It must be admitted that the role of political commissars in the military far exceeds what many imagine. Our Chinese armies never suffer from low morale; assign some individuals as commissars, tell them how to persuade the soldiers, to make them understand the principle that fighting hard means life, and despair means death! The army I require is one devoid of the fear of death, that is the simple truth..." Chu Xuan explained casually to Zheng Zha, issuing orders through his communicator as he spoke, his demeanor making Zheng Zha feel almost superfluous. Yet, there was no envy; in fact, anyone facing Chu Xuan would experience a sense of inadequacy, a feeling akin to standing before an omniscient being. While that might sound exaggerated, it was precisely the impression he gave others.

Zheng Zha paused, then asked, "They haven't started attacking; are they waiting for the Brain Bugs to give the order?" Chu Xuan replied without looking up, "No, the Brain Bugs must have already given the command. Given the openness of this hillside, and the natural environment here being unsuitable for aerial insect attacks, if they attacked in small waves, we would face no danger whatsoever. Therefore, the Brain Bug's order must be an all-out assault—sending millions of ground insects regardless of casualties to storm this hill. Ten thousand, twenty thousand, fifty thousand, a million—until they kill every last one of us... Zhan Lan, is this mountaintop completely shielded? Then, expose the defensive positions at the pass. We need the other team to see us... Zheng Zha, if the defense line breaks, we all risk being killed. In that case, follow Zhan Lan's guidance and use Destruction to subdue them all. That is our only chance of survival!" Zheng Zha nodded with a grave expression.

Before he could say anything, a continuous burst of gunfire erupted from the mountain pass entrance. This was followed by the enraged roars of the soldiers—final cries laced with terror and the desperate will to live. The soldiers at the choke point were already fighting with insane ferocity, spraying ammunition down the tunnel without regard for conservation. Chu Xuan immediately bellowed into the communicator, "Overlord! How are you managing your troops! Tell them to conserve ammo! You know the firepower situation perfectly well! If this happens again, you will not be standing there again!" Overlord's voice boomed back, "Yes, Officer... Damn it, don't make me think about the past! So many bugs! They're swarming forward! I'm not talking anymore, I naturally know how to conserve ammunition... Damn it, so many bugs!"

With five hours and forty-two minutes remaining until the rescue ship arrived, the Zerg's major offensive finally began. Hundreds of thousands of insects desperately squeezed their way up the relatively narrow mountain pass. The horrific scene sent shivers down the spine of every soldier present; they could no longer adhere strictly to orders, instead firing instinctively toward the base of the mountain, each mind holding only one thought: make those bugs disappear!

"Bang! Bang! Bang!" Overlord held his smoking rifle, staring coldly at his surroundings. Several soldiers lay bleeding before him, while the surrounding troops stared at him in stunned silence. He then roared, "Follow the point-aiming and firing methods we drilled into you! Ten men per unit, responsible for one directional sector! Anyone who dares to fire wildly, anyone who dares to waste ammunition... military court martial!" The soldiers were still looking at him in shock until Overlord raised his rifle and fired a burst toward the sky. Everyone snapped back to attention, rapidly aiming at the pass below. Ten men formed a squad responsible for a small sector, and they began using controlled, short bursts. Although their general military quality wasn't high, their training had been rigorous, and under such demands, every soldier executed rapid fire with decent accuracy. Overlord finally let out a small sigh of relief, then raised a standard submachine gun in each hand, roaring as he sprayed fire toward the base of the mountain. Although it was a so-called full-auto spray, his accuracy far surpassed everyone present; nearly every shot dropped an insect. Yet, faced with the endless, boundless sea of green and yellow insects, even Overlord's heart began to sink into despair.

"Is this... the horror movie world of warfare? How insignificant individual strength is here. As expected, those selected by the 'Main God' cannot all be perfect. We need partners, the combination of various strengths, we need to work together wholeheartedly to complete these missions... If it weren't for the three of you in this Starship Troopers scenario, we would have died quite miserably, hahaha..." Zheng Zha said, laughing heartily from the defensive position. Zhan Lan had already transmitted the results of her psychic scans into his mind. About ten miles from the mountaintop, deep underground, something was being shielded—perhaps another squad, perhaps a Brain Bug. In any case, Zheng Zha had made his decision: when the team fell into critical danger, it would be time for him to go all out...

"What is that?" Suddenly, several soldiers shouted. In the distance, over a dozen massive Fire Spitting Bugs were charging towards them. However, against concentrated firepower, their huge size prevented them from getting within five hundred meters of the defense line. It had to be admitted that the Federal standard firearms lacked punch, but their range was decent, as the bullets were designed for distance rather than impact, unlike older technology like Dum-dum rounds. On the backs of these massive fire-spitting creatures were more than ten small tumors—growths that hadn't been present on the Fire Spitting Bugs before. Thus, everyone watched the small tumors intently. Only when the Fire Spitting Bugs were riddled with bullets did these tumors eject violently from the creature's carapace, launching straight toward their position, resembling cannonballs fired by the insects.

"Fire! Shoot those things down! Do not let them get close!" Overlord roared amidst the soldiers, simultaneously raising two guns and firing wildly. But when bullets struck the tumors, sparks flew as if striking steel. These tumors sailed hundreds of meters and descended directly upon the mass of soldiers on the ridge.

"Get down!" Wang Xia's voice cut through the air. Everyone instinctively turned to look. Wang Xia stood nearby holding a shoulder-mounted miniature nuclear device. He roared and fired the device toward the sky. Immediately, some soldiers yelled, "Damn it! Nuclear bombs detonate on impact and require a minimum one-minute fuse! Firing it into the sky to fall down—are you trying to kill us all?" Before their shouts could finish, a blinding, intense flash suddenly erupted from the sky, causing those soldiers to clutch their eyes and scream. The others who had ducked were luckier; though they felt the shockwave and the heat, they suffered no fatal harm.

When everyone looked up, the fireball in the sky had not yet extinguished, and Wang Xia calmly lowered the shoulder-mounted device. He casually stated, "I modified the timing system inside; the minimum detonation time is now three seconds... Watch out!" Two of the tumors were farthest from the fireball's center, so they tumbled off the edge of the explosion and smashed onto the ground. The soldiers nearby scrambled away, but these two tumors did not explode. Instead, they bounced once on the ground and fully unfurled, transforming into two large, six-legged spider-like creatures. These two insects leaped directly into the ranks of the soldiers. In a flurry of swift tearing, their melee attack power and speed were even greater than the common ground crawlers. In mere seconds, dozens of soldiers were shredded into pieces. Any soldier touched by their six claws was ripped apart as easily as paper, and because they were in the crowd, the surrounding men couldn't even risk firing.

Zheng Zha immediately bellowed, "Overlord, organize personnel to keep firing! Wang Xia, use a few of those high-yield conventional bombs you modified until reinforcements arrive! Chu Xuan, mobilize a hundred new soldiers immediately! Zero Point, fire, fire quickly!" Before the words even settled, Zheng Zha lunged forward, twisting the military dagger in his hand as he leaped into the air towards one of the spider bugs.

(This is inconvenient; I can't use my right hand effectively, and I'm not left-handed...) Zheng Zha calculated his combat approach while fully entering his unlocked Gene Lock state. By the time the spider bug noticed him, he was only a few meters away. The creature barely managed to raise its spear-like claw when Zheng Zha rammed it hard with his abdomen. The claw pierced straight through his stomach, but because he was in the unlocked Gene Lock state, before the claw could fully penetrate, he had desperately controlled his orientation so the spike passed between his internal organs, inflicting no actual damage despite the terrifying appearance.

"Ah!" Zheng Zha tore through the claw's grip and drove his military dagger upward, piercing straight through the spider bug's eye and penetrating its entire forelimb. Still not satisfied, he activated his Red Flame skill on his left palm. Since no one could see inside the insect, this thrust nearly cooked the creature's entire head. It struggled briefly, unable to tear Zheng Zha apart, before slowly collapsing onto the ground.

Zheng Zha breathed out and turned his head. The other spider bug had already torn apart an unknown number of soldiers; the ground was littered with severed limbs, viscera, and blood... He leaped towards...