Standing beside Zhao Rong, his assistant tremblingly pulled a lighter from his pocket and warned the scarecrows, "Stay back, you scarecrows! Or I’ll light this and burn you all to ashes..."

Although the assistant threatened to set them on fire, the scarecrows, far from being afraid, simply advanced without hesitation. "Don’t underestimate us," one of them said. "We may be made of straw, but it’s a high-tech nanomaterial. Not only is it fireproof, waterproof, and theft-proof, but it’s also scratch-resistant, friction-resistant, beauty-resistant, and even rabies-resistant."

Hearing that the scarecrows were actually fireproof, the disbelieving assistant flicked the lighter on and tossed it at the nearest one, a figure wearing a top hat, trying to burn it to ashes. To his surprise, however, the straw didn’t ignite. Instead, the lighter’s flame was simply extinguished upon contact.

Seeing that they were indeed fireproof, the assistant stumbled back a step in terror. "Damn it, these things really are fireproof..."

At that moment, Lili pulled a bottle of gasoline from her bag. She splashed its contents over several of the scarecrows and shouted to the assistant, "They said they were fireproof, right? I’ve just doused them in gasoline. Try your lighter again! I refuse to believe they won’t burn now!"

Seeing that Lili had soaked the scarecrows in highly flammable gasoline, the assistant quickly took out another lighter, lit it, and threw it at the gasoline-drenched figures. However, to both his and Lili’s astonishment, the scarecrows still wouldn’t catch fire.

They erupted in maniacal laughter. "You humans are such fools. We already told you we were fireproof, yet you keep trying."

Just then, Yu Lan stepped forward. She pulled a grenade from her pocket, yanked the pin, and hurled it toward the group of scarecrows. "Forget waiting around!" she yelled. "I’ve tossed them a grenade! Everyone get down and watch out for shrapnel!"

Zhao Rong, the three women, and the assistant immediately dropped to the ground. A moment later, they heard the grenade detonate right at the scarecrows’ feet. Yu Lan confidently said to the others, "So what if they’re badass? They may be fireproof, waterproof, theft-proof, beauty-resistant, scratch-resistant, and rabies-resistant... but they never said they were blast-proof. I refuse to believe that grenade didn’t just blow them sky-high."

But just as everyone thought the scarecrows had surely been obliterated, the smoke cleared to reveal them standing there completely unharmed. The middle-aged man standing a short distance away from them, however, had been blasted black with soot.

When Yu Lan saw that the scarecrows were even immune to explosions, she took a step back in shock. "Damn, they’re tough as hell! These aren’t made of straw; they’re made of solid iron! They’re even blast-proof..."

Seeing that they were out of options, Xuelian pulled a miniature oxyacetylene torch from her pocket. "You think you’re so tough, do you? Well, I’m about to cut you all to pieces with this torch!"

With that, Xuelian opened the gas tanks, ignited the torch, and began trying to cut into the scarecrows. To her dismay, their bodies seemed to be as hard as diamonds; the cutting torch couldn’t even leave a scratch.

Seeing Zhao Rong’s group staring at them helplessly, the scarecrows burst out laughing. "You humans dared to trespass on our boss Hong Ju’s territory. You won’t be leaving here alive."

At that moment, Zhao Rong stepped forward and looked at the nearby scarecrows. He patted his chest confidently. "So, you think you’re pretty great, huh? That nothing can take you down? Well, I have a little something right here that can wipe you out instantly."

When the scarecrows heard him, they laughed with contempt. "Young man, if you can actually destroy us, we’ll take your last name."

Before they could finish, Zhao Rong produced a small bug from his sleeve and tossed it onto the ground. "You may be indestructible," he said calmly, "but this little bug can wipe you out with ease."

When the assistant and the three women saw Zhao Rong holding up a tiny caterpillar and boasting that it could defeat the invincible scarecrows, their jaws dropped in disbelief, and they nearly collapsed. The assistant stared at the unremarkable caterpillar on the ground. "Bro, are you kidding me? You want to fight them with a tiny caterpillar? That’s like trying to stop a runaway cart with your bare hands! It’s suicide!"

Lili was equally skeptical. "Zhao Rong, from a scientific standpoint, we should be using fire against them. Burning is the only way to completely destroy them. That little caterpillar of yours... I think they’re just going to step on it and crush it."

Yu Lan felt sorry for the creature. "Zhao Rong, how can you be so cruel to such a small animal? Just throwing it on the ground like that is horrible."

Xuelian plucked a leaf from a nearby plant, tossed it next to the caterpillar, and whispered, "Here, little one. If you’re hungry, nibble on this for now. When this is over, I’ll take you out and buy you some nice mulberry leaves."

But just as Zhao Rong’s companions were dismissing his plan, the scarecrows began backing away in fright from the tiny caterpillar on the ground.

The one in the top hat retreated, exclaiming in terror, "This is bad! This guy has mastered the core technology! I think... I think we’re really about to be destroyed by that robotic caterpillar!"

The tattered scarecrow was so scared it fell over. "That’s no ordinary caterpillar," it shrieked, its face a mask of fear. "It has a nickname: the Scarecrow-Eating Caterpillar!"