Insect Crystals

After walking northeast for more than two hours, the trees looked increasingly dead.

At first, there was only withered wood, bare branches, and peeling bark. But as you walked further, even the dead trees became scarce, replaced by strange, blackened, and brittle trees with trunks riddled with holes, as if something had hollowed them out from the inside. The humus layer on the ground was so thick it was almost suffocating; if you stepped on it, acidic water would seep into your shoes, and the smell in the air changed from sour and rotten to sweet and fishy, as if something was slowly rotting down underneath.

The Blood Taisui was extremely agitated beneath the nail surface.

Half an hour ago, it began to convey an emotion that Lu Heng couldn't quite understand. It wasn't excitement, nor hunger, but more like an anxious urging. The Mycelium spread uncontrollably to the sole of his boot, probing forward along the ground, extending a few feet before suddenly retracting, probing again, retracting again, like a hunting dog smelling its prey but unable to reach it, anxiously circling in place.

"Are we almost there?" Lu Heng asked himself.

The Blood Taisui transmitted a vague warmth, causing the Mycelium to taut even more.

Lu Heng slowed his pace and released his senses. His mental energy spread out along the Mycelium network, like an invisible net covering the path ahead. After passing through the last patch of withered forest, the terrain suddenly opened up, and his senses touched water.

It's not flowing, living water.

It was stagnant water.

To be precise, it's the source of this river—a small depression surrounded by dead trees, about half the size of a playground. The water is a murky, oily green, with an iridescent film on the surface. Occasionally, a bubble rises and bursts open with a "pop," releasing an even stronger, sweet, fishy odor. The water swirls slowly on its own, even without wind, with the center of the eddy pointing directly at the center of the depression, as if something is breathing underwater.

At the center of that vortex, Lu Heng's mental energy collided with a wall.

A powerful life force, submerged at the bottom of the water, was slow and heavy, like a beating heart. The moment his spiritual energy touched its outer edge, it was repelled by a sticky, viscous will. Lu Heng felt a throbbing pain in his temple.

He made a rough assessment, and his heart sank slightly.

Bronze Tier.

This wasn't the end of it. At the edge of the stagnant water, among the roots of withered trees, countless shadows lay hidden, their grayish-white carapaces and translucent membranous wings resembling scattered bone fragments against the backdrop of the oily green water. Lu Heng swept his mental energy over them; they remained motionless, but the feeling of being locked on was as clear as needles pricking his skin.

Nearly fifty.

Black Iron Tier.

They were all Black Iron Tier. Their numbers weren't overwhelming, but when they clustered together, the reflections from their carapaces formed a murky mass, making the air at the edge of the depression feel heavy. The last time I saw a Black Iron Tier cluster of this density was during the beast tide on the outskirts of the world at the Lakeside Base.

Lu Heng stood at the edge of the withered forest, not daring to go any further.

He raised his wrist, pointing the Wristband towards the stagnant water. The screen flickered, and the appraisal information that popped up made his gaze darken even further.

[Grey Carapace Insect (Black Iron Tier): Front row unit of the Insect Nest. Its carapace has a thickened cuticle layer, making it resistant to slashing; its swarm charge can break through Black Iron Tier defenses.]

[Rotleaf Bug (Black Iron Tier): A contamination-type unit. Its corrosive fluid concentration is increased, capable of penetrating ordinary metal protective gear.]

[Flying Stinger (Black Iron Tier): Reconnaissance and harassment unit. Its tail stinger has enhanced paralyzing toxin; a swarm of attacks can cause brief immobilization.]

It's still those three kinds of insects.

But they are no longer just low-ranking grunts.

As if to confirm his judgment, the Insect Swarm at the edge of the stagnant water stirred.

They weren't just a few scattered individuals, but rather entire swarms of them stood up, the screech of their shells rubbing together like a tide washing over a beach. The Flying Stinger were the first to take to the air, their buzzing sharp and piercing, their compound eyes locking onto Lu Heng's direction. The Grey Carapace Insect crouched low, their six legs digging at the ground, while the Rotleaf Bug swelled their abdomens behind them, pale green fluid dripping from their mouthparts, etching small pits into the ground.

They found him.

Or rather, the thing underwater gave the order.

Lu Heng's eyes narrowed, and he loosely gripped the Bone-Shaving Knife handle in his right hand—a cool sensation had already formed in his palm.

Just then, the Blood Taisui exploded.

It wasn't conveying emotions, nor was it urging; instead, the entire Blood Armor suddenly swelled, Mycelium burst forth from beneath the surface—not just a few strands or dozens, but hundreds and thousands, like a dark red flower blooming behind him. Lu Heng's hand holding the knife paused, and the hilt turned back into gray light and dissipated—he understood the meaning of the Blood Taisui.

It wants to do it itself.

"You--"

Lu Heng only managed to utter half a word before the Blood Taisui had already left.

The dark red Mycelium spread along the ground, more than ten times faster than before. Wherever it passed, Withered Branch branches and leaves were instantly shredded, and the soil churned up, like a dark red river flowing across the earth. The moment the Insect Swarm pounced, the Grey Carapace Insect's massive mandibles snapped into the Mycelium with a "crack," shattering its Mycelium without leaving a mark. The Rotleaf Bug's corrosive fluid sprayed up, pale green droplets hissing and rising in wisps of white smoke onto the Mycelium's surface—and then nothing more. The Mycelium didn't even change color; instead, it curled back up along the fluid, wrapping around the Rotleaf Bug's abdomen.

The stinger of the Flying Stinger pierced me, clanging and clattering like rain hitting a piece of metal.

It's useless.

None of it worked.

These Black Iron Tier insects were no different from the previous unranked grunts in front of the Blood Taisui. No, they were even worse than grunts—at least grunts could keep the Mycelium entangled for a couple more seconds, but these Black Iron Tier carapaces and venoms weren't even enough to make the Mycelium pause.

Lu Heng stood there, watching this scene, and slowly loosened his grip on the knife.

He had seen the Blood Taisui hunt, seen it devour Grey Carapace Insect and Rotleaf Bug, but those were "eating," the hunter reaping its prey. But the scene before him was not eating.

It means to erase.

Where the Mycelium passes, the Insect Swarm can't even struggle. The shells of Grey Carapace Insect are pierced into the gaps by the Mycelium and pulverized into powder from the inside; the body glands of Rotleaf Bug are torn out in their entirety, and their bodies instantly shrivel up; the wings of Flying Stinger are stuck and dragged into the Mycelium, falling silent without even a buzzing sound. There is no flying blood and flesh, no severed limbs; the Mycelium envelops, contracts, and absorbs in one go. The Insect Swarm quickly shrivels and weathers within the Mycelium, turning into clumps of grayish-white ash, which are scattered all over the ground by the wind.

The sweet, fishy smell dissipated, replaced by a dry, burnt grass-like odor.

The nearly fifty-odd Black Iron Tier Insect Swarm, from the moment it pounced on them to the moment it turned to ashes, took less than ten breaths.

The edge of the depression quieted down, with only the stagnant water slowly swirling on the surface. The Bronze Tier ripples at the bottom of the water remained calm and gentle, as if nothing had happened.

Lu Heng looked down at his feet.

Something was reflecting light in the pile of ashes.

He crouched down, brushed aside the grayish-white remains of insect corpses, and his fingertips touched a cold, hard object. He picked it up and examined it against the sunlight—it was the size of a fingernail, an irregular polyhedron, pitch black, with fine lines on its surface, like some kind of miniature carapace. It felt heavy in his hand, and a faint coolness crept into his veins along his fingertips.

He turned his hand over, and in his palm lay three identical black crystals, all of which he had just picked up from the ashes.

Lu Heng raised his wrist, aligning the Wristband with his palm.

A faint light flashed on the screen, and a line of authentication information appeared.

[Insect Crystal (Black Iron Tier): A condensed energy nucleus from distorted organisms. Can be used as a substitute for an energy core.]

Lu Heng stroked the patterns on the crystal's surface, his gaze slowly changing.

Even Insect Swarm can produce cores of this size.

Either the Insect Swarm in this world has undergone some kind of mutation that he is unaware of.

He raised his head, his gaze passing over the ashes scattered on the ground and landing in the center of the stagnant water.

The vortex was still spinning.

The Bronze Tier ripples at the bottom of the water remained slow and gentle, one after another, like a heartbeat.

The Blood Taisui retracted its Mycelium, and the restlessness beneath its scales subsided, replaced by a satisfied languor. But Lu Heng could sense that its "attention" was still fixed on the bottom of the water—not only was it driven by appetite, but it also carried a hint of alertness to danger, though appetite was still the dominant factor.

The wind blew across the stagnant water, carrying moisture and a lingering sweet, fishy smell.

Lu Heng put the Insect Crystal into his Wristband and stood up straight.

He stared at the water for a few seconds, then took a step and walked towards the center of the depression.