Yet Zheng Zha managed it. Under the heightened reflexes afforded by unlocking his Gene Lock, he shot down these missiles within seconds. Those aboard the warship only saw four figures and a hoverboard shoot out from the fiery explosions, with Zheng Zha’s chain gun already leveled at the ship's deck.

When the trigger on the multi-barreled cannon was pulled again, half-meter-long tongues of fire erupted, countless visible bullets slamming into the warship's hull. The only pity was that its destructive power was minuscule compared to Ba Wang’s firearms; it couldn't even pierce the steel plating of the deck, only striking the naval personnel stationed there. Simultaneously, Wang Xia had already tossed one timed explosive and two landmines onto the deck.

Only after Chu Xuan piloted the Green Goblin board past the warship's deck did the massive roar of explosions erupt from behind them, a wave of heat nearly engulfing all four. This blast was far more potent than the preceding missile impacts.

The group turned to look back and saw that the warship’s deck was nearly blown completely apart.

Unfortunately, this explosion was confined only to the surface of the warship’s deck; most of its power had been wasted.

Otherwise, this explosion would have been sufficient to tear the warship into two pieces.

Chu Xuan’s voice cut through, "No, there’s no reward notification yet. This warship hasn't been declared sunk... Zheng Zha, Wang Xia, use the Gravity High-Yield Landmines."

The three froze at the command, but Wang Xia immediately produced the Gravity High-Yield Landmines—small, round, dull black objects that looked utterly unremarkable. Yet, who could have guessed that such a tiny thing possessed such terrifying power? A single mine was capable of annihilating everything within a two to three-hundred-meter radius! Zheng Zha took a mine from Wang Xia; this particular Gravity High-Yield Landmine had been set for a pressure trigger equivalent to five kilograms of weight. After a moment’s thought, Zheng Zha told Chu Xuan, "Fly us back, Chu Xuan. I need to throw something downwards."

Without replying, Chu Xuan stomped his foot, piloting the Green Goblin board back in reverse.

They streaked once more over the battle-scarred warship, and Zheng Zha, at that moment, hurled the Gravity High-Yield Landmine downwards.

At the same instant, he threw down an unpinned High-Explosive charge. As the Gravity High-Yield Landmine landed on the deck, the High-Explosive charge slammed violently into its surface. Immediately, an intense suction pulled outward in all directions from the mine, a force the four figures still flying overhead could distinctly feel. Fortunately, the Green Goblin board, utilizing its forward momentum, managed to yank itself free from the pulling force. The closer they flew away from the warship, the weaker the suction became. It wasn't until they were nearly a thousand meters distant that they dared to look back, struck by a chilling horror.

At the point where the Gravity High-Yield Landmine had been deployed, a large portion of the entire warship had been twisted into a rough sphere. This sphere was incomplete; at least a significant part of its volume was composed of seawater. Explosions continued to bubble within this orb, occasionally sending firelight bursting through the sphere’s surface, only for the firelight itself to be instantly sucked back in, swallowed by the orb. Rapidly, this sphere began its descent toward the seabed.

The sheer destructive power was terrifying enough to leave the four of them suspended in stunned silence until a horrible, pervasive buzzing sound arose from the surroundings. They snapped back to reality to hear a cacophony of screams emanating from the several surrounding warships, large and small. Countless enormous, bee-like insects had completely enveloped the vessels. The naval soldiers aboard shrieked in bone-chilling agony, scrambling to flee, but their struggle was merely a prolonged death throe. The moment a swarm of giant insects descended upon a soldier, they would be gnawed down to a skeletal frame instantly.

The initial plan, even after sinking two warships, was that maintaining distance would subject them to relentless pursuit by cruise missiles. This was precisely why Chu Xuan had suggested sinking the two ships: to incite chaos, prevent the navy from focusing on them immediately, and use the resulting confusion to reach the island featured in the first arc. However, the consequence unleashed was potentially the annihilation of the entire fleet, which deviated entirely from Chu Xuan's original scheme.

Zheng Zha and the others could no longer bear to watch. Chu Xuan piloted the Green Goblin board, turning sharply, and flew directly toward a point on the open sea, then began a slow descent beneath the surface, submerging completely, much as they had done before.

This time, the Green Goblin board remained submerged for slightly longer—a full minute or two—before resurfacing. Ba Wang and Wang Xia immediately began coughing violently, gulping air.

Zheng Zha remained silent for a long time before finally asking Chu Xuan, "Did... did you ever anticipate a scenario like this? Letting the entire insect swarm attack the navy fleet, wiping them out, so we could slip onto the island amidst the chaos..." Chu Xuan's voice drifted over faintly, "No, I did not anticipate this. Events often unfold beyond everyone's predictions. I am not a god; I cannot analyze every potential shift in time and space. That realm belongs to the divine. I am merely a person..." "If possible," Zheng Zha murmured, his head lowered, "though it sounds hypocritical since we decided to attack the navy from the outset... try to kill fewer people, provided we can ensure our own survival. If it's necessary for our survival, I can understand the resulting slaughter... but if it's unnecessary killing—these people in this world don't know they are merely components of a horror movie plot; they are living human beings. If possible... I hope we don't see such carnage again next time."

Chu Xuan’s response was an immediate refusal. "Impossible. If I could have foreseen this, I would absolutely have directed those insects toward the navy fleet. That would have been the greatest possible assistance to us—chaos, the complete destruction of the navy fleet. That aircraft carrier group would certainly react to such an event, allowing us the opportunity to slip onto the island... Moreover, only by making the governments of this world realize the horror of those insects can the documents in our hands be taken seriously, and only then can our third side mission be completed. Therefore, your suggestion is completely unreasonable, and I cannot agree! Unless..." "Unless?" Zheng Zha knew his proposal was pushing things too far, which is why he hadn't expected someone as rational as Chu Xuan to agree, but hearing that single transitional word made him pause.

Chu Xuan affirmed, "The reason we do all this is because our strength is insufficient. We are not yet capable of achieving these goals through personal power alone. If your strength, or the team’s strength, were already so great that you could ignore these petty tricks, then naturally, you wouldn't need to involve so many people. For example, that replica of you... if you possessed his power, you could completely prevent all of this from happening..." Ultimately, it still came down to a gap in strength. Zheng Zha felt a pang of dejection, but then he realized that strength was precisely what he pursued. Whether it was completing the horror movie side missions, reviving his original team members, or preparing to face his replica—all of it required strength as a foundation! If he did not want the living beings of the horror movie world to be ruthlessly utilized and slaughtered, the only path for him was to increase his power, to elevate it to a level where he could completely disregard such necessities! Although the final moments of the recent battle culminated in a scene of horrific slaughter, the team's resolve was already hardened. After a minute or two of silence, Ba Wang and Wang Xia were the first to recover. They loudly discussed the merits and flaws of their respective weaponry. Ba Wang, in particular, kept emphasizing the immense power of his weapon but bemoaned its limitations, especially the issue of the muzzle overheating. Excessive firing could lead to metal fatigue, a fatal flaw for precision high-tech weaponry. Consequently, as soon as Ba Wang spoke, he incessantly pleaded with Chu Xuan to find a solution for the gun.

"That’s not something I can manage. This gun is inherently a piece of high-tech weaponry, representing a technological advancement about 150 years ahead of the real world, even a tier above Gauss weaponry. Its technology likely matches that of energy laser weapons. While its firing power is immense, it is restricted by the time needed for reloading. Your infinite-ammo weapon, however, lacks that time constraint. Do you truly expect it to fire continuously without limit? If so... this weapon’s value should be redeemable for B-class or even higher-grade rewards. So, be content."

This point was undeniably true. After all, holding that gun allowed one person to single-handedly sink a warship; its destructive capability was arguably excessive. Thus, Ba Wang muttered a few times and fell silent. Wang Xia, however, seemed dissatisfied with the sheer destructive power of his explosives and was asking Chu Xuan how to make a bomb detonate inside a target. Just then, a piercing sound of air being violently displaced echoed from not far away. The group looked up to see over a dozen jet aircraft streaking across the high altitude. They were heading toward the offshore fleet near Sona Island—the fleet that might now be entirely annihilated.

Jump to