*Chapter 71: Red Queen, Unleash My Ultimate Weapon!

General Xiong and his team were swift to act. After all, the golden worm queen hadn't made a sound during the recent attack. Everyone was wary that she might seize the opportunity to escape.

They moved as fast as light, their bodies blurring into streaks. As they scoured the area for the golden worm queen, a frantic cry echoed through their communicators.

"General Xiong, fall back now! Incoming attack! Retreat now!"

The team froze, their faces turning pale. Without a second thought, they raced back the way they'd come.

A piercing whistle sounded, a chilling reminder of impending doom, and terror twisted their faces.

"Damn it, Qin Zhi!"

Explosions erupted behind them, sending shockwaves that nearly knocked them off their feet. General Xiong and his soldiers wished they could run faster.

Just when they thought they were done for, an explosion hurled them clear of the danger zone.

Crashing to the ground, General Xiong was livid. He thumbed the communicator switch, revealing a furious grimace.

"Qin Zhi, I swear I'll kill you!"

His threat echoed from the rooftop of the base, palpable even through the communicator. Qin Zhi gulped nervously.

He glanced at Zheng Mu, who was idly zooming in on the surveillance screen, seemingly trying to locate the fool who'd set off the second round of artillery.

Floating in the sky were numerous airships that had lowered their altitude. Everyone aboard — the evaluators, military experts, and candidates — stared in disbelief at the scene unfolding before them.

On one of the airships from Hanlong University, a ponytailed girl dressed in a black bodysuit stood dumbfounded, watching the worm creature consumed by the ferocious artillery fire.

"Can Zheng Mu really cause this much havoc?" a girl murmured. "This is incredible. Even a level 50 professional couldn't withstand this for long."

Upon hearing the name, He Xiangyun's brows furrowed instinctively.

That apprentice! How could he be so powerful?

If a mechanic could be this strong, why was he classified as an A-level professional?

Thinking of this, Xiangyun felt a blush creep up her face and neck.

That guy had seen through her stealth abilities, and humiliated her in front of everyone.

Her pride wounded, He Xiangyun harbored a deep resentment towards Zheng Mu, the apprentice.

Shaking her head, she kept her thoughts to herself.

"No way! If he was really that powerful, he'd just have to flex a bit in front of Shengqing University's faculty, and he wouldn't be stuck choosing Southwest Military University... Next time I see him, I'll teach him a lesson!"

He Xiangyun's hands clenched in frustration.

Meanwhile, Mr. Li turned his attention away from the spectacle.

Shielded by several people, he left the command room and looked at the cloud of dust rising in the distance.

The spaceship's third round of heavy bombardment sliced through the sky, arcing downward.

"Boom, boom..."

The explosions echoed like muffled thunder, a violent wind sweeping across the desert. If the spaceship hadn't been sturdy and stable, many would have been tossed overboard.

Leaning on a cane, Mr. Li seemed frail, but he stood firm, as if he was one with the spaceship.

However, as he watched the swirling dust, his eyes lit up, as if he had spotted something surprising.

Then, a series of sharp cries pierced through the dust.

Startled, the nearby professionals on high alert looked horrified.

Down below, General Xiong and his team, who'd narrowly escaped death, were just catching their breath when the shrill cries made them jump.

Staring in disbelief, General Xiong turned to see the dust dissipating.

The golden worm queen, who had withstood a full ten rounds of bombardment, was revealed.

"This creature survived all that firepower?!"

"Damn it, I almost died under that artillery barrage. How did this thing survive ten rounds?!"

Cursing, General Xiong looked towards Zheng Mu and his team.

However, after a long wait, there was no eleventh round of artillery fire.

Atop the base, everyone was stunned by the worm queen's resilience. Even Zheng Mu was starting to doubt if his shells were duds.

The surveillance drone's feed showed brightly colored clusters of light flickering amidst the sand.

Nearly 100,000 worm creatures were scurrying about, and there was no faking that.

Zheng Mu focused the drone's view on the shrieking worm queen.

In the magnified image, her grotesque face, her broken, bloodied mouth oozing with colorful fluids, was all too clear.

Zheng Mu pulled back, disgusted by the sight.

The image was too high-resolution, making Zheng Mu feel as if he'd just been kissed by the worm queen.

In the shadows, it was as if the worm queen felt Zheng Mu's gaze, and let out an even shriller cry.

In the distance, the bulky creature covered in worm slime advanced towards Zheng Mu and his team, unaided by its minions.

It was like a cornered king standing on a battlefield littered with the bodies of his own soldiers, roaring defiantly at the victorious Zheng Mu.

"Come at me! Kill me! Show some courage and take me down!"

Not just Zheng Mu, but even Cai Shengkun and the others felt its wrath.

Qin Zhi drew a deep breath, clenching his teeth.

"The golden worm queen is the leader of her kind, she's not your run-of-the-mill boss, her intelligence is high, Zheng Mu. If you've managed to corner her into a fight to the death instead of escaping, you've already achieved something remarkable.

"We'll handle the rest."

Qin Zhi moved to grab the communicator, planning to contact the military.

Zheng Mu, however, ignored him, instead zooming in on the image before him, examining the details of the worm queen's structure.

Suddenly, the worm queen let out a ferocious cry and lunged forward a few meters, startling Zheng Mu who had been studying her.

Seeing the others' reactions, especially Leng Bingyue's peculiar expression, Zheng Mu felt a wave of embarrassment.

He glared at the image of the worm queen, her grotesque mouth open in a roar.

"You're asking for it! Time to die!"

He gestured to the AI assistant, Red Queen, at his side.

"Red Queen, ready my weapon!"

Cai Shengkun, Ge Feng, Gu Ming, Sang Luo, Qin Zhi:

Leng Bingyue, Jiang Lanlan: "???"

Feeling the awkwardness in the air, as well as the Red Queen's questioning look, Zheng Mu slapped his forehead, annoyed at his own lack of clarity.

"Cough, I mean, prepare my weapon! We're gonna hit her hard!"

A major weapon?

At this, everyone's eyes widened.

There's an even bigger weapon?!

Their gazes drifted towards the site of the previously depleted artillery.

After a moment of anticipation, the artillery didn't reappear.

But while everyone was puzzled, the Red Queen shot Zheng Mu a disapproving look and spoke up.

"Authorization initiated."

"[Weapon system "Necrosis Laser Cannon"] is being deployed from the armory..."

As her words ended, the sounds of machinery echoed as a section of the base split open. A structure slowly emerged.

"[Weapon system "Necrotic Laser Cannon"] Command confirmed, energy compression initiated..."

A humming sound filled the air, and Qin Zhi felt a chilling sensation as a dangerous energy began to build at the cannon's muzzle.

At first, it was invisible to the naked eye, but after a dozen seconds...

A sphere of deep purple energy, the size of a basketball, floated above the muzzle.

"Damn it, Mu, what is this?" Qin Zhi grabbed Zheng Mu's arm, his nerves on edge.

But Zheng Mu remained silent, his gaze fixed on the worm queen in the distance.

If the enemy could endure such a heavy bombardment and still remain standing, there had to be something special about it. Zheng Mu was convinced of that.

That's why he was ready to deploy his most potent weapon – he was determined to take down this behemoth.

If he could take down a boss-level worm like this one, he was guaranteed a 100% drop rate of loot.

The situation quickly attracted the attention of those aboard the airborne ship, the Feiyun.

Among them, Mr. Li seemed to have noticed the Necrosis Laser Cannon's charging sequence and immediately turned his gaze in that direction.

On seeing the deep purple energy sphere at the cannon's muzzle, growing at a visibly rapid rate, even he had to shake his head and marvel.

"Ah, the new generation sure outdoes the old. If this young man can grow to his full potential, he'll keep our Dragon Kingdom thriving for a century!"

Hearing Mr. Li's high praise, the injured Liu Weiqi and others couldn't help but look surprised.

They exchanged glances, seeing regret reflected in each other's eyes.

If only they hadn't let Zheng Mu slip through their fingers. This young genius, highly praised by Mr. Li, could have been their prize student at Shengqing University!

But it was too late for regrets.

Not only did they need to mend their relationship with Zheng Mu, but they also had to prepare for potential backlash from the higher-ups.

As they were lost in their thoughts, the worm queen below roared even more fiercely, sensing her impending doom.

"Ding!"

A clear sound echoed, like a coin hitting the floor.

The next second, a terrifying beam of light struck the immobilized worm queen.

There were no screams. No roars.

The bright sunlight seemed to be consumed by the deep purple laser that stretched for miles, plunging the surroundings into darkness. It wasn't until several minutes after the laser had faded that light gradually returned.

The sound of wind filled the air, accompanied by the crackling noises of the high-temperature sand cooling down.

Everyone was silent, staring in awe at the glass-like tunnel carved into the barren desert by the laser – a surreal work of art in vivid purple.

"[You've killed the boss-level worm queen (Lv63), and earned 244.9M Experience Points]"

"[You've obtained the unique skill book "Conservation Double"]"

"[You've obtained the rare material "Worm Queen's Essence"]"

"[You've obtained the rare material "Kingvet Egg"]"

"[You've obtained the rare gear "World's Curse"]"

"[You've obtained the rare consumable "Brain Pill"]"

"[You've discovered an unidentified corpse]"

"[You've leveled up! Current level Lv24]"

"[You've leveled up! Current level Lv25]"

"[You have new skills to learn]"

"[You broke the 'World's Curse'*1, congratulations on earning a 'Celestial Point'*1]"

"[Current Celestial Points: 2]"

A wave of notifications flooded Zheng Mu's screen.

Seeing the alerts from the red alert system, Zheng Mu instantly leaped off the rooftop.

Below, a Licker monster was already waiting.

Smash!

Witnessing Zheng Mu transform into a blur, racing towards where the worm queen had fallen, Qin Zhi remained silent.

Everyone knew what Zheng Mu was up to.

He was collecting his loot.

Given the enormous level gap, Zheng Mu had single-handedly defeated the worm queen, a creature forty levels above him.

The rewards from the Celestial System would undoubtedly be extravagant.

Rich enough that even Qin Zhi and other level sixty elites couldn't help but salivate.

However, despite their curiosity about what treasures Zheng Mu would find, they had no intention of coveting them.

With Mr. Li, the influential figure on the top, witnessing Zheng Mu's spectacular performance throughout the encounter,

As long as Zheng Mu doesn't betray the nation or disrupt the Dragon Kingdom's peace, his path forward should be unobstructed.

Even Liu Weiqi, standing behind Mr. Li, could only hang his head as he saw Zheng Mu rushing towards the worm queen, not allowing himself to glance at the radiant red light cluster.

The items in the Hero category are priceless.

At that moment, the people watching Zheng Mu weren't just official figures like Mr. Li. The students from various schools aboard the Feiyun ship all watched, eager to see what Zheng Mu would look like.

However, after recognizing the familiar figure of the Licker, most of them already had an idea of who was riding it.

Upon seeing Zheng Mu, He Xiangyun trembled.

The possibility she had earlier denied was unfolding before her eyes in an unimaginable way.

"Could it be that Zheng Mu, the mechanic, managed to kill that terrifying worm queen with his mechanical creation?!"

"I'm not sure, but those red light clusters, they're Hero-grade items. Even in my family, we don't have any. And he, at my age, already has so many."

"Wow, it seems we're destined to be on different paths from him…"

"A-class mechanic, worthless? What a colossal joke! We used to laugh at mechanics, but now we're the ones who are jokes in Zheng Mu's eyes."

He Xiangyun could hear the surprise and chatter of her peers.

She bit her lip, a single phrase echoing in her mind.

"Not from the same world..."