章 73: Chapter 73: Second-Tier Tiger Spinal Bug, Face-to-Face with the Empress
With the Blue Wing Bugs plummeting from the sky, reduced to fiery spirals by Death's Eye, their burning remains disintegrated before touching the ground. The aerial threat was effectively neutralized, and the Black Spinal Bug army was held back a kilometer away by the combined efforts of Chen Yanyan and Jiang Yuner.
Lin Feng considered testing the new power of his Fire Coverage but realized killing more first-tier bugs was futile. It was better to leave them to the camper and Chen Yanyan.
Jiang Yuner's weapon wasn't a replica, so she didn't share in the kill rewards, effectively granting Lin Feng free gains.
After a few more minutes, having distanced themselves from the Black Spinal Bugs, the immediate threat subsided. Lin Feng turned to the relentless actress still firing her weapon and grasped her right hand:
"That's enough!"
Seeing the ammo chain nearly depleted, Lin Feng's cold tone cut through:
"Calm down! It's over. Take a break."
Releasing her hand, Lin Feng sat cross-legged on the lookout, his gun still smoking but without any targets.
He initiated his own upgrade, a warm flow from the gun easing his fatigue.
Jiang Yuner blinked, taking a moment to process before pushing herself up, disbelief etched on her face:
"It... it's over..."
"Did we win?!"
"Are we alive?!"
Her murmured questions went unanswered by Lin Feng, who remained focused on the dispersing bug army.
From encountering the Black Spinal Bug patrol to repelling the army, over ten minutes had passed.
If all went well, Cheng Zhan and his team should be nearing Haicheng's outskirts.
Twenty kilometers away, Cheng Zhan's two modified jeeps sped down the highway.
With most Black Spinal Bugs drawn to the territory's edge, their path was clear, encountering only a few Red Beetles dispatched by silenced rifles.
This team, elite even before the alien invasion, was well-trained in special operations, including deep reconnaissance, intelligence gathering, and sabotage.
This mission was their specialty.
Despite being only two vehicles with twelve men, each member was an elite among elites.
Safely infiltrating the insect heartland, they saw nothing but barren yellow-black earth.
Yellow from mud, black from insect droppings.
Nothing else remained, as if locusts had scoured the land.
A teammate remarked:
"Once we drive these damned alien bugs out, Jiangnan's soil might be more fertile."
The gunner shook his head:
"That's watered with human blood."
Soon, the highway toll station appeared, sparking hope. But then, a massive, menacing figure rose behind it.
The toll station was only four or five hundred meters away, but the vivid yellow markings were unmistakable.
Standing over six meters tall and wider than ten meters, it was like a three-story rural building.
Their true target.
The elusive second-tier Tiger Spinal Bug!
A creature many times stronger than a Black Spinal Bug!
The special forces team braced for combat.
The jeeps' four autocannons and two large-caliber mortars aimed and ready.
Cheng Zhan raised his gun:
"Stop, no closer!"
Getting nearer would render their heavy firepower—100mm mortars—ineffective.
With a screech of brakes, the team stabilized their positions, firing without waiting for orders.
The autocannons roared, mortars thumped, and explosions lit the Tiger Spinal Bug's vicinity.
As the thunderous blasts echoed...
The dust and smoke cleared, revealing the yellow figure gone, but Cheng Zhan and his team remained vigilant.
They knew this firepower couldn't kill a second-tier bug, only wound it.
That was their aim.
Using heavy weapons to neutralize the threat from a distance before closing in for the kill, hoping for a second awakening.
But as the smoke dissipated, the Tiger Spinal Bug was nowhere to be found.
Cheng Zhan, seeing his men's puzzled looks, hesitated before ordering them forward.
The mortars were their only real threat to second-tier bugs, aside from four man-portable missiles in the trunk.
The autocannons worked on Black Spinal Bugs but were dubious against the Tiger Spinal Bug's doubled attributes. Even hits might do little damage.
This was their first encounter with a second-tier bug, and much was unknown.
Despite the bombardment, Cheng Zhan was cautious, ordering the rocket launchers readied as they approached.
The 120mm rockets, infrared-guided, were the team's last resort.
As they nervously advanced to the toll station, they found only damaged buildings and craters.
No sign of the Tiger Spinal Bug. No blood, no tracks.
A chill ran up their spines!
Suddenly, the jeeps trembled slightly.
Yet they were stationary!
As they searched unsuccessfully, they saw the cracked ground around the jeeps undulate, trapping the tires in the earth.
The shaking intensified!
No matter how the driver floored it, the jeeps sank deeper!
"Damn it!!!"
"This is a bug pit!"
Cheng Zhan climbed onto the roof, announcing the grim truth.
They were caught in the Empress's tunnel!
"Run! That Tiger Spinal Bug lured us into a trap!!"
With Cheng Zhan's shout, giant yellow mandibles erupted from the liquefied earth, biting at the trapped jeeps.
They sought to destroy the team's only foothold.
Some members prepared ropes, anchoring to the toll station's steel frames, quickly climbing up.
There was hope!
But just as escape seemed possible, a blue flash struck.
The Blue Wing Bugs arrived!
Their attack snapped the ropes, plunging the vehicle and its occupants into the collapsing pit.
Cheng Zhan was the last to leave, still on the roof when the ropes snapped.
Watching their last hope vanish, he grimly emptied his backpack of ammo and gear, filling it with mortar shells.
He jumped into the pit.
Sinking into the mud, he lost track of time. When Cheng Zhan awoke...
Eerie green light flickered, illuminating the dark space.
Ahead lay a massive beast, sprawled in the cavern, surrounded by Red Beetles delivering food.
As it raised its head, hundreds of basketball-sized eyes turned to the newly captured humans...
Cheng Zhan felt an invisible weight crush him, his mind spiraling into chaos, collapsing to the ground. Desperately clinging to sanity, he tightened his grip on the backpack's straps.
He crawled forward...
Closer...
Closer to the Empress.
Upon returning from a trip, I found my bathroom leaking. After contacting property management and an electrician, we discovered it was the fault of the upstairs neighbor. It took all morning to fix, and we couldn't reach the responsible party.
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