Ma Lu was contemplating whether to risk a charge, trying to leap into the Bloodsucking Tail Weasel group and cause havoc before Wei Cha and the others made their move.
But who knew that another change would happen!
Just when many people had breathed a sigh of relief, thinking the crisis was past, a sudden vibration came from beneath them.
Then, the sand and stones churned, and weird lines suddenly rose from the ground, resembling the veins on an arm.
However, unlike veins, those were still writhing incessantly, dense and close-packed, enough to make one's scalp tingle.
Wang Zhen's complexion drastically changed as if he had remembered something, and exclaimed, "Not good, it's an Alien-Lipped Sand Worm Swarm!"
Ma Lu also received a notification from his Traveler's Bracelet, but he didn't understand why Wang Zhen was so nervous.
The Alien-Lipped Sand Worm was a 1-star ingredient, on the same level as the Young Flame Lizard.
According to the guide, it looked almost the same as an ordinary earthworm, just larger, and its mouth didn't have teeth either, so its attack power should be very limited.
However, upon hearing Wang Zhen's words, Ma Lu found that despair was written on the faces of those around him.
Even Hulk murmured, "It's over, we're finished this time!"
"What's finished?" Ma Lu asked.
"It's an Alien-Lipped Sand Worm Swarm! We're doomed!!! Even if Captain Wei Cha takes action, he can't save us!"
Hulk's eyes were lifeless, as if he was a step from heaven, and behind him, Methe had already curled up into a ball, trembling violently.
"Why are we doomed?" Ma Lu continued to press for answers, yet the vibration below had intensified.
Immediately after, the ground collapsed, forming a giant pit with a diameter of about thirty meters.
But that was not the end, as the collapse at the center of the giant pit continued and picked up speed.
The group tried to drive their motorcycles away, but without realizing it, their tracks were already trapped in the sand.
Thousands of Alien-Lipped Sand Worms were vigorously swimming beneath the sand pit, their movement expanded the gaps between the sand grains, liquifying the surface sand. The slightest pressure would cause it to rapidly sink.
Ma Lu now understood why Wang Zhen and the others were so afraid of these 1-star ingredients.
The Traveler's Bracelet was once again flooded with incessant notification messages, and this time, he really couldn't keep up with the blessings.
Seeing the 60-second countdown was almost up, Ma Lu got a bit anxious, so he used a trick from his school days and shouted loudly.
"Quick, select C for all of them!"
In the final moments, the Traveler's Bracelet seemed to understand his command, and the screen started flashing wildly, while the character status bar kept growing longer.
Since the Alien-Lipped Sand Worms were only 1-star ingredients, unless the effect of the jackpot heartbeats was active, killing them would only yield White Blessings.
But it couldn't withstand the sheer number.
After checking, Ma Lu found that his character status bar had 16 pages, but the actual number of blessings was even more—they just weren't listed anymore since the White Blessing pool had been drained, and selecting the same blessing again would enhance the existing one instead of taking up more space.
So Ma Lu wasn't clear about how many blessings he had gathered from that wave; he only knew there was a sea of white, sprinkled with a small amount of blue, an even smaller amount of purple, and a touch of gold.
These higher-quality blessings definitely weren't provided by the mere 1-star Alien-Lipped Sand Worms, they were probably burst out from other wild beasts that fell into the trap sand pit.
As for who was so generous, it was impossible to verify by now, and it wasn't important; the collapse of the sand pit had finally stopped.
Although there might still be some living Alien-Lipped Sand Worms below, their ranks had collapsed due to the heavy casualties, and they could no longer cause the sand pit to keep sinking.
Seizing the opportunity, everyone hurriedly escaped.
Seeing the sun above their heads once again, some couldn't help but shed tears, and then they fell into a 10-second state of blindness under the effect of [Strong Light Hurts Eyes], unable to see anything.
But thankfully, they were now close to the city gates, and Wei Cha and others had arrived by this time as well.
The leader of the Flame Fang Hunting Group, Wei Cha, had not taken his eyes off Ma Lu, his gaze filled with unconcealed appreciation for talent.
A hero indeed appreciated another hero.
Wei Cha, who enjoyed burning everything with fierce flames, always had a special preference for hunters with large-area clearing skills, not to mention that the terrifying attack power and endurance that Ma Lu had just shown had left him with an incredibly deep impression.
If he could have such a helper, the Flame Fang's push for becoming a Diamond Hunting Group would be much more assured.
However, before Wei Cha could extend an invitation, his view was blocked by a figure.
"Captain Wei, long time no see," Boggy said.
Wei Cha then saw Boggy and nodded at him, "Your Hunting Group has developed nicely; if your father were still alive, he would certainly be proud of you."