Chapter 216

San Huan, Second Ring have fallen? This fast? What about the advance preparations we were told about? Is the army just eating rice for free!

Everyone cursed while retreating, and the males who sprang into action joined the fight, resisting the insect swarm together with the army.

But it was utterly useless.

More insects surged from the edge of the First Ring, varying in form: there were jumping bugs slightly smaller but extremely fast, flying bugs that could spray corrosive liquid, and tiny gnawers that swarmed like a tide, frenziedly devouring every man-made structure.

To the insects, everything on Zhu Shen Xing is a nutrient supply.

"Fire the cannons—"

At the commander's order, countless heavy weapons had their start buttons pressed.

Beam cannons tore the sky, missiles roared with trailing flames, the newest weapon max, and other heavy weapons entered the fray; the army's fire net wove across the city sky, attempting to block the insects' advance.

The firelight of the explosions made the sky flicker between light and dark, thick smoke rolling, obscuring the heavens.

However, the insects in the sky grew ever more numerous, and they began indiscriminately attacking any moving target on the ground.

Lin Zhi Jing heard a nearby soldier complain: "This time there are far too many insects!"

"Yeah, it's a bit too many.", Lin Zhi Jing narrowed his eyes, wondering how on this resource‑poor insect planet so many insects could have been bred.

It's rather strange.

But now is not the time to think about that; the urgent priority is to resist the insects, lest the First Ring also fall.

If the First Ring falls, the Beastmen will be doomed.

Although everyone tried hard, things went against expectation—the insects were simply too many, seemingly endless; large‑area lethal weapons were nearly exhausted, and the piles of insect corpses on the ground stood three stories high.

But even more frightening than those was the gigantic arthropod insect.

【Notice! Notice! Everyone evacuate to the Mission Center!】

As soon as the notice went out, everyone froze for a second.

Because this meant the First Ring could not be held, the Beastmen would, under the Marshal's leadership, collectively pass through the Space Gate to a one‑star difficulty planet for temporary survival, while Zhu Shen Xing would become the insects' second nest.

The atmosphere suddenly grew heavy; this place where they had survived for hundreds or thousands of years, holding everyone's blood, sweat, and toil—how could they bear to leave?

"Retreat, as long as the green hills remain, we need not fear lack of firewood."

Some began to retreat toward the Mission Center, but some males charged in the opposite direction toward the insects.

No one found it odd; such people are usually those whose wives are still out on missions.

If Zhu Shen Xing becomes the insects' second nest, all Space Gates will be destroyed, and families still doing chores on other planets will never be able to return.

If any family member remains on Zhu Shen Xing, they can forget about ever seeing their wives again for the rest of their lives.

Thus such people choose to fight desperately, to defend Zhu Shen Xing, so they still have hope of seeing their own wives.

The old man at the research institute watched the blood‑drenched young male fighting valiantly, shook his head in regret; fortunately he lived alone, and noticing Lin Zhi Jing standing motionless nearby, he assumed the youth had been frightened stupid.

"Zhi Jing? What are you standing there for? Let's go."

The old man gave a tug but couldn't move him.

Lin Zhi Jing pressed his lips, his long, fair fingertips trembling slightly; he didn't want to go to his death... but he could not bear not seeing Ye Xi'an.

He shoved aside the old man's hand and, together with the opposite‑direction males, rushed toward the insects.

The old man cried out "aiyo" and sighed as he left.

Charging into the insect swarm, the countless bugs, smelling blood and flesh, frenziedly surged toward Lin Zhi Jing; he showed no fear, his eyes scarlet and resolute, his long, fair hand slammed the ground, and countless golden chains shot up into the sky.

He bellowed: "Whoever is lightning‑type, conduct electricity for me!"

At once a lightning‑type male nearby understood, and blue‑purple electricity crackled onto the chains.

Lin Zhi Jing controlled the chains to sweep wide area, the burnt stench making one want to vomit, but he could not stop; if he paused, those damned bugs would tear him apart and devour him completely.

After a long while, the remaining males began to exhaust their strength, resignedly lying on the ground preparing to die.

Lin Zhi Jing was no exception; having stayed up several nights straight, plus the drain of his abilities, every muscle in his body felt as if it had been injected with anesthetic.

When the last trace of his ability was exhausted, he also spread his hands and fell straight down.

Looking at the insects that darkened the sky flying toward him, tears involuntarily streamed down; he could no longer see Ye Xi'an. If only he had known to follow Ye Xi'an on the mission, regret filled his chest, and he despairingly closed his eyes.

"Lin Zhi Jing!"

A familiar voice came from beside him, and Lin Zhi Jing's eyes, just closed, snapped open to see Ye Xi'an suddenly appearing in the midst of the black insect nest.

At that moment time seemed to slow, and in the whole world Lin Zhi Jing could see only Ye Xi'an's silhouette.

"「Am I dreaming? 」 he blankly raised his hand to touch Ye Xi'an, but Ye Xi'an grabbed him."

"「You can touch later; for now, come with me. 」"

"「My legs are weak, I can't walk. 」 Lin Zhi Jing's voice sounded aggrieved; he really wanted to cry now."

Ye Xi'an curled the corner of her mouth: 「Then I'll carry you. 」

As she spoke, she scooped Lin Zhi Jing up from under his knees, holding him in a princess carry despite his stiff body, then in a flash vanished into the insect swarm; when they reappeared, they were on the back of a gigantic arthropod insect.

"「Yo, Doctor Lin, long time no see—how you've become so disheveled. 」"

Hearing Bao Jing's sarcastic tone, Lin Zhi Jing felt unusually close for the first time: 「What on earth is going on? 」

It turned out that after Ye Xi'an emerged from the spatial gate, she found Zhu Shen Xing already in chaos, with a crowd rushing into the gate; fortunately Ye Xi'an was quick-handed and grabbed the last person.

"「Hello, Grandpa, do you know Lin Zhi Jing? He's a very capable scientist. 」"

The old man trembled as he tried to move, his heart anxious: 「Ah, Zhi Jing, let me get to know you, let me get to know you. 」

Ye Xi'an's face lit up, and she hurriedly asked: 「Then where is he? 」

"「He's probably still at the entrance of the research center. 」"

Having received news of Lin Zhi Jing, Ye Xi'an led a few people to flash to the research center's entrance, but she didn't see Lin Zhi Jing; all she saw were masses of insects surging upward, and even more terrifying, not far away a gigantic centipede monster was frenziedly destroying the research center's buildings.

The giant centipede's upper body stood as tall as a hundred-meter building, its densely packed, wriggling legs making one's scalp tingle.

Yi Yang had never seen such a huge, terrifying monster; although afraid, he still stepped in front of Ye Xi'an.

"「Honey, don't be scared, I'll protect... protect you. 」"

Ye Xi'an lowered her head, looking at Yi Yang's trembling hands and knees, and gave a fond chuckle: "Then I'll have to rely on you to protect me."