Chapter 182: Seconds Ticking

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The insect’s shrill wails echoed in the night like fingernails scraping over a piece of glass.

As if some message was transmitted, two insects that were following behind leaped towards the heavily injured member, their antennae rotating rapidly.

Those further away leaped over as well, the number of insects increasing.

Luo Yuan observed the scene, his expression darkening as he realized the insects already far ahead were coming back.

The crisp buzzing sound they made could be heard everywhere. The same species of insects seemed to be gathering there from all around the area.

Their cries rang through the night endlessly, as if they were communicating.

These particular insects had developed a sort of intelligence after they mutated and formed a colony. This phenomenon, which usually only occurred among mammals, could now be seen among low-level insects.

Luo Yuan decided that they could no longer wait. The longer this dragged on, the more dangerous it would be. Once there was a certain number of insects, considering their agility, even he would be at risk.

He retrieved another short spear from his backpack, and after taking a step with his right foot, he threw the spear at the speed of lightning.

Before its swooshing sound could even fade, a second one followed and then a third.

The short spears thrust through the air, exceeding the speed of sound. Another insect who was near the injured one was hit before it could even react, its tough exterior was crushed upon colliding with the spear. The force pushed it about twenty meters away, scratches forming on the cement from the violent friction.

Seeing the sudden attack, a third insect tried to flee. However, before its body could leave the ground, another spear came, landing on its hind leg, breaking the limb and injuring its soft stomach.

A fourth spear, a fifth… a sixth.

Luo Yuan acted quickly and smoothly. All the others could see was just a blurry image of his body before they heard an explosion. The loud sound hurt their ears, making them feel nauseated.

It was a pity that, other than the second and third attack, no other spears had found their target.

Firstly, the insects were too far, and the spears lost speed as they traveled through the rain. Secondly, the insects were already on alert, thus taking away their element of surprise.

Luo Yuan gave up throwing and just held a short spear in his hand, prepared to attack.

The action itself garnered a sense of authority. The insects that charged over only buzzed from afar as a sign of provocation, but dared not come any closer. The lizard kept running; the insects followed it for a short period before fleeing in another direction when they realized that they would not achieve anything that way.

Luo Yuan breathed a sigh of relief, finally feeling the burning pain in the muscles of his arm and back relaxing.

He frowned. His valiant attacks earlier had not been without sacrifice.

Thrusting spears was unlike wielding a sword. The force came directly from the body’s movement. The bigger the movement, the more power the short spear would generate. To generate the most significant impact, he had to put all his strength into each thrust.

In addition to his insufficient Dexterity and Strength, he was also suffering from exhaustion.

Usually, such a small injury would heal itself after a good night’s sleep. However, after the great beast migration, there seemed to be threats everywhere. These insects were not the fastest in the wave of beasts. There would be more following soon.

Of course, he could still fight despite his injury, but it would greatly affect his performance.

He was feeling the bane of his attribute incoordination now. He would have to distribute his AP to Strength at the next level-up, or else he would suffer even more.

Just as he was pondering this, he suddenly thought of something else and told the others, “You guys keep an eye out. Let me rest for a bit.”

The group possessed some degree of night vision thanks to the improvement in their Physique. While their vision was not as sharp as his, it was still better than that of ordinary humans.

“You rest, Boss Luo. I’ll be on the lookout over here. Miss Wang is on the other side, you don’t need to worry about a thing,” Huo Dong replied quickly.

Wang Shishi felt flattered as she said with confidence, “Yes, Brother Luo. Don’t worry, there’s still me.”

“I’ll watch out too,” Huang Jiahui said, although she looked worried.

Luo Yuan nodded. Sitting down cross-legged, he quickly focused his Will as a gleam flashed before his eyes.

He wasted no time in directing his gaze toward his injured arm. A large bruise could be seen on his muscles. The blood vessels around it were clogged up, and some of the muscular fibers were torn as well.

This was only a small part of his right arm, yet it had completely hampered the movement in his arm.

Luo Yuan quickly scanned the area and went to work. Using what he experienced in previous days, he used his Will and unclogged his blood vessels before targeting the bruise. The bruise vanished as if a mysterious force had swept it away.

These two steps were the simplest and did not consume much Will.

The third step, though, was a crucial one and the hardest one to pull off. Luo Yuan concentrated once more and began his first attempt at it.

Suddenly, he realized it was much easier than he had anticipated.

What was Will after all? It was the heart, the materialization of the spirit, a wish coming true.

As he thought of what he wanted, the torn muscular fibers began wriggling on their own and connected to one another. After some itching, they all healed perfectly.

It had taken only a few seconds.

Luo Yuan could not help feeling ecstatic. He could barely keep his cool, and he had to stop as he struggled to calm himself down. He looked over his arm, connecting all the torn fibers using his Will and healing himself.

The whole process took less than a few minutes, and all his torn muscles recovered to how they had been initially.

He opened his eyes and swung his arm around, realizing that the pain had completely disappeared as he regained his strength, seemingly stronger than before.

This was fantastic. Despite the dangerous circumstances, a thrill still ran through his heart.

Self-healing had its cons. The more injuries one sustained, the more dislocated muscles there would be. If there were cracked or broken bones, it would be even worse. No matter how perfectly the bones healed, there would still be a dislocation to a certain degree, and as the number of injuries increased, his strength would continue to weaken.

However, his Will could now make up for all these drawbacks. Suddenly, he thought about all the ills from his old injuries. Had this not been a crisis, he would have liked to self-mutilate.

“You’re awake already? Why not rest a little longer?” Huang Jiahui asked worriedly once she saw Luo Yuan opening his eyes.

“I’m fine.” Luo Yuan held her hand, smiling as he shook his head.

No other words were needed. They had already formed a tacit understanding after being together for so long. Seeing Luo Yuan’s state, Huang Jiahui’s troubled heart was finally at peace.

Zhao Yali took in the scene wordlessly, her heart feeling like something heavy had been dropped on it.

Meanwhile, Zhou Yicheng woke up with a moan, coughing as he took in a gulp of cold air as soon as he opened his mouth.

The man caught his breath and asked, “Where am I? Why am I not dead yet?”

“Our team leader, Luo Yuan, saved you. We’re on our way to Hucheng City now. You must hang in there, Battalion Commander. We’ll be there soon,” a soldier said carefully as he looked at Luo Yuan.

“I’m alright. I’m feeling much better. Brother Luo, I’ll spare you any words of gratitude. I’ll always remember what you did for me,” Zhou Yicheng told Luo Yuan sincerely as he breathed harshly.

“Don’t mention it. Too bad more people couldn’t be saved,” Luo Yuan said with a sigh.

With a start, Zhou Yicheng said bitterly, “No one is to blame for that. Who… who’s still here? Call out your names.”

“Xie Qiliang, here.”

“Xue Liancheng, here.”

“Li Shaodie, still alive.”

“Bai Shangfeng, here.”

“Wang Weilin, ready to charge at any time.”

“Zhou Bin, here.”

“Zhu Dazhuang, here. I still want to avenge my fallen comrades.”

Zhou Yicheng listened quietly and then gritted his teeth as he spoke with determination, “All of you listen to me. Hang on with all you’ve got. Hope is right in front of us. Don’t fall during the last leg of our journey. I’m keeping my promise. I will survive, and so will you.”