I am a reincarnation player.

It was extremely disgusting. The broken walls and ruins were covered with purple-black fungal mats, and only the outlines of the buildings could be roughly seen. Outside the settlement was a forest and a small river that had long dried up.

Everything I stepped on and touched with my hands felt slippery, like touching greasy skin with dense blood vessels wriggling on it.

The group of people were not in a hurry to explore forward. The information that the fungal mat would not attract swarms of insects was from the defense forces, and it was difficult to tell whether it was true or not.

Everyone could only smell the stench, wait there for several hours, and then conduct various experiments on the fungal blanket.

The fungal mat was chopped off by knives, shot by guns, and burned by fire, but no insect came to check the situation.

"It seems that the warning function of this thing is really useless to players." Yuki put away the knife. According to the defense forces, this is a DNA collector that only works on specific people.

After all, this planet still has storms and frost. If the Zerg is too sensitive, it will not be able to do anything. The defense forces only need to send a few people to shoot down from the wall and ambush with heavy firepower to collect heads.

"There's another possibility. The swarm is setting a trap to lure us deeper." Hayasaka Ai said silently, but was interrupted by Levi before she could explain.

"That means there is a traitor among us who passed information to the Zerg."

Those dead fish eyes swept over everyone, then walked down the hill silently.

"Let's go, let's find a bug first." Yuki followed and waved his hand: "Without the surveillance of the defense forces, we can explore the secrets."

There were no biologists present, and there was no need to figure out the living environment of the insect swarm. They needed to find specimens and study them carefully.

The group walked down the hillside. The large purple-red buildings provided the best cover. The settlement was not big, with only a dozen houses, but they didn't see a single bug as they walked through the building area.

It seems that the swarm is not as large as I thought.

Yuuki looked around. He really thought that there was an endless sea of ​​insects outside the wall, but he didn't even see the shadow of an insect, so he focused more on Levi.

This captain was originally at the extreme human level at best, but now he moves at an extremely fast speed. He disappears from sight if you're not paying attention, and reappears after a while. Then he becomes alert to everything around him and lies on the ground listening like a hound.

"He's very professional." Mai whispered, and she didn't need to do anything.

"We're natural scouts, proving that Lady Smile has high hopes for us." With someone paving the way, Yuki was happy to have some free time. "Of the four teams going beyond the walls this time, ours is the most trustworthy."

If they don't trust each other, how can they dare to go deep outside the wall? I guess the other three teams are fighting wits and courage.

"To be more precise, I have high expectations of you," the senior corrected her, lowering her voice. "I saw the Goshawk refueling last night."

"Don't be pretentious, just tell me directly."

"A transport plane brought an iron box and replaced the Goshawk's original fuel rods and took them away."

Is it really just replacing the battery?

Yuuki was a little disappointed, which was normal.

"Don't worry, I walked closer and saw a huge jade stone inside the iron box, but it's different from the one Hayasaka took out." Mai secretly glanced at Levi in ​​the distance and lowered her voice.

"The stone that was brought in didn't glow. It was exactly the same as the one that was replaced. But after it was installed in the engine, it seemed to activate. I heard the operator say it was called an ignition ceremony."

Ignition ceremony?

Yuuki read it several times and it definitely had nothing to do with religion, it was more like what the senior student mentioned as "activation".

Ignition? Fire? You can't just bring it out.

He could only think of this much and did not call Hiyori to come over and analyze it together, because the captain who was exploring the way ahead finally stopped and raised his hand to them.

insect.

A group of people dispersed instantly and hid behind various shelters. Yuki stuck half of his head out and saw with his naked eyes several huge black shadows emerging from the purple-black woods.

"One warrior bug and twenty soldier bugs. They look like a patrol."

"Are bugs on patrol too?" Kaguya Shinomiya had climbed to a higher point, draped in optical camouflage. "It's hard to see in the woods, but this is the only team around."

Of course they have to patrol. The Zerg is aware of the player's arrival and is even more aware that the fungal blanket cannot detect the player.

But according to the information from the defense forces, the Zerg swarm is a honeycomb structure. Except for a few high-level Zerg, the disappearance of a lower-level Zerg will not alarm the entire swarm.

This is a bit like the human brain, which cannot perceive the peeling of a piece of foot skin. If the scale is magnified a million times, how can it notice these trivial details?

"Leave the samurai bug and one soldier bug, and kill the rest. Kaguya, don't let any of them escape, and don't use heavy firepower on the others."

Yuki drew his sword and moved along the low wall. Just as the team was about to deploy, he heard a cold voice.

"You guys hide, I'll take care of them."

As soon as he finished speaking, he caught a glimpse of a white light emerging from the edge of the woods. Levi was holding two thin blades made purely of light, leaving a series of afterimages behind him.

It was extremely fast and agile. As soon as the two leading soldier insects raised their antennae, the two cockroach heads separated from their bodies.

The force was used just right, and the figure leaped into the air, overlooking the oncoming samurai bugs and the soldier bugs that turned around and ran away. A pair of white wings of light spread out behind him, and he disappeared briefly from Yuuki's retina.

When it reappeared, the escaping soldier bug had its head chopped off, while the warrior bug was still turning its head to look for its target.

So fast.

Yuki, who was also known for his speed, stood up and leaned out of the low wall. He saw Levi flapping his wings slightly and killing his way back from the end of the swarm.

The sharp blade and the nimble figure are like wings of freedom.

Chapter 5: Playing Chess with Life (K)

Killing insects was as easy as cutting melons and vegetables. The warrior insect lost its left arm in one encounter, and everyone was surprised.

Gorgeous yet simple, no movement is superfluous, like a surgeon concentrating on performing an operation, or like a dancer, so that no insect can even touch the edge of her clothes.

"This guy is so strong." Hayasaka Ai held the death knell, but she had no confidence in hitting the opponent.

"Monster-level players, each one has a unique skill." Yuki muttered to himself. This is a system pushed to its limit, and the Captain can also explain many problems.

He is just an 'ordinary person', proving that those who come from the low-level martial arts world can also reach the top, and the core of skills and tactics have not changed.

Dual swords, close combat, agile warrior.

It was indeed unexpected to see Levi so fierce, but if you think about it carefully, it is reasonable. It would be beyond imagination if the captain directly used artillery to attack.

This proves that players of the "improvement" type will also stick to the previous route. My foresight is still useful, but the blank sheet of paper coming out of the everyday world is impossible to predict.

Yuki glanced at Hayasaka Ai who was in amazement. If he hadn't experienced it himself, no one would have imagined that this maid would carry a revolver and shoot everywhere.

"He's trying to intimidate me, and by the way, give you guys some confidence."

There are too many people in the Thorn Rose, and among them there are "battle wastes" like Shiina Hiwa, who are easy to control at first glance. Only Yuuki is alone, so it is not surprising that he does anything.

"Who told you to look so much like a bad guy? It always makes me uneasy." Mai wrinkled her nose and quickly stopped her little tricks. "The winner was decided in 53 seconds. Why do I feel like I'm even more powerful than you?"

The warrior worm's legs had been cut off, and the whole worm was lying on the ground. Levi held the light blade in his backhand and removed the joints expressionlessly. As for the soldier worm, only half of it was left.

While others were chopping giants, I was still thinking about how to pick up girls. It was obvious that I was upgrading faster.

Yuki felt a little unconvinced, and burned with red lotus fire, disappearing in the blink of an eye.

It was indeed a waste to move with a burning heart, but the girl was watching, so how could he fall behind? When the whole person emerged from the embers, Levi was so frightened that he took half a step back.

Seeing is believing. This Sky Island Jiecheng's sprint speed is faster than his. He is indeed a master as Denise said.

"It's solved. It looks like it won't alert other insect swarms." The captain said calmly, stepping on the warrior bug that was struggling to get up.

Yuki nodded and squatted beside the broken insect body. He saw the limbs grow back and then be cut off again immediately. His dark compound eyes were full of madness.

He was not interested in studying to be an entomologist, so he switched to the demon's vision and saw the soul light in the head. He suddenly drew his sword and split the hard insect armor.

Its face was split in two, but the warrior bug continued to struggle, its recovery speed unchanged. Yuuki waved, and Mai came over, turned on a powerful flashlight, and held her breath.

"It's emerald stone."

The samurai worm's head was empty, with no visible brain tissue. Dense blood vessels were connected to a stone emitting a faint purple glow, which made Yuuki look as if it was as expected and yet unexpected.

He stood up and immediately dissected the soldier bug. The result was the same. Except that the stone was as small as a grain of rice, there was no essential difference.

He then conducted in-depth experiments, and as a medical student, he returned to his old profession.

As the insect slowly absorbs the energy inside, its recovery speed will slow down. After absorbing all the energy, it will curl up into a ball and become a corpse.

Similarly, pulling out the stone will have the same effect, which means there is no need to cut off the head at all. The insect can be killed by simply destroying the stone accurately.

The results came out soon. The so-called swarm is a killing machine that uses emerald stone as its core energy source. As long as the energy remains, it can be restored to its original state even if it is cut into pieces.

"This thing is not a normal life form at all. No wonder I have never seen insects eating or devouring people." Yuki wiped the sweat from his forehead. This answered the biggest question he had after seven days of fierce battle.

A group of people stood among the insect corpses, looking at each other. As players, they all felt like they had discovered a huge secret.

The Zerg is also driven by Emerald Stone. Does this mean that this war is a battle for resources?

"No, why did the Defense Force conceal this news?" Kaguya Shinomiya was very confused. She felt that there was nothing to hide.

"Either the people below don't need to know this information, or they also have problems with the use of the emerald stone." Levi replied coldly, with a familiar taste.

The soldiers struggling desperately and the senior officials hiding secrets, the sense of déjà vu is too strong.

It brings back memories, right?

Yuki glanced at him, he had actually started to doubt it a long time ago.

The defense forces' use of the emerald stone was more like pure energy, but the Wall of Sighs burned with fiery soul energy, completely different from that in guns and war machines.

The most important point is that the souls of those traitors were dyed purple by the Zerg. Even if I kill them, I won't gain any soul energy.

Similar things happened in the "Blood Disaster". The warriors who were included in the killing cycle gave him the same feeling. The souls of the dead would not be taken away by the Demon Heart, but went to another place.

"Have you done a lot of research on the soul?" Levi turned his head and noticed that Yuuki had special abilities.

"I wouldn't call it research, but the souls of those I kill become energy and are absorbed, like players and the Zerg. Of course, I haven't killed ordinary people yet, so I can't be sure."

The captain immediately showed an expression of disgust. The ability to kill people's bodies and take their souls was extremely evil.

"You don't have to be sure. I once hunted down a soul-sucking 'Aether Particle'. It killed many people on its way out, but it showed no signs of recovery."

Yuki didn't know what a soul sucker was, but he remembered Liuguna's words "soulless blood" and guessed what it meant.

The Soul Sucker should absorb souls to recover from injuries, but it can't absorb them, which proves that this is not my problem. So -

"I understand. The defense forces are either a bunch of soulless puppets, or their souls were transferred to other places when their lives ended. That's why Mr. Yuki and the soul suckers can't plunder their souls!"

A clear voice suddenly rang out. Shiina Hiyori listened to the entire process, combining each piece of information with "future reasoning", and her petite face was filled with excitement.

It’s an interesting assumption. The second situation is more likely. Then what is the point of transferring the souls of the deceased?

Yuki thought of the "ignition ceremony" and Levi thought of the top leaders concealing information, and the two looked at each other.

It involves the soul, giving simple science fiction a magical touch.

"Sure enough, this stone is the core, but humans and the Zerg use it differently."

Yuki hadn't thought of exploring outside the wall, but instead connected it to the Defense Force's top secret. He didn't need to consider any operating principles, he just had to reverse-engineer from the main mission -

Fire, this thing definitely plays a key role.

"Continue exploring. The emerald stone definitely didn't appear out of thin air. Since the swarm's biological core is the emerald stone, their key nodes must be related to it."

Yuki opened the electronic map and kept zooming in and out.

It's unknown how many years old this map was, but judging by the situation of the settlements, the information in it is fairly accurate. The fungal mat is just a layer of coverage and has not changed the topography.

Settlements, mines, cities...

Yuki tapped his hands a few times, roughly defining the area: "Let's go to these places and take a look."

Everyone looked at it and saw that these were all mines or cities with mines, and they all understood what Jiecheng meant.

Emerald stone is a specialty of the planet. Although we don’t know how the bugs are made, it definitely requires a carrier.

"But this map is from who knows how many years ago. Is there still mines there?" Hayasaka Ai asked.

"It's not about prospecting for minerals, but the war is escalating. The Zerg must be nearby to replenish their forces. With this crucial information, we might be able to find their lair."

If we find the lair, we will have a way to complete the second main line and have more options. We don't have to put all our treasures on Johnny Silverhand.

Yuki quickly assigned the tasks and synchronized the information to the other three teams. As for whether the latter dared to go deep outside the wall, he had no control over it. At least the group led by Ms. Smile would not have much of a problem.

Communication with the players will be handled by Hiyori, while senior Mai will be responsible for contacting the "Mechanical Believer". Several days have passed, and Johnny Silverhand should have some news.

......

After a short rest, he made sure that there was no problem with the information about the insect swarm provided by the defense army, dug a hole and buried the insect corpses. Then he let the captain lead the way and walked into the woods according to the map.

All the plants were covered in a thick layer of fungal mat, blocking out the sunlight. Outside the wall, the demons' vision would be affected, but fortunately, there was a professional scout in the team, so the marching speed was not slow.

They first went to two mines to make sure there was nothing unusual there, then killed several Zerg patrols along the way, using Highway 0504 as the main trunk to search the towns and mines on both sides.

There's no need to get close, just observe with a telescope. If you really have any questions, ask the senior to activate the special feature and go up directly for physical investigation.

Some mines are filled with insects, so many that it makes people's scalps numb, but when comparing with the insect swarm information, no high-level insect swarms are seen. If it is really a nest, it is impossible that it is full of miscellaneous soldiers.