Armored Ground Worm, Blue BOSS!

Night fell, and starlight blanketed the Morning Glow Plains.

"Ah, the scenery's pretty nice..."

Zhang Ruolin sighed. "If we could set up a tent here, hang a few little night lights, put up a barbecue stall, and crack open a few beers, I can't imagine how relaxing a night like this would be~~~"

Xiao Bai looked a little wistful too.

"I'm from Suzhou. In spring, lots of people really do this by East Taihu Lake in Suzhou. If we get the chance someday, you can come visit Suzhou. I'll treat you to a lakeside barbecue."

"Mm!"

The two of them nodded together.

But soon, their faces filled with worry again.

"Can we really go home?"

Xiao Bai said softly, "I miss Dad and Mom..."

Zhang Ruolin's eyes reddened as well.

"We will. We definitely will."

I looked up at the stars. "Mom is still waiting for me to go back, waiting for me to find a job someday and take good care of her..."

The three of us were overcome with inexplicable sadness.

"Beep!"

Just then, the map suddenly flickered. A golden dot appeared on the minimap, flashing constantly.

[Please note, lost supplies have been discovered!]

[These supplies were taken by mutants, but were eventually seized by another powerful lifeform!]

[Kill the target to obtain the supplies!]

I looked up at the two of them, and they looked back at me. Clearly, everyone had received the prompt.

"It'll be easy now that we have coordinates!"

I switched to the Wind Whisperer. "Let's approach slowly and observe the situation first!"

"Mm!"

The three of us crossed the wilderness. Before long, we came within two thousand meters of the target. I immediately dropped flat on the ground and aimed the Wind Whisperer's scope at the mission target. I saw crates of supplies piled together in a low valley, while a gigantic creature lay beside them.

It looked like a heavy tank, its body covered in thick, sturdy armor. Its head had mutated, and like a Devourer, its mouth could split into three terrifying jaws.

"It's a BOSS!"

I frowned. "It's still too far away to see clearly. Let's go take a look. If there's a chance to take down this BOSS, we'll try. If it's too strong, we'll abandon the mission. We came out here to level up, and our goal of upgrading the Essence Furnace has already been achieved. We can skip the mission, but we absolutely cannot die."

"Agreed."

Xiao Bai smiled. "Ding Han, I've realized you're actually a pretty rational person."

"That's called wisdom."

"Got it."

Ruolin said, "Then let's go. Be careful not to attract other mutants and create more trouble. The BOSS is already hard enough to fight. If we add regular monsters to the mix, our chances of wiping will skyrocket."

"Mm, let's go."

So, the three of us slowly approached through the wilderness and eventually arrived at the edge of the small valley.

We were now less than fifty meters from the BOSS. After I focused my gaze on it for more than five seconds, lines of text and data finally appeared!

[Armored Ground Worm] (Blue BOSS)

Level: 20

Attack: 225-250

Defense: 150

Health: 20000

Skills: [Hardened Armor lv7] [Venom Spray lv7] [Life Recovery lv7]

Details: Armored Ground Worms are mutants from the wilderness. Not only do they possess powerful vitality, but they also possess terrifying armor. This armor can even withstand bullets. Unless you have powerful Armor Penetration rounds, try not to provoke such powerful mutated lifeforms!

"Damn, what kind of stats are these?"

Zhang Ruolin's delicate brows knitted together. "One hundred and fifty Defense? Is this really a BOSS meant for players at this stage?"

"No."

I shook my head. "Unless something unexpected happens, most players at this stage won't be able to handle this kind of BOSS. If we take it down, it'll most likely be the First Kill of a Blue BOSS. Do you believe me?"

"I believe you, but how are we supposed to kill it?"

Xiao Bai looked discouraged. "Its Defense is higher than our Attack, it has a whopping twenty thousand Health, and it can recover too. There's no way to kill it, right?"

"Not necessarily."

I frowned. "It can't possibly be all strengths and no weaknesses. Should we give it a try? I think we have a chance to kill it. That giant bug's body is too heavy, so it definitely can't move very fast. As long as we're patient, maybe we can kite it to death. But I'll respect your decision. If you two don't want to take the risk for safety's sake, we'll go back to Creek City."

Xiao Bai hesitated.

"Forget it, I trust Ding Han."

Zhang Ruolin said, "Let's try?"

"Alright!"

Xiao Bai nodded heavily. "Fortune favors the bold. Since both of you have decided to try, I definitely won't chicken out. Besides, monsters with high Defense have weak resistance to my Psionic Storm. That's one of my strengths too."

"Alright, then let's begin!"

I raised the Roarer and aimed at the Armored Ground Worm's head. With a burst of gunfire, I sent an entire magazine into it. Just as expected, its Defense was too high, and the bullet damage was heavily reduced!

"11!"

"12!"

"9!"

Even the green-grade Roarer only dealt this much damage. White-grade weapons were even less worth mentioning!

"Hisss~~~"

The BOSS let out a hoarse roar and abruptly raised its head. Its three jaws rapidly opened, and it spat out a mouthful of green venom with a splurt.

"Watch out!"

Xiao Bai and Ruolin cried out in alarm.

I remained perfectly calm. I lunged toward the front left with Step Slash, directly causing its attack to MISS. At the same time, I fired an entire magazine into the spot where its jaws had opened!

"63!"

"66!"

"61!"

"See that?"

I was a little excited. "As long as we dodge its Venom Spray and shoot while it opens its mouth, we can deal normal damage. It only has twenty thousand Health. If three hundred bullets hit accurately, we can send it straight to hell!"

"You make it sound easy!"

Ruolin and Xiao Bai began firing single shots too, but their Basic Shooting levels were clearly not high, so their accuracy was nowhere near mine.

"Hisss~~~"

The Armored Ground Worm roared, but it never left the valley. It only kept spraying venom in our direction.

"Did you notice?"

Xiao Bai seemed to have discovered something. "There's a plant root connecting the BOSS's body to the ground. It looks a bit like cordyceps. Could its flesh have been invaded by fungus, making it unable to move?"

"That's even better!"

I said gravely, "Be careful and don't get hit by the venom. We can wear it down and kill it!"

For a moment, both girls wore ecstatic smiles.

If this was the first Blue BOSS to be defeated, the rewards definitely wouldn't be low. There might even be an achievement reward!

However, things did not go as smoothly as we had imagined.

When its health bar fell below half, the Armored Ground Worm began recovering Health. Rows of densely packed numbers rose above its head every time it healed—

"+100!"

"+100!"

"+100!"

"This is seriously too much!"

Zhang Ruolin looked speechless.

I frowned. "Be patient. We can definitely take it down."

"Mm!"

So, we continued aiming at its jaws and steadily wore down its Health.

But before long, a faint blood-red layer covered the Armored Ground Worm's armor, and the ding of a system notification rang in our ears.

[Please note, Armored Ground Worm (Blue BOSS) is on the verge of evolving. If it cannot be killed within 120 seconds, it will evolve into: Armored Ground Worm (Purple BOSS)!]

All three of us were instantly stunned.

"Damn..."

Xiao Bai said helplessly, "We have to finish it in two minutes, and the BOSS can recover Health too. How are we supposed to play this? It's impossible to kill, isn't it..."

"Not necessarily!"

I gritted my teeth. "Do either of you have grenades? They don't necessarily have to be hand grenades. Explosive Grenades will work too..."

"What are you planning?"

Zhang Ruolin said cautiously, "The BOSS's armor is so thick that grenades definitely won't kill it. Don't get any ideas. You'll just waste our grenades for nothing."

"Exactly..."

Xiao Bai said, "Grenades are expensive. We use them as life-saving tools."

"I'll ask you one thing. Do you two want the Ability Crystal chest from a Blue BOSS?"

"Of course we do."

"Then stop talking and hand over all your grenades. Pool the grenades from all three of us together. I have a way to kill the BOSS within one hundred and twenty seconds!"

"Alright!"

The two of them said nothing more and immediately started taking things out.

Zhang Ruolin took out three grenades. As expected of a wealthy girl who worked part-time as part of the atmosphere crew at a bar. Xiao Bai took out two grenades, falling slightly short in terms of funds.

Holding the grenades, I said, "In that case, we have five grenades total. As long as I..."

"Wait!"

Two pairs of beautiful eyes glared at me. "So you don't have even one?"

"Yeah, I never said I did..."

"Ding Han!!!!"

"Ahem, taking down the BOSS is most important. Don't worry about such minor details..."

Both of them exploded.

The next moment, my body sank. After using Step Slash to move sideways and MISS a Venom Spray, I raised my hand and threw out a grenade with the pin removed!

Actually, every time the BOSS split open its three jaws and exposed its pitch-black throat, my hands had been itching. My lv10 Throwing Skill was itching to show off!

Now that Ruolin and Xiao Bai had contributed five Explosive Grenades, it was time for the Armored Ground Worm to meet its doom!

"Whoosh!"

The grenade traced a perfect arc through the air like a three-pointer, landing precisely in its mouth!

"Boom—"

A muffled explosion came from inside the Armored Ground Worm's belly!

"2443!"

Ruolin's eyes immediately widened.

"What kind of damage is that?!" Xiao Bai was stunned too.

Before she could finish speaking, I had already thrown the second, third, fourth, and fifth grenades. The four grenades tore through the Armored Ground Worm's thick Defense, dealing continuous, terrifying damage!

"2421!"

"2599!"

"2632!"

"2777!"

Perhaps its Defense had been broken too thoroughly, because each grenade dealt more damage than the last!

When the final grenade exploded, the Armored Ground Worm let out a mournful cry. The weak armor on its abdomen was blown open, and a huge mass of blood plasma and shattered organs spilled out!

The notification chime rang repeatedly in our ears, leaving us exhilarated!

[Congratulations, you have killed Armored Ground Worm (Blue BOSS), claiming the Blue BOSS First Kill of Star Abyss. Reward obtained: Achievement +3!]

[Combat Notice: You have killed Armored Ground Worm (Blue BOSS), obtaining 200000 character experience. Essence Furnace extraction obtained 100000 Experience Points!]

[Congratulations, you have killed Armored Ground Worm (Blue BOSS), obtaining item: BOSS Ability Crystal ×1!]

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