The first update of three thousand words is out! I'll give it my all today! How many more updates depend on you guys.

Please click more, and send those recommendation tickets! I'm hoping to hit 2000 tickets, and if we reach 15,000 member clicks, I'll do three updates; twenty thousand gets me another one! …… As the two cars detonated, the swarming mass of insectoids piled against each other were blown to unrecognizable fragments.

Blood spattered everywhere, leaving the scene a chaotic mess of scorched earth and countless casualties. Looking out, of the original forty to fifty thousand bugs, two to three thousand had already been slain in the battle led by the Blood-Toothed Tiger against the sixty-eight powerful monsters. Initially, the Blood-Toothed Tiger, controlled by Little Black, fought with ferocious intensity; a single swipe of its claws could mow down a huge swath of insects.

However, as the fight progressed, its strength began to wane, its movements slowing, and its rate of killing drastically decreased. Even so, the insect horde, which normally caused fear in anyone who beheld them, was routed. Thousands more fell under the relentless crushing of seven or eight vehicles, and the explosions from the two cars added another five thousand casualties to the count, leaving approximately fifteen thousand remaining.

"30 seconds left!" Ye Chen's eyes narrowed. With a swift movement, he darted to the side of a car, bracing his palms against it and sprinting forward madly. The countless bugs trailing behind the vehicle were violently shoved backward, tumbling over each other as he pushed the car like a bulldozer, clearing a large patch of ground.

Then, with a final heave, the car crashed into the horde, sending insects flying—even those who weren't killed were severely wounded. The monsters controlled by the Black Snail Worms followed closely behind Ye Chen, dispatching the gravely injured creatures. In the blink of an eye, the 30 seconds were up.

With Ye Chen's assistance, the dozens of monsters had killed five or six thousand more bugs in that short span, leaving about ten thousand left. Ye Chen’s body trembled, and the black tentacles on his forehead slowly retracted back into his body. These feelers were capable of sensing the surrounding air temperature and the breath of enemies; once the Superman stage unlocked higher capabilities, their utility would increase even further.

Deactivating the Superman state left Ye Chen feeling a wave of weakness wash over him, but this was no time for rest. He moved in a flash, sprinting to the edge of the street. With a mighty grab, he wrenched a large tree out of the ground—trees were typically planted along city streets to keep the air fresh.

Hoo! The tree, easily four to five zhang long and as thick as a water bucket, was now clasped in Ye Chen's arms. He charged into the insect ranks, swinging it in a wide arc.

Countless leaves fluttered down as a massive area was instantly cleared, scattering the bugs and utterly shattering their formation. The insects’ greatest strength lay in their swarm attacks—endless and inexhaustible. If they couldn't kill their enemies, they could at least wear them down to exhaustion.

Once dispersed, their individual threat lessened considerably, making them easy targets to eliminate. Ye Chen wielded the tree like a massive club amidst the swarm, employing sweeping, unrestrained strikes. Many insects were swept away before they could even get close, only to be picked off one by one by the monsters under the Black Snail Worm's control.

Crack! The great tree snapped. A torrent of insects surged forward, emitting ferocious roars and ear-splitting screeches.

Ye Chen shifted his stance, stepping over the insect corpses to reach the edge of the street again. He uprooted another tree and plunged back into the horde, deliberately sweeping aside any clustering insects to prevent them from forming an effective attack pattern. Ten minutes later.

Pfft! The Blood-Toothed Tiger swiped its claws, smashing several bugs into pulp, then glanced around. The street was a wreck, pitted and uneven, covered in rivers of blood and mountains of corpses.

Remnants of limbs and shattered bodies littered the ground; some insects, cleaved in two, still twitched their lower halves, demonstrating a tenacity of life that was astonishing. Ye Chen casually tossed aside the splintered tree trunk and let out a long breath, quickly barking orders: "Hurry and dissect these insect corpses! Collect the essence material and store it in the spaceship's cold storage!" "Yes!" The numerous Black Snail Worms responded, then reluctantly dragged their weary bodies over.

They began tearing open the insect carcasses, searching for the essence material. Among the monsters were several Centipedes, whose extremely long bodies allowed for rapid dissection. They darted through the remains, their claws swiftly slicing open the insect bodies.

Above, a Golden-Crested Eagle surveyed the scene, checking inside the insect remains for the essence material. Behind the Centipedes followed several Three-Tailed Silver Hounds. As soon as essence material was located, the Black Snail Worm perched atop the Golden-Crested Eagle would immediately notify them.

Their coordination was flawless, rivaling that of a highly trained military unit. Having survived the insect onslaught, only three of the sixty-eight Black Snail Worms had perished; sixty-five remained. The others, sensing they were about to be killed, had abandoned their host monsters' heads and leaped onto the Blood-Toothed Tiger's back for refuge.

Ye Chen called out to Little Black, and the Blood-Toothed Tiger's massive form bounded over in a few leaps, looking questioning. "What is it?" Ye Chen gestured toward the two Level 1H3 Blood-Toothed Tiger corpses lying nearby. "Help me carry these onto the ship." "More heavy lifting," Little Black grumbled but said nothing more.

It assisted Ye Chen in dragging one of the massive bodies. Due to their own constitutions, Ye Chen and Little Black couldn't lift the beast alone, so they called over the other physically powerful monsters. A total of more than ten monsters strained together, hoisting the Blood-Toothed Tiger’s bulk and transporting it toward the ship hidden in the darkness.

The old man controlling the Green Talisman people operated the ship, extending a long ramp from inside. They carefully laid the first Blood-Toothed Tiger corpse onto it. The monsters and Ye Chen then brought the second corpse aboard, after which they dispersed to resume dissecting the smaller insect bodies.

Now, the ship housed a total of three Level 1H3 Blood-Toothed Tiger corpses! Once the Black Snail Worms reached Level 30, they could control these three tigers, granting three powerful new assets—each a terrifying entity capable of reaching Level 300! However, Ye Chen would not immediately boost the Black Snail Worms' strength.

His own power needed to be prioritized first; true strength originated from within, while the Black Snail Worms were an external force. Furthermore, considering Little Black’s constant, latent desire for betrayal, granting it control over such powerful corpses might invite open rebellion. Although he wasn't afraid of a revolt, suppressing it every time would require utilizing deterrents, which was tiresome.

Ye Chen glanced at the assembled monsters, nodding slightly as he saw them diligently dissecting the insect remains. He then turned and walked toward the tank, signaling Xu Tianguo and the others to disembark. Seeing their stunned, dreamlike expressions, he cleared his throat.

Xu Tianguo was the first to recover. He slowly tore his gaze away from the group of monsters busily working for Ye Chen and asked in a strained voice, "These monsters... are they all your subordinates?" Ye Chen nodded.

"You could say that." Xu Tianguo managed a bitter smile. Although he had suspected it, hearing Ye Chen confirm it personally was incredibly difficult to accept. A human commanding such a vast collection of monsters—who would ever believe such a thing?

"This is your secret, isn't it? Otherwise, you wouldn't have sent those soldiers away," Xu Tianguo observed, his eyes flashing. Ye Chen waved a dismissive hand.

"Since I let you stay, I'm not afraid of you leaking secrets. I understand the principle of trusting those you use and not using those you doubt. From now on, you are on the same ship as me.

I have many tasks for you to handle." Xu Tianguo looked at him with genuine admiration. "It seems we didn't pledge allegiance to the wrong person. As long as you don't ask me to do anything treacherous or morally bankrupt, I will follow your orders to the very end!

Our lives, the lives of my brother and I, were saved by you; otherwise, we’d still be stranded in the wilderness, unable to even enter the city." Ye Chen nodded, feeling relatively secure in the character of these two. In his past life, they were known as courageous men. Though the apocalypse saw people killing each other over a packet of instant noodles, and others murdering the elderly, women, and children just to survive, or setting up illicit businesses selling human beings for essence material—the apocalypse revealed every shade of human depravity.

In this collapsed world, everyone's goal was merely survival, or perhaps, a better way to survive. Yet, alongside these desperate souls, there were still some passionate youths who would risk their lives for friendship. Although most of these types eventually died at the hands of their supposed friends, they certainly existed in the early days.

Morally speaking, Ye Chen had done them a great service; they had no reason to betray a benefactor. In terms of self-interest, Ye Chen had bound them to his fate; he was the ship, and if he sank, they would drown too. Thus, betrayal was unlikely unless they had a death wish.

Whether through morality or mutual benefit, they had no clear reason to betray him. However, Ye Chen still prepared a contingency plan. After all, not betraying him didn't necessarily preclude an internal coup.

"Don't worry, the tasks I require of you aren't that dirty," Ye Chen stated coldly. "I am establishing a force, and it is only in its nascent stage now. You two will be the first batch of veterans.

The name of this organization will be the 'Blood God Hall,' and your mission is to help me recruit talent and manage the organization's operations!"

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