If he was right, this must be the Ole that Fanny had mentioned.

Long Ming’s gaze then fell upon the gear on Ole’s corpse. He spoke a single, apologetic word.

"Sorry!"

The next second, Long Ming crouched down and picked up the firearm. He then stripped off Ole’s mask, tactical gloves, tactical belt, and boots, quickly swapping them with his own gear.

He didn’t know the specific models or performance of the gear.

But Long Ming knew that as a combat team leader, Ole would have used only the best equipment—gear that was far superior to his own.

Just then, behind the enormous insect carapace, a pair of crimson eyes flared to life. A pitch-black figure then silently crawled up onto the hall’s ceiling.

Meanwhile, as Long Ming finished putting on the new gear, a series of notifications popped up on his wristband.

Long Ming glanced down at the information that appeared.

BSK-01 Grenade Carbine · Wolf Fang

Durability: 91/100

Equipped with: Optical Scope

Magazine: 11/30 (5.56mm rounds)

Launcher: 0/1 (40mm Grenade)

Red Ghost Mask

Function 1: Thermal Imaging

Function 2: Air Filtration

Energy: 0

GT-01 Tactical Gloves · Silent Hunter

Durability: 93/100

PSL-01 Powered Mechanical Boots

Durability: 90/100

Effect: Provides Power Assist

Energy: 23/100

Multi-function Tactical Belt.

Durability: 92/100

Contains: Integrated Tactical Dagger · Red Fang, High-Explosive Grenade x1, 40mm Grenades x2, 5.56mm Magazines x2.

Long Ming glanced at the info, then drew the integrated tactical dagger, Red Fang.

The entire dagger was engraved with intricate red patterns and emitted a strange luster. It also had a blood groove.

Long Ming gave it a few swings. The feel was incredible.

Next, Long Ming examined his new tactical gloves.

The gloves were made of a black composite material, etched with red lines that made them look quite striking.

They felt great on his hands.

’With these gloves, I won’t have to worry about getting my hands bitten by some little bug during my search.’

Next, Long Ming’s gaze fell on his new boots.

These boots were different from standard-issue training footwear. The main body was metal with an inner cushioning layer. The fit was perfect. He took a few test steps and felt much lighter on his feet.

A smile touched Long Ming’s lips. ’As expected of Captain Ole’s gear. The performance on everything is amazing.’

He suppressed his excitement and transferred the magazines, high-explosive grenades, automatic pistol, and tactical dagger from his old belt to the new one. He then tossed the old belt aside.

Once he was done, Long Ming’s gaze fell back on the mechanical breastplate on Ole’s body, his expression turning to one of regret.

’Ole’s mechanical breastplate is definitely way better than my bulletproof vest. Too bad it’s been pierced through and completely wrecked.’

But then Long Ming suddenly noticed that Ole seemed to be wearing something around his neck.

He immediately crouched down and reached out to take it off.

It was a very delicate necklace with a bone cross-shaped pendant. The surface of the pendant was engraved with crescent-shaped marks.

His wristband displayed a notification.

Chain of the Old Moon

Grade: Red

Seeing the notification, Long Ming’s face showed a hint of surprise. ’I can’t believe I got a Red-grade item!’

He didn’t know how much a Red-grade necklace was worth, but it was sure to be valuable.

He was about to scan it into his safe with his wristband, but then he remembered the safe was already occupied by the Gene Coffer. He decided against it.

Long Ming stuffed the necklace into his backpack, then looked up at the half-shell of the giant insect in front of Ole’s body.

Seeing the massive half-carapace up close sent a shiver down Long Ming’s spine. ’Who knows what kind of terrifying creature crawled out of this thing.’

There were also many smaller, shattered carapaces scattered around it.

The sight of these shells made Long Ming increasingly uneasy. He unslung the shotgun from his backpack, tossed it aside, and clipped his M24 sniper rifle in its place.

He switched his primary weapon to the BSK-01 Grenade Carbine · Wolf Fang, then pulled rounds and a grenade from his tactical belt to load it.

Just as Long Ming was reloading, he suddenly heard a very faint sound.

His nerves fired as if shocked. He snapped his carbine up, aiming at the ceiling.

But the dim ceiling was still and quiet. There was no sign of any monster.

Long Ming scanned his surroundings warily, but everything seemed normal. He found nothing out of the ordinary.

For a moment, Long Ming wondered if he was just imagining things.

But he dismissed the thought a second later. ’The perception potion should still be active for a few more minutes. There’s no way I misheard that.’

Long Ming’s eyes narrowed. He slowly lowered his head, pretending to organize his magazines, but his ears were pricked, listening intently to every sound around him.

RUSTLE...

A faint rustling sound reached his ears.

Long Ming could easily tell that this faint rustling was coming from the small insects on the ground.

’Because I’m sure that’s not the sound I heard a moment ago.’

The thought made Long Ming even more anxious. He decided to quit while he was ahead. Grabbing his spoils, he immediately turned and bolted for the exit.

Just then, a rapid scrambling sound came from the ceiling.

Long Ming’s expression changed in an instant. He immediately judged that the sound was coming from the ceiling behind him, and it was closing in fast.

A massive figure then leaped down from the ceiling, pouncing toward Long Ming.

Long Ming instantly spun around and ran back, dodging the attack.

THUD!

A behemoth landed right behind Long Ming.

The immense impact sent out a shockwave.

Long Ming was thrown into the air and slammed heavily onto the ground.

Cough, cough...

With a dark expression, Long Ming scrambled to his feet and looked up.

A monster emerged from the dust, blocking his escape route. It stood four meters tall and was twelve meters long. Its head resembled a mantis’s, but a distorted human face was embedded in the back of its skull. Its mouth was filled with sharp, chitinous teeth, and its body was lizard-like, with camouflaged skin covered in sharp spines. A long, slender, needle-like tail trailed behind it.

BZZT—

A notification popped up on Long Ming’s wristband.

"Synthetic Chitinoid · Niram!"

Long Ming stared at the behemoth before him, utterly stunned.

Niram’s eyes swiveled to lock onto Long Ming. It split its mouth open, letting out a piercing shriek, and charged.

BANG! BANG!

Long Ming immediately raised his carbine and pulled the trigger.

A spray of bullets hammered into Niram’s body, but it was like hitting a steel plate. They had almost no effect. Only a few rounds that struck softer spots managed to break the skin.

Niram charged straight toward Long Ming, ignoring the gunfire.

Long Ming’s face darkened. He immediately fired the grenade he had loaded.

BOOM!

The grenade struck Niram in the head, and a massive explosion erupted.

Unfortunately, the effect was still minimal. It only managed to blast off a patch of skin from the creature’s head.