In just a moment, Zhang Lyra had sprinted from running almost beside her all the way to the very front!
"Don't stop! It's still right behind us!"
Wang Tianwei felt like her lungs were about to explode!
Had they still not escaped the sandworm's territory!?
The next instant, a club-like dark shadow whipped toward them from diagonally ahead!
It lashed directly onto Zhang Lyra, who was running at the front, and then coiled around her, hoisting her into mid-air!
"Such a massive tentacle!!"
"Change direction! Quickly, change direction! There's a sandworm over here too!!"
Wang Tianwei planted her feet amidst the chaotic crowd, raised her laser gun, and fired wildly at the tentacle! The shots severed the dark shadow's body.
Zhang Lyra dropped to the ground. The first thing she did upon scrambling up was grab Wang Tianwei and run.
"Run! It's angry!"
Wang Tianwei stumbled as she was pulled along. Before she could even figure out how Zhang Lyra knew whether a sandworm was angry or not, she realized her feet were barely touching the ground anymore!
Zhang Lyra had increased her speed so much that she was practically flying Wang Tianwei like a kite!!!
The grand finale of the freshman training had finally begun. Many students who had already fallen asleep were woken up by their roommates to watch the live stream.
"Are there two sandworms this year?"
"What on earth is the principal trying to do..."
"Not two, there are three! Go check out live stream room 100! They're being attacked by a sandworm over there too!"
"Where did the school catch so many sandworms!? Did they get the Ninth Military District to help!?"
"Principal... is this what you use our annual tuition fees for instead of renovating the dorms!?"
Yi Shao watched the increasing number of comments and couldn't help but find it amusing. Almost every Qilin student had been through this, and even if they hadn't experienced it firsthand, they had certainly seen it.
For some unknown reason, Qilin's principal had a special fondness for sandworms... They appeared in the freshman training every other year.
This time, they actually unleashed three of them at once? It seemed the principal was very confident in the strength of this batch of freshmen!
In live stream room 04,
Zhang Lyra was running so fast she was practically a blur. If she wasn't dragging someone along, she would have dropped to all fours!
But this zebra-head from Class S would easily fall behind if no one pulled her. Besides, she had given her medicine earlier today and just saved her life... Leaving her behind really didn't fit her character. Plus, she wasn't that heavy anyway!
It wasn't that Wang Tianwei didn't want to speak on the way, but Zhang Lyra was running simply too fast! The air in front of her was pressing hard against her face! Opening her mouth would guarantee eating a mouthful of sand!
Oh no! A tentacle hooked around her ankle! It pulled tight!!
"Buzz!"
Someone behind them fired a shot, and the thing on her ankle quickly released its grip.
"Pant! Pant!"
Huang Yan hadn't expected to bump into Wang Tianwei under these circumstances. His eyesight was good, and he recognized the shortest person in the crowd at a glance...
Seeing her foot get entangled, he fired without a second thought, then took two quick steps to catch up.
"There are three sandworms."
It was Huang Yan!
Wang Tianwei didn't dare open her mouth and could only nod, not even knowing if he saw it...
Others were also being tripped by tentacles. The students at the back continuously fired their guns to protect them, and the people nearby made room.
The group was faintly developing a sense of teamwork, and they were finally not as panicked as they had been at the start.
After running for another half hour, the people at the very front finally stopped.
Wang Tianwei rested her hands on her knees, panting heavily.
"Huff!! Ah... did we... get out?"
Huang Yan swallowed hard.
"No... we went in."
Zhang Lyra let go of her hand and raised her laser gun, her gaze fixed straight ahead. Huang Yan had the exact same reaction.
Wang Tianwei already had an ominous premonition in her heart. She looked up with difficulty.
Up ahead, a fourth sandworm had completely stood up straight... More importantly, this sandworm actually had three heads!
One student was swept up by four or five tentacles! The others hurriedly raised their guns and fired!
However, facing a sandworm that was over ten meters long and four or five meters thick, the laser shots hitting its body only seemed to enrage it, failing to deal a fatal blow...
Wang Tianwei thought about how much effort it took her to kill that Star Wolf back then... Her immediate internal reaction was: this thing is only worth five points!?
"Watch out!"
The sandworm's tentacles smashed down like long whips toward the crowded area. Wang Tianwei leaped to the side to dodge the strike, not forgetting to aim and fire as she landed.
Several people around her fired together. Wang Tianwei soon smelled a burnt, charred odor, and the tentacle twisted as it retracted.
This creature seemed to be afraid of high temperatures, but its skin was quite thick. The laser guns couldn't cause much damage to it... What should they do?
The student who was swept up was so terrified that he reflexively pressed his distress alarm. A mecha quickly rushed over, severed the tentacle wrapping the student with a lightsaber, scooped the petrified student off the ground, and left.
"So cool..."
Wang Tianwei couldn't help but marvel as she watched the mecha make its stylish exit!
"Let's all aim and shoot at the exact same spot!! Don't panic, everyone!!"
Huang Yan shouted commands beside her, then took the lead by using his laser gun to mark a spot on the sandworm's body!
Everyone aimed at that spot and fired before the second wave of tentacles could attack!
The energy from dozens of laser guns blasted through one of the sandworm's necks, leaving only a small piece of flesh and skin attached at the edge...
"It's working! Again!"
The crowd's actions thoroughly enraged the sandworm!
It slammed its tail heavily against the ground, and many people were thrown off balance and fell right on their rears!
Its long tentacles flailed in all directions, nimbly scattering everyone!
The students had to be careful not to be swept up by the tentacles while also ensuring they weren't crushed by the massive tail! It was completely impossible to aim at the same spot simultaneously anymore!
The people around her were more or less whipped or swept up by the sandworm. At this moment, Wang Tianwei actually benefited from her small stature, because if the sandworm wanted to strike others' vitals, it had to pass right over her head...
Firing a shot to sever the tentacle wrapping around Huang Yan, Wang Tianwei's mind raced for a solution. Things couldn't go on like this...
"Use fire!"
Huang Yan picked his gun back up and pulled a lighter from his pocket!
However, the beastmen in the team were the first to hear the clamor coming from several other directions.
"Oh no!! The sandworm from behind has caught up!"
"There are people running toward us from other directions too!!!"
"Holy crap! What is that? Why is it even longer than ours!!?"
"Are they going to converge here!?"
"Attacked from all sides!? Let's kill this one first..."
"Commander! You call the shots!"
The scene was a chaotic mess. Huang Yan looked down and met the eyes of Wang Tianwei, who was looking up at him... He calmed himself and took two deep breaths.
"We have to burn it."
Wang Tianwei frowned.
"The laser gun's energy is too high. It causes damage before it can even ignite anything. There's not enough time to start a fire."
Jian Jingyu had also been chased over by a sandworm. By the light of someone else's powerful flashlight, he spotted his two "comrades-in-arms" from afar!
Rolling to avoid the sandworm's tail, he yelled at the top of his lungs in their direction,
"Do you have a plan? We need to hurry! There are more and more bugs!"
Half a tent was sticking out of Wang Tianwei's backpack. Huang Yan's eyes lit up.
"...I've got a plan. Use a fuse!"
Catching his gaze, Wang Tianwei understood instantly and yanked out the battle-damaged tent!
Huang Yan also unzipped his backpack, dug out a chunk of solid fuel, and smeared it right on! Zhang Lyra stood beside the group, relying on her excellent night vision to provide covering fire.
"Let's burn the tail first this time!"
"Yes sir!"
They waited for the perfect opening. The next time the tail whipped toward them, Wang Tianwei drove a small knife straight through the tent, pinning it directly to the appendage!
Feeling a sharp sting, the sandworm began to thrash wildly, swatting Wang Tianwei aside in the process.
Seeing this, Huang Yan rushed to help, sacrificing his own dagger to pin down the other side before quickly using an igniter to set the tent fabric ablaze!
But as the sandworm yanked its tail back, the flames hadn't yet reached the fuel-smeared area! Scraping along the ground as it retreated, the fire was on the verge of going out!
Jian Jingyu aimed and fired his laser gun, but just as expected, the beam merely pierced the tent without igniting it!
Fighting through the pain, Wang Tianwei pulled out her small slingshot. She loaded a chunk of solid fuel, lit it, pinched it within the slingshot pouch, and let it fly!
"Boom!"
The tent instantly erupted into flames. By the time the sandworm registered the pain, the burning fuel had already stuck to its body, setting its very flesh on fire!
The entire worm twisted in agony, hastily retracting its attacking tentacles!
"Hurry! Do we have any more tents?!" Wang Tianwei urged, ignoring her scorched hand upon seeing their success.
Huang Yan froze halfway through digging into his backpack. He pulled out a tag, glanced at it, and said in a dry voice,
"My tent... is fireproof..."
"..."
"You've got to be kidding me!"
