Chapter 395: A Youyou, I

Dita's Flowing Heart Martial Arts had long since reached its peak, yet it remained just a hair's breadth away from the Soul Essence, unable to condense it. Because of this, she lacked that one critical Great Annihilation move for decisive moments, which was also the source of her lack of confidence; she was at a significant disadvantage in one-on-one duels, and she hadn't encountered an opponent like North Caro along the way until now.

"Are you sure?"

"That's a given. A Youyou has spoken, so even if it's impossible, it must be done."

"Deal!" Dita didn't mince words. With the Soul Essence, she had a safety net. "How do you even train? You look so lazy. As expected, talent is the most important thing."

Li Hao coughed dryly. "Eat a lot, sleep a lot, and exercise. You must have some misunderstanding; I'm the hardworking type. Anyway, Dita, I have something to discuss with A Youyou."

Dita rolled her eyes at Li Hao, finally willing to leave the two of them some private time. Once the third wheel left, Li Hao breathed a sigh of relief. A Youyou smiled. "You're so bad!"

"Huh?"

"It's clearly you who needs Sister Dita's ability, yet you made it seem like she was the one taking advantage of you. Even if she reaches the Flowing Heart Martial Arts, she still wouldn't be a match for Chao Qinglong, right?" A Youyou laughed.

"That's not entirely true; it relies on your coordination, half the credit is yours," Li Hao laughed. "I think what Dita is struggling with isn't defeating North Caro, but rather displaying her own style."

If it were just an individual, it would be one thing, but the entire battle team is a magnitude behind. Unless a miracle happens, it's truly impossible.

The two returned to "A Youyou's" residence, which had been specially arranged by Su Yu. Although it wasn't as nice as Arths' environment, it had the advantage of being quiet and private, and A Youyou usually lived here.

Both of them had drunk a little wine and were in a very good mood. The night was beautiful, and Teacher Li was feeling a bit restless; as soon as he entered the room, his gaze became somewhat heated.

"Senior, I've noticed that every time you face A Youyou, you're particularly bold, but when you face Arths, you're particularly well-behaved. Why is that?" A Youyou suddenly asked, tilting her slender, snow-white neck.

Li Hao's old face turned red instantly. To him, both were beautiful, just with different kinds of beauty. A Youyou's beauty was lively and intimate, making one want to cherish her; Arths' beauty had an elegance and refinement that felt untouchable... Li Hao was also afraid he wouldn't be able to hold back.

Sometimes his own self-control wasn't as reliable as he thought.

Looking at A Youyou's slightly provocative little expression, Old Demon Li gritted his teeth. "Do you believe that tonight, neither A Youyou nor Arths will be able to escape from my grasp!"

"Is that so? Then I'll have to test that. Wait a moment, I need to take off my makeup; this is so uncomfortable." A Youyou laughed and slipped out of Li Hao's clutches in a flash, running into the dressing room.

Li Hao smiled, looking at the beautiful scenery outside the window and listening to the splashing water inside.

Ding-dong.

"Second Brother, there's movement over there. The base's emergency operation started half an hour ago." It was Kevin's Sky-Link.

Li Hao sighed helplessly. How was he supposed to tell A Youyou? Li Hao knocked on A Youyou's door.

"What's wrong?" A Youyou turned her head. After removing her makeup, she fully embodied what it meant to have bright eyes and a beautiful smile, a national treasure of beauty.

"I have an urgent matter to handle, I need to go back for a bit."

A Youyou was also stunned for a moment, gently biting her lip. "What matter is so urgent?"

Li Hao hugged A Youyou and kissed her lightly. "If I said I was going to save humanity, would you laugh at me?"

A Youyou in his arms trembled slightly. "Is it dangerous?"

Li Hao held A Youyou tightly. "Not dangerous. I'm actually very afraid of death."

Ding-dong, ding-dong.

The Sky-Link chimed a series of times. Li Hao hurriedly opened it; it was Kevin's signal: "Base signal interrupted."

"A Youyou, I'm going to take a nap here. No matter what happens, don't worry, and don't be surprised. I can solve it!"

A Youyou's face flushed red at first, then she immediately became serious. "Don't worry, I'll watch over you!"

Li Hao didn't have time to explain and collapsed directly onto A Youyou's bed. Just over ten seconds later, Li Hao's breathing became steady, and then slower and slower.

Kepler Ontario 5 Base. The base detected a strong K23 reaction; this was a signal of a formed K23 mobile source. The base immediately dispatched a battle team, four mecha squads. This mobile source signal was quite strong; once captured, it would likely be the biggest harvest in recent years.

But half an hour after the mecha battle team drove out, the base was attacked by an unknown creature. No one knew how it had infiltrated. Inside the base, there were screams everywhere. The Mobile Suits responsible for guarding had all fallen, their mechas pierced through, and the pilots inside were gone, leaving only their clothes and bloodstains behind.

The remaining staff gathered in the most secure underground laboratory in the base. Thick titanium alloy steel plates had completely sealed the entire laboratory; they couldn't get in or out. The external monitoring systems were all destroyed. Everyone left in the base was here. If it weren't for a Mobile Suit pilot detonating a bomb before dying, they wouldn't have even discovered that the monster had infiltrated.

The alarm device for detecting carbon-based lifeforms hadn't reacted at all. Sikong Beize was leading the Warriors to check their equipment. Pato was dead; it was he who detonated the bomb to buy time for everyone. This was an unprecedented monster. "Pang Luo, take inventory of the equipment."

There were six Mobile Suits left and over thirty staff members. Polina was bandaging the wounds of the injured. Quite a few people had seen the monster; its size wasn't particularly huge, but it was a completely different species from the Giant Insects. It looked like a giant dog, but it walked upright and could also run on all fours. It possessed invisibility, and its body was covered in strange tentacles. Once it stabbed someone, the person would be sucked dry. Especially those eerie eyes—they were different from the simple brutality of the Giant Insects, filled with cold, murderous playfulness.

Sikong Beize still felt a chill just thinking about that gaze. Having been in the military for so many years, he wasn't inexperienced, but at that moment, his body couldn't move, as if he had been possessed by a ghost.

Sikong Beize took a fierce drag of his cigarette. This was the base's last fortress and also the place to detect infiltrators, over a hundred meters underground. Outside was already finished. They had never encountered such a Giant Insect; those seemingly soft tentacles could easily pierce through mechas, and its speed was shockingly fast, disappearing from view in almost a blink. The most terrifying part was that it specifically waited for the four squads to leave the base before acting. Now he even suspected whether that mobile source was something created by this Giant Insect.

They had never fought such a humiliating battle; this was already a one-sided slaughter.

"Kaier, can you contact the outside?"

"Boss, this damn thing seems to have destroyed our signal station. There's no signal at all."

Everyone felt a bit desperate. This was simply not something an ordinary Giant Insect could do. Fortunately, there was a backup generator here and two years of food reserves, so a crisis wouldn't arise for a while. Moreover, there was regular contact between the five major bases; once a base lost contact, the other bases would definitely take action. Besides, the attack from a while ago had already been reported. Now, they just had to hold their ground and wait for rescue.

Thud.

A sudden loud noise made everyone stop what they were doing, their faces turning pale instantly. Following that, there were two more impacts. The sound came from the exit of the underground laboratory.

At this moment, the exit was sealed by a three-meter-thick titanium alloy door. The remaining six Mobile Suits immediately aimed their Laser Guns at the entrance.

This door couldn't even be blasted open by Tank Insects or High-Energy Insects in a short time, but for some reason, the mere thought of that monster's appearance made them shudder.

Thud, thud, thud.

Each sound felt like it was knocking on everyone's heart. Some staff members with weak psychological endurance were already on the verge of a breakdown and couldn't help but cry, but they were quickly silenced by those around them.

Sikong Beize's mecha made a gesture, and the other five Mobile Suits stood guard. He piloted the Mingwang Mecha toward the entrance. As he approached the door, the thudding sound outside stopped.

Through the thick titanium alloy door, Sikong Beize shivered. He felt that the monster behind the door was staring at him.

The Mingwang Mecha slowly retreated, taking a deep breath. There was no other way now; he could only trust in the sturdy fortifications here. As the base's final wall, it should be able to block this monster.

A few minutes later, the laboratory fell into a deathly silence. The monster stopped knocking. These fortifications were built specifically to withstand attacks from Giant Insects.

Another hour passed. Everyone didn't dare to breathe, feeling like every second was a year. Sikong Beize walked to the door again, opening his Golden Zone. He couldn't sense the situation outside the door, but if the monster were still there, there would be some collision.

This time, there was no feeling of danger. The monster should have temporarily retreated.

"Everyone, the monster cannot destroy the door. We must prepare for a protracted battle. This monster is very likely lurking outside. We can just wait for rescue with peace of mind."

Once Sikong Beize said this, everyone breathed a sigh of relief. Having survived a disaster, their moods relaxed. The supplies here were sufficient, so there was no need to worry. Some secret experiments were usually done here as well.

But Sikong Beize didn't feel the slightest bit of ease. If it couldn't get in through the door, what about other places? Was this fortification truly flawless?

Waiting for rescue—given this monster's combat power, unless a large force was dispatched, anyone else would just be serving themselves up on a platter. What was hateful was that the intelligence couldn't be sent out at all. They had never imagined that Giant Insects could have this type; their biggest means in the past had been the interference of Electromagnetic Giant Insects, but humans had long since had countermeasures.

"Instructor, have something to eat." Polina handed compressed biscuits and water to Sikong Beize.

Sikong Beize nodded, "Polina, you are the expert in this area; what type of Giant Insect is this?"

Polina shook her head, "I have never seen it before. From an evolutionary perspective, it completely contradicts the evolutionary direction of all Giant Insects currently known on this planet."

"Do you mean to say that it might not be a Giant Insect?" Sikong Beize said in a deep voice.

"I don't know. If we could capture it, we might uncover the secrets of Kepler!" Suddenly, Polina's eyes were filled with excitement and fanaticism.

Sikong Beize could not feel the slightest bit of fanaticism; if this creature was a new species, then there were likely more than one, and the danger level of Kepler would have to be re-evaluated. In fact, this was the reason Humans had always been cautious and dared not blindly expand exploration of Kepler.

Szz, szz, szz.

The Mecha's communicator emitted a series of tearing sounds, "Mom, Mom, this is Kamala, please respond if you receive this, please respond."

Everyone suddenly became alert; the main combat team that had gone out was back, and everyone could not help but cheer.

Sikong Beize hurriedly opened the intercom, "Kamala, Kamala, this is Mom, how are you all doing?"

"Team Leader, we rushed back immediately after the signal was interrupted. What happened?"

"That monster is here. Notify the other bases immediately and be on high alert!"

"Yes, Team Leader. We just searched the area and found no traces of the monster!"

"That bastard has Invisibility; be careful of everything. Kamala, you have performed a great service, and I will submit a request for your commendation!"

"Thank you, Team Leader!" Kamala said immediately with gratitude.

At this moment, not to mention Sikong Beize, the other team members' expressions also changed drastically; everything had been normal before, but this last sentence...

In an instant, the air froze.

Sikong Beize took a deep breath; the worst-case scenario had occurred, "What exactly are you?"

There was a silence in the communicator, szz, szz, szz.

Just outside the Titanium Alloy gate stood a Human holding a communicator, but a tube was inserted into their back, and a pitch-black figure was hidden in the darkness. The next second, the tube flickered with light, and then the Human's body also began to emit a fluorescent glow, starting to tremble and squirm.

Gulp, gulp, gulp.

Only a piece of clothing remained on the ground.