guarantee they could pass through safely.

Seeing the slight tension on the three of them, Selin couldn’t help but ask, “Shier, what’s wrong?”

Guo Shier said, “It’s nothing. Just hold on tight to me. Don’t fall, or it’ll be troublesome…” He was joking casually, but in reality, he was quite nervous, with an increasing sense of crisis—something he had never experienced before. Despite the strong sense of danger, he couldn’t identify its source, which was extremely stressful.

Li Ran frowned tightly and said, “Damn it, I can’t figure out where the danger is coming from!” He was certain danger was approaching, but he didn’t know where it would come from.

Qi Wuzhen said, “I can’t detect it either…”

No one could detect what the danger was, which made all three of them nervous. They understood that if they had such a sense but couldn’t identify it, they wouldn’t be properly prepared when the danger actually arrived. Li Ran shouted, “I’ll take the lead!” He tightened the purple chain abruptly and instantly moved to the front, leaving Qi Wu Zhen, Guo Shier, and even Seraphine behind him. Then he quickly retracted the purple chain and flew fast ahead.
“If all else fails, we still have to use Break the Barrier!”
Qi Wu Zhen and Guo Shier had no objections. Although using Break the Barrier would drain their spiritual energy, it would be foolish to refrain from using it and thus put themselves in danger.