Meanwhile, in the desert at the city's center.
The Drillworm Queen's massive body writhed in mid-air for a few moments before it finally couldn't bear it any longer. It opened its mouth and spat Zhang Chen out.
It turned out that the deepest part of the entire nest connected directly to the Queen's mouth.
The [Ice Condensation Flower] needed the Queen's saliva to grow.
Therefore, it grew in the vicinity of any Queen brimming with powerful biological energy, sometimes even directly on the Queen's body.
Drillworm larvae would vomit the prey they swallowed back up, sending it to the depths of the nest to feed the Queen.
What a disgusting creature!
Zhang Chen was covered in the Drillworm Queen's saliva.
He had even been swallowed into its belly before.
The digestive tract was filled with corrosive fluid, and the smell was nauseating. To resist the powerful corrosive effects, [Energy Barrier] had madly consumed [Energy Crystal Core]!
Initially, Zhang Chen had considered using the Thousand Bone Blade to carve a path out of the Queen's belly.
However, its digestive tract was incredibly peculiar, tightly wrapping food and constantly churning it.
Furthermore, the air inside was extremely thin, and coupled with the thick mucus coating, the Thousand Bone Blade would have found it difficult to function.
With no other option, Zhang Chen flew out of the Queen's belly.
He truly didn't want to stay inside for another second.
Perhaps Sun Wukong's sense of smell in Journey to the West wasn't very sharp, otherwise, how could he have endured that stench and jumped around inside the demon's belly?
On this point, Zhang Chen certainly couldn't do it.
Kaka~ Kaka~
The Queen angrily vibrated its carapace towards Zhang Chen.
It was thoroughly enraged.
This was the first time food that had been swallowed had flown out again!
Buzz~
The Queen's two small black eyes glared fiercely at Zhang Chen.
The next moment.
Zhang Chen's vision blurred, and the scenery before him swam.
When he could finally see his surroundings clearly again...
He found himself on the university basketball court.
"Hey, catch the ball, what are you spacing out for, Zhang Chen?"
"Are you looking at girls again!"
The boy who spoke was Pei Yong, Zhang Chen's roommate and good friend, and they were both members of the school basketball team.
"Huh? Pei... Pei Yong?"
Zhang Chen held the basketball with both hands.
The sensation in his hands was incredibly real; his fingertips could feel the irregular texture of the basketball's surface.
He could also feel the searing heat of the summer sun on his skin, and the sweat-soaked jersey sticking to him.
"Oh, I see, you're looking at our university's campus belle, Guan Xin!"
"Or are you looking at the cheerleading captain, Zhao Xiyue!"
Pei Yong slung an arm around Zhang Chen's shoulder, teasing him with a grin.
"Guan Xin? Zhao Xiyue?"
Zhang Chen followed the direction of Pei Yong's gaze.
He saw Guan Xin, her ponytail tied up, sitting by the court. Her gaze casually fell upon him.
The moment their eyes met, Guan Xin immediately lowered her head.
A moment later, she pretended to take a drink and looked over again...
Zhao Xiyue, dressed in a very sexy cheerleading outfit, was leading a group of girls in practice.
Seeing Zhang Chen looking at her from afar, she waved excitedly.
"Did I just have a dream?"
Zhang Chen wondered.
"A dream? No way, you're dreaming on the court in broad daylight?"
Pei Yong burst into laughter.
"What did you dream about? Was I in your dream?"
Pei Yong continued to ask.
"I dreamed... I was transported to another world..."
"And there were monsters there... but I can't remember what they looked like..."
Zhang Chen suddenly felt a sharp pain in his chest and couldn't help but cough a few times.
"What's wrong? Tired after only twenty minutes? Did that collision just now hit you a bit too hard?"
"Come on, I'll take you to the infirmary!"
Pei Yong, without further ado, helped Zhang Chen up and walked towards the infirmary.
As they passed the teaching building, they saw Xu Ruina, wearing high heels and gold-rimmed glasses, walk past them with a cool, aloof expression.
A faint scent lingered in the air behind her...
"What's wrong? What's the ailment?"
Bai Hanlin, wearing a white coat, asked at the infirmary entrance.
"My classmate has chest pain, we don't know the cause!"
Pei Yong explained briefly.
"Mm, then lie down on the bed first, lift your shirt, let me take a look!"
Bai Hanlin said indifferently.
The nurse behind him, Cui Zhiyan, put on medical gloves and followed Bai Hanlin.
"I think something's not quite right..."
Zhang Chen hesitated.
"What's not right? I think you're not right all over today!"
"Could it be that you hit your head and went stupid just now?"
"Are you having hallucinations?"
Pei Yong said with a grin.
"No, you're fake!"
Zhang Chen suddenly said coldly.
"What do you mean I'm fake? Doctor, did he really hit his head and go crazy!"
Pei Yong asked with a look of concern.
"Hold him down, I'll examine him. Your classmate's problem might be very serious!"
Bai Hanlin frowned and said.
Just then, Zhang Chen felt another pain in his abdomen.
He reached out and patted Pei Yong's shoulder, saying:
"I know you're fake, because you're already dead..."
As soon as the words fell, the illusion before his eyes instantly vanished.
What truly appeared before Zhang Chen was the Drillworm Queen's ferocious face.
And its two scythe-like sharp forelimbs.
Unlike the larvae, its scythes were segmented.
There were two large, pointed blades at the front, and countless smaller, dagger-like sharp blades on the sides.
Such forelimbs, while ensuring the Queen possessed immense attacking power, also allowed it to adapt to climbing and moving in various terrains!
At this moment, one huge blade was plunged into Zhang Chen's chest, and the other was embedded in his abdomen.
The [Energy Barrier] had endured these two hits for the first time without Zhang Chen making any defensive preparations, and it was already trembling, about to shatter.
The [Energy Armor] also bore a few cracks.
It was no wonder Zhang Chen felt pain in the illusion.
This was real pain.
Such a colossal creature had used its sharp claws to drive him into the adjacent building.
Although it hadn't caused any cuts, the immense impact force was still unbearable!
"Is this [Intermediate Mental Burn]? It's quite powerful!"
"[Rage]!"
Zhang Chen gritted his teeth, gripping the Queen's massive claws with both hands, and forcefully pried its forelimbs away from his body.
Kaka! Kaka!
The Queen, in addition to its rage, felt a deep shock.
It hadn't expected that its attack wouldn't be enough to kill Zhang Chen.
What terrified it even more was how such immense power could erupt from Zhang Chen's small body!
Hiss... Hiss...
Using Zhang Chen's outward push, the Queen quickly retreated a few steps. Then, it rapidly flapped its wings, slowly beginning to fly.
The rapidly flapping wings produced a series of strange sounds, different from the flight of a mosquito.
"Since you've made me recall Pei Yong, you shall stay here!"
"[Soul Burn] Level 3!"
Whoosh! A faint blue flame enveloped Zhang Chen.
He slowly extended his index finger towards the direction the Queen was flying away...
"[Annihilation Finger]"!
Kill!