"How could this be?"

Ansenyan frowned, saying,

"I'm merely speculating, but... there is still one thing I don't comprehend right now, and that is the root of this conflict."

"The root of the conflict?" Mogansha looked stunned.

Senyan said seriously, "Why did humans come all the way here? And it seems that even among the various human bases, there's a sense of mutual distrust. What possessed them to come to this desolate planet to struggle with bugs and compete with their own kind... Don't tell me it's for love and justice, or the savagery of the Zerg... Does an insect actually enjoy the feeling of being pierced by artillery shells and bullets? What is the deep, underlying reason for this?"

After hearing Fang Senyan’s words, Mogansha gave a wry smile and spread his hands. He then re-examined the corpses on the battlefield and confirmed:

"Human weaponry is incapable of inflicting these kinds of wounds. Only the claws of the Zerg could cause such horrific injuries. But I have no idea about those scorch marks; I doubt even a flamethrower gets that hot. At least we can confirm that the Zerg are indeed fighting amongst themselves. Huh?"

In that very instant, both men felt a violent tremor beneath their feet! It was as if some immensely powerful entity deep within the earth was about to burst forth. Both were Contractors, possessing lightning-fast reflexes, and they immediately dove toward the adjacent stone ground. Of course, Fang Senyan also simultaneously employed a minor self-mutilation technique to activate the passive ability of the Gluttonous Ogre: his health instantly soared to 530 points!

Amidst the swirling dust, a massive crater gaped open in the sand, and from it crawled a gargantuan beetle. This beetle stood at least four meters tall and stretched seven or eight meters long. Its surface was a mottled gray-white, vaguely resembling a cockroach, possessing eight symmetrical long legs. Its entire carapace was ridged and bulging, looking packed with destructive power.

The beetle’s head was encased in thick armor, its eyes glowing an eerie green. As it emerged from the ground, its complex mouthparts were actively chewing on the decaying corpse of a Hydralisk, dripping with viscous fluid, exuding an indescribable brutality.

It appeared clumsy and frenzied, yet its movement was incredibly swift as its eight long legs churned, charging towards the two men recklessly with a heavy thump-thump-thump.

At this moment, Fang Senyan unhesitatingly activated the active ability on the "Endless Potent Vodka," boosting his movement speed by a factor of two. Although this effect would instantly vanish upon being attacked, as long as it couldn't hit him, he’d be fine! He immediately pulled away from the giant beetle’s speed. Seeing the creature turn to pursue Mogansha, Fang Senyan pulled out his shotgun and fired three blasting shots. However, the steel pellets hitting the massive creature’s carapace sounded like metal clashing; the pellets ricocheted everywhere with a clangor of chaotic noise!

Although Fang Senyan failed to inflict any damage on the bug, he successfully drew its attention. By the time Mogansha found a safe firing position, he transmitted the data he had gathered to Fang Senyan:

Scorching Maw Initial Legendary Creature Race: Aberrant Insect Lifespan: Three Years Height: [Data missing] Length: [Data missing] Weight: [Data missing] Strength: ?? Points Agility: ??? Points Stamina: 4 Points Perception: 20 Points Charisma: 0 Points Intelligence: 5 Points Spirit: 5 Points Remaining Health: 2736 Points Insectoid Trait: Chitinous Armor Lv5: Has a 40% chance to absorb 20 damage from an enemy. Insectoid Trait: Molting Lv5: Every time a creature with this ability molts, its strength gains a massive boost! Special Ability: Burrow: The Scorching Maw possesses the ability to rapidly burrow into soft ground and move freely. Special Ability: Tenacity Lv4: Adds an additional 4200 maximum health points, and upon suffering physical attacks, has a 10% chance to reduce the enemy's damage from that attack by 50%. Special Ability: ????

Seeing the words "Initial Legendary Creature" for the first time, a chill ran down Fang Senyan’s spine. Having faced a Mountain Troll head-on, he deeply understood that any creature labeled "Legendary" was absolutely beyond his current capacity to challenge! Fortunately, the following descriptor, "Moderate Injury," made him exhale in relief. This meant that while it might have a higher chance of dropping black equipment, it should still be manageable.

A crisp tap, tap, tap sound followed. Clearly, without needing Fang Senyan’s reminder, Mogansha was already diligently searching for the creature’s weak point. Judging by the scene, this bug had likely participated in the battle a day prior, suffered a severe injury, and burrowed underground to recuperate. By today, its external injuries must have mostly healed, and now it sensed the arrival of Fang Senyan and the other, emerging to hunt and fill its hungry stomach.

After more than ten consecutive shots, a bullet suddenly pierced the giant bug’s left abdominal plate with a poof. The searing bullet head immediately drilled in, and its massive abdomen convulsed. Yellowish fluid spewed out from the bullet hole. Upon closer inspection, one could see that its left abdominal plate was significantly lighter in color, clearly a recently grown section.

Having found the weak spot, Mogansha certainly showed no restraint. Relying on his marksmanship, he fired three more rounds directly into the Scorching Maw’s abdomen, producing a series of dull thuds and explosions. The final bullet, trailing fire, ignited the wound upon impact, causing a large burst of flame that sizzled the tender flesh around the wound. The Scorching Maw shrieked with a dull, piercing howl, rearing up halfway on its hind legs in agony.

But in that precise instant, Fang Senyan felt an indescribable sense of danger well up.

Because he was close to the giant insect, he could faintly see its abdomen suddenly swell to its limit, and something seemed to be surging rapidly toward its mouthparts. Yet, at this moment, Mogansha was still continuing to fire, thoroughly immersed in the attack!

"Run!" Fang Senyan roared. He had initially been leading the Scorching Maw in circles, but now, forced into a desperate situation, he abruptly turned, aimed, and charged straight toward the massive, bloated bug. He leaped up using his legs, slamming both fists heavily against its raised lower jaw from the side.

An indescribably pungent, rotten stench abruptly filled the air! The intensity of the odor was almost enough to make one vomit immediately!

From the Scorching Maw's mouth, stretched to its maximum opening, spewed a vast, umbrella-shaped arc of yellow fluid. This fluid seemed to ignite violently upon contact with the air, and a whoosh of yellow-green flames instantly enveloped an area about three meters in front of it, while its head swung rhythmically left and right to spread the fire coverage.

It was at this critical moment that Fang Senyan’s double-fisted blow involuntarily forced its jaw upward, causing the flame, which would have swept back and forth after being spat out, to shoot harmlessly into the air. Had Fang Senyan not delivered those two strikes, Mogansha, who had managed to roll clear, would certainly not have escaped the pursuing flames. However, Fang Senyan’s left hand was unavoidably struck head-on by the spray!

Fang Senyan watched the prompt flash from his Nightmare Imprint: "Suffered 135 Burning Flame damage." Gritting his teeth against the searing pain in his hand, he immediately rolled to try and escape the giant bug's attack radius. But the creature was simply too massive; its eight long legs stomped down towards Fang Senyan. Covering his head with his hands, Fang Senyan rolled desperately toward the tail section of the bug. His vision briefly went black, and he felt an indescribable pressure and searing pain across his back—he had been violently trampled by one of the Scorching Maw's long legs. Gritting his teeth, Fang Senyan forcefully braced against a rock on the ground, finally managing to generate enough force to slip behind the creature's bulky rear end.

Only then did Fang Senyan dare to look at his left hand. The outer layer was almost completely carbonized, exposing bright red flesh through the cracked surface—a gruesome sight that made one's blood run cold.

The combat notification followed immediately:

"Trampled by the Scorching Maw's long leg, suffered 112 damage. After deducting defensive reduction, actual damage taken was 68 points. Tenacity talent activated, final damage taken was 20 points."

"Twenty points of damage?" Fang Senyan realized he might have overestimated this giant, bloated bug! "I still have nearly 400 points of health remaining. That means, as long as I don't get hit by that damned flame, I can probably withstand some mishaps!" He wiped a bead of cold sweat, and while Mogansha frantically fired to keep the Scorching Maw distracted, Fang Senyan pulled out the Endless Vodka, downed a gulp, then spun around, drawing his white shotgun and charging straight toward the side of the Scorching Maw.

Boom-boom-boom! Fang Senyan held the trigger down all the way. Mogansha's previous attacks had already damaged the newly grown left abdominal plate on the bug, so these few shots ripped open the flesh, splattering thick, yellow fluid everywhere. The Scorching Maw painfully turned its head, wanting to punish the damnable creature, but Fang Senyan had learned his lesson this time and stuck tightly to its rear.

Even though the Scorching Maw roared furiously and constantly spun around trying to attack Fang Senyan behind it, its sheer size was a hindrance. Even if Fang Senyan couldn't dodge being trampled by the bug's hind legs, it was manageable for his tough hide. Thus, he successfully kept its attention locked onto himself.