Chapter 360: Worm Children and Humans

The main thoroughfare of Metropolis District 19 is choked with ground traffic, the sidewalks packed with residents and tourists, and even the shuttles flying in the air lanes are bumper-to-bumper.

After all, it's rush hour in that district—people want to get home early or hurry to attend drinking parties or dinner gatherings.

However, the very center of District 19, its most prosperous area, suddenly underwent an anomaly, causing everything to come to a halt.

Only to see a rectangular "portal" four kilometers in diameter, its edges emitting a pale blue light, spring up in the center—vehicles and shuttles traveling normally couldn't brake in time and shot straight from the ultra‑modern streets into the rugged, bumpy Gobi Desert.

And within the blind‑spot district…

"What's going on?"

"I don't know."

The drivers who had been blaming and shoving each other, upon hearing the continuous dull thuds and faint vibrations, instantly set aside their grudges and grew curious about the unknown anomaly.

An elite in a suit and shirt looked around, shrugged, and echoed, "Could it be an earthquake?"

"No, it can't be an earthquake—earthquakes don't feel like this," a driver said, shaking his head.

Soon, as the traffic ahead became completely gridlocked, more and more drivers left their vehicles, weaving between cars to chat and debate, especially the male drivers, who liked to take this moment to analyze things thoroughly.

"Rumble… rumble…"

But not long after, the ground tremors grew increasingly obvious.

"Woo—-——uh—-——!"

Moreover, alarms began to sound throughout the metropolis.

At that moment, numerous security officers' shuttles and transport craft appeared above the streets, continuously broadcasting: "All residents, please immediately stay away from District 19, please immediately stay away from District 19; we will assist you in an orderly evacuation, do not panic, all residents…"

Hearing the alarm and the broadcast, drivers and all residents and pedestrians realized the situation was no longer a matter for casual discussion.

Next, security officers wearing mechanical exoskeletons began guiding people to evacuate in an orderly fashion toward the outskirts of District 19, armed with live ammunition.

The two drivers who had first clashed, however, hesitated, obviously reluctant to abandon their vehicles, but the "warm‑hearted" elite driver placed a hand on one driver's shoulder, smilingly persuaded him, and, using strength far beyond that of an ordinary person, led the two drivers away from here.

"Boom!!"

But before the elite group had gone very far, the ground tremors intensified, as if the source of the shaking were right nearby.

??

The elite they could no longer bear to hold back turned their heads to look.

!!

That glance alone made the height‑advantaged elite involuntarily reveal a panicked expression, for he saw a black‑blanketed "swarm."

At the forefront ran the "worm children," possessing hard yellow‑black banded exoskeletons, flattened bodies and heads; their mouths split vertically, resembling huge crab claws, and while crawling swiftly, their sharp foot tips could easily pierce any vehicle in their path.

Thousands, even tens of thousands of these giant worm children gathered together, the visual impact shocking enough to make even combat‑bred elites feel heavy‑hearted.

The swarm moved at extreme speed; anyone unable to dodge was either impaled by the foot tips or sliced in half by the pincer‑like mouthparts, casualties mounting heavily, and it seemed poised to overtake the elite group.

"Whoa!!"

The elite let out a loud shout, easily lifted the two previously arguing drivers with both hands, then hurled them forward as far as possible out of danger, after which he turned, pulled a chip‑shaped phone from his pocket, gripped it tight, and fixed his stare on the opening mandibles of the worm child that sought to slice him apart.

It seemed the elite intended to rely on the sole hard object at hand—the phone—to engage the worm child in bare‑handed combat.

Although in a one‑on‑one fight this office‑bound elite's chances against a worm child would be roughly fifty‑fifty, even if he won, his fate would inevitably be to be swallowed by the swarm.

Even so, he would rather face the swarm and fight to the death than choose to flee backward only to be stabbed or bitten to death in a miserable end.

However, before the elite could clash with the worm child, a security officer already aimed his pulse rifle at the creature's body and pulled the trigger.

"Tap‑tap‑tap!" the rapid‑fire, crisp gunshots rang out.

"Boom~! Boom~! Puff!!"

The dense shell‑less pulse ammo, upon contacting the hard exoskeleton, detonated in a low‑intensity blast, successfully flipping open the worm child's "outer shell," inflicting severe damage to its internal organs and flesh, and causing pale‑green blood to spurt forth.

"Howl!!"

Wracked with pain and facing death, the worm child emitted a sharp, piercing howl.

In response, the security officer naturally spared no ammunition, continuously pulling the trigger to hail fire, and shouted at the elite: "Sir! Please get behind me! Quick!"

"Whoa… whoa! Okay!" the elite hesitated only a moment, then leapt a few steps behind the security officer, saying, "Give me a weapon—I'll help you!"

"No need, sir—reinforcements are already on the way; please withdraw! We'll handle this!" After killing the first worm child, the officer swiftly redirected his muzzle and continued suppressing the remaining swarm.

As the elite ignored the evacuation order, preparing to stay and fight alongside the officer, two large transport craft belonging to the Security Bureau lowered altitude, hovered, opened their side hatches, and let a squad clad in simple powered armor, equipped with high‑cost gear and wielding pulse and laser weapons, jump straight out of the cargo bay and make a hard landing in the streets.

"Quick, quick, quick! Spread out! Build a fire net!"

"Yes!"

"Team A in position!"

"Team B in position!"

"Open fire! Blast these son‑of‑a‑bitch critters!"

"Yes, commander!"

"Tap‑tap‑tap!!"

The special squad almost as soon as they touched down erected a makeshift barrier, placing the security officer, the elite driver, and many civilians behind it, and unleashed a concentrated volley of gunfire at the swarm ahead.

In an instant, the swarm's formerly reckless charge was finally checked, and after the coordinated volley, the squad discovered that their "old‑broken," "cheap" pulse weapons were far more effective than the expensive laser rifles and machine guns purchased by the Security Bureau.

Because the high‑energy beams from laser weapons, upon striking the worm child's exoskeleton, produce a "ricochet" and "scatter" effect—supposedly unstoppable in theory—now they leave not a scratch, whereas solid‑shell‑less pulse ammo actually inflicts effective damage, especially when it detonates inside the creature's body, making the effect even more pronounced.

"So please, everyone evacuate this area immediately!"

With the swarm's advance halted, the officer quickly swapped magazines and signaled the elite driver and all residents to evacuate in order; soon the street held only those continuing the blocking mission—under a hundred strong, akin to a special SWAT team.

However, as ammunition was depleted at breakneck speed and the necessary pauses to reload took their toll, the swarm kept pressing forward.

At this rate, in less than half a minute the special squad would have to abandon the evacuation effort—and that would mean the district's total fall.

"Whooo—~!"

However, a roar of engines ended the squad's retreat plan, for a transport aircraft comparable to a large transport ship, named "Eagle Cry," appeared overhead and opened its rear hatch……

"Ahahaha! Worm children! They're worm children!"

No! Brother! These are all achievements!

Who cares about them! For father! For the Wolf King! Kill!

Kill!!

Amid a metallic clatter and bickering, the Space Wild Wolves reserves, clad in Type III ceramic steel armor painted gray‑yellow and hung with beast teeth, skulls, and embroidered strips reading 'Human Truth', leapt from high altitude in a rush.

Thud! Thud!

Swish! Swish!

Within a few milliseconds of a hard landing, the wolf pups had already adjusted their stances and aimed the muzzles of their bolt‑thrower guns at their respective targets for rapid burst fire.

Pfft! Pfft‑shh!

The 75‑caliber bolt‑thrower round, with a purified deuterium core and a diamond warhead, has a power that 6 mm or 8 mm shell‑less pulse ammo cannot match.

One or two bolt‑thrower rounds can easily dispatch a worm, and under the gaze of the special squad, this Space Wild Wolves reserve combat unit conducted a 'worm‑clearing' operation with efficiency far beyond imagination, even beginning to move in reverse, advancing toward the worm swarm and pushing toward the 'Space Gate' at the center of Metropolitan District 19.

The reserve platoon leader, who disliked wearing a helmet, bald and with a full beard, held a bolt‑thrower pistol in his left hand and brandished a chain sword in his right, leading the charge straight into the pet pile…

Whirr! Sizzle……sizzla!! The chain sword, spinning rapidly and possessing a disarming stance, easily split in two a worm comparable in height to an Astate.

"Ahahaha, so great!" Green blood splashed onto the platoon leader's armor and cheeks; it didn't disgust him—it made him shout in delight.

After all, without major wars, expeditions, or the ravages of interspatial storms, earning military merit is already difficult; moreover, how frustrated must the active, quarrel‑prone Space Wild Wolves and their pups be?

Now that worms have been delivered to their doorstep, needless to say how excited and thrilled the wolf pups are.

Die! Die! Die!

The wolf pup platoon leader again roared loudly, stuck the emptied bolt‑thrower pistol to his outer thigh armor, then clenched his left fist and, with a 'pfft!!', smashed a worm's body to pieces at after‑image speed.

Looking down from above.

Countless swarms of worms, centered on that Space Gate, wildly destroyed the most prosperous streets of District 19.

But as thousands of reserves arrived one after another, and the Space Wild Wolves' main fleet entered the atmosphere, providing fire support while also dropping nearly five thousand Wild Wolves equipped with Thor's Hammer Marks V, VI, and VII, along with nearly a million legion auxiliaries switched to Gauss‑rifle systems, they dealt a direct 'blow from above', annihilating the rampaging worm swarms in the shortest possible time.

Even so, Metropolitan District 19 ground to a halt due to the sudden attack of the unknown worm swarm; economic losses were set aside for now, while personnel casualties were being tallied, amounting to no less than 1.6 to 1.75 million.

You should know that the Space Gate opened when residents were leaving work and school, and the crowded central district meant that the figure of 1.6 to 1.75 million is an optimistic estimate; the actual number could be higher.

Although for humanity as a whole this is a completely negligible loss that could be made up in less than a day, …

…

With a 'Boom!!!', the solid‑wood office desk was shattered by a right‑handed punch.

"Damn it! How dare these measly worms act so arrogantly?! And they dare do it on my turf?! Fuck!!"

In the spacious office, the roar of an OriginalBody echoed.

Only to see Rus, wearing an oversized dark‑gray suit, blond hair swept back, a full beard, standing over 4.7 meters tall even without the Wolf King armor, leap up in fury with a 'whoosh' and, exerting too much force with his right hand, smash the custom‑made solid‑wood desk with a single punch.

Because the Space Gate that released the unknown worm species was actually located within his jurisdiction, the Oslo Star Region, and moreover on its capital world, Finnris!

In other words, that Space Gate was only about two hundred kilometers in a straight line from the office building where he was located.

"How the hell can he tolerate this?!"

Besides, why do every major incident and major battle occur in his Oslo Star Region?

However, before Rus could open the holo‑comm to contact his father, the office's holo‑device already projected Sui Bian's holo‑image.

"Father." Rus's expression changed in an instant, and he immediately reined in his previous anger.

"Hmm." Sui Bian gave a soft reply, walked slowly to Rus's front, saw the already‑scrapped wooden desk, couldn't help shaking his head and admonished: "I've told you how many times already, and you still don't remember."

"Sorry… Father, mainly the civilian casualties are severe…" Rus let out a sigh, his face also showing some sorrow.

"Those who achieve great things cannot be bound by the past." Sui Bian did not reprimand him, but patiently instructed: "Since the incident has already occurred, you must consider how to respond and how to resolve it. So, child, tell me: now that your regional capital has generated a Space Gate that can no longer be concealed or hidden, leading to another universe and another Earth, what should you do?"

"..."

Upon hearing that, Rus frowned slightly and fell into thought.

It was obvious that his father was testing him, and moreover, a Space Gate of this 'abnormal phenomenon' is absolutely secret, after all intended to prevent interspatial erosion of other parallel universes.

However, this Space Gate has a diameter of as much as four kilometers and has also caused heavy casualties; it simply cannot be disguised as a collapse accident like the Space Gate in the Zero‑One Universe (The Matrix).

After a moment of contemplation, Rus tried saying: "Let's make this public; this is our first encounter with an abnormal phenomenon from a parallel universe."

"Good, then what?" Sui Bian had no objection.

"Then…" Rus pondered a moment more, his eyes lighting up, and he declared firmly: "Then we will declare war on the worm species that attacked us, launch an expedition against another universe, and bring it under humanity's command!"

"Exactly." Sui Bian nodded satisfactorily and added: "Not only the worm species, but also the humans of that universe…… are likewise one of the expedition's targets, and they are precisely what you need to watch out for."

"Humans?" Rus puzzled.

"Yes, humans." Sui Bian said in a deep voice.

(End of chapter)