Chapter 52: King of Insects (Part 9)

Splack!

With zero resistance, the chubby examinee walking at the very front had his head instantly ripped off, blood gushing like a fountain from his neck.

Before everyone's eyes, the King of Insects wriggled its mouthparts and swallowed the human head whole.

The other examinees were instantly paralyzed by this sudden scene, completely unaware that the Grim Reaper's sickle was slowly descending right above their heads.

Just as the King of Insects flicked its long tail, preparing to strike the remaining five or six people, Wu Bai flashed forward, positioning his long spear diagonally to block the fierce blow.

"Hurry up and run! Get back to the safe zone!" he roared.

These examinees were completely useless; staying behind would only become his fatal flaw.

"What a waste." The King of Insects watched the remaining examinees scramble away in panic, having no intention of stopping them.

It knew very well that as long as the monsters' siege continued, a steady stream of food would arrive in this seemingly safe area. It was merely a matter of time.

"Invigilator Wu, I have come to assist you!"

Look, wasn't one arriving right now?

After exchanging a dozen more blows with Wu Bai, the King of Insects suddenly looked toward the entrance of a narrow alley, where a shirtless youth was waving.

"This one looks good, seems very nutritious!" Taken with a sudden appetite, the King of Insects bypassed the long spear and lunged straight at the youth.

"Why is someone else here?!" Wu Bai hurriedly gave chase to intercept, looking anxiously toward the source of the voice, only to freeze on the spot as he caught sight of Zhou Ke's swaggering figure.

He had always assumed Zhou Ke was dead, having recklessly challenged the King of Dogs, and never expected to see him again.

"Be careful!" Wu Bai hesitated when he shouted, because deep down in his subconscious, he didn't feel like Zhou Ke was the type to step up and help.

"Hmph, humans are one and all so foolish and overestimate their own abilities." Seeing Zhou Ke standing foolishly in place, the King of Insects smiled with contempt.

In the blink of an eye, it dashed a hundred meters away, its three fingers clenched into a cone shape, eager to pierce the prey's heart and sip the warm blood.

Yet, its sharp claws pierced through the chest as if touching nothing at all.

"What?"

The King of Insects raised its head in confusion, locking eyes with a smiling Zhou Ke.

After sublimating into Ragnarök: Jaws, the phantom ability of The Boy Who Cried Wolf was not replaced, but inherited intact.

Zhou Ke had used it once before in the department store, and now he had used up the final opportunity for the day.

Dust-lit reflections shattered silently.

In the narrow alley, blinding lights and the roar of a throttle erupted simultaneously, and a speeding motorcycle came hurtling toward them.

"Ah, the kind person in front, please help block this for me. I don't know how to brake."

Block it? Did you think this was a handcart?

The King of Insects's heart twitched, but it was already too late to dodge. It extended its palm to press against the front of the motorcycle.

Bang!

The fully accelerated motorcycle was indeed stopped by it, and even though the rear tire roared and screeched furiously against the ground, it only managed to push the King of Insects back half a step.

"Hmph, trying to hurt me with such cheap tricks? Too naive!" the King of Insects mocked.

Sitting on the motorcycle, Zhou Ke gave the handlebars a couple of twists on a whim. Finding they had no effect, he was not surprised.

He stood up at the appropriate moment, casually pulled a pre-prepared lighter from his pants pocket, lit it, and tossed it into the motorcycle's fuel tank.

"Well then, I'll sacrifice the vehicle to save myself."

Before his voice faded, Zhou Ke had already stepped off the alley wall and scrambled outside.

Behind him was a violent explosion of splashing iron shards and gasoline.

Boom—!!!

Landing amidst the echoing shockwave, Zhou Ke walked up to Wu Bai and asked eagerly, "How was my entrance this time? Magnificent enough?"

"Uh, sorry, all I saw in it was despicable." Wu Bai was never good at lying in his entire life and spoke bluntly.

"Tsk, then I'll do it over."

As he spoke, Zhou Ke genuinely made a motion to leave. The moment he took his first step forward, the burning, wrecked motorcycle frame plummeted from the sky and crashed right in front of him.

"Despicable human brat!"

Emerging from the flames, the King of Insects—its cotton and armor half-charred—had its tiny pupils filled with burning hatred.

It viewed itself as a strong being, possessing the aloof pride unique to the strong.

Being injured by Wu Bai, a fellow strong being, was something it wouldn't mind.

But being injured by Zhou Ke's petty schemes and tricks was an absolute humiliation!

"I feel like I've heard those words somewhere before." Realizing he couldn't leave, Zhou Ke simply turned back to discuss countermeasures with Wu Bai. "You saw it, right? Its cotton is just as weak to fire as vine armor. Does your Truth have flame capabilities?"

"No." Wu Bai first shook his head, then suddenly reacted. "Wait, wait, wait! Your train of thought jumps way too fast! When did you even get here?"

"Tsk." Zhou Ke put on an expression that clearly showed how exhausting it was to talk to someone slow-witted, pointing toward the fountain where the King of Insects had first appeared.

"When it ate that chubby bro and you rushed in to block the blade, I happened to pop my head out from underneath."

He flicked his finger toward the opposite side. "I figured coming straight out from the underground was too plain, so I deliberately made a detour through a more distant sewer, hoping to prepare a surprise for you guys."

"Can't you just make a normal entrance?" Wu Bai could not comprehend Zhou Ke's thought process.

"No way. Characters with normal entrances are just minor extras, exactly like that chubby bro whose head got eaten—too lacking in character, and you'll get killed off by the author at the slightest slip."

"What the hell is an author? What kind of gibberish are you spouting?!" Wu Bai had way too many questions swirling in his mind.

Such as: Why wasn't Zhou Ke dead? Where was the King of Dogs? Why was Zhou Ke in the sewer? And so on. He couldn't make sense of any of it.

Yet clearly, this was not the time to ask them one by one.

"Zhou Ke, you've got a sharp mind. Can you think of a way to help me deal with this monster?" Wu Bai asked solemnly.

If he hadn't truly run out of options, he certainly wouldn't have let an examinee risk their life to fight alongside him.

This actually proved, from another angle, that Wu Bai acknowledged Zhou Ke's ability from the bottom of his heart, believing that Zhou Ke was different from the other examinees and had the capability to help him out of this desperate plight.

Zhou Ke actually quite enjoyed being praised like this, and said cheerfully, "It's not a monster. It has a name—it's called the King of Maggots."

"I am the King of Insects!" Hearing their conversation from afar, the King of Insects couldn't help letting out a roar.

Unfortunately, Zhou Ke completely ignored it. "According to the intelligence I've gathered, it can acquire other people's Truths by consuming their flesh."

" ?!"

Wu Bai was instantly horrified. No wonder the moves the King of Insects used all seemed familiar, as if he had seen them somewhere before.

"In that case, those examinees were all..." Connecting this to the terrifying sight of the King of Insects eating people, he tightened his grip on his spear in sudden anger.

This battle would demand payment in blood!

If Zhou Ke hadn't pulled him back, Wu Bai would have undoubtedly charged forward with murderous intent.