Silksong, launch

Amid a continuous cacophony, a mass of blackish-brown worms crawled out of the hole of light and surrounded everyone.

"Damn it, how can our luck be this bad? We run into this crap the moment we get out." The level-four employee beside Shen Yu cursed and took down his E.G.O., Red Eyes-a warhammer covered in crimson eyes.

"The worms might have set an ambush. You'd better be careful. Today's worms could be extremely dangerous," Shen Yu warned, gripping the Ice Crystal Spear.

"What? You're saying those worms that can't even turn around would set an ambush?" The level-four employee sneered and tilted his head toward Shen Yu.

"Heh, I think your brain's about on par with a worm's. You just got lucky and picked up a high-grade E.G.O., and now you think you're somebody. Low-level trash."

The level-four employee looked ahead, seething with agitation.

For some reason, the Old Lady had been especially talkative today. He had no idea how long he had been held up in the containment unit. He had passed out as soon as he left, and the moment he woke up, he had been sent to suppress an ordeal.

"If you're so amazing, Pigu, go handle it yourself," Wu Ke said, curling his lip in displeasure.

"Don't call me by my name." Wearing Red Eyes, Pigu glared at Wu Ke, then twirled his warhammer as he approached the worm at the front.

"I'll give you low-level employees a proper demonstration right now. Keep your eyes wide open."

Meanwhile, the worm curled its body slightly, steadily gathering strength.

Pigu chuckled at the sight, hurried around behind it, and raised Red Eyes high.

"These worms mainly attack by lunging, and they take forever to charge up. They can't even turn around. The very definition of useless."

"Die." Pigu brought Red Eyes crashing down, only to discover in shock that the worm had already turned its head. Its amber eyes stared at him, and a hissing laugh escaped its mouthparts.

Squelch! The worm shot forward like a cannonball, spraying a burst of blood in its wake.

As Pigu's right arm swung down with its momentum, a streak of blood splattered across the floor ahead. Through his hazy vision, he saw blood gushing from his severed arm. Then a wave of agonizing pain shot straight into his skull.

"Aah!" Pigu cried out in pain, clutched his severed arm, and hurried backward.

But a moment later, another worm lunged, biting off the right leg he had just stepped back with. He crashed to the floor with a thud and let out an ear-piercing howl.

Then, holding Pigu's limbs in their mouths, the two worms slowly turned around and devoured them in front of everyone. Their amber eyes curved into crescents, and hissing laughter came from their blood-dripping mouthparts.

"Those worms can... can think now?" Wu Ke's mouth hung open as he panted rapidly.

"What does it matter if they can think? Th-they're just worms." A level-three employee wearing the same E.G.O. as Ayla tried to reassure everyone, but he could not stop trembling, his mind reeling.

What's wrong with these worms? Pigu was a level-four employee, and they took his arm off in one bite. And...

He looked at the densely packed worms surrounding them and retreated on stiff legs, bumping straight into another employee behind him.

"S-sir, what should we do?" A level-one employee wearing Penitence clung tightly to Vic's right arm, his voice thick with tears.

At the sight, all the worms let out low, eerie laughter together. The eyes on their bodies flickered constantly, unleashing psychic shocks that steadily drained everyone's sanity.

"Don't touch me." Vic shook off the employee's hand, grabbed the hand crossbow from his back, and pulled the trigger at the howling Pigu.

An emerald bolt shot out, but just before it could pierce Pigu's head, his body jerked backward, making the bolt miss.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Vic frowned at Shen Yu, who was holding Pigu by the back of his collar. "Haven't you noticed that this guy's already affecting the other employees' sanity?"

"Of course I have." Shen Yu shrugged, spun the Ice Crystal Spear in his right hand, and stabbed it straight into Pigu's forehead. After stirring it around, he pulled it out.

Strangely, however, once the Ice Crystal Spear was withdrawn, Pigu's head remained completely intact, and clarity returned to his crazed eyes.

Tsk, tsk. Mind-over-matter psychic weapons really are great, Shen Yu marveled, looking at the Ice Crystal Spear in his hand, which had turned misty.

It can switch between physical and incorporeal forms at any time, and I can even decide whether it heals or harms just by willing it.

"Tch. Bleeding heart," Vic said disdainfully.

"No, no. Your way is just too wasteful." Shen Yu chuckled and looked at Pigu, who lay on the floor with his sanity restored. "High-level employees have plenty of uses. Wouldn't you agree?"

"Yes, you're right. I'll work hard," Pigu said, forcing a smile. Suddenly, he felt that Shen Yu was even more terrifying than those worms.

Now that's a good employee. Shen Yu chuckled. With a thought, the Ice Crystal Spear instantly solidified, ringing crisply as he tapped it against the floor.

This should be hard enough now. Sigh, Little Knight's in the control room. I can't bring them over. But even if I did, they'd definitely be put into containment if their strength was exposed.

Though revealing combat skills and E.G.O. manifestations carries some risk, there's a precedent, at least. It shouldn't go too far.

Looks like I'll have to do it myself. Shen Yu sighed as he touched the spearhead, then looked at the densely packed worms ahead and said to Vic:

"Cover me in a moment."

"What? You want me to cover a low-level-" Before Vic could finish, Shen Yu had already shot forward in a blur, the scattered air currents striking Vic's face.

Before the foremost worm could react, the Ice Crystal Spear pierced it. A burst of extreme cold followed, freezing its entire body.

When another worm lunged at him, Shen Yu immediately dodged with Backstep. At the same time, he shot a strand of silk thread from his left hand, winding it around the warhammer-shaped E.G.O., Red Eyes, on the floor.

With a sweep of his left hand, he activated the combat skill [Needle Throw]. Red Eyes traced a bloody streak, knocking the lunging worm away, then spun around and smashed the foremost worm until its bodily fluids burst out.

At that moment, the Godtuner on Shen Yu's chest vibrated again:

"EGO Resonance initiated. [Snow Queen] tuning rate increased: 10%... 11%."

Again? The instant the resonance began, the Ice Crystal Spear unleashed extreme cold once more. This time, however, his E.G.O. armor rippled, giving off the sound of howling ice and snow.

Then the Ice Crystal Spear's extreme cold gradually weakened, reaching a level the human body could just barely withstand.

So E.G.O. armor can do this too, Shen Yu marveled. At the same time, he noticed something:

Apart from that first time in Godhome, neither [Lonesome] nor [Red Eyes] resonated during any of my later fights, whether at the company or in Spider Bud's mental space.

But both times the E.G.O. Frost Shard began resonating, I'd just used Hornet's combat skills. Could there be a connection between the two?

But Shen Yu had no time to dwell on it. As the first worm let out a roar, all the surrounding worms began closing in on him and attacking.

Shen Yu had just twisted aside to dodge an attack when another worm lunged straight at him.

At that critical moment, an emerald bolt pierced the worm's body with a squelch, knocking it off course.

"Tch." Vic curled his lip in displeasure, raised his crossbow, and fired at the other approaching worms. Yet that guy stood motionless within the worms' encirclement, as though he had gone stupid. Irritated, Vic shouted:

"Are you out of your mind? Run already! Do you want to get torn apart?"

Meanwhile, Wu Ke tried to go to Shen Yu's rescue, only to be yanked back by the level-three employee from earlier. The latter hurriedly said, "Are you trying to get yourself killed?"

As they spoke, a great many worms had already finished gathering strength, their amber gazes fixed firmly on Shen Yu.

"Mm, that should do it." Shen Yu surveyed the worms surrounding him and released two long, thin strands of white silk thread from his palms.