The sun shone brightly, and the breeze was gentle.
Amidst the bustling crowd, a tall podium stood where a slender woman passionately delivered a speech about the city's future urban planning. The audience broke into applause from time to time, their cheers and shouts of approval ringing through the air.
Buzz...
A yellow bee fluttered past, gliding above the crowd's heads. A few people glanced up but quickly turned their attention back to the speaker, not giving it much thought.
One bee. Two bees. Then more and more began to appear, until the swarm grew dense enough to stir panic and confusion among the spectators.
The once clear, blue sky was suddenly swallowed by a terrifying storm of insects, blotting out the sunlight. Cockroaches, hornets, locusts, flying ants—swarms of hideous, dangerous bugs fused together into a churning vortex that raged within a hundred-meter radius.
In moments, the sky darkened. The droning buzz and shrill cries of countless wings filled the air, slicing through the crowd's nerves like knives.
"Ah! So many bugs—run!"
"How can there be this many insects?!"
"Aaah! My new bag—those cockroaches chewed through it!"
"Someone, help us!"
...
Screams, pleas for help, and the gnashing and chittering of insects blended into a cacophony that drowned the square in chaos.
Many people tried to flee, but were engulfed by waves of cockroaches and hornets. The dense swarm clung to them like an "insect suit," smothering them until they collapsed, writhing in agony before going still.
Masses of termites swept across the ground like an unstoppable army. Wherever they passed, nothing survived—their voracious biting devoured everything in sight without restraint.
On stage, the speaker trembled uncontrollably, her panic overtaking her as she looked out at the devastation. Her hands shook as she prepared to leap from the podium.
Suddenly, a raspy voice echoed from above.
"Hello there, beautiful lady."
The woman looked up, her pupils contracting sharply.
A middle-aged man hovered above her, his clothes tattered and filthy. He wore a brownish-yellow trench coat, and his pants hung loose, ripped open at both knees.
But the most horrifying part was that he stood upon a writhing mass of flying locusts. His body was crawling with cockroaches, termites, and spiders—a living nest of crawling horror that made her skin crawl.
"It's you! The weirdo who refuses to move out of the old apartment!" the woman cried in shock.
In the heart of the city, there stood a decaying old apartment building that had resisted demolition for months. Despite her team's repeated attempts to negotiate, the owner stubbornly refused to leave—and worse, filled the building with countless insects that had overrun the place.
Determined to evict this last holdout, her team had gone to the site earlier that morning, ready to forcefully demolish the "cancer" in the city center. By now, it should have already been leveled.
But clearly, something had gone wrong...
The Insect Freak's eyes gleamed with madness as he stood atop the swirling locust cloud.
"It's you! You're the one who tried to destroy our home!" he roared.
He thrust out his arm, and a torrent of cockroaches poured from his sleeve, wrapping around the terrified woman. The insects engulfed her completely, weaving around her body until she was clothed in a writhing, crimson coat of bugs.
The woman hung suspended in midair, half her face visible as she screamed, "What the hell do you want?"
"To invite you to our home for dinner," the Insect Freak's sickly green face twisted into a sinister grin. "Though... the main course will be you."
"No! Please, no!" The speaker's face went pale with terror.
"That's not up to you," the Insect Freak sneered. Anyone who tried to destroy their home would pay the price.
Just as he was about to carry the woman away, a violent gust roared from the side.
Whoosh!
A blazing fireball, glowing crimson and radiating searing heat like a miniature sun, streaked toward them at high speed.
Startled, the Insect Freak immediately commanded hundreds of hornets to cluster together, forming a buzzing yellow insect shield before him.
Sizzle!
The scorching fireball struck the shield head-on, its intense heat mercilessly roasting the insects. Charred bodies rained down onto the red carpet of the lecture stage.
The fiery orb dissipated into the air as its energy ran out, leaving behind scorched remains.
Only then did the Insect Freak clearly see his opponent.
Tall and lean, with dark blue-green skin and a crown of flickering flames encircling his head, the figure bore a strange emblem on his chest.
"Who are you, daring to ruin my plans?" the Insect Freak roared, his rage boiling. No one had ever stood in his way before.
"Your old man," Swampfire shot back, raising one arm to unleash another torrent of blazing flames that surged toward him.
Dodging aside, the Insect Freak barked an order to the cockroaches swarming around the terrified speaker. "My precious ones, take her home! We'll have her as our guest—and dine together tonight!"
"No!" the woman cried, tears streaming down her face.
Countless blood-red cockroaches with smooth backs crawled up her body, their wings buzzing as they lifted her into the air, carrying her toward the distant old apartment.
"Not a chance." Swampfire's palm opened to reveal several seeds, which he tossed onto the ground.
Crash!
Thick green vines burst upward, breaking through the stone pavement like roaring dragons, twisting and lunging toward the airborne woman.
But before the vines could reach her, a swarm of savage locusts dove down, baring their mandibles as they tore into the green tendrils.
Within seconds, the vines were riddled with holes. Their vitality drained away, and they collapsed lifelessly to the ground, kicking up clouds of dust.
The blood-red cockroaches, carrying the screaming woman, vanished into the distance.
Swampfire clenched his fists, ready to strike again.
Suddenly, a massive shadow shot out from behind.
"Step aside! Let the hero handle this disgusting bug freak!" Four Arms shouted. With an incredible leap, he closed the distance in an instant.
The Insect Freak flicked his sleeve, sending out a torrent of locusts mixed with hornets. The swarm merged into a violent storm of insects that slammed into Four Arms' chest.
Boom!
Caught midair with no way to dodge, Four Arms took the full force of the blow. He let out a pained cry as the impact sent him flying backward like a snapped kite.
He crashed into a street stall with a thunderous impact, scattering debris everywhere.
On the stage, Swampfire unleashed another wave of roaring flames, clashing fiercely once more with the Insect Freak.
Four Arms lay sprawled amid the wreckage, surrounded by dozens of black spiders with glowing red eyes closing in.
"Aqua Arrow!"
Streams of clear water shot from Gwen's fingertips, striking each spider with pinpoint accuracy. Every shot landed true, wiping them out cleanly without wasting a drop of mana.
"Doofus, you okay?" Gwen called out as she ran up.
"How could the great hero be hurt? I'm going to help my Cuz pound that creep!" Four Arms got to his feet.
A foul stench suddenly wafted from his armpits.
"Ugh, that's disgusting!" Gwen pinched her nose.
Four Arms glanced down and saw his armpits covered in clusters of green pus-filled boils, oozing and stinking terribly.
"It must be Ben's cold—it even made Four Arms' armpits rot into boils!" Grandpa Max said as he came running over, panting.
"Oh man." Four Arms scratched his head. "Whatever, I'm still going to help Lucian."
With a powerful jump, he launched himself like a cannonball straight toward the podium.
Around them, swarms of insects still filled the air. Grandpa Max and Gwen wasted no time, rushing to help the civilians bitten or trapped by the bugs.
Swampfire brought his palms together, summoning roaring flames that intertwined into a massive crimson pillar. The blazing heatwave surged toward the Insect Freak.
Now the Insect Freak was completely covered in cockroaches, as if clad in a hardened red armor.
He commanded legions of vile insects with terrifying power. Cockroaches focused on defense, while hornets, termites, spiders, and others attacked in waves. The battle grew more and more intense.
"This guy's a real pain," Swampfire muttered, smacking away a spider and stepping back. The freak seemed to have an endless swarm—kill one horde, and another replaced it immediately.
"Heh, you can't beat me, Plant Man," the Insect Freak taunted proudly. "Soon, we'll rule the world! The Bug Crisis has just begun!"
"If you want to be king, then be ready to die for your kingdom!" Four Arms shouted, charging forward and unleashing a flurry of punches.
[Ding~ Alien Hacker Mission Triggered]
[Defeat the terrifying Insect Freak and resolve the Bug Crisis]
[Complete the mission to unlock a random hero]
A stream of system prompts echoed in Swampfire's mind.
He suddenly remembered that after destroying the Bezel Keystone last time, he still had an unopened Alien Hero Chest.
"Open the chest," Lucian thought silently.
[Chest Successfully Opened]
[New Alien Hero Ditto Unlocked]
!!
...
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