Giant Armored Beetle Leader

"Crack!" Nicole swung the alloy longsword in her hand, slicing through a small tree that blocked their path. This kind of sword was an accessory to the Erik Tactical Combat Armor—extremely sharp, highly flexible, and not only useful for cutting a path through the jungle but also an excellent weapon in combat.

"Hold on!" Ryan suddenly called out to Nicole, who was leading the way.

"What is it?" Nicole turned back and asked.

"Something's not right," Ryan said, frowning.

"What's not right?" Nicole asked unhappily. She was a bona fide special forces soldier—stealth operations in jungle terrain were her specialty. Meanwhile, Ryan had only been a cook in the logistics unit. Now he was questioning her professional skills, which irked her deeply.

"I... I can't say exactly..." Ryan had a strong sense of unease welling up inside him, but he couldn't pinpoint the reason.

"Then stop talking nonsense. Just follow and don't drag us down," Nicole snapped. She had little patience for Ryan—he was, in her eyes, dead weight.

She shot him a look of disdain and continued cutting her way forward through the dense foliage. Ryan and Lucia followed behind.

"Ryan, did you really notice something?" Lucia whispered.

"I'm not sure…" Ryan's brows furrowed deeper. Ever since his severed arm had regrown, he felt... different.

His vision had drastically improved. He could now see clearly in the dark, adjust his focal length like a camera, and spot details at a distance that previously required low-powered binoculars.

His hearing, too, had become more acute. No sound around him could escape his ears, and even in noisy environments, he could track specific noises with pinpoint accuracy.

Even his stamina had increased significantly. Nicole had her combat armor, and Lucia had a powered exoskeleton, but Ryan was moving under his own strength alone. Trekking through a tropical jungle was no small feat—the sweltering heat and uneven terrain drained the body quickly. Yet Ryan had been marching for half a day without feeling even slightly tired.

"Looks like the Zerg's power didn't just give me regeneration—it upgraded me as a whole," Ryan thought to himself. But he had no intention of sharing this secret. He didn't want to end up as a lab rat.

They hadn't walked much farther when Ryan's unease spiked.

"D*mn it... What the hell is this feeling?" The sense of impending danger gnawed at him, irritating and relentless. But Ryan still didn't trust this so-called sixth sense. He'd never had such instincts before, and Nicole was a trained elite—surely she was better at judging danger than he was.

Crack! Nicole hacked through some more low brush, preparing to press forward. But then—Ryan made a sudden, unexpected move.

"Look out!" Ryan shouted. He lunged forward and grabbed the handle ridge of Nicole's armor, yanking her back in one fluid motion.

"Ah!" Nicole shrieked in surprise as she was suddenly dragged backward. Instinctively, she swung her blade at the attacker.

Clang! Ryan reacted instantly, grabbing Nicole's wrist and shouting, "It's me! Don't panic!"

"What the hell are you doing?!" Nicole yelled angrily, stunned. But both she and Ryan had overlooked something crucial.

Nicole might be a woman, but as a special forces soldier, she was no delicate flower. Standing over 170 centimeters tall, she weighed over 50 kilograms—and her armor and gear added another 200 kilograms, easily putting her total weight over 250 kilograms. Yet Ryan had pulled her back with one hand—without powered assistance. Just how strong was he?

And Nicole's reflexive strike had been a full-power blow, enhanced by her armor's strength amplification—strong enough to cleave through a thick tree. But Ryan had stopped it effortlessly. His reflexes and explosive strength were unreal.

"I…" Ryan was just about to explain that he hadn't meant to do it consciously—it was pure instinct, triggered by the overwhelming sense of danger.

Boom! Suddenly, the ground where Nicole had just stood erupted.

Screeeee! A giant armored beetle burst from beneath the surface.

"Ahhh!" Lucia screamed in terror.

"Get back!" Nicole shouted, her combat instincts kicking in. She immediately gave up questioning Ryan, raised her electromagnetic rifle, and fired at the creature after a brief aim.

Rat-tat-tat… The electromagnetic rounds hit the beetle squarely—but they might as well have been hitting reinforced alloy. The bullets failed to penetrate its thick armor.

"Look at its head!" Lucia shouted.

Ryan and Nicole looked up simultaneously. The beetle—easily over two meters tall—had a bronze-colored horn growing from its head.

"D*mn it! That's a Giant Armored Beetle Leader!" Nicole's expression darkened. This type of beetle was far stronger than the standard variety. Electromagnetic rifles were useless. Only energy grenades could hurt it.

"Fall back!" she shouted while pulling out an energy grenade. With her armor, she could survive a mid-range blast—at worst, some concussive damage.

"Got it!" Ryan had taken a direct hit from an energy grenade before—he knew exactly how terrifying they were. He grabbed Lucia, and the two of them dove behind a nearby earthen mound with a couple of rolls.

"Die!" Nicole shouted, pulling the grenade's pin and hurling it away—after all, even with armor, she couldn't risk it going off too close.

Whack! The beetle, showing impressive intelligence, swatted the grenade away with its front leg before it could reach.

BOOM! The explosion went off harmlessly in the distance. Dust and shockwaves blasted Nicole and the others, leaving them dazed and filthy.

"Die! Die! Die!" Nicole yelled as she threw her remaining three grenades, one after another. But the giant beetle, now aware of the threat, deflected them all skillfully, neutralizing the only real danger to itself.