12 Chapter 12: The New Bug

Arctic Circle - Hua Nation Camp - Command Center.

"Take a rest, it won't do to exhaust yourself," Li Mingzhi said with concern.

Ever since arriving here, Yao Zhenguo hadn't had a wink of sleep. Even though it was already two in the morning, he remained in the command center.

Upon hearing Li Mingzhi say this, he slowly shook his head and said directly, "The world is undergoing such drastic changes, our people are under attack by alien beasts, our soldiers are fighting on the front lines, what does my rest matter? Don't try to persuade me further, just report any updates."

Seeing his adamant stance, Li Mingzhi sighed in resignation and didn't try to persuade him anymore. "There have indeed been new developments. In the Western Hemisphere, new alien bugs have emerged from more than a dozen spatial channels," he reported.

"New bugs?" Yao Zhenguo's pupils contracted, and a foreboding sense of dread arose.

Li Mingzhi nodded affirmatively and handed Yao Zhenguo a photograph with a solemn expression.

"It's a flying insect, a hybrid of a mantis, dragonfly, and mosquito. It has wings that can vibrate at a high frequency, allowing it to reach the speed of sound in short-range flights. Its front limbs are exceptionally sharp and can easily slice through the hardest part of the human skull. Additionally, it has a sharp tail needle that can penetrate 2cm thick steel... It likes sucking human brains. The research department has temporarily named it the 'Flying Mantis'. "

Yao Zhenguo's breath hitched and his complexion worsened, he asked, "What's their flying altitude?"

"Experts deduce that this creature can fly up to a thousand meters in the air, but its frequently active airspace is no more than five hundred meters."

"Have any appeared in Hua Nation's spatial channels?"

"Not yet!"

"I see, pass this information to the frontline as soon as possible, have the military districts prepare!"

"Yes!"

…

"Bang!"

Right after the boy's dormitory had shut their door, a loud bang sounded from the next room over.

Simultaneously, there came a bout of shrill female screams.

"It's the girl's dormitory!"

Someone shouted, pinpointing the source of noise.

With no hesitation this time, Du Gang ran towards the floor, shouting, "I'll go take a look, you all stay here!"

Soon after reaching the third floor, he leapt out of the window.

Indeed, the door of the girls' dormitory next door had been blown open by the black beetles, the beetles straining to squeeze their way in.

The moment he landed, his body swelled and ripped through his clothes. With a "thump", he lightly touched the ground and jumped again, leaping into the third floor of the girls' dormitory at lighting speed.

Rushing quickly to the staircase, he let out a sigh of relief.

Below, the beetles, having bodies too long and hard shells on their backs, were currently stuck on the corner going from the first floor to the second.

He broadly estimated that if these bugs were smarter, they could still make it up by climbing around the wall.

He immediately became nervous again. In such a corridor, he would have no advantage even if he transformed, as he had no means of killing them.

Without wasting any more time, he quickly climbed to the fifth floor, where he saw no one in the corridors, only heard previous screams.

Without further thinking, he leapt a few steps and arrived on the sixth floor. Looking left and right, he noticed that the corridor was still empty. He realized that everyone was in their rooms.

What to do?

Quickly, a plan formed in Du Gang's mind. He thought to run to the Experimental Building, bring back the iron pillar, and somehow lure the bugs outside.

He definitely couldn't fight in the corridor; the iron pillar wouldn't have enough room to swing, which would erase his advantage.

No sooner had he thought of this plan than dismissed it; he was here to save people, not to kill bugs. Plus, in such an environment, he wouldn't have the upper hand even if he wanted to kill.

Having decided on the plan, Du Gang shouted, "I'm Du Gang, class 1-8's sports representative, I'm here to save you all, hurry up and come out!"

After his first shout, there was no response except for the sound of the bugs scraping against the wall, making a sizzling noise on the second floor.

His eyebrows furrowed slightly, and after a short thought, he quickly shouted again, "I'm the giant who just transformed, I'm here to save you. I'll leave this place in a minute!"

Shortly after his second shout, a door was opened, "Du...Du Gang?!!!"

He turned his head to see Wang Yixuan, their class study representative.

He quickly waved, "Come here quickly!"

Wang Yixuan, who had thought that the giant looked familiar, now believed his words. Seeing his gesturing, she didn't hesitate and ran over.

Without saying a word, Du Gang quickly pointed to the mid-wall of the staircase where a ladder hung in mid-air, "Climb up there to the roof, quickly!"

"Ah?"

"Don't 'ah', climbing up is the way to survive!"

Du Gang planned to have the girls climb up to the roof first so that he could be more flexible later, whether it was sending them to the boys' dormitory or going back to fight the bugs.

"I can't reach it!"

Wang Yixuan looked at him helplessly, stretching out a hand which was still some way away from the ladder.

This ladder was made of rebar and was left for workers who installed network cables and solar heaters; it was quite high from the ground.

Without a thought, Du Gang stepped forward and squatted down, holding Wang Yixuan's leg then lifting her up, "Climb! Now!"

Although Wang Yixuan was confused, she didn't overthink it and quickly grabbed the ladder, scrambling up hand and foot.

At this moment, some other girls also started to come out of their rooms.

Du Gang shouted at the top of his lungs, "The bugs are stuck on the second floor, hurry up and come over here; first climb up to the roof!"

Upon hearing the urgency in his voice, a few of the girls started running and quickly reached him.

Without a word, he squatted and stood back up, hoisting one girl after another onto the ladder.

After the last girl climbed up the ladder, Du Gang quickly asked, "How many girls are there in the dormitory?"

He hadn't counted just now but about four or five girls had gone up; however, the number of girls in the dormitory must have been more than that.

"I don't know, some people are still in the dormitory…"

That girl on top, who was as proficient at climbing ladders as a professional, disappeared onto the roof before she even finished her sentence.

"Bang!"

At that moment, a loud bang sounded from the bottom of the staircase.

Walking two steps out and looking down, Du Gang's pupils constricted.

The black beetles, which had previously been stuck at the second floor, seemed to have finally found a solution as they climbed up one by one, and they were about to pass the third floor and head toward the fourth.

There's no time!

"The bugs are coming in, take care of yourselves!"

At this point, even if the girls wanted to come out, it would be too late.

There was still no response, but he didn't care anymore. The ones who trusted him were already safe upstairs; the ones left could fend for themselves. After shouting, he made a jump on the spot, caught the upper staircase and quickly climbed up.

By the time he reached the rooftop, he looked back and found that the black beetles had already climbed to the corner between the fifth and sixth floor. Meanwhile, there was still no sound from the left or right of the staircase; it was as if there was truly no one left in the dormitory.