Chapter 16 Tracking! The Remnants of Civilization on a Barren Planet!
Since Lu Jin was determined to completely deal with him, he would certainly wring out every last bit of value from the opponent before doing so.
As time went on, the new generation fleet quickly left the Solar System.
The downfall of the Crocodile Gang also instilled fear in the Interstellar Pirates around the Solar System.
Lu Jin soon discovered that Meng Lifeng's signal source had reached an extremely remote star system.
This star system was not on the route to the Endless Star Sea, so Lu Jin was certain that the opportunity Meng Lifeng was about to seize was in this remote star system!
"Coordinates locked, preparing to activate the jump drive..."
Having confirmed the destination, Lu Jin decisively activated the jump drive.
The speed of the prometheus began to climb steadily, quickly reaching jump velocity.
Whoosh!
The starship's massive body suddenly vanished into the starry sky.
After a period of jumping, Lu Jin finally arrived at the target star system.
In the core region of this star system, a lifeless white dwarf star represented the current state of the system.
Lu Jin quickly focused his gaze on a gray, barren planet using the positioning signal.
He piloted the starship, approaching the gray planet. Once the starship entered the planet's orbit, Lu Jin began to reduce speed.
As the starship passed through the atmosphere, Lu Jin gradually got a clear view of the gray planet's true appearance.
The entire planetary surface was littered with a series of ruins and broken walls.
This was enough to prove that a civilization once existed on the gray planet.
However, by now, he didn't know whether this civilization had migrated or had been completely destroyed.
Yu Tiancang sighed at such a situation.
Lu Jin, on the other hand, was expressionless, with no ripple in his heart.
In the vast universe, civilizations are born every moment.
At the same time, civilizations are being destroyed every moment.
Stellar cataclysms!
Racial infighting!
Invasion wars!
All sorts of reasons, each capable of easily leading to the collapse of a civilization.
In his previous life, Lu Jin had witnessed too many births and destructions of civilizations. During the Assimilation War, billions of planets were destroyed every day.
Therefore, seeing the ruins of the planetary civilization before him, Lu Jin's resolve grew even stronger!
He had to become stronger!
Strong enough to influence the outcome of that cosmic-level war!
Just then, a starship signal suddenly appeared on the radar!
After detection, Lu Jin confirmed that this starship was indeed the Amakusa-class battleship owned by Meng Lifeng.
Although the ship was classified as a small battleship, among small battleships, the Amakusa-class battleship was already considered one of the most luxurious!
However, now that this starship had encountered Lu Jin, its service life was effectively over!
Lock on!
Fire!
Before the people on the opposing ship could react, Lu Jin's cannons and missiles had already landed on Meng Lifeng's starship.
Suddenly, artillery fire erupted everywhere!
Meng Lifeng's crew never expected that even in such a remote location, someone would still pursue them!
Boom!
A laser beam directly hit the bridge!
Immediately after, a Zerg Armor-Piercing Missile struck the engine section of the Amakusa-class battleship.
At this point, the enemy starship was like a lamb to the slaughter, only able to endure the attacks from the prometheus.
And this time, Lu Jin spent less than half an hour.
He directly blasted Meng Lifeng's Amakusa-class battleship into a pile of scrap metal.
After confirming that the opponent had no means to retaliate, Lu Jin also landed his ship on the surface.
The hangar door opened, and Fang Drones rapidly flew out from within the ship.
Following Lu Jin's instructions, some of the Fang Drones began to dismantle the entire starship.
The other Fang Drones spread out, searching for survivors and investigating the surrounding terrain and environment.
As the Amakusa-class battleship was continuously dismantled, Lu Jin and Yu Tiancang, fully armed, also emerged from inside the ship.
"See if there are any survivors around. Grab one for questioning."
"What are you talking about? Do you think anyone could have survived your indiscriminate bombardment?"
"At least that guy Meng Lifeng is still alive."
Lu Jin held a signal radar in his hand.
The signal radar showed that the positioning device on Meng Lifeng was still functioning normally.
Seeing the signal point on the radar, Yu Tiancang was somewhat surprised.
Meng Lifeng wasn't dead?
Did Lu Jin know this, which was why he attacked the starship so recklessly?
Just then, Yu Tiancang caught a glimpse of a figure out of the corner of his eye.
He reacted quickly, pulling out the energy pistol from his waist before the opponent could launch a sneak attack!
Whoosh!
An energy bullet accurately hit the attacker's wrist.
The attacker screamed, immediately dropping the weapon in his hand to the ground!
Yu Tiancang quickly approached, swiftly pulling the attacker out from behind the cover.
Lu Jin walked closer to inspect and found that the attacker was an acquaintance.
It was one of the Mechanical Mercenary members who had been with Meng Lifeng at the Moon Port.
The Mechanical Mercenary also recognized Lu Jin, and his face immediately turned grim.
There was no doubt now that Lu Jin must have come seeking revenge for Meng Lifeng.
But he racked his brain and couldn't figure out why Lu Jin could pinpoint their coordinates so accurately.
"Tell me, why did Meng Lifeng come to this planet?"
"If you answer incorrectly, don't blame me for not giving you a chance."
The cold muzzle of the gun pressed against the opponent's forehead, and Lu Jin placed his index finger on the trigger, ready to pull it at any moment.
Seeing Lu Jin so calm, the Mechanical Mercenary was certain that if he could pull the trigger, Lu Jin would absolutely kill him without hesitation.
So, he dared not hide anything and quickly revealed everything he knew.
"I only know that there is a civilization relic on this planet."
"Our captain, no, that guy Meng Lifeng, is looking for a treasure within the relic."
Treasure?
Logically speaking, the probability of finding treasure in such a civilization ruin was almost zero.
But it couldn't be guaranteed that there was nothing left behind.
Moreover, this place was located in the remote outer reaches of the star sea, so there might indeed be some undiscovered treasure.
"Thank you for the information."
After obtaining enough information from the other party, Lu Jin signaled Yu Tiancang to release him.
The Mechanical Mercenary looked incredulous; the other party actually let him go?
Watching the Mechanical Mercenary's retreating back, Yu Tiancang looked at Lu Jin with some confusion; this wasn't like his usual style.
Sure enough, in the next second, Lu Jin raised the energy pistol in his hand and delivered a fatal blow to the opponent.
Putting away the energy pistol, Lu Jin's gaze turned towards a hill.
"I'll go to higher ground to scout the surroundings. You check if there are any other survivors around."
Upon receiving this command, Yu Tiancang shook his head as he watched Lu Jin's back.
It seemed he still didn't understand his captain enough!
Lu Jin walked upwards, quickly reaching a high point, from where he could see everything of the surrounding terrain below!
+++
Chapter 17 Apocalyptic Civilization! The All-New Energy Source "Apocalyptic Crystal Shards"!
This was a relatively well-preserved and massive city ruin.
The buildings and streets had not yet been completely covered, and one could vaguely discern the city's past glory.
And in the center of this massive city ruin, a magnificent and intact building immediately caught Lu Jin's attention.
Opening his signal tracking radar, Lu Jin glanced at the location of the signal source.
It was inside that unknown building in the city center!
It seemed this unknown building was where the Civilization Relic was located.
Lu Jin put away his signal tracking radar and walked directly towards the city ruins.
The moment he stepped into the city ruins, several Fang Drones immediately sped from behind him, then quickly fanned out.
Scanning city ruins...
Detecting life signs...
Searching for energy signals...
It must be said that with the Fang Drones, Lu Jin's method of acquiring information became much easier.
Soon, Lu Jin obtained the basic information about this city ruin.
And just then, Lu Jin received an intelligence alert from the Fang Drone!
Ding, detecting a strong energy signal reaction!
Energy signal reaction?
Could it be that this city ruin hadn't completely shut down yet?
Just as Lu Jin was wondering, the Fang Drone issued a warning.
Ding, detecting a strong energy signal reaction approaching!
Boom!
The next second, a high-rise ruin was suddenly breached.
And a massive, two-meter-tall figure came directly at Lu Jin!
Lu Jin reacted quickly; he immediately dodged into the surrounding ruined cover.
The surrounding Fang Drones quickly gathered!
Compared to ordinary drones, Fang Drones are equipped with Gatling machine guns and specialized tusk missiles.
Their combat power far exceeds that of ordinary combat drones!
When the Fang Drones had finished gathering, Lu Jin, hidden in the shadows, immediately controlled them via his micro-computer.
Through the Fang Drones' vision, Lu Jin clearly saw the true appearance of that massive figure.
This was a creature covered in metallic luster from head to toe!
Its appearance was like a hound!
The metal hound reacted extremely quickly, its gaze fixed on the Fang Drones.
The next second, the metal hound moved agilely, like an ape, leaping back and forth among the many high-rise ruins.
Lu Jin immediately understood the metal hound's intention.
The Fang Drones rapidly retreated, while Gatling machine gun bullets poured down on the metal hound like a storm.
For a moment, sparks flew everywhere!
Dense bullets landed on the metal hound's body, causing its movements to falter slightly.
When the metal hound reached a high point, the Fang Drones had already pulled back to a safe distance.
Just as Lu Jin was about to analyze the metal hound's identity in detail.
The metal hound's body in his vision actually began to undergo drastic changes!
In an instant, the metal hound actually transformed into a humanoid robot.
After transforming into a human shape, the metal hound leaped up with lightning speed!
Its sharp claws struck out directly!
It actually destroyed a Fang Drone!
Transformation?
A dual-form mechanical creature?
Seeing this, Lu Jin immediately thought of a civilization.
Apocalypse Civilization!
One of the most powerful mechanical life forms during the ancient cosmic era!
The reason the Apocalypse Civilization was able to rise was precisely because they mastered the synthesis method of a special energy substance called "apocalypse crystal shard".
According to many historical records, the apocalypse crystal shard's energy density ranks among the top ten of all energy substances!
Unfortunately, with the disappearance of the Apocalypse Civilization, this energy substance, the apocalypse crystal shard, also vanished from the history of the star sea.
Lu Jin looked at the Apocalypse Creature in his vision, a strong interest in his eyes.
Had the Apocalypse Civilization not completely disappeared?
Just as Lu Jin was pondering, the metal hound attacked again.
But this time, Lu Jin did not choose to hold back.
Activate tusk missiles!
In an instant, countless tusk missiles, like sharp arrows, directly pierced the metal hound's body.
Boom...
The explosion's fire instantly engulfed the metal hound.
When Lu Jin emerged from behind the ruined cover, what he saw was a scattering of metal fragments on the ground.
Picking up a piece of metal fragment, Lu Jin saw the complex circuitry within, which could be described as "ingenious", as well as an unknown black liquid.
This further confirmed to him that this metal hound was a member of the Apocalypse Civilization.
Apart from the Apocalypse Civilization, he didn't believe any current civilization could create such a precise mechanical creature.
"What an unexpected gain!"
Lu Jin's gaze gradually passed through the city ruins, finally landing on the unknown building in the center.
A Fang Drone landed near Lu Jin, and its engineering mechanical arm extended from the Fang Drone, collecting all the metal hound corpses from the ground.
After all the corpses were collected, that Fang Drone returned directly in the direction of the spaceship.
Meanwhile, Lu Jin continued to approach the unknown building.
Along the way, Lu Jin occasionally saw the bodies of Apocalypse Creatures.
And around these Apocalypse Creature corpses, one could clearly see a large number of battle traces, as well as the bodies of crew members wearing uniform clothing.
These crew members were naturally Meng Lifeng's combat personnel!
Lu Jin merely glanced at them and then stepped over the bodies.
Finally, Lu Jin arrived in front of the unknown building!
Looking at the tower-like building before him, Lu Jin waved his hand, and a Fang Drone directly rushed into the tower!
Through the Fang Drone's vision, Lu Jin saw the scene inside the building.
Compared to the corpses and remains in the city ruins, the battle inside the building was even more intense!
Boom!
With a loud bang, Lu Jin's attention was also drawn!
When he maneuvered the Fang Drone closer to the sound, what came into view was an even taller and more robust figure!
The Apocalypse Creature, completely covered in heavy metal, now looked like a heavily armored knight.
"Intruder!"
The heavy-armored knight roared, sweeping out the greatsword in his hand.
In an instant, rubble flew!
Dozens of fully armed combat personnel nearby were almost instantly sent flying.
But Meng Lifeng's figure appeared in the Fang Drone's vision!
He was carrying a rocket launcher device on his shoulder!
Aiming at the heavy-armored Apocalypse Creature in front of him, Meng Lifeng decisively pulled the trigger.
Whoosh!
A rocket directly struck towards the heavy-armored Apocalypse Creature in front of him.
The heavy-armored Apocalypse Creature reacted quickly; with a raised hand, the greatsword in his hand split open in the middle.
A pitch-black gun barrel extended from inside the greatsword!
Bang!
As the gun barrel inside the greatsword made a sound, the rocket exploded directly in mid-air.
But clearly, since Meng Lifeng dared to pull the trigger.
That indicated the rocket in front of him was definitely not an ordinary rocket!
Boom!
With a loud bang, the rocket instantly transformed into a fire cloud in the air.
The intense fire cloud rapidly spread, engulfing the heavy-armored Apocalypse Creature along with the surrounding area.
The huge wave stirred up by the explosion made the entire building tremble!
+++
Chapter 18 The Secret of Civilization Annihilation! The Void Insect Race!
"Damn it, these metal skins are endless!"
When the gunfire faded, all that remained were shattered corpses on the ground.
Meng Lifeng merely glanced at them, and without waiting for his crew to rest, immediately urged them to continue forward.
And the crew he hired, facing Meng Lifeng's exploitation, dared not voice their anger.
They had originally thought that a new generation captain like Meng Lifeng would, at most, face some Interstellar Pirates.
But they never expected that as soon as they left the Solar System, Meng Lifeng would head straight for this desolate planet.
Most critically, this planet also had such powerful mechanical lifeforms.
From their landing site to here, their personnel strength had already been more than halved.
It was hard to guarantee whether they would be able to leave here safely.
Meanwhile, Lu Jin, standing in the outer area, observed everything happening in the inner region through the Fang Drone's vision.
The closer to the core, the greater the number of Apocalypse Creatures.
Unlike the Apocalypse Creatures in the city ruins, the Apocalypse Creatures within this building were stronger in combat.
Some of these Apocalypse Creatures even bore weapons with the distinctive marks of the Apocalypse Civilization!
This further confirmed Lu Jin's conjecture!
Within this sole intact building, there must be the most important artifact of the Apocalypse Civilization!
And according to the information Lu Jin obtained in his previous life, the two most important things of the Apocalypse Civilization were:
One of them was the cornerstone of the Apocalypse Civilization:
The formula for the apocalypse crystal shard!
The second was the origin of the Apocalypse Civilization!
The cosmic treasure capable of creating Apocalypse Creatures, the apocalypse spark!
No matter which one, for Lu Jin, they were all rare ultimate treasures!
Thinking of this, Lu Jin quickened his pace, heading directly towards the core area of the building.
As he delved deeper, more and more Apocalypse Creature remains appeared in Lu Jin's sight.
Some were in beastly poses, roaring up at the sky!
Some stood upright, holding long swords, with solemn expressions!
The remains of these Apocalypse Creatures varied in posture and expression.
But one thing they all had in common was that they no longer had any energy fluctuations.
Lu Jin looked at the thousands of Apocalypse Creature remains around him, a wave of emotion washing over him.
If all these Apocalypse Creatures were to revive, what a massive fighting force that would be!
Alas, just as a person dies completely when their heart stops beating,
Apocalypse Creatures also die completely after losing their energy supply.
Before death, Apocalypse Creatures delete all memories to prevent their remains from falling into enemy hands.
Because of this, even reactivated Apocalypse Creatures lose their original souls and become complete newborns of the Apocalypse Civilization.
"Ding, weak energy fluctuation detected..."
Just as Lu Jin was about to leave, the Fang Drone detected an extremely faint energy fluctuation.
Hmm?
Are there still surviving Apocalypse Creatures?
Lu Jin glanced at the intensity of the energy fluctuation.
The energy fluctuation was very weak, almost imperceptible!
This also indicated that the Apocalypse Creature had fallen into a Near death state.
Following the signal coordinates provided by the Fang Drone, Lu Jin quickly found the dying Apocalypse Creature.
His massive mechanical body leaned against the wall, half of his body already gone.
Exposed conduits continuously gushed out blood as black as oil!
Lu Jin maneuvered a Fang Drone to approach, but even with the Fang Drone close, this Apocalypse Creature showed no reaction.
Seeing this, Lu Jin's eyes lit up!
Such an opportunity was simply once in a lifetime!
It was well known that most mechanical lifeforms would clear all their data and memories before death.
To prevent enemies from obtaining their remains and extracting their memories!
But the Apocalypse Creature before him was in a half-dead state.
This meant that if Lu Jin was lucky enough, he might be able to extract its stored memories before it completely died.
Perhaps, he could then uncover the mystery of the Apocalypse Civilization's disappearance!
Or perhaps, from its memories, obtain the synthesis formula for the apocalypse crystal shard!
No matter which type of memory, for Lu Jin, it was an extremely precious existence!
Facing such a memory treasure trove, Lu Jin dared not be negligent in the slightest.
He immediately manipulated the Fang Drone, using its internal engineering mechanical arm to cut open the Apocalypse Creature's head.
After locating the hard drive for memory storage, Lu Jin immediately took out a data cable.
Connect the miniature computer!
Crack the Apocalypse Creature's internal firewall!
Extract the memories stored in its brain!
As a large amount of data surged into the miniature computer like a tide, Lu Jin's eyes grew brighter and brighter!
"Downloading Apocalypse Creature historical data..."
"Extracting apocalypse crystal shard formula information..."
"Analyzing Apocalypse Creature body data..."
And just then, on Lu Jin's miniature computer screen, a term he was all too familiar with appeared.
Void Zerg!
The downfall of the Apocalypse Civilization was actually related to the Void Zerg?
How could this be?
Didn't the Void Zerg only appear on a large scale during the Assimilation War a year later?
Just as Lu Jin was puzzled, a warning message suddenly popped up on the miniature computer screen.
"Warning! Biological signal lost!"
Seeing this warning, Lu Jin decisively disconnected the data cable.
The Apocalypse Creature before him finally met its true death!
It was a pity that Lu Jin had not fully grasped all the information about the Apocalypse Civilization.
Lu Jin was a contented man; being able to unexpectedly obtain so much intelligence was already a very good outcome.
At least, now Lu Jin knew what the treasure within this building was.
The treasure guarded within this building was precisely the origin of the Apocalypse Civilization, the "apocalypse spark"!
The apocalypse spark, like the origin warship, had an untraceable origin.
But one thing was certain: the apocalypse spark, like the origin warship, was a cosmic treasure!
Legend has it that the apocalypse spark autonomously absorbs surrounding energy, and once the energy reaches a certain level, it can give birth to a substance called "spark source".
The spark source can bestow souls upon mechanical lifeforms, making them existences different from other mechanical lifeforms!
And this was the origin of the Apocalypse Civilization!
During its heyday, the Apocalypse Civilization possessed a total of one hundred apocalypse sparks of life.
But at some point, the Void Zerg invaded.
The Void Zerg not only devoured all ninety-nine apocalypse sparks of life but also drained all the potential of this planet!
Lu Jin was not surprised by this outcome.
On the contrary, he admired the Apocalypse Civilization even more, for being able to preserve one apocalypse spark under the invasion of the Void Zerg!
Lu Jin calculated the time in his mind; Meng Lifeng should have already reached the storage area of the spark of life.
Since that was the case, it was time for the harvest!
+++
Chapter 19 The Mantis Stalks the Cicada! The Ultimate Winner!
Meanwhile, on the other side, in the core area where the apocalypse spark was stored.
Meng Lifeng gasped for breath, wiping the sweat from his forehead.
His gaze swept over the many crew members behind him, seeing countless dead and wounded, their equipment badly damaged.
Around these crew members, several gigantic Apocalypse Creatures, like fortresses, lay on the ground in various poses.
"It's finally over!"
From the wild Apocalypse Creatures on the periphery, only about two meters tall.
Then to the Apocalypse Heavy Armored Knights inside the building, about three meters tall and fully armed.
And finally, in the core area of the spark of life, even gigantic Apocalypse Creatures, five meters tall and covered in various heavy armaments, appeared!
Meng Lifeng's crew, after all this, was less than one-tenth of their original number!
However, when Meng Lifeng saw the apocalypse spark, glowing softly like a crystal treasure, his eyes filled with greed!
"The apocalypse spark, it's finally mine!"
Meng Lifeng approached step by step, already imagining himself using the apocalypse spark.
As long as he had enough energy, he could continuously charge the apocalypse spark, thereby creating a large number of spark sources.
With a large number of spark sources, he could create an Apocalypse Legion loyal only to him!
Along the way, he had already witnessed the combat power of these Apocalypse Creatures!
Therefore, Meng Lifeng had absolute confidence in the Apocalypse Legion he planned!
Just then, a crew member's voice suddenly rang out behind Meng Lifeng.
"Careful!"
The next second, a shadow enveloped his head.
Meng Lifeng looked up, and what met his eyes was a Fang Drone!
Before he could react, two Gatling machine guns extended from the bottom of the Fang Drone.
Not good!
In an instant, gunfire erupted everywhere!
Dense bullets rained down directly on Meng Lifeng.
Seeing this scene, many crew members widened their eyes, filled with terror.
"Damn it! What's with this drone now?"
"I've never seen this model before. Is it another defense mechanism of this building?"
"Damn it, how are we supposed to fight this?"
At this point, every crew member was physically and mentally exhausted.
Even the ammunition for their weapons had been depleted during the battles along the way.
It could be said that they were now at the end of their rope.
It was precisely by seizing this opportunity that Lu Jin was able to easily inflict heavy damage with the Fang Drone.
After all, although the firepower of the Fang Drone was stronger than ordinary drones.
But as the heir of a wealthy family, Meng Lifeng's crew members' weapons and equipment were not to be underestimated.
Otherwise, they wouldn't have been able to reach this point under the heavy encirclement of Apocalypse Creatures.
The facts were just as Lu Jin had expected: after a round of strafing by the Fang Drone, Meng Lifeng's figure gradually emerged from the smoke and dust.
He was half-crouching on the ground, with an energy shield around him deflecting all of the Fang Drone's attacks.
Meng Lifeng's gaze was cold, and after scanning the many crew members, his eyes finally fell on Lu Jin behind them.
"Lu Jin?! What are you doing here!"
Then, Meng Lifeng immediately realized!
He had been followed!
Otherwise, with an ordinary person's navigation route, it would be impossible to reach this planet!
The only possibility was that Lu Jin had followed him here!
Thinking of this, Meng Lifeng immediately began to check himself.
Soon, he found the signal emitter Lu Jin had placed on him.
This signal emitter wasn't too concealed; a quick search would reveal it.
But Meng Lifeng never expected that someone would tamper with him!
With a crunch, Meng Lifeng directly crushed the signal emitter.
His gaze was cold, sweeping back and forth between Lu Jin and himself!
Although he had many crew members and various excellent equipment, after numerous battles, the crew was already at their limit.
The ammunition for those excellent equipment was probably almost depleted!
On Lu Jin's side, however, he had many drones with powerful firepower.
Most importantly, Meng Lifeng didn't even recognize the models of these drones and didn't know their specific capabilities!
No matter how he looked at it, his chances of winning were not very high!
Damn it!
It was just a little short, just a little short, and I would have had an invincible army!
At this moment, Meng Lifeng's hatred for Lu Jin reached an unprecedented level.
But he knew very well that this hatred could not be shown on his face.
"Lu Jin, why did you track me all the way to this barren planet?"
"For money? If it's for money, I can give you a substantial amount of credit points."
"You should know that I am the heir of Shennong Medical Group. Killing me will do you no good."
Meng Lifeng could only rely on words to stall for time now.
As he spoke, he continuously sent signals to his spaceship!
As long as he could hold out until the spaceship's support arrived, he would still have a chance to turn the tables.
But just then, a video communication signal from the spaceship suddenly popped up in front of Meng Lifeng.
Looking at the video communication signal in front of him, a premonition of ill omen immediately surged in Meng Lifeng's heart.
He answered the video communication signal, and Yu Tiancang's all-too-familiar face appeared before him.
Yu Tiancang in the video had a playful expression, arrogantly picking his ear.
"Stop sending signals to your spaceship. Your spaceship is probably a pile of scrap metal by now."
"No matter how many signals you send, they won't be able to receive them."
With that, Yu Tiancang directly hung up the video call.
Upon hearing this news, Meng Lifeng felt as if his strength had been drained.
His spaceship was gone?
Then how was he supposed to leave here?
Finally, his gaze fell on Lu Jin.
Kill him!
Only by killing Lu Jin and taking over his spaceship could he leave here!
Thinking of this, Meng Lifeng's eyes turned bloodshot!
"Listen to my command..."
Before he could finish his sentence, Lu Jin decisively activated the Fang Drone.
In an instant, a rain of bullets poured down on Meng Lifeng and his men.
The crew members, already at their limit, fell like wheat being mowed down in the face of these bullet attacks!
Meng Lifeng watched as bullets continuously struck the energy shield, and the shield's durability rapidly decreased.
His eyes were filled with unwillingness!
Damn it!
It was just a little short!
His gaze fell on the apocalypse spark!
Meng Lifeng reached out to grab the apocalypse spark.
But perhaps he forgot that the entire apocalypse spark was already full of energy.
Facing a high-energy object, there was only one outcome for rash contact!
+++
Chapter 20 The Mantis Stalks the Cicada! The Megalophagocytic Worm!
"Ding! Suffering a violent energy impact!"
In an instant, Meng Lifeng's energy shield shattered.
The apocalypse spark was like a burning star, releasing a massive amount of intense energy!
Pain shot from his fingertips, and only then did Meng Lifeng realize his palm had turned utterly black!
The energy released by the apocalypse spark had directly incinerated Meng Lifeng's right palm into charcoal!
Before Meng Lifeng could even scream, countless bullets directly pierced his body.
Without the protection of an energy shield, he was, after all, just flesh and blood!
Watching Meng Lifeng fall, Lu Jin stepped forward and picked up his energy pistol.
Bang!
Lu Jin decisively fired another shot into his head.
After the finishing shot, Lu Jin turned his gaze to the apocalypse spark.
However, compared to the reckless Meng Lifeng, Lu Jin appeared much more cautious.
He chose not to approach rashly; instead, he summoned a Fang Drone.
Two metallic mechanical arms extended from inside the Fang Drone, with a metal box at the end of each arm.
The moment the metal box approached the apocalypse spark, it suddenly began to deform and expand.
In the blink of an eye, the metal box transformed into a cage, enveloping the apocalypse spark.
Immediately after, this metal box in front of him began to contract and deform again.
When the metal box had completely encased the apocalypse spark, Lu Jin placed the metal box in his palm.
At this moment, the apocalypse spark was completely isolated.
It could no longer absorb external energy, nor could it release energy outwards!
"Truly, every dog has its day."
Lu Jin looked at the metal box in his hand.
The material used for this metal box was no ordinary metal.
The metallic material used to create this metal box was precisely the special metal Lu Jin had collected from those Apocalypse Creatures!
The apocalypse spark created the Apocalypse Creatures!
And the bodies of the Apocalypse Creatures were the best material for containing the apocalypse spark!
This couldn't help but make Lu Jin marvel once again at the wonders of this universe!
The apocalypse spark was contained!
Lu Jin even collected all the remains of those Apocalypse Creatures.
After all, the materials and structure of these Apocalypse Creatures were enough for Lu Jin to research for some time.
"The mantis stalks the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind; the ultimate winner is still me!"
Lu Jin stepped out of the building's main door!
And just then, the entire ground began to shake!
Sensing the anomaly, Lu Jin immediately looked back at the building behind him.
What's happening?
Could it be that there were still some mechanisms inside the building that hadn't been triggered?
As Lu Jin hesitated, the shaking of the ground became more pronounced, and the entire city ruins began to crumble under the impact of the tremor.
Seeing this, Lu Jin no longer dwelled on the cause of the earthquake.
He rushed towards the starship at top speed!
The moment Lu Jin finally boarded the starship, he couldn't help but look back.
He saw a giant crack suddenly appear in the city ruins, and the building that housed the apocalypse spark directly disappeared into the massive crack!
And that crack, after devouring half of the city ruins, still hadn't stopped.
It seemed to have a consciousness, rapidly approaching the direction where Lu Jin was!
Seeing this, Lu Jin immediately returned to the bridge!
This was absolutely not normal!
The extent of the earthquake's destruction had already affected the entire city ruins.
Such a terrifying and sudden earthquake definitely could not be explained by a natural disaster.
If this planet originally had such terrifying earthquake disasters, then these city ruins could not have been so intact!
Therefore, Lu Jin could infer!
Something must have been triggered!
And the cause of the trigger was very likely related to him taking the apocalypse spark!
Upon entering the bridge, Lu Jin immediately saw Yu Tiancang standing in front of the bridge's data panel, his expression extremely solemn.
Upon hearing the movement behind him, Yu Tiancang immediately turned around.
Seeing Lu Jin safe and sound, Yu Tiancang also let out a sigh of relief.
"I thought you wouldn't make it back!"
"Just ten minutes ago, the geological data of this planet became extremely abnormal!"
"Geological activity reached an extremely unusual frequency."
"Most critically, the starship's radar signal detected a biological heat source 100,000 meters deep underground!"
Biological heat source?
Was there still biological activity 100,000 meters underground on this planet?
A figure immediately flashed through Lu Jin's mind: Void Zerg!
Could it be that the Void Zerg that destroyed this planet back then hadn't left yet?
But no matter what, what Lu Jin needed to do now was to quickly leave the surface of this planet!
Activate the starship engine!
The entire prometheus emitted a violent sound!
At this moment, the radar also showed a colossal object rapidly approaching their starship.
The starship ascended rapidly!
The moment the starship reached the atmosphere, Lu Jin and Yu Tiancang both saw it.
A gaping maw shot straight out of the ground!
Immediately after, pitch-black scales emerged on the planet's surface!
A python-like body instantly destroyed the surface of the entire gray planet.
Even after the starship had completely left the planet, they could still see the massive monster's figure!
It was like a giant python, coiled on the planet's surface!
"What kind of monster is this!"
Even the well-traveled Yu Tiancang was shocked by the monster's enormous size.
In front of it, a planet seemed as tiny as a toy!
And Lu Jin, looking at the monster on the planet's surface, narrowed his eyes and directly stated the monster's true identity!
"Devouring Insect!"
Devouring Insect?
Zerg?!
Yu Tiancang glanced at the incredibly terrifying monster.
This was completely different from the Zerg he had encountered!
"How is that possible?"
"The largest Zerg creatures I've encountered were only about the size of a starship."
"The body diameter of this Devouring Insect is probably longer than this planet!"
"The Zerg I've encountered weren't this terrifying!"
Facing Yu Tiancang's confusion, Lu Jin explained while activating the starship's abilities.
Zerg are divided into two types!
One is the Void Zerg, and the other is the ordinary Zerg!
Most of the Zerg currently drifting in the universe are ordinary Zerg; the true Void Zerg won't appear in the public eye until a year later.
Compared to ordinary Zerg, Void Zerg have more species and are more destructive!
For example, the Devouring Insect in front of them, although in its juvenile state, its body length was already longer than a planet's diameter.
Once it matured, it could easily devour a planet!
This was the terror of the Void Zerg!
Sometimes, Lu Jin even suspected whether those ordinary Zerg were bait laid by the Void Zerg to conceal their true strength!
And just then, the Devouring Insect on the planet's surface seemed to notice the prometheus.
Its movements suddenly stopped, and then its gaze fell upon the starship.