Loss of mental strength

Mu Xiao fastened his sleeves and trouser legs, put on his gas mask, exchanged glances with the other three, and then stepped into the dense forest in unison. He glanced at Michael, who had temporarily joined them, and asked one last time, "Are you sure you want to go in with us?"

Michael clenched the thing in his hand, put it in his pocket like a treasure, and nodded firmly as if he was taking an oath.

The bright moonlight filtered through the mist, pouring down among the lush greenery. The seemingly tranquil environment only heightened the four's vigilance. Silence was a trap for dormant beasts, and relaxation was a prelude to being eaten.

"Wait, these trees are moving." Morse keenly noticed the abnormality and reminded.

The others stopped moving and moved closer to the inner circle with their backs pressed together. The bushes seemed to be tracking and capturing their real-time movements. Sensing their actions, they unconcealedly sped up their movement and surrounded the four insects in a circle. At the same time, countless vines grew wildly behind the trees, reaching straight into the sky and covering the sky.

"Ahahaha, looks like I'm going to be kept like a caged insect." Mu Xiao made an inappropriate joke. As soon as he finished speaking, the metal bone wings broke through the layer of flesh covering his shoulder blades and spread out like they were exposed to the sun again. He leaped towards the tree trunk, using the force to spread his wings and fly towards the clear sky.

The vine guessed the female insect's intention and extracted sap from the roots. Suddenly, a sticky substance condensed on the smooth vine. Mu Xiao smiled slightly, grabbed the sticky vine with his bare hands, and tore it to both sides.

The moment his palm touched the vine, the flesh burst open and a faint smell of burning spread. He was like a machine without any sense of pain. Even though his flesh and blood had become blurred, he still maintained his original movements without moving a muscle.

The moment the blood stained the green vine, it curled up and retreated back to the roots of the tree as if corroded. Mu Xiao, having grasped the information, did not linger in the fight. He leaned over and landed beside Ruo Wen, and began to report: "The secretions of the vine are corrosive and afraid of blood."

The skin and flesh that was burned by Mu Xiao grew back rapidly, visibly to the naked eye. Although the female insect had extraordinary recovery ability, its recovery ability was too strange. Except for Ruowen, the other two insects were so shocked that they were speechless.

Morse understood why Ruowen had to bring the wooden flute. For such a dangerous mission, he not only needed a reliable companion, but also a tool that was not afraid of death.

Michael didn't understand this reckless vehemence. He grabbed Mu Xiao's wrist and forced him to look at him. He looked into those dark green eyes, like a lake that would never ripple. "You are not immortal. Don't care about your life."

Mu Xiao put his arm around Michael's shoulders and said jokingly, "Don't worry, I'm invincible."

As the night deepened, visibility in the dense forest decreased, so the few of them decided to stay where they were. The three female insects took turns to watch guard at night. When it was Mu Xiao's turn to take over from Ruo Wen, Ruo Wen did not go to rest immediately.

"I know you want to leave the desolate planet, but your fate and mine have already been planned. If I help you leave here under cover, my lord will be in danger." Ruowen hesitated for a while, but still said what was in his heart.

Mu Xiao shook his head and didn't respond.

On the first day his soul traveled to the Zerg, he was soaking in a nutrition cabin, watching his body being filled with tubes, and clearly feeling his skin and flesh being cut open and being disassembled and reassembled by cold machinery.

At that time, his worldview collapsed, and he spent some time in a daze. When he woke up, he had already been subtly influenced by some Zerg ideas.

The overwhelming number of female insects seemed to have been trapped in a cage of obedience since they were in their eggshells. Mu Xiao's "human" thoughts were eroded bit by bit, and he actually felt that it was normal to lose his freedom and become a tool without his own opinion. But the dramatic thing was that he met a female insect who helped him regain his "humanity".

Having a legal identity and staying on the main planet proves that the previous life was not a dream, and becoming the real Mu Xiao, not the female insect "Mu Xiao".

But the real leather feel of the punishment ring on his neck made him realize his situation. Only a crazy and retaliatory fight could help him temporarily forget the wounds in his bones.

Mu Xiao had no way to blame any of the insects because they were all deeply imprisoned and had lost themselves.

The two insects, each with their own thoughts, stayed together in silence until dawn.

Mu Xiao drank a tube of nutrient solution and asked about the physical condition of the other insects. Seeing that there was no problem, he continued to go deeper into the dense forest. Dense vines covered the land. After being trampled, the green juice seeped into the soil and nourished the roots of the young shoots. This cycle repeated endlessly.

But this time the vines did not attack actively. Someone did it on purpose last night.

Soon, their attention was drawn to the scene before them: a huge object like a green cicada pupa hung from the branches of a towering ancient tree.

When the insects got closer to take a look, they found that it was an oval object made of densely woven vines. Michael pulled out the dagger tied to his waist and stabbed it in, but the vines were extremely tough and as the tip of the knife sank in, there was no damage at all, and it was impossible to see what was inside.

Mu Xiao signaled Michael to move aside. He bit his fingertip and smeared the gushing blood on the vine wall. Suddenly, the vine lost water and shrank, and the cracks stretched out to form holes. A peaceful sleeping face then jumped into Mu Xiao's sight.

He suppressed his inner surprise and tremblingly touched the male insect's long silver-white hair. At the moment when he grabbed Alred's shoulders and was about to pull him out of the "cicada pupa", the vines suddenly sprang up and pierced Mu Xiao's back from behind while they were not paying attention.

Mu Xiao gritted his teeth, forced himself to swallow the bloody taste rising from his stomach, gathered his strength and pulled out Alred. As the male insect fell from the green cocoon, the vines broke into fine powder and scattered.

Alred slowly opened his eyes and saw his own reflection in the dark green.

He opened his arms and hugged Mu Xiao's waist, feeling a sticky liquid. He groped upwards along the liquid, and a small hole was poked in the female insect's back. He tried to concentrate his mind and gather his spiritual tentacles to help Mu Xiao heal, but he received no spiritual response. He glanced at the long silver-white hair at his temples, and the answer was obvious.

When the male insect's mental strength is exhausted, its life will decline faster. The hair turning silver is the first sign of aging. He has become a complete waste.

Mu Xiao noticed something was wrong. He curled his silver hair with his fingers and said approvingly with a smile, "This hair color really complements your pigeon-blood gemstone-like eyes. But let me heal you first. You feel too young to see me."

Ruowen guessed that the silver-haired insect in front of him was the "sub-female cousin" that Mu Xiao mentioned. Although he was curious, he still snatched Mu Xiao back from his insect's arms and let Morse treat him.

After making sure everything was alright, Mu Xiao, at the suggestion of the other three insects, asked Alred what happened in the dense forest. Alred told them without reservation that the tree secretions were corrosive and that the vines could extract mental power.

The insects were silent for a while. Mu Xiao, combining everything that happened last night, began to list the information he had so far: "The vines parasitize on the roots of trees. They can control trees, suck sap, and drain the male insects' mental energy. The vines' movements seem to be controlled, but what's the point of draining the male insects' mental energy for them?"

There are many doubts, and they need to collect more evidence to support the truth.

Alred pulled down some rhizomes and vines to tie up his cascading silver hair. He looked indifferently at the four insects who were chatting and laughing. He stood abruptly beside them, looking out of place.

Recovering his spiritual power was the most important thing, but he still reluctantly glanced at Mu Xiao one last time. The female insect smiled and seemed to notice the gaze on her. She grabbed his shoulders and said, "Come with us. You have lost your spiritual power. It is too dangerous for you to be alone. And your loss of spiritual power is likely related to what we are looking for. We will help you find it."

Ruowen sneered a few times, and he rolled his eyes without giving her face, distancing himself from the matter and saying, "It's you, not us."

"Don't worry about it. I'm the boss and I listen to you."

"Tsk, how shameless."

While his companions were resting, Ruowen approached Mu Xiao and said bluntly, "Who is he? Can we trust him?"

"It's a male insect, fine." Mu Xiao always liked to play dumb. He automatically ignored the insect's sinister look and pulled Michael who was passing by: "Here's the nutrient solution. Come on, come on, you're welcome."

Michael, who was carrying a large bag of nutrient solution, didn't understand, but Mu Xiao must have his reasons for doing so.

Ruowen used the optical computer to transmit the information he had obtained to the main star. Although he had gained a lot, he felt inexplicably uneasy in his heart. He placed his hand on the back of the Xiongzhu's hand, hoping to seek spiritual guidance, but his hand was in vain when it was about to touch him.

He turned his head in confusion, his pupils suddenly dilated. An extremely thin and narrow vine had strangled Morse's neck at some point, and it was difficult to see under the cover of his blond hair unless he looked closely.

Morse retreated following the vines. Seeing that Ruowen's face was pale, he forced a smile to comfort the emotionally unstable female insect.

The others turned their attention to this scene and couldn't help but hold their breath. Ruowen's throat tightened and he struggled to utter a few words: "Mu Xiao...save him..."

He didn't want to trouble Mu Xiao for everything, but the thought that his lover might die in his hands made his hands and feet go cold and his heart was filled with fear.

Mu Xiao understood. He cut his palm and dripped blood onto the silk-like vines hidden in the void. However, this time the green vines did not burn away as expected. After letting go of Morse, the vines turned in another direction and attacked Mu Xiao's neck.

"Be careful!" Michael quickly pushed Mu Xiao away and stood in front of him. Warm blood splashed on Mu Xiao's face in a flash of lightning. Michael's body swayed like a kite with a broken string and fell to the ground.

Mu Xiao's legs lost strength uncontrollably. He fell to his knees and slowly crawled to Michael's side. Tears blurred his vision and Michael's face. He lay on the gradually stiffening and cold body. His peripheral vision noticed Michael's right hand. He pried open the clenched fist, and inside it lay an old pheromone blocker.

It seemed as if a thread in his brain was broken, and the accumulated emotions were like a flood that broke through the dam, making it difficult for him to breathe. He picked up the blocker with his trembling hands and burst into tears.

Was he wrong? He shouldn't have given the insect any extra care, which had cost the old pheromone blocker a life.

"Ahaha, what a show it was."

The sound of ridicule broke the mourning, and all the insects looked towards the source of the sound, but after just one glance, they looked away in disgust. The newcomer's yellow-brown skin was covered with dense white bumps, and the tops of the bumps were black, like countless eyes staring straight ahead.

"What are the Toad Tribe doing here on the Zerg's desolate planet?" Ruowen took the initiative.

Toad Ktor fiddled with the young vine sprout in his hand, grinning, revealing his cold white teeth: "Of course it's for fun, what an interesting show, so touching, hahahaha!"

A flash of white light appeared in front of Ktor and pierced his eyeball neatly. He screamed in pain, covered his left eye in disbelief, and glared fiercely at the culprit - a female insect with green eyes and brown hair.

He screamed like a madman and manipulated the young vines. Countless silk-like vines emerged from the roots of the young vines and consciously rushed towards Mu Xiao. The other three insects took out their weapons and tried their best to defend Mu Xiao.

But Mu Xiao didn't move at all. He looked coldly at the vine wrapped around his wrist, spread his bone wings, and forcibly broke off a sharp corner. He had originally been prepared for death, but miraculously he managed to cut the vine.

He waved his wing sword and directly forced back the attacking vines. Ktor was both surprised and happy. He looked at Mu Xiao's bone wings greedily and vowed to steal half of the bone wings next time.

Mu Xiao saw through his thoughts. He sneered and swung the winged sword in his hand into a beautiful sword flower. When Ktor was about to escape, he teleported behind him, inserted the winged sword into his neck, and said lightly: "This is for you."

Ktor made a few "ho ho" sounds and fell to the ground. Mu Xiao was about to pick up the young vine shoots, but they were blown away by the sudden wind. He did not chase them, but just quietly looked at the direction of the wind.

He closed his eyes tiredly and let his body lean back, only to fall into a warm embrace. The cold hair hanging on the side of his face told the owner of his embrace: "I'm tired, Alred."

Crystal tears wet the thick eyelashes and rolled down the corners of the eyes onto Alred's sleeves. There were too many complicated emotions that were difficult to express and could only turn into tears.

Mu Xiao was not present when Michael was buried. He sat far away, found a lakeside and sat quietly, putting himself out of the matter.

Ruowen didn't dare to face Mu Xiao directly. It was his impatience that led to this situation. Mu Xiao also didn't dare to face Michael directly, for fear of another emotional breakdown.

In less than half a day, the atmosphere within the team had reached its lowest point. Alred, sitting next to Ruo Wen, rarely spoke: "Why is Mu Xiao's body mechanism so unusual? Who taught him how to fight?"