Wow! The item-dropping rate is really high!

Bai E immediately perceived the rapidly burrowing movements of the sandworm underground. Possessing the trait "Hive Mind," he could sensitively detect the signals sent and received by his kin when they initiated actions within this network.

However, he didn't have time to warn anyone.

By the time he sensed it, the sandworm was already too close for any reaction.

Unless he was in a quickly moving vehicle where he could take the wheel at the first opportunity, there was no way he could avoid the sandworm's charge. In a stationary vehicle, even he could do no more than protect himself by jumping out.

Not to mention that he was alone in the rear compartment, and even his work at hand had reached its critical final stage.

Almost at the same moment the sandworm flipped his teammate's transport, Bai E succeeded in welding the last solder point and received the completion prompt.

The so-called communicator he had rudimentarily assembled couldn't be very powerful, after all, even the original sensors given to them by the Scientific Research Institute's information department couldn't transmit much more information, let alone the makeshift transmitter he cobbled together from a pile of scrap.

Sending out his location to the signal reception center was the only function this hastily assembled rudimentary transmitter could perform.

What remained... was left to fate.

Bai E hoisted a machine gun with one hand while firing at the same time, his other hand grabbed the handrail on the outer edge of the carriage, and with a twist, he flipped onto the roof.

Vision!

Facing a sudden attack, it was more important to quickly understand the configuration and position of the opponent.

The "Hive Mind" network's messages were vague and undoubtedly less useful than his own eyes and ears during a direct fight.

Before his eyes could catch sight of information, his expertise in blind combat was already gathering intelligence from the vibrations in the air.

One... two... three... four... five... six...

Six!

Standing alone on the roof of the vehicle, Bai E held his machine gun, his gaze icy as it swept around.

There were only sandworms, eight in total, and for the time being, no other types of creatures were seen.

The subterranean burrowing of the worms meant that no other type of creature could easily keep up with their movements.

At that moment, the flailing gestures of the sandworms in the air seemed to be an instinctive venting, but the reason they didn't take any extra action right away was revealed in the data of the monsters he had been firing at_

[Sandworm (Bug Race): Health 199/200; Defensive Power 20; Mobility: 30% (Overdrawn State); Traits: Symbiotic Weapon, Chitin Armor, Large Creature, Distributed Nervous System...]

[Large Creature: Their colossal size gives them strong resistance to damages that do not exceed half of their body size, and no single injury can ever be more than 10% of their maximum health value!]

[Distributed Nervous System: To control their immense bodies, they don't have a central brain to govern their entire body. Numerous neural nodes are scattered throughout multiple parts of their structure, ensuring they have no absolute weak point.]

A volley of bullets didn't cause enough damage to the opponent.

The sandworms might not have levels as high as the mantis worms, but their chitin bone armor surface defense was even stronger than the mantis worms', being the ones responsible for subterranean excavation.

The reason they flailed in the air without attacking immediately was likely because they had become unavoidably stunned after burrowing and then colliding with the heavy transport.

Even lifeforms like worms, seemingly indifferent to logic, must follow the basic principles of mechanics when interacting with anything in the world.

Perhaps the armor on their bodies was hard enough, but concussive strikes had enough penetrative power to directly affect the worm bodies beneath the chitin armor.

"Fire!"

As Bai E surveyed the battleground, his teammates opened fire in sync, with the heavy machine guns atop the vehicles unleashing a more terrifying roar than the combat machine guns held in their hands.

"Thud thud thud thud!"

The occasional bullet that penetrated the sandworms' massive bodies through a weak spot in their carapace emitted a dull sound, but most bullets struck their chitin shells, ringing out like shots against a metal plate.

"Ssssss!"

Two of the sandworms, not involved in overturning the transport, burst straight out of the ground, their centipede-like bodies rapidly scurrying forward with countless sharp claw blades crisscrossing.

The sharp scythe-like jaws on their heads reflected a fierce, chilling white light under the not-so-bright moonlight.

Hu sprang out of the door; armored in heavy combat gear, he clutched his chainsword and leaped at the head of one of the approaching sandworms when the moment was right.

The rapidly spinning chainsword struck the chitin carapace, sparking a blinding series of flashes.

Da Shan and You also joined in the fray, both warriors inclined towards aggression, charging fearlessly out. Da Shan, favoring strength, shouldered his Tower Shield and charged forward, while You, more agile and reflexive, dashed towards the overturned transport.

A simple overturn couldn't kill the skilled members of the special forces squad inside, and rescuing them to join the fight first was a strategy more advantageous for the battle's development.

Song Ying cradled a heavy machine gun, standing rooted at the top of the vehicle like a turret, unleashing a storm of angry bullets.

The price paid by the other squad, losing their vehicle, couldn't be wasted lightly!

Yet as Bai E scanned, his brows just furrowed deeply.

The teammate's adaptability was fast, and their decision-making couldn't be faulted, even if their killing power was limited.

Whether it was the team leader or Song Ying or even Dashan, their attacks struggled to breach the sand worms' defense and deal substantial, effective damage.

Not to mention the "large creature" trait of the sand worms, which naturally reduced the impact of all small-scale strikes and wounds.

Did it have a weakness?

Yes!

While chitin armor was advantageous for the Bug Race against piercing and slashing damage, the resistance it offered against blunt force trauma was significantly less.

Bai E shouted to Song Ying at the vehicle's front, "Use the grenade launcher! The machine gun isn't very effective!"

Unlike the last time they went out to meet the refugees, this time they had the carrying capacity of a transport vehicle, bringing along various convenient heavy weapons—grenade launchers, mortars, flamethrowers, and so on—to meet different needs.

"Okay."

Song Ying also noticed something was off.

Lacking Bai E's display panel, he immediately realized the machine gun was ineffective after laying down a barrage of fire.

This wasn't the time to confront a sea of bugs; machine gun fire was hardly enough to penetrate the defense of the numerically few but heavily armored Bug Race, while the concussive impact of heavy artillery might be more effective.

A concussion grenade launcher was shouldered by Song Ying, who aimed at a sand worm that was nearly incapacitated by a "stunned state" and fired.

"Boom!"

Flames scattered, and a blinding flash exploded into the deep night.

"Hiss!"

Taken by surprise, the sand worm's body stiffened dramatically as countless blade-like claws swung wildly before it fell backward.

Bai E fired another shot, only to find the worm was still far from death—181/200.

"What a nuisance!"

Bai E swore through clenched teeth.

Even though these sand worms weren't as highly ranked as the mantis bugs, their immense size alone posed trouble.

Dealing with one would have been manageable, but with a total of six, taking them down quickly wasn't going to be easy.

Bai E scanned the battlefield, especially the creeping black line spreading from the dim horizon—a sign that they needed to dispatch these sand worms quickly—

The small-scale bug swarm was following right behind the sand worms, as lower-ranked bugs hidden in the sands started their charge!

Bai E quickly reviewed his abilities and realized none was the perfect fit for his present predicament.

Strong shooting paired with Instant Kill Hundred Heads was undoubtedly Bai E's most damaging combo to date.

But when dealing with such large creatures, arrows as a medium for strong shooting inherently suffered a disadvantage—

Bai E's strong shot coupled with Instant Kill Hundred Heads could easily pierce through the sand worms' defenses, but even if he shredded a part of their bodies, such massive creatures wouldn't die instantly.

Continuous outbursts, moreover, would consume too much energy combined with Instant Kill Hundred Heads, and even exhausting spiritual energy and mobility might not be enough to finish off all the sand worms.

This was the tricky part about their "large creature" and "distributed nervous system" traits.

"Large creature" meant they virtually ignored minor penetrating wounds, while their distributed nervous system negated a central weak point, preventing a decapitating victory.

You had to chip away bit by bit at most of their massive bodies!

Or more precisely, at the inner body beneath their chitin shell!

What to do?

Bai E hesitated slightly as the night breeze gently brushed the hair on his forehead.

His eyes moved swiftly across the panel, and at a certain moment, his gaze fixed on a line of text—

Unarmed combat specialized skill tree... Unlearned, unlockable: Blessing of Liberation, Tactical Evasion.

Of course, the current situation had nothing to do with Tactical Evasion, but Blessing of Liberation...

Focused on enhancing a significant amount of striking power, could pairing with Blessing of Liberation enable sustained outbursts, rapidly resolving the fight?

Not to forget that his unarmed combat proficiency was a full 6 levels, the highest of all his specializations.

Close combat face-to-face?

Bai E licked his lips, his eyes fervent...