Chapter 30: Armored Ground Worm, Blue-Tier Boss!

Night fell, and starlight blanketed the Morning Glow Plains.

"Sigh, the scenery is actually quite nice..." Zhang Ruolin sighed. "If only we could set up a tent here, hang a few string lights, fire up a barbecue grill, and crack open a few beers—I can’t imagine how cozy a night like this would be."

Xiaobai felt a longing for it too. "I’m from Suzhou. In the spring, many people do exactly that along the shores of East Taihu Lake. If there’s a chance in the future, you two can come visit me in Suzhou; I’ll treat you to a lakeside barbecue."

"Deal!" Both nodded in unison.

But soon, shadows of worry crossed their faces.

"Can we really go home?" Xiaobai whispered. "I miss my mom and dad..."

Zhang Ruolin’s eyes grew red.

"We will. We definitely will." I looked up at the starry sky. "My mother is still waiting for me to go back, waiting for me to find a job and take care of her..."

The three of us were overcome with a sudden sense of sorrow.

...

"Ding!"

At that moment, the map flickered. A small golden dot appeared on the mini-map, pulsing steadily.

[Attention: Lost supplies discovered!]
[These supplies were hijacked by xenomorphs, but have since been seized by another powerful lifeform!]
[Kill the target to obtain the supplies!]

I looked at the two girls, and they looked back at me; clearly, we had all received the prompt.

"It’s easier now that we have coordinates!" I swapped to my Wind-Whisperer rifle and said, "Let’s approach slowly and observe the situation first!"

"Agreed!"

The three of us made our way across the wasteland. Before long, we were within 2,000 meters of the target. I immediately dropped to my stomach, aiming through the Wind-Whisperer’s scope at the target indicated by the quest. Boxes of supplies were piled up in a low-lying valley, but crouching right beside them was a massive behemoth.

It looked like a heavy tank, its body covered in thick, hardened armor. Its head had mutated; much like a Devourer, its mouth could split into three horrifying, petal-like mandibles.

"It’s a boss!" I frowned. "It’s too far to see clearly right now. Let’s head closer. If we have a chance to take it down, we’ll try; if it’s too strong, we’ll abandon the quest. We’ve already reached our goal of leveling up and upgrading the Origin Power Furnace—the quest is optional, but our lives are not."

"Agreed," Xiaobai smiled. "Ding Han, I’ve discovered you’re actually quite rational."

"That’s called wisdom."

"Understood." Ruolin added, "Let’s go, then. Be careful not to pull any other xenomorphs; we don't need any complications. The boss is already hard enough to fight; if we add mobs to the mix, our chances of a wipe will skyrocket."

"Understood. Let’s go."

The three of us crept along the wasteland, eventually reaching the edge of the small valley.

Now less than 50 meters from the boss, I focused my gaze on it for five seconds until a stream of text and data finally emerged!

[Armored Earthworm] (Blue Boss)
Level: 20
Attack: 225-250
Defense: 150
Health: 20,000
Skills: [Hardened Shell Lv7], [Venom Spit Lv7], [Life Regeneration Lv7]
Description: Armored Earthworms are mutants from the wilderness. They possess not only powerful vitality but also terrifyingly thick armor capable of resisting bullets. Unless you have powerful armor-piercing rounds, avoid provoking these powerful mutated lifeforms!

...

"Seriously? Look at those stats," Zhang Ruolin frowned. "150 defense—is this a boss meant for current players?"

"No," I shook my head. "If I’m not mistaken, most players at this stage can't handle this kind of boss. If we take it down, there’s a high probability it will be the first kill of a blue boss. You want to bet?"

"I believe you, but how are we supposed to kill it?" Xiaobai sounded frustrated. "Its defense is higher than our attack, it has a massive 20,000 health, and it can regenerate. It’s impossible to kill, isn't it?"

"Not necessarily." I furrowed my brow. "It can't be all pros and no cons. Do you want to try? I feel like we have a chance. This creature is too heavy; its movement speed can’t be fast. If we have patience, we might be able to kite it to death. But I’ll respect your decisions. If you feel it’s too risky, we’ll head back to Creek City."

Xiaobai hesitated.

"Forget it, I trust Ding Han," Zhang Ruolin said. "Shall we try?"

"Fine!" Xiaobai nodded firmly. "Fortune favors the bold. Since you two have decided to try, I won’t be a coward. Besides, monsters with such high defense usually have weak resistance to my Psionic Storm. That’s my specialty."

"Alright, let’s start!"

I raised my Roarer, aimed at the Earthworm’s head, and fired a burst. As expected, its defense was too high, and the damage was significantly mitigated!

"11!"
"12!"
"9!"

If even the green-tier Roarer dealt so little damage, white-tier weapons were barely worth mentioning!

"Hiss—!"

The boss let out a hoarse roar, jerked its head up, and its three mandibles snapped open, spitting out a glob of green venom.

"Look out!" Xiaobai and Ruolin cried out in alarm.

I remained calm, using a Step-Slash to dash forward and to the left, dodging the attack while firing a full clip directly into its open maw!

"63!"
"66!"
"61!"

"See that?" I felt a surge of excitement. "As long as we avoid the venom and shoot when it opens its mouth, we can deal normal damage. It’s only 20,000 health—if we land 300 accurate shots, we can send it to its grave!"

"Easy for you to say!" Ruolin and Xiaobai started firing as well, but their basic marksmanship wasn't as high, so their accuracy was far lower than mine.

"Hiss—!"

The Armored Earthworm roared, but it never left the valley, only continuing to spit venom in our direction.

"Do you see that?" Xiaobai seemed to have noticed something. "There’s a plant root connecting the boss’s body to the ground, like a caterpillar fungus. Could it be that its body has been eroded by fungi, which is why it can't move?"

"Even better!" I said. "Be careful not to get hit by the venom. We can grind it down!"

For a moment, joy filled the faces of the two girls. If this was the first blue boss to be conquered, the rewards would surely be substantial—maybe even include achievement bonuses!

...

However, things didn't go as smoothly as we imagined.

When its health bar dropped below half, the Armored Earthworm began to regenerate. Every time it healed, a row of dense damage numbers appeared above its head—

"+100!"
"+100!"
"+100!"
...

"This is really going too far!" Zhang Ruolin was speechless.

I frowned. "Be patient. We can definitely take it down."

"Right!"

We continued to aim for its maw, chipping away at its health. But soon after, the Earthworm’s shell was covered in a faint blood-red hue, and the ding of a system notification echoed in our ears.

[Attention: The Armored Earthworm (Blue Boss) is on the verge of evolution. If it is not killed within 120 seconds, it will evolve into: Armored Earthworm (Purple Boss)!]

All three of us were stunned.

"Damn..." Xiaobai muttered. "Kill it in two minutes while it keeps regenerating? How is that even possible? It’s impossible to kill..."

"Not necessarily!" I gritted my teeth. "Do you two have any grenades? Or frag grenades..."

"What are you planning?" Zhang Ruolin asked cautiously. "Its shell is too thick; grenades won't kill it. Don't waste our grenades for nothing."

"Exactly," Xiaobai added. "Grenades are expensive. We save them as life-saving tools."

"I’ll just ask one thing: do you want the blue boss’s Ability Crystal Chest or not?"

"Of course we do."

"Then stop talking. Hand over all your grenades. If we pool them together, I have a way to finish it off within 120 seconds!"

"Fine!"

The two didn't say anything more and started pulling out their supplies. Zhang Ruolin produced three grenades—true to her status as a wealthy girl who frequented bars. Xiaobai produced two, slightly less wealthy.

I gathered the grenades and said, "Alright, we have five grenades. As long as I..."

"Wait!" Two pairs of eyes glared at me. "You don't have a single one?"

"Yeah, I never said I did..."

"Ding Han!!!!"

"Ahem, killing the boss is the priority, don't worry about the small details..."

Both of them were fuming.

The next moment, I crouched, performed a Step-Slash to dodge a glob of venom, and threw a grenade with the pin pulled!

In truth, every time the boss opened its three-petaled mouth, revealing its dark, hollow throat, my hands had been itching to throw something. My Level 10 Throwing skill was dying to be used!

With the five grenades contributed by Ruolin and Xiaobai, the Armored Earthworm’s end had finally arrived.

*Whoosh!*

The grenade traced a perfect arc in the air—a three-pointer that landed accurately in its mouth!

*Boom—!*

A muffled thud echoed from within the Armored Earthworm’s belly!

"2443!"

Ruolin’s eyes widened.

"What kind of damage is that?!" Xiaobai was equally stunned.

Before she could finish, I had already thrown the second, third, fourth, and fifth grenades. They tore through the Earthworm’s thick defense, dealing continuous, terrifying damage!

"2421!"
"2599!"
"2632!"
"2777!"

Perhaps because its armor was finally breached, each hit dealt more damage than the last!

When the final grenade exploded, the Armored Earthworm let out a mournful cry. Its weak abdominal armor was blown open, and a massive pool of blood and shredded organs spilled out.

The ding of system notifications rang in our ears, one after another, filling us with excitement!

[Congratulations! You have killed the Armored Earthworm (Blue Boss), securing the first kill of a blue boss in "Star Abyss." Reward: +3 Achievements!]
[Combat Tip: You killed the Armored Earthworm (Blue Boss). Obtained 200,000 character experience points. The Origin Power Furnace extracted 100,000 experience points!]
[Congratulations! You have killed the Armored Earthworm (Blue Boss). Obtained Item: Boss Ability Crystal x1!]