Two Queen Bugs!

Lu Li quietly made his way up the hill and soon found the Mantis Nest.

Just as he had expected, the nest was only beginning to take shape. There was not even a guard.

Lu Li casually picked up a rock and threw it toward the cave entrance.

Before long, a shrill screech came from within the cave.

A mantis-like monster, purple all over and as large as an adult, burst out of the nest and scanned its surroundings menacingly.

Its information instantly appeared on Lu Li's panel:

[Name: Mantis Queen (Lord Creature)]

[Level: Lv.5]

[Hint: This creature's level is far higher than the player's. Immediate retreat is recommended!]

Lu Li ignored the final line outright and boldly stepped into the Mantis Queen's field of vision.

Although he was only Lv.0 right now, in a one-on-one fight, this Lv.5 Mantis Queen was no match for him.

The terrifying part of a Lord Creature lay in its endless stream of followers, but the Mantis Queen's followers were all still eggs without any offensive power.

With a thought, Lu Li's right arm swiftly transformed into a three-foot-long blade!

The Blade Mantis's Talent Ability—[Blade Arm].

As he slowly paced forward, [Mighty Strength] and [Swift] activated at the same time, further boosting Lu Li's combat strength.

However, Lu Li did not rush to attack. Instead, he kept using stones to provoke the Mantis Queen, acting exceptionally underhanded.

He was waiting for an opportunity, waiting for the moment his opponent exposed an opening.

At last, the Mantis Queen could no longer endure it. With a screech, it lunged at Lu Li.

At that instant, Lu Li shifted his footing and threw himself to the ground with lightning speed!

The blade formed from his right arm stabbed straight into the queen's abdomen. Borrowing the momentum and the power boost from [Mighty Strength], he tore open a gash!

How could the Mantis Queen have expected a Lv.0 Player before it to be so formidable? It immediately turned around and tried to flee back into the nest.

But how could Lu Li possibly give it that chance?

He accelerated into a charge, and with one swing of his blade, directly severed the queen's head!

His first battle ended in victory!

A pleasant notification sounded in his mind—

[Detected that Player Lu Li is the first Player in the world to kill a Lord-Class Creature. Would you like to make a Global Announcement immediately? Yes/No.]

[Note: Making a Global Announcement grants First Kill Chest ×1.]

The unique nature of the apocalypse game revealed itself for the first time.

Whenever a Player completed a pioneering achievement, they would be given the option of making a Global Announcement.

If they gave up the announcement, they would be unable to obtain the pioneering reward.

Without hesitation, Lu Li chose to put the reward on hold.

Before his strength had grown enough, standing out would only bring trouble!

Raising his hand, Lu Li split open the queen's skull and took out a red Origin Crystal.

A Second-Order Mana Crystal could grant a Player 10 experience points.

However, Lu Li did not absorb it and simply put it into his pocket.

He then activated Soul Devour on the queen's corpse.

[Devoured the soul of a Lv.5 monster. Soul Points +10.]

[Plundered Ability—Blade Arm (Silver).]

[Plundered Ability—Swarm Deterrence (Gold).]

[Detected that the ability "Blade Arm" can advance. Trigger advancement mission? Yes/No.]

Lu Li raised an eyebrow and immediately chose to trigger the mission.

Without relying on items, an ability's rank could not be advanced.

But Lu Li was different.

His [Soul Devour] was exceptionally special!

Whenever an ability plundered through [Soul Devour] encountered an identical ability, it would trigger an advancement mission.

Complete the mission, and the ability could advance successfully.

Even if the mission failed, only the ability would disappear. It would not affect Lu Li himself in any way.

[Ding! Ability advancement mission triggered!]

[Mission: Kill 100 Blade Mantises within twenty-four hours!]

[Reward: Challenger's Chest ×1. Ability "Blade Arm" advances to Gold Rank!]

[Current kills: 0/100.]

"These advancement missions are still this unreasonable..." Lu Li felt helpless.

Killing 100 Blade Mantises on the first day of the apocalypse was simply impossible.

It seemed that he would have to discard [Blade Arm] before he had even gotten used to it.

Still, Lu Li did not care. At worst, he could devour another Blade Mantis's soul and plunder the ability again.

He still needed to clear out the nest. Those unhatched mantis eggs were all good things.

Although they could not drop Origin Crystals, every egg could provide him with a tiny amount of Soul Points.

Added together, they would amount to a considerable fortune!

Subconsciously casting Scout into the cave, Lu Li lifted his leg and prepared to enter.

But at that moment, a dangerous aura suddenly surged out from the cave entrance.

There was another monster inside the Mantis Nest!

Lu Li abruptly recoiled backward. A fierce gust swept past his chest, leaving behind a shallow bloody mark.

A queen bug even larger than the previous one crawled out of the entrance, baring its fangs as it pounced outward!

"Fuck, there's another Queen Bug!"

Lu Li was horrified. He immediately rolled away and widened the distance between himself and the queen bug.

If not for the good habit he had developed in his previous life of casting Scout into caves first, Lu Li would probably have already been separated from his head and dead by now!

Just as Lu Li adjusted his breathing and prepared to use the same method to kill the queen bug before him, a cry of alarm came from behind.

"Lu Li, run over here!"

"Xu Xiao?!"

Lu Li froze for a moment, then immediately retreated toward the source of the voice.

Three figures soon entered Lu Li's view. The girl in front had a ponytail and delicate features. It was undoubtedly Xu Xiao.

"Why is she here? Did she follow me?"

Lu Li frowned slightly.

In his previous life, he had not interacted much with Xu Xiao. After surviving the early days of the apocalypse and leaving the school, he had never seen the girl again.

Later, he heard that she had formed her own team. Later still came news that she had died miserably in an insect swarm.

Lu Li only knew that the girl was powerful. As for what her specific ability was, he truly did not know.

"Lu Li, why did you come here alone?"

When Lu Li approached, Xu Xiao hurriedly asked. At the same time, she pressed both palms downward, and shimmering particles of light emerged around her.

Rings of light spread outward, making the girl look like a fairy.

"An Amplify-type ability?!"

Lu Li's pupils contracted. He instantly understood why Xu Xiao had been able to form her own team in his previous life.

An Amplify-type ability could temporarily raise the ability ranks of all Players within range, making it extremely valuable after the apocalypse descended.

And a captain with an Amplify-type ability could usually recruit suitable teammates with ease.

"I thought there would be fewer people at the back hill, so I came to try my luck."

Lu Li casually made up an excuse.

"You're really so loyal. Zhao Hui treats you like that, yet you're still working so hard for him!"

Xu Xiao looked as though she hated that iron could not become steel.

But despite her words, she still shielded Lu Li behind her.

"Wang Chao, Ma Han, stop that monster!"

"Got it, Class Monitor!"

The fat and thin boys answered in unison, revealing their abilities one after another.

The fat one, Wang Chao, had skin all over his body harden into a tough shell resembling a turtle's carapace!

Meanwhile, the thin one, Ma Han, stretched out his arms and formed a Flame Longbow!

Although the two were still somewhat unpracticed in their coordination, they had already begun to resemble a team.

Naturally, Xu Xiao's command was indispensable:

"Wang Chao, hold it back! Don't take it head-on! Ma Han, shoot its head and retreat while attacking!"

Having already retreated to Xu Xiao's side, Lu Li felt the changes within his body and asked without betraying anything:

"Then why did you come to the back hill?"

"Obviously! Wasn't it because I was worried something would happen to you?"