Zheng Zha was fighting for his life, truly struggling just to stay alive. Looking around, he saw nothing but massive swarms of the Royal Guard bugs. Honestly, his Tiger Soul Blade was less useful than a mere stick in this close-quarters brawl, yet when he channeled his energy into blade-light attacks, he could still send huge numbers of the Royal Guard bugs flying. Furthermore, being in his "Explosion" state meant his strength and speed far surpassed these bugs, so with every swing of the Tiger Soul Blade, he managed to toss a whole crowd of them aside.

(But... I’m at my limit. If I stay surrounded, I’m definitely dead. Zero Point!

It’s all up to you!) Zheng Zha desperately fought his way through the insect horde toward the passage, daring not to use the remaining time on his "Annihilation" ability, nor even the "Instant Annihilation" state. Every tiny scrap of power he possessed now had to be managed perfectly, without the slightest waste, or he would never escape this sea of bugs. Suddenly, a violent burst of explosive energy resonated from the far distance, the source pinpointed precisely within that tunnel cave. Zheng Zha looked up just in time to see the passage erupt in boiling firelight.

The shockwave from the explosion rushed towards him, sending hundreds of the Royal Guard bugs nearest the tunnel entrance tumbling into the air. “Acquired Subplot B-Grade reward.” “Huh? That’s it?” The “Main God’s” notification this time was much shorter, offering no confirmation of completing a horror movie subplot, nor granting any reward points. It was as if it were casually announcing the elimination of some large monster.

But this was no time for contemplation. Seeing the fiery blast threatening to collapse the entire cave, he ignored everything else and leaped once more. Looking down from above, the Royal Guard bugs on the ground had clearly paused their assault. This included the swarms scattered by the blast wave and those that had been closing in on him.

Even as Zheng Zha sprang upward, these Royal Guard swarms did not jump to intercept him as before; instead, they stood frozen on the ground like statues. It wasn't until Zheng Zha activated the "Instant Annihilation" state and began moving using Moonwalk that one of the grounded bugs suddenly lunged and bit the one beside it. The bitten bug was initially startled, but as the sound of metal scraping against metal echoed from the bite, it reflexively bit back. Since neither bug could pierce the other’s carapace, their struggling only tangled up the surrounding insects, causing no real harm to each other, but the entangled bugs soon began to lash out and bite as well.

Within seconds, every bug was engaged in mutual tearing. Zheng Zha spared a quick glance downward to see the ground entirely covered by masses of biting, clawing insects. Zheng Zha only had time for those two glances before focusing entirely on maintaining his "Moonwalk" forward momentum. After a few seconds, he reached the mouth of the tunnel.

He counted himself lucky that the flying bugs had also descended into infighting; otherwise, he might not have reached the entrance so quickly. Flames still raged within the cave. Zheng Zha had no time to hesitate. Seeing that the shockwave had already caused significant crumbling of the cave walls, and more rock was fracturing under the intense heat, he knew that if the entire structure collapsed, he would truly be trapped with no escape route back.

After leaping down using "Moonwalk" one more time, in the very next second he deployed "Shave," crossing the tunnel in a blur of speed. Just a few meters past the passage, however, he encountered a sheer, ten-meter-deep pit. With a resigned sigh, he had to use "Moonwalk" again to clear the concave depression, which spanned about thirty meters in diameter. On the far side of the pit, he saw a cartoon bear robot, holding Zero Point and two stick figures, rapidly advancing while shouting "Moni," with clear electric discharge flashes trailing from its back.

All the ground-crawling insects along this route had gone berserk, attacking anything they encountered. Dozens of Royal Guard bugs were even being torn at by the ground crawlers. However, these Royal Guard bugs proved formidable; each one possessed more than double the strength of a normal ground crawler and was covered in an incredibly tough shell, rendering the tearing attacks useless. Instead, the bug being bitten would swiftly be ripped apart and dismembered by the Royal Guard’s pincers.

Thanks to the chaotic frenzy of the bugs, the cartoon bear robot, despite having dozens of ground crawlers on its tail, was rapidly closing the distance toward the cave where everyone was sheltering. Zheng Zha saw clearly, used "Shave" again to flash directly behind the cartoon bear robot, and executed a reverse slash with his Tiger Soul Blade, cleanly eliminating all the pursuing ground crawlers. He then used "Shave" two more times, managing to dart into the cave ahead of the robot. He immediately stood at the entrance, blade ready, and roared, “Luo Gandao!

Hurry! Faster!” Luo Gandao was also pushing himself to the absolute limit. The electrical propulsion system modified by Chu Xuan was not designed for ordinary humans; even with Luo Gandao’s excellent piloting skills, it would have been impossible until he unlocked his Gene Lock in this horror movie, finally allowing him to sustain that kind of extreme speed. The cartoon bear robot was incredibly fast, only slightly slower than the speed of "Shave." Within seconds, it screamed and charged into the cave—exactly what Zheng Zha had been waiting for.

Hundreds of ground crawlers were still approaching the cave entrance from outside. Without a second thought, Zheng Zha swung his Tiger Soul Blade mightily, retreating backward while continually hacking upwards at the ceiling until he had brought down a section of rock nearly ten meters long. Only then did he let out a deep breath and stop. At that moment, he realized he didn't even have the strength to stand up; his hands were gripping the Tiger Soul Blade so tightly he couldn't let go.

He sat silently on the ground for several minutes until he felt two or three people approach from behind. He then managed a wry smile as he turned back to see Chu Xuan, Zhan Lan, and Xue Ling’er silently watching him. Zheng Zha offered a weak smile. “I almost didn't make it.

Now I can’t even move a finger. Is everyone alright? Chu Xuan, how much time is left before we return to the ‘Main God’ space?” Chu Xuan glanced at his watch and stated calmly, “Two hours and twenty-seven minutes left... Let’s go check on Ba Wang; he probably won’t last.” Zheng Zha’s heart leaped.

He didn't know where the strength came from in his utterly depleted body, but he jumped up and sprinted deep into the cave. When he reached the center of the cavern, he first saw the cartoon bear robot writhing on the ground in the distance—clearly the after-effects of Luo Gandao unlocking his Gene Lock. In a corner of the rock chamber, Ba Wang lay collapsed, his chest soaked in blood; it truly looked like he was beyond saving. Chu Xuan and the other two walked over.

He remained expressionless and said, “We sprayed him with the clotting agent, but a major artery near his heart was pierced by shrapnel, and he bled profusely before we could staunch it... Ba Wang might not survive the remaining two hours and twenty-odd minutes.” Zheng Zha felt a surge of anxiety. This man from the North was generally a steady and reliable person. While not as taciturn as Zero Point, Zheng Zha knew from his past that Ba Wang was the kind of comrade who would stake his life to protect those he considered allies—someone who would gladly take a bullet meant for a teammate and would absolutely never allow a comrade to die before his eyes.

Zheng Zha said gravely, “What exactly happened? Shrapnel? The bugs couldn’t have used shrapnel! Was it an ambush by another team?

That makes no sense either; how could another team be here? Chu Xuan, tell me, who injured Ba Wang this badly?” Chu Xuan waved his hand. “He wasn’t injured by anyone. You should remember what I warned him about repeatedly: barrel overheating.

This tube-pulse launcher was originally designed for only a few seconds of firing time. But this infinite-ammo weapon broke that limitation, causing the barrel to overheat too quickly. When a gun fires continuously for hours without rest, forget this super-high-temperature tube-pulse launcher; even standard firearms would...” Zhan Lan quickly nodded in agreement. “Ba Wang didn’t realize anything until the barrel exploded, sending shrapnel into the major artery near his heart, and then…” Zheng Zha sighed repeatedly.

In such a difficult horror movie, winning two consecutive team battles, with no team member lost—this brilliant record should have filled Zheng Zha with elation. After this movie, everyone would gain tens of thousands of reward points and at least one B-grade or higher subplot completion, instantly boosting the team’s strength. Yet, at this last moment, when they were finally safe, a team member was about to die. This...

this situation left him heartbroken. Zheng Zha took a deep breath and walked over to Ba Wang, examining him closely. His chest was covered in countless small wounds, the most severe being a deep gash already crusted with dried blood. Otherwise, Ba Wang’s body was almost rigid, his skin pale and bluish, clearly indicating massive blood loss.

Zheng Zha touched Ba Wang’s cold wrist. A thought struck him, and he suddenly channeled the very last trace of internal energy in his body into Ba Wang’s meridians. The moment the energy touched his skin, the flesh became hot, and his blood flow seemed to stabilize, as if the internal energy were temporarily substituting for the function of blood. Zheng Zha’s heart soared with sudden hope.

He immediately shouted toward Wang Xia, “Wang Xia, dismantle your plasma bombs! Give me all the components that store internal energy!” Leaping forward...