Faced with the rapidly approaching Emerald Flower Thorns, the ugly Insect-man quickly leaped from the white giant beetle. A pair of wings as thin as a cicada’s on its back shattered the raindrops, vibrating at a high frequency as it hovered in midair.

At the same time, the white beetle’s eyes, which shimmered with blue light, suddenly flared. They shot out two streams of deep blue, frigid air, which collided head-on with Yin Yi’s Emerald Flower Thorns.

KRAK~

Frost formed on the surface of the rapidly spinning Flower Thorns. Their velocity plummeted, and they transformed into icicles before falling to the ground.

The rest of the frigid air was dispersed by more Flower Thorns that Yin Yi continued to conjure.

The frigid air was formless and intangible, but freezing the Flower Thorns required a massive amount of Energy.

After freezing dozens of Yin Yi’s Rhombic Crystals, the two streams of frigid air ran out of Energy and dissipated into a cloud of white mist.

’The giant beetle isn’t much stronger than Yin Yi...’

Realizing this, Han Ning quickly said to Yin Yi,

"Yin Yi, hold off this giant beetle for a moment. I’m going to call for backup."

"Ling!"

Yin Yi conjured Emerald Flower Thorns in front of her, the leaves on her back swaying gently in the wind and rain.

Her small body blocked the stairwell landing, yet it exuded a powerful sense of security!

"CHIRP CHIRP..." Hiding inside Han Ning’s collar, Egg Pancake watched this scene, its pupils dilating involuntarily to reflect Yin Yi’s valiant form.

Han Ning took out the walkie-talkie Teacher Fang had given him, pressed the talk button, and spoke into it, "Is anyone there? What’s the situation over at Building A?"

"The situation is still under control. These eight beetles aren’t too strong, about the same as the Iron-toothed Giant Snake we ran into before." The voice of Lü Xiuning from Building B came through the walkie-talkie.

’Looks like he’s joined the fight, too.’

"I need support over here. Can you guys see what’s going on at my position?" Han Ning asked, his tone serious as he watched Yin Yi fiercely battling the white giant beetle.

"Let me see... I see a big white beetle, but—holy crap! How is that beetle so big!" This time, the voice was Liu Yueming’s from Building A.

"I’m not talking about the giant beetle, I’m talking about the ugly Insect-man outside. He’s about our size, human-sized. If you shine your lights brighter, you’ll be able to spot him."

"If you can spare the firepower, prioritize shooting down the Insect-man outside. Yin Yi has the white giant beetle handled," Han Ning said, speaking rapidly.

"Building A, copy."

"Building B, copy."

"Han Ning, what about us?"

The question came from the people standing behind Han Ning. They were holding fully automatic rifles, and beside them were their Silver Lotus Wood plants, each of which had mutated at least three times.

"The line of sight is too narrow here; we can’t lay down effective fire." Han Ning scanned the stairwell, then pointed toward the roof. "Come on, to the rooftop."

Then he added to Yin Yi, "Yin Yi, cover us on the way to the roof. We’ll fight them from there."

The fifth floor was only one level below the rooftop.

By now, Teacher Fang had already taken the students with weaker combat abilities to hide, so they no longer had to worry about the fighting injuring anyone else.

"Ling!"

Yin Yi responded. While continuing her standoff with the white giant beetle outside, she covered Han Ning and the others as they quickly fell back toward the stairwell door.

The white giant beetle seemed wary of Yin Yi and the Silver Lotus Wood plants inside the stairwell. It didn’t charge in recklessly, simply watching as the group departed.

The group of five, including Han Ning, made their way up the stairwell and onto the roof.

A violent squall of wind and rain blasted them in the face, soaking their clothes in an instant.

"Ling~"

Yin Yi flew out of the rooftop stairwell exit and over to the parapet of Building C. Han Ning and the others followed, creeping up behind the wall to peer down below.

The white giant beetle and the Insect-man were hovering in the space between the fifth floor and the roof.

In the dozen or so seconds it had taken them to get upstairs, people from Building A and Building B had already aimed flashlights and emergency lights toward Building C.

A dozen beams of light pierced through the wind, rain, and white mist, barely managing to illuminate the Insect-man’s blurry silhouette.

The Insect-man was not motionless. At some point, it had pulled an object from a large, grayish-white pouch at its waist. It was crooked and branch-like, resembling a flute, though its color was hard to make out. The creature brought it to its mouth and blew gently.

"WOOOO~~~"

Strange sonic waves emanated from the flute.

The instant Han Ning heard the peculiar sound wave, he felt his scalp jump.

An unsettling sensation washed over him, as if his brain was engorged with blood and his scalp was swelling.

But the feeling passed as quickly as it came.

He turned his head to look.

He saw that the faces of the others were flushed crimson, veins bulging on their foreheads and necks.

"Yin Yi, hurry, stop it!" Han Ning ordered, shaking his head to clear it.

"Ling!"

Yin Yi floated over the parapet, descended slightly, and conjured her Emerald Flower Thorns, unleashing a frantic barrage on the strange Insect-man below.

The white giant beetle whipped its head around. Its eyes, flashing with blue light, blinked rapidly, and two more streams of deep blue, frigid air shot out, intercepting the Emerald Flower Thorns.

BANG!

Suddenly, a gunshot rang out. A brass bullet streaked from the direction of Building A, speeding toward the Insect-man’s position.

The next instant, the Insect-man seemed to sense it. Without pausing its flute-playing, it flapped its wings and darted sideways, narrowly avoiding the bullet.

BANG! BANG! BANG!

More bullets flew in, one after another, from the directions of Building A and Building B.

The white giant beetle tried to block the bullets for the Insect-man, but it was intercepted by Yin Yi.

But the Insect-man was not defenseless. It moved like an elegant dancer, dodging the bullets’ paths with a prescient grace as it tried to flee, all while continuing to play its strange tune.

It had clearly sensed the danger.

Han Ning, holding his Silver Scale, stared intently at the Insect-man’s flight path.

His pupils contracted and dilated slightly.

Gradually, in his vision, the Insect-man’s movements seemed to slow down considerably.

Despite the driving wind and rain and the dim light of the night, he was surprised to find he could clearly see the ugly folds on the Insect-man’s body and its rain-soaked hair fluttering in the wind.

’So... this is the enhancement from Spiritual Power...’

A sense of understanding dawned on Han Ning. He raised Silver Scale, braced it against his shoulder, narrowed his eyes, and aimed in the direction the Insect-man was moving.

’One second... two seconds...’

’In another second... it’ll move to the one o’clock position.’

A glint flashed in Han Ning’s eyes. He aimed at a patch of empty air and pulled the trigger!

BANG!

A spray of silver shotgun pellets erupted, fanning out in midair into a dense curtain of projectiles that enveloped the one o’clock position.

The Insect-man, which had been dodging with ease, seemed to notice something. Its eyes snapped toward Han Ning’s position.

But its body, carried by momentum, instinctively dodged to the side.

SPLAT!

Pale green blood flew through the air.

The strange flute music stopped abruptly.

Dozens of pellets slammed into the Insect-man’s chest. The powerful kinetic energy instantly tore its pupa-like torso apart, and it plummeted with the wind and rain into the raging floodwaters below.

Han Ning aimed at the spot where the Insect-man was falling and fired another shot for good measure.

He watched the Insect-man fall into the deep darkness and couldn’t help but sneer, "Sir, the times have changed."