Chapter 26: The Insectoid Nightmare

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Falling from such a height was dangerous enough.

Falling from such a height with dangerous insectoids in the sky made it even worse.

The thunderous beating of insectoid wings roared in her ears, while the stench of damp earth surged toward her.

A squadron of mechs was battling the Mosquitos in midair, clearing a path for the starships carrying the second and third squads.

The collisions between heavy weapons and the insects unleashed shock waves that sent Lianfei tumbling through the air as if she were trapped inside a washing machine.

Lianfei tried to summon her mech, but the relentless jolting and wrenching left her dizzy.

The alarms warning that her protective suit’s defensive field had been damaged blared without pause. Red light flashed before her eyes, all of it making painfully clear just how dangerous her situation was.

“Lianfei, you are now only ten thousand meters above the ground. I recommend that you summon your mech immediately. At this altitude, a fall would certainly be fatal.”

At Morningstar’s words, Lianfei felt both exasperated and amused.

As if she didn’t know she needed to summon her mech!

But did she have the chance to summon it?

Not only was her head spinning, she also felt like she was about to throw up.

Suddenly, a Mosquito seized Lianfei.

Before she could react, it had already carried her away from the battlefield.

Once she stopped spinning, Lianfei gradually recovered.

She looked up at the battlefield. A vast, oppressive mass of Mosquitos had surrounded the rescuing squad like a tornado.

Now and then, flashes of fire streaked through the swarm, followed by the explosions of shells.

Yet the Mosquitos seemed capable of appearing from thin air; their numbers never seemed to diminish.

Lianfei’s temples throbbed. She lowered her head and stared at the enormous claw gripping her waist, then raised her head again in confusion.

It was indeed a Mosquito.

She had not noticed before, but the creature actually had a pair of claws resembling chicken feet.

Where was it taking her?

Lianfei knocked on her own head, forcing herself to regain consciousness as quickly as possible.

She could not let it carry her away like this.

With that thought, she drew her laser pistol and fired twice at the Mosquito’s leg.

The Mosquito cried out in pain and released her.

Seizing the opportunity, Lianfei pulled out her mech pendant. In the next instant, a silver-white mech unfolded around her.

The moment it finished deploying, the mech spun around, the blades in both hands aimed at the Mosquito’s beak.

With a crisp slicing sound, the beak was severed cleanly from the creature’s head.

“Waa—!”

After that enormous cry of anguish, the Mosquito actually dissolved into ash.

Lianfei let out a breath of relief. But before she had fully exhaled, her sixth sense sent a chill down her spine.

Acting on instinct, she lunged forward.

That timely evasion allowed her to dodge a spike that shot up from the ground.

Lianfei’s eyes widened.

Had she failed to move, the spike would have pierced her from the soles of her feet straight through to her head!

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Lianfei looked down.

With the aid of her mech, she clearly saw something standing on the ground ten thousand meters below her.

It was a person.

No—calling it a person was incorrect.

The thing looked human. It had hair and a body.

But its eyes were black hollows, with no visible eyeballs.

Its limbs resembled those of an arthropod, segmented joint by joint.

From its spine up to its neck grew eight long, sharp legs, arranged with unnerving symmetry.

From a distance, it looked like a gigantic spider.

The corners of its mouth curved upward, forming a smile that was not quite a smile.

The clothing on its body—no, it could not really be called clothing. It was more like a shell shaped to resemble clothing, scattering flecks of golden light beneath the sun.

What was that thing?

Lianfei felt her scalp prickle.

The monster on the ground tilted its head. The eight legs behind it trembled, and several more sharp, needlelike spikes shot toward Lianfei.

She immediately raised her blade and cut the flying spikes down.

Hearing the metallic clangs, along with the weapon-damage warnings appearing on her screen, Lianfei formed her own assessment of how powerful those weapons were.

The thing on the ground was definitely no harmless opponent!

Seeing that its attack had failed, the monster tilted its head again. Its eight rear legs fired spikes at Lianfei with the rapidity of machine guns.

Afraid that her blades might shatter, Lianfei put them away and drew her gun. Dodging from side to side, she returned fire at the monster below.

The creature was astonishingly fast as well, and none of Lianfei’s attacks had the slightest effect.

Lianfei frowned and immediately raised the Thunderbolt, aiming it at the ground and unleashing a barrage.

A violent bombardment engulfed a circular area with a radius of one kilometer, centered on the monster.

Lianfei showed no mercy. She emptied the Thunderbolt’s entire supply of ammunition, a payload powerful enough to flatten the entire area.

Yet when the smoke cleared, an egg had appeared where the monster had stood.

No—not an egg.

Lianfei magnified the image.

It was the monster’s eight legs, wrapped tightly around its body!

After the bombardment ended, the eight legs slowly opened.

It was completely unharmed?

Lianfei drew in a sharp breath.

“What exactly is that thing?” she asked.

Morningstar immediately replied, “According to the database, it is one of the four S-rank insectoid retainers guarding the White Whale Star Mother Insect. The Federation has designated it Nightmare.”

Lianfei fell silent.

It truly was a nightmare.

S-rank?

An insectoid retainer?

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Why was it here?

Before Nightmare had fully emerged from the protection of its eight legs, Lianfei ignited every thruster and fled at maximum speed.

Anywhere was fine. She simply had to get away!

That thing was absolutely not an opponent she could fight!

“Morningstar, find somewhere safe. I need to rest,” Lianfei said.

She had only just escaped the tumbling descent through the sky and had not even caught her breath before running into an S-rank insectoid retainer.

Her head was throbbing as though it might explode. She needed a proper rest.

Soon, Morningstar delivered the news. “There is a farm to your southeast. According to the scan, there are no signs of life inside.”

Lianfei nodded and immediately flew toward the farm Morningstar had indicated.

After landing, she dismissed the mech. Her body went limp, and she collapsed onto the lawn.

The defensive power of her protective suit had fallen to twenty percent, but her weapons were still reasonably well supplied.

“Morningstar, keep watch for me. I need to rest,” Lianfei said between breaths.

“Defensive mode activated.”

As she gazed at the cloudless sky, Lianfei gradually calmed down.

She needed to sort through everything that had happened.

First, she had been thrown out.

In principle, the others had no personal grudge against her. There was no reason for them to kill her so ruthlessly.

Considering Lin Ying’s condition the last time Lianfei saw her—vomiting blood—it was certain that Lin Ying had done something.

If Lin Ying had acted alone, the recorder would have captured it, and she would certainly have been attacked by everyone else.

But now, every person aboard that starship was an accomplice. The whole matter would surely be glossed over collectively, like mud being smeared over a mess.

Lianfei felt that she could not return to those people. Going back now would be no different from walking straight into a wolf’s den.

At the very least, she had to wait until they completed their mission and were preparing to leave before she showed herself.

That would work out rather well. She could hide and avoid doing any work.

She would also have an explanation for the commander of the Tenth Sector Army and the chairman: it was not that she had refused to contribute. She had been sabotaged and thrown out before she had even begun.

Besides, she could use this opportunity to demand some compensation.

A mech, for instance.

The more she thought about it, the less Lianfei felt that being thrown out had been a loss.

“Morningstar, can you still contact the others?” Lianfei asked.

“I can only contact the teams currently on White Whale Star. I cannot contact anyone outside White Whale Star.”

“That will be enough.” Lianfei sat up. “When they have completed their mission and are preparing to leave, tell me. I’ll go meet them.”

Perhaps it was only her imagination, but after Lianfei said this, Morningstar seemed to freeze for an instant.

“Understood,” Morningstar replied.

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