Chapter 67

Chapter 67

Why were there King Insects inside the base?

Lin Huixuan was taken aback for a moment, but Ye Mo gave him no time to react. With a swing of his sword, Ye Mo immediately charged forward, pinning another King Insect that had burst from the ground right behind the first one against the wall.

Personnel swiftly gathered with weapons to assess the situation, delivering finishing blows to the still-writhing King Insect.

Ye Mo wiped off the sticky fluid splattered on the side of his face with the back of his hand and repeated, "Secretary-General Lin, take command of the command center."

This time, Lin Huixuan did not argue. He straightened up, turned to Ye Mo, and saluted. "Understood, Your Highness."

He strode back to the command center. The screens there had, at some point, switched to display footage from various corners of the base. On another screen was a three-dimensional schematic of the base, with the coordinates of personnel inside clearly marked.

There weren't many people left in the base. Most had been dispatched to guard the rift, and a small reserve force had just been sent as logistics support to resupply the fleet above the rift.

King Insects were steadily emerging from underground into the base.

Had the Insect Tide arrived early?

The outer shell of the base was made of a special metal alloy. Due to its limited production and high cost, this metal was typically used for building warships, as it could withstand King Insect attacks for a certain period. However, the base's flooring did not extensively use this metal.

This was because the planet's surface was already covered with iron-hard rock—so hard that even King Insects rarely penetrated it deeply in large numbers.

But this time, they seemed to have overcome this obstacle, a situation never seen in previous Insect Tides.

Now was not the time to dwell on this.

Frowning deeply, Lin Huixuan began issuing commands one by one based on the base's structure and the feedback received. He was, after all, an outstanding graduate from the command college, though he hadn't done this kind of work in a long time.

"Upon discovering a King Insect, report immediately via the designated channel."

"...Abnormal activity in the basement of Zone A. Avoid entry; use ranged weapons for attack."

After a while, the command center was operating normally.

Lin Huixuan relaxed slightly. Perhaps because they had to dig from underground, the King Insects invading the base, while having sharp mandibles, were smaller in size and weaker in attack power compared to typical King Insects. Their "hearts" were also easier to locate.

Moreover, thanks to Ye Mo's early warning, the remaining personnel in the base were already prepared to attack. Aside from some initial disarray, they quickly adapted and handled the situation quite well.

The frequency of King Insect discoveries within the base was also decreasing.

A total of thirty-eight locations so far, with no new ones for the moment.

But Lin Huixuan still felt an underlying unease. The base didn't have many combat personnel; most were technicians managing the base's systems. The few available squads had been dispatched by Lin Huixuan to guard the base's most critical equipment.

Lin Huixuan had immediately reported the situation to the main force. He checked again, confirming that reinforcements were already on their way, which gave him some peace of mind.

When he had a moment to spare, Lin Huixuan tracked Ye Mo's location again, focusing the screen on him.

Ye Mo had been moving with clear purpose from the start. Earlier, when Lin Huixuan checked, Ye Mo had been followed by several guards. But now, for some reason, Ye Mo was alone in the footage.

Lin Huixuan called up Ye Mo's route and previous recordings, discovering that the elite guards couldn't keep up with Ye Mo's speed. Midway, Ye Mo had signaled them to support others instead.

He didn't know how Ye Mo determined his direction, but when he reviewed Ye Mo's route, he realized that along this path, Ye Mo had eliminated twenty-six King Insects.

More than half of the total count.

Lin Huixuan suddenly understood why they had managed to handle the situation so calmly.

Ye Mo suddenly stopped. He turned his head and glanced at the camera. Lin Huixuan felt as if he were making eye contact with Ye Mo through the screen.

Fortunately, Ye Mo soon looked away, turning his gaze to the right. He shifted his body slightly, facing the right side—a blind spot in the surveillance.

Lin Huixuan gestured, and the staff immediately understood, switching the camera angle to the right.

The screen showed a pitch-black corridor, illuminated only by the small green lights of emergency exit signs along the walls. The overall scene remained dark and shadowy.

It was currently sleep period, and most areas of the base had their lights turned off.

Although the base had entered a state of alert and most lights had been switched on, a few unmanned areas remained in darkness.

Lin Huixuan placed his hand on the back of the staff member's chair. "Switch the lighting system to daytime mode."

"Right away."

The staff member pressed a few buttons and entered several lines of code. Once done, he instinctively looked up at the screen and couldn't help but gasp.

A newcomer assisting with data organization bent over and retched several times. He had just graduated this year and was on the Insect Tide frontlines for the first time. Someone patted his back.

Then, the command center fell silent. It was Lin Huixuan who reacted first. "Dispatch the nearest squad to investigate and provide support."

"Continue sweeping the base's blind spots. Notify everyone to report their status to the central command center. Tally the current personnel count."

On the command center screens, the entire corridor was now brightly lit. The floor and walls were stained with blood, and the floor bore chaotic, dragging marks.

It seemed as if something had been dragged along the corridor floor.

Ye Mo stood there, unmoving. His gaze swept over the bloodstains in the corridor, all the way to the end of the hallway corner.

Ye Mo wasn't equipped with a communicator. Lin Huixuan contacted him through the surveillance system's audio transmission.

"Your Highness, please return to a safe location immediately."

Before his words fully landed, Ye Mo began to move. His boots tapped against the floor, producing crisp, rhythmic sounds. Behind him, he left a trail of bloody footprints.

Lin Huixuan only saw his back and heard his casual remark. He heard Ye Mo say, "I am a Grath."

Lin Huixuan didn't understand what Ye Mo meant. Was he expressing confidence in his own abilities, asserting that he would be fine? Or was he stating his duty to shoulder the responsibilities of a Grath?

But Ye Mo had already entered the corridor and was about to turn the corner. He disappeared from the screen, prompting Lin Huixuan to urge the squad again to hurry.

"Hurry up! Also, how is the personnel tally coming along?"

"All three available squads are heading there. The personnel count isn't complete yet. Wait—there's an urgent report."

"Coordinates A26. We've encountered a specialized King Insect! We're trapped—Request S-rank personnel for support—"

The audio was initially noisy, unstable in the middle, and cut off abruptly at the end.

"I don't know why. The data shows this message was generated sixteen minutes ago, but we only just received it."

Lin Huixuan quickly identified the cause. "It intercepted the signal. That King Insect."

Many King Insects had evolved this ability, which was why communication was lost when approaching the bottom of the rift.

But for such a short distance to be affected...

Lin Huixuan said quickly, "Cross-reference with nearby surveillance footage."

"For some time, the thirteen nearby surveillance cameras were all replaying the same video."

Lin Huixuan's face darkened. This explained their failure to detect the anomaly. "What's the ETA? Dispatch all S-class squads to the scene immediately. Also, assemble anyone who has encountered a King Insect before, brief them fully, and tell them to be careful."

King Insects typically possess exceptionally prominent capabilities. Even S-class operatives must exercise extreme caution when encountering them. Standard procedure involves a fleet, supplemented by several S-class powerhouses, engaging with alternating artillery fire and psychic attacks.

For Grath, over half of the annual casualties are caused by King Insects, whose numbers might not even amount to a fraction of an Insect Tide.

Years ago, Ye Zhiyuan's sister was killed by a King Insect. Yet, she ultimately inflicted a fatal wound upon it, and both she and the insect were ultimately destroyed in the starry sea by the artillery fire.

...

Norton's warship did not slow down. Upon reaching Arnold's coordinates, it descended along the chasm at nearly normal cruising speed.

This allowed him to reach the bottom in the shortest possible time.

Upon reaching the bottom, the warship began to decelerate. Its hatches remained sealed as Norton stood atop the vessel, sword in his right hand.

Only when nearing the chasm floor did Norton's psychic power expand, piercing through the swarm of King Insects and spreading across the entire chasm.

The King Insects lurking nearby immediately grew restless.

They emitted high-frequency shrieks, but most began slowly retreating from Norton. Generations of inherited genes instilled in them an inexplicable, innate fear of the Grath psychic power.

A few were brave, but they were no fools. After a few probing attempts, and once Norton's surroundings were littered with the dismembered remains of their kin, they too gradually withdrew, retreating to lie in wait within the darkness.

The warship's lights were set to maximum, sweeping over the King Insects at the chasm's bottom. No larvae were seen—only adults, along with some eggshells, half-eaten eggs, and already-opened containers. The numbers didn't match up. Norton roughly calculated based on density; the number of King Insects here was likely only about two-thirds of previous years.

His gaze swept across the chasm floor. Arnold shouldn't have gone far.

Norton crouched down.

"To the right."

The warship swiftly pivoted to the right. Below, for some reason, King Insects had gathered into a massive, layered pile.

This was the spot. Norton drew his sword, gripped the hilt, and hurled it. His psychic power, wrapped around the sword's momentum, shattered through the piled King Insects.

From within the pile below, as if sensing something, a hand broke free from among them. This hand pierced through the body of a King Insect, which writhed and let out a loud shriek.

Immediately after, Norton leaned back and leaped down from the top of the warship.

They retreated like a receding tide, revealing Arnold at the bottom, Norton's sword deeply embedded in a nearby rock along with part of a King Insect's body. One King Insect had torn free from the portion of its body impaled by the sword, then turned and vanished into the darkness.

Arnold slowly looked up. His sword was gone. He was in a wretched state, the upper half of his uniform torn and bloodstained, but he appeared uninjured.

Or perhaps the wounds had already healed.

In this state, injury would accelerate the process toward the end.

Norton's expression remained impassive. He adjusted his posture using the momentum of his fall, sending a shower of gravel flying upon landing, then immediately spun around to kick at Arnold.

...

Ye Mo entered the corridor, the scent of blood thick in his nostrils. He had already smelled it standing at the entrance; it grew even stronger once he stepped inside.

Ye Mo didn't know what he was doing. He felt distant from this world, yet at times his perceptions were overwhelmingly real, like now.

His boots trod upon the floor, each step making a faint, sticky sound as they lifted, feeling somewhat viscous.

This blood might have come from a young person, around Ye He's age, in the prime of their vigor. Or perhaps from a middle-aged man like Adelaide, with a partner and children waiting for him back home.

From the faint traces on the ground, one could tell someone had been dragged through the corridor.

When Ye Mo's psychic power unfurled, it brought him more information. He could even discern there were three people, one of whom had been pierced through the chest. His mind instinctively simulated a scene.

Ye Mo felt he should be grieving, but strangely, he was exceptionally calm. It seemed his continuously expanding psychic power was diluting his emotions. He only felt a slight ache quietly blooming in his heart.

He turned the corner of the corridor, following the blood trail with his eyes. It led all the way to a door not far away.

Ye Mo's psychic power had already accessed the Commander's system. He was very familiar with the entire base's layout. That area was the backup warship hangar. In emergencies, warships would launch from there. Normally, no one went there casually.

Ye Mo reached out, about to push the door open, when he was called to a halt.

"Your Highness."

Not far away stood several soldiers. They quickly moved in front of Ye Mo.

"Leave this to us, Your Highness."

Ye Mo tilted his head. He had seen two of them in the training room before; both were exceptional warriors.

They took up disciplined positions flanking the door, some raising their weapons, ready to attack.

Ye Mo hesitated for a moment, then took a step back. His abilities were likely inferior to these elites.

The group was very cautious. They were armed with both ranged and melee weapons—some fingers on triggers, others holding daggers or swords.

More people arrived continuously.

The soldier at the front carefully opened the door.

The space inside was vast. Several warships were parked not far away. The blood trail led forward, then took a turn.

The lead soldier made a hand signal, then cautiously entered, following the blood trail around the corner. As soon as he turned, he sensed something was wrong. The traces inexplicably vanished up ahead.

Was this a trap?

He wanted to warn those behind him, but before he could make a move, something pierced through his body, pinning him against the wall.

It felt like only an instant. His vision darkened as a black, indistinct mass thrust toward his head. His limbs were immobilized; he only had time to close his eyes.

Amidst the chaos, he heard the clear, crisp sound of a sword hitting the ground.

Then everything fell silent. He tentatively opened his eyes. Before him, dangerously close, was a sharp, pointed forelimb aimed directly between his eyebrows. Just a little further, and it would have pierced his brain. But it had stopped firmly in place.

His gaze lowered. He saw an arm reaching around the forelimb, gripping a protrusion on it tightly. Blood dripped from the arm onto the floor.

A massive King Insect clung to the ceiling, a structure of interwoven steel plates and pillars originally used for warship maintenance.

Now it served as its nest.

Its upper body hung down, attempting to capture its prey.

Ye Mo braced one leg against the wall, one arm firmly gripping the insect's forelimb.

The King Insect's forelimb slowly began to push backward.

He heard Ye Mo's voice, icy yet brimming with fury.

"Get lost!"