All Realms and Worlds: The Lost Home

The cosmic continent was shrouded in smoke and molten lava, the stench and toxic odors in the air so intense they were suffocating.

Yao Guang crouched beside Ye Fan, her fingertips as steady as a rock, pressing firmly on the wound on his chest. Her voice was deep and cold, yet carried an undeniable determination: "Ye Fan, hold on. I will definitely get you out of here, I promise!"

His movements were precise and swift. He quickly took out first-aid medicine from his backpack and injected it into Ye Fan's body. Looking at Ye Fan's pale face and shattered power armor, his brows furrowed and a trace of solemnity flashed in his eyes, but he did not panic at all. As a major general of the Human Alliance and a top scientist, he was already used to life-and-death situations. Composure was an instinct etched into his bones.

The soldiers around the two men stood close together, holding energy weapons and watching their surroundings warily. Their expressions were tired and solemn. The battle to kill the Mantis King had exhausted most of their strength, many of them were injured, and their armor was covered with cracks.

Everyone thought that after the Mantis King died, the surrounding swarm of insects would fall into chaos and scatter, giving them the opportunity to take Ye Fan, collect the remaining insect crystals, and successfully evacuate this hellish place.

But the reality was far more terrifying and bizarre than they had imagined.

Just as Ye Fan lost consciousness, the ground around him suddenly trembled violently again, and the sharp hiss of the insectoids resounded throughout the heavens and earth, more violent and ear-piercing than ever before.

Yao Guang's heart sank, and he subconsciously looked up. This glance instantly sharpened his aura, and a trace of fear flashed in his eyes, but there was no fear at all. Although the scene in front of him was strange and terrifying, his years of battlefield experience and scientific research had long since cultivated his composure to remain calm even if Mount Tai collapsed in front of him.

The swarm of insects that had been charging towards them suddenly stopped and turned around to pounce on their own kind!

"Click—click—"

The crisp yet ear-piercing sounds of gnawing suddenly rang out, dense and numerous, sending chills down one's spine.

A huge black beetle bit down on the body of a small insect beside it. Its sharp mandibles tore the insect apart instantly, and green blood gushed out. It devoured the insect frantically, its eyes filled with violence and greed, as if the insect beside it was not a companion, but a delicious meal.

Not far away, several mantis-like insects were tearing at each other's limbs, their sickle-like forelimbs flailing wildly, green blood staining the ground. They roared and fought without any mercy, and even though they were covered in wounds, they were still fearless in the face of death.

The swarm of insects has started devouring each other!

As if utterly spurred by the death of the Mantis King, or as if triggered by some primal instinct, all the insects descended into extreme madness. They no longer regarded Yao Guang and the others as their only enemies, but instead turned their gaze to everything they could see.

Their own kind, rocks, lava, and even the remains of soldiers and insects on the ground all became their targets for consumption.

"What... what's going on?" A soldier looked at the bizarre and terrifying scene before him, trembling all over, his voice filled with endless fear, and he almost dropped the energy weapon in his hand.

Yao Guang was also stunned, his eyes filled with astonishment and disbelief. He had never seen such a frenzied swarm before—logically, even if the leader died, the swarm would mostly scatter or fall into chaos, but he had never heard of such a scene of them devouring each other and frantically eating everything. But in just a moment, he composed himself, his mind racing, and he instantly grasped the key point.

But in just a moment, Yao Guang reacted, and the astonishment in her eyes was instantly replaced by eagerness.

Chaos is opportunity!

Regardless of why the swarm is devouring each other, this is the best time for them to retreat. If they miss this opportunity, and the swarm becomes even stronger after devouring its own kind, they will all surely die.

"Hurry!" Yao Guang whirled around and rushed into the command center of the nearest landing ship. His tone was cold, decisive, and sharp, displaying the demeanor of a major general. He sternly ordered into the communicator, "Everyone board the ship immediately! Two people are responsible for carrying Ye Fan onto the medical bay of landing ship number one. Two people quickly pack up the Mantis King's corpse. Boarding must be completed within 30 seconds! The King's crystal is crucial for scientific research and cannot be left behind!"

"receive!"

"Roger!" the soldiers responded in unison, their movements becoming even faster. Two soldiers carefully lifted the unconscious Ye Fan and rushed into the No. 1 landing ship, gently placing him in the medical bay. Two other soldiers carried the packaged corpse of the Insect King and followed closely behind. The remaining soldiers also evacuated to the two accompanying landing ships, closed the hatches, and activated the defensive shields.

Yao Guang sat in the command chair on the No. 1 landing ship, his fingers flying across the control panel. He quickly activated the navigation system, retrieved the preset evacuation route, and solemnly notified all landing ships via the communicator: "All crews, activate low-altitude hovering mode, follow the No. 1 ship's evacuation route, maintain a safe distance of 50 meters, activate silent engines, avoid the frenzied swarm of insects below, and do not trigger any energy fluctuations!"

The three landing ships started their silent engines in turn and slowly rose into the air, maintaining a low-altitude hovering state, closely following the No. 1 ship controlled by Yao Guang. The engines only made a faint hum as they carefully avoided the swarm of insects devouring each other below, keeping their hulls as close to the rocky terrain as possible to reduce their exposed area.

Below, a horrific scene unfolded, with insects devouring each other. The piercing hissing and gnawing sounds could be faintly heard through the ship's hull. The ground was covered with green blood and mangled limbs. Black lava spewed from the cracks, and scorching air scorched the bottom of the landing craft. The stench in the air could be faintly smelled even through the sealed hatches.

Several times during the journey, swarms of frenzied beetles suddenly raised their heads and roared towards the landing ships. Fortunately, Yao Guang reacted quickly and immediately steered the first ship to adjust its course, lower its altitude, and hide behind a huge rock. At the same time, he signaled the other landing ships to turn off all external indicator lights. With the rocks as cover, they barely avoided the attention of the beetles and escaped the crisis without serious danger.

But just as the three landing ships had advanced less than a kilometer along the course, the No. 1 ship, controlled by Yao Guang, suddenly braked suddenly. The ship shook violently, and Yao Guang's expression instantly turned serious. He gripped the control lever tightly with his fingertips, his eyes filled with sharp seriousness—the scene ahead was even worse than he had anticipated.

The communicator immediately crackled with urgent inquiries from the other landing ship crew members. All the soldiers, looking out the portholes at the scene before them, froze in place, their bodies turning cold and their scalps tingling – the planned evacuation route had been completely destroyed.

The ground ahead began to collapse rapidly, with countless huge cracks spreading out in all directions like a spider web. Black magma gushed out from the cracks, carrying scorching heat that burned everything around it.

And what caused all of this was those crazy insects!

Several enormous beetles lay on the ground, frantically gnawing at the rocks beneath their feet with their sharp mandibles. Their mandibles were incredibly hard, like blades; each bite tore off a large chunk of rock, swallowing it whole, leaving not a trace. (The beetles' corpses, under unknown influence, will transform into the land of a cosmic continent.)

Not only beetles, but other insects also stopped devouring each other and began to gnaw on the cosmic continent built from the corpses of insects!

They gnaw on rocks, gnaw on the minerals around the lava, and devour everything on the ground. Even the hardest obsidian is easily eaten away like tofu by their mouthparts.

The ground was rapidly collapsing, the mountains were rapidly crumbling, and the already dilapidated cosmic continent was now being devoured and destroyed bit by bit by these frenzied insects!

"Tsk." Yao Guang scoffed, his fingertips rapidly swiping across the navigator, trying to recalculate the route. He was oblivious to the cracked edge of the screen cutting his palm. His voice was cold as he relayed the situation via communicator, "The route is destroyed and impassable."

On the navigation system, the original evacuation route was covered by a red warning. The area ahead had turned into a huge lava pool. The surrounding rocks were being frantically eaten by insects and were constantly collapsing. Debris and lava were flying everywhere. Not to mention the landing ship passing through, even hovering at low altitudes risked being hit by the lava and burned. There was simply no passable path.

He underestimated the madness of these insect swarms. He thought he could take advantage of the infighting among the swarms to make a quick escape, but he did not expect that they would devour the universe continent itself. However, Yao Guang did not panic. As a super scientist, he was good at finding a way out in desperate situations. As a fleet commander, he would not easily admit defeat.

The three landing ships were like prisoners trapped in a collapsing cage, hovering low in the crevices of the rocks. Below them were swarms of insects frantically devouring everything and the constantly crumbling ground. Ahead lay an insurmountable pool of lava, and retreating risked encountering even more insects, leaving them in a hopeless predicament. (The lava could erupt, and the air was unsafe; flying too high would lead to detection and encirclement.)

"Major General! What do we do? The course is lost, where should we go now?" A landing ship crew member asked through the communicator, his voice trembling slightly—they had already exhausted most of their energy, and the landing ship's shields were also slightly damaged. If they continued to exhaust themselves, even if they were not attacked by the swarm, they would crash due to energy depletion.

Yao Guang took a deep breath, his solemnity growing even stronger, yet without a trace of despair or panic. He knew he was the backbone of everyone at this moment. As a Major General of the Human Alliance, he absolutely could not afford to lose his composure; if he panicked, the entire squad would be utterly finished.

Yao Guang took a deep breath, her expression growing increasingly solemn. Her fingers continued to fly across the control panel, accessing a detailed map of the cosmic continent's terrain. Her voice was firm and steady as she reassured everyone through the communicator: "Don't panic. Shut down the silent engines, activate the backup shields. I'll recalculate the flight path. The cosmic continent's terrain is complex. Although the swarm is devouring quickly, there must be untouched highlands. We will definitely find a way out, and we will definitely get Ye Fan out alive."

Although his tone was calm, Yao Guang knew perfectly well that with the surrounding ground continuously collapsing and the insect swarm rampaging, finding a new safe route was nearly impossible. However, he revealed nothing, instead rapidly mentally calculating various possible routes. As a super scientist, his logical reasoning abilities far surpassed those of ordinary people.

Just then, a shrill scream and a violent explosion suddenly came from afar, breaking the swarm's hiss. Yao Guang immediately controlled the detector on the No. 1 ship to aim at the source of the sound, and the scene of the valley in the distance instantly appeared on the holographic screen.

"Everyone close the windows and maintain silence. Do not activate any attack equipment!" Yao Guang shouted the order, while he stared intently at the holographic screen, calmly observing the battle situation in the distance—a Star River Federation force was being besieged by countless crazed insects. Their landing ship had crashed, and they could only put up a futile resistance on the ground.

In the valley not far away, a Star River Federation force was being besieged by countless frenzied insects. Their armor was riddled with cracks, and many soldiers were seriously wounded and bleeding profusely.

A gigantic, spider-like insect spit out sticky silk, instantly entangling a soldier from the Star River Federation. It dragged him roughly in front of it, and with a single bite of its sharp mandibles, the soldier let out a piercing scream and instantly died. His body was then slowly devoured by the spider.

Several soldiers from the Star River Federation tried to resist and break through, but they were surrounded by crazed insects that were tearing at their armor and gnawing at their bodies. Their screams grew weaker and weaker until they finally disappeared completely into the swarm.

In just a few minutes, the Star River Federation force, which originally numbered in the dozens, was reduced to a handful of men. They were covered in wounds, their eyes filled with despair, and all their previous arrogance and ferocity were gone. They could only resist in vain and wait for death to come.

"Too fast..." A soldier trembled as he watched the scene unfold before him, his voice filled with boundless fear. "Those Star River Federation soldiers... they were actually... actually devoured by the insects so quickly..."

Yao Guang's expression grew increasingly grave. He gently rubbed the wound on his palm with his fingertips, his mind racing. At the same time, he analyzed the swarm's attack patterns through the detector. The Star River Federation forces were not weak; they were on the verge of annihilation just minutes after the landing ship crashed. This showed that the swarm's frenzy far exceeded expectations. He had to find a new route as soon as possible to avoid repeating the same mistake. There was no fear in his eyes, only calm analysis and judgment.

The detector suddenly detected another energy fluctuation. Yao Guang quickly switched the scene and saw that in another valley, a demi-human force was also in dire straits. Their two landing ships were besieged by the insect swarm. The shields were broken and the hulls were being devoured by the insects. The crew was forced to abandon ship and fight desperately on the ground.

The demi-human soldiers, tall and strong, wielding enormous melee weapons, fought desperately against the swarm's attacks. But the number of insects was simply too great, and they were becoming increasingly frenzied and powerful.

A mantis, half-eaten by its kind but still alive, suddenly teleported behind a demi-human soldier. Its sharp, scythe-like forelimbs slashed down, instantly severing the soldier's head. Green blood mingled with the soldier's, staining the ground.

Although the demi-human soldiers were fearless and fought valiantly, they were still powerless in the face of the frenzied insect swarm. Their numbers were rapidly decreasing, and every second, soldiers were devoured or killed by the insects.

Soon, this demi-human army was completely defeated, leaving only a few mangled corpses, which were slowly devoured by the insects, leaving not a trace.

The horrific scene on the holographic screen turned the soldiers under Yao Guang's command ashen-faced. Many crew members had sweaty palms and could barely grip the control sticks. Neither the Star River Federation nor the demi-human landing ships could withstand the swarm attack. Their landing ships' energy and shields were depleted, and their situation would only become more dangerous.

As they watched the soldiers being devoured by the insects on the screen, and the crashed landing ship, only one thought remained in their minds—if they couldn't find a new route, their landing ship would be destroyed by the swarm sooner or later, and they would die a gruesome death like those men.

"What's the panic!" Yao Guang shouted again, his voice deep and cold, displaying the authority of a major general. This instantly roused the soldiers from their fear. "We are the elite of the Human Alliance, battle-hardened warriors! Ye Fan is still here, our mission is not yet complete. We cannot give up no matter what! Hold on!"

A soldier in charge of operating the landing ship staggered and steadied himself on the control panel, his voice weak: "Major General... our landing ship only has 30% energy left, and the shields are damaged. If we keep going like this, even if we aren't detected by the Zerg swarm, we'll... we'll crash... I... I can't hold on any longer..."