Chapter Fifty: The Malevolent Spirit of the Woman

In the center of the round hall, a woman clothed in what resembled a white nightgown hovered in midair. The three girls were nearly scared out of their wits, for not only did this woman lack feet—she truly floated above the ground—but the most terrifying part was that she had no eyes at all. It looked as though some sharp instrument had gouged them out, leaving behind only two lifeless masses of flesh.

Even Wu Hua felt a chill run down his spine at the sight.

Deep within the ancient tomb, with its dense, oppressive atmosphere, and a vengeful female specter hovering near a sinister vessel, anyone would naturally be frightened. Tu Tiao, utterly petrified, raised his sword to attack, but Ri Wan stopped him at once. "Are you mad? She's obviously an NPC!"

Wu Hua steadied himself. "Are you a human or a ghost?"

The specter replied, "Young man, I am indeed a ghost. I died in the great war of the Year 1200 of the Ai Era, and my soul has wandered in this stone tomb for countless years, preserved only by the protection of this Sacred Vessel."

His mind stirred at the mention of "Year 1200 of the Ai Era." It sounded awfully similar to the T-virus laboratory in Survival Road—the screen in that lab had referenced it as well.

"Ms. Ghost, do…do ghosts really exist in this world?" Qiao Qiao stammered, trembling so badly her teeth chattered.

The specter responded, "Yes, but ghosts are merely a form of energy. Just as this young man said, the Sacred Vessel has preserved my voice, consciousness, thoughts, and image for all these years without dispersing. What you see is but my image; it is my consciousness speaking to you."

The three girls clung to each other, still terrified, their bodies shaking.

Wu Hua asked, "So, Miss Ghost, what was the original purpose of this tomb?"

She answered, "This is the Tomb of Mulin. It once stored vast quantities of energy as a reserve for war. When war finally broke out, the enemy plundered all the tomb’s resources. I was killed by the enemy in that conflict and lost both my eyes. Over the years, the remaining radiation from the energy has caused the creatures here to mutate—like the swarm of bees you encountered just now."

Everyone listened in silence.

She continued, "These mutated wasps have bred in enormous numbers. Their cellular genes have fully evolved. If their numbers continue to grow, they'll fly out of the tomb and threaten humanity. Young warriors, reaching this place proves your strength. Will you help me destroy these swarms?"

A system message echoed in everyone’s mind:

Would you like to accept the quest to eliminate the mutated queen bee?

Clearly, this was a triggered random quest, and without hesitation, the party accepted.

"Ms. Ghost, how do we find the queen bee?" Wu Hua asked.

She replied, "You can descend from here." As she finished speaking, the Sacred Vessel emitted a rumbling sound and slowly sank downward. The floor cracked open to reveal a hidden entrance—a mechanism, in fact—leading to a shadowy stairway spiraling upward.

"What exactly is the queen bee? Is it a boss?" Tu Tiao asked nervously.

In truth, Wu Hua didn't know either. All he could deduce was that since they had triggered a quest in an uncharted zone, it had to be related to exploration—and a boss encounter was inevitable. The real question was what level of boss they would face. If it was a minor boss, they could handle it with their current strength; a mid-level boss would be a tough fight but winnable; a high-level boss would be dangerous; and if it was a special-level boss, Wu Hua knew their only option would be to run for their lives. As for mythical-level bosses—well, those were the stuff of legend, best admired from afar.

At the top of the stairs was a rounded tunnel, not very long, and as they proceeded, they came upon a suspension bridge. Four ropes supported a series of wooden planks, and at the far end of the bridge, their view suddenly opened up—they could finally see blue sky and white clouds again.

The group now stood on a small, flat mountaintop, and what lay below was breathtakingly beautiful. On all sides, undulating mountain ranges formed a ring, enclosing an immense grassland. There were no trees, no rocks—only rolling waves of emerald grass stretching to the horizon, a veritable earthly paradise.

"How beautiful," Lan Lan breathed, stretching her arms wide, savoring the sky and clouds.

Wu Hua exhaled, "It’s not beautiful at all. Look down there."

Everyone peered below. In the very center of the vast plain—at least a square kilometer in size—stood a conspicuous structure, as if a football field of white marble had been set down in the grass. There were no goals, no boundaries—just a bare, gleaming expanse. From their vantage point, it appeared no larger than the palm of a hand.

At the center of the field, a small insect-like creature lay curled up.

"That’s the queen bee," Ri Wan said, eyes wide.

In truth, he didn’t need to say it; everyone already knew. This was certainly the queen bee, and it was quite different from the swarm they’d encountered earlier. While the previous bees were banded in yellow and black, the queen bee’s entire body glowed a fiery red, like a piece of molten steel, and its form was sleek and sharply angular.

"It’s so small—what’s there to be afraid of? Let’s rush down and kill it!" Tu Tiao drew his energy sword.

Wu Hua raised his gun and peered through the scope. "You’re underestimating it. That queen bee is probably a major boss. The distance from here to there is at least fifteen hundred meters."

He wasn’t exaggerating. Crawling on their bellies through the grass, the closer they drew, the more astonished they became—for the queen bee was at least ten times the size of the tomb bees.

It lay there motionless, seemingly asleep. Wu Hua dared not disturb its slumber, so he kept measuring the distance through his scope. From the foot of the mountain to the field was five hundred meters—still out of effective range.

"Crazy Bro, are you sure we’ll be okay getting closer?" Lan Lan whispered anxiously from the grass. She had a bad feeling, as if the danger increased with every step nearer.

Wu Hua quietly swapped in a heavy barrel and switched to burst mode. "I’ll go ahead and check it out. If anything goes wrong, you all run back up the slope."

Everyone nodded in agreement.

Wu Hua considered himself quite the expert at stealthy approaches and ambushes. As he crawled, he made barely a sound, certain the queen bee hadn’t noticed him.

But in truth, Wu Hua was making a grave mistake. The structure of a bee’s eyes is incredibly complex; their vision is far keener than a human’s. From the moment the party appeared atop the mountain, the queen bee had spotted them. Only, its AI was exceptionally advanced—it feigned sleep, waiting for Wu Hua to draw closer.

After crawling through the grass for over ten minutes, the sensor showed the distance had shrunk to just 321 meters.

Wu Hua raised his rifle, the modular stock pressed firmly to his right shoulder, the red dot locked onto the queen’s head. The queen seemed utterly oblivious.

Without hesitation, Wu Hua squeezed the trigger. With a sharp crack, the slender barrel spat out a tongue of clover-shaped fire, like a camera flash in the grass.

A 5.56mm NATO armor-piercing round whistled through the air…