CHAPTER 478: CHAPTER 335: BORROWING TECHNIQUE, NOT STEALING_2

During the dispute, the giant snake appeared. The beggar immediately ran away, but the two children were too slow and were swept into the factory by the giant snake.

Based on this description, the chances of these two children being alive were very low.

A police officer asked Qin Minghui, "Do you want us to send search and rescue personnel?"

Qin Minghui disagreed. "Don’t send people who are not professionals near the Strange Monsters."

A police officer asked, "Are you a professional?"

Another officer, having looked at Qin Minghui’s credentials, said, "He’s an intern."

"I advise you to wait for your captain to arrive."

Captain Chen Changrui was not in Yuezhou and was on his way back.

The nearest team member was still a twenty-minute drive away.

BOOM!

A plume of green smoke rose from inside the factory, which looked as if it were about to collapse.

The collapse itself was not the main concern; everyone was most worried about a Strange Monster suddenly charging out.

Qin Minghui said, "Everyone prepare to evacuate. I will go in first to check the situation."

A police officer advised, "I still think you should wait for your captain, or at the very least, wait for official team members."

"I’m an agent of the Dark Star Bureau. I’m duty-bound, so please cooperate."

Qin Minghui crossed the police line, holding his gun, and carefully walked towards the factory. He reached the factory entrance but didn’t rush in. Instead, he took the outdoor stairway to the second floor.

The door to the second floor had been removed, so entering this way would avoid the noise of opening one.

In factories like this, the first floor typically extended directly to the ceiling. The second floor usually housed operating platforms for special equipment. Standing on the second floor, he had a clear view of the first floor.

These were all things Qin Minghui had learned from cases during his internship, and as expected, the second floor indeed consisted of a platform that ran alongside the equipment.

Standing on the platform, Qin Minghui saw a plump creature writhing next to the knitting machines, its body entangled with colorful, nearly rotten yarns of various kinds.

Qin Minghui steadied his breathing, trying his best to suppress his heartbeat.

This was his first time seeing a Strange Monster in person. He was very nervous, and its size far exceeded his understanding of living creatures.

Through visual estimation, Qin Minghui made a rough judgment: the creature was about six meters in length and roughly two meters in diameter.

Although it was elongated, judging by its proportions, it certainly wasn’t a snake; it was shorter and thicker.

The monster was primarily white with regularly distributed black spots and sparse hair.

The creature crawled onto another row of knitting machines. This time, Qin Minghui was certain it wasn’t a snake because it had legs—short and thick ones. They weren’t densely packed, but there were more than ten of them.

When the monster turned around, Qin Minghui saw its "face."

It certainly had a pair of large teeth, but these were not snake fangs.

They were insect teeth!

It was a silkworm! Besides its large size, its other features were extremely similar to the Domestic Silkworms Qin Minghui had seen as a child.

After observing and comparing it with cases he had studied, Qin Minghui made a preliminary judgment. This type of Strange Monster was an insect larva. It currently displayed no human characteristics and acted mostly on instinct. Under normal circumstances, it would be considered a relatively primitive Strange Monster. Primitive Strange Monsters aren’t very intelligent. Like Domestic Silkworms, their vision isn’t great before metamorphosing into moths, and their combat strength is likely not high.

Of course, this was only a preliminary judgment. Captain Chen had once mentioned that in Puluo State, there was a type of Strange Monster known as the Bagworm Moth, also an insect larva in form. These particular monsters were not primitive; they were very intelligent and strong fighters, capable of easily annihilating a fully armed platoon of a hundred men.

Qin Minghui did not rashly attack. Having pinpointed the monster’s location, he had already exceeded his mission objectives. Now, all he needed to do was quietly wait for reinforcements.

WAAH!

Cries!

Qin Minghui was startled and looked towards a corner of the factory.

Something was moving there.

They were two clumps of yarn. At first, Qin Minghui had thought they were spools from the knitting machines.

He listened closely to the cries, which seemed to be those of children.

The children were still alive!

They were trapped within the clumps of yarn!

Qin Minghui tightened his grip on his pistol. The situation had become complicated.

What was this Domestic Silkworm doing with the children trapped in the yarn clumps?

Qin Minghui recalled the habits of Domestic Silkworms. They primarily ate leaves and didn’t typically use silk to hunt.

Seeing it also wrapped in various silk threads, he wondered, Could it be practicing cocooning?

Domestic Silkworms don’t eat before cocooning; this was the most optimistic assumption he could make.

Of course, this was a Strange Monster, so one couldn’t completely apply the behavior of Domestic Silkworms to it.

After more than ten minutes, the Domestic Silkworm continued to wrap threads around its body, seemingly with no other intention.

A message arrived on his phone: his colleagues had reached the vicinity of the factory.

Just as Qin Minghui breathed a sigh of relief, he suddenly saw the giant Domestic Silkworm wriggle toward the corner of the factory, pouncing on the two children entangled in the silk threads.

It grabbed the struggling children with its three pairs of short, stubby legs, raised the front half of its body, and bared a pair of fangs.

This posture was identical to that of a Domestic Silkworm nibbling on a mulberry leaf.

Qin Minghui didn’t hesitate for a moment. He raised his pistol, aimed at the bug, and fired ten shots, emptying the magazine.

The gun, specially designed for Fighters by the Dark Star Bureau, was extremely powerful, and its accuracy could be further enhanced by a Fighter’s control.

All ten shots hit the "Domestic Silkworm’s" head. It was clearly in pain.

The pain was like being sharply flicked on the head ten times.

The Domestic Silkworm released the children it held and, following its instinct, charged towards Qin Minghui, who had fired the shots.

The second-floor platform collapsed from the impact. Qin Minghui was first thrown into the air, hitting the roof, then fell back to the ground.

This wasn’t something one could learn from textbooks or case studies, nor could it be practiced on a training ground.

It was a bit like a roller coaster, the difference being that he currently had no protective measures whatsoever.

The moment he hit the ground, Qin Minghui felt as if all his internal organs had shifted.

His pistol landed far away.

Qin Minghui wanted to retrieve his pistol, but he couldn’t stand up.

The enormous "Domestic Silkworm" crawled towards him.

Qin Minghui picked up a metal pipe from the ground and threw it at the "Domestic Silkworm."

As a Fighter, he could accurately hit the Domestic Silkworm’s head with the metal pipe.

But he hadn’t advanced to a higher level, so his strength was insufficient; the metal pipe couldn’t injure the Domestic Silkworm.

The Domestic Silkworm swept its body, coiled around Qin Minghui, and squeezed hard, blurring his vision.

CRACK! CRACK!

His bones creaked ominously.

Qin Minghui strained, using his Fighter’s innate talent to resist, but quickly reached his limit.

The two children were crying.

Qin Minghui shouted with difficulty to the kids, "Run!"

One slightly older child broke free from the silk threads and tried to escape but tripped over the threads again.

The other child just cried, not even having the courage to stand up.

The Domestic Silkworm extended its short, stubby insect legs towards Qin Minghui.

Qin Minghui scratched at the Domestic Silkworm with his nails, the only counterattack he could manage.

BANG! BANG!

Two gunshots rang out in quick succession.

A slender figure rushed into the factory.

Light Bulb was here!

He fired several shots at the "Domestic Silkworm." Enraged, the Domestic Silkworm released Qin Minghui, recoiled, and then wrapped Light Bulb in its coils.

SWOOSH!

"Light Bulb" wriggled out from the Domestic Silkworm’s coils, reloaded, and continued firing.

The "Domestic Silkworm" coiled around him again, but Light Bulb managed to break free once more.

After about fifteen minutes of fighting, Dumpling burst into the workshop. Holding a pen, she approached the "Domestic Silkworm" and splashed a massive amount of ink.

The ink transformed into countless characters.

Light Bulb shouted, "Run!"

Before he could finish speaking, the characters, large and small, began attacking everyone present, friend or foe alike.

PS: Dumpling, real name You Xuehan, is the secretary of the team.