Chapter 74

"I'm sorry." Not knowing what He Wenyuan was up to, and having been reminded of something, Qiu Yongyan an excuse without thinking, "I think the front lines need me more."

He Wenyuan spent most of yesterday afternoon in the rear, rarely appearing on the front lines, only going to "finish off" enemies and capture kill points.

"Disobeying orders?" Rejected, He Wenyuan chuckled. "And the permissions for the Spaceships, Warships, and weapons..."

He Wenyuan deliberately dragged out his words and glanced meaningfully at the students in Class 7.

The meaning of the threat is quite clear.

The Class Monitor is the commander of each squad and has the authority to deploy and allocate all weapons and Warships on the Spaceship. Under normal circumstances, squad members must unconditionally obey the Class Monitor's orders.

(Class 7 couldn't stand it and retorted, "You're clearly doing this on purpose..."

"What do you mean by 'deliberately'?" He Wenyuan interrupted the person who spoke, smiling broadly. "Sike'er, it seems that the order your family lost a few days ago was just a minor matter, not at all like my father said, which was crippling. As the heir, you don't seem worried at all, and you even have the leisure to stand up for others."

He Wenyuan spoke to Sike'er, but his threatening gaze swept equally over everyone else in Class 7).

In other classes, there were people he couldn't afford to offend, but in Class 7), it was the complete opposite. Otherwise, why would he have chosen Class 7)?

With just a few words, Sike'er's expression changed, and he looked apologetically at Qiu Yongyan, forced to shut up.

Human nature is complex. They stood on Qiu Yongyan's side, but had to bow to reality.

Nobody wants to lose their weapon; it could really kill them.

They died. He Wenyuan drop out of school and leave the Military Academy. As long as he was Xuan Family, he could still live a successful life outside.

But they are different.

Many in their class earn points by killing bugs, which they exchange for Star Coins to support struggling families. Their deaths would provide their families with a lump sum compensation from the Military Academy. But what happens after that?

The silence was expected by Qiu Yongyan. He Wenyuan had successfully turned them from being standing together into opposing sides, and he had been put on the defensive by He Wenyuan's few words.

"I agree," Qiu Yongyan, his voice hoarse.

If he refuses He Wenyuan's orders, everyone will lose their Warships and weapons, and by then they will all be dead. There will be no chance for them to speak out and tell the truth.

Besides, the facts are often not important; even if someone is lucky enough to survive, they will ultimately be the one resented.

At worst, he can just be more cautious.

He Wenyuan thought to himself, 'Wouldn't it have been better if you'd said this earlier?' He then opened his mouth with a perfectly plausible expression: 'Why are you so nervous? Actually, I didn't want it to be like this either, but...'

He Wenyuan said with a hint of helplessness, "I suddenly realized that everyone seems to listen to you more, so I respected everyone's opinion and left you behind with me. This not only better protects your safety, but also allows you to directly issue orders on my behalf. When the orders are issued by you, everyone feels more at ease, right?"

Qiu Yongyan forced a stiff smile, "So that's how it is."

"Of course." He Wenyuan's smile deepened. "Alright, now you can make the arrangements."

He Wenyuan waved his hand and stepped aside, as if he were temporarily handing over the Class Monitor's power to Qiu Yongyan for everyone's sake.

"I didn't expect the Class Monitor to be thinking of us (7). Thank you so much, Class Monitor."

Qiu Yongyan forced a smile at He Wenyuan, trying to appear numb no matter what He Wenyuan was going to do.

If he hadn't received the warning beforehand, Qiu Yongyan would have been lulled into a false sense of security by the 'sweet date' He Wenyuan was offering. Now, he only felt that beneath the sweet date He Wenyuan was giving him was poison.

He Wenyuan can play the good guy to lull him into a false sense of security, so why can't he play the innocent guy to lull He Wenyuan into a false sense of security?

He Wenyuan smiled and ignored him, simply gesturing for Qiu Yongyan to make himself at home.

Qiu Yongyan pretended to be in high spirits and made arrangements for today's Purge for the students of Class 7).

He Wenyuan did not interfere until everyone set off for the planned Purge operation.

(Class 7 secretly thought that perhaps they were overthinking things, and that He Wenyuan really didn't mean anything by it.

--

Class 6 of the Comic World, led by Qin Su, arrived at their destination.

Through his Visual Helmet, Qin Su could easily spot someone peeking out from about 700 or 800 meters away from where their Warship was currently stationed, using binoculars that had been largely phased out by the Federation to observe their movements.

Based on the data from the Giant Man-Eating Worms, they are very likely local inhabitants who still live on the ground in an ancient way.

This was an additional Purge operation, and the students' varying levels of control over the Warships using their Optical Brain resulted in chaotic speeds.

There was no need to save time at the moment. Knowing that the journey was long and time-consuming, Qin Su did not let the system take over everyone's Warships, but relied on everyone to 'rely on their own' and control the speed of the Warships using their Optical Brain.

With a limited number of Warships, and several people sharing one Warship, Qin Su would have them switch to the Optical Brain to take over the Warship after a suitable journey, ensuring that every student could get practice.

It took them nearly three hours to get there.

It's lunchtime, everyone should be hungry, and their brains need a proper rest.

Judging from the surrounding environment, the number of these Giant Man-Eating Worms is not large, and there is plenty of time to eradicate them.

Withdrawing his scanning gaze, Qin Su gave a brief order, "Land, eat, rest, and assemble at 2 PM."

Within two hours, local residents living nearby, risking their lives, should be able to arrive promptly upon receiving the news in order to obtain the Giant Devourer Worm Meat as soon as possible.

"Receive!"

"Yes!"

"Good!"

With each answer, the students in Class 6, who had been mentally exhausted, felt relieved and began to look for suitable spots to stop their Warships.

Even with the air conditioning continuously supplied by the Combat Suits, under the scorching sun, human instinct still made the students of Class 6) habitually seek out shady places to avoid the blazing sun, and each took out nutrient solution from the Warship.

The Optical Brain shows that today's surface temperature is higher than yesterday's, currently reaching 75 degrees Celsius.

At these temperatures, removing the Visual Helmet to eat can cause facial burns.

"He Muzhi, Sophia, Jeffrey..." Qin Su pointed to several Alphas whose physical strength was relatively better than the other students, and succinctly commanded, "Follow me."

He gets anxious whenever he's not busy, worrying that he's not getting enough exercise.

The group responded in unison and followed Qin Su into the largest Warship.

Before long, a feeding area was set up in the Warship, and the cold air blowing from the Warships filled the entire space.

The students, who had been hiding in small groups in the shadows under the Warship, waited until the cold air blowing from the Warship covered the surroundings before opening their helmets, eating and chatting at the same time.

Looking around, the rock walls, riddled with holes, are covered with ravines and countless holes, each about a meter in diameter, of all sizes.

With familiar terrain, without Qin Su telling them, the Class 6 members already guessed that the insects they were going to Purge this time were the infamous brutes of Lierse Niya, the Giant Man-Eating Worms.

It has a thick and tough outer skin, no eyes or nose, only a mouth.

The mouthparts contain dense, spirally arranged black teeth, resembling steel needles. The entire body is elongated and cylindrical, with adults reaching ten meters in length. The mouthparts extend directly to the anus at the tail.

Their attack methods lacked any finesse; they relied entirely on reckless, headlong charges.

They will swallow anything that is alive and can be swallowed, and they dare to swallow anything; they are not picky eaters at all.

If you're unlucky enough to be swallowed, even if you're not bitten into pieces by their three rings of teeth, you'll be crushed into a pulp inside their bellies by their repeated leaps and descents.

The rock in front of us originally had no holes, but now it's full of holes Giant Man-Eating Worms have burrowed in so many of them.

When citizens of the Liersenia Planet need to cross desolate desert areas, they usually rely on the presence of cavities in the ground and rocks to determine whether there are Giant Man-Eating Worms nearby, thus avoiding Giant Man-Eating Worm attacks.

The Giant Man-Eating Worms have no fixed habitat, live in scattered groups, and often migrate in sandy areas. When the Jump Point Platform or local Detector detect that it is too close to human settlements, it will be reported, and the Federation will send Military Academy to Purge.

Lierse Niya has a unique environment, with no other source of income besides energy, which is controlled by a small number of people, resulting in a huge gap between the rich and poor on the planet.

For many people, anything is edible, so Giant Man-Eating Worm are on the menu for some citizens of Lierse Niya.

Without weapons provided by the Federation, they could not eradicate the worms on their own. They could only report the discovery of the Giant Man-Eating Worm, wait nearby for them to be killed, and then swarm to cut them up, transport them, dry them, and preserve them, making them a rare source of meat.

Of course, citizens from other planets also wanted to try it out, relying on expensive Transport chains to get their hands on it.

As everyone was chatting, someone finished their nutrient solution and suddenly asked, "I heard that Giant Man-Eating Worm are edible, is that true? Has any of you ever eaten them?"

"I don't."

"Me neither."

After a series of "no"s, Raymond raised his hand. "I've eaten."

He's a meat lover, which everyone else finds disgusting, but he had a craving and couldn't resist trying it.

What does it taste like?

Seeing that everyone's eyes showed only curiosity, not disgust, Raymond said, "It smells delicious, it's oily, and it's chewy and bouncy, like a meatball that's been pounded a thousand times—it's incredibly satisfying!"

As he spoke, Raymond's mouth watered, and he suddenly felt that the nutrient solution in his hand no longer tasted so good.

"Anyway, it smells good!"

"..."

Raymond's description reminded Qin Su, who was leaning against a Warship in the distance, facing Raymond and the others, of a beef ball advertisement, and he couldn't help but smile.

The Giant Man-Eating Worms wrestle and thrash themselves on the sand every day, and if they still can't match the bouncy texture of beef balls, they'll really throw a tantrum.

Qin Su's every move attracted attention. Suddenly, the corners of his lips turned up, easily attracting the attention of the students in Class 6. Everyone poked each other's arms and pinched each other's thighs, focusing their eyes on Qin Su.

The Class Monitor... smiled?!

Noticing the attention from all sides, Qin Su suppressed his smile, turned his head, and resumed his indifferent expression. "Continue, don't worry about me."

"... Haha, okay."

That being said, everyone simply couldn't suppress their desire to explore Qin Su.

"What does it mean that the Class Monitor is laughing? Am I describing it correctly or incorrectly?" Raymond whispered.

"I don't know, but I know the Class Monitor has never been interested in anything. Hearing you talk about the taste of Giant Man-Eating Worm and suddenly laughing, the Class Monitor has definitely eaten them."

"A dish so delicious it could make the Class Monitor smile..." Jeffrey swallowed hard. "I'm tempted. What about you?"

No one spoke; they just nodded repeatedly, like chickens pecking at rice.

[To make sure everyone knows, I took a screenshot of what the Giant Man-Eating Worm looks like.()]

[How disgusting! How could anyone eat this kind of thing?]

[As expected of a big shot, he dares to eat anything...]

[In the absence of any extreme food, one naturally has to eat. Besides, if the local residents can eat it, why can't Qin Su?]

[I heard that for big shots like Brother Su, the family would throw them into desperate situations without giving them anything in order to train them and maximize their potential. Perhaps Brother Su was recalling the arduous yet fulfilling memories of eating them, which is why he smiled.]

[That's right, have you forgotten? When Baby 1 first met his Class Advisor Zhang Minglang upon entering school, he mentioned that he really liked his work, "Seven Days with the Giant Man-Eating Worm." Why did he like it? Of course, it's because he felt the same way!]

In the Real World, Qin Su didn't like beverages, and now he doesn't like various flavored nutrient solutions either. He prefers normal human food. He suppressed the urge to frown and pretended to be 'indifferent' while drinking, all the while watching the live comments.

"..."

No, he hadn't eaten it; he was just thinking about it and it reminded him of beef balls.

Even if the nutrient solution tastes terrible, it can be finished in ten minutes. Seeing that everyone had finished eating, Qin Su said to the students of Class 6), "Everyone, rest now."

'Isn't patrolling necessary?'

Even during the daytime, when Giant Man-Eating Worm or other insects in the sand launch their attacks, they don't care whether people are resting or not.

As this thought crossed everyone's minds, they saw Qin Su put on his helmet and leave from the 'air conditioning shield'.

What else don't they understand?

Qin Su was sacrificing his own rest time to patrol alone so that everyone else could get some rest.

He Muzhi immediately followed up. "Class Monitor, I'll take your turn..."

"Stop."

Qin Su didn't even turn his head, his tone brooking no argument.

No one could stop him from seizing every second to increase his exercise.

He Muzhi stopped in his tracks. Unable to disobey orders, he could only watch Qin Su leave.

Although the others didn't say anything, their eyes were filled with emotion as they watched Qin Su's retreating figure.

[Su Bao is really... I'm crying my eyes out!]

[It's too perfect, who wouldn't be tempted by this?]

[He @He Wenyuan]

[No way, why did you tag that lunatic? Did you have to make me cry my eyes out before you started cursing?]

[(Innocent eyes) Didn't you guys ask who wouldn't be tempted?]

[Clear screen with one click!]

Qin Su: "..."

Sorry to have wasted everyone's good intentions; he was simply forced to move.

With a perfectly legitimate excuse, Qin Su suppressed his excitement and urge to run, and slowly wandered around.

(Class 6 had no way to repay him, so they suppressed their excitement and trembling bodies and forced themselves into a state of sleep.

They need to get enough rest so they won't mess things up in the afternoon and cause Qin Su any worry.

At 2:00 PM, Qin Su, who was ostensibly on patrol but actually using the patrol opportunity to increase his exercise around the Warship, woke up the resting members of Class 6).

"Do you still remember the arrangements for boarding your respective Warships this morning?" Qin Su's sharp gaze swept over the 499 People.

"Remember!"

The voices were clear, uniform, and powerful.

Reassured, Qin Su continued, "The rest of the operation will proceed as planned this morning, continuing with the arrangement of boarding the Warship."

"Class Monitor," Anthony raised his hand.

"Speak." Qin Su's gaze fell on Anthony.

Anthony, not understanding, asked, "Do we still need to switch the Optical Brain to take over the Warship midway?"

[I already said to follow it completely, Anthony doesn't understand human language.]

There's no need to be so harsh.

[Yes, if you have doubts, you should ask them; otherwise, it would be bad if something went wrong because of uncertainty.]

Being meticulous is a good thing, and Qin Su wasn't angry. He calmly affirmed, "It's necessary."

Anthony nodded. "I understand."

"Does anyone have any further questions?" To avoid making the students hesitant to ask, Qin Su softened his tone, making his voice less stern than before.

"That's all."

"No."

Once he had cleared everyone's doubts, Qin Su solemnly declared, "Let's begin!"

During the training, he ensured that each student experienced several unpredictable attacks from the Giant Man-Eating Worms on the Simulated Battlefield. Qin Su was not too worried about the upcoming battles.

Compared to his classmates who had some experience dealing with Giant Man-Eating Worm, Qin Su was more worried about the many local residents who had rushed to the scene within the past two hours after being alerted by the locals.

Meat was a rare and precious commodity for them, naturally leading to scrambles and inevitably bringing them closer to the battlefield.

Not only in the Class Advisor's work, but other Military Academy students who had fought against the Giant Man-Eating Worms also posted on different platforms about various accidents that occurred when local residents got too close to each other in order to grab Giant Devourer Worm Meat faster.

When simply surviving became a problem for them, their fear of death diminished.

Prior warnings are not enough to deter others.

Warnings given before an accident occurs will likely be ignored by them.

Moreover, it's inevitable that some Giant Man-Eating Worms will escape from their encirclement and injure innocent bystanders.

It seems that during the Purge operation, he could only spare some attention to the surrounding activity.

While he was pondering, the students of Class 6) had already arrived at the habitat of the Giant Man-Eating Worm aboard the Warship with him.

Qin Su snapped out of his thoughts and ordered, "Everyone who was traveling alone on the Warship, come with me to stop the Warship and go ashore to attract the Giant Man-Eating Worms."

He always sets a good example and never hides behind his classmates; who can disagree with that?

[What a stark contrast! He Wenyuan from Class 7 next door is stealing other people's fruits again (sigh)]

[I'm not kidding, Qiu Yongyan really unlucky]

"Everyone else, watch out for the Giant Man-Eating Worms in the rock face." Qin Su had no time to pay attention to what the comments were saying; all his attention was focused on the Giant Man-Eating Worms.

Amidst the repeated "yes" responses on the Communication Channel, the students of Class 6), carefully selected by Qin Su and possessing outstanding qualities in all aspects, landed in accordance with the instructions.

Different weapons were attached to their Combat Suit, each gripping the weapon they were most familiar with, holding their breath and concentrating intently, as they spread out across the ravine-strewn ground.

What was initially difficult for them to walk on the sand is now not only easy for them to walk on, but they can also do so as quietly as possible.

Five minutes later, the once calm and raised fine sand gradually dispersed to both sides of the gully.

Qin Su's repeated training in the past made it clear to the students of Class 6) that the Giant Man-Eating Worms sleeping underground had smelled the scent of living things and were awakening.

Rustling...

In less than a minute, the Giant Man-Eating Worms that had been sleeping underground and in the holes in the rock walls burst out of their burrows.

For a moment, sand and dust flew up from the towering rock walls.

"Board the Warship!" Seeing that he had successfully lured out some of the Giant Man-Eating Worms from beneath the fine sand, Qin Su decisively reminded them in the Communication Channel.

The Warships took off again from the ground, and the spot where Warship had been docked was breached by the Giant Man-Eating Worms.

Amidst the flying sand and swirling stones, the Giant Man-Eating Worm thrashed its heavy body, its round mouthparts thrusting straight at the living creature.

Thump thump thump...

The massive body of the Giant Man-Eating Worm slammed heavily onto the sand and rock walls, producing a series of muffled thuds of varying degrees.

The sounds of different weapons firing were mixed in.

Just as Qin Su had anticipated, after several rounds of contact, the students gradually relaxed after their initial nervousness when facing the 'real thing,' clearly regaining the familiarity they felt on the Simulated Battlefield.

The Giant Man-Eating Worm was shattered by different shells, falling to the ground with a series of thuds, and a thick stench of blood spread everywhere.

These movements attracted even more Giant Man-Eating Worm to break through the sand.

Half an hour later, the battlefield, which was originally within a relatively small area, gradually expanded due to the continuous chasing, attacking, and pulling of each other.

The local residents, who had caught a whiff of the blood of the Giant Man-Eating Worms in the air, stared eagerly, their feet unconsciously moving closer.

The Giant Man-Eating Worms underground scurried about due to the attack, expanding their range ever larger.

Based on his observations of the students' encirclement, Qin Su reminded those who were clearly handling the situation with ease in a private communication, "Be careful of the peripheral areas."

Hearing Qin Su's words, He Muzhi and the others withdrew some of their attention from the Giant Man-Eating Worms and realized that the local residents, who should have been far away from them, were now not far away as the battle expanded and the Giant Man-Eating Worms fled.

Thanks to Qin Su's special warning, several Giant Man-Eating Worms were hit and exploded by artillery shells at a distance from the local residents.

The temptation before them was too much for some local residents to resist, and they went forward to pick them up.

He remained unmoved despite being scolded by Qin Su and the Class 6 members.

What problems could possibly occur if we choose such a nearby spot?

With this in mind, more and more local residents were picking up trash in the outlying areas.

Another half hour passed, and then a sudden change occurred.

A tiny, but half-meter-diameter, Giant Man-Eating Worm burst from the sand and rushed toward the local residents closest to the battlefield.

Qin Su caught a glimpse of this scene out of the corner of his eye, and his pupils contracted.

It's too close. At this distance, even with the weapon with the smallest effective radius, the surrounding residents would be affected.

In that case...

In a very short time, Qin Su assessed the situation and placed his right hand on the side of his Combat Suit thigh.

With a soft beep, a streak of blue light flashed past, and a Double-Headed Curved Dagger flew from Qin Su's hand, spinning in the air and shooting out a circular arc of Dagger fifty centimeters in diameter.

With a whoosh, the double-headed curved blade sliced through the iron like mud, plunging into the Giant Man-Eating Worm's body from the side, and crimson blood gushed out as the blade cut.