Chapter 7

The movements of the Thorned Serpent King could be so fast that ordinary people couldn't even see clearly. Even if it had already raised its blade, firing a gun at close range wouldn't stop it from slashing. However, at this moment, the Thorned Serpent King's blade had only swung halfway when the invisible shockwave hit its face.

There was only a dull thud, and the Thorned Serpent King, like a lizard slapped by a flyswatter, was sent flying backward.

"Psychic Shock... So, I'm a Sensitive too? That means the bugs' target isn't Ina, but the two of us?"

Yu Lian felt that many things had happened in this brief moment, but to others, it was just a fleeting instant. In the blink of an eye, they vaguely saw a black shadow dart out from the churning earth, and with a "slap," the shadow was thrown out, landing among the crowd. Only then did everyone realize what it was.

It looked like an oversized lizard, over two meters long including its tail, with a shell on its back covered in bone spines, resembling sharp thorns. Two bat-like wings were half-open, glowing faintly.

The monster lay on the ground, half-raising its upper body to reveal its chest and abdomen, and another fierce mouth filled with fine, hook-like teeth. Both mouths let out threatening roars.

It was indeed stunned by the sudden psychic shock, but it wasn't dead. To be honest, the psychic shock was one of the most basic and common skills, and its power entirely depended on the user.

Lieutenant Mundsung raised his chainsaw sword and, with a shout of "Monster!" charged forward. He didn't see what had just happened, but he saw the enemy. At this moment, the greasy middle-aged man who had been scheming for a living disappeared again, and the image of a space-age swordsman reappeared.

His sword moved like thunder, but the path was quite steady, precisely targeting the Thorned Serpent King's waist. However, it didn't have the same smooth feeling as cutting through a monster. The monster, with a low level of intelligence, had recovered a bit and knew how to use the force to dodge. At the last moment, it contracted its body, causing it to bounce up. Even so, a large wound was opened in its waist, and it was thrown backward by the kinetic energy of the chainsaw sword, landing with a "pia" among the crowd.

"Strength of the Bear!" Sergeant Bakar shouted in a dialect no one understood, and swung his axe at the Thorned Serpent King's face.

"Ow!" Sergeant You You, the black man, also let out a meaningless roar and raised his power hammer to strike.

Well, this was another familiar scene of pounding rice cakes, and not just them; several soldiers also raised their weapons. The sound of swords and knives chopping, and blood and flesh flying, filled the air.

Yu Lian sighed heavily, still shaken. Then his gaze met Ina's. She was the closest and had seen everything, including the fleeting ripple of air just now. Her cheeks still felt as if they had been cut by a knife, burning and painful. So, besides being shaken, her eyes also showed obvious curiosity.

"Don't guess, I'm probably a Sensitive... But I really don't want to go down this path of foolish idealism!"

The young sergeant immediately showed a look of disdain, as if we disdain those who say, "Why are my parents so rich, I want to struggle on my own, I want to live an ordinary life."

"I'm telling the truth. Besides, actually... never mind." Yu Lian looked at the cigar he had subconsciously crushed, feeling a double sense of pain, and shouted to the people still pounding: "Stop, there might be something in its belly."

Lieutenant Mundsung was slightly stunned, then rushed over, pushed the crowd aside, and pulled out a dagger. With skilled movements, he cut open the already widened corpse of the Thorned Serpent King, searching carefully. His hand paused, and his movements became more cautious.

The lieutenant slowly stood up, opened his palm, and there lay three thumb-sized translucent crystals, black, green, and orange-yellow.

"These... these are Sun Crystals, and they are so pure?" The lieutenant's face showed joy, but then he thought of something and looked at Yu Lian with doubt: "But how did you know?"

"I also want to know why you are so skilled? As a soldier, why do you have such expertise in appraisal?"

"Well, this, it's all for a living." The lieutenant smiled in a simple and worldly way, and the image of a swordsman disappeared again. But he was still eagerly waiting for an explanation.

"Just now, this thing glowed, indicating an energy shield ability. This means it has something inside, likely a natural energy-producing Zero Element. So far, among all known Zero Element crystals, the one that best combines with living organisms is the Sun Crystal. Besides being an energy source, it can also be processed into jewelry and is very popular, making it easy to sell." Yu Lian had already thought of how to explain it.

The lieutenant suddenly understood, then asked suspiciously: "Did you learn this at school?"

"There are records in the library." Yu Lian said.

"You Lunarians are indeed all monsters!" Lieutenant Mundsung muttered, casually putting the Sun Crystals in his storage compartment.

"Don't worry, I won't short you when we sell it."

"I'm not worried about that. I feel you are quite principled in this regard. Besides, if I really sell it, I might have more connections than you, like in Turon Port... uh, Turon, hiss!"

Yu Lian pressed his temples, feeling as if his head was about to explode. Just now, the urgency of survival had masked the pain, but now, all the accumulated pain burst out at once. The red, black, green, purple, and yellow, though not gushing out, had caused a significant burden on his body. Yu Lian felt various pains and dizziness surging from all sides, burying the last bit of his remaining rationality.

He gagged, his eyes vacant and unsteady.

"Corporal? Belinda!" Ina shouted loudly for the young nurse.

Not again, right? Lieutenant Mundsung still felt responsible, standing there at a loss.

"Stop, stop the painkiller!" The young nurse rushed over, fumbling for the thick needle.

"No..." Yu Lian stopped Belinda.

This thing has side effects, and he really didn't trust her skills.

"Sir, Lieutenant Mundsung, I have something to say!" Despite the pain and dizziness, the overlap of two people's memories made his thoughts unusually clear.

He said solemnly, "We shouldn't stay here!"

How many times have I said this today? The lieutenant hurriedly comforted him, "Corporal, don't worry, you need to rest! Yes, we are safe now, rest and recover your strength. Leave everything to me! Sleep, our lunar child. Don't worry, when you wake up, we'll be at the base."

"We can't return to the base! Don't worry, the base won't be attacked! We've already walked most of the way, and Turon Port is less than a day's journey. Go to Turon immediately, absolutely don't return to the supply station..."

"Sir, everyone is exhausted, and our ammunition is almost depleted. You are in this condition..."

"Shut up! Listen to me! Shut up and listen!"

"...I, I'm listening." The lieutenant, with a look of "Finally, finally, you Lunarians are going to take over," forced a slightly stiff, but affectionate smile.

"Don't you understand? Why did our convoy get attacked? Why are the bugs attacking us in different waves? The key is, why do they come one by one instead of all at once? This is a test! Sir, a test of bio-weapons!"

Yes, in the future Turon Port incident, there was no mention of the bugs' movements, and the future celebrity Miss Ina never mentioned it. In fact, the bug swarm only became a serious issue for the galactic governments two years later.

Yu Lian didn't know if his butterfly effect brought the bugs that shouldn't have come, or changed their original attack target, but this wasn't important, at least not now. What was important was that, based on future history, the earliest appearance of the bug swarm was in small batches. Caravans, travelers, patrolling soldiers, and even farms and small towns were their targets, but it seemed to lack any pattern, like a group of mindless beasts.

No, even beasts are smarter. At least they attack to fill their bellies, not just for the sake of killing.

It wasn't until the bug swarm became a natural disaster that everyone finally realized their true purpose: first, to collect genetic diversity. Every bug that kills and devours flesh can upload its genetic information to the shared life database of the swarm. This is the true meaning of "I for all, all for me" in the hive mind.

Second, to test the combat capabilities of new types of bugs.

By fighting different types of opponents with varying combat abilities, they analyze the weaknesses and strengths of both the enemy and themselves. Of course, more importantly, they develop without overextending. So, before the right time, they won't attack well-defended, densely populated cities.

Additionally, the most important thing is, if they do something, they do it thoroughly!

So, they will continue to attack this small team of twenty, with no reason to spare a small supply station with twice the number of people. The safest place now is Turon, which seems to be about to be besieged by the sand people.

"This is a trap!" he shouted. However, this exhausted his last bit of strength. His hand went limp, and he lost consciousness, letting go of the lieutenant's collar.

Everyone looked at each other, at a loss.

"Sir, what should we do?" Miss Belinda looked at Lieutenant Mundsung for help.

The lieutenant hesitated for a few seconds, then waved his hand forcefully, "Go back! Return to the base!"