After an hour of racing along, Lin Yi and Wu Renxin finally broke out of the locust swarm that blotted out the sky.
Their clothes were soaked with sweat, but neither stopped for even a moment. They continued east.
"Brother Renxin, the Venomous Insect Jungle is just ahead," Lin Yi reminded him, a subtle hint of amusement flashing through his eyes.
Wu Renxin glanced back with a smile, his flaming staff tracing a streak of fire through the air:
"Don't worry, Brother Lin Yi. These venomous insects might be troublesome, but they won't block our path."
The two stepped into the Venomous Insect Jungle, and their surroundings instantly turned dark and damp. The air was thick with the stench of decay.
Hallucinogenic butterflies danced through the air, their wings releasing a strange fragrance that could cause hallucinations.
Butterfree lurked among the leaves, their saliva extremely corrosive.
Oddish moved slowly along the ground. The moment someone stepped on them, they would release a paralyzing toxin.
However, Lin Yi and Wu Renxin had far more HP than ordinary people. These venomous insects' attacks were a piece of cake for them.
Wu Renxin swung his weapon, slaying venomous insects one after another with his staff.
Even when the insects occasionally hit them, they could quickly recover using the antidotes dropped by the monsters.
Lin Yi strolled behind Wu Renxin, looking rather leisurely.
His combat power was as high as 12 million, and he could have reached their destination much faster.
But with Wu Renxin working so hard in front of him, he naturally had to play along.
"These venomous insects might be a pain, but to me, they're just delivering EXP."
Wu Renxin laughed heartily. His flaming staff swept away the surrounding insects one by one like a fire dragon.
"Impressive, Brother Renxin!"
Lin Yi nodded slightly and generously gave him a thumbs-up.
Another hour passed before the two finally crossed the Venomous Insect Jungle and reached Green Fur Mountain.
The Gu here were even stranger than the venomous insects.
Moonlight Gu emitted a faint glow, luring prey into their trap.
Liquor Worm Gu released the aroma of liquor to make people lower their guard, then launched bombardment-style attacks.
The truly troublesome ones were the Net-Cleansing Gu!
They had percentage-based damage skills, and even possessed the terrifying ability to [Execute] players whose HP fell below 5%!
Fortunately, there weren't many of them. Otherwise, even Lin Yi would have trembled!
After crossing Green Fur Mountain, Lin Yi and Wu Renxin entered a dangerous area known as "Wailing Valley."
Cicada cries echoed everywhere, as though countless living beings were wailing in agony.
There were so many cicadas in the valley that their cries merged into a deafening wave of sound, leaving people agitated.
Annoying as these insects were, they posed no real threat to the pair.
Wu Renxin swung his flaming staff, knocking down every cicada that approached.
Lin Yi still followed behind Wu Renxin, neither speaking nor lending a hand.
Deep within Wailing Valley, a giant cicada boss lay quietly in wait.
It was thousands of times larger than an ordinary cicada, with an iron-hard shell and a cunning gleam in its eyes.
As the two approached, the boss suddenly attacked!
It moved so fast that its movements were almost impossible to track.
Lin Yi raised his eyes slightly and secretly activated [Eye of Illusion Breaking], laying bare every last detail of the boss.
[Wailing Demon Cicada] Category: Insect boss Grade: L Level: 10 HP: 12000000 Combat power: 188000 Skills: [Deafening Demonic Sound]: Releases a piercing cry reaching 120 decibels, dealing 200,000 true damage to all nearby enemies, with a 10% chance of inflicting confusion for 3 seconds. [Sonic Wave Impact]: Gathers sonic energy, dealing 120% area damage to enemies along a 10-meter straight line. Damage decreases with distance. [Cicada Swarm Summoning]: Summons 20-2000 [Cicada Chirp Is Cicada Chirp], each with 5000 combat power, to assist in battle.
"Brother Lin Yi, I used an item to scan this boss's stats. It's powerful!"
"Stay right here and don't move. Make sure you protect yourself!"
"I'm off!"
Leaving those words behind, Wu Renxin swung his two-section flaming staff and charged at the [Wailing Demon Cicada].
Lin Yi supported his right hand with his left and rested his chin on his right hand, planning to watch the fight.
This boss was powerful. Without hitting a vital spot, even he would need two strikes to finish it.
But Wu Renxin was no weakling either. His combat power was more than ten times the boss's.
Apart from its true damage, the boss's normal attacks against Wu Renxin... couldn't break his defense!
Good grief, which one of them was the boss?
But there was no helping it. Wu Renxin was just too strong!
His combat power was close to two million, almost matching the combat power boost the [Stardust Triangle Chain] gave Lin Yi!
After a one-sided battle, the [Wailing Demon Cicada] was finally defeated by Wu Renxin.
As the boss fell, its body gradually dissipated, leaving behind several gleaming pieces of loot.
The equipment drops included:
[Demonic Cicada Wings] Category: Wings Grade: N Effect: Combat power +5000, movement speed +10%. When attacked, grants a chance to trigger [Enhanced Evasion], increasing evasion rate by 50% for the next 3 seconds. [Chirping Talisman] Category: Necklace Grade: L Effect: Combat power +3000, resistance to mental attacks +5%. Automatically casts [Peace of Mind] once every 10 minutes during combat, removing all negative statuses from the wearer. [Cicada Cicada Sunglasses] Category: Accessory Grade: C Effect: Combat power +1000. Enhances perception and improves the ability to detect invisible units.
Gulp!
Seeing the stats of the [Demonic Cicada Wings] and [Chirping Talisman] from a distance, Lin Yi quietly swallowed.
Not only did both pieces of equipment offer percentage-based bonuses, they also filled slots where he lacked equipment.
Wing equipment in particular was considered rare, regardless of grade.
The instant Wu Renxin defeated the boss, he swiftly auto-looted the [Demonic Cicada Wings] and [Chirping Talisman].
Then he picked up the [Cicada Cicada Sunglasses] by hand, turned, and walked toward Lin Yi. As he held out the equipment, he flashed a hearty smile:
"Haha, finally dealt with it!"
"But..."
"This boss didn't drop anything good!"
"Just these [Cicada Cicada Sunglasses]. They're an accessory."
"Brother Lin Yi, you should take them. They'll give you a few extra stats."
Lin Yi looked at Wu Renxin before him, then at the [Cicada Cicada Sunglasses].
He waved a hand and flashed an equally hearty smile:
"You must be joking, Brother Renxin!"
"I didn't lift a finger. I'd really feel guilty accepting them!"
Lin Yi paused, then shook his head and said with a smile:
"Besides, what I dislike most..."
"Is a handout given in contempt!"