The Golden Cudgel instantly traversed ten thousand miles and returned to Chu Ran's hand. Before Wang Wu could turn around, the Golden Cudgel had already thrust toward its abdomen. Riiip! Wang Wu froze in place, its head turning slowly, jerkily, like the rusty hands of a clock. The Golden Cudgel, which had previously been unable to harm it at all, now embedded three centimeters into its body. The wound was small and didn't bleed, but it was a huge omen of doom. Wang Wu slammed its tail fiercely at Chu Ran while lunging forward and turning. The shallow hole at its waist healed at a snail's pace. Its compound eyes gradually tinged with blood, and its ears vibrated like hummingbird wings at a hundred times per second. But it didn't notice the unknown Zerg beside it, holding the shattered thin tube, staring straight at its twitching ears. Wang Wu let out a long roar and pounced at Chu Ran with murderous intent. Kill her! Kill her! This human must not live!
Chu Ran didn't open her eyes; she remained in a mysterious state. Without thinking or reacting, she responded instantly the moment Wang Wu attacked. Bang bang bang! The battle figures of the human and the Zerg moved as if at tenfold speed, leaving afterimages in the air. The Golden Cudgel clashed against the powerful body, sending sparks flying. Sonic cannonballs continuously hit Chu Ran's monkey fur, and finally, a slight burnt smell could be detected. Compared to Huang Feiying lying on the ground, she was more like a war god incarnate. The Battle Saint Buddha, invincible.
Whoosh.
Wang Wu suddenly distanced itself. A huge crack appeared on the giant scythe of its right forelimb, countless scratches covered its body, and nearly half of the holes in its wings were ruined. It lowered its head slightly, raised both forelimbs high, spread its eight wings, and glared viciously at Chu Ran. No, it couldn't go on like this! It didn't know what had happened to Chu Ran, but it could sense that a higher-level power within her was awakening.
Wang Wu's gaze inadvertently swept over the unknown Zerg quietly staying aside, a flash of ruthlessness in its eyes. "I need your help!" It sent a communication signal unique to the Zerg, while its tail pierced toward the unknown Zerg's abdomen like an unsheathed sword. The unknown Zerg seemed not to receive Wang Wu's signal; the broken thin tube hung limply behind its head. A series of gurgling sounds came from its throat, like crying or howling. The next second, the tail that should have pierced the unknown Zerg's abdomen hit nothing. Fear flashed in Wang Wu's compound eyes as it slowly lowered its head and saw a large amount of blue liquid flowing from its abdomen. Then, searing pain came.
Aaaaaaaaaahhhhhh!
A massive sonic shockwave exploded instantly. The unknown Zerg seemed surrounded by a protective barrier, unaffected. Without pause, it opened its maw again and devoured Wang Wu's body. When the Zerg Queen is hungry, the Zerg guard is its food reserve—this is a racial inheritance etched into their genes.
The dying wail of an SS-class Zerg caused a huge impact. Chu Ran was forced back dozens of meters, with exposed, bleeding skin on her face. The sonic waves cracked the ground and shattered the ice. He Qishen pulled He Qiwu behind an ice shield. In the distance, Charlie Jing and the others were covered in thick ice, their bodies not blasted to pulp by the shockwave. He Qiwu couldn't move, gasping, insisting on asking him intermittently, "Why did you come back?" He Qishen stood out starkly in the gray-yellow wasteland. He was too white. White hair, white skin, white eyebrows, even his clothes assimilated with the Snow God, like a snowy peak on the plateau, a vast expanse of whiteness. He Qishen didn't speak, his eyes empty, only one hand gripping He Qiwu's arm. He was an artificial pseudo-deity, whose true power was less than that of a divine envoy. Protecting these people's bodies and He Qiwu had exhausted all his Spiritual Power and most of his vitality. The migrating birds that had flown away actually returned. He Qiwu coughed, the corners of her mouth lifting slightly. Idiot. Couldn't even learn something as simple as living. She couldn't move her body, staring into the distance, feeling her life drain away bit by bit. Her life had entered its final countdown. He Qiwu suddenly realized this. The corners of her mouth rose even higher, and a tear slipped from the corner of her eye. How ridiculous—she had fought against fate for so many years, yet still hadn't lived to see gray hair. She wouldn't accept it. She wouldn't accept it! She wouldn't accept it! He Qiwu finally closed her eyes. She channeled her remaining Spiritual Power and life force through the connection between them, bit by bit into He Qishen's body. Just as Wang Wu's power was being devoured by the unknown Zerg in the air.
Chu Ran only took one step forward before being pinned in place by an unknown force. Deep in the Divine Ruins, the thick gray mist gradually flowed apart, revealing the silhouette of a dark long chair. The remnants of the gods on both sides crumbled into dust, sucked clean. Chu Ran's eyelids began to flutter, as if two forces were clashing and bombarding inside her, preventing her from staying asleep. Not far away, after the unknown Zerg ate the last piece of Wang Wu's body, the thin tubes behind it grew rapidly, the entire Zerg was renewed, its body began to shrink, and human expression appeared in its eyes for the first time. It had completed its evolution. The unknown Zerg, like a queen ant, had a short, thin torso below its head. Countless tentacles coiled around its oval abdomen, forming a hard armor. The thin tube behind its head became extremely hard, and the thin needle inserted into the end of the abdomen, forming a perfect seal. The New Zerg Queen looked at Chu Ran as if seeing a century-old ganoderma, full of greed. The thin tube behind its head suddenly shot out, stabbing at Chu Ran. Chu Ran retreated quickly, but the tube was faster, directly piercing her right shoulder. The power of the Nine-Tailed Fox in her heart raged and roared, but still couldn't resist the pull, slowly being drawn out. The monkey fur on her body visibly receded, and the Golden Cudgel was no longer indestructible, gradually fading.
"Wake up!" After He Qishen regained his senses, he saw Chu Ran like a dead doll, suspended in midair by the New Zerg Queen's thin tube. One alive, one dead. No! If everyone was doomed to become food for the Zerg, why did he come back?! Suddenly, he felt a weight in his hand. He whirled around and found He Qiwu's body slowly disintegrating into fine sand, merging into the ground. He Qishen froze, disbelief in his eyes. She... died? She who only wanted to live, died? He Qishen abruptly let go, his mouth wide open but no sound coming out. Aaaaaaaaaahhhhhh! The painful, silent scream that had been blocked by soundproof glass in the laboratory, spanning sixteen years in time, finally echoed over the ruins of the God Summoning Society.
As if hearing his voice, Chu Ran slowly opened her eyes. Her left hand grasped the thin tube and yanked it out forcefully. Blood splattered, landing on her slender eyelashes. She staggered back a few steps; the Somersault Cloud under her feet only had room to stand. The New Zerg Queen's eyes flashed with displeasure and mockery. The thin tube swung left and right, breaking free from Chu Ran's left hand, and stabbed straight at her heart.
Bang!
A string of prayer beads blocked in front of Chu Ran. Chu Ran's gaze moved down, for the first time stunned as if in a dream. Before she could speak, fierce artillery fire poured down from the sky, intent on smashing the New Zerg Queen to death. "Step back." Professor Hu, clad in a light red celestial robe, a platinum cape falling behind her, stepped on a lotus, with six arms behind her in various gestures. An SSS-class deity. The Lord of Rebirth.