Chapter 178: Small Insect Swarm

Bao Jing was extremely annoyed, several times wanting to rush next door to drag that person out and beat them up, but Ji Jiangci stopped him each time.

"An'an said we could just be normal neighbors, right?"

"Would normal neighbors sneak around doing this?" Bao Jing scoffed, clearly still harboring designs on Ye Xi'an.

Lin Zhi Jing was more concerned with the practical issue: "If he brings food again next time, we should first test it for poison."

Yi Yang, on the other hand, thought it was fine: "I think he's not really that bad..."

Ye Xi'an rubbed her temples, personally went to Gu Feng's door and knocked, hoping he'd stop doing this, but after several attempts, not knowing if it was coincidence, Gu Feng's house was empty each time.

Helpless, Ye Xi'an could only decide to ignore it for now and bring it up if she ever runs into him again.

According to records, Zhu Shen Xing has gone twenty-five years and three months without an insectoid invasion, meaning the alarm for such an invasion hasn't sounded in over twenty years.

Suddenly——

"Woo——!!!"

The piercing, shrill alarm blared without warning across all districts of the San Huan, so shrill it felt like it would tear eardrums.

Red warning lights flashed wildly throughout the market.

"Level-one alert! Level-one alert! Minor insect swarm detected! All residents, enter combat mode immediately! Protect the females and fight the insectoids to the bitter end!"

The cold mechanical voice looped over the broadcast.

People who had been strolling the streets instantly found themselves in chaos.

Females let out terrified screams; the species-wide fear made them feel dread from the depths of their hearts.

But soon they were surrounded by layers of males, who escorted them to safety.

Ye Xi'an, who was playing a game at home, heard the alarm; her heart sank suddenly, she inexplicably felt panicked, with a strange sense of imminent danger.

"A minor insect swarm? What's going on?" Ye Xi'an was a bit dazed.

"I'll tell you later.", Lin Zhi Jing grimly scooped up Ye Xi'an, who was sitting on the sofa, placed her into a metal egg shell that only lets air through, then he climbed in as well, sealing the egg shell completely.

The few outside were perfectly in sync; Yi Yang added another layer of earth over the egg shell, still not enough, Lin Zhi Jing summoned vines that tightly wound a loop, and then the three took positions at the points of an equilateral triangle, warily scanning the surroundings.

No wonder they were so cautious; the insectoids vary in size, and any opening could become a breach point for them.

Soon, a thumping sound came from outside the window.

Looking up, they saw that the distant sky, once clear blue, was now covered by a swiftly moving shadow.

Dense black dots surged toward the city interior at astonishing speed, accompanied by a scalp‑tingling buzz.

They were indeed small, but their numbers were still considerable and their speed extreme; already scattered insectoid vanguards had rushed into the outskirts of the Second Ring.

The buildings' energy shields activated automatically, emitting a clear blue light, but against the insectoids' fearless charge they looked ready to collapse.

The faces of Bao Jing and his companions instantly darkened; this was their first sight of an insectoid invasion, and indeed it was horrifying—a dense mass like the sky pouring down.

Inside the egg shell, Ye Xi'an touched the shell, worried about Bao Jing and the others.

"Why didn't you let Bao Jing and the others come in?"

Lin Zhi Jing's face turned pale; the scene of the last beast‑person and insectoid war felt as if it had just happened yesterday, and he knows better than anyone how terrifying the insectoids are.

He grabbed Ye Xi'an's hand: "Double protection, safer."

"But then Bao Jing and the others aren't safe!"

"This is what they should do; otherwise, what use are the males? And doing this won't keep them safe—it only raises the chance the whole family gets wiped out. After all, if the females die, none of the males can survive."

Ye Xi'an blinked; right, she had almost forgotten this world's setting.

She stopped pestering Lin Zhi Jing and instead used her mental power to observe the outside situation.

Inside there was nothing special for the moment, but when she looked out the window again she was startled by what she saw.

A flying insect resembling a mantis, with sickle‑like forelegs flashing cold light and only half a palm‑sized, suddenly slammed into her house's window; then more and more came, until the interior fell into darkness.

Fortunately the beast‑people have night vision, though it isn't very clear.

"Brother Bao, should I turn on the lights?" Yi Yang asked, a little nervous, staring at the flying insects outside and trembling.

"Don't; the lights will make them even more frenzied."

Bao Jing's voice was ice‑cold, his muscles tensed all over; he regretted forgetting to buy weapons, and if the glass couldn't hold and the insectoids broke in, they'd have to fight to the death with just their abilities.

At the window came a series of bangs; finally it couldn't withstand and cracked open.

The insectoids swarmed in; Yi Yang condensed stone into two palm‑sized shields, opening and closing them could clear a large swath of insectoids.

But his wide‑open, wide‑close motions likewise wrecked the interior beyond recognition.

Bao Jing wielded his Weathering Blade, madly reaping insectoid lives; Ji Jiangci summoned a giant plant that instantly bloomed countless toothed flowers, and in the blink of an eye those dull‑black insectoids became nutrients for the flowers.

Even so, the insectoid numbers were simply too great; they were inevitably crawled upon and bitten hard, chunks of flesh torn away.

The wounds weren't large, but the insectoid saliva contains a special component that stops platelets at the wound from functioning.

Thus, at first glance Bao Jing and company appeared to have countless blood holes suddenly erupting, blood spurting out; in an instant the three clean‑cut handsome fellows turned into bloody figures, making anyone think they were near death.

Ye Xi'an was intimidated by that sight, thinking they had suffered severe injuries.

She withdrew her mental power and, without hesitation, pulled Bao Jing and the three others into her space.

The insectoids suddenly lost their target and immediately began attacking the egg where Ye Xi'an was hiding.

Inside the egg, Lin Zhi Jing, who had been silently using his metal‑type ability and wasn't fully aware of the situation, noticed the egg under attack and frowned.

How could the insectoids start attacking the egg so quickly? Could it be that Bao Jing and the three are already dead? It's only been a moment.

He cursed angrily: "Useless! Dying so fast!"

Ye Xi'an stepped forward and punched his chest: "What are you saying?!"

"They're not dead; I sent them to the Small World."

Lin Zhi Jing blinked: "Why, aren't you afraid to die?"

Just as Ye Xi'an was about to speak, the vines outside the egg shell had been gnawed to shreds by the insectoids, the soil layer kept peeling away, and then came the screech of the metal egg shell scraping against sharp teeth.

"It's too late, Ye Xi'an—quickly let Bao Jing and the others out!"