Chapter 81 The Plague of Cockroaches

She vaulted over the windowsill and landed lightly on the ground. Just as she was about to rush forward to help Lu Luo, he gestured for her to stop. Lu Luo turned, thrust his knife into the ground, and clapped his hands together. Instantly, Qi He erupted from the center of his chest. FWOOSH! The explosive burst of Qi He pulverized the insects clinging to him, filling the air with a pungent, fishy stench. With that single strike, Lu Luo had killed dozens of them. He retrieved his knife, no longer bothering to conserve his Qi He. Each swing unleashed a blade of energy extending several dozen centimeters from its edge. The blades of energy, coordinated with Gu Fangyi’s sniping from the floor above, finally forced the cockroach tide to fall back. [They’ve released a second type of pheromone. It should mean they’re retreating.] [Creatures like this shouldn’t possess such high intelligence or collective combat capabilities. There must be a more advanced being directing them.] "Directing them, huh? Got it." Lu Luo wiped insect viscera from his face, preparing to give chase, but Qi Xinzhu called out to him. "Hey, Lu Luo." "What is it?" "I can help you." Qi Xinzhu’s tone was firm. However, when Lu Luo turned and saw her standing before the insect corpses with a conflicted expression, he simply shook his head. "You should head back. If I need help, I’ll call you." It was the first time in a while Lu Luo had spoken so gently, and Qi Xinzhu nodded quickly. "Okay. If you need help, just call me. No matter the enemy, I’ll protect you." Protect me no matter the enemy? Lu Luo smiled but said nothing. You’re not my mom; who would believe that? As Lu Luo walked, he raised a fist skyward, signaling Gu Fangyi. Then, following the pheromone trail left by the cockroaches, he headed towards the third floor of the apartment building. Upon reaching the third floor, Lu Luo’s pupils constricted. The hallway teemed with insects, a crawling mass that stretched to the corridor’s dark end where nothing was visible. [Conservative estimate: over 500 of them. These cockroaches are also quite large—even bigger than the ones outside.] Piled up outside the hallway was a large amount of garbage, including a substantial quantity of human equipment and clothing. It looked like it belonged to people from within the walls. Of these individuals, not even bones remained. The sight made Lu Luo pause; he slowly retreated. The insects, for their part, showed no sign of attacking him again. Of course, Lu Luo had no intention of letting these bugs escape. His body was already contaminated with their pheromones. He could gamble that the pheromones hadn’t marked him as prey, but that didn’t feel like the right solution to him. Leaving these creatures here would pose a significant threat once night fell, so he resolved to exterminate them all. He felt for his waist pouch, which held his meager supply of weapons and tools. I only have two Dark Energy grenades. Should I use them here? Or should I ask Qi Xinzhu to help? Her abilities are supposed to be strong, but she was terrified by just a few bugs. Can she really handle this? Lu Luo hesitated. He was too poor to afford expensive Dark Energy grenades. These two had come from Gu Fangyi. A sniper should stick to sniping. Why would they even carry grenades? After a moment’s thought, Lu Luo decided to handle the situation himself. Qi Xinzhu was strong, undoubtedly, but she wasn’t one of his own; she belonged to the Church. And while Han Shiyu’s attitude towards him was ambiguous, Lu Luo still felt that only people from the Circular were truly on his side. Besides, he genuinely needed the real-world combat experience to hone his fighting skills and adaptability. So, Lu Luo gathered some discarded clothes and plastic from the hallway and retreated to the supermarket’s second floor. ... "You’re back?" Seeing Lu Luo unharmed, Qi Xinzhu visibly relaxed. Lu Luo, however, had no time for conversation. He began mixing combustible materials: fabric, plastic, paper, and scraps of wood. "Bundle." [9 energy points consumed for one alteration: Combustible Material -> Combustible Material Bundle] He then used nails to secure the bundled combustibles, fashioning them into three incendiary sticks. By the time he finished preparing the incendiary sticks, evening had arrived, and the sky was growing darker. If he delayed any longer, he wouldn’t be able to deal with the insect nest before nightfall. Lu Luo decided to act immediately. "You’re leaving again? But it’s almost dark! It’ll be very dangerous outside at night. Let me go with you," Qi Xinzhu said, her concern genuine. Lu Luo’s tone softened slightly. "It’s not night yet. You don’t need to come. Just stay here." "Okay. I’ll wait for you to come back." [She’s practically a wife waiting at home for her husband’s return. What kind of luck do you have?!] Lu Luo paused, momentarily stunned. Thinking about it, if he disregarded Qi Xinzhu’s affiliation with the Church... ...she really didn’t seem to have any obvious flaws. She was beautiful, strong, sensible, obedient, and had a good figure. Definitely well-rounded... Tsk, best not to dwell on that. This time, Lu Luo didn’t find Qi Xinzhu’s concern annoying; he was acutely aware of the dangers that came with darkness. First, there was the issue of visibility. The lack of light would significantly decrease combat effectiveness. Second, Exotic Species became more active after nightfall—more agitated, more dangerous, and more likely to attract other creatures. Operating at night was extremely risky, which was why he needed to be quick and decisive. Carrying the incendiary sticks, Lu Luo returned to the third floor of the apartment building. He lit one and hurled it deep into the corridor. BANG! Lu Luo fired a shot at the center of the incendiary stick. Sparks flew, scattering burning fragments everywhere. The corridor was already littered with flammable materials like discarded clothing, which ignited instantly upon contact with the flames. HISS! HISS! HISS! The insects began to emit a collective, low-frequency hiss, a sound so intense it made Lu Luo feel momentarily dizzy. "Activate Overclock Mode." [Observer Overclock Mode activated. Balance enhanced.] This time, the Observer offered no melodramatic commentary, because Lu Luo had already charged forward the moment he activated Overclock Mode. As flames spread along the corridor, engulfing the insects, Lu Luo, now in Overclock Mode, moved with even greater precision than Gu Fangyi. Each of his strikes killed one or even several insects. His blade danced, splattering insect viscera, as he moved like a finely-tuned killing machine. [You have suffered a minor bite wound. You are immune to the insect’s toxin damage.] Large amounts of acid and venom splashed onto Lu Luo, but his Determination effect negated it all. Even if any attacks landed, they barely breached his defenses. The fire continued to drive the insects back as Lu Luo advanced steadily towards the end of the corridor. A door stood there. Lu Luo guessed that the secret of the insect nest lay behind it. Qi He gathered on his blade. He slashed at the iron door. With a deafening crash, the door collapsed, revealing a monstrous creature with dozens of compound eyes. [Second Tier Unknown Animal-type Species. Likely a ’mother’ analogous creature. The room has an abnormally high concentration of Dark Energy, possibly containing a Dark Spirit Stone or other items with high Dark Energy readings.] Lu Luo immediately threw his two remaining incendiary sticks at the ’mother’ creature, intending to scatter the surrounding swarm before rushing in for the kill. However, to his astonishment, when the ’mother’ creature was attacked, the surrounding insects fearlessly charged into the flames. They used their own bodies to form a living shield for it. Seeing the massive, swarming cockroaches, Lu Luo no longer hesitated. He took out his two Dark Energy grenades, pulled the pins, and hurled them into the fray. BOOM!