“Get the insecticide ready!”
“Brothers, follow me back into the sewers! Let’s hunt the monsters and save Boss!”
As soon as Li Bing returned, he told the rest of the Dujing Group members who were staying at headquarters about how Lu Liang had saved him.
Being the core of the Dujing Group, the moment they heard that Lu Liang was in danger, everyone became extremely anxious.
Li Bing, in particular, armed himself with weapons, looking as if he was about to lead everyone back into the sewers to take down the Mantis Monster.
Just as the atmosphere grew tense, with everyone united against a common enemy—
The door opened, and Lu Liang strolled in, humming a little tune as he swaggered past everyone.
For a moment, the mood turned awkward.
Everyone froze where they stood, and the member who had already called the Moxie official hotline quietly hung up.
“B-Boss, you’re alright!”
Li Bing stammered a bit as he spoke.
“Yeah.”
“W-Where’s the Mantis Monster?”
Li Bing’s expression was a bit dazed.
“Dead.”
Lu Liang replied nonchalantly, as if he were talking about something completely insignificant.
Then, under the stunned and vacant gazes of the others, he walked straight into his own private office.
As he walked, Lu Liang suddenly wondered if acting this calm was a bit odd.
It was like a steel coil smashing toward a person—before impact, people would worry for the victim, but if the person got up completely fine after being hit and even crushed the steel coil with his bare hands, then everyone else would be the ones feeling scared.
The way Li Bing and the others looked at Lu Liang was just like how one would look at a monster.
He cleared his throat and, putting on the airs of the Dujing Group’s leader, said:
“Today, I was pleased to see that none of you abandoned your comrades in the face of danger. However, I’m not happy that you nearly died at the hands of a monster.”
“How could a mere monster push you all to such desperation? Have you not been training your bodies? If it were a student athlete in your place, I wouldn’t have needed to step in—you could have handled the monster yourselves.”
“Li Bing, write a self-critique and hand it in before you leave today.”
“The rest of you, reflect on whether the problem lies within yourselves. Why is it that I can defeat a monster, but you can’t? Have you not been working hard enough?”
Upon hearing this, everyone looked even more dumbfounded.
Boss was so composed, as if the Mantis Monster wasn’t even a strong enemy.
Could it be that the real problem was with them?
While everyone was distracted, Lu Liang slipped into his private office.
Inside the office.
Lu Liang shook out a parasite he’d snuck from the sewers, dropping it onto his desk.
The little thing tumbled to the surface, then scurried at lightning speed into a dark corner.
This was the parasite he’d brought out from the sewers, carrying a fragment of the Mother Worm’s Will.
“O scheming, mysterious monster—what do you want?”
The parasite arched its body, looking at Lu Liang with vigilance.
“I’d like to ask a favor of you.”
Lu Liang explained the situation with the near-dead Mortal Cicadas he possessed, hoping the Mother Worm’s Will could persuade them not to give up on life—at least until he sold them.
“Incomprehensible, mysterious monster! You’d sell your own kind?!”
The Mother Worm’s Will exclaimed in shock, obviously stunned by Lu Liang’s audacious move—this little bug had clearly never seen anything like it.
To persuade the Mother Worm’s Will to cooperate, Lu Liang emphasized that he wasn’t a bug-type monster and thus wasn’t their “kind.”
Besides, there was a reason for selling the Mortal Cicadas—their market value really was that high.
One was worth five hundred; selling them off would earn more than a lifetime of hard labor.
After hearing Lu Liang out, the Mother Worm’s Will stiffened. Lu Liang couldn’t read the parasite’s expression, but from its subsequent behavior, he figured it was tempted:
“Cunning, mysterious monster, five hundred for a single subordinate… is it really worth that much? Can you help me sell them?”
To be honest, the Mother Worm’s Will had always been strongly opposed to humans treating its minions as commodities—but humans were offering way too much!
If monsters were really worth that much, the Mother Worm might as well churn out a mass of workers to earn huge sums through cheap labor.
With so much funding, the Insect Hive could develop at lightning speed, and maybe… her Evil Plan could begin ahead of schedule…
But to this, Lu Liang’s answer was a firm refusal.
Was she kidding? He already found it exhausting to scheme with the other Scavengers in the sewers.
How could he let the Mother Worm’s Will get in on the market too? What, have a monster join the competition with him?
Besides, rarity brings value.
The only reason Mortal Cicadas have been going up in price is because the sewers are so dangerous.
If the Mother Worm mass-produced and sold them, their price would crash in no time.
After being refused, the Mother Worm’s Will was obviously displeased:
“Stingy monster, since you won’t share this opportunity, there’s nothing left for us to discuss.”
Lu Liang sighed inwardly. Bugs would be bugs—no vision at all. But he really did need the Mother Worm’s Will’s help right now, so he tempted her:
“Don’t you want me to take part in your plan? Be your guardian, protecting your safety?”
!
The Mother Worm’s Will immediately perked up.
Of course she wanted that—she was nearly desperate for it!
She’d witnessed Lu Liang’s power herself—not just today, but also during his battle with Star Splitter and Jie Li, the two magical girls.
One of her guards had watched the whole thing from the sidelines and relayed the information back to her through the Insect Hive.
That was the first time the Mother Worm’s Will had taken notice of the Black Mist Monster.
Able to stand his ground against two magical girls, and even defeat them—the Black Mist Monster, with Lu Liang’s help, would make it so the Mother Worm needn’t fear Moxie invading her Insect Hive.
She resolved to work with the Black Mist Monster at any cost.
That’s why, when she realized in the sewers that Lu Liang was the Black Mist Monster, she didn’t hesitate to erase a guard’s consciousness just to curry favor with him:
“O great monster! As long as I help you, will you truly become my bodyguard?”
Lu Liang smiled and nodded.
“Yes.”
With his assurance, the Mother Worm’s Will spared no effort in commanding the Mortal Cicadas under Lu Liang’s control:
“Yes… Insect… Queen…!”
“Insect… loyal!”
These simple-minded bugs didn’t understand why the Insect Queen’s will had suddenly appeared beside a human, but their innate nature made it impossible for them to disobey the will of the hive.
And the Insect Queen was the hive.
As long as the great Insect Queen issued the command, even the lowest Mortal Cicada would proudly wag its backside and gather coins in the sewers.
With the influence of the Mother Worm’s Will, those previously dispirited and suicidal Mortal Cicadas regained their vitality, and there was no longer any sign of despair.
Having done all this, the Mother Worm’s Will looked at Lu Liang expectantly.
But Lu Liang didn’t respond to her anticipation. Instead, he wrote the words “10 Coins” on a slip of paper and handed it to the Mother Worm’s Will.
“Strange-acting monster? What’s this?”
The Mother Worm’s Will asked, confused.
“You didn’t think that helping me with one trivial little matter would be enough for me to become your bodyguard, did you?”
Lu Liang said with a completely straight face:
“This is your payment for this action. Every time you help me, I’ll give you a slip like this. When you’ve collected ‘One Hundred Coins,’ I’ll officially become your bodyguard.”
“…Alright.”
The Mother Worm’s Will agreed with difficulty. She figured it was too easy to get the Black Mist Monster’s help anyway.
Such a powerful being should require some effort.
As for this “One Hundred Coins,” helping Lu Liang ten times would be enough—it wouldn’t take long.
The Mother Worm’s Will could afford to wait.
So, the Mother Worm’s Will carefully wrapped up the slip of paper with her body and stored it away, eagerly awaiting the next time Lu Liang needed her help.
Surely, she’d get herself a loyal guardian very soon… right?