Beast World: Rise to Power with the Offspring System

"I'll keep you alive,"

"Then the vice president must keep his word," Sally said with a light laugh.

"…" Huo Qing saw that she actually didn't believe his words, and indeed, in the current situation, it was uncertain who could protect whom. He touched his high-bridged nose, feeling a bit embarrassed, and turned to leave the cockpit.

He arranged for people to prepare gas masks and weapons.

Sally stayed behind to repair the plane.

Huo Qing specifically left someone to protect her.

"I heard the vice president call you Jerry?" Sally took two bottles of water and tossed one to him.

Jerry had handsome features, a tall and robust physique, developed muscles, and chocolate-colored skin. He caught the water bottle steadily with his large hand and replied, "Yes, the other two, the one with blond hair is Charles, and the one with brown hair is Lu He. The dead one was Carter, a newly recruited pilot from the club."

"Whose man was Carter?"

"When he joined the club, his background information seemed to be fine."

Sally gazed into the vast green grasslands, "Have you been to Zone Zero before?"

"Skirted the edge once. If you're well-equipped, it's not hard to survive. But the deeper you go, who knows what you might encounter," Jerry took a big gulp of water, drinking half the bottle in one go.

Sally sipped her water slowly and asked, "Do you think we can get back safely?"

"We can. We also have to thank you for landing in the grassland. There might be some dangerous wild animals, but there's enough oxygen. That red desert up ahead, also known as the Eye of Death, has a minimum temperature of eighty-two degrees, and the oxygen is scarce. Without survival equipment, you'll pass out in less than fifteen minutes."

Suddenly, a red distress signal lit up the sky.

Jerry's face changed instantly, "This is bad, the boss is in danger."

Sally immediately gave him a backpack filled with ammo, "There's a walkie-talkie inside. Hurry over there, I'll stay on standby here."

"Okay." Jerry took the backpack and immediately ran toward the direction of the flare.

Sally also picked up two handguns, slipping one into the boot of her short boots, where she had modified the inside to hide a pistol. Holding the other in her hand, she circled around the aircraft, detecting no abnormalities.

The intercom inside the cabin beeped, and Huo Qing's voice came through, "Xiaoxia—"

Sally picked up the intercom, "Copy that, vice president."

"We're in trouble."

Huo Qing's voice sounded very grave, and Sally's heart skipped a beat, "What's the situation?"

"Mutant Red-Backed Ants. Be careful on your own, Charles is already dead. Jerry, run—" Huo Qing's voice was almost a shout by the end.

Sally didn't know what Red-Backed Ants were, but judging by Huo Qing's reaction, they must be dangerous.

She opened the backpack she had brought with her and took out a can of disinfectant powder. Insects have a keen sense of smell, and they want to avoid chemical products like this. She spread the disinfectant powder around the aircraft, but soon she ran out. She then rummaged through the plane's cargo hold to find a large bucket of cleaning fluid to complete the circle around the aircraft.

But that could only prevent the ants from approaching. If they did come, she'd have to kill them.

As Sally was busy looking for tools to kill the ants, a Red-Backed Ant the size of a soybean silently approached the aircraft...

Sally saw it from the System Map.

She immediately came out of the cabin holding a handgun in one hand and a mini camping flamethrower in the other.

The Red-Backed Ant lay at the edge of the disinfectant powder.

Sally picked up a piece of broken stone and crushed the Red-Backed Ant, surprised to find that its shell was quite hard, somewhat like a seashell, and it took some effort to break.

"Indeed, trouble," Sally frowned slightly, looking into the distance...

Three figures entered her view.

It was Huo Qing and the others, and behind them, followed a dense throng of red, the Red-Backed Ant legion.

Sally immediately turned and went back into the cabin, and when she came out again, she was holding several hand grenades.

This was the reason she kept the plane protected, there were plenty of weapons!

Huo Qing saw the grenade in Sally's hand and signaled that she could throw it.

Sally pulled the pin and threw the grenade toward the Red-backed Ant army!

"Boom—" The explosion sounded, hitting right in the center of the Red-backed Ants!

Huo Qing saw this, a flicker of admiration in his eyes, "Continue—"

Sally then threw four more grenades in succession, decimating much of the Red-backed Ant army, and the remnants began to retreat, no longer closely pursuing Huo Qing and the others.

Finally, Huo Qing, Jerry, and Lu He made it back to the safety of the disinfectant powder circle.

They were so tired they could barely stand.

Breathless, looking at the circle of disinfectant powder, Huo Qing gave Sally a thumbs up, "Water."

Sally handed each of them a bottle.

"Red-backed Ants are very vengeful, they will definitely come back," Huo Qing said gravely. If it weren't for the disheveled appearance from their escape, he would have seemed more imposing.

To Sally, the Red-backed Ants still seemed like ordinary ants, but after witnessing the recent scene, it was clear they were not; her circle of disinfectant powder was not as safe as it seemed.

Lu He had seen his good friend Charles enmeshed in a swarm of Red-backed Ants, quickly devoured to the point not even bones remained...

"Zone Zero is too terrifying!"

"Didn't you say you've been to Zone Zero before?" Jerry panted.

"I was just bluffing," Lu He laughed bitterly. "I didn't want you to think less of me."

"What's there to brag about, no one would willingly come to this hellish place," Jerry shook his head.

Huo Qing slowly finished a bottle of water and asked Sally for another, "Is there anyone else on Charles's side?"

Lu He replied, "He has a pregnant girlfriend, but the child isn't his—it's the result of her affair with an ex-boyfriend."

Suddenly, even the air seemed to fall silent.

"First, let's wait to safely leave this place," Sally pointed to a faint red tint in the distance.

"Damn beasts, they won't even let us catch our breath," Jerry stood up, watching the Red-backed Ant swarm drawing nearer.

Sally tossed him a rocket launcher, "Can you use it?"

"Piece of cake," Jerry grinned, baring his teeth.

Huo Qing ordered, "Take out all the grenades."

Sally moved a box over that had at least a hundred grenades inside and placed it on the ground.

Lu He gawked at Sally, "You're pretty strong."

"How else would I be able to work as a cleaner?" Sally tossed him a grenade.

Lu He clumsily caught it, "Be, be careful with that."

Sally ignored him and turned back to the cockpit; leaving this place was the best solution.

Lu He: "What's that about, is she looking down on me?"

As Jerry loaded the rocket launcher and adjusted the firing angle, he said, "The pin isn't pulled, what are you afraid of?"

Lu He looked at the grenade in his hand, "...I'm just being cautious. If it really explodes, we're all done for."

"Less talking," Huo Qing told Lu He. "Go check the warehouse to see if there's anything else useful."

"Yes, boss." As long as he didn't have to face that swarm of Red-backed Ants, anything was fine. He was somewhat claustrophobic; the sight of those ants made his head buzz and slowed his reactions.

The rocket launcher fired, blasting a huge hole directly into the center of the advancing Red-backed Ant army!

Yet the swarm of Red-backed Ants was utterly unafraid, continuing to surge toward them.