Ice Age Apocalypse: I Hoard Billions of Supplies-Chapter 1146: The King Insect and the Queen Insect

Chapter 1146: The King Insect and the Queen Insect

Chapter 1146: The King Worm and the Broodmother

After the representatives from the five major regions had all arrived, the hosts, the people from the Shengjing Region, also made their appearance.

The Grand General of the Dragon's Roar Guards, Shang Daowen, accompanied a middle-aged man with graying hair as they walked out from the back. Everyone's gaze fell upon him.

They immediately understood this was the supreme commander of the First Major Region—Qin Qigong.

Inside the Earth God Temple, Guan Longyue, dressed in black pajamas, sat curled up on the soft bed, hugging her knees.

Her long black hair cascaded down like a waterfall. The projected video before her eyes showed the very people gathered in the conference center at that moment.

The appearance of every single person was clearly visible before her.

Shang Daowen introduced Qin Qigong and the assembled guests. Qin Qigong then took his seat at the head of the table, while Shang Daowen stood behind him, adopting the posture of a guard.

For the banquet that evening, the dishes served to the representatives of the various regions were the most exquisite delicacies. Not only in the Apocalypse, but even before it, these were foods ordinary people wouldn't dare dream of.

However, it was clear everyone's minds were not on the food. What they wanted to know more was why Qin Qigong had summoned them here.

And what secrets were hidden beneath the Qinling Mountains, and how much benefit they could gain from it.

After toasting and exchanging pleasantries, Han Shanzuo was the first to speak.

"Marshal Qin, you've called all of us from the Six Major Regions here. Just tell us straight, what do you want us to do?"

Han Shanzuo was blunt and straightforward, but his directness saved others a lot of trouble.

Zhang Yi and the others couldn't help but glance over, their eyes turning toward Qin Qigong at the center.

Qin Qigong set down the wine cup in his hand and then slowly began to speak.

"I presume everyone has seen the fragments of elemental ore we sent to your respective regions?"

"This is a newly discovered substance, not among the known elements on the periodic table. It contains immense energy. A single piece can release thousands of times more energy than an equivalent volume of petroleum!"

"The Qinling Mountains are the dragon vein of the Huaxu Kingdom. Its underground expanse is vast beyond measure. After the Apocalypse, we discovered an enormous mystery within it."

"Relying solely on the strength of our Shengjing Region, we haven't even been able to explore one-tenth of it."

"Therefore, considering the greater good of the nation, we intend to invite your five regions to join in the development of the Qinling Mountains."

Just as expected.

Zhang Yi held his wine cup, silently thinking to himself.

This explanation aligned pretty closely with what he, Zhu Zheng, and Deng Shentong had speculated.

The Shengjing Region had encountered difficulties beneath the Qinling Mountains and had no choice but to seek help from the other regions.

Zhang Yi listened quietly, not intending to speak up just yet.

However, Li Changgong chose that moment to raise a question.

"The Shengjing Region possesses the strongest military power in the Huaxu Kingdom. You have three Epsilon-level superhumans, and your military strength far surpasses ours."

"If it's a problem even you cannot solve, what help could we possibly offer?"

"Furthermore," he suddenly smiled, "what exactly is beneath the Qinling Mountains? You haven't told us that yet!"

Under the collective gaze of everyone present, Qin Qigong proceeded to answer their questions.

"Everyone, please look!"

He pointed forward. At the front of the conference room, a three-dimensional projection suddenly unfolded.

The lighting in the projection was very blurry, seemingly filmed with special equipment in some pitch-black environment.

But one could vaguely make out two enormous, ferocious-looking monsters!

They were two giant centipede-shaped monsters. One was pitch black all over, the other was blood red.

Just through the video, one could feel their terrifying presence.

Looking at them, Qin Qigong's expression also turned grave.

"This footage was transmitted back by our Shengjing Region's garrison commander stationed at the Qinling Mountains, Zhen Yuanzi."

"He encountered two Epsilon-level monsters deep within the elemental ore deposit!"

"We call this type of monster Ground Centipedes. They are a male and a female pair. Underground, they can burrow through the hardest soil and rock, moving freely even ten thousand meters below the surface."

"Not only that, their reproductive ability is astonishingly high. According to our estimates, the Broodmother can lay 1000 Ground Centipede eggs every single day! They take less than a week to hatch, and by feeding on the elemental ore, they can grow to five meters in length in just ten days!"

Li Changgong said slowly, "So it's them that forced the Shengjing Region's mining operations to halt, correct?"

Qin Qigong nodded.

"Zhen Yuanzi alone cannot handle a problem of this magnitude, especially fighting deep within the caverns. These subterranean insects hold a natural advantage."

"And every day operations are suspended, we suffer immense losses."

At this point, Zhang Yi spoke up with a smile. "Even the three Epsilons of Shengjing can't deal with them?"

Hearing this, Qin Qigong couldn't help but smile wryly.

"If Shengjing committed its full strength to attack these insects' nest, victory might not be impossible."

"However, doing so would leave our home territory vulnerable. Moreover, the risks involved would be extremely high."

Han Shanzuo raised an eyebrow. "I get it. So, you called us here to share the risk with you?"

Qin Qigong nodded. "Exactly! Let's speak plainly. We cannot bear the risk of assaulting the lair alone."

"But if several of us join forces, not only can we increase the probability of success, but even if the mission fails, the risk, when distributed, becomes more manageable."

"Of course, risk and reward go hand in hand. If you are willing to participate in this operation, each participating region will receive a ten percent share of the elemental ore!"

Shang Daowen added at this moment, "Based on our current detection, the estimated reserves of the Qinling elemental ore are roughly equivalent to 200 billion tons of petroleum!"

200 billion tons of petroleum?

Zhang Yi was also somewhat dumbfounded. He even wondered if his ears were playing tricks on him, if he had misheard.

However, Yang Xinxin's voice came through his communicator.

"This reserve estimate is quite reasonable. The largest oil field discovered in our country's northwest has proven reserves of 14 billion tons."

"The discovery of the elemental ore is equivalent to finding a giant oil field that is easier to extract and transport!"

Zhang Yi took a sip of the wine from his cup.

A ten percent share meant the energy equivalent of 20 billion tons of petroleum. Even after splitting it half with the Jiangnan Region, he could still get the energy equivalent of 10 billion tons of petroleum.

Of course, the extraction cycle was a factor, but it still meant Zhang Yi would have a continuous, never-ending energy supply in the future.

He maintained a calm exterior.

Risk and reward coexisted. They had told him plainly; this deal wasn't going to be easy.

He looked at the two enormous, ferocious Ground Centipedes in the projection.

"Marshal Qin, how powerful are these two monsters?"

Zhang Yi asked.

Qin Qigong replied, "Taking the underground environment into consideration, the data we obtained is: the King Worm's superhuman ability index is 18,000 points. The Broodmother's superhuman ability index is 16,000 points."

Author's Note