Thanks

That insect isn't completely dead yet.

It lay sprawled in the rubble, its six legs still twitching. The light in its compound eyes flickered like a lamp about to burn out. Green fluid seeped from the cracks in its carapace, dripping onto the ground and hissing as it corroded small pits.

Lu Heng leaned against the rock wall to catch his breath before managing to stand up.

He didn't rush over.

He bent down, picked up Kiss of Nightmare, walked over, and pressed the muzzle of the gun against the center of the compound eye.

The queen Insect Queen had just regained consciousness when she saw the Kiss of Nightmare pressed against her head, filling her with terror.

"Bang."

A muffled thud.

His eyes were glazed over, and his head was smashed.

Blood gushed onto his body, trickling down the handle, making his entire hand glow red.

At that very moment--

The bracelet on my Wristband jolted suddenly.

A ring of dark red light emanated from the ring, climbed an inch up his arm, and then quickly retreated. Immediately afterward, several lines of text appeared before his eyes:

[Survivor Lu Heng has cleared the source of pollution in Frost Forest]

Frost Forest thanks you.

The words were cold, as if covered with a layer of frost.

Lu Heng stared at it for two seconds before he realized what was happening.

Frost Forest.

Is this forest... alive?

Before he could think any further, the air distorted slightly where the halo had dissipated, and a wooden box the size of a palm landed out of thin air on the gravel at his feet.

The box was grayish-white, its surface covered with fine, frost-like patterns, as if it had been cut directly from a branch of a tree. A line of small characters was engraved on the lid:

[The Gift of Frost Forest]

Lu Heng squatted down and reached out to touch it.

It's cool. Not the coolness of an inanimate object, but the kind of coolness that comes from life, from breathing, seeping into your bones from your fingertips.

But he didn't open it.

He pushed the box aside, turned around, walked back to the Insect Queen's corpse, and plopped down on it.

"Blood Taisui."

He shouted in his heart.

The Mycelium immediately surged out of his body, much faster than before. It wrapped around his left shoulder, burrowed into the broken bone, and then split off into several strands to seal the wound between his ribs and the cut on his forehead.

A tingling, itchy pain crept up his bones. Lu Heng gritted his teeth and stubbornly kept quiet.

He could feel the broken part being pieced back together little by little, faster than usual—because something was also being fed into the other side.

The Greedy Wolf Power is still being absorbed.

The Insect Queen was dead, but something remained in its body. Its strength, blood, and the power that had sustained its explosive growth were all contracting back, while the Greedy Wolf Power was swallowing these scattered things back bit by bit.

Not many, but very substantial.

The first bite warmed a spot in his empty chest.

The second bite turned the tingling and itching at the broken bone into real pain—that was the bone growing.

The third bite, the fourth bite...

Lu Heng closed his eyes and did some mental calculations.

His stamina had recovered to about one-third, Mental Strength had recovered even more, to about two-thirds, enough for him to unleash another decent attack.

Most of them have recovered.

He opened his eyes and exhaled a breath that smelled of blood.

Not bad. That beating wasn't for nothing.

The Blood Taisui also benefited. The color of its Mycelium gradually deepened from dark red, and a layer of oily sheen reappeared on its surface, causing it to coil even faster.

Once he could barely lift his left arm, he stood up and moved around a bit more.

It's still too small to use much force, but it's already mine.

He bent down, picked up the grayish-white box, and tapped it against his Wristband. The box transformed into a streak of light and disappeared into the bracelet. Then he turned and walked towards the other end of the cave.

The first one is lying over there.

The queen Insect Queen, who was only capable of reproduction, was long dead. Its enormous abdomen was mostly deflated, surrounded by broken eggshells and dried slime, and the air smelled sweet and fishy.

Lu Heng stood beside it, raised his left hand, and aimed the Wristband at the corpse.

"Break down."

The Wristband lit up briefly.

The corpse on the ground collapsed at a visible speed. The carapace, pincers, and the few clumps of solidified spiritual remnants were all drawn into streams of light and directly stored in the Wristband's space.

[Insect Armor x 5 (Silver Tier)]

[Insect Claw x 2 (Silver Tier)]

[Insect Crystal x 1 (Silver Tier)]

[Flesh Core (Special) × 1]

The words popped up; the item had already gone inside.

Just as he was about to put the Wristband back, Yu Guang suddenly paused.

After the body decomposed.

But there was something new on the patch of ground where the body had been lying.

It was a box much larger than the one he was carrying, half of it still embedded in rubble and slime, as if it had just been pushed out from underground. The box was dark gold in color, covered with a thin, carapace-like layer, and green fluid that hadn't completely faded could still be seen dripping from the corners.

A line of text was engraved on the lid of the box:

[Insect Queen Treasure Chest]

[Reward for Insect Queen]

Lu Heng squatted down and patted the lid of the box.

Hard, solid.

But he didn't open it.

He withdrew his hand, wiped it on his trouser leg, stood up, looked at the box, and gave a slight twitch at the corner of his mouth.

"... one."

Two Insect Queen, one treasure chest.

Yes, this isn't a game screen. These two originally came from the same nest, one mother and one child, so it seems they've been involved in the same event. Kill them all, and give me a share.

He raised his hand and Wristband on the dark gold box.

With a flash of light, the box went inside.

Two boxes, one on the left and one on the right, lay quietly deep within the space.

After doing all this, Lu Heng turned around and walked towards the other end of the cave.

It's not heading towards the exit.

It went towards the Insect Queen that had just died.

He walked to the body and squatted down.

This one is different from the previous one.

That was a female; it only gives birth. It has a big belly and a thin shell; one shot can pierce through it.

This was only later; the dark golden carapace was a single, continuous piece from head to tail, with not a single soft seam. Each of the six legs had a layer of barbs at the joints, which could be completely sheathed when retracted, and would only spring open when pounced, leaving six bloody grooves on a person's body. Needless to say, the pair of large pincers had a row of fine serrations on the inside of the jaws, and even sparks flew out when they crushed the rocks just now.

Lu Heng reached out and tapped its head armor with his knuckles.

Thump.

The sound was solid, unlike that of the Insect Armor Warrior.

He then ran his hand along the spine, stopping when he reached the third vertebral plate.

There was a shallow dent there, left by his previous shot. The Silver Tier bullet penetrated less than half an inch before being jammed by the shell.

"..."

Lu Heng withdrew his hand, stood up, and walked around the corpse.

He knew one thing clearly.

I originally planned to use the Insect Armor Warrior to make the Bone Demon, but now I have a better one.

This one is different.

The entire body was alive and had grown like this, with the carapace connected to the tendons, the tendons connected to the bones, and the sequence of the six legs' power exertion and the angle of the pincers' bite were all ready-made.

Using it to make Bone Demon is far superior to using it to make Insect Armor Warrior.

The chill from deep within the cave slowly seeped in, mingling with the pungent, fishy smell of insect fluids corroding the rock. Scattered remnants of slime on the rock walls were still bubbling slightly, the sounds of corrosion were faint and continuous, and there was no more chirping or vibration from the surroundings.

Lu Heng tried to slowly raise his left arm. The broken bone still felt tight and painful. The dead Insect Queen's body still had a pale green liquid slowly seeping from the cracks in her carapace, dripping onto the gravel and constantly melting into small pits. This complete corpse was exactly all the materials needed to refine the Bone Demon.

He stood beside the body and stared at it for a long time.