Chapter 67: Cheese and Bacon Pizza

Saying an army of one hundred thousand was somewhat exaggerated; the dense swarm of venomous insects numbered only in the hundreds altogether.

Yet, each of them was the size of a basketball hoop, and flying in unison, they created an oppressive atmosphere akin to a plague of locusts descending upon the land.

The one in the very front was even as large as a suitcase!

"Baby, stop!"

Pang Cancan grabbed the venomous insect's antennae, and it obediently descended to a height of one meter off the ground.

She leaped down excitedly, throwing her arms around Su Su and refusing to let go.

"Sister Su Su! You're still alive, wuuuu! I just knew you were still alive!"

Such a bizarre entrance stunned all the approaching ability users.

Just the sight of those massive, swarming venomous insects made their scalps tingle, almost causing them to suspect that the zombie virus had mutated into the insect population and spawned an entirely new species.

Su Su was equally shocked. "Cancan? Why are you here?"

"That's a long story..."

However, the people present were not going to grant them time for a reunion. After being startled for mere seconds, Si Zhe and Lin Weiran charged forward once again.

They had witnessed Pang Cancan's abilities before and knew these were the venomous bugs she raised. While they looked intimidating, dealing with them was as simple as killing fish.

With the two of them taking the lead, the others snapped out of their stupor.

After hesitating for a few seconds, unable to resist the temptation of the crystal core, they joined the grand army attempting to capture the giant python alive.

"Oh, really? Bullying the few with the many, is that it?" Pang Cancan swung her arm. "Babies, get them!"

Su Su hurriedly grabbed her. "There are too many of them. We should leave first."

It wasn't that she was being overly cautious; too many ability users from the Southern Base had their eyes set on the prize, even with Pang Cancan added to their side...

Vroom—

A roar of engines suddenly echoed in the distance, and an off-road vehicle with exceptional performance tore out from the darkness. Its driving was outrageously bold, halting just inches away from the giant python.

"Sister Su Su!"

Le Rui was the first to scramble out of the car. He initially wanted to run straight to Su Su's side, but seeing that she was standing atop the giant python, he couldn't climb up... In the end, he could only stare with wide, eager eyes at Su Su, whom he hadn't seen in over two months, his eyes turning red and watery.

"I thought, I thought you were dead..."

"Bah! What nonsense is a child spewing!"

A familiar figure stepped out of the vehicle. Just as Guan Zixuan finished scolding Le Rui, he turned his head and laid eyes on a python that was both familiar and unfamiliar.

First glance: Shocking!

Second glance: So cool!

Third glance... "What the hell! Is that really Little Hei?"

Why did it look so much like the giant python that had triggered the avalanche back in the village? Wait, the color of the snake scales was different, and the color of its slit pupils was different too.

"Zixuan," Wei Yan also got out of the car, though his gaze swept past Su Su first before landing on the approaching ability users. "Business first."

Right, business first.

Guan Zixuan cracked his wrists, looking at the group of ability users with a smile that didn't reach his eyes. "So you're the ones taking advantage of a crisis?"

The two figures who had abruptly appeared indeed made Si Zhe and Lin Weiran pause for a moment.

Who were these people? Why were they standing on Su Su's side?

Whatever! Forget it!

Even with four more people arriving on this side, it still amounted to only five people and one snake. Facing over a hundred ability users on their side, they had no doubt they could trap them here!

A battle was on the verge of breaking out.

The swarm of venomous insects controlled by Pang Cancan was the first to charge into the crowd. While they lacked formidable offensive power, their ability to fly combined with lethal venom was entirely sufficient to hinder the movements of lower-tier ability users.

If dozens of them swarmed together, even some tier-four ability users would find them difficult to handle.

Wei Yan and Guan Zixuan also launched their attacks simultaneously.

Both of them were now tier-four ability users with rich combat experience; fighting two or even three opponents at once posed no problem for them!

Even Le Rui was capable of holding his own against a tier-three ability user single-handedly.

For a moment, the situation formed a precarious balance.

Seeing this scene, Su Su's chest heaved violently.

She hadn't anticipated that Pang Cancan and the others would suddenly appear, but since they were all willing to charge into battle alongside her, there was no longer any reason to run away!

"Little Hei, attack!"

The giant python re-entered the fray, though this time, it finally had the leisure to deal exclusively with the two people it detested the most—Si Zhe and Lin Weiran.

"Hiss!!!"

Against tier-four abilities, a tier-five ability held an overwhelming advantage.

The scorching blue flames chased relentlessly after the running figures of Si Zhe and Lin Weiran.

Neither of them expected the situation to reverse so rapidly. After confronting it head-on and realizing they were completely outmatched, they tacitly resorted to dodging and fleeing.

Even so, they were forced to release their abilities to fend off those tyrannical blue flames and the heavy snake tail that swept horizontally from time to time.

The momentum behind that sweeping tail was entirely real; catching a direct hit meant certain death or severe crippling.

This couldn't go on! Their abilities would eventually be exhausted by this giant python!

Si Zhe cast a glance at Lin Weiran.

The latter caught his meaning instantly.

The two circled around the giant python in a wide arc, and the moment they converged, they struck simultaneously—orange-red flames intertwined with crackling bolts of lightning, slamming unawares toward its vital underbelly.

Two months ago, they had relied on this exact move to completely obliterate that tier-four zombie!

No matter how powerful the giant python was, it had already been drained through multiple rounds of combat; they refused to believe it could truly withstand this!

"Little Hei! Dodge!"

The giant python ignored the female's cries.

It knew very well that it couldn't dodge. Its massive form was too clumsy; it could neither evade in time nor shrink down—if it shrank, the female would be completely exposed to this group of ability users.

"Hiss!!"

The writhing serpentine body only managed to narrowly shift away from its most vulnerable spot.

The combined thunder and fire orb ultimately slammed into the giant python's body, stripping away large patches of scales and revealing the tender flesh beneath, blasted into a bloody mess.

"Little Hei!"

Su Su felt a pang of heartache so sharp tears threatened to spill. Unable to bear the sight, she shifted her gaze away, locking it fiercely onto the two primary culprits.

"Kill them!"

This was the first time she had ever expressed such an uncompromising attitude, and her gaze was sharper than ever before.

Lin Weiran and Si Zhe had shown her no gratitude, yet she had been... soft and sentimental, always remembering how these two had brought her to the Southern Base in her past life, and how they hadn't truly wanted her dead in this one. Because of that, she had merely chosen to part ways or exact minor retributions, never escalating to targeted hostility.

Yet now, clearly aware of the city lord's malicious intentions, they had still launched a cold-blooded, joint siege, eager to seize the tier-five crystal core while crushing both her and Little Hei into the abyss!

Su Su clenched her teeth and repeated, "Kill them!"

Lin Weiran and Si Zhe had already depleted their abilities and were currently at their most vulnerable. Although the latter was shameless, one thing he had said was correct—sentimentality was the posture of the weak, and she was not yet accustomed to acting the part of the strong.

She thanked them for the lesson, and it was only fitting that they bring it to a conclusion.

The moment he saw the cold-blooded creature had survived, Si Zhe sensed the danger.

He grabbed Lin Weiran, preparing to retreat. "Let's go!"

How could they possibly be allowed to leave!

Disregarding Su Su's command, the giant python itself possessed a notoriously petty disposition.

It slithered in pursuit, its tail sweeping with ferocious force directly toward Lin Weiran at the rear.

It still remembered how, during the earlier siege, this group had targeted its female first. Now it was its turn to return the favor—and the move had been imitated to perfection!

The whistling wind kicked up by the snake tail was already closing in.

Si Zhe looked back, and at a single glance, his eyes split with panic. "Weiran! Look out!"

Lin Weiran sensed the danger as well.

But it was already too late for her to turn around!

At the critical moment, Si Zhe pushed Lin Weiran away with brutal force, meeting the sweeping tail head-on with his own body.

In his calculations, a tier-four ability user possessed a sturdy physique; even taking this blow would result in nothing worse than recuperating from fractured bones for a hundred days. Weiran was different; she was a woman and had her back to the giant python. If she were hit in the spine... death might be instantaneous!

It was best for him to take the blow.

However, things refused to unfold according to his calculations.

A rich desire for vengeance flashed within those dark green slit pupils.

The tail sweep had merely been a feint.

Seeing its true target lunge forward, the serpent's massive head darted close, and a concentrated jet of condensed blue flame "arrow" spat from its jaws, piercing straight through Si Zhe's abdomen with lightning speed.

He looked down in disbelief—a bloody hole had already appeared in his stomach.

Thud!

The snake tail arrived right on cue.

Si Zhe, already severely wounded, was sent flying into the distance like a kite with a snapped string.

After regaining her footing, Lin Weiran witnessed this exact scene, feeling a sharp twist of agony in her heart. "Si Zhe!!"

This couple, sharing trials and tribulations, displayed intense affection in a moment of crisis—truly a tear-jerking spectacle.

A trace of "emotion" flickered in the depths of the python's eyes.

Yet that section of its tail lashed out relentlessly nonetheless.

"Monster! Stop!"

Realizing Lin Weiran was about to be severely injured, teammates who had hacked their way through the venomous bugs rushed over just in time to drag her away.

Dragged away along with her was the unconscious Si Zhe.

He lay in a pool of blood, his abdomen continually welling with fresh blood as his body twisted into a grotesque shape.

This tragic sight brought an abrupt silence to the entire battlefield.

All eyes converged on Si Zhe, or more precisely, upon his abdomen.

Broken bones could be mended, and paralysis could be treated—as long as a healing-type ability user could be found, there was a chance of recovery, but—

That place, that place was his core reservoir of power...

Seizing the opportunity, Wei Yan retreated to the side of the giant python and muttered in a low voice, "Su Su, have Little Hei shrink down. Let's go!"

Su Su understood instantly.

She cast a regretful glance at the still-surviving Si Zhe and the unscathed Lin Weiran... What a pity that she had failed to kill them.

By this point, Pang Cancan's swarm of venomous insects had been thinned down to just a pitiful few.

They could no longer hold back the relentless tide of advancing ability users.

The group tacitly retreated into the vehicle, and Su Su hopped off the snake's body at the earliest moment.

"Little Hei!"

Without hesitation, the giant python shrank back into the form of a slender little snake, darting through the air to coil itself around the female's wrist.