Gradually, more and more Vespene creatures began to ambush Fang Senyan out of the darkness, though it seemed these fellows had all remained behind to nurse their wounds.() So, Fang Senyan didn't need much effort against these injured beasts; he didn't even let the two behind him fire their weapons, dispatching them with casual punches and kicks. It wasn't until he rounded a corner that a group of Hydralisks suddenly appeared before him! A whole cluster of them, bottlenecked in a relatively spacious corridor!

Such a close-quarters engagement could only be described by the adage: where paths meet, the brave one prevails. Fang Senyan had no room to think; he immediately lobbed a Prototype Electromagnetic Cloud Burst Grenade over. A pale blue shockwave burst open in the darkness. The two elite machine gunners behind him opened up with full fire, and Fang Senyan raised his flamethrower for the ultimate searing barrage!

The central area damage from the Electromagnetic Cloud Burst Grenade was already a high eighty points. Coupled with the area-of-effect continuous damage from Fang Senyan’s flames and the frantic suppression fire from the two machine guns, the Hydralisks in that corridor were swept clean before their stun duration could even wear off.

However, every advantage has its drawback. Once the relatively large and slow-turning Hydralisks were dead, the bottlenecked swarm of Vespene creatures surged back in a frantic counter-attack. In such awkward terrain, this nearly turned into a showcase for the Prometheus LLL-model flamethrower! In the narrow cavern, at most only two or three Vespene creatures could engage Fang Senyan, while he could unleash a raging dragon of fire nearly twenty meters long! If the passage was completely choked with Vespene, a single blast could inflict terrifying area damage on at least twenty to thirty densely packed beasts. Even those hiding behind rocks or near corners would certainly be taken care of by the two elite machine gunners following behind!

The three of them carved a path forward through the completely jammed cavern. Along the way, Fang Senyan picked up a considerable amount of carapace material. Except for the rare deep blue pieces, he tossed everything to the mark for sale, netting nearly [number] Universal Points—a small but welcome gain. Suddenly, Fang Senyan felt the pressure ahead dissipate. As the last Vespene creature lunging in mid-air died, riddled with bullet holes, a glimmer of light reached him from ahead. Fang Senyan’s eyes narrowed slightly, and he immediately recognized it: “That sliver of light was the exit!”

After killing another seven or eight Vespene creatures, Fang Senyan finally squeezed out of the dark cave. Even with his composure, he couldn't help but gasp. He found himself in an open area on the mountainside, the soil beneath his feet quite soft. In the distance, he could see a massive mountain valley spanning at least several hundred square kilometers. The center of the valley was a vast plain dotted with large swaths of clearly visible Zerg organ structures, and the unique Zerg mucus carpet stretched all the way to the foot of the mountain.

In the open area below, two colossal, endless seas of Vespene creatures were converging toward the center at an indescribable speed. Their numbers were in the tens of thousands, surging in a dense mass that was impossible to count. And on the remaining, unswallowed plain in the center of the swarm, was a line of human figures, tiny as ants, running for their lives!

It was clear that the storyline character needing rescue and the surviving team members were all there. Fang Senyan could plainly see that while their running speed wasn't slow, the Zerg swarm’s envelopment efficiency was much higher! In just a few minutes, their fate would be sealed—they would be completely submerged by the Vespene!

Suddenly, a chill shot through Fang Senyan! He felt a cold sensation spread across his entire back, as if an ice block had been dragged across his spine—clearly, a massive threat was coming from behind! Instinct dictated that Fang Senyan should immediately dive out to execute a tactical evasion, but at this moment, he was not fighting alone! Behind him were two elite machine gunners with high attack power but very fragile health!!! He dared not move, and he absolutely could not flee!

Under such circumstances, Fang Senyan abruptly turned, shielding his head with his arm, and dove forward in a frantic rush! The cave entrance they emerged from was nestled in a mountain hollow. Because this area was sheltered from the wind, the ground wasn't bare rock but covered with a layer of weathered sand and soil. After exiting the small hillock, all their focus had been concentrated on the valley below. Thus, before they could react to the threat behind them, two Hydralisks suddenly burst out of the sandy ground, aiming their vicious spittle toward them!

These two Hydralisks were covered in a layer of pitch-black scales, making them look from a distance as if they were clad in steel chainmail. Though only slightly larger than regular Hydralisks, they possessed an indescribable sense of agility. When they spat, their abdominal chests contracted with extreme force.

One elite machine gunner, caught completely off guard by the focused attack from both Hydralisks, was drenched head to face in the murky green corrosive venom. He stood frozen in place for several minutes before his entire body began to melt like hot wax dripping from a candle! The combat armor on his body offered absolutely no protection.

Witnessing this terrifying sight, Fang Senyan immediately activated his stimulant without hesitation. As he charged forward, he was hit head-on by one Hydralisk. His arm first went numb, and then a searing pain, like boiling water spreading, shot through his entire body!

“You have suffered an acidic spray from Elite Hydralisk: Boiling Slurry, theoretically inflicting 4 points of damage. After accounting for 43% damage reduction from [number] defense rating, your actual damage received is 96 points!”

“You have suffered an acidic spray from Elite Hydralisk: Boiling Slurry, theoretically inflicting [number] points of damage. After accounting for 43% damage reduction from [number] defense rating, your actual damage received is 106 points! You have suffered a chance-based damage over time effect: Acid Etch, inflicting a total of [number] cumulative damage over the next [number] seconds.”

“Acidic Spray damage type: Corrosive Elemental Damage. Your innate ability: Toughness cannot take effect!”

These two creatures' level was likely that of the Black Spine Zerg’s mutated rare elite, the "Deep-Whisperers"—having a proper name was their clearest marker! Their strength far surpassed that of ordinary elites.

Although Fang Senyan's health was now a high 540 points! One spittle could drain nearly a fifth of his total health! Furthermore, this damage type was not classified as physical damage, meaning Fang Senyan's innate ability: Toughness was useless. Even more terrifying was the attack speed of these Elite Hydralisks, which resembled a high-speed sprinkler. Even though Fang Senyan was only twenty meters away, and had activated the acceleration effect of his stimulant, it only took him about two or three seconds to rush to the front of the beast, yet he was hit squarely by two sprays. Initially, his entire body stung fiercely, but it soon went numb, clearly indicating nerve corrosion.

Fortunately, at this moment, the other Elite Hydralisk was tied up by the other elite machine gunner and couldn't attack Fang Senyan. Otherwise, if Fang Senyan had been ambushed by both simultaneously, he would truly have been in grave danger!

A pale blue circular shockwave exploded in an instant. Fang Senyan had detonated another Prototype Electromagnetic Cloud Burst Grenade, momentarily stunning these terrifying creatures. But what was shocking was that the ten-second stun duration of the Cloud Burst Grenade was reduced to less than [number] seconds when applied to these two Elite Hydralisks. By then, Fang Senyan had already brought up the Prometheus Quad-Four type flamethrower and squeezed the trigger; a raging fire surged out like a long snake, completely engulfing the two Elite Hydralisks.

A bizarre ossified hide armor had formed on the surface of these elites. The bullets from the elite machine gunners had only kicked up sparks, suggesting they had absorption resistance to physical damage, whereas the flamethrower was naturally not classified as physical damage. These two rare elites had used corrosive elemental damage to nullify Fang Senyan's Toughness ability, and Fang Senyan was using the flamethrower to bypass the defensive effect of their ossified hide. This could be considered giving them a taste of their own medicine.

Based on the patterns Fang Senyan had deduced, creatures in space usually possessed distinct weaknesses and shortcomings, even elite creatures. Since these two Hydralisks relied on ranged attacks, possessed high attack power comparable to machine guns, and had obvious evolved chitin armor, their health pool logically could not be very high. Otherwise, they would inevitably ascend to the ranks of Legendary creatures instead of being labeled Elites.

“Die, you fools!”

Witnessing the other elite machine gunner slowly collapsing, his life having left his body, his entire form horribly corroded by the acid from the other Hydralisk, his two eyes, half dissolved, rolled out of their sockets. Even so, his fingers were locked onto the trigger, and the rifle in his hands was still spewing fire. The flying bullets shattered nearby rocks into dust. This sergeant, loyal to his duty, had unhesitatingly used his life to ensure Fang Senyan avoided a pincer attack from two rare elite Hydralisks, buying him those precious few seconds!!!!

Fang Senyan’s expression remained unchanged, though the muscles in his face began to twitch subtly, but his index finger was already pressed firmly against the flamethrower’s switch all the way down, his fingernails turning white from the sheer force. In a mere seven seconds! The Elite Hydralisk: Boiling Slurry deformed and carbonized within the flames, then several large bulges swelled beneath its outer skin. With a loud pop, it shattered into seven or eight pieces, spraying large amounts of murky green fluid everywhere! The scene was filled with a sense of grim finality and horror.

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