Since the meatball developed sentience, Qi Ze had let it hunt freely. Accustomed to the taste of infected beings as the "delicacies of the world," ordinary humans held no allure for the meatball. Thus, Qi Ze wasn't worried about it indiscriminately killing and causing havoc. In these days, the meatball had indeed saved many people. This team wasn't the first case, nor would they be the last.
He paid no attention to the burly man's attempts to detain him, walking away from the meatball at a leisurely pace. The burly man called out a thank you to his back before muttering quietly, "First, I was saved by a 5S-level plant-type ability user, then by a high-level beast tamer. What kind of shit luck am I having?"
Qi Ze paused in his steps and turned around immediately. "What did you say? A plant-type ability user?"
The burly man was taken aback, but a teenager hiding behind him poked half of his head out to explain, "In G City, we met a 5S-level plant-type ability user. He could control vines to grind the infected into ashes. He seemed to be Chinese, wearing a set of black military uniform, very handsome."
Vines and Chinese, these two characteristics alone were enough to identify who that ability user was. Qi Ze's eyes, which had been dark for many days, finally shone with light. He took out a box of nutritional supplements from his Qiankun Bag and threw it to the teenager, saying solemnly, "Thank you. This information is very important to me."
However, just as he finished speaking, the meatball started to tremble, its tentacles writhing in the air as if it was experiencing great fright. It wanted to run, but couldn't bear to leave its master, so it could only squawk in a chaotic mess, as if issuing a warning.
Qi Ze immediately drew his black long knife and cautiously surveyed the surroundings. The burly man and his team also aimed their guns at various directions. Many purple vines climbed up the buildings on both sides of the alley, the blade-like leaves emitting a cold light. The purplish-red flowers at the tips slowly bloomed, revealing sharp petals, and black venom flowed down the pistils, corroding the ground into numerous black holes.
The alley, originally well-lit, was now plunged into darkness. Everywhere was filled with danger, far more perilous than being surrounded by the infected. The burly man and the others were so scared they didn't dare to move. The meatball anxiously flailed its tentacles, wanting to take its master and run, but was driven back by the continuously swaying leaves.
Qi Ze stared straight ahead, certain as he said, "Yan Junyu?"
"Little Ze?" Yan Junyu stood on a broad leaf, looking up and down at the unrecognizable youth, then flashed over to stand in front of the youth, tightly embracing him. The dryness in his eyes for many days finally welled up with tears.
"How long have you been looking for me? Where's Number One?" Qi Ze gently patted his back.
"I've been searching for many days. I went to the base, but didn't find you." Yan Junyu looked down at the youth, his voice hoarse, "Number One is coming from behind, he'll be here soon. He doesn't fly as fast as I do."
"Flying faster than Number One, it seems you've evolved again." Qi Ze stepped back slightly, carefully observing him, but was kissed by him, his lips being sucked forcefully. The vines controlled by him rustled, the blade-like leaves becoming soft and tender, the flowers that oozed venom turning fragrant and pleasant, even the stems covered with backward-pointing spines became smooth and round, absolutely adorable. The alley that resembled hell moments ago transformed into a fairy tale kingdom of plants the next moment. Golden sunlight fell through the rapidly moving leaves, leaving mottled colorful streaks.
The burly man was stunned by this sudden change, secretly admiring in his heart: Truly, a master is a master. When it comes to romance, they are truly extraordinary!
Seeing that this creature of the same kind had no intention of devouring him, the meatball was genuinely relieved. However, when it saw him trying to eat its master, it couldn't help but become angry. It extended its tentacles, slapping the ground beside its counterpart repeatedly. Although it didn't dare to attack directly, it indirectly interrupted his actions.
Yan Junyu reluctantly released the youth and then smiled at him. Qi Ze's cheeks flushed slightly, following suit with a smile. The two acted like fools, feeling as if they couldn't gaze at each other enough.
"Cough, cough, hello!" The burly man was hit hard by the meatball and had no choice but to actively strike up a conversation. "We were saved by this general last time, but we haven't had the chance to thank you yet!" This time, being closer, he naturally saw Yan Junyu's military rank clearly.
"There's no need to thank me. The base has been surrounded by the infected, I suggest you wait another month or two before going there." Yan Junyu held Qi Ze's hand, reminding him, "All the nearby cities have become nests of the infected. If you stay in Administrative Zone One where the virus first broke out, it's actually the safest. All the infected there chased after the army and migrating population, leaving the houses almost empty."
"You seem to have traveled quite a bit?" Qi Ze felt somewhat heartbroken.
"As long as I can find you, it doesn't matter how many places I go to." Yan Junyu caressed the youth's delicate cheek, then lowered his head to kiss his moist lips, only then retracting the sky-obscuring vines. The trembling meatball immediately ran to its master's side, pointing at Yan Junyu with its tentacle, then at itself, squawking in a chaotic mess.
"I know he's the same type as you, I wasn't deceived by his appearance. No, I can't help you eat him. Don't dream about it. Go hunting properly, good boy." Qi Ze stroked the meatball's chubby head. The meatball grunted for a while, realizing Qi Ze wouldn't pay attention to it, and finally gave up.
Yan Junyu couldn't help laughing, "Can you communicate normally?"
"Mm-hm, it's called Ball Ball, my Gu." Qi Ze added with a smile, "Every time I see it, I think of you. It's as cute as you."
Yan Junyu, "...Thanks for the compliment. It's very smart. But I remember that these insect beasts aren't very intelligent?" Growing to the size of an aircraft carrier before developing sentience showed that these insect beasts themselves lacked intelligence, or rather, their intelligence level was so low that it could be completely ignored.
"Its biggest characteristic is that it absorbs whatever it eats. After eating so many high-intelligence infected beings, it naturally became smarter. You should also take the opportunity to devour some infected beings. Maybe you can gain the Demon Resistant Body." On the Qianyuan Continent, a cultivator with the Demon Resistant Body had once appeared. After triggering his potential, he was invulnerable to all evils and indestructible by all methods. He spent only two hundred years cultivating from the Foundation Establishment Stage to the Great Consummation Stage, his path to ascension was abnormally smooth, even the lightning tribulation was powerless against him.
Although the fusion body was also a rare and excellent constitution, it still couldn't compare to the Demon Resistant Body that was coveted by everyone. Qi Ze only lamented that he didn't have Ball Ball's super gene replication ability; otherwise, he would have long hugged an infected being and gnawed on it.
Yan Junyu naturally knew the benefits of the Demon Resistant Body, hugging the youth and passionately kissing him again. The two chatted while walking, the burly man didn't dare to disturb them and could only silently follow with his team members. Since the base was surrounded by the infected and they had nowhere else to go, they had no choice but to shamelessly rely on these two masters. Fortunately, the two had reunited after a long separation and were lovers. They should be in such a good mood that they wouldn't blame them.
Arriving at the assembly point, the burly man couldn't help but show a surprised expression.
"Feng!"
"Leo!"
"My God! You're still alive, that's great!" The two tightly embraced each other, their eyes reddening. The rest of the group stood aside wiping their tears.
As long as they didn't hinder him, Qi Ze didn't mind having a few more people in the team. He sent the meatball out to hunt, then called Cassio into the car to talk. Yan Junyu's face wasn't unfamiliar to the third prince of the Kurt Empire. With him corroborating, the resurrection of Mu Feixing wasn't so unbelievable. Even so, Cassio still spent several minutes digesting this incredible information.
"So what should we do now?" The enemy either died or was too powerful, Cassio simply couldn't think of a way to break the deadlock.
"First, strengthen our strength, then kill that spatial-type ability user." Qi Ze said decisively.
"Why not kill Dr. Kulun first? He was severely injured by General Yan and has the cure. Shouldn't we kill him first?" Cassio argued.
"No, we don't have to deal with Dr. Kulun personally. That spatial-type ability user is the biggest threat. Eliminate him, and everything can be solved easily." Qi Ze shook his head, then clasped Yan Junyu's wrist apologetically, "I'm sorry, the reason why Dr. Kulun sent people to capture you was because of me."
He didn't explain the specific reasons, but Yan Junyu knew he wasn't dodging responsibility; he didn't want Cassio to know about his resurrection. No matter where they were, those words belonged to the taboo of taboos, enough to spark countless bloody storms. Why did the Black Eye Galaxy suffer an end-of-the-world disaster? It was caused by "resurrection."
"You can't think like that. What does someone else's ambition have to do with you?" Yan Junyu hugged the youth into his arms, gently stroking his soft hair at the nape of his neck, consoling him, "As long as I can know your news, I'm willing to try any method. If I hadn't deliberately complied, that person would never have been able to easily capture me. Don't worry too much."
Qi Ze still felt guilty, burying his head in Yan Junyu's shoulder and rubbing lightly. The two embraced each other, not saying anything, not doing anything, but felt extremely reassured. Their nerves that had been taut for a long time finally relaxed thoroughly at this moment.
Cassio opened the car door and quietly slipped out, his eyes full of envy. Finding a partner who wouldn't abandon you in times of danger was truly a kind of luck; even luckier was that both of them were so powerful.
After confirming that each other was safe and sound, Qi Ze withdrew from Yan Junyu's embrace and said, "Because you didn't come, I didn't dare to start some plans."
"What plan?"
"The monster extermination plan."
"It sounds pretty good." Yan Junyu chuckled softly ââ
At the temporary command post of the Huaxia Empire.
Old Master Yan was really in a state of panic recently. After barely waiting for his grandson and Qi Ze to return, the two disappeared together in the blink of an eye, leaving behind a mess he didn't know how to handle. If it was merely the repair of Tianzhu and Ghost-Faced Spider, he wouldn't have been so flustered, but Mu Feixing actually found an evil medical expert from a class two civilization and spread the virus in the Black Eye Galaxy!
The empire was the homeland that raised him, yet he didn't cherish any old feelings, almost releasing the infected on all the habitable planets, causing an irreversible disaster. City after city turned into dead zones, this was scarier than war.
"General, there's battle report from the front. Y City and B City have already been breached by the infected, requesting the military department to send marines and mecha troops for support." An officer walked into the warehouse and said quickly.
"Let them wait, we have no spare troops to dispatch." Old Master Yan helplessly waved his hand.
Yan Zhongkui stood in front of the huge Ghost-Faced Spider, hesitating, "Father, can I walk into these patterns made of crystal powder? I feel like this spider is alive, I saw its mouth move." After a period of cultivation, this Ghost-Faced Spider had grown twice in size, the hair on its abdomen was colorful and orderly, forming a ghastly yet lifelike ghost face. Every time Yan Zhongkui stared at the ghost face, he felt a chill, afraid it would suddenly detach from the spider's body and pounce on him with its open mouth.
Old Marshal Yan firmly refused, "Don't touch Little Ze's things. He once said that no matter what happens, you can't touch the formations outside."
"This is clearly an insect, how can it be a mech?" Yan Zhongkui circled around the Ghost-Faced Spider.
Just at this moment, a soldier rushed in and shouted, "Marshal, Master Yan, quickly leave with us! Five high-level infected beings have rushed in, followed by hundreds of thousands of low-level infected beings, the command post is about to be surrounded!"
"How could this happen?" Old Marshal Yan was greatly shocked.
"Those five high-level infected beings all have abilities, one is lightning-type, one is metal-type, one is fire-type, one is wind-type, and the last is earth-type. They are adept at both long-range attacks and close combat, as well as attacking cities. The high walls of the command post have already been torn down by them working together, there's no way to defend it!" The soldier was sweating profusely in anxiety, urging, "Quickly leave, Marshal. The spacecraft is ready and can take off immediately."
"But what about Ghost-Faced Spider?" Yan Zhongkui put Tianzhu away with the Interspatial Button, but no matter how he tried, he couldn't put away Ghost-Faced Spider.
"Lift the warehouse and pack it in a box." Old Master Yan ordered decisively.
"There's no time, Marshal! Lifting the warehouse requires loosening the foundation, measuring the weight, preparing steel cables, calculating the volume, there's really no time!" The officer immediately intervened.
"Then transport the spider separately onto the spacecraft." Old Master Yan immediately ordered people to drive the transport vehicle over, but the crane on the vehicle was blocked by a sturdy protective film and couldn't probe into the formation no matter what. Trying several times with various transportation tools, the old man had no choice but to give up, "It really can't be taken away! What should we do now? Should we just leave it here?"
"Since it's an inanimate object, it doesn't matter if we leave it to the infected. We can come back for it after they leave." The officer pulled on Old Master Yan's arm and winked at Yan Zhongkui. Yan Zhongkui gritted his teeth, grabbed the old man's other arm, and pushed him onto the spacecraft.
The spacecraft slowly lifted off, its powerful thrusters blasting the infected beings below in all directions. But the five high-level infected beings stood steadily, and raised their hands to fire several long-range attacks at the spacecraft. Old Master Yan stood by the window, looking at the commandeered command post and sighed deeply.
Many officials stood by his side, their faces full of sorrow. The commandeering of the command post was no less symbolic of the commandeering of the empire. None of them proposed the immediate departure from the scene, but gazed at the buildings under their feet, unwilling to look away for a long time.
The five high-level infected beings soon gave up attacking the spacecraft and began searching the ground for living beings. They led the low-level infected beings to rampage through the command post, entering doors and smashing windows. The huge warehouse became their primary target. They flooded in through the wide entrance, in groups, densely packed, jostling each other.
Old Master Yan watched with twitching eyes, lamenting, "So many infected beings, I wonder what state the Ghost-Faced Spider in the warehouse has been reduced to! I'm sorry, Little Ze, this is your family heirloom!"
In the warehouse, the Demon Gathering Formation laid down by Qi Ze didn't lose its effect due to the disturbance of the intruders. The dense demonic aura attracted the infected beings, causing them to rush forward one after another. The crane that couldn't probe into the formation now opened its central gate to these different species.
Ghost-Faced Spider had originally been nurtured by the Demon Gathering Formation to develop a hint of spirituality. Being rushed by demonic beings, it immediately woke up. An endless supply of nourishment was delivered to its mouth, how could it not use it? It vibrated its abdomen, spitting out silver silk, wrapping the entire warehouse sky and earth. Whether it was high-level infected beings or low-level infected beings, none could escape the bondage of the viscous spider silk, the more they struggled, the tighter it became. In a short moment, it had already controlled the entire scene.
It was like a fisherman with a bountiful harvest, dragging the fish in the net to the edge of its mouth. Without injecting venom, it directly opened its bloody mouth and swallowed them. Gulp, gulp, it swallowed quickly and eagerly, in a short while, it had already eaten the warehouse filled with infected beings clean. Not enough, not enough, how could this amount of food fill its teeth? It spat out a strong jet of spider silk, knocking over the opposite wall and sticking to the passing infected beings, continuing to gorge itself.
Old Master Yan was about to order the spacecraft to leave when he saw the wall of the warehouse collapse, and streams of silver silk spewed out from inside, pulling the infected beings that came and went into the warehouse, pulling batch after batch. In just a few minutes, it had pulled thousands of them, creating a blank area outside the collapsed wall.
"What's that?" Old Master Yan widened his eyes.
Yan Zhongkui adjusted the focus of his glasses, hesitating, "That seems to be... spider silk?"
"Hold on, don't leave yet!" Old Master Yan's face changed drastically.
Below, the spider silk continued to spray out, gradually, no infected beings dared to approach this area. After spraying for several minutes without any results, the unknown creature in the warehouse seemed to stop. Yan Zhongkui held his breath, hoarsely saying, "Old man, let's go down and take a look!" Just as he spoke, a loud noise came from the warehouse, then the roof welded with superalloy was torn open by several thick, hairy arthropods, revealing a large gap. A colorful spider crawled out from inside, shaking its huge abdomen, making the ghost face show all kinds of ghastly expressions.
It crawled along the roof to the ground, constantly spitting out spider silk to stick the infected beings running around. In a short while, the entire command post had become its nest, everywhere were spherical cocoons wrapped in spider silk, each containing at least thousands of infected beings. After obtaining enough demonic aura to break through the restrictions, it no longer wolfed down its food, but injected venom into the cocoons, turning the prey into delicious, thick juice, leaving it to slowly suckle.
Old Master Yan and the others watched dumbfounded, not knowing whether the revival of this Ghost-Faced Spider was a good thing or a bad thing.
"Don't leave! Let's see the situation first." He ordered the spacecraft to remain stationary.
Thus, the fleet stayed above the command post for three or four days. That Ghost-Faced Spider was only interested in the infected beings, and had a surprisingly large appetite. Even if it ate slowly, it eliminated the "army" that the five high-level infected beings had painstakingly gathered within a day. It began to fight elsewhere, wherever there were infected beings, it would go there, eating as it went, leaving a road paved with white silk. If other infected beings surged into the areas it had eaten clean, they would also be stuck by the white silk, unable to escape no matter what.
Seeing this, Old Master Yan immediately issued a notification to the survivors on the ground, telling them to avoid this spider and the white silk.
Fortunately, this Ghost-Faced Spider had no interest in humans. Occasionally, it would stick the wrong target, sniffing before spitting saliva, dissolving the spider silk, letting them go. Over time, the survivors who hadn't left this planet spread a rumor that the military had tamed a spider to specifically devour the infected beings. Everyone shouldn't be afraid when they encountered it, just avoid it. Moreover, living in the places where it left a large amount of white silk was actually safer than migrating to other planets or heading to the base.
Old Master Yan switched to a flying car, tracking the Ghost-Faced Spider along the way, feeling both comforted and worried. Comforted because: According to the spider's eating speed, it would eventually eat up all the infected beings on this planet; worried because: it wasn't interested in humans now, but what about later?
But no one could understand Old Master Yan's feelings. Some survivors settled in the places where the Ghost-Faced Spider had stayed, using the silver silk as a safety barrier, leading a self-sufficient life; others formed convoys, following it around. They regarded it as a savior, a guardian deity, and even a kind of faith. Survivors who had heard of this spider's legend but hadn't been favored by it knelt before its statue every day, praying for the protection of the divine.
Some survivors would take the Ghost-Faced Spider as a totem, tattooing it on their bodies, giving them boundless courage, as well as bright and beautiful hope. Someone wanted to cut the silk on the ground to carry it for protection, but found that whether it was burning, cutting with a knife, electrocution, freezing... nothing could damage it in the slightest. It seemed to be a creation from another dimension, soft yet tough, beautiful yet lethal, only the spider's saliva could make it dissolve.
With this silver silk, low-level infected beings would always get stuck, and survivors hidden nearby would pick up particle cannons or pulse cannons, blasting them into pieces. High-level infected beings, due to their abundant demonic aura, would always attract this spider first. Its eating habits were simply a disaster for the infected beings, because it liked to enjoy the tasty ones first and leave the tough meat for last. Thus, the high-level infected beings in every region would be slaughtered by it first, while the low-level infected beings would be wrapped into balls, injected with venom, melted into juice, and left in place.
When it remembered, it would return to the original spot to suck, and when it didn't remember, the white ball would become a landscape of the local area. The originally difficult living environment became comfortable due to the existence of this spider. The huge white balls it left behind became the landmark buildings of each region, making the locals proud.