Chapter 9: Source Energy Crystals

After cleaning up the eight Black Beetles, Du Gang returned to his normal size. He was just about to leave when he noticed a red glow flickering among the beetle bodies in the verdant mess.

"What is that?"

He squinted at the distance and it seemed to look like a gem.

A gem?

Suddenly, he wondered if this could possibly be the monster crystal or golden pill often mentioned in novels.

"Transform!"

Du Gang issued a low command and turned into a giant once again. He carefully approached, making sure not to disturb the bugs around. It was only once he arrived at the gem that he reached out to pick it up.

[Detected 1 Source Energy Crystal, do you want to absorb it?]

An electronic system voice echoed in his mind.

Du Gang immediately eased his vigilance and silently commanded in his mind, "Absorb!"

Suddenly, the red crystal in his hand the size of a fingernail instantly disappeared.

[Absorbed 1 red Source Energy Crystal, gained 3 Source Energy points]

"3 Source Energy points?"

Du Gang chuckled. Finally, he had found the Source Energy needed for his system to upgrade!

With this thought, he immediately began the action and started searching the other seven Black Beetle bodies.

Without much effort, he found seven gems glowing red amid the greenish goo.

[Detected 7 red Source Energy Crystals, do you want to absorb them?]

"Absorb!"

[Absorbed 7 Red Source Energy Crystals, gained 18 Source Energy points]

During the absorption process, Du Gang found that the amount of Source Energy contained in these crystals varied - a larger one had 3 points, but a smaller one only had 1 point.

"At least the good news is these bugs all carry Source Energy. I can obtain Source Energy by hunting them."

Looking at the balance of Source Energy in his mind, which was showing 21 points, Du Gang felt excited.

Although he was still far from upgrading to the Second Rank Ancient God, he was very close to activating the nerve system, the first system in the second layer of the skill tree!

He was only 79 Source Energy points away from activating the nerve system!

He realized that his transformation into a giant was like a mecha that had just been manufactured and was yet loaded with any weapons.

Those eight secondary systems would surely have different functions after being activated. He just didn't know what abilities the nerve system would bring him!

After absorbing the Source Energy, Du Gang returned to his normal size and quickly ran towards the boys' dormitory.

There were only two minutes left for his transformation time. He couldn't exhaust it before midnight, or else he would lose any chance to struggle if there was an unexpected situation!

...

Arctic Circle - Command Center of Hua Nation Camp.

A scientist, looking jubilant, rushed to Yao Zhenguo and rapidly reported, "Good news!"

"Go ahead!" Seeing his excitement, Yao Zhenguo hastily responded.

"One of the time zones in the Western Hemisphere is experiencing daytime and the Spatial Channels there have disappeared!"

"What!"

Yao Zhenguo instantly became overjoyed and eagerly inquired, "Has it disappeared permanently? Have the bugs also disappeared?"

The scientist was taken aback by the question and awkwardly explained, "We are not sure if it's a permanent disappearance. We will only be sure if the Spatial Channels reappear tomorrow night... "

Yao Zhenguo's face fell after hearing this.

Seeing this, the scientist quickly added, "Although the bugs haven't disappeared, we have noticed through satellite images that they showed substantial discomfort. They are extremely afraid of sunlight. Basically, all of them have burrowed into areas where the sun can't reach and, well... they've fallen into a deep sleep!"

X. "Afraid of sunlight... deep sleep..." Yao Zhenguo muttered, then asked, "What is the extent of their sleep? Can they be awakened? Also, what is their condition under the sun?"

"There aren't any specific examples yet, so we can't determine that..."

Once the scientist left, another communication sergeant stepped forward to report.

"Our fighter jets have successfully arrived at the various military districts and have delivered relevant information. Now, they are refueling at various bases and are expected to return to report in about three hours... "

"Good, notify the aviation department to pass on information to all military districts in shifts every twelve hours..."

Suddenly, Yao Zhenguo paused for a second or two before continuing, "During the day, transport aircraft can be deployed... never mind, just wait for my orders after checking the actual situation in the daytime!"

Now that he knew that the bugs were afraid of sunlight and would hibernate during the day, daytime was an extremely safe time!

Whether it was for delivering supplies or moving people, it would be an excellent opportunity!

...

When Du Gang got to the dormitory, all the students cheered.

Fortunately, at his gesture for silence, all the celebratory noises stopped.

His return, and the absence of the bugs, meant that he was successful!

At that moment, many students were crying tears of joy, hugging each other in celebration.

In peaceful times, they always hoped something would happen so they could have a break.

But when the apocalypse really arrived, and when they were separated from their families, they wished it was all just a dream.

Utilizing the enhanced strength from his transformation, Du Gang managed to leap and return back to his 601 dorm room efficiently just before reaching the window.

"How did it go?"

Even though they could guess the outcome, An Ya and Ma Li still looked at him expectantly.

Du Gang nodded and laughed, "There were eight 'cockroaches' in total, I killed them all!"

"That's fantastic!"