Last Totem Novel - Chapter 11

Chapter 11 Sandworm
Over the past two centuries, sandstorm insects have gradually become the symbol of the endless sand sea. No one knows when they appeared. Some experts and scholars believe that they are the products of desertification and follow the natural law of biological evolution. This giant arthropod had a huge body, a hard shell, and a tyrannical power that could melt all body fluids. They were the deserving kings of the sea of sand, capable of devouring all living things there.

Iron slag pulled the trigger of the two-barrel shotgun with one hand and supported the barrel with the other, slowly approaching the sandworm.

The compound eyes of the sandworms all over his head discovered his prey. The exposed body of the worm swung backwards and used its rebound force to bite him! The moment the shrinking mouthpiece reached his body, Tie Zha rolled sideways, easily avoiding the devouring of the bloody mouth. The sandworm slammed into the pile of sand beside him, and its powerful impact raised the dust in the sky.

Within the sandstorm, the iron slag held onto the insect’s body and instantly pulled the trigger!

There was only a “bang” explosion! Lead bullets poured out, shattering the shell of the sandworm and fiercely shooting into its body. The close-range shooting produced a tremendous recoil, and Tie Zha rolled backwards. The sandworm’s wound spat out a green slurry, making a’chi chi chi ‘sound as it landed on the sand, releasing waves of pungent white smoke. He stared at the hissing sandworm and opened the barrels with a “cracking” sound, stuffing ammunition into the barrel of the gun.

The sandworm struggled for a while and gradually calmed down. Tie Zha raised his gun and slowly approached. The sandworm suddenly tightened its body and rushed into the sand. He immediately sprinted forward and aimed a spear at the tail of the sandworm. Countless translucent knuckles were blasted away by the shotgun, and broken limbs fell all over the ground. A muffled hissing sound came from the sand.

The iron slag loaded the bullets again, squinting its eyes as it listened to the movements underground. Swoosh, swoosh, swoosh, swoosh, swoosh, swoosh, swoosh, swoosh, swoosh.

“Darling, come on!” Looking up, You Ge is waving his arm at him not far away.

“Run!” Blue veins appeared on Tie Zha’s forehead as he shouted at her. Sandworms have no vision under the shallow sand and rely on keen hearing.

Right at this moment, the sandworm suddenly rose up and charged towards You Ge! Tie Zha rushed over, wanting to stop the sandworm’s attack, but the fine sand beneath his feet suddenly moved. In the next instant, the enormous body of the insect broke through the sand and directly overturned Tie Zha!

“Shit! Its target is me!” Tie Zha rolled around the sand for a few rounds before he got up. The sandworm rebounded its body and used its rebound force to bite down on it. Tie Zha couldn’t avoid it and pulled the trigger at the mouthpiece that was about to reach him. “Bang!” With a loud explosion, countless lead bullets pierced into the sand worm’s soft mouthparts, directly piercing through its upper jaw. At the same time, Tie Zha was knocked a few meters away by the sandworm, lying motionless in the sand for a long time.

You Ge hurriedly ran over, past the struggling sandworms, and helped up Tie Zha, who was unable to stand up on the ground. Along with the last tragic cries of the sandworms, yellow sand rose from all directions, and the entire sea of sand boiled.

“Quick, run. Sandworms live in groups during breeding season.” Said Tie Zha weakly. Immediately after, he climbed onto the motorcycle with You Ge’s help. Pressing the red button, the surroundings immediately surged, and the red comet slowly left the ground.

Not far away, dozens of sandworms burrowed out of the sand and let out deafening hisses. The compound eyes above their heads locked onto the two humans and swarmed towards them alternately. Sandworms moving in groups were like thousands of winding and moving pipelines. The dense number of segments made one’s scalp numb.

[Warning, Charge below 50%]

[Red Comet, full ejection mode activated, currently 33% charged]

Tie Zha tightened the throttle, high-pressure gas sprayed out, and the locomotive rushed forward. The swarm of sandworms chased after them relentlessly, and their momentum was like that of the sandstorm just now.

[Energy consumption, 33% … Drop … 32% … Drop … 31% … Drop … 30% … Drop … 29% … Drop …]

Sandworms were exceptionally ferocious during the breeding season, and they were even more persistent in dealing with their prey. They followed closely behind the motorcycle, thousands of legs raising dust …

The sand in front of him suddenly moved, and Tie Zha turned around and rushed to the side with all his might. In less than half a second, a giant sandworm had appeared in the direction he was heading.

[Energy consumption, 28% … Didi … 27% … Didi … 26% … Didi … 25% … Didi … 24% … Didi …]

[Warning, charging is running out]

The iron slag turned its head and looked at the overwhelming swarm of sand insects with bared eyes. In its heart, it was constantly thinking of ways to get rid of them.

“Over there, look over there!” You Ge points to the front and shouts excitedly.

Tie Zha looked in the direction she pointed, and saw a hemispherical building in the distant sea of sand, with a smooth dome reflecting sunlight. Beside the building, there were two khaki yellow tracked sand trucks. At this moment, there was nothing left to hesitate about. Life and death were only on the line. The red comet sped at full speed toward the hemispherical building.

[Energy consumption, 23% … Didi … 22% … Didi … 21% … Didi … 20% … Didi … 19% … Didi …]

Along with the rapid alarm sound, the iron slag drove the locomotive to the hemispherical building. Looking back, the swarm of sandworms seemed to have been obstructed by something and did not chase after them. They hissed not far away, not daring to approach the building.

Tie Zha heaved a sigh of relief and pressed the green button.

[Activate Charge Mode, 19% complete.]

“This … this …” You Ge took out his notebook and quickly flipped to one of the pages to show it to Tie Zha. “That Ta Xia’s research lab!”

The notebook was scrawled with a hemispherical sketch that looked exactly the same as the hemispherical building in front of him.

Tie Zha looked at the two tracked sand trucks not far from him. He lowered his head and thought for a while before saying, “I’m not interested in this place. Let’s store up all our energy and leave.”

“There must be treasures inside! Countless treasures.” You Ge looks at Tie Zha strangely and finds it somewhat inconceivable that this greedy human trafficker is actually not interested in Ta Xia’s treasure.

“Someone has already arrived. According to the rules of Tieshan Town, they will get it on a first-come, first-served basis.”

“This isn’t Tieshan Town, it’s the Endless Sand Sea.” You Ge shouted.

“It’s the same everywhere, and once we go in, we’ll clash with them.”

“With your ability, these people are nothing.”

“I don’t want to kill people without a need.” Tie Zha said indifferently.

“No way … you killed four people in the past two days, and then you said you didn’t want to kill anyone.” You Ge stares at his eyes in disbelief.

“My foster father told me not to kill people unless it’s necessary.” Tie Zha replied seriously.

“None of the four people you killed are your opponents. I can’t see that it’s necessary.” You Ge doesn’t understand, especially those three people who killed each other under the threat of Tie Zha. What reason do they have to kill each other? She only felt that Tie Zha was looking for an excuse not to explore Tasha’s research lab.

“They must die because I have no habit of forming factions. I am alone.” Tie Zha sighed, “Forget it, you don’t understand even if you say it. Anyway, I won’t go.”

“I understand” You Ge’s deep eyes flashed with starlight.

Hui Zhilan immediately understood what he was thinking when she heard the confession of “I only have one person.” She said seriously, “If they don’t pay enough, more people will test your bottom line, and you will have to kill more people to protect your own interests.”

“Sort of.” The iron slag gave her a complimentary look.

You Ge rolls his eyes and says with a smile, “Are you interested in small nuclear furnaces?”

“What do you mean?” Tie Zha asked with a frown.

“There must be a lot of super-dense alloys in Tasha’s lab. Perhaps there’s also a small nuclear melt …”

“Find the entrance.” Iron residue interrupted her.

You Ge can’t help but kiss him.

Under Tie Zha’s arrangement, they had to move after the motorcycle had been recharged. Twenty minutes later, with a pleasant mechanical synthesis sound, the red comet’s charge was complete. Tie Zha took out a canvas tent to wrap the motorcycle and buried it in the sand. After doing this, You Ge pulls out his pistol and unlocks the safety bolt. Accompanied by Tie Zha, he starts searching for the entrance to the Natasha Research Laboratory.

The hemispherical structure was made of alloy, like a stainless steel ball buried in sand, without the slightest crack. After searching around the building for a while, You Ge finds an extremely small password lock. So she took out her notebook and began to search. Not long after, she entered the password.

A sweet synthetic female voice came from the wall. [Natasha, welcome back.]

Along with the sound, a door opened on the smooth wall with a whoosh.

“How do you know the password?” Tie Zha scratched his head and asked.

“The password is Ta Xia’s birthday. It’s written in the notebook.”

“Isn’t this too simple?”

“Researchers who focus on their studies are most likely to forget the trivial things in their lives, so they usually use their birthdays as passwords.” You Ge laughs, “They can’t go home if they forget the password. How terrible is this ~”

Inside the door was a deep walkway, extending obliquely downwards. Tie Zha took out a flashlight and shone in. The left and right walls and the top of the aisle were made of metal, and the ground was made of a net of hollow iron bars. He looked up and down for a while and confirmed that no one was in the aisle, so he brought You Ge in.

The two of them stepped onto the hollow floor made of iron bars. The fine sand on their shoes and clothes fell into the net-like gap one after another, producing a dense “rustling” sound. They hadn’t taken two steps when a “shua” sound came from behind them. Turning around, they saw that the entrance was already closed. Immediately after, the lights in the entire aisle lit up one after another and extended forward. The two of them exchanged glances and slowly bowed forward, trying not to make any footsteps.

At the end of the corridor was a metal door. You Ge observed the door and whispered, “There is no lock here. You Ge can directly open the door.” Tie Zha raised his hand and signaled, “Wait a minute.” He lay on the metal door and listened for a long time. After confirming that there was no one inside, he asked Youge to pull the switch.

With a “shua” sound, the metal door opened to both sides …