Chapter 114 Both Sides Are Awkward, Writing a Big ‘Tragic’ Character

Chapter 114: Both Sides Are Awkward—A Giant "Miserable"

After walking upstream along the river for a while, Yu Xing stopped.

Ahead, a large bee hovered, buzzing loudly.

Yu Xing silently pulled out her magic wand. The bee spotted her and immediately flew toward her, its stinger pulsing, ready to strike.

"Zing!"

Before Yu Xing could react, she felt something strike her shoulder.

Looking down, she saw a black stinger stuck to her clothes. *Good thing I'm wearing the Celestial Serpent Feathered Robe,* she thought. *Otherwise, I’d probably be rolling on the ground in agony right now.* Quickly, she transformed her outfit into the Bull Warrior’s attire—no special reason, except that the Bull Warrior wore a mask, which would protect her face from being stung.

After hitting Yu Xing, the bee flew straight at her. Perhaps seeing that she hadn’t collapsed, it shot several more stingers at her mid-flight.

"Zing!"

"Zing! Zing!"

Yu Xing endured a few more hits before the bee finally reached her. Staring at the fuzzy, almost cute-looking bee, she mused, *So these exist here too.*

She opened the backend of the Transmigrator Exchange Forum.

"Level 2 Broomstick Star 7/10."

After killing the bats, she only needed to eliminate three more contaminated creatures to level up her skill.

This bee was clearly just an ordinary pollutant. Yu Xing understood bees—where there were bees, there were hives, and where there were hives, there was a queen. She guessed the queen bee must be the pollution source of the swarm.

She decided to hunt the queen—not just for skill progression. Now that she was separated from her team, the exploration squad might show up nearby. If she could eliminate the swarm’s pollution source, she’d be protecting everyone by removing a threat.

Once she made up her mind, Yu Xing took off her right glove and gently stroked the fuzzy bee.

The bee’s tail again contracted, but this time, no stinger shot out. Instead, it fell from the air. Yu Xing watched as the bee writhed and struggled on the ground, unable to take off again.

Bending down, she grabbed the bee by its wings and lifted it. She recalled a science show mentioning that bees released alarm signals when threatened. As she walked, she wondered: *Would these polluted bees flee from danger or actively attack it when alerted?*

She soon got her answer when she heard countless buzzing sounds approaching.

Her heart raced—she now knew the direction.

She turned around and strode toward the swarm. Before long, a massive cloud of bees appeared ahead, flying menacingly toward her.

Almost in unison, the bees’ tails contracted.

"Zing!"

"Zing! Zing! Zing..."

Countless stingers rained down on Yu Xing like a storm of needles, turning her into a human porcupine in seconds.

Unfazed, she reached behind her back and flung sand at the swarm.

The sand dispersed like mist in the air, catching most of the bees off guard. Unfortunately, there were still too many—some on the periphery remained untouched. Yu Xing bent down, grabbed another handful of sand, and hurled it again. After several rounds, her body was covered in stingers, but no more bees flew around her. They all dropped to the ground, writhing helplessly.

Crushing bees underfoot, Yu Xing continued toward their origin.

After walking a bit farther, she spotted a massive hive hanging from a tree branch above.

Her mouth watered, suddenly remembering how, back on Earth, she’d often see videos online of people eating honeycomb straight from the hive. The rich, golden honey oozing between their teeth like thick, golden syrup...

*Stop thinking about it!* Yu Xing quickly snapped herself out of it. She was afraid she might lose control and actually take a bite of this polluted honey.

On her broomstick, she flew up to the hive, which was still guarded by a dozen worker bees. The moment they saw her, they charged at her angrily and shot stingers at her.

Yu Xing raised her hand.

"Avada Kendagua!"

"Avada Kendagua..."

Soon, she wiped out all the worker bees around the hive. Yu Xing steered her broomstick to a nearby branch. She stood there and opened a live stream on the Transmigrator Exchange Forum.

"Check this out, folks," Yu Xing said, pointing the camera at the hive. "A pure natural wild polluted intact honeycomb—I bet none of you have seen one like this before, right?"

The chat exploded.

[Whoa, that’s huge! Never seen one this big.]

[How much honey does that even produce?]

[Is it sweet? Is Yu Xing sweet?]

[I think Yu Xing’s sweet—sweet and spicy~]

[I wanna taste it so bad.]

[Better think twice—that’s polluted honey.]

[For regular people, it’s pollution. For me? Maybe not. Yu Xing, you should collect the honey and send everyone a sample...]

If they weren’t afraid of dying from it, Yu Xing didn’t mind obliging.

Eyeing the hive, she pondered her next move. *Is the queen inside? Should I just blast it open?*

Just then, a woman’s voice echoed in her ears—

"Help me..."

"Please... help..."

"Huh?" Yu Xing instinctively looked around but quickly realized the voice was coming from inside the hive.

*There’s someone in the hive?!*

As she stood frozen in shock, one of the honeycomb cells trembled slightly—and a curvy and muscular woman crawled out.

Yu Xing: "?!"

[HOLY SHIT—SHE'S NAKED!]

[My face is burning...]

[Guys, I’m too embarrassed to watch—is Yu Xing gonna get banned for this?]

[Wow... this lady’s got an amazing body.]

[Yu Xing, hurry up! Save her!]

[To the person saying "save her"—are you stupid? This is clearly a trap.]

[Who cares if she's normal or not? Even if she's a monster, so what? Even monsters can be good. My ex-boyfriend was a monster...]

[The barrage really shows the range of human intelligence.]

[Why didn't a hot naked guy crawl out instead...]

Yu Xing looked down at the woman lying at her feet and asked, "Who are you? I don't recognize you."

"Help me," the woman pleaded, her eyes so beautiful they looked misty. "Save me, please!"

Her voice was so heart-wrenching that Yu Xing couldn't help but reach out and grab the woman's hand.

The moment their hands touched, the woman's expression suddenly changed—her gaze turned to ravenous hunger, filled with desperate longing as she stared at Yu Xing.

Realizing something was wrong, Yu Xing tried to pull away, but she couldn't free her hand.

She stepped back, dragging the woman out of the hive bit by bit. When the woman's full body was finally pulled out, the barrage exploded.

"Holy crap, my eyes!!"

"What the hell is that thing?!!!!"

"I've heard of mermaids, but this is my first time seeing a 'beauty-maggot.' Talk about an education."

"Oh my god, it looks like a giant white caterpillar, and it's still moving... I can't handle this, I'm outta here."

"Not even the Infinite World has crap this nasty..."

"This thing's scarier than zombies."

"I actually find it kinda interesting—gives me the same morbid fascination as watching 'The Little Mermaid in the Sewer' when I was a kid."

"Yu Xing, stop staring! Can't you just kill it already?!"

"Is this the queen bee? Why does it have a human upper half?"

Yu Xing hadn't expected this outcome either, but strangely, she didn’t feel disgusted.

She just asked the barrage, "Still want the honey?"

"..."

"Get lost already!"

"Ahhhh Yu Xing I hate you!!"

"Yes, yes! If they don’t want it, give it all to me. I’ll gift it to my archenemy."

"I want some too..."

After being dragged out, the queen bee kept staring at Yu Xing with intense longing. Yu Xing could feel its powerful grip, pulling her hand toward its body.

It tugged, and Yu Xing resisted. After a while, neither could overpower the other.

Yu Xing found it odd—why was this pollutant so insistent on holding her but not harming her?

Then the queen bee began to move. Its ample bosom swelled further, secreting a white, gooey substance.

An overpoweringly sweet fragrance filled the air. Yu Xing inhaled and gasped, "This is crazy sweet... and so fragrant!"

Was this honey? Compared to this, Earth’s so-called honey was garbage!

Yu Xing’s emotions were all over the place. This pollutant queen bee wasn’t hurting her—instead, it was serving her honey. It clung to her, refusing to let go, gazing at her with adoring eyes.

Yu Xing closed her eyes, wrestling with herself. This pollutant had fallen for her, but she was here to kill it.

Just as Yu Xing began to feel pity and hesitate whether to kill it, the queen bee, from yanking too hard, ripped off her glove.

"My glove!" Yu Xing scrambled to grab it.

Seizing the chance, the queen bee clutched Yu Xing’s bare hand, pulling her forward until she collapsed onto its body.

From an angle Yu Xing couldn’t see, the queen bee’s greed intensified. It opened its mouth wide, unsheathing a long, needle-like proboscis.

Yu Xing struggled to get up when a sharp sound rang in her ears.

*Snap!*

What just broke?

The next second, she plummeted—the branch they were on snapped, sending her and the queen bee tumbling down.

As she fell, Yu Xing had only one thought: *How'd a branch that thick even break?*

*Thud!*

The branch hit the ground, the queen bee landed on the branch, and Yu Xing pancaked onto the queen bee.

It was a high fall, but Yu Xing didn't feel a thing. Even stranger, the queen bee’s grip on her loosened.

After landing, Yu Xing spotted her glove a short distance away. With the queen bee’s grip gone, she quickly got up to retrieve it.

Just as she bent down, a deafening crash erupted behind her.

*Crash!*

Startled, Yu Xing spun around, glove in hand, only to see the entire hive had fallen—right on top of the queen bee.

From her angle, only the queen bee’s tail was visible; its upper body was crushed beneath the massive hive.

The tail flailed wildly, twitching spasmodically, before finally going still.

At the same time, a purple glowing orb floated out.

Yu Xing walked over and, clutching the orb, her emotions in turmoil.

*Guess it was fate... even pollutants have their own destinies.*

Holding the pollutant core, she watched as her skill counter ticked from 7/10 to 8/10. Suddenly, she felt her Broomstick Star Skill was pretty strong. With steady upgrades, it might one day outclass magic staffs—no, even Vermilion Bird Divine Fire.

The livestream crowd were floored by this turn of events.

"What the heck happened?"

"Was that Yu Xing's skill kicking in?"

[The Allure skill is amazing. If I had this skill when I first transmigrated, I wouldn’t have almost been castrated.]

[Who got castrated?]

[Kinda like the cultivators of the Dao of Fortune in our world.]

[I suddenly think Allure would fit right in our cultivation world.]

[Allure’s golden finger is awesome. By the way, does everyone have a golden finger?]

[I don’t.]

[Me neither.]

[Does unrivaled beauty count?]

[If I’m not mistaken, the profile picture of that “unrivaled beauty” is Yao Zu in the Zerg World? A man can be this good-looking too?]

[Who said I’m a man?!]

Yu Xing held the Pollution Source in her hand, staring at the giant beehive that had fallen from the tree. After a moment’s thought, she asked, “Do we still want the honey?”

After receiving requests from a few forum buddies, Yu Xing took out a knife and began busily cutting the hive.

Just as she was cutting away, a familiar voice came from behind. “Bull Warrior?”

Yu Xing froze and turned around to see Di Shensi and Shen Tanrong standing there.

Yu Xing: “...”

Di Shensi and Shen Tanrong had been chasing after Yu Xing. When the car crashed into the water, the two fought to get out. As soon as they got out, they saw unconscious Yu Xing being pushed out of the flooded car by three frantic young women. Di Shensi told them to take care of themselves while he and Shen Tanrong went to rescue Yu Xing.

But the river’s current was too strong. Before they could get close, Yu Xing was swept away. Left with no choice, they followed the current to chase after her.

They could have caught up, but contaminated fish in the river attacked them. Di Shensi used his Divine Skill—his Thunder and Lightning Divine Skill worked especially well in water. The moment he activated it, all the surrounding fish floated belly-up.

What he didn’t expect was that Shen Tanrong also floated belly-up alongside the fish.

Left with no choice, he first dragged the zapped Shen Tanrong ashore before the two continued searching downstream.

After a long time, they finally found traces of Yu Xing—fresh footprints with the distinctive tread of the 24th Army’s boots. The prints were wet, clearly from someone who had just emerged from the water, and the size matched a woman’s foot.

Di Shensi was certain it was Yu Xing. His heart finally eased—at least she wasn’t dead.

Then, he and Shen Tanrong followed the footprints until they abruptly disappeared. They guessed it was because Yu Xing’s clothes had dried, and the ground here was harder, leaving no traces.

Just as they hesitated whether to keep searching upstream or look around, they heard loud noises from the right.

They immediately ran toward the sound and saw the scene before them—a massive, strange creature lying on the ground, with Bull Warrior crouching in front of it, holding a Pollution Source and seemingly doing something.

For a moment, none of the three dared move or speak.

Yu Xing looked at them, wondering, *Why are they here? How am I supposed to keep gathering honey now?*

Di Shensi remained cautious. He didn’t know what kind of person Bull Warrior was, and he feared upsetting her by approaching rashly.

Shen Tanrong glanced between Yu Xing and Commander Di. He knew Bull Warrior was Yu Xing, but he wasn’t sure if Commander Di knew. It seemed he didn’t, but Shen Tanrong had no idea how Commander Di viewed Bull Warrior. If the two clashed, who should he side with?

Thus, the three remained in silence—no words, no movement.

...

“Run, run!”

Seeing the shrieking woman discard her lower insect body and immediately take flight, Zhao Lan and the other two felt their hairs stand on end.

There was no time to build an ice ladder or return to the tree. Gritting her teeth, Zhao Lan took off her coat, planning to tie it with the others’ to create a makeshift rope. Though the combined length wouldn’t be enough, it would at least reduce the fall’s impact.

She knew time was against them, she thought, but if she stalled, Da Ya and Yuan Jin could escape.

After removing her coat, Zhao Lan shouted, “Take off your coats!”

The other two were still climbing in panic when the buzzing sound closed in from behind.

Zhao Lan was at the rear. She saw Da Ya and Miao Yuanjin ahead turn back with terrified expressions.

Her heart sank. The next second, something grabbed her back and yanked her upward.

Zhao Lan screamed at them, “Tie the coats into a rope! Climb down fast—don’t worry about me!”

Da Ya and Miao Yuanjin were stunned. Though they’d faced many dangers on this journey, most of the time, they hadn’t been directly involved in combat.

Due to the nature of their Divine Skills, Di Shensi usually had them stay in the vehicle during threats. They lacked combat prowess, but their deaths would be a huge loss to the exploration team—they were more of the support personnel.

Now, with Zhao Lan captured, the two panicked.

Da Ya forgot her Divine Skill had no offensive power. Like a panicking player, she frantically used all skills, useful or not.

A dark cloud formed above the shrieking woman’s head.

*Splash!*

Rain poured down as if someone was pouring buckets of water.

Instantly, the shrieking woman and Zhao Lan were drenched.

By sheer luck, the woman’s two pairs of wings were transparent and membranous. Drenched, they became heavy. The once-fast flight turned shaky.

Seizing the moment, Zhao Lan activated her Divine Skill.

The water on the wings froze into ice, encasing them in thick crystalline shells. The shrieking woman could no longer fly. Like a crippled flyer, she plummeted with Zhao Lan.

“Ah!”

Zhao Lan screamed, fearing she’d die from the fall.

Now, she clutched tightly to the shrieking woman, no longer afraid of her.

*Thud!*

The two crashed to the ground. Above, Da Ya and Miao Yuanjin’s hearts pounded.

“Zhao Lan!” Miao Yuanjin shouted. “Are you okay?!”

“I’m fine…” came Zhao Lan’s weak reply.

Only then did they see—the shrieking woman had hit the ground first, with Zhao Lan landing on top of her.

The distressed woman fell to the ground but didn’t seem injured. She clung tightly to Zhao Lan, her mouth widening as a long, needle-like mouthpart extended from within.

Zhao Lan sucked in a sharp breath, but the distressed woman’s grip was too strong—she couldn’t break free.

Above them, Miao Yuanjin saw the scene and immediately cast a beam of divine light onto Zhao Lan, regardless of whether it would work.

The divine light fell upon the distressed woman’s arm, making her jerk back like a vampire scorched by sunlight.

But Miao Yuanjin was only a first-level Divine Chosen, so the divine light’s power was limited. Though it caused pain, the damage was minimal.

Perhaps driven by vengeance for her lost child, the distressed woman shrugged off the pain and kept her hold on Zhao Lan, slowly bringing her mouth closer to Zhao Lan’s neck.

"Let Zhao Lan go!!"

Da Ya panicked and called down a raging downpour on the distressed woman.

Zhao Lan’s remaining spiritual energy was low, and she had already tested that her Divine Skill had little effect on the distressed woman.

At the critical moment, she still used her Divine Skill. Simultaneously, the distressed woman’s mouthpart touched Zhao Lan’s neck, sending a chilling shock like ice water through her body.

Da Ya and Miao Yuanjin quickly climbed down the tree to find Zhao Lan and the distressed woman pressed together closer than lovers.

The distressed woman’s mouth was pressed against Zhao Lan’s neck, but it was frozen solid—her gaping mouth now filled with a hunk of ice steaming with cold. Unable to move her mouth, she couldn’t make a sound or harm anyone.

"Save her!"

Miao Yuanjin shouted, kicking the distressed woman’s arm hard.

After several kicks, the distressed woman exerted force—with a sickening *crack* she shattered the ice in her mouth.

Ignoring the kicks, she slowly swallowed the broken ice and leaned in toward Zhao Lan’s neck again.

Zhao Lan, her face pressed against the distressed woman’s chest, yelled, "Da Ya, quick! Keep filling her mouth with water!"

Rain hammered down again, but this time Da Ya controlled the cloud’s size—shrinking it to palm-size and directing the rain solely into the distressed woman’s gaping mouth.

Instantly, her mouth was flooded. Zhao Lan seized the moment to use her Divine Skill again, freezing the water into another glacier-like lump of ice.

The creature could only stare blankly: "..."

A ridiculous loop ensued—the distressed woman bit through the ice, Da Ya poured water, and Zhao Lan froze it again.

After several repetitions, all three—plus the monster—were exhausted.

The only difference was Zhao Lan’s complaint: "I’m getting freezer-burn in my guts! It’s full of ice now."

Finally, Zhao Lan realized something. "Are you two for real? Is this fun? Why not just kill it while it’s holding me and can’t move?"

"..."

The two snapped out of it—they had been too focused on kicking its arms. Just stabbing it would’ve solved this ages ago. Miao Yuanjin wanted to facepalm at her dumbassery. "Da Ya, stay here and help Zhao Lan. I’ll grab something sharp."