LSDWTWHA chapter 37

Chapter 36

【Mission objective discovered, the Centipede Shield Bug.】

With the system alert sound, a red circle appeared in Su Su’s view, indicating the location of the blue-purple “ugly thing” not far away.

This is what they are supposed to deal with today?

Its ugliness made Su Su somewhat lose motivation.

However, he still had to fight; his journey was towards the stars and the sea, how could he back down because of an ugly creature?

Su Su cautiously approached the bug, and as he reached the attack range, he fired a burst of lightweight projectiles at the creature.

The Centipede Shield Bug seemed to wake up, its countless appendages fluttered in the air, moving towards Su Su as it “swam” over. The projectiles hit its tough outer shell, producing clanging sounds, yet it remained completely unscathed.

The ammunition provided by Yan Bai for Su Su’s Silver Dragon was top-notch; even lightweight projectiles in the game could penetrate the outer shell of an S-class starship like the Silver Dragon.

“Is it that hard to fight?” Su Su straightened his body in his seat, gradually becoming serious.

Qi Hanyi adjusted one of the internal windows to face Su Su, observing his chubby shark plush toy’s mouth clamping shut and its cute round eyes turning into fierce half-circles.

He understood that this battle was a disadvantage for Su Su, as he lacked knowledge about the Centipede Shield Bug. Regular players could obtain various bug species’ body parameters, combat techniques, and even killing strategy videos through game forums. With enough configuration, they could kill it by following the strategies.

But Su Su missed out on this information due to the lack of access to human networks. Of course, Qi Hanyi could share what he knew; he had initially intended to do so. However, he changed his mind.

Real battles against the bug species are filled with uncertainty. They often encounter several unfamiliar bugs each year during combat.

He wanted to see how Su Su would fare against a strange and powerful bug in danger.

Su Su had already deduced that this bug’s defense must be S-level. To deal damage, he needed to find the weak points on its body and then launch a concentrated attack with heavy artillery.

Heavy artillery had a much shorter range than lightweight projectiles. Su Su maneuvered to the side, suddenly accelerating toward the bug.

The bug, as large as a hill, spread its appendages wide, creating a vast net of over a hundred appendages that shot toward Su Su.

The silver starship was entangled in the tightening grasp of the appendages, becoming a motionless prey at their mercy.

Qi Hanyi watched as the surroundings were submerged by the appendages crashing through, leaving nothing but a pitch-black void.

Only the screen belonging to Su Su remained lit, showing the fierce shark plush toy’s mouth wide open, displaying a row of sharp teeth.

Although the net fell quickly, given Su Su’s agility, he clearly had a chance to escape.

He intentionally stayed inside.

This bold decision made Qi Hanyi raise an eyebrow. It was hard to believe that this was a choice a novice would make; humans instinctively seek to avoid danger, yet Su Su seemed unaffected by fear in his judgment.

Su Su simply thought that since he couldn’t break through the bug’s defense from the outside, perhaps he could try from the inside to find the bug’s weakness. He never considered what would happen if he lost; his sole focus was on how to win.

The bug caught the Silver Dragon starship and brought it close to its mouth. Its black-hole-like jaws suddenly opened wide, ready to enjoy this rare delicacy. The Silver Dragon was not small, and it could not eat it all in one bite. Countless claw-like teeth grasped the side of the Silver Dragon, the chain-like appendages pulled in the opposite direction, resulting in a loud tearing noise as the bug tore off one of its wings.

Although the Silver Dragon was not known for its defensive capabilities, the terrifying force of having a wing torn off still shocked Su Su.

Through the connection of mental force, Su Su felt the discomfort as the left wing was ripped apart; it didn’t hurt, but he felt as though he was being torn.

【Warning, left wing damaged, Silver Dragon hull damage level at 15%, ammunition depletion at 30%. Requesting self-repair activation.】

The alarm sounded belatedly, but Su Su ignored it.

The appendages began to move toward the right wing.

During the flipping process, Su Su quietly waited for the right moment.

50 degrees, 30 degrees, 15 degrees…

At the moment the heavy artillery’s barrel was aimed at the bug, he immediately targeted its jaws, pouring firepower into it as if there was no cost.

The bug reacted quickly, immediately closing its wide-open jaws, the claw-like teeth interlocking, forming a layer of defense.

“Boom!”

The shell struck above, producing a deafening explosion. The strong recoil caused significant damage to the nearby Silver Dragon.

However, when the smoke cleared, the bug remained unscathed, even continuing to tear at the right wing of the Silver Dragon.

How could that be? What are its teeth made of?

Su Su stared at the unaffected bug, feeling perplexed.

Seeing Su Su’s confused expression, Qi Hanyi chuckled silently.

The Centipede Shield Bug fed on alloy; its teeth were the sharpest part of its body, capable of easily tearing an A-class starship into pieces. They were also the strongest part of its body, tougher than its back shield, able to withstand heavy artillery strikes.

Qi Hanyi looked at Su Su expectantly: So what are you going to do now?

【Warning, left and right wings damaged, Silver Dragon hull damage level at 50%, ammunition depletion at 70%, please retreat immediately.】

Su Su quickly regained his composure from the state of confusion.

Was he going to lose?

No, this was just the beginning.

Having suffered so much, he finally gathered the relevant information about this ugly creature.

The attacking methods were mainly appendage strikes and tooth attacks; the most robust defensive positions were the outer shell and teeth.

It would eat starships but showed no interest in artillery shells.

Weaknesses…

Su Su focused on the jaws that opened and closed; with such solid defense, the interior of its mouth must be vulnerable to attacks.

Since it loves to eat starships, let’s let it have its fill.

A bold idea sprung into Su Su’s mind.

The storage in the starship was piled with many temporary parts, made from the same type of alloy used on the starship’s exterior.

Su Su entered the command, and parts from the storage were dumped out.

At that moment, the bug was about to bite Su Su’s tail wing. Upon seeing the parts fly out, it immediately diverted some appendages to retrieve the scattered pieces and stuff them into its mouth.

Now’s the chance.

In the instant the bug’s attention was diverted, Su Su adjusted the gun barrel to a tricky angle aimed at the appendages in front of the ship. The remaining ammunition was unleashed, and the powerful recoil pushed the starship towards the bug’s mouth, with the momentum like a meat bun hitting a dog.

The moment the tail wing entered the bug’s jaws, Su Su released two positioning anchors, one to the left and one to the right, wedging the starship inside the bug’s mouth, and immediately activated the ignition command.

White flames shot out instantly, all entering the monster’s mouth. The enclosed space caused the temperature and pressure inside the mouth to rise rapidly, making the bug expand like a blown-up balloon.

Its appendages flailed chaotically in the air, getting entangled, with some sections trying to pull Su Su’s starship out of its mouth.

The starship shook violently, like a small boat on the verge of capsizing in a storm.

But the positioning anchors were firmly embedded in the organic structure of the bug’s mouth; unless the bug tore its own mouth apart, it couldn’t pull Su Su’s starship out.

“Boom!” A loud explosion rang out, and the teeth surrounding the bug’s mouth fell away, its head’s flesh exploding into pieces, and its body flipped away.

And Su Su finally broke free from the bug’s grip, and his view expanded once more.

【Warning! Silver Dragon hull damage level at 75%, ammunition depletion at 92%, unable to continue fighting.】

Su Su’s Silver Dragon starship lost one pair of wings, and its body had suffered serious damage; the sensing systems were damaged largely, and the power systems were completely disabled. Fortunately, there was a temporary backup power device. If he moved slowly, it could last for another hour, enough to get back to the nearest supply point.

However, Su Su didn’t intend to give up; he hadn’t received the mission completion notification yet.

An excellent shark wouldn’t let a half-dead prey slip away right under its nose. After spending so much effort, he was determined to make this ugly creature his mission bounty.

He set the backup power to maximum, diving to chase after the blasted bug, preparing to pour the remaining ammunition into its already unclosing jaws.

Suddenly, a strong sense of danger came from behind.

“Turn 15 degrees to the left, accelerate,” Qi Hanyi reminded from the observation position.

Su Su nearly completed the maneuver simultaneously with Qi Hanyi’s words.

“Bang!”

The Centipede Shield Bug exploded into fireworks right in front of Su Su. The previous missile had flown past him almost touching; if he had reacted any slower, he would have become fireworks along with the bug.

Su Su turned his direction, glaring angrily at the point where the firepower had come from.

There, ten starships of different models hovered behind him, arranged in an orderly formation. The farthest one appeared to be a very heavy ultra-large starship.

Qi Hanyi took one look and recalled all the information about this starship instantly.

A-class starship: Meteor. Known in the game as a mobile artillery platform. It sacrificed all maneuverability, but the modified hull could launch super-heavy ship cannons that had a power a hundred times greater than ordinary starships from long distances. In reality, it was generally used as defensive weapons set around defense lines.

In the strategies for killing the Centipede Shield Bug, there was one where several highly maneuverable starships distract and redirect the bug into the firing range of the Meteor, which would then attack it. Generally, it required three to four accurate hits to the vital point to take down the Centipede Shield Bug without it taking any damage.

However, since this bug had already been severely weakened by Su Su, one shot from the Meteor would eliminate it.

What Su Su hated the most was having others snatch away his prey. Back when he was still a weak shark, he would often have his hard-fought prey taken away by powerful sharks. Now that he was playing the game, little did he expect that the hard-earned creature he had overcome would be intercepted by someone else.

Driving his starship toward the group of starships in front of him, the untarnished communication system activated, setting to regional mode. Su Su aimed at the Meteor and shouted angrily, “The prey is mine! Give it back!”