Chapter 15: Victory Yet Eludes (With gratitude to Wujiang Little Bookworm, the Guild Leader!)

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Upon entering the hive, my eyes brightened as a small map appeared in the upper right corner of the combat interface. Chen Jinnan examined it carefully and said, “This hive section is like a narrow winding path, perfect for a five-person squad like ours to sweep through.”
Turning to me, he asked, “Ding Han, do you have a blue Whisperer sniper rifle?”
“Yes, I do.”
A flash of light appeared in my hands as I lifted the Whisperer rifle with both hands.
“Good. Do you have Basic Shooting at level 5?”
Chen Jinnan continued, “I've heard that once Basic Shooting surpasses level 5, hitting targets within 300 meters with a sniper rifle is almost always a guaranteed shot.”
“I do.”
I kept quiet about my Basic Shooting already being level 10; there was no need to flaunt such things—it only made others uncomfortable.
“That’s great.”
Chen Jinnan pointed to a jagged stalagmite not far away. “See that rock? It’s the high ground inside the hive. Climb up there and find a vantage point. You’ll provide long-range sniper support for us. Sniper bullets deal high damage, so you’ll gain plenty of experience.”
“Got it!”
“Ax, Xiaobai,” Chen Jinnan continued directing, “You two take the left side. Ro Lin and I will take the right. When the swarm rushes in, alternate covering fire to give each other a chance to reload. If it gets too intense, Ro Lin switch to shield and hold the line for a few seconds. Ding Han, aim carefully—no friendly fire.”
“Don’t worry, I won’t hit anyone by mistake.”
I didn’t say more, slung the sniper rifle on my back, and quickly climbed the jagged, damp rock to the vantage point. Ahead, about fifty meters away, there were clusters of jade-green blossoms.
Of course, those weren’t flower buds but hive larvae. If a player got too close, the larvae would instantly “break out” and launch ferocious attacks!
...
“Chitter-chitter~~~”
As we approached, the larvae’s spores began writhing rapidly, splattering sticky mucus with a “pat-pat-pat” sound. Bugs the size of washbasins surged out!
“Level 15, common monsters, open fire!”
At Chen Jinnan’s command, gunfire erupted below.
Crouched atop the vantage point, I had already shouldered my rifle and aimed at the bugs. With thunderous bangs, every shot struck true, each hit accompanied by rising damage numbers.
“442!”
“433!”
“415!”
“447!”
The blue sniper rifle’s damage was indeed high; these level 15 hive bugs had about 900 total health, and nearly every shot cut their health bar in half. It was immensely satisfying.
“Damn...”
Ax fired bursts from his submachine gun while frowning, “Ding Han’s firepower is crazy; one shot equals a whole clip from my SMG. That’s ridiculous!”
“Heh heh...”
Ro Lin smiled, “I picked the right person, didn’t I?”
Xiaobai chuckled, then suddenly ceased firing. His eyes glowed with deep blue psychic energy as an invisible psychic blast rippled forward, instantly dealing over 200 damage to a bug and severely slowing its movement.
Psychic Shockwave, a basic ability of psychics!
I didn’t overthink it and continued harvesting experience from the bugs shot down one after another. I felt deeply satisfied.
In the “Star Abyss” system, the more damage a team deals during a group quest, the more experience they earn, following a merit-based rule that forbids slacking off.
Even boss fights followed a similar principle: after defeating a boss, everyone involved received a special boss ability crystal chest, but the contents varied by individual, with higher contributors having better chances of winning valuable loot!
After emptying all four spare magazines of the Whisperer, I leapt down from the rock and switched to the Roarer rifle to keep fighting. The team’s coordination was quite good; the bugs had no chance.
...
Soon, all hive bugs within several dozen meters were wiped out.
Suddenly, a ping sounded in my ear.
[Outstanding performance in battle! Quest triggered: “Hive Cleanup” (Rank C)! Objective: Eliminate all bugs in this hive and ensure your survival. Reward: Massive experience points and the “Dragon Blade” (Rank B Skill Tome)!]

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The quest appeared!
I was overjoyed. “I triggered the Rank C Hive Cleanup quest. Did you guys get it?”
“No.”
Chen Jinnan shook his head. “No way... why didn’t we get it?”
“Maybe just luck.”
Ro Lin smiled in her broadcast-level voice, “Fate always favors fools without warning.”
I was speechless—her mature, commanding tone was surprisingly alluring.
“Congratulations!”
Xiaobai smiled warmly at me.
I nodded, saying nothing more, and stayed with the team. After refilling all our magazines, we pushed deeper into the hive.
Everything went smoothly.
Within just an hour, I gained a large amount of experience and advanced to level 11. After extracting much experience, my elemental furnace reached level 7, boosting my attributes significantly.
My overall combat energy level rose to 205 points!
Given that the regional rankings in Xicheng were based on combat power, I likely ranked in the top three.
...
In the afternoon, the entire Hive was ablaze with gunfire as the five of us from the Tiandihui fought the bugs fiercely.
“Beep!”
A WeChat message popped up—from Lu Xiaobei: “Ding Han, where are you... The city management just caught me... Come bail me out...”
She even sent a pitiful emoji.
I almost laughed aloud.
But now was definitely not the time to go back to Xicheng to rescue her. I couldn’t afford any distractions.
So, I shoved the phone into my pocket, switched it to silent, and ignored her. I’d just say I fell asleep somewhere outside and explain later. The boss was understanding and would surely sympathize with a night-shift worker’s exhaustion.
Time ticked by.
Around three in the afternoon, I had used up almost all 1,000 rounds of my 9mm submachine gun ammo, though I still had plenty of large-caliber sniper rounds for the Whisperer.
“Almost out of ammo.”
Chen Jinnan pointed ahead. “Brothers and sisters, the end of the hive is just ahead. With one last push, we can clear this map. Let’s give it our all.”
“I’m running low on ammo—almost out.” Ro Lin said.
“I have some left.”
Ax pulled out a box of bullets and grinned, “Two hundred rounds. No need to thank me. Just buy me a meal later, deal?”
“No meals coming.”
Ro Lin accepted the ammo, “But we’ll definitely pay you back in full.”
“Damn…”
Ax sighed, “Is it really that hard to get a meal? Am I really that ugly?”
He looked at Xiaobai.
Ling Baiwei frowned, “Don’t look at me. Yeah, you’re kind of ugly...”
Chen Jinnan laughed loudly.
“Chief Commander Chen,” I spoke up, “I’ve also run out of SMG ammo, but I still have sniper rounds. I’ll continue with long-range sniping and won’t join the melee. Is that okay?”
“Sure, that works.”
Chen Jinnan smiled, “Ding Han, you just joined the squad today, but everyone’s noticed your performance—it’s impressive. Keep developing, and you’ll definitely become a master.”
“Ever thought about joining our Tiandihui? I can give you a chance to become leader of the Qingmu Hall someday.”
I twitched my mouth, “No thanks, I’m not considering joining any organization for now. But feel free to call me when leveling up.”

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“Alright, walking the lone player path isn’t bad. Our Tiandihui won’t force you.”
With that, Chen Jinnan led the group in clearing the hive’s final map section. I found a vantage point several dozen meters away and took down half-health bugs with one-shot headshots.
About five minutes later, only the last ten meters of the hive remained.
“The final bugs.”
Chen Jinnan raised his gun and advanced.
Something felt off.
I stared at the last patch inside the hive and noticed a larva spore shimmering jade-green, looking like a large piece of uncut jade, unlike the other bugs. It looked familiar.
That seemed to be...
Suddenly my heart clenched sharply, and I shouted, “Chief Commander Chen, be careful! That’s not a level 1 bug—it’s a level 2 Explosive Bug...”
“What?!”
Chen Jinnan was alarmed, but it was too late.
A level 25 elite Explosive Bug lurked in the swarm and charged at Chen Jinnan.
“Everyone, fall back!”
I shouted, but it was all too late.
“Boom~~~”
The Explosive Bug, taking fire from Ro Lin, Xiaobai, and Ax, slammed into Chen Jinnan and exploded with a deafening blast. The bug instantly dissolved into a puddle of blood and plasma, and Chen Jinnan’s body melted away, turning directly into a pool of blood!
“Crash~~”
In the air, an outline of an extra-dimensional storage space flickered, and Chen Jinnan’s items burst out—guns, bullets, and miscellaneous gear scattered everywhere.
“Damn...”
Ax was horrified, his face pale as death.
“Stop standing there!”
I headshotted bugs one by one and yelled, “Kill all the bugs first, hurry!”
Only then did Xiaobai and Ro Lin snap out of it, retreating while shooting, swiftly wiping out the last bugs in the hive.
...
[Congratulations! You have completed the quest “Hive Cleanup” (Rank C). Rewards: 60,000 experience points and the additional reward “Dragon Blade” (Rank B Skill Tome)!]
The experience was enough to reach level 12, and I obtained the universal sword technique “Dragon Blade.”
I should have been happy, but Chen Jinnan’s death dampened the mood.
Rustling...
I carried the Whisperer rifle and walked up beside the three survivors, gazing at the pool of blood that was once Chen Jinnan.
“What do you think happens when you die in this world? Do you return to the real world?” Xiaobai asked.
“Maybe...”
Ro Lin replied, “If dying here really means going back, I’d want to die now. But the worst fear is dying here and also dying in reality—then there’s nothing left.”
“So...”
Ax asked, “Is the leader really dead?”
“Yeah.”
I nodded without another word.
Everyone was silent, a heavy gloom hanging over us.
“So...”
Ax looked at the scattered items, “The stuff the leader dropped...”