"It's been about three hours since then, which seems about right considering the flight duration."

"Exactly, any insect that even you are wary of must be formidable. How could I be at ease? The research institute already has some findings, so I brought the items over immediately."

"Speaking of which, what did you just throw down there? These insects can attack using psychic powers and even defend with it. It's incredible. If not for their small size and large numbers, I'd think this is some form of human evolution."

Shao Qi was hearing this for the first time and looked surprised. He felt secretly relieved that he had come.

"That package disrupts the magnetic field, or rather, it's something that can block psychic powers. The institute calls it a 'QD Point.' It seems quite effective."

"Block psychic powers? So it can be used against humans too?"

"Indeed. It was developed specifically to counter individuals like you, masters of internal energy and psychic manipulators, especially since there have been instances of psychics committing crimes."

"The research institute is truly remarkable," Zhou You had to admire, understanding why the Central Research Institute held such a high status. Their scope of work is astonishing.

"Let's see if any of the insects are still alive. If there aren't many, we should capture them alive for experiments." Both climbed the city tower. As they did, Zhao Jinghao ran over, saluted excitedly, and shouted, "Greetings, Marshal!"

The other soldiers echoed the greeting. The atmosphere shifted. Zhou You still vividly remembered their earlier faces, ready to face death.

Shao Qi waved at them, "All of you did well. Once we get rid of these bugs, dinner is on me."

Zhou You pointed to some of the insect corpses that had been blasted earlier. He didn't see any living ones, but he was certain that the recent blast hadn't wiped them all out. Most probably, they've hidden underground again.

"Should we dig them out?" Zhao Jinghao inquired, worried that these creatures might burrow into the base. Even a single one could cause havoc.

"Wait for now." Zhou You, holding Shao Qi's hand, jumped outside the base. The place had turned into ruins. The damage from the explosion was immense.

Shao Qi picked up a charred insect body for closer examination. Though burnt beyond recognition, its exoskeleton felt metallic to the touch. He said, "Researchers found that these insects have two weaknesses. One is the antennae on their heads, which seems to be their attacking point and also their weak point. Next time, you can try attacking it with your psychic power.

"The other weak point is a node on their belly, which is relatively fragile. However, landing a hit there during a regular attack is quite tricky, so they remain tough opponents."

"Having a weakness is better than none at all."

"You're right. I also discovered that not long ago, a small fishing village to the north suffered a tragedy where the entire population was wiped out. The village, though small with a few hundred people, was relatively safe, surrounded by the sea and without many mutant creatures.

"Fishing is inherently dangerous, so initially, when no goods arrived from there, no one raised an alarm. It was only when repeated calls went unanswered that it got reported. Upon investigation, we found the entire village decimated. The death scenes were similar to what you documented earlier. Traces of the insects were found all the way from there to here."

"They traveled that far, and no one noticed them along the way?"

"Their path followed the coastline, which is sparsely populated. Plus, they usually rest during the day and are active at night. It's strange that they changed their habits this time, though it's also possible we had inaccurate information previously."

"We need to figure out where this group of insects originated, what they evolved from. If even these small creatures can attack psychically, what if larger predators evolve the same ability? Just when we thought humanity was making progress, this feels like a huge setback." Zhou You lamented.

"Indeed, more research is needed. But Dr. He once said, humans are animals too. If animals can evolve in a certain direction, so can we. Even if animals collectively evolve to a higher tier, humans surely can too. Don't be too pessimistic."

"True, as long as we are alive, there's hope. We have so many people on our side. There's nothing to fear."

Zhou You and Shao Qi approached a pit filled with even more insect corpses. At first glance, all seemed to be covered in black shells, but upon closer inspection, some of the insect bodies remained intact.

"No, I sensed a slight spiritual fluctuation." Zhou You thought it was emitted by an insect hiding underground, but after checking, the source was close. Could it be an insect that hasn't died and is about to emerge?

But after waiting for a while, he saw no sign of any insect burrowing out, and the fluctuation remained stationary.

Shao Qi poked the corpses in the pit with his long knife, selecting several intact ones, and remarked solemnly, "It's truly an eye-opener. Such a primitive insect knows how to camouflage."

"Camouflage?" Zhou You glanced at the insects and quickly noticed something off, sensing the same spiritual fluctuation from each of them.

"So they're playing dead? How is that possible?"

Shao Qi also found it unlikely, saying, "If even insects have this level of intelligence, it's terrifying. Maybe they just passed out."

He took out a glass jar and put the insects that were not entirely dead inside. Observing no feigning, it appeared they were genuinely unconscious.

"Is this jar reliable? The previous one I used was destroyed by them."

"It's made of the hardest glass known to man. If this doesn't contain them, then nothing will."