Even though Neil was normally quite brave, his voice trembled at that moment. “That… could very well be the Zerg.”
Neil had always prided himself on his courage. He hadn’t come to participate in this show for star coins but to show off his skills and seek thrilling adventures. He had even been to the frontier and seen the Zerg firsthand, but back then, he wasn’t fighting alone. There were stationed troops and other adventurers and mercenaries like him. But now?
Not only did he have no one to back him up, but he was also saddled with a burden.
“Zerg?! How’s that possible?” Ding Changhuan was on the verge of fainting. While he hadn’t personally encountered many Zerg, he had learned about the past wars between humans and Zerg in school and had seen movies and read novels about them. Some people even became fascinated by Zerg and collected their specimens. But as for the Zerg’s danger? Most Imperial citizens who now lived in peaceful times had long since forgotten about that.
Ding Changhuan had enjoyed watching Zerg movies, but now that he was seeing them in person, fear overwhelmed him. He desperately wished he could pass out. He pounded on Neil, shouting, “Run! Faster!”
Annoyed, Neil snapped, “If you keep struggling, I’ll leave you behind to run on your own.”
Terrified, Ding Changhuan froze immediately. This wasn’t like Fang Yang, who would never abandon him no matter how dangerous things got. Ding Changhuan, eyes squeezed shut in fear, wished he could cover his ears too, hoping that if he couldn’t see or hear anything, it would all just go away.
Ahead of them, Luo Xingzhou and his group of six had also spotted the situation in the sky behind them.
Huo Zhijun, usually strong and resolute, had rushed to confront a B-level star beast before, but now her legs turned to jelly. “Zerg! Hong-ai Star is quite far from the frontier—how could the Zerg appear here?”
Fang Yang forced himself to stay calm. “Don’t panic! If we can recognize them, then so can the people on the ships outside. Someone will come to rescue us. Don’t forget, a lot of people are watching our live broadcast. They wouldn’t dare just let us die; the public would condemn them.”
Luo Xingzhou was equally stunned by the appearance of the Zerg, fully understanding what this meant. However, he didn’t panic. After all, he had been through dangerous situations before. Keeping his cool, he said, “Don’t panic. Let’s keep running for now, but conserve your strength. If we can’t escape, we’ll fight back. We just need to hold out until rescue arrives.”
Though Huo Zhijun and Lina were pale with fear, they still nodded firmly. “Got it.”
Meanwhile, the livestream viewers were just as shocked and scared.
[Oh my god, is that really the Zerg?]
[It must be! Someone contact the show and get them to rescue them!]
[Alert the military too. We can’t let these creatures spread. What the hell are the military and the Empire doing, letting Zerg show up on Hong-ai Star?]
Most people still had a conscience, so they immediately turned to the show’s official account, urging them to send help as soon as possible. At the same time, they anxiously kept their eyes on the broadcast, hoping nothing would happen to the contestants. Many had been watching since the beginning and had grown fond of the participants, unwilling to see them die at the hands of the Zerg.
Some viewers even searched for images of the Zerg, as there were plenty of related films and footage of Zerg corpses that people had purchased from the frontier to show off. After finding these images and videos, they perfectly matched the creatures seen in the live broadcast. The stream’s audience was in an uproar—Zerg had indeed appeared within the Empire’s borders.
On some planets, it was daytime, on others, it was night, but regardless of the time, this news spread rapidly across the StarNet.
It was nighttime on the Zhongyang Star, and the number of people logging onto the StarNet was skyrocketing. More viewers flooded into Luo Xingzhou’s livestream, though some were heartlessly just there for the spectacle, commenting things like, “Wow, so that’s a real Zerg!” These people were quickly silenced by angry viewers, and the worst offenders were kicked out by the livestream platform.
Feng Zhan watched as the Zerg in the footage drew closer, their buzzing flight becoming more audible. The veins on his forehead throbbed. The alarm in his room sounded, and his butler burst through the door, panicking when he saw Feng Zhan’s state. “Young Master, are you rioting again? I’ll go get help!”
“Wait!” Feng Zhan gritted his teeth, struggling through the unbearable pain, and forced out each word. “Has the military sent reinforcements?”
The butler hurriedly replied, “The military has dispatched troops from the First Legion, the closest unit to Hong-ai Star.”
“Good.” Just as he finished speaking, blood trickled from the corner of his mouth.
The butler was alarmed, but he couldn’t get any closer. Feng Zhan was in the midst of a mental energy storm, and everything around him, except for the personal terminal in front of him, had been destroyed and torn apart by the storm. If the butler tried to force his way in, he too would be shredded.
“Young Master, calm down! Don’t let your emotions get out of control! I’ll go get the medicine!”
Feng Zhan struggled to close his eyes, and the storm seemed to subside a little. “I’m trying.”
On Hong-ai Star, Luo Xingzhou and Fang Yang weren’t surprised to see that the wild beasts and star beasts were fleeing in the opposite direction from the Zerg. The star beasts passed by them without so much as a glance, focused only on escaping with their lives.
“Prepare for battle!” Luo Xingzhou and Fang Yang exchanged a look. The Zerg were close enough now that running would only waste energy. It was better to kill a wave of Zerg first. Luo Xingzhou said, “Fang Yang and I will take the lead. You guys handle any that slip through.”
“Be careful!”
“Jiutang, attack!”
The vines that had been calmly coiled around Luo Xingzhou’s arm immediately extended, and within moments, dozens of tendrils shot out like claws, lunging at the incoming Zerg. The dense web of vines intercepted half of the Zerg, while Fang Yang attacked the other half with earth spikes. The remaining four managed to suppress their panic and, seeing any Zerg that slipped through Luo Xingzhou and Fang Yang’s defense, rushed forward to kill them. For the moment, not a single Zerg could break through.
[Wow, these Zerg don’t seem that tough. Look at Jiutang’s dozens of vines—each one skewers a Zerg. His combat power is really impressive.]
[Hah, it’s easy for you to say. This is just the first wave. What you should fear most when facing Zerg is being surrounded. Right now, the rest of the Zerg haven’t caught up yet. If the sky becomes filled with them, no matter how strong these people are, they’ll eventually run out of energy. Once their stamina and abilities are drained, they’ll be nothing more than a snack for the Zerg.]
[Let’s hope they have good luck and can hold out a bit longer. The show producers have responded—they said they’ve sent in rescue teams. They’ll definitely save the survivors.]
[Luo Xingzhou is incredible. He’s only just recently advanced, yet he’s killed more Zerg than Fang Yang, who’s a B-level ability user. What do you think his ability level is?]
[Hard to say. His wood-based ability is too unique, but it’s clear that as long as he survives, his potential for future development will far surpass Fang Yang’s.]
[Huo Zhijun and Lina are brave too. They’re doing their best to kill the Zerg, much better than Ding Changhuan, who’s just dragging Niel down. Niel is really unlucky to have ended up with someone like Ding Changhuan as dead weight.]