Chapter Eighteen: The Mantis Devours the Shadow Insect

Mission Title: [Reconstruction] (Main Quest, Phase One)
Objective: Destroy two small insect nests in Maple Town
Reward: One Kill Point, Ownership of an Apartment
Description: "Maple Island" was the precursor to the anomaly known as "Isolated Island." Once a picturesque and livable place, it was utterly devastated by a Dark Veil eruption a year ago, resulting in the death of all its inhabitants. After receiving the intelligence, the Foundation made multiple rescue attempts, but the Dark Veil eruption was sudden and fierce. When Foundation operatives forcibly landed, Maple Island had already become a silent wasteland ravaged by the Dark Veil storms. Only recently has the storm calmed, and Maple Island has permanently become the anomaly project known as "Isolated Island."

Each anomaly holds immense research and development value. After preliminary exploration, the Foundation, the Scavengers, and the University plan to jointly establish Isolated Island as a new base for newcomers. Thus, the core of this slaughter mission on Isolated Island is not merely chaotic fighting among the three factions but also includes clearing a quota of insect nests to lay the groundwork for rebuilding the island.

[Due to the far greater-than-expected impact of the Ember Residue on ordinary people, all three major organizations have decided to recruit a large number of new staff within a short period. Utilizing spatial folding technology, they aim to ensure the cultivation resources yielded by Isolated Island meet basic requirements. If you don’t want to compete for limited resources with newcomers, then cherish this opportunity—Control Center Director.]

[Hint: Progressing through the main quest will help unveil the cause of Maple Island’s destruction and grant you richer rewards.]

...

“A single Dark Veil eruption can turn a small island into an anomaly? So what exactly defines the formation of an anomaly? Judging from the main quest description, this island is destined to become a player base—or, put another way, the official new player village and the newbie capital for the closed beta.”

The appearance of the main quest signaled that Ember Residue’s role had shifted from mere island invasion and slaughter to pioneering the reconstruction of Isolated Island. Yu Huan felt an inexplicable connection to the island. Every effort now would yield future returns. Among the rewards, Yu Huan was particularly interested in the apartment ownership; even though Isolated Island would employ so-called “spatial folding” to accommodate all new players, it wouldn’t change the fact that player real estate held value but lacked a market.

“Having a house means having storage. I won’t have to discard useful items anymore! Speaking of which, is there any way to expand backpack capacity? I picked up a lot of healing supplies in the Life Forbidden Zone, but in the end, I had to throw them all away—such a waste.”

Shaking his head, Yu Huan continued strolling through Maple Town, searching for the two insect nests. Soon, he spotted dense cobwebs inside a small supermarket. He charged in alone again, and within just four or five minutes, successfully destroyed another small insect nest. Unfortunately, he found neither the Flame Emblem nor any drops from the Shadowmoth Queen.

So far, thirteen small insect nests had been destroyed, and four closed-beta players had been eliminated, only one of whom died from monster attacks.

“X006, U058—one Scavenger, one University affiliate! Qiu Yinong said that players numbered in the top hundred were distinguished invitees to the closed beta. The lower the number, the higher the seniority. Maybe both of these are veterans.”

Yu Huan was calculating in his mind when his steps suddenly halted. A player appeared before him, and they noticed each other simultaneously. At that moment, a mantis-shaped Shadowmoth burst into view, making the atmosphere tense and delicate.

Should they cooperate to clear out the Shadowmoth nest?
Or was it a deadly confrontation where only one could prevail?

The Shadowmoth nest was worth points, and so were player kills.

Yu Huan was not about to give up the Shadowmoth nest—it wasn’t just about kill points but also tied to his main quest and the free apartment. If the other player insisted on fighting, he wouldn’t mind slaying one more, even if they were both Foundation members.

The player named “Repeating Chicken” clearly feared Yu Huan’s active soft-tissue bio-arm. After hesitating for a couple of seconds, he chose to retreat slowly into the Dark Veil, abandoning the contest for the nest.

Whoosh!

The mantis-shaped Shadowmoth ignored the hidden conflict between the two players. Seeing Yu Huan alone, it leapt into the air and slashed down—but Yu Huan struck it down with a single staff blow. Watching the instantly fallen insect, he murmured, “So the Shadowmoths on Isolated Island aren’t just spiders!”

...

Name: [Larval Shadowmoth] (Common)
Health: 20/20
Attack Level: Weak (10)
Defense Level: Weak (5)
Attack Speed: Fast
Alert Range: Medium
Skill: Slash
Description: A mantis-shaped Shadowmoth, adept at hunting with sickle-like blades, agile and elusive.

...

“The speed is decent, and the size isn’t big, but it still falls short of my training targets.”

Months ago, Yu Huan had begun combat training targeting swiftly moving small objects, a necessary course if he wanted to deliver staff strikes to the head consistently. Miao Miao had recently improved his training methods and reviewed his past progress, so now he could almost instinctively strike whatever he saw. Moreover, with the power of his active soft-tissue bio-arm, ordinary Shadowmoths died instantly upon contact, so there was no need to aim solely for the head.

However, Yu Huan felt serious about the upcoming battles because mantis-shaped Shadowmoths were the opposite extreme from the spider type, and the mantis form was more threatening. Additionally, he hadn’t forgotten the Foundation player who had retreated. Shrouded by the Dark Veil, that player could easily switch between retreat and advance. Perhaps “Repeating Chicken” was now secretly observing Yu Huan.

This was tricky.

Yu Huan exhaled and followed the mantis Shadowmoth’s trail, soon spotting two common Shadowmoths. After dispatching them, he came upon a dilapidated villa’s outer wall, marked by sharp scratches. Several mantis-shaped Shadowmoths of varying sizes flew in and out. Suddenly, a larger one noticed the intruder and burst out, brandishing its sickle-blade in a fierce downward slash aimed at Yu Huan.

Clang!

Yu Huan remained calm, stepping back a pace while counterattacking with his bio-arm. The suddenly extended limb not only disrupted the blade’s attack but also struck the mantis itself.

[Notice: You dealt 34 points of damage to the elite "Reinforced Larval Shadowmoth." (Not a headshot; damage 42-8)]

[Notice: The elite "Reinforced Larval Shadowmoth" has an agility level below 6, unable to ignore the "Slowed" status of moderate severity. For the next five seconds, its attack and movement speed are reduced by 25%.]

[Notice: The elite Shadowmoth’s agility reached 5, allowing it to ignore the "Paralyzed" status of moderate severity.]

The elite mantis larva’s agility was surprisingly high at 5, granting resistance to paralysis. Fortunately, the resonance bonuses from Yu Huan’s three anomaly items still allowed the slow effect to take hold, giving him an edge. Taking advantage of this, Yu Huan landed a decisive headshot, killing the elite monster. Seeing the Shadowmoth nest about to erupt, he didn’t hesitate to dodge backward and simultaneously activated his Eye of Inspection on another elite mantis.

...

Name: [Reinforced Larval Shadowmoth] (Elite)
Health: 70/70
Attack Level: Average (15)
Defense Level: Weak (8)
Attack Speed: Fast
Alert Range: Far
Skills: Leap, Slash (*2.5)
Description: Brief

...

“The elite mantis’s defense and health mean two headshots will kill it, but its slash damage hits 38 points, and it has a displacement skill. Judging by this, the mantis queen boss will be tough to handle. Hopefully, like the spider queen, it has a fatal weakness—otherwise, it’ll be a nightmare!”

Yu Huan withdrew swiftly. The mantis group did not pursue, so he stepped back. His actions caused “Repeating Chicken,” hiding in the shadows, to wipe sweat from his brow.

“If I’d reacted a moment slower, I’d have been discovered. That was close!”

Repeating Chicken watched Yu Huan approach the Shadowmoth nest again and followed cautiously. He suspected he could leverage his perception-based vision advantage to reap the rewards. No matter how strong the top-ranked Yu Huan was, he couldn’t kill the Shadowmoth queen without injury. He didn’t expect mutual destruction either, which would only double his points.

“The best scenario is the queen dies and Yu Huan is badly wounded. That way, I can kill the top player and claim the boss loot!”

Repeating Chicken’s calculations were astute. After encountering Yu Huan, he invested his last free attribute point into perception to maximize his advantage. So far, this choice seemed wise. Yu Huan was focused on combat, seemingly unaware of the watcher in the dark.

“Seventy health on the elite mini-boss, two hits to kill, ordinary Shadowmoths die instantly... Hiss! The top player’s attack power is terrifying—he could kill me in two hits! Thankfully, his defense isn’t over 25 points; even so, he had to use healing items after a larval mantis slash.”

Repeating Chicken estimated Yu Huan’s attack and defense through his scouting skill, then, heart pounding, stepped into the Shadowmoth nest.

“Gods, please grant me a chance to make a name for myself! Even if I don’t get ten points today, I’m going to personally kill the top player!”