"Huan Tian, they've all been parasitized by Six-Legged Black Widows!"
Lin Qingqing's terrified shout made Huan Tian abruptly halt amid battle. As the gunfire fell silent, they finally heard the strange, creeping sounds emerging behind them.
Crack... crunch...
Squish... rip...
It was the sound of bones snapping, of flesh being mercilessly torn apart.
Lin Qingqing turned her head in horror and saw the return of her years-long nightmare.
Each of the corpses behind them had a gaping, fist-sized bloody hole in its chest. On the ground, along the walls, even crawling across the ceiling—dozens of blood-slick Six-Legged Black Widows.
They moved like silent assassins, creeping closer and closer toward the pair, their jointed limbs making no sound at all.
Suddenly, a fallen zombie behind Lin Qingqing twitched violently. With a sickening squelch, a pair of barbed legs burst out from its chest. More legs followed, piercing through the ribs, and then—with the grotesque grace of a chick hatching from its egg—a blood-soaked Six-Legged Black Widow forced its way out of the carcass.
"They're using zombie bodies to fool us—trying to ambush us from behind!"
Lin Qingqing backed away, trembling, her lips already tinged faintly purple.
"This is just a Tier-1 parasite... and it already has intelligence at this level?"
Huan Tian's face darkened to the extreme. Even in his past life, he had rarely encountered parasitic mutants. After all, with the rise of the aberrant species led by the Evil God, other mutation types were driven into more remote zones, including the parasitic kind.
Hisssss—
Behind them, the Six-Legged Black Widows let out sharp, piercing screeches, as if enraged by the failure of their ambush.
And then, as if responding to their call, the zombies blocking the path ahead began to growl in unison.
The Six-Legged Black Widows and their parasitized zombie hosts were closing in with overwhelming momentum. Dozens of bloodthirsty parasites, plus an equal number of infected undead—it would be all too easy to kill just two humans.
But killing wasn't their goal.
They wanted hosts.
To implant their offspring, fully and intact, into living bodies.
So, these intelligent creatures didn't rush in for the kill. Instead, they advanced slowly, methodically, sealing off every possible route of escape, tightening the noose with cruel patience, like predators savoring the fear of their prey.
Inside Huan Tian's mind, combat scenarios flashed at lightning speed. Battle after battle from his past life—moments when he had stared death in the face. He was desperately trying to find a way to break through.
But he failed.
His experience with parasites was far too limited. He had never fought a swarm like this before. No matter how he simulated it, the probability of survival never rose above fifty percent.
Only one plan pushed that number close to ninety.
Leave Lin Qingqing behind. Use her as bait. Fight his way out from the side where the zombies were thinner.
But every time that thought surfaced, Huan Tian forced it back down.
Abandon a comrade? He couldn't do it. He wouldn't.
"Huan Tian… What do we do now…"
Qingqing gripped her long, bone blade tightly. Beneath the helmet, her pale face was drained of all color. Over the past few days, she had come to rely on Huan Tian's command in moments like this.
But this time, Huan Tian was silent, lost in thought, unaware she had spoken.
And that silence pierced Lin Qingqing's heart.
A chilling realization dawned on her. Someone had to stay behind. Someone had to die.
If Huan Tian was to survive, she had to be the one to stay.
Something inside her cracked. The exhaustion she had been suppressing for days surged through her limbs, and a bleak, bitter smile crept onto her face. She turned and pressed a full magazine into Huan Tian's hand.
"Huan Tian, I can't run anymore. You have to go. I'll stay behind and draw the bugs to me—if I do that, you can break through."
Somehow, even knowing it meant death, the words came with surprising ease.
She didn't know why.
She only knew one thing—
She wanted him to live.
Even if it meant she wouldn't.
Huantian's heart sank the moment he heard her words. Only then did he realize that Lin Qingqing was on the verge of collapse.
Her chest was heaving violently from overexertion, and the muscles in her legs twitched erratically—an unmistakable sign that her body was nearing its limit.
He had forgotten—this wasn't the same Lin Qingqing from before. She was carrying over fifty pounds of gear on her back, had just endured relentless combat, and nonstop sprinting. For a woman to have lasted this long... was already a miracle.
Suddenly, Lin Qingqing smiled.
She slowly lifted the visor of her helmet. Her eyes, clouded with exhaustion and emotion, looked toward Huantian. But all she could see was her reflection in the mirrored surface of his visor—her distorted, despairing smile—
And the fierce determination in her eyes.
"Huantian, I know you. If this were back when we first met, you would've turned around and left without hesitation."
"But now, the fact that you're hesitating because of me… that's enough. That makes me happy."
Before he could react, she suddenly shoved him backward.
Stumbling, Huan Tian felt her hand brush past his waist—and in that instant, he knew something was missing.
The Tier-2 Nightmare Crystal—
The one he had just dug out of the Six-Legged Black Widow.
"Lin Qingqing, you—!"
He turned around sharply, just in time to see her wipe the black blood from her helmet with one firm motion, along with the tears silently welling in her eyes.
Huan Tian had once told her: Nightmare Crystals held enormous, volatile energy, especially Tier-2 ones. If shattered, they could cause a powerful explosion.
And if that explosion was strong enough—
He might just break through the encirclement.
Under the helmet, Lin Qingqing's face was calm, almost serene. With a soft smile, she tossed the Tier-2 crystal to the ground. Then, gripping her long, bone blade with both hands, she raised it high above her head and brought it down with all the strength she had left, aimed straight at the crystal's core.
It was all she had left to give.
"Huan Tian… promise me—
Live on. For me."
Huan Tian's face went deathly pale.
In that moment, it felt as though time itself had frozen around him.
The same words—Huantian had heard them too many times in his past life.
Every single time, they meant a comrade's farewell!
It was as if something inside him was violently torn apart, a long-sealed door suddenly blasted open, and countless memories flooded his mind like a torrent.
Yes, Lin Qingqing was weak—pitifully weak.
From the very beginning, she had only been tagging along beside him to "get by."
But she never betrayed him. She entrusted him with all her trust without reservation.
And now, she was even willing to sacrifice herself for him!
Tactics could be taught.
Skills could be trained.
But "willingness to die for a teammate"—how many people could truly learn that?
Lin Qingqing was worth risking everything!
Huan Tian's gaze suddenly sharpened, becoming unwaveringly resolute!
[Ding! Lin Qingqing's trust in the host is 100%, and the host's trust in Lin Qingqing has reached 100%.]
[Binding successful. Congratulations, host Lin Qingqing, have officially joined the Demon Hunting Squad.]
[When the team leader's attributes exceed those of team members, the members gain a bonus equal to 10% of the attribute difference.]
Team member data:
Name: Lin Qingqing
Role: Official member of the Demon Hunting Squad
Strength: 4 (+1.4)
Agility: 5 (+1.2)
Constitution: 9 (+1.1)
Spirit: 15
Huan Tian's heart suddenly skipped two beats—10% attribute sharing!
Though not high, it was exactly what Lin Qingqing needed right now!
This meant she could hold on a little longer, even break through this deadly encirclement together with him!
Everything was completed in an instant—
The system's power quietly took effect on Lin Qingqing. The next moment, an incredulous flash crossed her eyes; the bone knife aimed at the nightmare crystal slightly faltered.
"Huan Tian, did… did you do something to me?"
A sudden idea exploded in Huan Tian's mind. His eyes grew brighter and brighter, until they blazed with a fierce, almost manic determination that clenched every muscle in his face tight as steel.
Without hesitation, he pulled Lin Qingqing into his arms, shielding her behind him.
"Let's go! I'll get you out of here!"
"With me here, no monster can kill you!"