7: Chapter 7: Prospecting Begins, First Encounter with the Zerg

The wind had just picked up.

It didn't come from the sky, but crawled out from underground, clinging to the rock layers, carrying a scent of rust mixed with rotting soil. The wind wasn't cold; instead, it was sticky, feeling like insects crawling on one's neck.

Chen Wuwang stood at the entrance of the mineral vein, his long silver hair blown back by the turbid wind. He didn't move; his right thumb habitually tapped the hilt of the dagger at his waist twice—clack, clack—the sound wasn't loud, but everyone in the team heard it.

This was the signal.

Move forward.

The prospecting team of over thirty people moved their feet again. Boot soles crushed the gravel, making a fine creaking sound. No one spoke. Even their breathing was suppressed, as if afraid of startling something.

The mouth of the mineral vein was pitch black, like a toothless mouth. After a dozen steps inside, the light could no longer hold. In places where the dawn couldn't reach, only a few Spiritual Energy Lamps hung on shoulders, their dim yellow halos sweeping across the rock walls, reflecting wet moss and winding cracks.

Chen Xiaodao walked at the front side, sword unsheathed, but his hand rested on the hilt, his knuckles white from tension. His ears twitched slightly, and he suddenly raised his hand, fingers splayed—the whole team stopped instantly.

"Patriarch." He whispered extremely low, the words squeezed through his teeth, "There's movement."

Chen Wuwang paused, his left mechanical eye silently switching to thermal imaging mode. In his vision, the temperature distribution map on the rock wall flashed by—normal. But in the next second—

Overhead!

A shadow suddenly peeled away from the rock crevice above, its speed so fast it didn't seem biological, but rather like a whole rock had suddenly exploded!

"Scatter!" Chen Wuwang shouted decisively, having already retreated three steps, while drawing his dagger to block his neck.

Boom!

Gravel fell like rain, mixed with a piercing friction sound—the sound of carapaces scraping against rock. Immediately after, dozens of insect shadows descended from the sky, pouncing as soon as they landed, their sharp teeth drawing silver lines in the dim light, lunging straight at the two closest clansmen!

Gold-Eating Insects!

Their bodies were pitch black, carapaces gleaming with a cold metallic light, limbs like blades, and rotating serrated teeth could be seen inside their open mouthparts. They weren't rushing blindly; they were flanking! In groups of three, forming a triangular formation, they blocked the paths of retreat, forcing people back into the deeper mining tunnels.

"Uncle Tiezhu!" Chen Wuwang's voice rang out, his pupils shrinking, "Use the Modified Iron Pickaxe!"

"Understood!" A roar came from the right.

Chen Tiezhu had already swung that newly Modified Iron Pickaxe. The head was a circle larger than usual, with three runes carved on the front, currently buzzing and vibrating with flowing spiritual light. He gripped the handle with both hands and swept it out forcefully—

"Clang!"

Sparks flew everywhere!

A Gold-Eating Insect was hit in the flank, its carapace shattering on the spot, black blood spraying out with a pungent stench. Yet it didn't die; its broken legs twitched as it tried to crawl, while another immediately took its place, lunging straight for Chen Tiezhu's face!

"Get lost!" he cursed, pushing back with a backhand strike, the back of the pickaxe slamming into the insect's head, forcefully pinning it into a rock crevice.

"This pickaxe head is really something!" He grinned, some insect blood still staining the gaps between his teeth.

On the left, Chen Xiaodao had already drawn his sword.

The sword light flashed and vanished, so fast it left only an afterimage. A Gold-Eating Insect pouncing toward Chen Wuwang's shoulder had its head severed clean off, its corpse rolling to the ground. He didn't move his feet; the tip of his sword trembled slightly, pointing toward a rock crevice to the rear right: "Rear right cleared."

Chen Wuwang glanced out of the corner of his eye and nodded.

He didn't look at the insect corpses on the ground but stared at the crevice overhead—it was too neat, as if it had been propped open from the inside by something. His mechanical eye scanned quickly, locking onto a protruding rock corner on the upper left.

There, one was different.

It was nearly half as large, with a dark silver carapace and hooked spines at the ends of its six legs. It was crouched high up, its antennae swaying slightly, as if... observing.

The Leader Insect.

It wasn't in a hurry to charge, nor did it join the swarm in the slaughter; instead, it stayed there, as if waiting for something.

Chen Wuwang smiled, the corners of his mouth curling to reveal pearly white teeth.

"Waiting for me to give the order?" he whispered to himself, his right hand slowly rising, his dagger pointing diagonally at the ground, "You certainly know the rules."

Before he finished speaking, the Leader Insect suddenly looked up, its compound eyes locking onto him.

Now!

"Xiao Dao! Flank blockade! Uncle Tiezhu, don't let them crawl along the walls!" Chen Wuwang barked. With a kick, he shot out like an arrow, heading straight for the open space in the center of the mining tunnel.

The battle broke out completely.

The insect swarm no longer dispersed but collectively turned, pressing in to surround the three of them. On the ground, walls, and ceiling, there were rustling sounds everywhere, as if the entire mountain was squirming.

Chen Tiezhu roared as he swung his pickaxe, each strike bringing down gravel and severed limbs. He stood firm like an iron tower, forcefully blocking the right passage. But there were more and more insects; several circled behind him, climbing the rock walls to dive down.

"Old man, stop acting tough!" Chen Xiaodao shouted coldly. His sword light suddenly surged, a move called "Flow Severance" cutting horizontally. Three Gold-Eating Insects that had just leaped down were sliced in half, their internal organs spilling everywhere.

Before he even landed steadily, he tapped his left foot, spun, and stabbed again, piercing a larva attacking from a blind spot.

"Thanks." Chen Tiezhu caught his breath, wiping the insect fluid from his face.

"Cut the chatter." Blood dripped from Chen Xiaodao's sword tip as he stared intently at the new wave of approaching insect shadows. "Even if ten more come, I can chop them down."

Chen Wuwang stood in the center, dagger in hand, but had not yet made a move. His left eye constantly refreshed thermal imaging data while his right eye scanned the field. The swarm's movements were regular, not a blind rush, but a tentative suppression—they were looking for a weakness.

He was waiting.

Waiting for an opportunity.

The Leader Insect was still high up, the frequency of its antennae swaying had changed, as if it had received some kind of instruction. It slowly raised its forelimbs, and a trace of silver-gray slime seeped from the gaps in its carapace, slowly sliding down the rock wall.

Chen Wuwang's pupils shrank.

That was the signal.

"Prepare—" He was about to give the order when he suddenly felt a tremor beneath his feet.

It wasn't an earthquake.

It was a spiritual array.

The Hybrid Energy Conduction System set up last night was resonating slightly underground. Energy flow was normal, nodes were stable, but the feedback frequency showed a minor fluctuation—someone had triggered the warning zone.

Not from the front.

From the rear.

He turned his head sharply.

Deep in the mining tunnel, in that unprospected darkness, more vibrations came, the rhythm eerie, like... footsteps.

But he didn't move.

He couldn't panic.

If they retreated now, the whole team would collapse. If they backed off now, all previous preparations would be in vain. He gritted his teeth, his fingernails digging into the old scars on his palm; the pain kept him clear-headed.

"Xiao Dao!" he barked, "Watch the front! Uncle Tiezhu, don't look back!"

The two didn't ask why and responded immediately. Chen Xiaodao's swordplay grew tighter, and Chen Tiezhu's pickaxe danced in a wheel of light, forcefully suppressing the frontal swarm so they didn't dare approach.

Chen Wuwang, however, quietly pressed his left hand to the ground.

The moment his fingertips touched the rock layer, the Micro-sensor Circuit activated. Three seconds later, the data returned—fifty zhang to the rear, six high-temperature points were rapidly approaching at a medium speed in a straight trajectory, neither dodging nor avoiding, as if... they weren't afraid of the spiritual array.

They weren't insects.

At least, not ordinary Gold-Eating Insects.

He narrowed his eyes, the three claw marks on his right face faintly burning.

"The show begins," he murmured softly, the corners of his mouth turning up, like a hunter seeing prey step into a second trap.

He slowly stood straight, holding his dagger across his chest, his mechanical eye locking onto the Leader Insect overhead.

"Your Broodmother sent you to your deaths?" He sneered, "Fine."

"I'll take them."

As the words fell, he suddenly raised his right hand—

The insect swarm suddenly accelerated!

The Leader Insect kicked off with its legs, leaping down from the heights and lunging straight at him!

Chen Tiezhu roared and met it, his iron pickaxe bringing a gale; Chen Xiaodao's sword light was like a ribbon of silk, sealing the flanks; Chen Wuwang stood his ground, his dagger unmoved, but his eyes were already locked onto that silver-gray figure.

The battle erupted in full.

Insect blood splattered, the rock walls were stained black, and the mining tunnel echoed with the piercing sounds of metal clashing and carapaces shattering. Firelight, bloodlight, and spiritual light intertwined, making the three of them look like ghosts or gods.

Chen Tiezhu was already covered in black insect fluid, his right sleeve torn, revealing the modified mechanical elbow joint underneath, which emitted a low hum with every swing.

Chen Xiaodao's breathing was slightly hurried, but his swordplay became increasingly fierce, each strike precisely hitting the weak points of the insectoid joints, clearly the result of prior study.

Chen Wuwang still hadn't moved.

He was waiting.

Waiting for the true threat to emerge from the depths of the darkness.