Chapter 3

**Whether to join the battle group? Of course!**

"Go to hell." Accompanied by Kanda's frenzied roar, the gun muzzle spat out three tongues of fire.

Tang Fang stood rooted to the spot. Human speed clearly couldn't compare to that of bullets; in the next second, he should have been hearing the sound of his own body being hit. Unconsciously, a cruel sneer appeared at the corners of Kanda's mouth.

Thomas's eyes also flashed with a light of hatred. This little bastard deserved to die. If he hadn't reacted quickly just now, he would have already been dead. Damn! Damn! Even if this guy died on the spot, he would still go up and stab him a few more times to vent his anger.

The sharp bullets tore through the air, whistling as they flew. Clearly, Tang Fang's face was filled with fear and resentment.

When it came to death, who wasn't afraid of it? The sneers on Kanda and Thomas's faces grew even more pronounced.

But just as the two men were convinced that the situation was settled and Tang Fang's life was about to end, suddenly, a shadow flashed by.

"Thud, thud, thud!"

A pungent smell wafted over, and Thomas wrinkled his nose. Tang Fang remained lying there, neither moving nor screaming.

When his gaze shifted forward, the scene that refracted into his pupils left him completely stunned.

A creature nearly as tall as a person stood in front of Tang Fang, its bird-like legs firmly gripping the ground. Its foul-smelling mouth dripped with a turbid, stinking liquid, and its six sharp, chisel-like claws, reflecting a cold light under the lamplight, were terrifying and fierce.

Fierce and evil, bloodthirsty and savage.

The Zergling: the basic ground combat unit of the Zerg, born from a single egg, about half a person's height, approximately 1.5 meters long, capable of tearing apart enemies with its powerful claws and mandibles, even piercing through iron armor.

All three bullets Kanda fired hit the monster's scaly back. It was unknown how hard those scales were, as the bullets couldn't completely penetrate them, only creating deep dents. Dark green bodily fluid slowly oozed out along the edges of the bullet casings.

"What is this monster!" Thomas was afraid. After six years in the military, he had traveled through dozens of star systems and seen many native species, but he had never seen a creature as violent and bloodthirsty as the one before him.

"Ah."

Kanda was terrified, his finger continuously pulling the trigger. As the tongues of fire flickered, bullets whistled out.

"Thud, thud, thud, thud..."

"Hisss."

The Zergling's cry of pain came, and the pain stirred its ferocity. Its thick hind legs gathered strength and leaped, covering a distance of one meter in an instant.

Kanda tried to run, but his legs wouldn't obey him. Cold sweat poured down his forehead, and his right index finger was firmly on the trigger.

"Rat-tat-tat-tat."

The burst fire turned into continuous fire, tongues of flame spewing out, and the continuous flashes of light illuminated the entire pit.

But all of this could not save his life. With the Zergling's fierce roar, a claw pierced through his combat suit, penetrating his chest.

Blood spurted out like a fountain, splattering the Zergling's vicious face under the light of the gun muzzle. The dark green bodily fluid mixed with the bright red blood, creating a terrifying sight.

"Thud."

Another claw pierced in, and Kanda's pale face contorted, his mouth twitching. With a "thud," he spat out a large mouthful of blood, his head tilting to the side as he took his last breath.

The automatic rifle slipped from his hand, "clattering" to the ground. Under the flickering light, the Zergling's claw sliced through Kanda's body, and a flash of blood appeared as the body was cleanly cut in two.

"Thump."

The upper half of the body fell on the rock, Kanda's eyes wide open, his blood-covered head appearing directly in front of the gun's light.

Thomas was terrified, his mind blank. Instinctively, he reached for the automatic rifle on his back, but a sound of insect cries came to his ears. He turned his head mechanically, and another alien appeared in his field of vision.

Even though he was a veteran who had experienced countless battles, the situation before him still made his hands and feet cold and his whole body shiver.

"Run." A thought flashed through his mind, to run as far as possible.

With that thought, he pushed himself up and ran. Before leaving, he glared fiercely at Tang Fang, who was hidden in the dark and unable to move, and reached for a fragmentation grenade from his belt, pressing the detonator and throwing it behind him: "Tang Yan, go to hell with these monsters."

Tang Fang's mouth was full of bitterness. The fragmentation grenade he had planned to use to take Kanda and Thomas down with him had ended up hitting him instead. The satisfaction he had felt from the Zergling's ferocity vanished in an instant.

Time did not pause because of his predicament. "Thump." The fragmentation grenade exploded, and countless fragments flew out.

A black shadow flashed by, and the Zergling that had been chasing Thomas suddenly changed direction, pinning him down.

"Thud, thud, thud..."

"Hisss..."

The Zergling's cries gradually grew weaker, and a foul smell spread. Tang Fang pushed away the dead insect body on top of him and took a deep breath. Fortunately, these insects were under his control; otherwise, he would have been dead this time.

The Zergling's scales were impervious to bullets, but the fragmentation grenade could kill it, showing just how terrifying its power was.

"Ah... No! No!" At the same time, two cries of pain came from a distance.

A black-and-white scene flashed through his mind: Thomas was knocked to the ground by the Zergling that had killed Kanda, blood streaming from his body, the claw that had pierced Kanda's body now through his shoulders.

Tang Fang struggled to stand up, grabbing a piece of the dead insect's body and stumbling toward Thomas.

"Tell me, who wants my life? Is the 'Captain Wei' you mentioned Wei Haitao?"

"So what if it is? Tang Yan, you can escape for a moment, but not forever." Thomas sneered, his face pale and bloodless.

Tang Fang's expression darkened. Wei Haitao was the deputy commander of this mission. If he really had ordered Kanda and Thomas to do this, his situation was indeed dire.

"Tell me, why does he want to kill me?"

"Because your head is worth a lot of money." Thomas spat out a mouthful of blood and said coldly.

"How much is my head worth?" Tang Fang was stunned. He couldn't understand why his head would be worth money, even after searching through all of Tang Yan's memories. The original owner of this body was just a common veteran who had served for six years, with no remarkable achievements. The most daring thing he had done in his life was to steal a can of enriched uranium and sell it on the black market, using the money to support his younger brother and sister on Recto.

Even if this matter was discovered, the worst he would face would be an additional year of service. There was no way they would want his head. Even if they wanted to make an example of him, they wouldn't use such a method. The military could kill him as easily as squashing an ant.

"1 million!"

1 million? Even veteran space pirates who had been active for years might only be worth that much. When had he become on par with such dangerous people?

What was going on? Tang Fang couldn't understand why his head was so valuable on the black market.

"Ha ha ha, I told you, you can escape for a moment, but not forever. Even if you survive today, what about tomorrow? The day after? How can you possibly stand up to Wei Haitao?"

Thomas's hysterical laughter pulled Tang Fang back to reality. Just as he was about to ask for more useful information, a faint human voice came from ahead: "Hurry, the explosion came from that direction. Someone might have encountered a swarm of insects."

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**End of Chapter**