Chapter 19: The Queen Bee!

[Ping! Detected: Player Lu Li’s soul points have reached 1000. Maximum number of soul soldiers increased to 20!]
[Detected: Player Lu Li has slain 500 insect-type creatures! Ability advancement quest completed!]
[Quest reward: Challenger’s Chest ×3, ability “Blade Arm” upgraded to Emerald grade!]
[Ping! Detected: Player Lu Li’s soul points have reached 2000. Maximum number of soul soldiers increased to 50!]
[Detected: “Corrupt Poison Needle” and “Blade Arm” are both of the “Sharp” ability type. Would you like to perform an enhanced fusion?]
[“Blade Arm” effect enhanced: now carries “Corrupt Toxin” effect with 100% activation chance.]
...
With each notification popping up on the panel, Lu Li’s power surged rapidly.
At this moment, he could summon 50 soul soldiers, each a level 3 Blade Arm Mantis.
Under the overwhelming might of this force, the burrowing bee swarm was powerless, slaughtered to the last one!
Lin Qinfeng surveyed the parking lot littered with insect corpses, then glanced at the man standing amid the pile of bodies, her eyes brimming with the joy of survival against all odds.
He actually did it!
That man single-handedly exterminated the entire bee swarm!
Lin Qinfeng immediately made a decision in her heart: such a powerful player must be courted by the Lin family!
Yet, just as she prepared to approach and speak, the dimensional rift nearby trembled again!
Lin Qinfeng froze, an ominous feeling rising in her chest.
Though the swarm was wiped out, a terrifying presence still lurked within the slaughter realm!
The Burrowing Bee King!
“Gak gak gak!!!”
A shrill screech echoed from the dimensional rift, the terrifying aura instantly filling the underground space.
Before Lin Qinfeng could even warn, a golden figure burst forth from the rift, launching a fierce attack on Lu Li!
“It’s over!”
Lin Qinfeng’s heart sank.
Remember, this Burrowing Bee King had gravely wounded Lin Qinxue with a single strike!
That mysterious man, though strong, clearly wasn’t a match for the Bee King.
After all, the Bee King was level 10.
Its attack methods were bizarre and unpredictable.
Even if that man was Qi Zeyu, ranked number one on the leaderboard, his level was only 3.
A full seven levels difference!
How utterly despairing!
Just as Lin Qinfeng feared, the mysterious man was struck by the Bee King’s attack, a long, narrow wound appearing across his chest!
It’s over...
“Level 10? Are you kidding me? This is only the first day of the apocalypse...”
Staring at the ferocious creature before him, Lu Li furrowed his brow.
He had come to a realization.
No wonder Tianyi Square had turned into a massive insect nest last time.
Apparently, a lord-class creature stood on the other side of the dimensional rift!
Those four women had failed to conquer the slaughter realm and inadvertently unleashed this level 10 Burrowing Bee King.
Lu Li glanced at his data panel.
Under the status section, a long list of negative effects dominated by “Curse” appeared.
“Good thing I looted the talent ability [Bloody Slaughter], otherwise this hit would’ve been fatal...”
[Bloody Slaughter:
Stage One — Bloody: Strength and speed increase proportionally with injury severity.
Stage Two — Slaughter: Upon entering near-death state, purges all negative effects and greatly boosts speed and strength.]
Stage two activated!
Lu Li sneered as the red mist around him was absorbed into his body!
‘Curse’ effects removed!
The 50 mantis soul soldiers swarmed forward, launching a suicide assault on the Bee King.
Seizing the moment, Lu Li swiftly retreated, his speed soaring as he dashed toward Lin Qinhua’s side.
Lin Qinhua, who had been watching, was initially worried about Lu Li’s injury,
but seeing him run over as if unscathed, she was momentarily stunned.
“Who here is a healer? Hurry and heal me!”
Lu Li asked bluntly, not bothering to explain.
“Uh, that’s me, but…” Lin Qinhua raised her hand and was about to speak when Lu Li cut her off.
“Great, then hurry and heal me!”
“Uh, okay...”
Lin Qinhua’s talent was [Group Healing], Platinum grade, capable of restoring all players’ health within a certain radius.
However, limited by the Bee King’s ‘Curse,’ its true effect was suppressed.
She had assumed healing Lu Li would be as futile as with Lin Qinxue.
Yet, after a dozen seconds...
Lu Li was fully healed!
“Ha! Thanks a lot!”
Feeling the surge of vitality within him, Lu Li turned and charged at the Bee King once more.
Lin Qinhua stared blankly at his retreating figure, then glanced down at the still bleeding Lin Qinxue.
The healing worked?
Why was this man unaffected by the ‘Curse’?
In the distance, though the Bee King was besieged by the Blade Arm mantises, it was far from defeated.
The massive seven-level gap made it arrogant and fearless; aside from a few superficial scratches, it was largely unharmed.
Meanwhile, the number of mantis soul soldiers dwindled rapidly, fewer than thirty remaining in the blink of an eye.
Lu Li naturally noticed this and retracted the remaining soul soldiers with a thought.
Soul soldiers were merely distractions.
The Bee King had to be slain by his own hand!
“All right, leave the rest to me. You should rest.”
Lu Li patted Lin Qinfeng on the shoulder, pulling her away from fear’s grip.
“Le-leave it to you?”
Lin Qinfeng’s eyes widened, staring at Lu Li as if he were mad:
“Your strategy isn’t group attack? But one-on-one?!”
“A group attack wouldn’t work. These Blade Arm mantises are only level 3,” Lu Li replied.
Lin Qinfeng found his logic convincing.
Indeed,
the Bee King was level 10!
How could level 3 Blade Arm mantises stand a chance?
But how high was this mysterious man’s level?
Uneasy, she asked,
“What level are you then?”
Lin Qinfeng didn’t get a reply.
Because Lu Li had already acted!
He casually shot two lightning arrows at the Bee King and activated the ability [Swarm Deterrence]!
Even with a platinum-grade talent, the level gap of ten made it difficult to take effect.
The Bee King paused briefly, then roared with renewed fury.
It sensed the human before it—an insult to its pride!
“Gak gak gak gak!!!”
A wild aura surged from the Bee King, sweeping through the underground chamber.
Lin Qinfeng, watching nearby, felt her legs tremble and her chest tighten with suffocating dread.
Could such a formidable monster really be slain?
Lu Li stood firm, like a sturdy pine in a storm!
The Bee King’s oppressive aura was akin to a mental shock, a special suppression caused by the vast level difference.
Yet this suppression had no effect on Lu Li.
Because his soul points had already reached 2000!
To him, the Bee King’s terrifying screech was just noise—loud and annoying.
“Done yelling? If you’re finished, then come at me already...”
Lu Li scratched his ear and launched another [Swarm Deterrence] at the Bee King.
The continuous provocations drove the Bee King into madness, and it charged at Lu Li recklessly, as if it had nothing to lose...