Translator: AnubisTL
[Item Name: High-Explosive TNT]
[Item Tier: One-Star Item]
[Item Effect: As you can see, TNT's effect is to explode. What else would it do?]
[Item Details: This is compressed High-Explosive TNT. Its explosive energy is sufficient to destroy a residential building approximately ten stories high.]
[Item Description: Press the button to detonate. Remote control range: 100 meters.]
[Item Price: 20 merit points.]
Chen Jiang stared at the item, his eyes narrowed, and remained silent.
His current merit point balance was 132,830.
In other words, he could exchange for a full 6,641 High-Explosive TNT!
The combined explosive power of 6,641 High-Explosive TNT detonating simultaneously would instantly send any insect race players in the sky pit who failed to evade in time straight to the afterlife!
As for the drawback of the 100-meter detonation range...
He simply needed to drive a heavy truck loaded with High-Explosive TNT into the sky pit!
Detonate at point-blank range.
But the choice of driver was, of course...
Chen Jiang glanced at Li Hao in the rearview mirror, sitting behind him, but said nothing.
"Wait..."
Chen Jiang suddenly realized something, his brow furrowing as he remained silent.
His original plan had been to have Li Hao sacrifice one of his lives by jumping into the sky pit in exchange for the sky pit's structural map.
But now that Li Hao had used his human race innate ability here, he was no longer suitable to be the suicide truck driver.
After all, this was Li Hao's last life. If he felt resentful and chose to die rather than detonate the TNT, Chen Jiang's explosives would be wasted.
Moreover, if Li Hao, consumed by hatred, took the detonator and blew himself up on the spot, Chen Jiang would be the first to go to heaven.
"Never mind."
Chen Jiang shook his head, deciding to take things one step at a time. When the time came, he'd say, "Li Hao, when you charge into the sky pit, sacrifice one of your lives to manifest the terrain within the sky pit in your mind. Then, choose the second resurrection mode to return to where you were 24 hours ago."
"I need the terrain of the sky pit. A massive number of insect race players are gathered there, making it impossible for us to enter."
He could have chosen to fly over the sky pit with his Mechanical Wing and transform into a bomber, continuously dropping High-Explosive TNT into the pit.
But this approach had two major drawbacks.
First, his space bracelet couldn't hold enough High-Explosive TNT for such an operation.
Second, High-Explosive TNT only reaches its maximum destructive potential when detonated in a sufficiently sealed space, triggering a massive chain reaction. Dropping it from the air would reduce its effectiveness significantly.
Li Hao, sitting in the second row, paused for a moment when he heard this, then nodded without hesitation. "No problem. I'll try to manifest as much of the map in my mind as possible."
A flicker of surprise crossed Chen Jiang's eyes as he glanced at Li Hao in the rearview mirror. "Don't you need some convincing?"
After all, no human player would readily accept sacrificing a life for nothing.
"No need."
Li Hao chuckled sheepishly, scratching the back of his head. "Well, I didn't really have a choice. It's better to agree decisively and earn some goodwill. Besides, I still have one life left, so it's not a big deal."
"After all, in the wilderness..."
"If I were traveling alone, one life or two wouldn't make a difference—I'd still die. But if I can stick with you two, even with just one life, I'll last longer."
Chen Jiang smiled faintly, saying nothing.
Li Hao's meaning was clear: he wanted to bind himself to them, or in other words, join their group.
"Tsk."
Scar Dog clicked his tongue, grinning teasingly. "Aren't you worried we might just turn on you and leave you behind?"
"Uh..."
Li Hao's expression stiffened slightly. He murmured, "You wouldn't do that, would you? After all, my innate ability could be quite useful to you, right?"
Chen Jiang and Scar Dog exchanged a glance without speaking. He had a point.
The Treasure Rat innate ability was indeed tempting.
"Alright," Chen Jiang nodded. "It's settled then. I'll drive the car to the edge of the sky pit. You can jump in, and we'll meet at the ruined mine."
Just then—
Chen Jiang slammed on the brakes, bringing the armored vehicle to a halt in the moonlit wilderness.
Nearby, an insect race player, battered and seemingly on the verge of death, lay on the ground, writhing weakly.
They were less than ten meters away.
Chen Jiang frowned slightly, pondered for a moment, then unbuckled his seatbelt, exited the vehicle, and approached the insect race player.
"Get out!"
As they drew closer, Li Hao's eyes flashed with disbelief. "Brother Gun'er?!"
A strange feeling flickered through Chen Jiang and Scar Dog's minds.
Who else could this insect race player be but the leader of the human players who had come looking for them?
The clothing was vaguely familiar.
But... this was clearly no longer the Brother Gun'er they knew.
His head had been replaced with an insect-like compound-eyed, serrated-jawed head.
A cicada-like abdomen protruded from his rear, and translucent, milky-white wings sprouted from his back.
Upon seeing Chen Jiang and his companions, the creature immediately began to hiss and shriek frantically, emitting a series of piercing, meaningless sounds.
Chen Jiang frowned slightly and retrieved an item from the human race merit points shop.
[Item Name]: Racial Homophone Machine
[Item Effect]: Allows brief communication between two alien race players with different languages.
[Item Details]: Limited to 1 minute.
[Item Description]: Clearly, Mandarin Chinese has not yet been universally adopted by all races.
[Item Price]: 10 merit points.
Soon, he understood the insect race player's weak, fragmented speech.
The insect race player before him was indeed Brother Gun'er.
Among the insect race players was a Queen Mother.
The Queen Mother had severed Brother Gun'er's head, then inserted a slender tube into his neck and deposited some eggs.
Afterward, Brother Gun'er had been transformed into an insect race player, now bound to obey the Queen Mother's commands.
Moreover, during this entire process, the human race's innate ability, phoenix nirvana, had failed to activate.
This seemingly impossible feat—changing a player's race—had been accomplished with ease, even bypassing the human race's innate ability.
It was precisely because he had a second life that Brother Gun'er retained his clear consciousness. This clarity, however, made his existence a living hell. When the massive monster attacked the insect race earlier, all the insect race players had fled, except for him. He had charged forward, hoping to be devoured by the creature.
For Brother Gun'er, death was preferable to enduring such a filthy and repulsive existence.
Afterward, he had fallen from the monster's maw to the ground, where he remained in his current predicament.
Bang.
With a calm expression, Chen Jiang drew his hand cannon and sent Brother Gun'er to his final rest with a single shot. He narrowed his eyes, gazing toward the distant sky pit.
He had already gleaned crucial information about the insect race.
The massive monster was their natural enemy.
And there was no need for further investigation; he had extracted the essential details from Brother Gun'er's dying words.
This meant he could begin preparations immediately. When the Ten Thousand Races Arena commenced, the first mushroom cloud would bloom.
(End of the Chapter)
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