Chapter Thirteen: Wealth and Poverty, Section Seven

Silently, without the tremendous roar imagined, only the incessant buzzing of electric current could be heard. Under everyone’s gaze, the giant claw on the surface of the Storm Tyrant trembled slightly, followed by numerous tiny arcs of electricity appearing between its claw arms.

The arcs quickly grew larger and thicker. In an instant, they transformed into a terrifying storm akin to a cosmic tempest. Right in the center of the claw arms, a sphere twisted by countless dark arcs suddenly appeared. The buzzing of the electricity instantly turned into a shrill screech. The next moment, a massive beam of light, countless times thicker than the Storm Tyrant itself, was violently ejected!!

God!! Almost no one could believe their own eyes!!
What kind of weapon was this? No matter how hard they tried, they could never imagine that such a terrifying thing existed in this universe. The thick beam of light was like arrows piercing the sky, reaching the edge of the universe in just an instant. Everything in its path was instantly reduced to nothingness—no wreckage, not even a trace of ash remained. It was completely broken down into its most fundamental particles. The Storm Tyrant’s massive hull trembled violently; the terrifying recoil sent it retreating nearly a kilometer.

Under such a devastating attack, the dark cloud was dealt a fatal blow. Without any doubt, it was completely erased from the universe. Where the cloud once was, there was now a void, as if a hole had been punched through a canvas. Wherever the beam passed, space itself twisted violently, making everything seem unreal. Countless dark arcs spread along with the beam, like dancing spirits.

Spirits of death!!

“Damn it…” Baroka groaned softly, leaning back in his seat.
The extremely tense nerves finally relaxed at that moment. Not only Baroka but almost everyone else felt the same way. Their bodies were drenched in sweat, with clothes sticking tightly to their skin. It was then that people realized they were almost exhausted.

“Don’t rest! It’s not over yet! Get closer and use the heavy ion cannon to destroy it! Hurry—this is our only chance to kill the Gold-Eating Worms.” A frantic voice suddenly rang out in the room, causing everyone to jump up immediately. The atmosphere in the cabin became tense once again.

But…

“Captain, the target, the target…” A Sand Pirate suddenly cried out in shock.

“What’s wrong with the target?” Black Hair frowned. Controlling the positron cannon required a tremendous amount of mental energy, and he was now sweating profusely, his mental strength severely depleted.
“The target is escaping!!” Blood Eyes answered Black Hair’s question loudly.
What!? Everyone’s gaze immediately focused on Li Feng’s main screen. Sure enough, after that cloud disappeared, some scattered Gold-Eating Insects were flying around chaotically, desperately fleeing backward. Their panicked behavior seemed to indicate that they knew what was coming.
Seeing this, Black Hair was also stunned for a moment.
“Nuke, do these guys have intelligence?”
“No. Although they have strong bodies and hard shells, they’re not civilized at all. They lack any characteristics of higher-level intelligent beings; all they have is instinct. It’s probably your positron cannon that scared them.” Nuke replied in a low voice, his expression grim.
Indeed, the terrifying power of Li Feng’s positron cannon not only dealt devastating blows to the Gold-Eating Insects but also terrified even their leader, the Wandering One. That extreme power, capable of destroying everything, was like the most terrifying nightmare in the universe. Faced with such absolute power, no matter how strong a race was, their only reaction could be fear.
“Then their current actions are just instinctive fear of danger?” Black Hair continued to ask, though his expression improved somewhat. After firing the positron cannon, Li Feng’s energy was almost exhausted, and the reactor’s output had dropped significantly. His overall combat strength had decreased by nearly 70%. Although he still appeared formidable, almost all of his large-caliber cannons were unusable. With nothing but heavy ion cannons for close protection, he had no means of defense.
Under these circumstances, Li Feng really couldn’t afford any more surprises. Otherwise, he might not even have a chance to escape. A warship without energy simply couldn’t perform a jump.
“No, it doesn’t seem that way.” Nuke’s eyes were also fixed on the main screen. From there, it was visible that the remaining Gold-Eating Insects had formed a small group. Though they were still fleeing, they were doing so in an organized manner.
“It’s the queen! It must be the queen!” An idea struck Nuke, and he immediately shouted. Everyone in the cabin was shocked.
“Their queen possesses intelligence on par with humans. If their actions are organized now, it can only be because of the queen.”
“Damn it!” Black Hair cursed fiercely before slumping back in his chair.

After much effort to destroy most of the Gold-Eating Insects, a queen suddenly appeared. Black Hair couldn’t imagine anything worse in the world. Given Li Feng’s current situation, if another squad of Gold-Eating Insects showed up, they would likely be completely wiped out.

Waving his hand as if to drive these unpleasant thoughts away, Black Hair’s voice was as deep as thunderclouds. “Sulei, check the energy consumption. Everyone else return to their posts and enter third cruise speed, retreating slowly. We need to take a temporary break.”

“Yes, Mr. Black Hair,” Sulei replied crisply. “The warship’s energy storage is currently at 12%. It will take three hours to reach 60% of its normal level.”

“Then take a three-hour break. I’m going to rest. Don’t disturb me if nothing urgent arises.” Black Hair sighed deeply, stood up from his seat, and was about to leave when a sudden cry came from behind him.

“Captain, there’s a spatial fluctuation ahead!!”

What!? The entire ship was shocked. Countless eyes turned to Li Feng’s main screen, where a bizarre scene appeared.

About 300 meters in front of Li Feng, the space around them resembled water disturbed by a stone—waves of ripples suddenly formed and spread at an astonishing speed. In just an instant, they covered dozens of kilometers. Then, a huge figure suddenly appeared right in the center of the ripples.

“So big…” Blood-Pupiled moaned softly.

It was a giant insect resembling the Gold-Eating Insects, but much larger—its height alone was over 200 meters, and its length was a terrifying 500 meters or more. From a distance, it even resembled a Spearfish-class warship. Its shell was deep red, crystal clear, with blood-red magma seemingly flowing inside, and bubbles could even be seen within it. Its massive mandibles, even when closed, were over 100 meters long, resembling a spear stretching straight out.

“The Queen’s Guard!!” Core shouted its name.

“Black Hair, pay attention to its back. Is there a green, writhing mass there?”

“Mm, yes. There indeed is one, but it’s not large—only about the size of an ordinary mech,” Black Hair replied affirmatively.

“That’s the Queen!! Retreat quickly! We’re in danger. With the Queen here, there will surely be numerous Gold-Eating Insect guards. We have no chance at all!!” Core’s voice was filled with despair.

To be honest, the Wanderers are also a race with extremely formidable physical strength. If its true form were still intact, Core would never fear the challenge from the Gold-Eater. But now that it’s parasitic on Blackhair, Blackhair’s safety determines its own. So it really has no better choice.

Influenced by its tone, a sense of unease gradually spread through the cabin.

“No need. It doesn’t seem to intend to attack. Baroka, open the public channel. Receive information across all frequency bands.”

“Yes, Captain,” Baroka replied loudly. Under his control, a strange sound suddenly filled the cabin—like the coughing of an elderly woman.

“Cough… cough… Who are you? Why did you kill my child… cough…”

Though the voice was muffled, it was clear and articulate, in the common language of humans in this world. Everyone on the ship exchanged glances, unable to believe such a voice could exist.

“Who are you?” Blackhair reacted fastest and began the conversation.

“Cough… My name is… Listophiler • Cabajonesrich • Noviel Parisca… (5,672 words omitted)…”

“Enough… Just call me List. Respectable lady, I’m asking about your origin. Where are you now? It’s impolite not to show your face while talking.” Blackhair waved impatiently, interrupting her.

“Cough… It’s you who are impolite… I’m standing right in front of you… Cough, can’t you see?” the aged voice replied.

“It’s the Queen,” Core whispered immediately. “Only the Gold-Eater Queen would have such a long and ridiculous name. They always think they’re descendants of ancient gods, so their names are passed down from generation to generation. Ugh, they’re unbearable…”

I see… Blackhair nodded inwardly, finally relaxing. She settled into a comfortable position in her chair, took out a cigarette, and lit it, taking deep puffs. The cabin gradually filled with the rich scent of tobacco.

“Alright, I see you. So, Your Majesty, why have you come to us? Oh, if it’s because of the battle just now, I think the fault isn’t on our side. You saw it—your own children attacked us first.” Blackhair spoke calmly.

“Cough… They… That wasn’t an attack… It was… a welcome…”

The Queen’s words were astonishing.