"Prepare for combat!" At Xingxing's command, we formed a defensive circle, assuming our seamless defensive formation.

The worms came from all directions. I could see that the leading worms were disgustingly drooling from their mouths, as though they had been hungry for tens of thousands of years. Accompanied by a buzzing sound, the worms swarmed us.

"Everyone, use the fire circle defense. Light it up immediately," Zhang Xingxing commanded.

When Zhang Bao'er heard the command, he activated his high-powered flamethrower and erected a ring of fire ten meters wide around us. The leading worms seemed somewhat fearful of the fire as they stopped before it, not daring to charge through it.

Nevertheless, the other worms behind the leaders continued charging forth, pushing the worms at the front into the fire. The worms ignited by fire unleashed a buzzing sound as they writhed on the ground. However, the worms behind them did not seem to care. They swarmed through the corpses of their companions and continued their assault.

"Hold nothing back! Fire!" I howled.

The four in charge of combat turned our weapons to the maximum setting and unleashed countless kinetic and plasma bullets. Like weeds before the scythe, the worms collapsed one after another, dyeing our surroundings blue with their blood. The many casualties did not terrify these monsters. An endless stream of worms continued pouring in from the ceiling as the monsters swarmed us as though death was their home.

"The bullets aren't working well. Old Du, Canyue, attack with cluster bombs," commanded Zhang Xingxing.

We did as told and concentrated our cluster bombs on the hole in the ceiling. The explosions were deafening in an enclosed environment. Numerous worms were blasted apart, their corpses piling up into a small mound around us. The firepower of our cluster bombs had momentarily caused these creatures to hesitate.

When the leading worms saw that their attack had failed, they actually slowed down their assault. After communicating among themselves, about ten of the leading worms unleashed a deafening howl toward the hole. Immediately, even more worms came out of the hole in the ceiling. The newly arrived worms were several times more than the worms in the previous wave. They charged us relentlessly, as though no price was too much for our deaths.

'My god! Why are there so many of these monsters? If this continues, their corpses will be plentiful enough to reach the ceiling,' I cursed inwardly.

As we fired without holding anything back, the battle continued on for about half an hour, and the corpses piled up into a small hill. I could see that my energy supply was draining rapidly. I now had less than 28 hours' worth of energy. If this continued, we would die from sheer exhaustion, buried and suffocated to death in a mountain of corpses.

The worms charged at us with complete disregard for their lives even as an unending stream of worms continued to come out of the hole. Half the room was already stuffed full with their corpses.

Suddenly, we discovered that the worms from one side of the room were hindered from attacking us due to a large pile of corpses. A group of worms worked like worker ants to consume the corpses, opening up a path for their companions in charge of attacking.

"Uhhhh!" Zhang Bao'er retched. "These freaks are too freaking disgusting. I won't be able to eat anything after this."

I hurriedly used the lull to scan our surroundings. Unfortunately, I couldn't find any way out of our current predicament. Our sole choice was to first focus on defending. As the battle dragged on, we exhausted more and more of our energy supply. I suddenly had a feeling that these freaks were in fact intending to exhaust us to death. The worms were increasing in number as though they were being duplicated relentlessly. Perhaps that was the truth, these were all duplicated monsters.

Instantly, the southeast door was knocked open with a loud rumble. Oddly, the moment the door opened, all the worms around us sank into silence. With their heads lowered, they prostrated on the ground. Then, a massive paw the size of a basketball court reached in from the door.

There were seven fingers on the paw, with sharp claws decorating the tip of each finger. The entire paw glowed purple, looking both vicious and majestic at the same time. At the very middle of the paw was a round eye. The eyeball rolled about unceasingly, as though it was taking in everything in the room.

And connected to the paw was a massive, python-like body reaching in all the way from the hole. I wondered if outside the room, the limb was connected to an even larger body. When the worms saw the giant paw, it was as though they had met their god. They all turned still, prostrating themselves on the ground in a supplicating pose.

"Just what kind of a monster is this?" Zhang Xingxing asked.

"Looks like it's the leader of these tiny freaks," said Old Du.

"To defeat a group of bandits, it's better to first defeat the leader. Focus fire on the leader," commanded Zhang Xingxing.

The massive paw before us emanated the presence of a domineering ancient life form. After scanning the room, it approached us. The room sank into a terrifying silence, forming a major contrast to the noisy battle just before this. The only sound left in the room was the sound of the ring of fire around us.

The giant paw ignored the ring of fire, easily pushing through the wall of flame toward us. And when the giant eye neared us, it studies all of us. I could clearly see a black hole of immeasurable depth within the eye. The black hole did not reflect any light, and neither did it carry any sort of design. It was a spherical void of nothingness, fixed at the middle of the claw, a black hole that seemed capable of taking in everything.

In the eerie silence, Dondon suddenly howled at the paw, issuing a challenge toward the giant creature on our behalf. The howl seemed to have alerted the paw. It raised into the air before slamming down toward me and Dondon.

A massive pressure descended upon me, as though the air itself was being torn apart as it descended. Things were getting urgent, and I only had one solution in my mind.

"I'm using my nuclear warhead. Everyone, prepare your defenses," I yelled.

Then, I launched a zero-radiation nuclear warhead at the very center of the eyeball.

Ferocious explosions, violent shockwaves, high temperatures, deafening rumbles. I shut my eyes, awaiting the aftermath. However, apart from the initial loud sound, there was no follow-up. The room returned to silence.

I opened my eyes and saw that the scene of the disastrous explosion I had expected had not appeared at all. The giant paw had caught the warhead, only swaying slightly from it. Then, the fingers slowly opened.

Clang! The outer shells of the warhead dropped onto the ground. The claw had fully absorbed the might of the entire explosion.

"My god. Canyue, this monster is too strong. It can eat up even a nuclear warhead. We should start running now," Zhang Bao'er cried out.

"We have no escape path. Our only choice is to kill this thing," I said.

In truth, I was also feeling very nervous. After all, this was also my first time encountering a monster so barbaric and strong that it could eat up the explosion of a nuclear warhead. The nuclear warhead had been my trump card. Now that it had failed, I could no longer think of anything else. The nuclear warhead seemed to have ignited the wrath of the giant paw. It whistled through the air as it swept toward us, placing massive pressure upon us.

"The freak has gone crazy! Everyone, open fire with everything you got!" Zhang Xingxing commanded loudly.

We were aware that bullets might not be able to stop the monster, but by sheer habit, we reacted by firing our weapons at maximum capacity. We roared madly and rained bullets and fire upon the monster, but no matter what bullet we used, our attacks only tickled the monster.

Our fierce attack had angered the monster further. It opened up its fingers and moved them about. Then, all the worms on the ground started swarming us again. When the giant paw finally arrived, it struck our defensive shield. The shield's morph-capable function protected us from major injuries, but it also drained our energy supply rapidly.

Suddenly, a big eye appeared before me. The seven sharp claws all reached for me, the culprit behind the nuclear attack. The ferocious claws drilled through the shield, and the fingers wrapped around my waist.

"Let go of me, monster!" I shouted.

Despite being clad in a powerful defensive suit, I was completely helpless before the massive paw.

"Canyue, be careful!" I heard Zhang Xingxing's anxious voice. "Old Du, help Canyue!"

Thus commanded, Old Du aimed his gun at the wrist of the giant paw and fired madly. Unfortunately, his bullets were completely harmless to the giant paw. I was lifted high into the air. When I turned my head, I saw that despite the group's best efforts, the swarm of worms had managed to penetrate our defensive line.

I had not expected this place to be where we met our end. A sense of bleakness welled up in my heart. The giant paw furiously slammed me into the wall with a loud rumble. The impact proved too much for my suit to fully counteract, and I was knocked unconscious.

"Canyue, Canyue, are you fine?" 

In my daze, I seemed to hear Zhang Xingxing calling my name repeatedly.

I could vaguely feel the giant paw lifting me once again. I felt my body move through the air, slowly leaving the ring of fire, before I lost my consciousness fully. After an indeterminate amount of time, I woke up with a splitting headache.

'Am I alive or dead? Is this the afterlife?' I asked myself.

I checked my equipment, finding that my suit's defensive system still functioned. After giving my face a pinch, I confirmed that I was still alive. Slowly, I stood back up. Despite the aching pain all over my body, I was still able to regain my clarity of mind. Ahh, the wonders of youth.

'I'm still alive! I'm still alive! How lucky can I be?' I thought to myself. 'How are Xingxing and the others? I need to look for them as soon as possible.'

I observed my surroundings and saw that I was in a small room. Many objects that looked like household utensils were arranged in the room, with many of them shaped so oddly that I had never imagined that something like them would exist. And on the walls, many paintings hung.

Studying the paintings, I had a feeling that they were actually star charts. Suddenly, I saw a chart that greatly resembled the Solar System. I performed a detailed scan of the chart. Seven major planets. There was no mistaking it. This was most likely the Solar System.

'Had this ship been to Blue in the past?' I wondered.

"Cooo. Cooo." 

I suddenly heard Dondon's voice. I turned around and saw that this little fellow had also been shaken unconscious like me. It had just regained consciousness.

It was a wonderful feeling to have a companion by one's side in moments like this. I hugged Dondon, and it blinked at me, telling me that it was unharmed. I lifted it from the bag and placed it on the ground, giving it a chance to stretch its legs.

'I can't waste any time. I need to help Xingxing and the others,' I told myself.

At that thought, I decided to further study the room and look for a way out as soon as possible.