The Interstellar Queen of Scavengers-Chapter 1037: Underground

Dong!

Dong!

Dong!

The knocking from underground, subtle and elusive at first, now seems so distinct as if it’s pounding right beside the ear, making it hard to ignore. Ji You closed her eyes slightly, clearing the chaos in her mind, then opened them again and said, "Yue Qiyuan, is the Protective Shield at its maximum?"

Yue Qiyuan replied, "It’s on, but there’s a bit of a problem." His voice paused for a moment; when he spoke again, it was still hard to hide the heaviness, "The energy isn’t sufficient. It’ll only last for 30 minutes."

Ji You lifted her hand and massaged her temples.

It was indeed a big problem.

When it rains, it pours. Just dealing with unforeseen circumstances is enough, but the repeatedly occurring energy shortages are giving Ji You and her teammates a massive headache.

Yue Qiyuan said gravely, "The defense system here was last overhauled three years ago, and the energy was replenished seven years ago. In other words, the energy here hasn’t been replenished for a long time. Normally, it only needs to maintain a Level 1 protective state, if not just be on standby consuming zero energy. Therefore, the usual energy consumption isn’t much. If it weren’t for this incident, the energy could have lasted another three years."

Chu Jiaojiao frowned so hard she could squash flies: "What do we do? Do we just hold on here till the end?"

Ji You looked through the fortress’s surveillance lens towards the outside battle. Giant Black Thorn Bees were relentlessly swarming in from all directions, and seniors like Ye Liqiang and warrior Xiao Liu had to handle more than 7 or 8 at once.

The numbers between enemy and ally are overwhelmingly disproportionate.

If weaklings, the injured, and burdens like us step out of the fortress now, we would definitely drag down senior Ye Liqiang and others, resulting not only in our own demise but potentially getting the seniors killed as well.

Continue to bunker down?

But obviously, the underground Black Thorn Bees would not let Ji You and the others live peacefully here.

Dong dong dong!!!

Shhh~

Hmm?

Ji You’s heart sank, what’s this?

Shhh~

Sure enough.

This vague rustling was not just one but several, which means that the underground Black Thorn Bees were not just one bee as they thought, but several?

Damn!

The situation just got worse.

Chu Jiaojiao, Yue Qiyuan, Yue Qiguang, and others obviously heard the increasingly distinct rustling as well, and their expressions were all looking grim.

Yue Qiguang said agitatedly, "Damn! Next time, I’m not playing with you guys. Hanging out with you is just too unlucky."

Ji You, Chu Jiaojiao... They all glanced at Yue Qiguang with disdain in their eyes, and just as Ji You was about to mock Yue Qiguang, suddenly, a violent shake came from underground!

Boom——

Everyone jumped up in surprise, this——

Is the Black Stinging Bee Swarm prying at the base of the fortress?

Yue Qiguang: "...Damn! This is big trouble."

Ji You pursed her lips, holding onto the table leg with one hand, her facial expression paused for a few seconds, then she waved her hand forcefully and said, "Don’t be afraid, it’s not a big problem."

Everyone: "..."

Shen Changqing said softly, "I think it’s a big problem."

"I forbid you to undermine your own morale and boost the enemy’s." Ji You glared at Shen Changqing inside the medical cabin, then turned to Chu Jiaojiao and said, "To come without being reciprocated is impolite. Jiaojiao, let’s go!"

Chu Jiaojiao immediately followed, "Just right, I’m fed up. Time to show these ugly bugs some color."

Ji You stepped onto the foundational launch pad of the fortress, and retrieved an Energy Gun from the Space Button.

Ji You said, "Jiaojiao, help me find the spot, also, you’re the only one who maintained full combat strength here, keep an eye on Sheng Qingyan, Yue Qiyuan’s side, and support them anytime."

"Got it." Chu Jiaojiao squinted, adjusted the monitors to infrared, but unfortunately, the original underground surveillance pipelines were damaged by the Black Stinging Bee Swarm, leaving only a small portion usable. From this small portion of surveillance footage, she couldn’t piece together the full situation of the underground Black Stinging Bees. Chu Jiaojiao kept her eyes fixed, fell into a short contemplation, then opened her eyes and said, "Ji You, conservatively estimate that there are a total of 15 Black Thorn Bees underground."

Upon hearing this, Ji You fell silent for a moment, then said, "Double the number, we have to put the estimated danger level to the highest, prepare for the worst." At any time, preparing for the worst is not a bad thing.

In the surveillance, thermal red lines appeared.

"It’s here." Chu Jiaojiao’s voice lowered, "200 meters down your left foot and then 5 meters up, there’s one, it looks like a Level 5."

Bullet chambered, Ji You squinted, and pulled the trigger.

Through the launch pad, the bullet traveled straight to hit the target.

An intense tremor suddenly erupted from underground!

The next second, Ji You pulled the trigger again.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

She fired three successive shots, all hitting the Black Thorn Bee’s weak spot. Unfortunately, the Black Thorn Bee’s thick skin and rough flesh were quite resilient. If it had been a Particle Cannon, it might have been heavily injured, but it was only a less destructive Energy Gun. The Black Thorn Bee was hurt, its body trembling with pain, but it didn’t die, only rolling on the spot in pain.

The Black Stinging Bee Swarm underground was momentarily agitated by this sudden attack but soon continued advancing. Ji You and Chu Jiaojiao quickly realized that due to their enormous size, the Black Thorn Bees had to destroy the pre-built defensive structures in the dense underground network and pipelines with every step they took, causing them not to have an advantage in movement underground. Therefore, their movement speed was slow. As long as the firepower was strong enough and the attack speed was fast enough, it was totally feasible for Ji You and the others to take down a Level 5 Black Thorn Bee.

Ji You and Chu Jiaojiao exchanged a look, both seeing a sudden spark in each other’s eyes. Chu Jiaojiao said, "Ji You, you shoot from the ground, I’ll slip to the underground and finish them off!" Due to their large size, they kept some distance between them while moving underground, providing a significant amount of operational space. As long as they killed one without alerting the others, they might just be able to eliminate the underground threat.

Chu Jiaojiao had faith in Ji You’s shooting skills; as long as she could injure or even heavily damage one, she only needed to coordinate and finish them off from the side.

However, Ji You indeed shook her head, "No, it’s too dangerous for you alone."

Chu Jiaojiao squinted her eyes and said, "Danger? I’ve lived this long never considering the word danger in anything I do. To me, a matter only has the choice between challenge and giving up on the challenge."

Ji You: "...So, you’re starting to become more like Yue Qiguang. The second fool in the Combat Department."

Chu Jiaojiao: "..."

Chu Jiaojiao’s suggestion really was a pretty good idea, but... this suggestion was full of gambling. Ji You touched her chin and said, "Let me think, I’ll think again."