Together, they had fourteen packets. Without a word, Chen Gu tore them open and devoured them all in the blink of an eye.

When he finished and looked up, he saw everyone staring at him in astonishment.

Chen Gu hadn't actually had his fill, but he still forced an explanation. "It's a professional thing; I can eat a lot. Yeah, more than you'd think possible."

Gong Shuxu got the message. "So you're saying... you're still not full?"

Before Chen Gu could respond, his stomach growled. Lisa, who was beside him, burst out laughing. Chen Gu bashfully admitted, "Yep, still not full."

That little bit of food was hardly enough to tide him over.

Chen Gu changed the subject. "Where are we now, and how far are we from Base 11?"

Ma Shuwen had recovered considerably; she was the team leader, after all. She opened a holographic map. "We went in the opposite direction while escaping, so now we're even further from Base 11."

Chen Gu wasn't really paying attention to what she was saying. All he could think about was how to get more food and have a proper meal.

The group began discussing whether to continue to Base 11, head to a different base, or find the nearest human field troops.

Suddenly, Chen Gu pulled the holographic map towards him and pointed to a bright red marker. "Is this an insect nest?" he asked.

Ma Shuwen didn't pay it much mind. "That's Insect Nest One, the primary target of the three armies' offensive," she explained. "According to our war satellite scans, there are about one hundred and twenty Troop Nest Beetles inside. Some satellite imagery also suggests they might be using the terrain to conceal a gigantic egg. The staff in the Central Operations Room hypothesize it could be the Insect Race's ultimate ground warfare weapon: the Combat King Bug!"

Chen Gu's heart skipped a beat. An uncontrollable urge surged within him, making him want to head straight for Insect Nest One.

The Combat King Bug! Just the name sounds delicious!

According to the map, they were only a little over five hundred kilometers from Insect Nest One.

When they left the Roaring Mecha Regiment, they weren't too far from Insect Nest One. After returning to the temporary base, heading out again, and all the random running about, they had somehow, by a stroke of luck, ended up even closer to it.

The Roaring Mecha Regiment, being a large combat unit, had to consider the terrain's impact on their march, so they couldn't advance in a straight line. However, as Professionals, if they set out now, only five hundred kilometers would separate them from Insect Nest One.

After Ma Shuwen explained a few things to Chen Gu, she resumed discussing their next course of action with the others. Chen Gu firmly raised his hand. "If you ask me, we head for Insect Nest One!

"Didn't you say earlier that three armies are attacking Insect Nest One? If we get there first and take it out, then wait for the three great armies to come marching in, only to find—ta-da!—nothing's left, imagine the look on their faces?

"Otherwise, it wouldn't showcase the true capabilities of us Professionals!"

With his own little scheme in mind, Chen Gu gestured expansively, his tone rather grandiose.

But when he finished speaking, everyone, including Gong Shuxu, stared at him with the exact same expression.

Chen Gu was familiar with that look; it was the same one he gave Ossosa when he thought the guy was a complete idiot.

Uh... Chen, the Great Actor, now starved and delirious, still didn't see anything amiss with what he had just said. It was clearly a sincere and rousing pre-battle pep talk!

Gong Shuxu coughed, then said admiringly, "Even though I'm at the Sixth Energy Level, I wouldn't dare approach an insect nest, even at my peak."

Gong Shuxu's Energy Level allowed his skills to cover an entire nest. However, an insect nest teems with a vast number and variety of insects.

Amidst the Troop Nest Beetles, who knew what kinds of embryonic insects lay hidden?

It wasn't unheard of in history for powerful Professionals, finding themselves in an unfavorable battle, to venture alone into insect nests. They were then killed by Troop Nest Beetles that had hastily cultivated specialized insects to counteract their skills.

A being like Aviloya was, after all, exceedingly rare.

Otherwise, why would the battles between humans and the Alien Insect Race be so passive? If they could just pinpoint the nests' locations and air-drop a high-Energy-Level Professional, the problem would be solved.

The fact that Chen Gu had previously destroyed two nests was merely a stroke of luck. He simply hadn't encountered any insects perfectly suited to counter his abilities.

Moreover, since Chen Gu possessed more than one profession, it was almost impossible for the insects to completely counter him.

His pronouncements naturally left Ma Shuwen and the others utterly astonished. After Gong Shuxu spoke, everyone ignored Chen Gu and resumed discussing their next destination. They didn't even consider the suicidal option of "charging straight into the dragon's lair" to attack Insect Nest One.

When Gong Shuxu had said that, he was, subjectively, giving Chen Gu an out, trying not to be too blunt: You're crazy, kid!

And since Chen Gu had just saved everyone, the others also preserved Great Actor Chen's dignity.

But that was genuinely what Chen Gu was thinking. He even considered breaking away from the group to go to Insect Nest One by himself.

It could only be said that Chen Gu, at that moment, was driven mad by hunger...

Yet, if he really left the group, that old fox Gong Shuxu would probably become extremely vigilant, worrying, Is this potential Mutant planning to escape?

In the end, Gong Shuxu and Ma Shuwen decided: they would head to the more distant Base 9.

Seeking out the field army risked drawing the Mutant swarm behind them, which could cause significant losses to the troops. Their sense of responsibility wouldn't allow them to do that.

If they went to Base 11, they feared Boles might be there with the Mutant swarm, setting a trap.

Base 9 was over thirteen hundred kilometers from their current location and also had an aircraft. So, after weighing their options, they made this decision.

"Let's move out," Gong Shuxu declared. His wounds had healed considerably, and he began giving orders with the air of a Sixth Energy Level expert.

Chen Gu trailed behind the others, sullen and dispirited. After walking for a while, he started to stoop, his back hunched, looking as if hunger had completely drained his strength.

Ma Shuwen looked at Gong Shuxu helplessly. The old man, too, wondered, Why is this fellow so lazy? Still, they owed Chen Gu three times over, not to mention he had just saved all their lives. They couldn't just ignore him.

The old man coughed. "Do you have any other ideas for finding food? Let's be clear: going to Insect Nest One is definitely not an option."

Chen Gu perked up slightly. "If we could find some Energy Gathering Mechanical Species, that might alleviate the hunger a bit."

He was truly famished and blurted this out without thinking.

Ma Shuwen and the others were surprised. "How do you know this planet has Energy Gathering Mechanical Species?"

Chen Gu, dazed with hunger, mumbled, "Yeah, there are... but they're all underground..." He hadn't finished speaking when he saw Gong Shuxu and a few others suddenly exchange strange looks, their expressions shifting as if they'd remembered something.

Gong Shuxu took a step forward and asked gravely, "Was there a time when you were starving and ate some Energy Gathering Mechanical Species? Specifically... two of them?"

Chen Gu looked even more surprised than they did. "You actually found out?"

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