"Have you noticed that the insects here seem to be mutating?"

Li Zixuan approached the carcass of a Scythe Insect that had been shot dead on the ground. He gently kicked its body, revealing a tentacle pressed underneath it.

"I don’t recall Scythe Insects having tentacles as an organ. These features are quite fitting for a Mutant."

Yin Rao also squatted down, lightly nudging it with his finger, and said:

"Indeed, I guess these insects might have been affected by the Crimson Light outside before, and it’s only now starting to manifest. This should be an early symptom of mutation."

Bugison rubbed his chin and said:

"If that’s the case, we should probably speed up our cleanup work. Otherwise, it will be even harder to kill them once they fully mutate, right?"

Just as he finished speaking, the Scythe Insect, which had been dead on the ground, suddenly opened its eyes. The frightening crimson red in its eyes, it suddenly lunged towards Yin Rao, who was closest to it.

"Watch out!"

The others could barely react, only managing to shout a warning, then could only watch helplessly as the insect leaped at their teammate.

At that moment, a figure flashed by, reaching Yin Rao first, and knocked him aside, while tackling the Desert Worm itself.

"Captain!"

The group saw clearly that the figure was none other than their captain, Li Zixuan.

"Whoosh~ Slash!"

A series of dazzling moves appeared, and with a flip, Li Zixuan was on the back of the Desert Worm. A blade from the Dark Spiritual Artifact on his wrist extended and stabbed into its head.

"Clatter, clatter~"

The worm twitched a few times as its head was pulverized before it finally stopped moving.

Everyone helped pull the Desert Worm’s corpse off him, approaching to check on his condition.

"I’m fine, don’t all come to me; pay attention to the realm around us!"

Li Zixuan clutched his abdomen as he got up. During the close combat just now, a tentacle from the worm had drilled a small hole there, and blood was now trickling down his hand.

"Captain!!"

Yin Rao, seeing that Li Zixuan was seriously injured while saving him, felt touched and panicked at the same time. He frantically searched the tactical bag he carried for rescue supplies.

"It’s nothing. I won’t die."

Li Zixuan waved his hand, signaling him to remain calm.

At the same time, a slender, fair hand handed a small yellow bottle to Yin Rao.

Yin Rao glanced back at Meng Meimei, calming down at that moment.

He took the small yellow bottle, sprinkled its powder on Li Zixuan’s wound, and the small hole on his abdomen, initially pierced by the tentacle, quickly healed.

This was the powder of the Jade Sunflower from the Second Universe, capable of fast wound repair, a necessary medicine for every Anti-Demon Alliance warrior.

"It’s okay now, everyone stop worrying. Keep your eyes on the surrounding insects, and make sure to shoot them in the head, leaving no chance for them to come back alive."

Li Zixuan slowly stood up. The wound quickly healed under the powder of the Jade Sunflower.

"Look into their eyes. These creatures have already started to mutate. It’s difficult to kill them completely by attacking their bodies alone. The Mutant’s weakness is in the head, so make sure to take note!"

"Ah!! Ah!! Ah!!"

Suddenly, three screams came from behind. Everyone turned around in shock but found that only one miner was left of the three who were originally following them; the sound came from the direction they had come from.

"What happened!?"

Li Zixuan was furious.

The remaining ancient miner from Guleng Star looked at the end of the corridor and said trembling:

"They... they just ran back... They must have been scared when they saw the insects suddenly come back to life and decided to move away a bit..."

"Damn it! Don’t they know there are insect corpses back there too!"

Li Zixuan immediately led the team back, but by the time they reached the end of the corridor, it was too late; only two bodies with their heads torn off were left.

"Shoo, shoo, shoo, shoo!!"

A series of Spiritual Power Beams shot out, striking down several Desert Worms that had mutated into Mutants, ending their feast.

The expression of the Mad Bee Team members wasn’t too good. The target they were protecting had slipped away right under their noses, and they hadn’t noticed, which really annoyed them.

Even though those two brought it upon themselves, the fact that they weren’t guarded properly was indeed their oversight, leaving the new recruits who had just entered the battlefield feeling both angry and frustrated.

"Stay close to us. It’s extremely dangerous here, and if you run around, we can’t protect you. Following behind us is the safest way."

Li Zixuan reminded the old miner, who swallowed hard and stiffly nodded.

"Don’t worry... I know what to do... I won’t run around..."

The group set off again, targeting the mineral cargo in the middle right side of the ship, needing to find the other survivors first.

Compared to the initial operation, this advance was much more challenging. Not only because the Desert Worms had gradually mutated into Mutants, enhancing their speed, Strength, and Life Force attributes, but also because the number of insects increased as they arrived here, making it increasingly challenging to handle.

Meanwhile, inside the Digger’s mineral cargo, nearly a hundred people were trembling in fear, hiding within. Judging by their uniforms, they were all miners from this ship.