Chapter 82 Unextinguished You liked me, didn't you? ...

Thirty hours after Shi Wei's disappearance, Manra's army finally tracked down Yi Lan by following the trail, but after several hours of relentless pursuit, they were outmaneuvered.

The starship they carefully captured was just one of Yi Lan's tricks. After losing their target, they discovered three targets that appeared to be fleeing in different directions.

Lu Qi: How can we manage a country by following these insects!

Fortunately, the security bureau wasn't entirely composed of scoundrels. Soon, someone noticed a problem that no one was considering at the time—the kidnappers had escaped so brazenly, so how did they get into Manra? Could they have gone back the way they came?

This is quite possible. If the route they came from wasn't exposed, then going back would save a lot of effort compared to planning a new escape route. This conjecture was soon confirmed. The jump landing point was northwest of Manla, and a small planet on the northwestern border experienced a power outage a few hours before Shi Wei disappeared, causing the entire planet's border defenses to be "blind" for a few minutes.

At this crucial moment, there are no perfect coincidences; nearby guards began to rush there.

However, Zeng Shou no longer cared. Just a few hours earlier, he had proactively contacted his superior at the Security Bureau and confessed:

"I don't know if I've been exposed, but there's important intelligence that you need to report immediately—a Zerg tunnel has been discovered several thousand stars away from Xiaoyao Star. My current information is that at least several thousand Zerg have already passed through the tunnel. I've attached the coordinates... Also, our commander and Miss Shi are nearby." After sending the message, Zeng Shou didn't plan to run away anymore. If his superior believed him, the Security Bureau should be able to get here soon.

If they don't believe him, then he can't escape either, because the bugs will be here soon.

Zeng Shou sat in his office for a few minutes before suddenly standing up. Although he no longer cared about his own life or death, delivering the message to Manra and the Grasshopper Fortress was the only thing he could do. But there were still tens of thousands of people on this planet! If the Security Bureau ignored the intelligence delivered by this little "spy," then the bugs would definitely come to slaughter the nearest planet, Xiaoyao.

Although he was loyal to the commander, tens of thousands of humans on Xiaoyao Star were innocent. He couldn't save the commander now, but he could save the tens of thousands of people around him.

Thinking of this, Zeng Shou made a communication call to the garrison commander. He had voluntarily exposed himself to the security bureau, but the military probably didn't yet know he was a spy.

"Hello, I have some urgent news to share with you..."

Although I revealed my identity as a member of the National Security Bureau, the other party was skeptical and said they would send someone to investigate first.

Zeng Shou then notified the neighboring star and began to make preparations for evacuating civilians. Sure enough, half an hour later he received news from the garrison that the Zerg had really arrived.

Centuries later, these disgusting things have once again dug a tunnel through the universe, wanting to start a bloody massacre in their human universe.

...

Upon receiving the news, Lu Qi felt a wave of dizziness. This shocking intelligence shattered his sleepless thirty-hour workday. However, his strong willpower brought him back to face this cruel world. Lu Qi immediately convened an emergency online meeting, gathering all the high-ranking officials he could.

Upon receiving the urgent online meeting, a flustered Aker complained, "Luci, are you out of your mind? Just send a message directly, I'll check it as soon as I have time. Why did you call an emergency meeting? Did you find the person or did something serious happen again?"

What other major incident could happen? Mercenaries have been coming and going from their hometown, abducted His Majesty's fiancée, and Manra still hasn't found her—could something bigger be happening?

It wasn't until he saw His Majesty's face that Akel realized that Luqi was really in trouble. At this critical moment, none of them dared to approach His Majesty. If Luqi didn't have something earth-shattering to do, His Majesty, who was holding back his anger, could have killed him.

Only a few people have the authority to call an emergency meeting. Even if the mercenaries attack, they might not necessarily call such a meeting. Everyone was a little confused but also very bewildered.

“It doesn’t matter that everyone isn’t here yet. I’ll skip the formalities and get straight to the point—near the border between Manra and the mercenaries, there are Zerg tunnels. Several thousand Zerg have already crossed the tunnels, but that’s data from over an hour ago,” Lu Qi said quickly, then noticed the astonished expressions on everyone’s faces.

He thought to himself, trying to find a bittersweet humor in the thought that he was not far from a mental breakdown.

Even His Majesty took a while to process what he said before immediately asking, "How did you find out?"

No one wanted to accept such a thing. Lu Qi's first reaction was similar to His Majesty's. He sighed and said, "Our people tracked down Yi Lan's infiltration route to see if he would return the same way. As a result, they found that one of their own people had been infiltrated by mercenaries. It was this person who gave us the information. He also said that Yi Lan and Miss Shi were near the tunnel."

King Sklag II closed his eyes, and the result was that one plus one is greater than two.

Two pieces of bad news are combined to form a power of one piece of bad news.

Lu Qi said with difficulty, "He notified the local garrison, and then the garrison sent people to investigate. There are indeed Zerg tunnels, but it is unclear where Shi Wei is... The local area has already begun to evacuate civilians."

Aker made a decisive decision: "Issue a statement, then join forces with the mercenaries to launch a wartime operation. This tunnel must be destroyed. If the Queen has already arrived, the insects can reproduce indefinitely. I will lead the troops—"

King Scolag II interrupted him: "No, I'll go there. You stay in the capital. If the King Worm doesn't come, there's nothing to fear. It's possible that the Chaotic Starfield is spreading false information to distract us. If the King Worm does come, I must go."

But everyone knows in their hearts that even if Yi Lan is crazy, he wouldn't do something like crying wolf, using the Zerg as false information to fool people. If the Zerg really come next time, all of humanity will be doomed.

...

A few hours ago.

The nebula flow could last a long time, and Shi Wei was still wondering if she would really have to sit here for seven days and seven nights.

That might mean she really won't want to look at the stars anymore.

Bored, she started using the probe to observe the nearby small planets, casually chatting with Yi Lan beside her: "Why didn't this blue planet explode along with it... Hmm, right here... Look..."

"It should be the Death Star, or maybe the Earth's core isn't made of hydrogen... Wait, which one are you talking about?"

"Look—" Shi Wei projected the detected image and asked in confusion, "Why does it seem like it's gotten a little bigger? Is it about to explode?"

The young man beside her frowned. Shi Wei looked at him and then saw him give instructions to the people in the cockpit: "(85, 334, 19) This position is not right. Use 'Silver Serpent' to slowly approach it. Don't get too close. Scan it with the n-line first."

After giving the order, he glanced at the images on the probe and suddenly said, "Let's take a group photo. Later, I'll put you on the spacecraft and you can fly it to a nearby planet to find them. There are B6 generation fighters on the ship. I taught you how to use them before; it's very simple."

Shi Wei stared at him without blinking, a sense of doubt rising in her heart. Why was Yi Lan acting so strangely, letting her leave on her own without even providing her with a driver?

Yi Lan rubbed her face to make her smile more genuine, and said while taking pictures, "Hey grandma, your deadbeat husband is about to catch up with us. Do you think I'll survive if I personally send you back?"

That makes sense, Shi Wei thought about it and realized that if His Majesty caught him, he would be skinned alive.

And so, a precious group photo was born. Yi Lan led her inside the ship and said in a relaxed tone, "I sent you a copy to your email. Settle the photography fee for me later..."

Shi Wei took off her clothes, snorted, and turned to leave.

The moment she disappeared around the corner, the smile on Yi Lan's face vanished instantly.

Shi Wei returned to the lounge and found that the starship had started to accelerate again. A small robot led her into the protective cabin and gestured for her to go inside.

As she lay down, Shi Wei's unease grew stronger, and she began to have wild thoughts. Could it be that Yi Lan was going to kill her to silence her? But if he wanted to kill her, he didn't have to go to such lengths.

Inside the control room, the alarms were beeping incessantly, and soldiers paced back and forth.

Yi Lan, his face grim, watched the approaching red dots and asked, "Still unable to contact the fortress?"

An officer next to him tried his best to remain calm, but his voice was still trembling: "We can't find any signal. They must have used jamming equipment. I tried searching for Manra's general channel, but I couldn't make contact either."

"Don't panic." Yi Lan patted his shoulder and said, "We have 'observers' on Xiaoyao Star. They are equipped with a new generation of communicators. We are only a few thousand star miles away from him now. We should be able to make contact at this distance."

The officer felt as if he had been granted a pardon and immediately searched for the number he had previously contacted. He quickly exclaimed with delight, "It's connected!"

“Have him ask Manra and the fortress for help,” Yi Lan said.

He only has this few men at his disposal, and they are slowly being surrounded by thousands of Zerg.

"Switch to a different energy source, use star-source material directly, and begin continuous jumps. Calculate how much ammunition we have left..." Yi Lan paused, then said, "Prepare to split it up when the time is right."

The subordinate was startled and quickly said, "Commander, if we split up, we won't even have enough energy to sustain ourselves!"

Yi Lan looked at everyone and the protective pod not far away, and said calmly, "The Zerg like those with strong mental abilities. Their target is me. What we need to do now is to stall until reinforcements arrive, and then each of us will jump in different directions. They don't react that quickly, so the chances of escaping are very high."

As long as Manra arrives quickly enough.

...

The enormous energy tail of the transcendent point lingered in the sky for a long time, and many residents could see it from their homes. They posted questions about it online, but the posts were either deleted or they received irrelevant answers.

Similan left with his father, and Cyril took charge of official duties during this period. As for the allocation of personnel, Aker was in charge, but Cyril kept refreshing the latest communications.

Zerg.

If this is true, will she survive?

The three leaps were too much for most soldiers, but there was nothing they could do. If the King Worm had arrived, even a second's delay could have resulted in the loss of tens of thousands of lives.

The combat power of the Zerg without Overlords is not on the same level as that with Overlords. When an Overlord is nearby, the Zerg's mental attacks are ten times stronger. Furthermore, a certain substance secreted by the Overlords not only strengthens their bodies but also accelerates their reproduction and regeneration abilities.

When Shi Wei was brought out of the protective cabin, she felt dizzy and lightheaded. Damn it, how many jumps had she undergone?

Yi Lan used her mental energy to soothe the dizzy Shi Wei, and then told her the key points: "I've set up the route for you, the autopilot shouldn't have any problems."

He continued, "There was a small problem just now. A group of space pirates mistook us for a merchant ship. I'm going to deal with them... You stay put and sail back by yourself. I've already contacted them. The people from Manra will come to pick you up when you land. Your identity chip is still there, so you'll be fine."

Shi Wei rubbed her temples. Yi Lan's tone was like coaxing a three-year-old, but she wasn't stupid. How could she not see the hidden meaning in his words?

"What kind of space pirates would dare to rob people in this godforsaken place, and even dare to rob you, their leader! Do you think I'm stupid? What happened?!" Shi Wei grabbed his collar, determined to get to the bottom of it.

Yi Lan sighed: "Why do you always seem to be smart at the wrong time?"

Shi Wei glared at him, and Yi Lan helped her up. Then he opened the star map: "The bugs have dug a tunnel here. I have to blow this tunnel up. I don't have time to explain now, but I really can't take you with me. Sigh, why do you always run into these unlucky things?"

The news was so shocking that it took Shi Wei a long time to recover. The little robot beside her had already packed her luggage. Yi Lan, on the other hand, looked very relaxed: "Although I am a robber, I have to save the universe occasionally."

His communicator lit up, and he frowned. A few minutes later, his green eyes looked at Shi Wei again, like an old father sending his daughter to kindergarten for the first time, repeatedly instructing her: "Remember not to stop the jump. As long as the engine temperature does not indicate overheating, keep jumping. Don't worry about any aftereffects. Manra has plenty of Grandmasters who can heal you. If you run too slowly, the bugs will grab you and eat your brains off."

Shi Wei suppressed the urge to roll her eyes and nodded to indicate that she understood.

Seeing her looking like a wronged child, Yi Lan finally couldn't help but touch her face. Time was running out, so he asked, "Back in the Chaotic Starfield, you must have liked me too, right?"

Shi Wei was surprised that he still had the mind to ask such a pointless question at this time. She wanted to say, "Who would like a kidnapper like you?" but the necklace on her chest flashed, so she pretended to be perfunctory and said, "Yes, yes, I like you. I like you the most, okay?"

Yi Lan smiled, unconcerned by her perfunctory response, and gently kissed her forehead.

...

Sitting inside the B6 aircraft, Shi Wei looked at the necklace around her neck that kept flashing and felt that something was wrong.

After waiting for ten minutes without the exit opening, just as she was wondering what was going on, a stranger's voice came through the communication: "Miss Shi, please wait a moment. There's some trash on the ejection path. I've had a drone clean it up, and we'll eject you after that."

Inside the starship, Yi Lan stared in silence at the transmitted images. Their dozen or so starships were surrounded by a dense array of red dots.

At the same time, a nauseating spiritual force was gradually enveloping them.

This is a common tactic used by the Zerg; the psychological impact arrives before the Zerg arrive.

"Pause the ejection. The encirclement has just closed in. Try to break through from this position."

"Commander, we've found the Queen Worm! This is it. The energy fluctuations here are most consistent with the Queen Worm, but it's not far enough from us. If we use a Star Source Missile directly, we'll die too."

"Break through first—hmm?"

A communication request forcefully interrupted the conversation.

Yi Lan breathed a sigh of relief and answered the call immediately. As soon as the screen was clear, she said disdainfully, "You're too slow!"

Opposite him was King Sklag II, who had no intention of retaliating at the moment and asked, "Where is Shi Wei?"

Yi Lan rolled her eyes and rattled off, "Inside the spacecraft, I was just about to eject her when I realized we were surrounded. How much longer until you get there? I can only hold out for ten minutes at most. I've found the Queen Worm and sent you the coordinates. You should remember to bring the high-mass Star Source Missile, right? Hurry up, or we won't have time to collect our corpses!"

“I brought them,” the man opposite said. “But I only brought a thousand men. The main force is still on its way, and then… I’m followed by twenty thousand insects.”

The air on both sides seemed to freeze.

"Fuck your mother! What's the point of bringing a thousand people? Are you here for a spring outing?" Yi Lan cursed.

King Sklag II was also somewhat helpless. He was too hasty and led his elite troops in a series of jumps. Fortunately, he managed to jump just outside the Zerg encirclement.

Then they discovered that the Zerg were far more numerous than they had anticipated, and the large encirclement slowly turned into two medium-sized encirclements.

How much longer will your men be available?

Half an hour.

Yi Lan didn't want to talk about him anymore. Sklag II actually arrived very quickly, but he arrived too quickly, causing the main force to not catch up.

They are both now at risk of being caught in the crossfire.

After sharing the data, Yi Lan said, "You're safer over there because you have more people. I'll launch her out first, and you catch her."

"good."

Then Shi Wei received a call from Yi Lan: "Baby, are you there? Can you hear me?"

Shi Wei and His Majesty rolled their eyes at the same time.

King Sklag II watched as Yi Lan, while convincing Shi Wei, grinned at him.

Laugh all you want, he'll just pat his behind and run away as soon as he picks up Shi Wei.

Shi Wei didn't know why she only needed to jump once now, but she still obediently agreed.

"Baby, just confirm the ejection when I say goodbye. Don't be nervous, it's very simple." Yi Lan was putting on an act, but in reality, she was directing the starship to break free from the encirclement.

"Shut up!" Shi Wei finally couldn't stand the disgust anymore.

Yi Lan laughed heartily and confirmed the command: "Let's go!"

Shi Wei saw the exit open and she was ejected. In her hazy state, she heard Yi Lan's last words to her were—

"May Asta protect you, I am with you."

Precise calculations allowed the catapult to enter the pre-set flight path after launch, initiating a jump before the insects could react, successfully escaping the encirclement, and then being trapped by the "cage" launched by Sklag II.

Yi Lan let out a breath and said to the people around him, "Perfect! You guys will just jump out like this in a bit, and then Hela will spend some money to redeem you."

Someone sensed something was wrong: "Then what will you do?"

Yi Lan ignored him.

The ejection just now confirmed something: the Zerg's main target was him, who had the strongest mental power. Before Shi Wei jumped, only a few gray starships nearby moved, while the rest did not.

The King Worm has a morbid craving for the brains of those with strong mental abilities.

Scolag II, who had successfully received Shi Wei, finally breathed a sigh of relief. When he saw so many insects, he was filled with boundless fear. Fortunately, Yi Lan's skills were up to par, allowing them to hold out until now.

He touched Shi Wei's face and comforted her, "It's alright now."

Shi Wei threw herself into his arms, all her previous fear vanished, and at that moment she realized how much she depended on this man.

But the warm atmosphere was quickly shattered.

"What are they doing? Have they separated?"

"Are they courting death? With so few people, why are they splitting up? Are they running out of firepower and trying to run away? They didn't even say a word!"

"Holy crap, holy crap, release the cage right now!"

Shi Wei saw that Sklag II requested a communication, but the other end did not answer.

Fear spread from the soles of her feet to her heart, and a bad feeling crept into her mind.

Yi Lan's words suddenly popped into her mind—

"Even though I'm a robber, I have to save the universe every now and then."

While Manra was trying to break through the Zerg encirclement, she also had to release the cages to rescue people.

On the real-time monitoring screen transmitted by the detector, a huge red dot began to flash, and the corresponding energy index began to jump rapidly.

"Retreat!" That was the only decision they had time to make.

A massive shock swept everything away.

King Sklag II held Shi Wei tightly, enveloping her and everyone else with his spiritual power. The moment he saw Yi Lan, he understood what was going on in that one glance between them.

Several minutes passed before Manra's soldiers came to their senses; the shockwave from the Star Source Bomb nearly shattered their organs.

Shi Wei fainted immediately and was then stuffed into the repair chamber.

King Sklag II stared quietly at the huge red dot on the star map, which was the coordinate that Yi Lan had just provided.

His men shouted again:

"Not dead yet! The King Worm is not dead yet!"

"Damn it, how come it didn't die even after being blown up?"

"He probably didn't bring any heavy ones, otherwise the shockwave alone would have shattered us. What should we do, fire another one?!"

"What about Yi Lan?"

"What else can we do? The King Worm didn't move. It must have crept over and detonated at close range. He's probably not even left with any ashes!"

King Skolag II ended the argument: "He is a master of spiritual power, he may not be dead. Even if the hope is slim, we must go and look for him."

The main force finally arrived, and King Sklag II assigned Similan and another general to take over the task of suppressing the Zerg.

He personally led his men to kill the King Worm that wasn't quite dead yet, and also to see if he could find Yi Lan.

...

After the massive energy impact, the Queen's starship was blasted into pieces. It lay on a piece of debris, screaming shrilly, and summoned nearby Zerg to heal its wounds.

Amidst the chaos, the King Worm found the culprit, his subjects crawling on the unconscious human body, devouring it.

"Get out of the way! I want to eat its brains!"

Having suffered severe injuries, it needs nourishment even more.

It watched as its people dragged the mangled body over.

Its sharp mouthparts opened, and it maliciously jabbed the other's eye, causing the other to tremble.

It trembled slightly, perhaps from excitement.

Then it saw something emerge from its own chest.

It was a red claw, with noodle-like things pulsating on its tip. The king worm turned around and saw a red wolf, which was pulling out its abdominal nerve cord from the wound on its back and staring at it fiercely.

The enormous king insect crashed to the ground.

The red wolf cub, about half a person's height, whimpered and lay down on its master, licking his wounds.

Behind it, countless ferocious insects swarmed around, devouring the Queen Bee's body and then charging madly at it.

When Sklag II arrived, this scene of utter chaos unfolded before him.

-----------------------

Author's Note: Lan: Can't you fucking hurry up?!

Emperor: Say that again and I'm leaving.