Chapter 201: Chapter 201: A Gadfly is Merely a Small Bug

"He couldn’t clearly explain the situation down here either, so we can only rely on ourselves. Don’t worry, we’ll cross the bridge when we come to it. As long as we’re here, we’ll be able to figure everything out." Lu Jingyu comforted Xu Qingsui before leading her back to the group.

"At present, we are facing an unknown entity. Although we aren’t sure if it’s friend or foe, one thing is certain: if that thing so much as gets the idea to leave this place, the scenes we witnessed earlier will spread outside.

"Therefore, we must prepare for the worst and figure out exactly what this entity’s intentions are before we can leave.

"To be safe, from now on, everyone must stay here. No one is to act without permission, and everyone must obey orders. If anyone needs to take care of personal matters, they must report it so someone can be assigned to accompany them."

After briefly outlining the problem at hand, Lu Jingyu began to lead everyone in reviewing what had happened earlier, hoping to find some clues.

Xu Qingsui stood silently to the side, paying no attention to their conversation. After all, she was a soul transmigrator. Even though she always felt her golden finger was just a stinky seafood that only knew how to make empty promises, the Golden Octopus was still a cheat code. It definitely knew many things they didn’t. Rather than slowly searching for clues here, she might as well make use of it.

Without hesitation, Xu Qingsui summoned the Golden Octopus. "System, do you know exactly what kind of thing ate those creatures completely clean?"

"Of course! There is nothing in this world that I don’t know!" The Golden Octopus crossed two of its tentacles over its chest, its tone brimming with smugness.

"Then what is it?" Xu Qingsui couldn’t help but roll her eyes. This stinky seafood didn’t just love making empty promises; it was also full of itself.

"A gadfly is but a small insect, yet its impact on the world cannot be underestimated." The Golden Octopus dropped an archaic phrase, causing Xu Qingsui’s brow to twitch.

The sentence sounded somewhat familiar to her, like a text she had studied in the past. But after experiencing two lifetimes in the Apocalypse, her only goal was survival. Who would remember all that classical nonsense? After all, whether facing zombies or Mutants, only sheer force was useful. Poetic jargon had absolutely no lethality.

"What does that mean? Speak in a way that’s easy to understand!"

The Golden Octopus rolled its eyes. "You don’t even understand that? It means that cows have gadflies on them. Even though they are tiny bugs, they have a huge impact on the world."

Xu Qingsui understood the literal meaning, but what did it signify? It seemed like a cow was locked up down here. Could it be that the gadflies on the cow had mutated?

Seeing Xu Qingsui furrowing her brows, lost in thought, the Golden Octopus could only continue explaining.

"That was just an analogy. In reality, it’s not just gadflies. Any creature covered in fur usually has many parasites on its body, not to mention that there are so many creatures imprisoned here.

"Now, these parasites have also been infected and mutated. Their original size was already very small, and this mutation brought about further changes. They are now even smaller and much faster, making them extremely difficult to spot.

"Furthermore, their numbers are massive. Right now, many of the crevices in this space are filled with them."

Finally hearing the Golden Octopus clarify the situation, Xu Qingsui couldn’t help but shiver at the thought of being surrounded by invisible, flesh-eating, blood-drinking Mutants. She subconsciously looked around, feeling a tingling sensation all over her body, as if countless tiny bugs were crawling on her.

"Do these Mutants only target animals? Why did they take care of the creatures on the third underground level for us but haven’t attacked us yet?"

"They target all living creatures. As for why they haven’t attacked you, it’s because they are currently waiting for you to take them out of here."

The Golden Octopus’s words confirmed Xu Qingsui’s suspicion. Although she had already considered this possibility, hearing it spoken aloud still prompted her to ask another question. "Aren’t they just bugs? How can they possess this kind of awareness?"

"Host, please maintain a sense of awe for all living things. Even inconspicuous little bugs have their own groups and their own societies.

"This swarm of insect Mutants has now formed a collective. Among them, one with highly developed spiritual power serves as the leader, guiding the entire swarm in their desire to leave this place."

Xu Qingsui took a deep breath. She had always maintained a reverence for nature, but she never expected that a swarm of bugs could evolve to such an extent. Her shock was difficult to suppress, but the most pressing matter right now was to solve the problem and leave this place. After all, before coming down, they had only planned for a quick battle and hadn’t brought many supplies. Staying here for a short while was fine, but if time dragged on, providing supplies for so many people would become an issue. Those bug Mutants had eaten and drunk their fill, so they could afford to wait it out. However, a large group of humans like them couldn’t afford a war of attrition.

"Then how do we deal with these Mutants now? I can’t even sense where they are hiding, so where do I even start?"

"With your Spiritual Power, it’s not that you can’t sense their location. Rather, because they are omnipresent, they are confusing your senses, making you think you can’t detect them."

The Golden Octopus’s words finally cleared up the question that had been troubling Xu Qingsui. She had always thought it was an issue with her own abilities, but now it seemed her experience was simply too lacking. Now that the existence of the Mutants was confirmed, how were they supposed to deal with such a massive swarm?

"With such a colossal swarm, how can we eliminate them quickly?" she asked.

"Host, your mission is to continuously grow. My function is to answer your questions and assist in that growth.

"Therefore, I can answer your questions, but as for how to actually solve the problem, you need to use your own brain.

"Although that Mutant army now has a spiritual leader, bugs are ultimately simple-minded creatures. Over time, they will become uncontrollable.

"To prevent your group from being besieged, I suggest you quickly come up with a solution. Otherwise, a riot will break out, and all of you will perish here."

True to its word, the Golden Octopus shut its mouth and vanished from Xu Qingsui’s sight.

Xu Qingsui cursed a few times in her heart, but she knew the Golden Octopus made a valid point. If she wanted to improve herself, she still had to rely on her own mind to solve problems. Her expression darkened as she immediately began pondering how to eliminate this army of bugs.

After Lu Jingyu and his group reviewed everything from the beginning, they still made no progress. Not a trace of a smile remained on Lu Jingyu’s face. While deep in thought, he subconsciously glanced at Xu Qingsui, only to see her brows tightly furrowed, as if she were wrestling with a difficult problem.

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