As the light faded, Wang Chen stood alert, scanning his surroundings.
Thanks to his Super Mech Armor, he could see clearly in the dark, even though the forest around him was almost pitch-black. He had entered a dark, twisted forest where the towering trees were like malevolent tree spirits. Their gnarled branches reached into the air, almost like ghostly hands reaching out for souls.
At that moment, the familiar voice of the World Will echoed in his mind:
[Congratulations, Player! You have successfully entered the Secret Realm Death's Forest.]
[Difficulty: Hard]
[Level Requirement: LV5-LV20]
[Current Participants: 1]
[Description: This vast forest, once teeming with life, was corrupted after the appearance of the Venomous Queen Bee. The forest's life force was drained, and it transformed into the Death's Forest.]
[Main Quest: You need to defeat the Venomous Queen Bee at the center, eliminate all worker bees, and destroy the hive.]
A rush of excitement filled Wang Chen. I'm the first to arrive! That meant he had a lot of advantages no one else had yet entered, and he would have the first choice of resources.
After quickly scanning the details about the Secret Realm, Wang Chen's excitement dimmed slightly.
"Venomous Queen Bee... Hard difficulty?" His mind raced as he recalled everything he knew about the creature. It was a level 15–20 monster, large and sluggish, specialized in reproduction, and practically immobile.
The Queen itself wasn't that scary, but the worker bees were a different story. They were capable of mutating by absorbing the characteristics of other monsters. After the Queen consumed a monster, the worker bees would inherit its traits, making them extremely dangerous.
Additionally, these worker bees moved in swarms and carried poison stingers. They were extremely hard to deal with. A typical adventurer would be utterly overwhelmed by their numbers, which was why clearing this realm typically required two level 20 players one to deal damage and the other to tank and prevent poisoning from surprise attacks.
Wang Chen, however, was only level 5.
But with a quick breath, he made his decision. I have my super armor. Those worker bees can't hurt me. I'll try my best if I can't handle it, I'll retreat. Simple as that.
He started walking forward, planning to draw out a small monster first and gauge its strength.
Not far ahead, he heard the buzzing of wings. As he moved closer, he saw a gruesome sight a pair of worker bees, each the size of a basketball, feasting on the corpse of a goblin beneath some strange, brightly-colored flowers.
The bees had grotesque faces resembling goblins, and their abdomens were dark green with markings. Instead of legs, they had several pairs of green arms holding bone maces and swords, stained with blood.
"Worker bees with goblin traits?" Wang Chen observed.
He checked their stats:
[Name]: Goblin Worker Bee
[Level]: LV10
[Strength]: 110
[Constitution]: 51
[Agility]: 25
[Spirit]: 18
[Skills]: Poison Stinger, Dive Attack, Bone Mace Thrust.
[Description]: Worker bees that inherit the cunning traits of goblins and are skilled with weapons. They have considerable strength.
Wang Chen frowned. These are only the minor monsters? He shuddered at the thought of the powerful Queen Bee's guards.
The moment the worker bees noticed him, they hissed and screeched, their mandibles snapping open. Blood and viscous slime sprayed from their mouths, and they surged toward him, clearly agitated.
The buzzing intensified as the bees rocketed toward him, their wings making a terrifying whirring sound.
"Such bad tempers. Let's see what you've got," Wang Chen muttered coldly, activating Super Mech Armor's Overload Mode.
A surge of crimson energy flowed through the armor, and Wang Chen's speed drastically increased. He extended his arm and grabbed one of the bees by its soft abdomen.
Bang!
Wang Chen effortlessly crushed the bee's abdomen with his hand. The bee's grotesque face twisted in agony, and it shrieked as its wings beat wildly. It swung its bone mace at him, but it bounced harmlessly off his armor.
Clang! Clang!
Wang Chen grinned. "It's not even leaving a dent." He had been testing the Super Mech Armor's durability, and it was proving much sturdier than he had expected. The bee's attacks didn't even faze him.
Crunch!
Wang Chen squeezed harder, and the bee's body crumpled under his grip.
The second worker bee, enraged, launched itself at him, but Wang Chen was faster. He slapped it out of the air with a single motion and then stomped on it.
Splatter!
Green blood splashed everywhere as the bee's body spasmed and then lay still.
[You have defeated a Goblin Worker Bee. You gained 330 experience!]
[You have defeated a Goblin Worker Bee. You gained 330 experience!]
[You have received Worker Bee Stinger x3!]
[You have received Worker Bee Fur x2!]
[You have leveled up to LV6!]
Wang Chen's eyes lit up. 330 experience per bee? That was incredible! He had only gotten 60 experience for killing a poisonous mushroom spider outside the Secret Realm.
The amount of loot was equally impressive. The materials dropped by the worker bees were far more valuable than those from the mushroom spiders.
"These materials can pay for my parents' medical bills and my sister's treatment! This is incredible!" Wang Chen grinned widely as he gathered the loot, feeling an immense sense of motivation.
As he collected the spoils, a wave of white light surrounded him.
[You have leveled up to LV6!]
The rush of power from leveling up felt amazing, and Wang Chen couldn't help but shudder in satisfaction. He was getting closer to level 10, which meant unlocking his Mechanical Construction skill!
With renewed energy, he continued forward. Along the way, he fought more worker bees some resembled scorpions, others ants, and a few were like leopards. Each defeat brought more materials and experience.
He was making his way toward the center of the forest, where he knew the enemies would be stronger. The Super Mech Armor's Overload Mode had already been active for some time, but it hadn't even reached its limit yet.
As he checked the progress bar for Overload Mode, he noticed it had already used up a bit more than half of its capacity. Fortunately, once the mode deactivated, it would recover slowly.
The moment he reached the center of the forest, he was greeted by a LV11 Goblin Worker Bee. He crushed it with ease, and once again, he was rewarded with a flood of experience points.
[You have leveled up to LV7!]
"Almost at level 10!" Wang Chen grinned, feeling his power growing. He also noticed the bee dropped a bronze-tier weapon.
Picking it up, he saw the following stats:
[Name]: Worker Bee Stinger
[Category]: Weapon
[Level]: Black Iron
[Attributes]: Strength +10, Spirit +9, Spell Crit Rate +15%
[Additional Effect]: Attacking with the stinger has a chance to paralyze or poison the enemy.[Description]: A venomous stinger from a worker bee, capable of dealing significant damage.
"Not bad," Wang Chen muttered. "This will fetch a good price... wait a second." He suddenly froze, a new realization striking him.
Looking at the upgrade options for his arm, his eyes widened with excitement.
[Arm Upgrade Paths]: Defense, Attack
[Defense Path]: Arm can now embed a whiteboard-level defensive weapon, granting new forms and abilities.
[Attack Path]: Arm can now embed a whiteboard-level offensive weapon, granting new forms and abilities.
"I have a weapon now. I can upgrade my arm!" Wang Chen thought, his excitement growing.
With a single thought, he fused the Worker Bee Stinger into his right arm.
No more slamming bees with his fists now, he had a weapon at his disposal. The fusion felt natural, and Wang Chen could already imagine how much more powerful he would become.
"Let's go. The real battle is just beginning."