Chapter 140

Chapter 140

"NO ONE CAN HURT MY FRUIT TREES!!!"

The Orchard Space was dragged into the fray by Ji Xinghai.

Abnormal beings rarely have obsessions, but when they do, they go absolutely mad. The fruit trees in the orchard were the Orchard Space’s obsession, and any threat to them would drive it completely insane.

Ji Xinghai had pinpointed this weakness.

Of course, if you think just two sentences could convince it, that would be ridiculous. So, Ji Xinghai did not push the Orchard Space to make a decision immediately. Instead, he said, "I’m curious. These bugs didn’t just appear overnight; there must be some special route that allows them to enter different spaces silently and multiply."

He was certain that his room had never contained those damned eggs or lurking adult bugs before. So how did they get there? There must be some channel allowing these bugs to enter the students' rooms and the NPCs' domains.

Perhaps enraged by the future of its orchard, the Orchard Space revealed the truth: "Of course there is such a route. Right now, there is a developing bug nest connected to countless spaces. If only... hmph."

A developing bug nest?

Was this one of the backup plans for the exam?

"Now we have a common enemy—the mastermind behind this bug infestation." Ji Xinghai spoke as if they were on the same side. "Since this is part of the exam, you can't confront it directly as an NPC. But you don’t truly tolerate their existence, right?"

The Orchard Space remained silent, filled with resentment. If this were just an exam, why use its orchard as collateral? It had been fine providing a few fruits to the students, but now they wanted to destroy its entire garden?

"You can’t act, but I can help. Students and NPCs are inherently on different sides, so what I do makes perfect sense."

"Why should I trust you?"

"It's not about helping you; it's about helping 'us.'"

"Us?"

"Yes, us. An undeveloped bug nest is already formidable; once it matures, neither you nor I will survive. Killing us is their job, but killing you is their way of life."

Ji Xinghai pointed out the harsh reality: "Moreover, if we don’t act, will they stop? No, since they won’t, we need to strike first."

The gentle breeze blew again, and the sickly fruit trees shed more leaves, like a middle-aged man prematurely balding. This scene further infuriated the Orchard Space, which gritted its teeth and asked, "How do you want me to help you?"

"Simple, give me the coordinates of that bug nest space." He licked his lips. "I’ll handle it myself."

"Grass (a type of plant), does Brother Hai want to take on the bug nest alone? Although the bugs we’ve seen so far are non-mutated and not very lethal, the entire nest is another matter. Plus, there might be mutated bugs inside. These abnormal beings aren’t exactly friendly towards humans."

"Yeah, outnumbered and outgunned, Brother Hai’s risk is too high. But all the summoning slots for the cookbook are used up. What now?"

The audience worried, but inside, Ji Xinghai opened the third door after receiving the coordinates.

After giving the coordinates, the door transformed. He opened it, revealing darkness. With the room’s light, it seemed to lead underground.

He waited a moment, but no rules appeared.

No rules meant everything was allowed.

Ji Xinghai packed his backpack with emergency supplies, grabbed an axe, and attached spare knives to his wrist and waist before stepping into the space. The door closed automatically behind him.

The world plunged into darkness.

The space where the bug nest was located was pitch black, visible only through a glowing arrow representing Ji Xinghai. Even magnified and sharpened, nothing else could be seen.

But Ji Xinghai’s senses, enhanced by his returning strength, allowed him to perceive vague outlines. He relied more on his heightened hearing, smell, and touch in this darkness.

He could feel the air moving and hear faint sounds from a kilometer away.

Ji Xinghai flexed his fingers, muscles tensing, ready to react faster than a cat. His gait subtly changed, his eyes now filled with the ferocity of a hunter.

This was paradise.

Some things were better left unseen, requiring a completely dark environment.

It was dark but well-connected. He sniffed the air, each breeze carrying different scents, indicating multiple connections.

These were not what he sought.

Ji Xinghai continued forward, his glowing arrow moving unimpeded through the darkness. The audience, unaware of the maze-like nature of the space, assumed it was an open hall.

As he moved deeper, the faint scent of insects grew stronger, carried by the wind to his nose.

Simultaneously, the wind carried his scent to the sensitive receptors of the bugs, causing them to stir. They crawled along the walls, communicating with their antennae and making sounds only their kind could understand.

As Ji Xinghai approached, he removed his gloves.

"What’s that sound?"

They heard a familiar buzzing, recognizing it as the wings of bugs, accompanied by the unsettling crawl of multi-legged creatures.

"Are the bugs coming?"

The sounds synchronized with a rhythm, growing louder and more numerous, coming from all directions.

The live stream fell silent, the black screen showing only the glowing arrow and the tense faces of the viewers.

Their hearts wavered between "believing in Ji Xinghai" and "these are bugs."

Finally, the glowing arrow met the cacophony of bug sounds, but to everyone’s surprise, the arrow continued calmly, and the terrifying sounds gradually faded until they were almost inaudible.

"Where are the bugs?" The audience was confused.

"Is it insect repellent? Did Brother Hai spray himself with insect repellent?"

"Did he? I’ve been watching for 24 hours and didn’t see him spray anything on his clothes."

The black screen could not answer them, and the bugs that could answer them quietly fell to the ground as dust.

Invisible energy converged toward the moving arrow, absorbed through every inch of exposed skin. There was a vortex that could only be felt on-site, wildly reaching out in all directions. Wherever he walked, no life could survive.

Devouring never required direct contact, let alone the use of lips. As long as the disparity was great enough, even breathing was a form of crushing.

The darkness provided him with camouflage, and the twisted soul beneath the skin happily opened its eyes.

His parents could no longer see him, so... indulge in joy!

In an undeveloped bug nest, there was no leader; different types of bugs ruled their own corners without interacting. This provided the invader with the greatest convenience.

Although the closer one got to the nest, the stronger the bugs became, their individual strength was at most level three, completely unable to withstand the power of the energy vacuum.

The energy of the tiny bugs, like droplets, gathered into a sea, surging toward the invader wave after wave.

The monster in human skin greedily absorbed the energy; his skin cracked open, revealing the fresh red muscle and pale yellow fat beneath. Blood surged at the breaks, and then in the next second, new skin regenerated, shedding the old skin and dried blood.

He pressed his arm, infusing the fragile bones with energy, making them increasingly strong, but it still wasn't enough!

His world was still enveloped by an invisible membrane, just a little more, and the burgeoning energy would shatter this unseen restraint.

Devouring, destroying the nest, finding the queen bug capable of spawning an entire colony—these bugs had no defense against absolute power.

Termites, centipedes, spiders, fleas, woodlice, scarab beetles, stag beetles...

The people of JiuZhou belatedly noticed a new page added to the supplementary volume of the Hungry Academy's cookbook.

On this page was an irregular spherical object, with several holes faintly emitting rainbow light, labeled 'Bug Nest':

Bug Nest: A mysterious base housing hundreds of insect species. After summoning, you will randomly obtain a nest of a certain insect, containing a complete and complex insect society.

Note: Quasi-level one. Summon if you dare.

This was the first time the people of JiuZhou saw a clearly labeled 'anomalous creature' as a summonable entity. They were stunned, rubbing their eyes, thinking they might have misread.

Previously, summonable entities were mostly ordinary ingredients, occasionally special ones, but only materials or temporary boosts, like vampire fangs or werewolf cubs.

But this time, it explicitly stated that the summonable entity was quasi-level one.

"Wow, wow! Will the quasi-level one bugs obey my commands? Is my dream of becoming a master poisoner about to come true?"

"Wake up, didn't you see the note saying 'Summon if you dare'? Without the talent of a summoner or Brother Hai's abilities, you'd better not risk it."

"Why is this summonable entity quasi-level one? What level was the bug nest Brother Hai entered?"

The new page seemed to hint at something, and they wished they could delve into that dark world to investigate. But the screen remained calm, and the annoying bug sounds disappeared quickly.

It was already clear that it wasn't the bug repellent; they simply couldn't see beyond the blackness, nor could they see the man they cared for almost turned into a bloodied figure, still laughing silently and recklessly.

His gaze pierced through the spatial barrier, looking beyond the exam area into the void, where a death symphony played at the intersection of spaces, each note taking away the lives of the weak. The few entities observing from the shadows distinctly felt this threat; their previously calm souls were stimulated by the sharp sounds, like nails scraping a chalkboard.

"Why does he wear a human skin?"

"He is human."

"Impossible."

A small argument erupted among the three academies. Apart from the perennially last-ranked Hungry Academy, the other two did not care much about the exam results; instead, this student was far more interesting. So, after the argument, they continued to watch.

By now, Ji Xinghai had turned the living bug nest into a dead one. There might be some stragglers, given the numerous interconnected paths leading to all the students' rooms and resource spaces.

But there was certainly no intact colony left.

Satisfied, he returned to his room, washing off the bloodstains under the astonished and sympathetic gazes of the audience, and changed into a new outfit.

After bathing, Ji Xinghai looked even more handsome, his white T-shirt and black work pants accentuating his tall and handsome frame, his skin glowing as if lit from within.

Distracted by his beauty, the audience momentarily forgot to discuss what might have happened in the darkness. When they came back to their senses, Ji Xinghai had returned to the orchard space, engaging in friendly conversation with the orchard owner.

"The bug problem has been resolved, but during the process, a minor mishap occurred. It seems our joint effort to destroy the bug nest has been discovered. Three people knowing a secret means it's no longer a secret. We're going to have trouble."

"... " The orchard owner doubted its hearing. When did they collaborate to destroy the bug nest? Didn't it just provide a coordinate? Why should it face trouble?

The not-so-clever orchard space fell into confusion.

"I'm fine, being on the opposing side anyway, but what about you? Betrayal hurts more than enmity. After this, do you still have a chance to live?

"They always saw you as expendable cannon fodder. Now with this grudge, they won't hesitate to kill you. Why not find a new master and start anew?"

Ji Xinghai had already taken out his cookbook, while the NPC, clearly not a teacher from the Hungry Academy, was unaware of the severity of the situation.

"What do you think of me?"

"W-What?"

The two academies that initially didn't care about the exam results showed human-like bewilderment for the first time.

"What is he doing?" asked the First Academy, shocked.

"Clearly trying to turn your subordinate. Hmm... not resisting much, already convinced. Seriously, your subordinate is a bit dumb. How could you choose such a stupid subordinate?" chuckled the Second Academy.

"Damn, how can he poach my subordinate?! Hey, he's opening that door again, inputting a new coordinate... Snow Mountain Space?"

"What?! That's my subordinate!"

The First Academy forgot its anger; it didn't particularly like fruits either: "Snow Mountain Space, one of your favorite vacation spots? Wow, looks like he has good taste."

"So what? The Snow Mountain Space is not as foolish as your subordinates, easily confused by language... What the fuck? It agreed?"

"Wow, indeed very clever, just a bit money-hungry."

The smile never fades away; it simply moves from the face of the Second Court to that of the First Court.