Chapter 54: There's a Nest Here!

Ten minutes later, the transport plane delivered the team to their destination.

As soon as he got off the plane, Zhou Yuan froze.

This place shouldn't be called a cemetery, it should be called hell!

C1 District on Mars used to have a vast network of canyons that looked like scars on the planet when viewed from above.

But now, the canyon network was gone.

In its place was a plain with varying sizes and an uncountable number of nuclear bomb craters -- there were more craters here than on the surface of the moon.

In addition, there were many dead bugs here.

Most of these bug corpses were incomplete, either smashed or burned, scattered across the plain like oversized weeds.

Judging by the degree of erosion caused by wind and sand on the bug corpses, some of them had been there for a long time, while others appeared to have just died a few days ago.

It must have been another special operations team that did this; after all, this was the first place on Mars where bugs appeared, and it would certainly receive "special attention."

"Alright, let's get to work."

"Wild Boar and Great White Shark, lead the way. Falcon and Soft Egg, take care of the flanks. Beef Steak and Puff Pastry, keep an eye on the rear. The rest of you, follow me."

"Demolition expert, get ready with the tactical nuclear bomb. If you discover a nest, blow it up immediately!"

Buck waved his hand, signaling the start of the operation.

The eleven-person squad immediately dispersed into a diamond formation and slowly moved forward.

"Sir, can we shoot?" 

Zhou Yuan took out his Barrett from behind and quietly asked Buck.

He had scanned the area with his scanner earlier and found that there were quite a few bug creatures nearby.

Bug creatures have a strong thermal sense; even the best space armor could not block their heat detection from two to three hundred meters away.

But human scanners were stronger and could detect bugs from five hundred meters away.

This was a significant advantage, but when initiating an attack, one should be careful about the number of bugs to avoid attracting too many of them.

"Shoot at any swarm with less than a hundred bugs."

"When shooting, pay attention to observe whether there are suddenly appearing or disappearing bugs around you."

Buck nodded, looking very relaxed.

In fact, the best way to find a nest was to kill most of the bugs in sight.

This way, you can follow the small group of surviving bugs and track down their lair.

Or wait for them to call for reinforcements and see where the helpers come from -- that's where the nest is likely to be.

"Understood!"

Zhou Yuan pulled the bolt, ran to Falcon, who was scouting the right flank from a slightly elevated position, and began sniping the bug creatures.

"Bang!"

A bullet went out, a bug creature fell, and Zhou Yuan's heart trembled.

This feeling was fantastic!

Even if there was a swarm of bugs in front of him on the defense wall, he would only treat it as a day at work, with no emotional ups and downs.

But now that he was in the bug zone, he felt a surge of adrenaline with every bug he killed, making him excited and almost trembling.

This was what he wanted!

A place where you can fully unleash your potential, where adrenaline rushes through your veins, a place ordinary people dare not venture. Even if it means slowing down the acquisition of soul points, even if it means risking death. He loves this feeling so much!

"Massacre, your marksmanship is excellent!" Falcon exclaimed as Zhou Yuan took down several soldier bugs in a row without missing a single shot, all while they were on the move. Zhou Yuan was a sniper, and his shooting skills were extraordinary.

"Many people say I'm a genius, but I don't think so."

"If you want to achieve more, you must first give more."

"When I was in high school, I joined a professional shooting club and combat club, and underwent training from retired soldiers."

"While my classmates were dating and partying, I was training relentlessly."

"I dedicated all my extracurricular time to training, and now it's time for the rewards."

Zhou Yuan said with an expressionless face, his voice full of magnetism, delivering a "profound" speech.

"It's decided, Falcon! Go spread these words! Let everyone know that I'm not just a gifted freak, I'm just working harder than all of you."

"To be honest, I'm starting to like you!" Falcon became excited upon hearing Zhou Yuan's words. He clenched his fist and said, "You're right, hard work deserves rewards. You'll definitely achieve great things in the future."

He wasn't just saying this to Zhou Yuan, but also to himself.

... ...

For the next few hours, the team continued to move towards the center of Zone C1.

The closer they got to the center, the more bugs they encountered. The largest group of bugs they encountered had nearly a thousand of them.

Fortunately, the team had ample ammunition, including various mixed explosives and grenades, and they even brought along ten tactical nuclear warheads.

A thousand bugs were not even enough to fill the gaps between their teeth.

It wasn't until noon that Buck ordered the team to stop and replenish water and energy.

"It seems the air force was right."

"The more bugs there are ahead, the more likely there is a bug nest nearby. It's been half a month since I last saw a bug nest."

Buck munched on a nutrition bar, excitedly sharing the information.

Yesterday at noon, during a routine patrol, the air force encountered a small bug tide with barely over ten thousand bugs in this graveyard area. A group of bugs of this scale wasn't too dangerous; one tactical nuclear warhead could easily handle them.

The air force effortlessly wiped out the bugs and deduced some valuable intelligence from them.

There's a bug nest hidden in this graveyard!

You see, soldier bugs have hot tempers. When they're not fighting humans, they fight among themselves. If over ten thousand soldier bugs gather together without causing trouble for the fortress and without fighting each other, but instead circling around an area, it's a clear sign that something important is being protected.

For example, their common home.

Zhou Yuan raised an eyebrow and asked, "Captain, if we really encounter a bug nest, let me blow it up. I haven't used a tactical nuclear warhead before."

"No problem, blow it up as you wish!"

"And if possible, I hope we can find a few more bug nests and use up all ten tactical nuclear warheads!"

Buck nodded in agreement.

Afterwards, he pointed his finger at the team members, "Boar, Great White Shark, Soft Egg, the three of you lead the way later."

"Steak, Profiterole, Gasoline, the three of you keep an eye on the flanks and the rear."

"Storm, Junkyard, Massacre, prepare the explosives and grenades. We might have a big fight ahead."

"Falcon, you'll accompany me for auxiliary reconnaissance."

"Lastly, everyone, listen up! All sniper rifles will be modified into assault rifles, and those with grenade launchers should equip them. Let's get to work now!"