Yet, just as I prepared to strike the killing blow, Mu Yun suddenly cried out, "Nie Chuan! You really mean to kill me! Think carefully, my parents treated you well!"

His words hit my weak spot, causing my hand to hesitate.

Mu Yun seized the opportunity, raising the pistol again and aiming it squarely at my forehead.

I cursed myself for being an idiot, my mind suddenly going blank, thinking, Am I really going to die here?

Bang! A gunshot echoed right in front of my face, and I instantly felt a wave of dizziness wash over me.

Just as I braced for my head to explode from Mu Yun's shot, Mu Yun himself collapsed before I did.

I looked back to see Da Xiong sitting on the ground, a faint wisp of white smoke still curling from the muzzle of his pistol.

Considering our relative positions, his shot had passed underneath my armpit and struck Mu Yun directly between the eyes.

I suddenly felt an icy chill under my arm, breaking out in a cold sweat.

"What are you standing there for! Get over here!" Da Xiong yelled.

I hastily pulled myself free, stood up, and retreated backward.

At that moment, Mu Yun slowly got back up, clutching his forehead, his gaze fixed on the Silver Fish in my hand with venomous intent.

Seeing that he made no further hostile moves, I gave Da Xiong a thumbs-up and said, "Good shot, I owe you another life."

Da Xiong, however, was staring at the handgun in his hand, muttering, "Damn it, I missed again. I was actually aiming for the stalk of that Arbor Sac."

I glanced at the stalk and where I had been standing moments before, realizing just how wildly Da Xiong had overshot... That kid had unbelievable luck.

As I stood speechless, Mu Yun on the opposite side sighed at the inopportune moment and said to us, "Originally, two bullets would have been enough for you two to lie down comfortably here, and perhaps Professor Nie would have been in a good mood to resurrect you with immortality. But you insisted on seeking death; there's nothing to be done then."

He looked up towards the extraordinarily huge Arbor Sac behind him and addressed us, "It seems it will take some time for them to awaken naturally. So, I'll just add some fertilizer for them."

A sinister smile played on his lips as he pulled a syringe from his coat pocket, aimed it at the pulsating blue Arbor Sac, and pushed half the liquid inside.

Then, he turned back, smiled at us, and plunged the syringe into his own right arm, injecting the remaining half of the drug into his body.

Immediately, the blue light emanating from the Arbor Sac he injected began to flash with increasing frequency, and the outer wall of the sac started to slowly writhe.

Meanwhile, Mu Yun's own body began to undergo a massive mutation.

The skin on his entire right arm gradually darkened, deeper and deeper, until it turned a deep green, and then, starting from the back of his hand, green barbs slowly began to sprout.

Witnessing this transformation, Da Xiong and * both instinctively looked towards my right hand, which was wrapped in a scarf.

Da Xiong spoke first, "Hold on, Comrade Xiao Chuan, when did he stab you?"

I was deeply astonished myself and shook my head at Da Xiong, saying, "His transformation seems more powerful than mine."

I said this because Mu Yun's right hand hadn't just grown spikes; two smaller hands had split off from his forearm, making him look like a grotesque cactus.

Furthermore, his green thorns spread far more aggressively than mine; soon, all the clothing on the right side of his body was ripped apart by the emerging barbs, and sharp thorns even began to grow on his face.

Then, Mu Yun roared at the sky, letting out a howl like a wild wolf, and charged toward us.

Between * and me, we had less than ten bullets left combined. We fired while retreating rapidly, soon backing up to the same door we had entered through.

Watching our bullets hit Mu Yun without causing any visible injury, our hearts grew incredibly anxious.

At that moment, * spotted something sharp and yelled, "Careful, something is jumping over here!"

We turned back to see a shadow the size of a small car gliding through the air with spread wings, swooping down upon us.

Seeing that we had nowhere to dodge, * shoved me and simultaneously threw himself sideways.

At the same time, Da Xiong rolled sideways like a large ball.

Just as we evaded the threat, the massive shadow in the sky landed.

With two sharp swish sounds, as the dark shape hit the ground, two gashes over a meter long were carved into the pavement by something incredibly sharp.

A chill ran through us, because if we hadn't dodged, we would have been sliced in half.

As I scrambled up from the ground after rolling twice, I looked back and saw a giant mantis, entirely covered in green spines, crouched precisely where we had been standing.

Its triangular head was as large as a steering wheel, and its pair of round compound eyes shone with a cold blue light.

Its wings were thin as plastic film, buzzing incessantly, with faint blue light pulsing through their veins.

The most terrifying things were the mantis's pair of forelimbs, each nearly two meters long, equipped with serrated, razor-sharp blades.

It happened faster than thought. The moment we recognized it as a massive mantis, it launched itself into the air again, pouncing directly at Da Xiong.

I thought it chose Da Xiong because of animal instinct.

Mantis preferred eating caterpillars because they were fat and slow-moving—the perfect prey.

So, I shouted, "Da Xiong, don't move! Once the mantis eats you, it'll probably be full. Your sacrifice can save more revolutionary soldiers!"

Da Xiong yelled back while running, "What the hell was that for! I'm an elite of the revolutionary army! You two little grunts should let it eat you instead, preserving elite fighting strength; your deaths would be a contribution!"

He shouted this while scrambling towards the doorway, hoping to escape the mantis's fatal strike.

But the mantis's flight speed was terrifyingly fast; its raised forelimbs were already about to connect with the back of Da Xiong's head.

I could only watch from the side, my heart frantic, trying to bolster Da Xiong's courage with a dark joke.

clicked the trigger a couple of times, realizing she was out of bullets, and stamped her foot, saying, "Nie Chuan, Nie Chuan, stop telling jokes! Support us now!"

It suddenly dawned on me. I rushed towards Da Xiong, following *'s movement.

However, after we took two steps, Da Xiong let out an "Ouch!" and waved us off, saying, "Don't bother coming, I'm done for today."

Just as we were about to ask what happened, the two headless warriors from before burst out of the door, sandwiching Da Xiong between them and the mantis.

The warriors' blades and the mantis's foreclaws struck towards Da Xiong almost simultaneously, and Da Xiong could only freeze, waiting for death.

and I looked grim; we thought the fatty was finished.

But at that very moment, something unbelievable happened.

The two warriors, just before colliding with Da Xiong, suddenly leaped into the air, stepping onto his shoulders, and swung their blades at the mantis overhead.

The next second, a crisp crack rang out, and both of the mantis's forelimbs were severed.

and I were stunned where we stood, while Da Xiong squatted on the ground, clutching his head, staring at the scene in disbelief.

"I placed these two guards at the entrance specifically to stop you from going further in, but I didn't expect you to still get through..." A slightly immature girl's voice drifted from inside the doorway.

As the voice faded, a young girl dressed entirely in white slowly walked out.

Without a doubt, this was the girl in white we had seen in the trap room—*'s savior.

I had initially believed the girl I saw then was an illusion, but seeing her standing alive before me solidified her reality.

Moreover, looking closely at her face now, she truly resembled my cousin.

However, my cousin carried more immaturity and liveliness, whereas this girl, though only fifteen or sixteen, possessed a profound composure and detachment.

After the girl emerged from the doorway, the giant toad followed her out.

The toad walked with deliberate, square steps, vastly different from the common Kulong toad, exuding a steadiness that commanded respect.

What was even more astonishing was that ever since the Kulong King appeared, the mantis, having lost its forelimbs, began to hiss softly and slowly back away, clearly terrified.

Da Xiong chuckled beside us, saying, "Looks like even the toughest bugs are afraid of toads."

Mu Yun, who had been following behind the mantis and was about to attack as well, frowned deeply upon seeing the girl in white.

He and I asked almost simultaneously, "Who are you? Nie Qilan?"

The girl did not look at Mu Yun; instead, she had been focused solely on me since stepping out of the door. She said, "I originally did not intend to interfere with the affairs of people like you, but if you intend to harm him, I will have no choice but to step in."

Though she was looking at me, I knew her words were directed at Mu Yun.

Hearing this, the deep crease in Mu Yun's brow smoothed out, and a faint smile touched his lips. "I know who you are!"