Chapter 17: The District Erupts in Chaos

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Like father, like daughter—so the father’s genes must have manifested in her physical prowess, right?

The ultimate soldier king, the ultimate soldier king. Lu Ming thought that through this assembly-line process, he had caught up with the elites of Blue Star.

He never imagined the strength of these experts was so fierce—the moment they started, they already possessed extraordinary power!

Forget about analyzing those damn score data; the real business is to draw your blade and get to work!

Yet in the end, Lu Ming still clicked on Jiang Ling’s avatar and saw her current appearance.

Unlike the lively, ethereal smile in her photos, Jiang Ling’s expression was chillingly sharp.

Her eyes gleamed with a piercing edge, her face cold as frost, long hair cascading past her cheeks, tucked behind her ears and tied into a sleek black braid at the nape of her neck with a black satin ribbon.

Opening the mirror image, he saw a stunning figure displaying perfect form, radiating the natural pride of a woman and an icy aloofness that warned strangers to keep their distance.

She wore a black tailored suit, as if about to attend an important gathering, and that glossy black braid extended all the way down to her waist.

No doubt, the contrast between photo and reality struck Lu Ming with a powerful visual shock, and he had to admit that the contradictory Jiang Ling held an irresistible allure.

But none of it could conceal the fact that beneath this flawless exterior lurked a monster!

Closing Jiang Ling’s profile, Lu Ming opened his own information panel and headed straight for the advanced soldier section.

[Advanced Soldier]: Possesses considerable combat experience against alien species; overall strength reaches the upper limits of ordinary humans; only two steps away from becoming a true hunting warrior. Consuming specialized devouring crystals can promote to the ultimate soldier king rank. Promotion progress: 240/300.

Good, just a bit more to go.

This margin only referred to physical fitness; real combat experience and skills couldn’t be rapidly accumulated in a short time—it was the result of years of training. Even on Blue Star, he could never surpass two others in this lifetime.

But now, with skill books and this kind of black technology, surpassing them was not impossible.

So he had to quickly raise his level to ultimate soldier king, then venture out to explore those miracle-filled supply crates.

With a well-laid plan, Lu Ming shed his uncomfortable workout clothes, kicked off ill-fitting sneakers, picked up his straight blade, and headed to the door.

He was about to begin the third round of larva hunting.

Before starting, he checked the durability of his blade.

After the intense use in the second round, the blade’s durability now stood at 342 points.

“Subtracting the 50 points lost from chipped edges, it can still kill 584 larvae.”

“But I can’t use all of it inside the store.”

“Clothes, food, and weapon supplies all need to be searched for outside.”

“So I must reserve durability for around 200 larvae, just in case.”

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Having planned the kill distribution, the third batch of larvae gathered. Lu Ming counted as he killed, completely unaware that a video had thrust him and his store into regional trending topics.

(Zhao He: Video file.)

(Zhao He: Folks, I want to show you something. I’m not very familiar with the functions, so the recording is a bit shaky, but it’s watchable. After watching, help me analyze—what’s going on here? Is something big happening?)

A moment later.

(Gao Bo: Damn, what is that? So many larvae all clustered there!)

(Zhao He: Yeah, I’m in a residential building just above that area. I’ve seen those monster gatherings three times already—groups coming and going—and I often hear banging sounds below. Could it be some automatic noise-making device attracting them?)

(Ding Chuang: So many aliens gathered near you—it’s quite a sight.)

(Zhao He: Exactly, it’s hopeless, but the place where the aliens gather seems like a bottomless pit. No one who goes in ever comes out. The street is empty for quite a stretch. Could there be some treasure there? Or is it a passage to the sewers?)

(Li Xiang: Sewer my foot. I’m right across from you. Though I can’t see what’s happening below, I can see half the storefront and its name: Innovative Phone Repair Agency. They usually fix phones and sell second-hand knockoffs to rip people off. That’s no sewer.)

(Zhao He: Doesn’t make sense though. How could so many aliens fit into a place without a sewer? They can’t just vanish into thin air.)

The dozen or so people below engaged in a deep discussion about the larvae disappearing and the store, until a woman named Liu Lanfang appeared.

(Liu Lanfang: There’s someone.)

(What?! Someone?!)

That statement ignited the whole regional forum!

(Zhao He: Ma’am, please finish your sentence. Someone? Where? Who?)

(Liu Lanfang: There’s someone inside the store... I’m about twenty meters diagonally across, looking through the storage room window, and I saw a pair of human legs. Every time they open the rolling shutter to let larvae in, those larvae disappear. Almost all the larvae nearby are put in by that person. Even when there are no larvae, they bang on the shutter to make noise, attracting more larvae from afar—and the number keeps growing.)

(Zhao He: Seriously? Ma’am, you’re not hallucinating, are you? This is too surreal. How could a human gather aliens like chickens and ducks? Even Uncle Chen Hai, an advanced soldier, has to kill them one by one.)

(Liu Lanfang: I doubted my own eyes too, but I swear it’s true. At first, there were dozens, then over a hundred, and later so many I couldn’t count.)

(Zhao He: If this is really human-driven, then there’s only one possibility—that person knows the larvae’s weakness and can kill them unharmed within the caretaker time, like Uncle Chen Hai said.)

(Gao Bo: Damn, even if you know their weakness, gathering over a hundred at once to kill is savage. That takes immense strength and courage.)

(Zhao He: Truly brave, but we don’t know who that person is. If only we could see them—maybe the expert could share how to identify the weakness.)

(Gao Bo: Forget it. That’s a method to quickly kill aliens. You get what I mean, right? Unless your butt shape is better than others’, the expert won’t just trade with anyone.)

(Zhao He: That’s harsh...)

(Gao Bo: Rough words but fair. Still, as long as this expert exists, it’s good for you. Having such a powerful person nearby brings immense security.)

(Liu Lanfang: It’s true. After several rounds of larvae gathering, there are almost none outside now, but no one dares to go out. Who knows when that person will start banging and gathering again? If you step outside and get surrounded by swarms, you’re done for.)

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(Gao Bo: Then just wait. When they can’t gather larvae anymore, your area will be liberated. By the way, where exactly are you? Let me know, maybe I can escape there.)

(Liu Lanfang: I don’t know. No street signs or addresses.)

(Zhao He: Same here.)

(Li Xiang: Me too.)

(Gao Bo: Damn, you guys just don’t want to say. Such is the world.)

(Zhao He: Those who understand, understand.)

(Li Xiang: +1 for those who understand.)

...

(+17 for those who understand.)

Even onlookers who were just watching earlier joined in the fun.

Right—only a fool would let someone in. Once the expert kills all the aliens, they’ll be able to go out temporarily and scavenge resources.

More people means more mouths to feed. Though they all trusted Chen Hai, they still needed supplies to wait for his rescue.

As for the expert? The sensible ones no longer dared hope. Some things are obvious: this expert and Chen Hai are not the same kind of person. He doesn’t want a burden, but so what? If it were him, he’d choose to be a lone wolf too.

(Liu Lanfang: I really don’t know.)

(Zhao He: Alright, Aunt Lan, no need to explain. Just keep an eye on that store. If there really is an expert, remember to record a video. We must see the expert’s face.)

(Liu Lanfang: How do I record a video? I don’t know how.)

(Zhao He: Uh... don’t worry, I’ll teach you privately.)

Afterward, the chat filled with teasing jokes and the slowly awakening crowd continued to gossip about the “expert.”

Meanwhile, the protagonist of these discussions was fully focused on harvesting the lives of the larvae.

Of course, he had received the video file notification but was too busy with the assembly-line slaughter to pay it any mind.

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