Chapter 60: Sacrifice and Reunion

Chapter 60: Chapter 60: Sacrifice and Reunion

Shen Mianzhou wanted to warn Gu Weilan, but Zhan Heng raised his hand slightly, and Shen Mianzhou closed his mouth.

Gu Weilan clenched her teeth and used her Devouring Vitality on the insects and insect eggs in the crow’s stomach. However, a small insect had made its way near its heart! She carefully controlled her Talent Skill, devouring the damned insect. She did a follow-up check, only to discover that there was another small insect on the crow’s brain!

"Oh my stars and garters, my brain is turning to mush!" she thought. No wonder this bird was dying—how could it not be on the verge of death? She once again devoured the vitality of that small insect.

Not far away, the Star Beast was flying into a crazed, furious rage. The sound of its rampage was getting closer and closer. Gu Weilan didn’t have time to inspect the kitten’s brain. Noticing she had finished checking the bird, Zhan Heng didn’t even wait for her to speak; he immediately transformed into his Beast Form.

Gu Weilan really wanted to pounce on him and give him a big kiss! She agilely flipped onto Zhan Heng’s back without wasting any time, shouting in a low voice, "Run!"

Zhan Heng, Lorenzo, and Shen Mianzhou immediately followed suit, kicking off a desperate race for their lives. The forest behind them had already begun to resound with the sounds of destruction: SWISH SWISH SWISH—CRASH THUD, CRASH THUD—

First came the violent swaying of shadows from the trees, followed by the deafening sound of massive trees being uprooted and knocked down.

Gu Weilan pursed her lips. She narrowed her eyes, looking at the charred cat and pitch-black bird in her hands. "If I’m guessing correctly, these two might just be my matched Beast Husbands, right?" she thought. Otherwise, Pomegranate Seed couldn’t have paid such a massive price just to have her save two little animals.

Just as she was pondering this, the Jurassic-dinosaur-like Star Beast finally burst out of the forest, leaping into the air and charging straight toward them.

Zhan Heng turned his head slightly. When his blood-red Qilin eyes saw the massive Star Beast lunging at the four of them, he said bluntly, "Wifey, get on Lorenzo’s back!"

Gu Weilan instantly felt Zhan Heng forcefully flex his Qilin shoulders sideways, tossing her toward Lorenzo on his flank. Her combat awareness was still incredibly sharp. She didn’t panic; instead, she instinctively grabbed the thick ruff of fur around the scruff of Lorenzo’s Beast Form. Zhan Heng turned right around to block the Rank Fourteen Star Beast.

Shen Mianzhou didn’t need Zhan Heng to issue any orders. He immediately shifted into his Beastman Form, pulled out a Particle Cannon, and fired a massive blast directly at the Rank Fourteen Star Beast. Gu Weilan turned her head to look at Zhan Heng. She pursed her lips, clutching tightly onto the ruff of Lorenzo’s fur without saying a word.

However, Gu Weilan hadn’t expected Pomegranate Seed to speak up in her mind at that moment. "Host, I’m going to help Zhan Heng. If I run out of energy, remember that you must make sure they hurry up and give you more cubs! Once your cubs are born, I, Seeding, will have energy!"

"Hey—are the two in my arms Bai Yanli and Rong Hua Jin? Finish talking before you leave!" she yelled back in her mind.

Pomegranate Seed had no time to answer Gu Weilan’s question, because Zhan Heng was already engaged in a direct clash with the Rank Fourteen Star Beast.

Zhan Heng instantly activated his Dark element Talent Skill: Energy Absorption. His absorption was different from Gu Weilan’s. His Energy Absorption would also take in the polluted energy alongside the pure. Therefore, he could only absorb a specific portion—keeping it at a controllable level to prevent himself from going berserk—while also diverting part of his energy and focus for his attacks.

In truth, if Zhan Heng relied solely on himself without Pomegranate Seed’s help, it was questionable whether a Rank Twelve Beast like him could even absorb a Fourteen Beast Rank’s energy in the first place. Even if he could, it would only be a minuscule fraction, utterly insignificant to the Star Beast. A Rank Twelve Beast possessed 800,000 units of energy, while a Fourteen Beast Rank possessed five million. How wide would an 800,000-energy weakling have to open its mouth to bite off even a 500-energy scrap of toe skin?

Zhan Heng was simply betting his life to carve out a path of survival for Gu Weilan! After all, he already had a child, even if he didn’t know the aptitude yet...

Just as he was pushing himself to the absolute limit using his Talent Skill, he suddenly felt a powerful surge of energy assisting him. Not only did it help him absorb more than half of the opponent’s energy, but it also minimized the pollution!

After absorbing the energy of the Rank Fourteen Star Beast, he utilized his Dark element binding Talent Skill. Enduring the agonizing pain of the pollution piercing his Spiritual Sea, he roared at Shen Mianzhou, "Kill it!"

The Particle Cannon blast that the Star Beast had dodged earlier proved its worth now as Shen Mianzhou readied himself again. He hoisted the Particle Cannon onto his shoulder once more, aiming directly at the Star Beast’s heart, brain, and neck...

BOOM BOOM BOOM.

He unleashed several consecutive blasts.

The Rank Fourteen Star Beast finally collapsed to the ground. Seeing how violently it had struggled, Shen Mianzhou worried that its flailing might have allowed it to avoid fatal damage and cling to life. He stepped up and fired a few more shots into it just to be sure. Only then did he reach into the Star Beast’s corpse to dig out the Star Core.

He walked back, hauling up Zhan Heng, who was kneeling on one knee, and took out a Feishuo. "No more Star Beasts should be rushing over now. Once we board the Feishuo, we won’t have to worry about surprise attacks. Let’s hurry back to the temporary camp."

When they returned to the temporary camp, everyone was already boarding the Starship in preparation for evacuation.

Seeing Zhan Heng and Shen Mianzhou return safely, Gu Weilan’s eyes welled with emotional tears. She continuously called out in her mind, "Seeding? Pomegranate Seed? Are you back yet?"

As a result, Pomegranate Seed did not return...

Gu Weilan genuinely cried out of anxiety. Her only lifeline had disconnected...

Lorenzo took over the task of supporting Zhan Heng. He carried the Cat Bag in one hand and propped up Zhan Heng with the other. Meanwhile, after washing his hands with water, Shen Mianzhou was inspecting his thumb.

Gu Weilan wiped her tears and looked at his thumb. "What’s wrong?"

"When I went to dig out the Star Core from the brainstem of the Rank Fourteen Star Beast earlier, I think my hand was pricked by something on it," Shen Mianzhou replied, a little uncertainly.

Gu Weilan was instantly on high alert. She hadn’t told her three Beast Husbands about how she had devoured the vitality of the insects on the kitten and the little crow earlier. Now, she immediately grabbed Shen Mianzhou’s hand and activated her Devouring Vitality Talent Skill.

Sure enough, on the inner side of Shen Mianzhou’s upper arm, she spotted a tiny white insect inching its way up along his bone. Gu Weilan immediately devoured the insect’s vitality. She then carefully rechecked the rest of his body to see if there was any more insect vitality.

After a thorough scan, she finally felt at ease. She had Shen Mianzhou put on Isolation Gloves and take out the Star Core to hand over to her. With her hands coated in the Talent Skill Amount of Devouring Vitality, she indeed devoured the vitality of three more small insects and a cluster of transparent insect eggs.

This Insect Clan was truly... unbelievable!

Gu Weilan took a deep breath, ignoring the sickening discomfort in her stomach. She needed to find the professor. She worried that there were still many insect eggs left inside the corpse of that Rank Fourteen Star Beast. If the soldiers on Kh023 Star fell victim to this, there was no telling what might happen. She didn’t even know if this thing could be transmitted from Beastman to Beastman...

Therefore, she absolutely had to report this matter!

Xuanshuo stood in the shadows not far away, his lips pursed tightly as he quietly watched their family of four joyously reunite.