Chapter Nine: On the Road

Both teams are highly efficient; once a decision is made, there is no room for hesitation or objection.

It took Qi An some time to familiarize himself with the low-end spy drones, and the gap between them and the Fallen Insect convoy had widened to at least 10 kilometers.

The sky remained clear, but a light breeze had picked up.

This time, Su Qingran operated the reconnaissance drone for positioning. Although the wind made it more difficult, she still did a great job.

The neural control device uses brainwaves to operate the instrument, just as the brain controls one's own hands and feet.

Despite having few sensors, Qi An was able to control the low-spec aircraft at full speed with ease, thanks to what Teacher Tang called "a highly promising mental enhancement," and quickly caught up with the Fallen Insect convoy.

This time, the Fallen Insect convoy stopped to rest, and Qi An pressed the drone into the grass, remaining motionless and carefully observing.

The drone's camera was her eyes; through the gaps in the grass, she saw the swarm of fallen insects.

There are indeed six.

Their bodies were as large as a 300-pound human, with at least three pairs of long, thick tentacles that swung and twisted freely in the air. Festering sores covered their entire bodies, rhythmically writhing and oozing mucus, and countless agile eyes were embedded in all directions!

These creatures are unlike anything found on earth, yet they stretch out freely in the sunlight.

Qi An would bet that just one clear glance could raise Zhao Bohan's pollution level by more than 5%!

The one surrounded by the three fallen insects, being the smallest and least harmful to the eyes, must be a wisdom insect, specifically a "singer" or "apprentice priest" among them.

The Wisps are the managers, military commanders, or religious leaders among the fallen insects. The former are powerful in combat, while the latter are highly corrupting.

"Singer" is the lowest-ranking priest, corresponding to the military rank of "Captain". "Apprentice Priest" is one rank higher, corresponding to "Sergeant Major".

Inside the car, Yu Shuang asked nervously, "The listening function isn't on, is it? The bug isn't singing, is it?"

Qi An replied, "No."

This is a lie, because the wisdom insect's mouthparts were open and its tentacles were dancing gracefully.

It was chanting, just like a human humming a tune while resting. It sang a melody of deadly poison, and the distorted sound echoed on the hillside and in Qi An's mind.

This melody could at least make Zhao Bohan reach level 3 mutation within a minute, but Qi An only frowned slightly, and the pollution value only increased by 5% due to visual pollution.

This made no one in the team doubt the truth of her words.

At the insect convoy, two insects were incongruously carrying two small baskets on their backs, busily working on a sunny hillside a little further away, seemingly pulling weeds.

Qi An waited for a full half hour until the two insects that were pulling weeds returned. After the car restarted and drove 500 meters, she controlled the low-spec model to reattach it.

With such poor battery life on this low-spec device, the battery is down to just one bar.

Everyone held their breath in suspense. Qi An focused intently, controlling the low-configuration aircraft to stay at a altitude no higher than the wheels, only using the roar of the engine to crawl under the car.

Find a stable position inside the chassis beam, Qi An controls the low-spec machine to climb up, release the locator, make it fit firmly, and then load the low-spec machine into the soil.

With their power depleted, the fallen insect convoy drove off without a trace.

The red dots on the car navigation and tablet arrived as expected, this time firmly and clearly visible!

Cheers erupted from both cars in the squad!

Overwhelmed with emotion, Yu Shuang gently patted Qi An's shoulder and sincerely said, "Little Qi, you're amazing! I apologize for my previous distrust!"

Such frankness made Qi An smile immediately. "Team cohesion takes time, and I want to thank the captain for giving me this opportunity."

She rarely smiles, so her radiant smile momentarily stunned both Yu Shuang and Zhao Bohan.

Her delicate and bright eyes curved like crescent moons, and her gaze seemed to hold stars; she was absolutely beautiful!

Yu Shuang was immediately filled with affection and wished she could stretch out her hands and gently rub Qi An's fair cheeks. Zhao Bohan's gaze also softened.

However, this was not the time for leisure and jokes; their vehicle was still moving.

Compared to the poorly maintained, dirty, and dilapidated vehicles of the fallen insects, the squad's vehicles were naturally much faster, and they quickly caught up with the convoy from a distance.

They retrieved two spy drones midway and continued their pursuit.

This time, the convoy drove for a full five hours before stopping, and remained stopped for a long time.

"There's a highway service area up ahead." Yu Shuang raised an eyebrow: "Does the service area still offer services?"

“Where there are buildings, there’s a possibility of a stronghold, and this place isn’t far from the second suspected stronghold, Hualin County,” Zhao Bohan said cautiously. “Let’s take a look with a drone.”

The low-end aircraft was already disabled due to lack of batteries, and the spy planes provided by the base were even worse off. They could only use multi-functional aircraft the size of a washbasin to scan at extremely high altitudes.

Although polluters have a certain ability to change their temperature, and infrared detection is practically useless against warm-blooded animals like humans, they still came to the conclusion that "there is an abnormal heat source gathering within the service area."

After a moment's thought, Yu Shuang ordered, "Find a secluded spot to park, let's go take a look!"