Never Give Up

Originally, the two guys trailing behind Yuri and Tuss intended to use the two as a distraction if they encountered the insectoids, hoping to buy themselves some time to flee. But, as it turned out, Yuri was faster than all of them. The question of who would sacrifice became uncertain.

Observing this, the two people chose to separate from Yuri and Tuss.

When a gooey thing wrapped around her foot, Yuri felt a shudder. Her dislike for the insectoids was as strong as her aversion to zombies.

The gooey thing was about to tighten, trying to break her thin ankle when, suddenly, a flash of blue light flew by. The gooey thing was cut in two. The part that had been coiled around Yuri's ankle went slack and fell off.

Tuss's ears moved. He seemed to have heard something. When he tried to turn his head, Yuri suddenly changed direction, so he didn't see the cut-off gooey thing on the ground.

Just then, a dagger made from Blue Keystone was stuck close to Yuri's lower leg, as if it had become one with her.

In the mine, shrieks and ripping noises echoed non-stop.

"We need to find weapons," Yuri said.

"We could take apart the blade from a rock-digger. It might work," Tuss suggested.

Thinking of the sharp blade, Yuri changed her path. "I know where the closest rock-digger is."

Five minutes later, both Yuri and Tuss had a blade in their hands, carefully making their way through the mine.

"I think I heard Zeek," Yuri said, her eyebrows furrowed.

"Over there," Tuss pointed, then started moving.

Yuri followed close behind, soon outpacing him and taking the lead. Tuss's eyes turned stormy, he clenched his teeth, and quickened his pace, resolved not to lag too far behind her.

Zeek was in the rock-digger, intending to use it to locate Yuri and Tuss. With him were Cass, Edgar, and Priscilla. They hadn't found Yuri and Tuss yet, and instead had bumped into the insectoids.

Zeek was a servant, with little to no experience fighting insectoids. His machine was quickly wrecked by them, as they smashed through the cockpit's shield and bit his shoulder, trying to pull him out. Cass, Edgar, and Priscilla, who were military academy students, had more fighting experience. They could still fight, but as more and more insectoids arrived, they also got hurt. The energy stones in the rock-digger were stolen and eaten by the insectoids.

Without their mechas and weapons, they were powerless against these beginner-level insectoids. They had given up hope, thinking escape was impossible.

Turning the corner, Yuri saw Zeek being pulled off the rock-digger by an insectoid that had bitten his shoulder. Yuri's eyes grew wide in shock, and before she could react, a blue dagger, fast as a flash, was thrown, aiming for the head of the insectoid chewing on Zeek.

The onlookers only saw a burst of blue light, and in the next moment, a puddle of smelly, sticky liquid spread across the ground.

Roar—

Furious, the insectoid with half its head chopped off charged directly at Yuri, not caring about its injured body. Yuri didn't dodge, she stood still.

The sharp and strong blade in her hand created a blur as she swung it, like she was slicing up vegetables, and pieces of flesh fell to the ground.

Edgar, Cass, and Priscilla were shocked. Somehow, when the blade was in Yuri's hand, it became an unstoppable force.

Feeling encouraged, they too took apart their blades and rushed at the insectoids.

Finally, the blade buried itself in the insectoid's body. But then they found they couldn't pull the knife out.

"Help!"

Cass let go of his blade and tried to escape. But he was caught in a tight spot. Within two steps, he was captured by the insectoids. From head to toe, he was squeezed, every part of his body in agonizing pain.

This time, he was really in big trouble.

That was when Tuss finally got there. Without a word, he charged forward and slashed at the insectoids entangling Cass.

Huff—

Cass crumbled on the ground, gulping for fresh air.

Tears filled his eyes. He had barely escaped death once more.

The insectoids were increasing in number. They couldn't keep doing this.

Yuri activated Enova, and then she pointed in a direction with fewer insectoids. "That way, retreat!"

Priscilla, helping Cass, led the way, followed by Zeek, then Edgar, with Yuri and Tuss covering their retreat.

"You follow them. I can manage myself," Yuri said to Tuss.

Tuss pursed his lips. In just one day, he had regretted his incompetence countless times.

"I can keep up," he said, his tone firm and stubborn.

Yuri glanced at Tuss's face. Sweat poured down, washing away the dirt and revealing his remarkably handsome features. His deep eyes were filled with seriousness and persistence. At that moment, he seemed to glow.

Yuri didn't try to persuade him further. While fighting with the cutter, she also controlled the dagger, moving among the insectoids not far behind, eliminating one wave after another, preventing them from catching up.

Her psychic power was draining fast. In less than ten minutes, she was plagued with a splitting headache.

Maybe it was their noisy battle, or perhaps the insectoids' call, but more and more insectoids were gathering towards them.

"We can't keep this up. We need to get to the elevator and head to the surface," Yuri said.

The noise on the surface hadn't stopped. Perhaps the insectoids there had been eliminated.

Everyone else was eager to leave the mine too. At Yuri's command, they immediately changed course and ran towards the elevator.

However, they hadn't run far when they stopped.

"We're done for." Priscilla's face turned pale as she muttered.

In front of them was an uncountable swarm of insectoids.

Yuri turned her head and her heart sank. In her previous life, she met her end with zombies, and this life, she was to be devoured by bugs. What distasteful creatures.

She refused to accept it, but she knew that unless a miracle occurred, they were doomed.

"Is that a level-three insectoid?" Yuri pointed towards a bug in the swarm with a pair of wings and eight tentacles. This bug posed the biggest threat to her.

Tuss grunted in affirmation, then said loudly to make sure she heard, "Yes, it is."

Yuri set her sights on that insectoid, a surge of fighting spirit in her eyes. She wondered if killing it would make the other bugs retreat.

It was worth a try.

While the others were fighting for their lives, Yuri, in a peculiar position, launched herself toward the swarm of insectoids. Rolling and jumping, narrowly avoiding being trampled or captured by mandibles, she was half covered in blood by the time she reached the level-three insectoid.

"Yuri!" Tuss roared, his eyes nearly splitting with fury. "How can you be so reckless?! Are you trying to get yourself killed?"

Yuri turned her head and grinned at Tuss. "I won't be satisfied if I die without taking a few of them with me," she said.

With that, her cutter met the sharp claws of the level-three insectoid.