Martial arts have become extinct worldwide, yet I am forced to have a large family.

"Ding-dong!"

The iron-devouring insect turned its head and then pounced straight at the captain of the guard's mech.

It flaps its wings and swoops at an extremely fast speed.

The captain of the guard raised his right arm, and the laser blade on the mech arm popped out, cleaving it in two with a single strike.

"Iron-eating insects..."

The captain of the guard stared at the wreckage on the ground, cold sweat beading on his forehead.

Immediately switch to the team communication channel.

Attention everyone!

"Stop the search immediately!"

"Iron-eating worms have been found here! I repeat, iron-eating worms have been spotted!"

"Evacuate everyone! Evacuate immediately!"

Upon hearing those three words, the channel erupted in chaos.

"What?! Iron-eating worms?!"

"Captain, are you sure you're not mistaken? This is a small fissure! How could there be something like that?"

"Whether it's a small fissure or not, didn't you hear me clearly what 'iron-devouring worm' meant?"

"Let's run first and figure things out later!"

"..."

The captain maneuvered the mecha backward, while the other side switched to Guo Jingyi's private channel.

"Miss Guo!"

"How's the situation on your end?"

Guo Jingyi's voice came through the phone, her tone calm: "I'm fine."

The captain breathed a sigh of relief, but then immediately spoke up.

"Miss Guo, let's put revenge aside for now."

"Iron-eating worms have appeared here. The situation is extremely dangerous. Let's evacuate first. Safety first."

He tried to make his words sound as inoffensive as possible.

The other side remained silent.

one second.

two seconds.

The captain of the guard was on tenterhooks.

What he feared was that the young lady would be blinded by hatred and refuse to leave no matter what.

"it is good."

Guo Jingyi's voice came through the communicator.

Hearing this brief reply, the captain let out a long sigh of relief.

Thank goodness, this young lady hasn't completely lost her mind.

In his view, this revenge was most likely impossible to obtain.

Once the Iron-Eating Insects appear in a certain area, all metal objects in that area will become their food.

The two monsters were no exception.

They were either devoured by the iron-eating beetles until nothing was left, or they sensed the danger in advance and ran away long ago.

In either case, there's no point in staying here any longer.

Getting back alive is the most important thing.

The captain gave the final order.

"Everyone, assemble towards the entrance!"

……

Less than half an hour.

The ten mechs gradually returned to the agreed-upon rendezvous point before they dispersed to search for supplies.

"team leader!"

"Captain, I'm back!"

"check in!"

One voice after another rang out in the channel.

"Is everyone here?" The captain glanced around.

The vice-captain's mech stopped to his right, and he hesitated for a moment before speaking.

"Captain... Miss Guo hasn't come out yet."

"What?"

The captain's expression changed.

He forced himself to calm down and rapidly tapped the communication panel with his fingers.

"Miss!"

"Ms. Guo! Please respond if you hear me!"

No reply.

There was only static noise in the channel.

Communication... has been interrupted!

The captain looked down at the formation system; Guo Jingyi's avatar had turned gray.

Ordinary third-realm demons could not silently kill a martial artist in the late third realm.

Especially when the other party is highly alert.

Only the iron-eating worm can do this.

They do not make any sound and do not trigger conventional energy detection.

By the time you realize it, the mech's communication module may have already been chewed up.

"Damn it!"

The captain slammed his fist on the control panel. "You guys go back first! I'm going in to find someone!"

"Captain! Calm down!" the vice-captain's voice rang out immediately. "It's too late to go now!"

The captain gritted his teeth: "She's from the Guo family! Now that she's gone missing, how am I supposed to go back and explain myself?"

"Captain!!" the vice-captain shouted through gritted teeth.

"How much money do we make per mission?"

"Is it worth risking your life just to get this over with?"

"When faced with something like the Iron-Eating Bugs, no one can help us. It's not a problem with our abilities, it's a problem with fate!"

"Even if I go back and get scolded by the Guo family, at most they'll deduct some wages and give me a few words of abuse."

"But if you lose your life, it's really over."

The teammates next to him also chimed in:

"Yes, Captain! Miss Guo's communications have all been cut off. Even if you get in, where are you going to look for her?"

"This area is so large, without a signal or GPS, what's the difference between this and looking for a needle in a haystack?"

"It's not that we don't want to save them... it's just that we really can't save them, Captain!!"

"Captain, I have a wife and children at home..."

The captain of the guard stood there, his fists clenching and unclenching repeatedly.

The cockpit was so quiet that only his own breathing could be heard.

On one hand, there's responsibility and reputation.

The Guo family paid him a salary to protect Guo Jingyi's safety.

If he abandons the person and runs back, he can forget about working in this industry forever.

On the other side, there was a desperate search and rescue operation.

Going in would most likely mean losing your life for nothing, and the Guo family would not only fail to find their daughter, but also lose a team leader.

The captain of the guard closed his eyes.

Ten seconds later, he made his decision.

"……withdraw!"

------

Twenty minutes ago...

Guo Jingyi is heading back to the assembly point at full speed.

The mech's thrusters were running at full power, and the dark red mist receded rapidly on both sides of the field of vision.

Everything seems normal...

Until she caught a glimpse of something unusual on the mecha's right arm out of the corner of her eye.

"What is it?"

A palm-sized, jet-black worm was perched on the mecha's right arm, its dark red markings flashing intermittently.

The iron-eating bugs are eating her mech.

"Damn it!"

Guo Jingyi cursed out loud.

"When did they get close? The detection system didn't react at all!"

Without hesitation, she used her left hand to control the mecha's left arm and drew the alloy battle sword from her waist.

He slashed down with a single stroke.

Clean and efficient.

The mech's right forearm was severed at the elbow joint, along with the iron-devouring worm.

Guo Jingyi didn't have time to see its fate.

Because she felt a slight vibration in her back.

wrong.

She immediately wanted to activate the thrusters to accelerate her escape.

The moment the finger pressed the button, a piercing alarm sounded in the cockpit.

"Warning! Abnormal corrosion detected on the thruster module! Immediate separation of the damaged module is recommended!"

Another one.

Guo Jingyi gritted her teeth and decisively pressed the emergency separation button on the thruster.

A dull thud came from my back.

The thruster module launched the iron-eating bug along with it.

She maneuvered the mecha around, aiming the hand cannon on her left arm at the falling metal debris.

An energy blast was fired.

explosion.

In the firelight, the remains of the iron-eating insects scattered and fell.

Guo Jingyi took a breath and immediately switched to the team's communication channel.

"Requesting backup! I've been attacked by iron-eating bugs!"

"ask--"

Her voice stopped abruptly.

The communication panel was turned off at some point.

The channel was completely silent.

Not a single message can be sent.

Guo Jingyi's face turned completely pale.

"When was the communication module... chewed up?"