TCPUAAV Chapter 67

 

The partially collapsed basement walls continued to tremble, the damaged section growing larger and larger until the entire wall crumbled away. Beyond it, an overwhelming swarm of Zergs was revealed.

 

Countless pairs of glowing red compound eyes locked onto the cubs in the basement.

 

These enormous, grotesque creatures were ones they had only ever seen in frontline war reports. Now, facing them directly, they truly understood the terror of the Zerg race.

 

A single Zerg was not enough to break one’s will to resist, but tens of thousands of them could.

 

The sheer, gut-wrenching sensation of being stared at by innumerable compound eyes alone was enough to shatter the resolve of an ordinary person.

 

The teacher standing at the front, holding a firearm, instinctively took half a step back. His arms trembled slightly, but he gritted his teeth, refusing to retreat further.

 

The cubs huddled together, so terrified that they couldn’t even cry.

 

Only the little mermaid and the little fox remained composed, assuming battle stances and glaring fiercely at the Zergs.

 

The lead Zerg waved its segmented limbs and stepped forward, lowering its menacing head. Its razor-sharp mouthparts emitted a low, hissing sound.

 

“If the basement collapses, run,” the teacher said grimly. “Run with everything you have, and don’t look back.”

 

A desperate fight might buy the children a chance to escape; otherwise, not a single one of them would make it out alive.

 

The teacher, an ancient human who taught Galactic Common Language, reached for the only grenade he had. He clenched his jaw, preparing to pull the pin—But suddenly, someone tugged at his arm.

 

His movement stalled, and when he turned around, he saw that the one pulling him was Ruan Jiao.

 

This was a quiet child, extremely introverted, who had only recently learned to speak.

 

The teacher was about to tell him to get back when Ruan Jiao took another step forward.

 

The antennae on his forehead, which had been twitching restlessly, now stood rigidly upright. His dark red eyes deepened in color, locking onto the terrifying Zergs with an unwavering gaze.

 

His movements were still slow, his strides not particularly large, yet the Zerg horde—poised to attack just moments ago—seemed inexplicably intimidated. They waved their segmented limbs hesitantly, retreating step by step, their motions carrying an unmistakable sense of alarm.

 

Ruan Jiao walked all the way to the front, standing alone against the vast Zerg army. A raspy, broken hiss escaped his throat.

 

If one listened closely, they would realize that the frequency and rhythm of his sound were strikingly similar to those of the Zergs.

 

The lead Zerg partially reared up, its limbs thrashing. It seemed ready to strike several times but hesitated, as if fearing something, unable to make a move.

 

The small, frail child stood tall at the front. His gaze held no trace of fear, on the contrary, it carried an air of superiority, as if he were looking down on them from above.

 

“This… he’s…” The teachers were shocked beyond words. Seeing the Zergs frozen in place, even showing faint signs of retreat, they quickly fell silent.

 

Seizing the opportunity, they sent a distress signal to the surface and began lifting the cubs out through the back window one by one.

 

Some of the Zergs noticed the movement and attempted to circle around for pursuit, but Ruan Jiao let out another sharp, piercing cry.

 

In an instant, the pursuing Zergs dropped to the ground, limbs thrashing in struggle but unable to move.

 

At that moment, the rescue team finally arrived.

 

Lansing and Rong Heng entered at the same time, exchanging a glance before turning back-to-back to start clearing out the immobilized Zergs.

 

“Jiao Jiao! Let’s go!” The little fox, seeing the situation turn, rushed forward to grab Ruan Jiao, who stood unmoving. But as soon as the fox reached him, Ruan Jiao’s entire body went limp and collapsed.

 

Startled, the little fox quickly caught him, half-carrying and half-dragging him toward the window.

 

The little mermaid followed closely, anxiously spinning in circles but unable to help, biting his lips so hard that they bled.

 

Fortunately, the teachers who had been helping the cubs escape were now free to assist. One of them took the exhausted Ruan Jiao and handed him out through the window. The three young ones followed, swiftly retreating with the teachers.

 

The basement, now packed with Zergs, would not hold much longer before collapsing.

 

As he continued to clear out the Zergs, Rong Heng spoke to Lansing, “Why didn’t you leave?”

 

“I did, but I ran into a swarm along the way.”

 

According to their plan, Lansing was supposed to leave B3024 and disappear for a while, creating the illusion that he had been ambushed and kidnapped. Later, at an opportune moment, he would “escape” from his supposed captors and return to Sijialan.

 

As for who had killed Wright and who was now hunting him, both he and Rong Heng had already reached a consensus.

 

It was none other than the new emperor, Siyan.

 

With the crown prince dead, the Ymir bloodline was now completely eradicated.

 

Even though Siyan had the title of Regent and had secured his throne by marrying Thea Barth, thereby gaining the support of the elder Barth, the royal family was undeniably in decline.

 

Before, with the Ymir clan in power, the merfolk and nine-tailed fox clans had no choice but to suppress their grievances.

 

But now, with an ancient human sitting on the throne, they had no reason to hold back.

 

The conflict between the three ancient clans and the new emperor was showing signs of escalating, with the merfolk being the most overt in their opposition. Pushing Siyan forward as the scapegoat would ensure that Sijialan wouldn’t suspect anything, on the contrary, they might even be pleased to have yet another reason to oppose his government.

 

Lansing had originally planned to leave B3024 today and hide out on some remote planet for a while. However, just as his shuttle took off, it collided with a swarm of Zergs.

 

Realizing the danger, he immediately headed to the repair shop, only to find it completely empty. And when he saw the Zerg army swarming toward the cubs’ school, he knew where he had to go.

 

“Since I’m already here, might as well help with the Zerg extermination.”

 

A deep, resonant dragon roar echoed from above. Hector, who had been fending off the ground forces alongside the young dragon, shouted in frustration, “You have time to chat, but not to kill Zergs? Get your asses up here!”

 

“This is all yours.” Rong Heng smacked aside a few more Zergs before leaping back to the surface.

 

Lansing cleared out the remaining Zergs underground. Seeing that some of them were still trying to burrow down, he smirked coldly, pulled out a torpedo, and tossed it into the swarm.

 

With a thunderous explosion, the Zergs—and the entire basement—were obliterated.

 

Sheathing his blade, Lansing quickly chased after the evacuating cubs.

 

Halfway through their escape, the exhausted Ruan Jiao woke up. Some of the more terrified cubs had already frozen in place, unable to run. The three teachers each carried one child while urging the others forward, trying to keep everyone together.

 

Ruan Jiao struggled to his feet, refusing to let the teachers carry him any longer. His strength had barely returned, and he wasn’t running fast, so the little fox and the little mermaid each took one of his hands and helped him keep pace at the back of the group.

 

Nota’s ears twitched warily. She kept encouraging Ruan Jiao while keeping a sharp eye on their surroundings. As they rounded a corner, she suddenly stopped dead in her tracks and turned to look behind them.

 

Her ten fluffy tails drooped slightly in tension.

 

The little fox stepped in front of the two cubs, baring her teeth in a fierce snarl.

 

From the shadows emerged the Zerg that had been trailing them, its razor-sharp pincers clacking as it advanced.

 

Ruan Jiao let out a warning hiss, trying to intimidate it, but his feelers hung limply over his forehead, drained of strength.

 

And this Zerg was far larger than any they had encountered before. Its deadly pincers gleamed coldly as it ignored Ruan Jiao’s warning and continued to approach, one deliberate step at a time.

 

The antennae on its forehead twitched slightly, exuding an air of absolute confidence, it was certain these three cubs were already its prey.

 

Nota unsheathed her claws, tensing her hind legs. A low growl rumbled from her throat.

 

Her usually cool silver eyes were gradually tinged with red.

 

The towering Zerg fixed its gaze on her. The moment she lunged, it struck out with its bladed pincers.

 

At the same time, the little fox’s ten tails flared like a raging fire, and she bit down fiercely at the weakest joint of its pincer—Crack!

 

The little fox had bitten clean through the hardened chitin, severing the massive claw.

 

The Zerg let out an enraged screech, thrashing its limbs in a frenzy, hellbent on killing the audacious youngling.

 

Yet Nota didn’t back down an inch.

 

She stood her ground, golden eyes narrowed, and spat out blood and broken teeth, but her presence remained unwavering.

 

Meanwhile, the little mermaid had pulled Ruan Jiao behind a pillar, his small hands gripping the miniature energy pistol his father had given him.

 

Taking a deep breath, he aimed carefully at the Zerg’s vulnerable eye—

 

Bang!

 

A beam of searing energy shot out, striking the Zerg’s compound eye.

 

The creature let out a deafening shriek, driven into a frenzied rage by the pain.

 

It swung its remaining claw viciously at the little fox. As she dodged, two of its poised limbs lashed out simultaneously.

 

This time, she couldn’t escape in time.

 

The sharp limb stabbed into her abdomen, sending her crashing against the wall.

 

Scarlet blood splattered onto the cold ground.

 

The little fox collapsed weakly, her breath shallow.

 

The little mermaid’s eyes turned red, but he gritted his teeth, firing shot after shot in desperation.

 

Yet this time, the Zerg was prepared. It dodged the incoming energy blasts and lunged toward the two remaining cubs—The shadow of the Zerg grew larger in the little mermaid’s widening blue eyes.

 

His arms trembled, his palms burning from the overheated energy pistol. The recoil had numbed his fingers, but even so, he instinctively shielded Ruan Jiao behind him.

 

Never before had he hated his own weakness so much.

 

If… if only he were as strong as 074, then he could protect Nota and Ruan Jiao.

 

Clenching his teeth, the little mermaid forced his fingers to tighten around the pistol, desperately trying to aim.

 

But in just a few breaths, the Zerg had already reached them, raising its bladed limbs—

 

“This ends now.” Lansing’s voice suddenly rang out.

 

A single stroke of his Tang Dao sword[mfn]So it’s a chinese sword, it’s single edged and very smooth with a sharp end.[/mfn] cleanly severed the Zerg’s head.

 

The massive corpse collapsed, kicking up a cloud of dust.

 

The little mermaid’s eyes widened. There was no time to feel relief for escaping death, he immediately grabbed the small transport cart and rushed over to check on Nota.

 

Her condition was dire. She had already lost consciousness, and the wound in her abdomen was still bleeding profusely.

 

The little mermaid had read about emergency first-aid methods in books. Forcing himself to stay calm, he took off his shirt and tried to recall the steps as he wrapped it around her wound to stop the bleeding.

 

Lansing stood behind him but made no move to help.

 

“Do you not despise your own uselessness?”

 

He tapped the small transport cart that assisted the youngling’s mobility and sneered, “The merfolk are no weaker than any other species, even if we are artificially created merfolk. But your weakness? It keeps you from unleashing even a fraction of your kind’s potential.”

 

His gaze shifted to the dying little fox.

 

“Even a low-class, mixed-blood nine-tailed fox is stronger than you.”

 

“Staying a helpless child forever may let you escape many things, but when you, or those beside you, are in danger, you are utterly powerless.”

 

“Do you truly want to spend your whole life as a fragile cub, always in need of protection?”

 

His voice dipped lower, laced with a quiet, insidious temptation.

 

The little mermaid’s hands froze mid-motion.

 

Then, he slowly turned to look at Lansing.

 

His sapphire-blue eyes were now as cold as the older mermaid’s.

 

He didn’t want that.

 

 

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I don’t feel good o(〒﹏〒)o all of this is too much stress for my heart

 

Thanks for reading!

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