Gamers Are Fierce

Gurgle, gurgle—

The Amber Blood Pool bubbled like boiling thick soup,

and the intense energy within obscured the air,

while the amber liquid corroded the Bug Nest Tyrant's armor, hissing and sizzling.

Vines extended from within Li Ang, slowly releasing Swamp God Power,

as if the amber liquid sensed an intruder, the Mutated Starfish's divinity within started to materialize, turning into fine, thread-like filaments.

Pop, pop, pop—

The "growth assimilation" divinity of the Mutated Starfish caused a violent mutation in the Bug Nest Tyrant Armor,

integrating the sturdy chitin plates of security guard material, melting and dripping like candle wax,

as bizarre and inexplicable tentacle tube-like living organs grew from the jet nozzles on the back of the Tyrant Armor.

'Merciful Father... the Creator...'

Hundreds of Brain Worms encircling the spherical bug nest worshipped reverently in their respective beehive chambers, reciting the scriptures of "Chai's Revelation", providing faith and anchoring Li Ang's will.

The plant vines stabilized, absorbing the amber blood lavishly, ingesting the filament-like Mutated Starfish divinity.

The half-melted Bug Nest Tyrant opened its eight narrow crimson eyes,

and Li Ang sensed the vague, indistinct emotions within the divinity.

Betrayed, imprisoned, the silent and solitary desolation, the loathing for the world and self, the impulse to destroy everything and erase all, and the deep longing buried beneath all emotions.

Sorrow? Or perhaps acceptance?

Li Ang did not understand the truth behind "When the Stars Return," nor did he know if the Priest willingly became the Mutated Starfish,

but this did not hinder him from greedily absorbing the divinity.

Go, eliminate the hidden danger.

As Li Ang felt the massive influx of divinity, he issued orders to countless soldier insects.

The bug nest units scattered everywhere ceased collecting amber liquid and began cutting the arm-foot muscles, eliminating the possibility of Mutated Starfish activity.

From the Desolated Lion's behavior, it seemed he was ready to withdraw from the race.

Since enmity had already formed between both parties, from the perspective of the Magic Sunflower World Transcendent, it's only natural to weaken the Earth players' strength as much as possible,

laying the groundwork for the potential outbreak of war after the gates open.

Millions of bug nest units, using a variety of weapons, along with anesthetics and muscle relaxants similar to those in the lost world's abandoned pipes, cut the Mutated Starfish's arm-foot.

At the same time, the bug nest units broke openings in various floors, leading some of the bewildered mech beasts and security guards from the collapsing floors towards the arm-foot.

The Amber Blood Pool before him was just a small portion of the divinity within the Mutated Starfish, yet it was enough to melt the Bug Nest Tyrant Armor and cause Li Ang's Sanity Value and Divine Power to plummet rapidly.

It's truly unimaginable how terrifying the power of the Mutated Starfish at its peak must have been,

considering that the Lost World, with technological levels surpassing the Mortal Realm, mysteriously vanished into oblivion, leaving only rubble, ruins, and vestiges of civilization like security guards.

————

Did the Bug Nest Tyrant just vanish?

Ryu glanced over the battlefield out of the corner of his eye, and after the Bug Nest Tyrant disappeared, the Ground-drilling Sandworm, the bug nest forces in the back, and Ju Tianfu standing on the sandworm did not disappear.

What is going on?

Ryu wanted to ask Ju Tianfu, for having lost the Desolated Lion as a common enemy, the bug nest's intentions were unclear, and there was a need to guard against a backstab from the bug nest.

However, due to the present situation, it seemed he couldn't do that...

"Pff—"

The Desolated Lion's open mouth targeted the wide-open security gate, spewing a massive amount of blood and amber liquid,

and the ritual track, which had been at a standstill for a long time, began to operate again, or more accurately, reverse.

The divinity accumulated within the Desolated Lion flowed back into the Mutated Starfish,

also mixed with the Desolated Lion's own will.

Awaken.

Awaken.

Awaken.

Su Ni Sheng delivered a punch, blasting the Desolated Lion, which had shrunk to the height of ten floors, hundreds of meters away,

the head of the Desolated Lion caved in, but the face, covered with tentacles, twisted into a sinister grin.

Goodbye.

The Desolated Lion's figure disappeared, and the ground beneath everyone's feet began to shake violently.

Pa, pa, pa—

The Bug Nest units originally buried inside the two tentacles suddenly felt the muscles of the tentacles, which had been stripped of the neural central circuit, inexplicably contract and tense,

A huge force surged within the muscles, brutally crushing the massive number of bugs inside the tentacles.

The Bug Nest instantly lost control of all the tentacles.

"Woooo——"

A sharp and prolonged roar echoed from the pitch-black space below the safety gate,

Several gigantic tentacles burst through the surface, blotting out the sky and sun,

Unlike those long-exploited, weakened greenish-black tentacles, the tentacles buried below were larger and presented a strange, enchanting pink hue.

The body of the Mutated Starfish awoke.

The players present looked up, their mouths agape in shock and unable to close for a long time.

Boom boom boom——

The ground at the safety gate position completely shattered,

The starfish's massive pyramid-like dorsal back slowly rose from the underground,

The sharp, towering spines on its back easily tore through the heavy rock layers and the high-strength alloy-made safety gate.

The eyes of all the players widened instantly, they saw a corner of the starfish body's mouth, slowly tilting back as if in slow motion.

Several depressions like abyssal trenches (grooves between each tentacle of a starfish), flanked by long, interlocked pale pink spines,

These grooves converge toward the center like rays, forming a recess.

Around the recess, tentacle-like tube feet thrashed wildly,

At the center of the recess was not the imagined abyssal maw filled with jagged teeth, but a ball of light.

The ball of light was warm and peaceful,

Pale pink, blue, purple, and green soft light harmoniously blended together, dotted with star-like light spots, amidst a vast area of what might be symbols of the dark vacuum of the Star Sea.

The color of the starry sky.

The Ant King stared blankly at the ball of light, the shimmer of the stars reflecting in his eyes, emptying his mind,

Any blood feuds, reviving the family, or suspicion of a Bug Nest traitor, at this moment, all lost their meaning.

Everything in the world, in front of that starlight, was insignificant.

In his ears, there seemed to be a gentle, soft whisper,

Do not resist, integrate, become one with "It", jointly become a part of a more beautiful and great existence, together to witness the vastness of the infinite Star Sea.

Step.

The Ant King, with an open mouth, blankly stepped half a step forward.

Thump!

A punch to the side of his head sent the Ant King flying.

The expressionless Su Ni Sheng, donning an incongruous pair of sunglasses with her white dress, had at some point snapped the Ant King, Paranoia, David, and others out of the mesmerizing light of the Mutated Starfish's mouth,

Along with those barely resisting the mental invasion like Tai Hao and others, she roused the surviving players, coercively equipping them with sunglasses or earplugs.

Fortunately, the awakened Mutated Starfish, possibly due to its prolonged slumber or severe trauma, had not yet fully regained consciousness, noticing the players below as insignificant as dust.

"Go,"

Su Ni Sheng succinctly said and vanished from sight.

The ground consistently erupted, and more abundant pink tentacles pierced up from underground, causing the entire Lost World to totter.

David gritted his teeth, exchanged glances with Abel, and teleported away,

The armor plates on the Sandworm's back suddenly sprung open, ejecting the prisoners like Ryu, Tsuchimikado Xiao Man, and others,

These players, already awakened by the Bug Nest, exchanged a glance with Ju Tianfu and then teleported away.

"Huff..."

Ju Tianfu breathed a sigh of relief; the Bug Nest had not broken its promise and released the Earth players.

He glanced around, his eyes swept past the slowly awakening Mutated Starfish in the distance, although with some reluctance, his body disappeared from the spot.

The players successively vanished, as for the Bug Nest units—

The surviving army of bugs at the rear of the battlefield regrouped, boarded the Ground-drilling Sandworm train, and propelled rapidly upwards,

Along the way, they could see the security guards and oceans of Mech beasts battling the awakened tentacles,

as well as other Bug Nest branches rushing to the upper layers.

Boom boom boom——

The Lost World was on the verge of collapse,

In the Amber Blood Pool of the center Bug Nest, Li Ang opened his eyes.