Civilization: Beyond Two Worlds

439 Since the Fire Seed Was Stolen, the Mystery Does Not Exist

The silver-gray locusts that covered more than half of the city and entrenched on the cars, buildings, and even the surface of the street swarmed up and flew towards him.

What was the experience?

Thank you for the invitation. He was in Gambia and had just boarded an eagle.

“F*ck, f*ck, f*ck, f*ck, f*ck!”

The Hima Eagle flapped its wings and rose. The violent wind danced and flew into the distance. Behind it, it buzzed. The gathered storm swarm swept over like a tornado.

As Kang De ran, he turned around to take photos and videos. In a city of 44 square kilometers, dense locusts swarmed, causing people to lose their sense of numbers. When they gathered, it was like a tsunami. There was only one sound in the world, and that was the sound of their wings flapping!

He tore open the scroll and activated the spell model. A violent wind gathered and he raised the giant eagle to accelerate.

Behind him, the violent locusts were like a bloodthirsty swarm. In the silver-gray tide, specks of red light flashed one after another. Those were the eyes of these insects that were emitting a terrifying blood-red light!

The satellite phone was urgently picked up. Kang De shouted, “Photos! Do you see them?!”

“I’ve received it! The logistics support team is analyzing it!” Qin Mengjin’s voice was no longer gentle and sweet like before, but filled with a decisive and capable heroic spirit, “Mr. Kang De, please retreat immediately!”

Kang De pressed down the microphone and said, “How is it?!”

The reaction armor behind him lit up with a rangefinder. Horus’s voice said, “After calculations, the movement speed of the enemy swarm is about 60 kilometers per hour, and it’s with the help of the wind. The conclusion is that there’s no possibility of being surrounded for the time being. Father, please use the Phoenix Vision to pay close attention to the surrounding situation and activate your ability to return to Comoros at any time. As for whether to retreat now, my answer is no!”

“I think so too!”

Kang De let go of the receiver. “The flying speed of the swarm is limited. I’m not in danger for the time being. I’ll determine when to retreat. This thing is too terrifying. I have to think of a way to restrain it!”

What he heard was fake, what he saw was real, the photo was fake, and the scene was real. Such a shocking scene of swarming and filling the city with insects was not seen in the photo he had seen earlier.

After personally witnessing it, the alarm in Kang De’s heart had already sounded. It was said that he wanted Comoros to migrate people and gather all the citizens in Moroni to make it convenient to defend. However, if it was such a scene, there were countless such locusts. There were probably billions or tens of billions of them. If they approached Moroni…

If he wanted to defend it, he could probably only do a mass projection!

Therefore, he had to think of a way to figure out the truth! He had to figure out the background of this thing, who was controlling it, where it was if there was any hive consciousness, where the origin was, and what weaknesses it had…

“We’ve already reported the video information and suggested that we share it with the various governments.” Qin Mengjin’s tone was serious and her words were straightforward, “Mr. Kang De, your feedback is first-hand information about this crisis. We agree with your judgment and ask for your opinion. How do you think we should deal with the first question?”

Kang De looked at the vast swarm storm. Even if the Hima Eagle was faster than them, it was limited in speed. Being chased relentlessly by the whistling and the buzzing terrifying swarm was enough to make him feel cold.

He said, “To be honest, the moment I saw this, I wanted to throw a nuclear bomb and blow up this place.”

“Nuclear weapons will always be the option to deal with the crisis, but it’s always the last resort. Banjul is the capital of a sovereign country. Even the United States doesn’t dare to take such a political risk.”

Qin Mengjin sighed and tactfully told Kang De that this choice was impossible for the time being.

As for nuclear bombs, there were all kinds of hooligans. However, who would throw this mushroom, who would be this evil person, and who would touch such innocent blood? In any case, the American Empire, which talked about freedom, democracy, and human rights, was most likely unwilling.

There was a whisper on the other end of the phone. The liaison officer asked, “Mr. Kang De, did you observe any signs of human movement when you approached Gambia?”

Kang De frowned and said, “No… I’m not close enough.”

At the very least, within a visual range, the Phoenix Vision did not detect any life signals.

He looked back at the terrifying swarm and felt a trace of coldness.

Did these insects… eat people?

On the domestic side, there was a moment of silence. Then, Qin Mengjin’s voice sounded again, but there were more waves in her tone, “Mr. Kang De, if possible… please try your best to investigate.”

She paused for a moment and added, “This is very important.”

“Got it.”

The other party instructed some more important points, such as things he hoped Kang De would investigate as much as possible. It was about the locusts themselves and the city of Banjul. Then, the communication ended.

Now was not the time to chat.

The Hima Eagle quickly fled into the distance, and the swarm chased after it. Kang De took a few deep breaths and calmed his thoughts. He said, “Alright, compared to whether there are living people here, we have to understand something first.”

“Firstly, how did I attract this inexplicable high hatred? In other words, why are the insects chasing us relentlessly? Is there something on me that attracted them, or…”

A sharp glint flashed through his eyes, “—Someone is controlling them?”

If he took out his camera and was detected by the insects to fly over to eat, there was no need for such a huge scene. Many videos transmitted earlier were at most besieged by a group of locusts, so how could they come out in full strength?

Horus asked, “Could it be Big Bob?”

“Perhaps,” Kang De said, “but not necessarily.”

“How so?”

Kang De’s eyes flickered, “Big Bob is a legendary figure, the King of Mercenaries in Africa. He launched dozens of coups in his life and killed four heads of state. He did so many things and was not beaten to death, which means that he at least knows when to advance and retreat. If it’s him, shouldn’t he develop wretchedly for a while after obtaining this power in Gambia? Now that he’s causing such a huge commotion, do you think the American nuclear bombs are floating?”

“Yes… that seems to be the case.”

“Right?” Kang De said indifferently. “Moreover, if he controlled the swarm and recognized me, so he couldn’t bear to chase after me, our main hatred is firstly to smash his plan, and secondly to kill his son. Now that he has strength, the hatred for killing his son should be first. Since he has to avenge his son and has the upper hand, why didn’t he make some noise, shout a few words, scold me, and show off?”

At this point, he used an allusion, “After all, Xiang Yu once said that when a person is taking revenge, if he doesn’t show off in front of his enemy, show off his strength methods, and admire the other party’s defeated expression before letting the entire world know, it’s simply like walking at night in embroidered clothes.”

“Xiang Yu didn’t seem to have said this, right?”

“It’s better to believe in books than not—you have to understand your spirit. Speaking of which, you know Xiang Yu?”

D*mn, at the very least, he had read the history books. Not bad, not bad. It was not too crooked.

Horus said, “Yes, I know. He’s Xiang Shaolong’s son.”

“…No! That’s a ist’s story! It’s made up!” Kang De first refuted, then his expression changed, “You even f*cking watched ‘A Step into the Past’? How many stories have you read?!”

His iron son said calmly, “Father, is this the time to talk about this?”

“…If you continue to deal with me like this, I’m going to punish you!”

As they quarreled, they flew. The Hima Eagle brought a swarm of insects and tornadoes to sweep through the plains of Gambia. Alchemical creations did not know fatigue, but they needed to replenish crystals, and the magic array and structural parts needed to be replaced. However, the National Alchemy Center of Goethe provided this service and the alchemical weapons seized from the elf alchemist had been maintained… However, they were helpless in the face of such a pest disaster.

On this scale, even most tactical weapons of the humans on Earth were probably useless.

...

Although it was said to wash the ground, it was easily dozens of square kilometers. It might be able to spread wider. He did not know how much military expenditure he had to burn to wash such land and how effective it was.

When he thought of this, his heart felt a little heavy. Although such a disaster had happened in Gambia which was thousands of miles away from his motherland, when he thought of the female ghost he had encountered in his hometown and how although the country valued a superhuman like him, it was not extremely shocked. When he thought of how Big Bob had only told him a little of Comoros’ secret, the French government quickly bit the bait and created this huge show with great fanfare.

This meant that the governments of the various countries had long known that supernatural powers existed in the world.

As the maintainers and controllers of the world order, they knew everything that had happened in the world.

Kang De vaguely felt that today’s calamity in Gambia might not be an exception.

What would it be next?

Where would it be?

—What should I do?

His experience of transmigrating to the other world had replicated the white fog world of Earth. The ancient undead in Tacitus knew the name of the Fire Thief… Earth and the other world were originally unrelated. With a connection in this vast land of West Africa, Kang De felt that things were not that simple.

The Hima Eagle circled in a large arc from the southwest.

Gambia was a country facing the sea. The capital, Banjul, was located on the St. Mary Peninsula. This city was not only the capital of Gambia but also the largest port city. To the west was the vast Atlantic.

...

Kang De tried to lure these insects into the sea and let the sea breeze, sun, and water vapor teach them to be insects.

He circled like a sea from the southwest. New insects continuously joined along the way. The sea breeze howled in his face, and the fishy smell of the sea entered his nose. Looking from here, he could see the direction of Pearl Harbor. The deepwater dock that could stop a huge ship of ten thousand tons was also covered in silver. The ships in the port were also covered in dense locusts. The steel of the hull was bitten, and some were already scattered and sank in the water.

Kang De flew west along the sea.

The swarm rumbled after him.

The waves rolled. The sea was dark blue, but the sky was covered by a dense swarm of insects, like dark clouds pressing down. As Kang De observed his surroundings, he looked ahead. If there was an American aircraft carrier parked not far away, it would simply be twice as happy. He would definitely lure the devils… no, the insects there.

Unfortunately, he did not.

At this moment, the phone rang. Kang De picked up. Qin Mengjin spoke slightly faster, “Mr. Kang De, we noticed that your phone signal has already entered the coast of Gambia. Do you want to lure the insects to the deep sea?”

Kang De said, “Try it.”

The other party advised, “Please be careful. If this worm is sent to North America and Europe by the monsoon…”

Kang De said happily, “Isn’t this a good thing?”

“…” Qin Mengjin sighed, “Mr. Kang De…”

“Alright, I understand. I’m only joking. You’re too careful.”

In fact, if the locust swarm was controlled by Big Bob and had an endless range and the ability to reproduce and build nests anywhere, he would have long airdropped worker worms all over the world and not need Kang De to lure them.

Kang De wanted to explain, but he happened to turn around. “Oh.”

Qin Mengjin asked, “What’s wrong?”

“It’s stopped.”

In his vision, the swarm stopped a few thousand meters from the coast. Most of the swarm began to return. Kang De drove the eagle and flew back slightly. The swarm that was calculating above the city rioted again and bared its fangs and brandished its claws. It covered the sky and swept towards him.

He retreated.

Stop.

He told this phenomenon to the country, and the emergency team immediately exploded. The discussion became louder. After a while, Miss Qin said, “This might mean that the swarm has a restriction on its range of activity! Please guide it on land. If the range of activity of the swarm is a circle, the center is the target we’re looking for!”

“—No.”

“Huh?”

Kang De shook his head and commanded the eagle to step on the reaction boundary of the swarm. It flew an arc. With his elementary geometry knowledge, a circular arc could determine the center of the circle. He only roughly estimated it and could determine that this was definitely not the radius of the swarm. Previously, on land, in order to circle from the southwest to lure the swarm into the sea, the distance he had retreated and flown had long exceeded this radius.

The emergency team received the same answer.

Kang De said indifferently, “They don’t have an active boundary. They only consciously want to avoid the sea.”

There was silence on the other end of the phone.

“Let me take a look again.”

Kang De hung up and looked at the stopped insects. He said, “As expected, compared to whether they have a range of activity and the center, I’m more concerned about why they’re chasing me. I’m not in a hurry to drink syrup.”

Horus said, “Picking advantages and avoiding disadvantages… This is the instinct of living beings. It’s not like Big Bob’s manipulation.”

Kang De asked, “If not, why did these strange locusts that are most likely from the Gambia Royal Tomb have an intense reaction to us and pursue us relentlessly?”

The answer was already very obvious.

The father and son said in unison, “Tacitus.”

The ancient relic in the Tomb of Comoros sealed the old royal tomb. Its body was sealed in the tomb of Gambia… Was this the feeling?

However, at the Western Airport that day, Tacitus had been broken down by the power of the Fire Thief. The knowledge of ascension contained in it was poured into the fire seed of Horus by Kang De, and the other portion was devoured by him.

Kang De shrugged and placed the phone and phone behind the Hima Eagle, leaving the coordinates.

“Let’s try.”

Black light flashed and space opened. In the next moment, Kang De stepped back onto the eagle’s back. Horus, who was covered in a kinetic exoskeleton on his shoulder and back, had already returned to the white fog world.

He would try.

The Hima Eagle stepped forward.

The locust swarm was no longer as chaotic and boiling as before.

Tacitus’ aura had already arrived in another world.

As for the part of Tacitus that Kang De had absorbed, it was clearly not sensed by the insects.

This was because he was the Fire Thief.

Since the fire seed was stolen, the mysterious no longer existed.

He took a deep breath and the Hima Eagle flew away around the coastline. He would make preparations for the time being and wait for this violent swarm to calm down.

Then, he entered the city and Banjul.

He wanted to see where the humans who had disappeared from this city had gone and what they had encountered.