Chapter 80

Chapter 80

They activated the shield device.

An opponent that even Lin Fu described as "troublesome" was beyond their capacity to assist.

The level of this battle had already surpassed their own.

What they needed to do now was to obey Lin Fu's orders, return to the inner city as fast as possible, get the injured into the treatment pods, and repair the mechs.

They left the thorny forest at top speed, heading towards the inner city.

Lin Fu's psychic energy enveloped them the entire time, maintaining a psychic simulation.

He wasn't sure if the psychic simulation would affect that insectoid, but it would at least reduce the obstacles they faced and allow them to quickly distance themselves from the greatest source of danger.

He maintained this until the reach of his psychic energy extended to its furthest limits.

Sweat rolled incessantly down the angle of his brow, damp hair sticking to his forehead. His psychic sea churned like boiling magma, the bubbling burning sensation almost suffocating.

Lin Fu gritted his teeth, acting as if nothing had happened, and slowly moved towards the edge of the Thorny Forest, gripping his Tang sword.

It was necessary to test if the insectoid had any desire to pursue him.

An insectoid capable of posing a threat to him had to be at least level nine, possessing its own thoughts. Perhaps it would choose not to pursue him personally, deeming Lin Fu too troublesome.

Of course, this was an optimistic scenario.

In reality...

The squad moved beyond the range of Lin Fu's psychic energy, successfully escaping danger.

Unless a second insectoid of the same caliber appeared, they should be able to reach the inner city safely.

Lin Fu let out a sigh of relief, his diffused psychic energy retracting, swirling around himself. He released only a small amount of psychic threads, insufficient to burden himself, to observe the surroundings.

The agitation in the psychic sea intensified; a cup of water was poured onto the scalding magma, "sizzling" into steam and creating a violent reaction.

Insectoids were closing in from all sides, following orders from their leader, attempting to tear a piece of iron from Lin Fu's body, to injure his psychic energy. The sight of their thrashing limbs and gaping mandibles filled his vision.

These insectoids couldn't harm Lin Fu, of course, but the escalating turmoil in the psychic sea made it difficult to sustain. Even the simplest swing of his sword became arduous, the psychic energy that once sharpened the blade no longer as crisp and cold.

Lin Fu closed his eyes and slowly exhaled.

The system was using energy to stabilize his tumultuous psychic sea, while Lin Fu stared into the depths of the Thorny Forest. After severing a crawling carapace, he called out coldly, "Did you come here just to watch your kin die?"

The relentless carapaces, like a mountain of flesh, filled the dark forest.

The wind was strong, carrying the stench of blood far and wide, as well as Lin Fu's voice into the distance.

Like Moses parting the sea, the tide of insects suddenly split in two at the sound of Lin Fu's voice, creating a wide, clear path.

This path stretched far, with the insect tide moving orderly to either side from the distance towards Lin Fu.

Even the screeching of the insects ceased, leaving only the whistling of the wind.

Had it not been witnessed with one's own eyes, such a spectacular sight would have been beyond belief.

Yet Lin Fu's heart raced even faster, his palm resting on the console slick with cold sweat.

His lips were taut, his gaze intensely fixed on something approaching from a distance.

His pupils suddenly constricted!

It was actually a person!

A young man, with waist-length, ash-gray hair loosely tied with a string.

He was dressed in gray, his attire finely tailored and indistinguishable from those living within the Empire's core sectors.

His eyes were a shade of brown-green, lips an eerily vivid red. After walking the path carved through the insect tide, he looked up at Lin Fu's viewport, cracked a smile with such a wide arc that it almost seemed his mouth would split open.

Fixating on Lin Fu, his eyes moved as he opened his mouth to say, "Hello, Major Lin, we finally meet."

Fluent in the common language of the Empire.

With a slight accent from the Imperial Capital's star system.

Lin Fu's lips parted, staring fixedly at this eerie man who had emerged from the insect tide. After a long moment, his voice hoarse, he asked, "Are you of the insectoid race?"

The man grinned broadly, evidently pleased: "Allow me to introduce myself. I am the king of the Creeping Carapaces, named Morxe."

He continued, "I've been observing you for quite some time. It's an honor to be the first of my kind to meet you." Finishing his sentence, he let out a chortling laugh from his throat, like a strange creature trying to mimic human laughter.

Lin Fu's heartbeat quickened even more. He forced himself to remain calm, but the restlessness in his psychic sea made stabilizing his emotions more difficult than ever.

He pinched his thigh, the pain from the emerging bruise snapping him out of his agitated state.

The communication link in his neural implant was still active, kept open to ensure that Albert and his group wouldn't encounter any mishaps en route.

But it was no longer necessary.

He raised his hand to sever the communication, not forgetting to send one last message: "Hurry back to the inner city, don't worry about me."

The humanoid Creeping Carapace across from him showed no immediate intent to attack, so Lin Fu seized this moment to send another message to Putian Xiangri, urging him to immediately contact the Harvey family and covertly investigate all personnel records of the Council and the Royal Family on the Imperial Capital's star system.

After completing these tasks, he turned off his optical brain, tossed it into his storage device, and began to quietly channel his spiritual force into the Tang knife.

The corners of Mo Xie's mouth snapped shut in a second, his eyes shifting as he queried Lin Fu, "Major Lin, aren't you pleased to see me? I've said so much, yet you remain silent. Isn't that rather impolite?"

Lin Fu chuckled, "You're quite good at imitating humans."

Mo Erxie took this as a compliment, his lips splitting into a wider smile, "I think so too. Among the Swarm, few can imitate as well as I can."

Lin Fu asked, "May I inquire if your special visit to S177 is solely to see me, or is there another matter?"

Mole Xie said with difficulty, "You may not be aware, but you are quite famous among our Insect race. Her Majesty the Queen often mentions you, especially for your persistent survival. Speaking of which, it's also strange - your uncle... in human terms, he would be considered your uncle, right? If it weren't for his terrible idea, you could have died long ago and not have waited until now."

"My visit this time is to ensure your death."

Lin Fu’s gaze sharpened: "Are you referring to Lin Si Cheng? Isn't he dead?"

Morxe's expression turned strange, and after a few seconds, he shook his head and sighed, "He's really impolite, keeping his family worried all this time. Of course, he's not dead. He's a great hero of our Swarm, why would we let him die?"

Lin Fu wanted to ask more, but the other took a few steps back and said apologetically, "Sorry, Major Lin, our friendly exchange must end here. If I say much more, I might be reprimanded by Her Majesty... Although you will die here, no one else will know."

Lin Fu’s grip on the Tang sword suddenly tightened, and he propelled himself rapidly backward with the ground launchers.