Chapter 105

"Oh oh, I get it. But why don’t you call those weird bugs ‘human-bugs’ instead of ‘bug-humans’?" Xue Chiluo asked again.

"Because they were once human—living humans—who were later consumed and transformed by the nest. That’s why we call them bug-humans. Bug-human means a person who became a bug."

"Human-bug means a bug that looks like a human shape."

"They were originally human, so calling them bug-humans is more accurate," Su Hanlin said sadly.

He thought: The Starry Insect Clan’s ability to assimilate other beings is utterly depraved!

Turning good, living humans into bugs, then sending these bug-humans out to fight human cultivators—just like the demon clan’s “Swallows.” They’re a matched pair of depravity: the Dragon and the Phoenix of Evil!

"Oh, I see. Then I’m off," Xue Chiluo said. Su Hanlin instantly sensed danger—but his hand suddenly went numb, and Xue Chiluo dissolved into a green light, vanishing into the wooden pillar beside them. Wood Passage!!

Who said this Xue Chiluo could only use Earth Passage?

Su Hanlin shook his hand in disbelief, finding the tiny puncture wound he’d made had miraculously healed and vanished.

As for the blood he’d bled, he saw it: the moment it flowed out, it turned into faint red light and was immediately absorbed by Xue Chiluo.

No wonder everyone says the Witch Clan’s biological weapons’ symbiotic Wushen are terrifying!

In the blink of an eye, a young cultivator dressed as a Police Inspector appeared before Su Hanlin.

He arrived with a smile on his lips: "I saw it. Xue Chiluo ran off. Will it come back?"

"Who are you? A Swallow?" Su Hanlin’s eyes flashed with cold light.

"You’re quite familiar with Swallows? Too bad I’m not. I’m just a idle bystander who wanted to slack off—and happened to see something interesting," the other replied.

Su Hanlin still watched him warily.

He even silently hoped Xue Chiluo wouldn’t return.

That fleeting moment had made Su Hanlin acutely aware: he was no match for this man at all.

If Xue Chiluo came back, even if he fought to the death, he couldn’t protect it.

"Don’t be tense. I just came to watch the show," the man smiled. "I’m Xu Yunrui. And you’re Su Hanlin?"

Su Hanlin immediately realized: this man had been here all along, had heard every word he and Xue Chiluo exchanged—and neither of them had noticed him.

This was truly…

Terrifying!

"Who exactly are you?"

"I’m just a passerby," Xu Yunrui smiled.

"Did you come for Xue Chiluo?" Su Hanlin guessed.

"Mm-hmm. I was thinking I might trick one of them into following me—but I never expected it to be this small and already stealing from its own nest. Such a clever Xue Chiluo is hard to deceive. Who said Xue Chiluo are easy to fool when young?" Xu Yunrui frowned slightly, muttering.

"Not all Xue Chiluo are the same," Su Hanlin smirked.

"I’ve never understood why having Witch Clan blood allows one to hatch Xue Chiluo," Xu Yunrui said, his expression filled with puzzlement. "Why can’t ordinary human blood hatch them?"

"Who knows?" Su Hanlin was equally speechless.

"I’ve always wanted to study it," Xu Yunrui said, smiling in a way so unnatural it made the hair on Su Hanlin’s neck stand on end.

"Don’t you dare experiment on the Witch Clan descendants in Xiancheng—or your name will be on the Sect’s wanted poster," Su Hanlin snapped, chilled to the bone by that smile. "Instead of studying why Witch Clan blood can hatch symbiotic Wushen, why not study why the Starry Insect Clan’s nests can turn humans into bugs?"

"After all, there are plenty of physical examples—plenty for you to study."

Su Hanlin spoke with implication.

Indeed, there were many decapitated bug-human corpses outside.

The shell-beetle had already spat out over a thousand bug-humans.

It probably didn’t have many left inside.

After all, the success rate of turning living humans into bug-humans has always been low—only about one in ten. Failed transformations were reclaimed and digested by the nest.

"You make a good point, Su Hanlin," Xu Yunrui said. Every time he said Su Hanlin’s name, Su Hanlin felt like some cold, evil beast had locked onto him. "Why not leave the Intelligence Office and come with me? I can give you far greater room to grow."

"Thank you for your kind offer, but I’m quite happy with my current job. I have no plans to change places."

"You… hey, it came back so fast? Amazing Passage technique," Xu Yunrui said, just as—

A green light burst from the wooden pillar.

It coalesced into a Xue Chiluo!

Both Xu Yunrui and Su Hanlin noticed a dark-black crystal ring hanging from its main root.

Must be a storage tool!!

"Hey, how’d you get from the roof into the building?" Xue Chiluo asked, surprised to see Xu Yunrui.

"You noticed me long ago?" Xu Yunrui exclaimed.

"Was it hard to notice you?" Xue Chiluo was delighted with its outing.

Not only had it stolen something incredibly fragrant, it had also toyed with a group of bug-humans. Those bug-humans couldn’t even tunnel through earth faster than it. A little extra speed, and it could shake them off completely.

"Not hard," Xu Yunrui suddenly recalled the investigation reports he’d read on Xue Chiluo. "Only I and the blood—I should’ve been impossible to miss."

Su Hanlin sucked in a sharp breath.

Just as he’d suspected.

Xue Chiluo probably had a special ability to control blood!

"By the way, what did you steal?" Xu Yunrui asked again.

"If you promise not to tell anyone I stole from a nest, I’ll share some with you," Xue Chiluo said.

"Fine."

"If you break your word, your future son will call someone else ‘Dad,’" Xue Chiluo said.

Xu Yunrui froze.

"Who taught you that phrase? So cruel—your son calling someone else ‘Dad’? That’s cutting off your lineage entirely!"

"Exactly. My ancestors said: when threatening someone, always strike at their weakest point. You’re a human male—cutting off your lineage is definitely the worst thing you’d fear, right?" Xue Chiluo said.

"Fine, you win. I promise," Xu Yunrui laughed at it.

"Here, one each for you two. These transparent little stones were hidden deep in the nest—must be something precious." Xue Chiluo shook its dark-black crystal ring, and two Anchun -egg-sized transparent crystals tumbled out.

These crystals were not insect-crystals.

They were… "These are the Insect Clan’s Life Source Crystals," Xu Yunrui and Su Hanlin breathed in unison, stunned.