"Oh... Octopus... understood..."
The Dark Octopus was originally giggling happily amidst a group of girls until Li Jiayu punched its forehead, only then realizing there were still consecutive fierce battles ahead. To save those girls facing danger, the Dark Octopus naturally couldn't slack off!
"You... move aside... I need to get through... search for brain cores..."
The Dark Octopus struggled to move its heavily injured body, dispersing the girls, leaving a long trail of mixed flesh and blood on the floor. It then arrived at the small mountain piled up with Acid Bug corpses, waved its tentacles, and quickly penetrated the foreheads of the frozen Acid Bug corpses.
Seeing the Dark Octopus messing with the insect corpses, the girls who were chatting merrily with it earlier paled slightly, almost wanting to vomit. However, seeing the Dark Octopus's terrifying wounds, they felt extremely distressed – the Dark Octopus eating insect brains seemed cruel, but its intentions were good. Even if its appearance was ugly and behavior disgusting, its precious spirit of protecting girls was still worthy of respect.
Xiao Wanqing turned her head away, unable to bear watching the disgusting scene of the Dark Octopus tearing open the Acid Bugs' heads, and asked Li Jiayu:
"Brain cores? Are they related to Insect Crystals?"
"Somewhat. Low-level insects like Acid Bugs and Venomous Spiders have a very low probability of forming brain cores, depending on the situation, maybe one in dozens, or even one in hundreds... Although brain cores can't strengthen the body like Insect Crystals, their advantage lies in their mild medicinal properties. They usually have effects like healing trauma, concentrating energy, and dispelling pain and illness. Brain cores from some rare insects can even restore fatigue and mental power... Mm, just like red potions, blue potions, and stamina potions, except blue potions and stamina potions are rarer..."
Li Jiayu explained lightly, simultaneously explaining to the few Awakened individuals:
"With your abilities... if used properly, one person taking on a weakling like a Venomous Spider shouldn't be a problem... Later, after everything is ready, you will follow me to kill Red-Crested Beetles and Venomous Spiders. Today, we must push our progress to the cafeteria, or at least to the student supermarket! Otherwise, we'll all go hungry today! It's probably past five o'clock already... Don't be fooled by the summer, look up, see how thick the dark clouds are? I estimate by 6:30 PM, the sky will be completely dark. Without much light, and without any electrical appliances, if we can't find candles... we can only endure the night in darkness."
"The hardest thing to endure... isn't hunger or darkness, but cold... Everyone is wearing short sleeves and thin pants now, some girls are even wearing miniskirts... Hehe, the cold wind is already blowing. By nightfall, the temperature will reach around ten degrees Celsius. Coupled with the humidity from the thunderstorm, once the wind blows, it will definitely be unbearable..."
"If possible... we might need to take care of the girls a bit. So, conquer a female dormitory as much as possible to get girls' clothing. Otherwise, the girls might collapse from the cold!"
The few Awakened listened silently. Except for the Shapeshifter Lan Xiaoyue who was bewildered and the Fire Mage Feng Liaoyuan who was hesitant, the others like the Sword Saint, Sonic Warrior, and Dragonoid all had solemn expressions. They naturally knew how critical the situation was. At times like this, they should shoulder more responsibility.
And some girls with little combat ability breathed a sigh of relief... Indeed, Li Jiayu was still a very good person. Although his words were a bit harsh earlier, he really was famously gentle towards girls, always thinking of them.
In fact, this wasn't the case. Li Jiayu didn't care much about the life or death of those girls; he just didn't want Xiao Wanqing to suffer from the cold.
"Kill insects... Can I do it? But, I don't really know how to control fire. Against spiders, it might be okay... Against the red beetles, I'll probably die for sure!"
Fire Mage Feng Liaoyuan hesitated for a moment before asking weakly.
"Naturally, you can! Have confidence in yourself. You can practice on Venomous Spiders first. As for Red-Crested Beetles... Mm, you're still in the initial awakening stage, unable to launch ranged firepower attacks at all. So, leave the Red-Crested Beetles and such to me, the Dark Octopus, and the other three. You, Lan Xiaoyue, and Principal Xiao can just provide support from the sidelines."
The Shapeshifter could currently only change her hair, what damn use was that? Couldn't even deal with Venomous Spiders. Plus, she was a girl, psychologically fragile. Having her as a teammate was unreliable. Unless she grew stronger, Li Jiayu wouldn't dare entrust her with important tasks. The only reason he brought this burden along was to let her witness more battles and cultivate her mental resilience.
As for Xiao Wanqing, needless to say more. This pure support character, for at least two months, absolutely couldn't be sent onto the battlefield. The reason he brought her was because she could help Li Jiayu recover stamina. After all, among everyone, only Li Jiayu could seriously injure Red-Crested Beetles, so his sustained combat ability was extremely crucial.
"While the Dark Octopus is recovering from its injuries, I'll take some time to guide you all. Listen carefully, learn as much as you can!"
In his previous life, Li Jiayu had fought countless human powerhouses, even clashing with masters from the Abyss Realm's Corpse race. Even though he was purely a summoner, he had deep understanding of other professions. Having never eaten pork, but having seen pigs run, he only needed to point out some important theoretical directions and general attack methods for them to have sudden enlightenment, understanding their own strengths and weaknesses.
Especially Ran Hongxia. When Li Jiayu, suppressing his annoyance, explained the basics of swordsmanship to her for three whole minutes and even demonstrated a few techniques learned from life-and-death struggles, she immediately grasped the concept by analogy, understanding the principle of the sword as a killing tool even more profoundly.
"When the sword reaches the highest realm, it's no longer limited to the form of a sword. Sometimes knives, axes, staffs, spears, and the like can also incorporate the theories of the sword path. So... in the absence of a usable sword, you can use two fire axes as substitutes for now! Although I've never seen a Sword Saint wielding dual axes... But, I believe a simple-minded girl like you can definitely chop out Sword Qi with axes! Mm, definitely possible!"
"..."
Ran Hongxia rolled her eyes, helplessly tossed aside the wooden sword, and took the pair of fire axes Li Jiayu handed over with both hands, temporarily acting as an axe warrior...
"Chu Xiang! Don't worry about your appearance, it's only temporary. Once your power stabilizes, you can naturally return to human form. However, I still suggest you maintain the Dragonoid state, because your melee ability is extremely strong, strength comparable to a rhinoceros, skin hard as copper hide, and your lizard tail is also a very useful weapon... Oh, I suggest you don't use a fire axe, just use that large air conditioner as a weapon. If a Red-Crested Beetle takes a hit like that from you, it'll probably suffer quite a bit."
The two-meter-tall Dragonoid Chu Xiang seemed thoughtful. He silently walked to the corner, reached out his scale-covered hands, and actually lifted the heavy air conditioner!
Everyone in the hall watched dumbfounded. That air conditioner must weigh at least 100-150 kg right?
This fellow actually lifted it high above his head so casually! How terrifying must his strength be!
Even Olympic weightlifting champions probably couldn't compare to him, right?
In fact, Chu Xiang was indeed much stronger than weightlifting champions; he possessed at least eight times the strength of an ordinary person!
His only drawback might be his slow speed and slightly dull reactions; otherwise, he should be the strongest among them at this stage.
"Chen Kun, your throat must hurt a lot, right? No need to speak, it will naturally get better in a few days... These few days, just practice deep breathing... Sink your Qi into your Dantian, gather all that Qi together, then release it explosively after accumulating, letting that breath gather as much as possible. This way, you can form a powerful impact sonic wave bomb. Used well, its power is no less than a heavy hammer strike!"
"Alright, roughly, that's all for now. Let me make it clear beforehand: when we go kill Red-Crested Beetles, Insect Crystals will be distributed based on contribution. I take the largest share, you take smaller shares. Sixty percent of the Insect Crystals are under my management! The remaining percent, you can slowly distribute among yourselves. Any objections?"
"Uh..."
The few combatants were stunned. They hadn't expected Li Jiayu to be so generous, actually planning to give them a portion of the harvested Insect Crystals. That changed everything completely. If Li Jiayu kept all the crystals, he might give each person two or three. But if calculated by percentage, then if everyone worked hard, maybe they could get four, five, or even more!
These days, absolutely no one would complain about having too many Insect Crystals!
Even if they couldn't use them all themselves, they could give them to relatives and friends! Giving relatives and friends a greater chance of survival!
The six Awakened thought silently. However, when they thought of Ran Hongxia's transformation, Li Jiayu's power, and the threat of death, most of them were instantly moved.
Who wouldn't envy Li Jiayu's incomparably formidable strength after seeing it... If they could catch up to him, wouldn't that be wonderful?
Even if they couldn't, they could still become second-tier leaders in the school, unspeakably glorious!
"Okay, deal! My air conditioner will smash the red beetles until their shit flies out!"
"Cough... cough... settled then. Watch me roar the insects away..."
"Huh? Still dividing shares? What about a pitiful mage like me who can't tank red beetles..."
"You... you guys have to protect me well. I'll try my best to see if my hair can help..."
"Li Jiayu, we entrust everything to you. If you lack stamina, just ask!"
The few Awakened had no path of retreat left. Coupled with the temptation of Insect Crystals and the heavy burden on their shoulders, they had to agree. Li Jiayu smiled upon hearing this, clapped his hands, and addressed everyone:
"Very good, then our team's main combat personnel are basically confirmed. In addition, we need to select a dozen or so of the strongest boys to act as support. These dozen must possess the courage to face death and tenacious resilience without fear! Among the many boys present, there must be some who have learned martial arts, or have excellent physical education scores, or extremely developed reaction nerves... At a time like this, what are you still cowering for? Instead of hiding behind like dead dogs, why not follow me to kill insects! Among you, someone's girlfriend must be trapped in the female dormitory! Don't you want to save your girlfriend? Among you, someone's best friend must have died tragically in the insects' mouths! Don't you want revenge? This is your responsibility, and also your opportunity! Don't forget, there's still some chance the Insect Crystals can be distributed to you. Of course, only awarded to the few who perform most bravely."
The boys in the hall either lowered their heads shrinkingly, not daring to meet Li Jiayu's eyes, or furrowed their brows, hesitating, trembling bodies unsure what they were thinking, or breathed heavily, faces flushed red, clearly undergoing intense internal struggle.
It took about two minutes before more than fifty boys with considerable combat potential emerged from the four halls among the eighteen hundred people. However, due to a shortage of fire axes and severe lack of weapons, finally, only the fifteen most elite were selected to form the support group.
Although these fifteen had no special abilities, their advantage lay in being strong and agile, plus having sharp fire axes for protection. If tactics were used properly and they coordinated well, ordinary Venomous Spiders wouldn't pose much threat to them.
Meanwhile, the Dark Octopus had basically finished sucking the Acid Bugs' brain matter, finding three sulfuric brain cores within. Don't be fooled by the unpleasant name 'sulfuric brain core'; in fact, it's extremely helpful for blood circulation and plasma regeneration, especially effective for summoned beasts like the Dark Octopus with super self-healing abilities. Plus, the brain matter from the Scythe Beetle, Venomous Spiders, and Red-Crested Beetle it had swallowed earlier began to take effect, so its wounds healed very quickly. Although not yet scabbed over, the bleeding had stopped, its condition much improved, and it finally regained its spirits.
"Alright then, let us officially declare war on the insects! First, clear out the mobs on the twelfth floor! Let's move out!"