Chapter 518: Chapter 382: Bizarre and Wonderful Ideas - Part 2
After all, a car overturning in TV and movies is just for the amusement of the audience, but in reality, such an accident could result in minor injuries or, in severe cases, it could even cost one’s life.
As the blood mist from the explosion slowly dissipated, the swollen corpse on the bug gradually vanished, leaving behind only its maggot-like lower half.
Just as the second man in command suggested using a torch to burn the corpse to ashes, six sharp, knife-like claws suddenly pierced through the bug’s body, then ripped the oval-shaped carcass apart.
It was only then that the members of the Hunting Team noticed that within the strange oval lower half of this Bug Race creature hid a bug resembling a spider.
When the Spider tore open the bug husk that enclosed it, it opened its mouth in anger and began to scream—and what chilled everyone to the bone was that, despite its spider-like appearance, its cry sounded very strange.
And yet, every member of the Hunting Team understood the meaning behind the Bug Race’s screams.
"It was you who intruded on my territory, you who attacked my children. I had allowed you to leave, yet you chose to return and assail me again.
I didn’t even retaliate but silently endured your attacks, so why do you force my hand?
I was on the verge of successful evolution, so why did you have to disrupt my plans?
I won’t accept this. Why, when it was clearly you who provoked me, do you interrupt my evolution?
By disrupting my evolution, you are unforgivable. My minions, capture them for me; I want them to suffer the most cruel punishment."
The sounds that reached their ears were still the buzz of insect calls, yet every person present could understand the meanings hidden within these sounds.
As the last roar echoed in the insect buzz, the ground around them suddenly cracked open, and countless Soldier Bugs crawled out.
Compared to the previous encirclement, the number of Soldier Bugs surrounding them now was even greater.
Seeing the continuously increasing number of Soldier Bugs, Dong Tianyu asked Yara, "Should we retreat for now?"
Yara looked at the ever-increasing number of Soldier Bugs and noticed many were pouring out from the passage they had come through, immediately realizing their retreat had been cut off.
Therefore, upon hearing Dong Tianyu’s question, Yara shook her head and then said, "The path we came by is probably no longer an option. If we want to survive now, the best strategy is to kill that Spider creature opposite us; otherwise, just the few of us stand no chance of escaping from here."
When Yara finished speaking, all members of the Hunting Team instinctively glanced in the direction of the passage they had come through, only to see a continuous stream of Soldier Bugs moving in and out.
Seeing this situation, everyone’s faces grew grim, because deep down they all knew, or perhaps had known from the day they entered this line of work, that in the face of true danger, the only one they could rely on to survive was themselves.
Confronted with such a perilous situation, Xzavier couldn’t help but speak up, "Boss, should we set up the Platform now?"
Hearing Xzavier’s words, Yara instantly grasped what he meant.
Xzavier’s ability was to construct a one-way see-through wall of air, a power that had originally seemed quite mediocre.
Indeed, on the one hand, a wall built from air is incredibly hard and highly defensive, possessing the capability of one-way transparency as well as the ability to blend into the surrounding scenery.
To address the downside, Xzavier’s air walls were not permanent; those constructed had a time limit. Otherwise, the wealthy would have long since hired Xzavier to build air walls for them.
The air wall had few drawbacks, but it was time-limited, and items with such a short shelf-life were not highly sought after by most people.
Originally, Yara didn’t plan to involve Xzavier in this operation, but that changed after Xzavier underwent a test, which gave the overseeing director some novel ideas.
So, they approached Xzavier for a basic test. When the test results came out, the faces of those who saw the test sheet were marked with shock.
In these test results, it wasn’t the air wall’s defensive capabilities, size, or duration that mattered. What was important was that a test had been conducted confirming that the director’s ingenious idea was feasible.
It was this test that led Yara, who had been planning to hold Xzavier back, to suddenly place much more importance on him, proactively considering to bring Xzavier along on missions of a more dangerous nature.
After testing, the air wall produced by Xzavier could be touched as though it was a solid, giving a real tactile sensation, but in theory, the essence of the air wall was still air.
Applying the explanation of AT fields, the formation of the air wall was highly subjective; Xzavier believed subconsciously in the existence of the air wall, hence he could create one.
However, should Xzavier subconsciously negate the air wall, then even if he remained an Awakener with the ability to create air walls, the moment he internally denied their existence, the quality of the air walls would drastically plummet.
Normally, the ability to create air walls was a result of awakening, using a strange object. Theoretically, as long as the strange object remained undamaged, Xzavier could create air walls anywhere.
Once an air wall was completed and set, it could no longer be moved. Through repeated tests, it was found that even if the fixing points below were removed, making the air wall suspended in the air, it would not fall from the sky.
In addition, unlike other flying objects, the air wall did not have a load limit. Through numerous trials, no matter how many people stood on it, as long as the air wall’s existence time didn’t run out and it didn’t suffer other attacks,
the time it disappeared when loaded with heavy items was basically the same as when it was unloaded.
With this outcome, the testing director suddenly came up with an idea at the time, which was to utilize the properties of the air wall to stack them up like building blocks, creating a tall platform out of air walls.
Once everyone climbed onto the platform, Xzavier would only need to actively cancel the air walls serving as the base, and theoretically, the air wall at the very top could hover in the air, becoming a resting platform infinitely safer than the ground.
With the base director conceiving this thought, and after obtaining Xzavier’s consent, Yara took Dong Tianyu to observe the entire testing process.
In the end, the test results lived up to expectations; even if the air walls at the very bottom disappeared, the suspended air walls would remain solidly in the air as long as their duration lasted.
Yara never imagined that what was originally just a casually placed idle chess piece would serve such a significant purpose and lead to the discovery of such a highly potential Awakener.
After confirming the effectiveness of the aerial platform, Xzavier naturally became Yara’s new favorite. Generally, Yara would bring Xzavier along only when leading the team personally, while Xzavier was mostly freely kept in a villa at other times.
Xzavier was actually quite satisfied with this arrangement, as although going on missions earned more, they also came with significant risks. So Xzavier preferred to be raised like a decorative vase rather than exhaust himself taking on risky missions for money.
Hearing Xzavier actively inquire, Yara couldn’t help but let out a wry smile. To put it kindly, Xzavier was a cautious person, but to speak frankly, he was as timid as a mouse.
But this was also good; at the very least, he had no grand ambitions, and he was fairly capable of completing orders from Yara that didn’t endanger his life.
Yara looked at the increasingly dramatic swarm of the Bug Race and nodded. He turned to Yara and said, "Given the situation around us, it probably won’t be easy to solve any time soon. I’ll take your advice, build an air platform, and make it high."
Upon hearing Yara’s instructions, Xzavier immediately set about constructing the aerial platform using the air wall.
