Chapter 625: The Ancestor's Gift (14)

"What is going on?" Leader Zhao's smile vanished; his face tightened, his tone laced with reproach.

Luo Qi thought once again that he was indeed a leader. He was the one who truly issued orders, the one responsible for his own goals and for that group of people of his.

The one who answered was Clownfish; the blur effect shrouding his entire body wiped away the emotions in his voice as well. Luo Qi could not guess, nor did he know if he was anxious right now. His voice was delivered in a steady, mechanical tone, "I did not detect any Yajian."

Neither did Luo Qi. The last time he could not perceive Yajian was with the Alien monsters; later, the channels he squeezed out of his own father allowed his range of perception to cover them. He could be certain that, at least for now, there was no swarm of those things nearby; when they gathered together, their Yajian was powerful enough to rival a Mind Archmage. However, Alien monsters were truly too special; the Qionglin treated them as a precious trump card, and even a Progenitor Mage might not be able to produce different types of monsters equipped with Telepathy.

Du Zhengyi was faster and more decisive than any of them. Just as Luo Qi was pondering these thoughts, he leaned over and roughly yanked up the girl who had been aggressive just a moment ago, stuffing Guan Xinyue into the arms of Liu Ziyi, who had stood up in a daze. Liu Ziyi was perhaps the most capable of self-preservation among these people, and the friendliest toward Guan Xinyue. His other hand grabbed Luo Qi's arm, pulling him away from the Lotus Burners and pushing him toward Liu Ziyi as well. Luo Qi complied with his shove, but immediately let out a dramatic, fake shriek, "I'm not standing with a little girl!"

Even though the situation was urgent, Du Zhengyi frowned, yet he could not help a trace of a smile sliding across his face. But that smile vanished without a trace quickly, and his expression turned grim. Luo Qi also looked toward the depths of the wide corridor; the incident had occurred without warning. Luo Qi vaguely guessed what it was; he had noticed a certain possibility when they first entered here.

Leader Zhao said in a low voice, as if the half-sentence of the question were stuck to his tongue, "What is..."

Du Zhengyi had already begun to assign tasks, "Do not be careless, target for long-range destruction. Using fire or explosive Magic is prohibited; pay attention to the amount of air used, we are in a sealed underground space, and the building structure is unknown." His gaze swept over the Lotus Burners, calculating whether this rabble could reach the caliber of Battle Mages.

Although the preparation time was no more than a few dozen seconds, even Luo Qi could identify the volume, scale, and type by ear. He doubted whether Leader Zhao really did not know what they were facing; it was likely just because this thing was absolutely not on the catalog of Ancestor gifts that the Mages believed in, making it difficult to accept for a moment.

What was even harder to accept was that the first to discover it was Guan Xinyue. Luo Qi did not know how to put it; it was like saying humans heard strange sounds earlier than cheetahs. If the atmosphere weren't so tense right now, he would ask Liu Ziyi: Did you stimulate Guan Xinyue into mutating?

Guan Xinyue looked around in confusion. Luo Qi had already seen the black mist permeating over, and she asked, "What is it?"

"Well, it seems your vision hasn't mutated," Luo Qi muttered. He had already seen the mist clearly with his naked eyes, "It's bugs."

"What?" Guan Xinyue asked.

"What is what?" Luo Qi said absentmindedly, "That... those are insects, right."

"What?" Guan Xinyue cried, "Who would ask you a biological classification question?"

"Then can't I show off my reserve of human scientific knowledge?" Luo Qi said. Seeing Guan Xinyue's pale, nauseated expression, he finally reacted. "Oh, don't be afraid. Look, it's better than flesh worms."

"Shut up!" Guan Xinyue said, annoyed.

However, Guan Xinyue was distracted by Luo Qi. The Mages acted very quickly; at the very least, the Qionglin Battle Mages all took measures simultaneously. Different Magic trajectories slid across the corridor; she could not see them clearly nor did she have the time to distinguish them. But she could see that most of the Lotus Burners did not move. Leader Zhao had once shouted something hesitantly, which she did not hear clearly; at that time, she was arguing with Luo Qi. It was possible that Leader Zhao had stopped them and restrained their attacks.

The Lotus Burners did not need to act; the Qionglin Battle Mages found it very easy to eliminate normal-sized bugs, working with ease. Not only did Liu Ziyi and Mahjong not move, but even Mage Wu had stood by their side at some point, watching them work with great interest.

Luo Qi even explained to this observation group, "Bugs are too low-level a life form; the existence of Yajian cannot be detected at all. It's a blind spot for Mind Mages." He looked at Guan Xinyue again, "I hope you didn't faint just now because you were bitten by a bug."

Guan Xinyue couldn't be bothered to answer him. Her attention fell on Leader Zhao once again, and she asked straightforwardly, "Did you stop your people just now? Why? Are the crickets your ancestors kept all that precious? Can't bear to part with them?"

Luo Qi looked at her with admiration, while also feeling a bit worried in secret.

Leader Zhao's expression was unpleasant, but he didn't want to bother with the little girl right now. He turned and walked away to check the situation. Some Lotus Burners had already brought over dead bugs; they were indeed in the shape of insects, and at first glance, they all looked about the same.

He asked Clownfish beside him, "What is going on? Aren't Seal Beasts all capable of communicating with Mages?"

Clownfish seemed to shake his head and said in a low voice, "These are indeed just bugs; I didn't feel their existence at all."

"The Ancestor had his own purpose in doing everything; at the very least, we should figure out their intention in keeping bugs. Did you save any?" Leader Zhao asked. He glanced at Du Zhengyi, the implication being that he was not very satisfied with Du Zhengyi's rough style.

Luo Qi looked hesitantly at Du Zhengyi. Du Zhengyi walked back and looked at Guan Xinyue calmly. Luo Qi immediately felt a wisp of Magic from Du Zhengyi; the Magic was as thin as a gossamer thread, and Luo Qi could vaguely identify it as detection Magic. He suddenly realized that Du Zhengyi also had no experience with bugs; he just wanted to find an opportunity to separate the Lotus Burners from them. He was concerned about Guan Xinyue.

He saw Liu Ziyi suddenly tuck his hair, likely also sensing Du Zhengyi's movement, and he was subconsciously a bit nervous.

He could not understand what Du Zhengyi's Magic was, and he was also a bit nervous. However, after a few seconds, the tentacles of Magic retreated, and Guan Xinyue was completely unaware. Luo Qi felt the Magic withdraw and immediately looked at Du Zhengyi; the latter shook his head slightly. Luo Qi understood his meaning; he had not "seen" anything abnormal.

Luo Qi almost breathed a sigh of relief; at the moment, it at least showed that those few evil ghosts of the Lotus Burners had not done anything to her. He almost breathed a sigh of relief, because just at this moment, someone let out a scream.

Updating "Deep Space Screw" tomorrow.

(End of chapter)