Chapter Forty-Seven: The Seventh Corpse Catcher?

Under the relentless lashing of the vines, the queen bee's wings were broken, rendering her completely incapable of flight.

Seeing how easily Liana had defeated the queen, Joe and Zera burst into jubilant cheers.

Zera's delight sprang entirely from witnessing Liana's ferocity; his chances of survival had suddenly soared! Moreover, once he returned Liana's family, he might even forge a connection with such a formidable corpse hunter... Perhaps, after sharing the perils of this adventure, Liana would remember their life-and-death struggle and lend him a hand if the Underflow Organization ever came after him.

Zera also suspected Liana's evolution had much to do with his final words to her! If that were true, he had helped a major figure from the Four Great Stars reunite with a daughter lost for over twenty years. How would such a person thank him? Maybe the villa on the Great Wave Star he'd always dreamed of was finally within reach.

Letting his imagination run further, with Ye Hai now dead, Liana was practically a widow. Was it not his duty to care for his brother's bereaved wife, having shared hardships and camaraderie? With his well-honed skill at living off others, who knew—he might just become the son-in-law of a major figure from the Four Great Stars, soaring to the upper echelons of the galactic elite!

Mere moments ago, Zera had been preoccupied with life and death, yet now new ambitions blossomed within him... Truly, he was an incorrigible optimist!

Joe, on the other hand, was thrilled at having gained such a powerful corpse hunter on this outing with Ye Hai—even though Ye Hai had perished, Liana seemed even stronger in Joe’s eyes. And now, with Ye Hai gone, all the credit would fall to him, especially since he had helped Liana evolve by confronting the queen bee head-on.

His contributions surely outweighed his mistakes; his enigmatic employer, Mr. Crow, would certainly reward him handsomely. Perhaps he could even request a bit more "Solar Staircase Primal Virus" from him!

As for Ye Hai, Joe felt he'd already mourned for several seconds at his friend's passing—that was enough to settle the debt between friends. Besides, he had already saved Ye Hai's life once; if he failed to do so a second time, did it really matter? Hardly. Life on the Zombie Star had made people numb to farewells. Most were no longer overly saddened by the sudden death of a friend.

Joe reckoned that if he had died the night before, Ye Hai would have simply dug a hole and buried him, fulfilling his duty—nothing more.

Suddenly remembering Ye Hai, Joe stiffened, glanced around, and quickly grabbed Zera.

"Zera, where’s Ye Hai’s body? And what about Javier, who was nearly dead?"

Only then did Zera realize two of their companions—one dead, one grievously wounded—were missing. After a brief search, they found only the thoroughly wrecked T-103 Tyrant.

As the two exchanged bewildered looks...

The queen bee’s body and abdomen were bound tight by a mass of vines. At her narrowest point, Liana struck with brutal force—splitting the queen in two. Witnessing this, Zera and Joe clenched their fists in triumph. Their perilous journey through the radiated lands had ended in victory.

But just as excitement overwhelmed them, Liana suddenly screamed, "Get down!"—her voice laced with terror.

No sooner had the words left her mouth than a tremendous explosion sounded from where vines covered the queen's corpse. In an instant, Joe and Zera's vision turned white, the blinding flash searing their eyes with pain. They reflexively shielded their faces, but a powerful blast enveloped them, agony ripping through their bodies.

Though infected by the T-virus and wracked with pain, Joe managed to remain conscious. Zera, however, passed out at once.

Just as Joe felt he too might be torn apart by the explosion, thick vines erupted from the ground before him. As one was destroyed, another rose to take its place. When the shockwaves finally subsided, the vines withstood the force, forming a sturdy wall before Joe and Zera.

Zera, back from the brink of death, coughed up blood and collapsed, his body riddled with fractures.

Liana emerged from the vine wall, her right side obliterated by the blast. Leaning on the vines with her mangled body, they quickly wrapped around her, writhing and pulsing. After a while, the vines withered and fell away as dead branches—and Liana stood there, wholly restored.

Joe could not help but marvel at the Veronica Virus’s regenerative powers. Yet though her body had healed, Liana was left gasping for breath, clearly drained by the effort.

As Joe lay sprawled on the ground, a crystalline queen bee slowly rose in the distance, glowing with a faint blue light. The face that had once rested between her compound eyes now appeared on her chest.

Beneath that face was a complete human body, embedded within the crystalline queen, standing tall with eyes closed—an eerie sight.

Suddenly, the crystal queen raised her tail, aiming at Joe and Liana. Liana, her back to the queen, failed to notice the movement.

"Watch out!" Joe shouted through gritted teeth.

Startled, Liana turned skyward just in time to see a pale blue electric beam, meters wide, lance out from the queen’s tail. Instantly, Liana summoned a wall of vines in defense, but the moment they touched the beam, they vaporized like paper before a flame—utterly ineffective.

It seemed certain that Joe, Liana, and the unconscious Zera would be reduced to ashes.

At that critical moment, a figure flashed before them, spreading a luminous shield that soared upward, sheltering them all.

The queen bee’s tail cannon smashed against the barrier, unleashing a torrent of destructive force—the earth shook and roared. Yet the shield before them stood firm, immovable.

In the aftermath of this titanic clash, the unleashed energy carved gorges ten meters deep on either side of the shield, leaving the group stranded on an island of earth.

The newcomer withdrew the shield, extended a hand toward the crystalline queen above. Liquid metal spiraled up his arm, forming a gleaming silver 150MM shoulder-mounted cannon, which fired at once.

The queen, caught off guard by this swift retaliation, had no time to react. The shell struck home, blowing away more than a third of her abdomen. Wailing, she crashed to the ground.

Seeing his attack land, the newcomer turned to eye Joe and Liana, grinning broadly.

“Well! You two look like hell!”

Joe’s eyes widened in disbelief. “Javier?! You… injected the T-virus solution?”