"You... How did you two get here?"

After adjusting to his normal human state, Shen Jie finally realized that Lin Feng and Ling Yi’s appearance was rather unusual.

Lin Feng coughed lightly and briefly explained the situation, mentioning the one-month countdown and that this was Shen Jie’s last chance.

After listening, Shen Jie wasn’t worried or distressed. Instead, a look of relief washed over his face, and he rallied his spirits.

"That’s good..."

"I don’t think I could’ve survived another attempt. Since you’re here to help this time, let’s just finish this!"

With that, Shen Jie stood up and looked toward the towering volcano just ahead, his gaze resolute.

"Life or death, it all comes down to this one chance!"

Lin Feng nodded and began asking for information.

"How many times have you been up there?"

"How much do you know about the King Spine Zerg’s power?"

Shen Jie thought for a moment.

"Twice. The first time, I had no experience. I went up, shouted into the crater, and got one-shotted by the King Spine Zerg. The second time, I was more prepared. I came up with a different plan, climbed to the crater’s edge at my Peak State, and lured it out. I dodged the attack from its bladed legs, but then its Giant Mandible smashed me several kilometers away. My bones were shattered, and I couldn’t move. The Black Spine Zergs ate me alive..."

"The High-tier King Spine Zerg is incredibly powerful. The main issue is that there’s no way to break its Defense. It’s just like the Tier Two Peak Tiger Spine Zergs from the Underground Nest—the Cannon only tickles it. You have to use the Tiger-toothed Chainsaw Sword."

Hearing his tragic story, Lin Feng could imagine the sense of hopeless despair.

He let out a soft sigh and turned to Ling Yi.

"Do you have any intel on this?"

"Breaking through the Defense of its Outer Armor is just the first step, isn’t it?"

Ling Yi nodded.

"Correct. Breaching its Outer Armor’s Defense is just the baseline. It proves we have a chance to inflict Damage on it."

"But to kill it for good, the first thing we have to deal with... is that!"

Following the direction Ling Yi pointed, Lin Feng and Shen Jie turned to see the majestic volcano right before them.

Lin Feng quickly understood and asked in disbelief:

"Are you saying we have to destroy the entire volcano? Obliterate the King Spine Zerg’s habitat?"

Ling Yi confirmed with utmost seriousness.

"Of course. An active volcano, rich in thermal energy, is the perfect habitat for a King Spine Zerg. It can absorb the Energy inside and make it its own. As long as it remains in the magma, it’s invincible. Even if it suffers severe Damage, like a severed limb, it can regenerate in an instant."

"And luring it out of the crater would be far more difficult than destroying the entire volcano."

"So, what we’re going to do is detonate this active volcano, which is already on the brink, and trigger a massive eruption!"

"We’ll blow up the entire Mental Realm!"

"The King Spine Zerg will actually be wounded by the violent Energy released from the eruption. Killing a weakened High-tier King Spine Zerg will be much easier than facing one at its full Power!"

Upon hearing Ling Yi’s insane plan, both Lin Feng and Shen Jie looked utterly incredulous.

Lin Feng took a deep breath, raising the gun in his left hand and aiming it halfway up the volcano’s slope.

"Are you sure that after the volcano erupts... the entire Mental Realm... won’t just collapse instantly?"

Ling Yi shrugged nonchalantly.

"Oh, it will."

After the blunt admission, he pointed at Shen Jie and continued.

"But as long as *he’s* alive, the collapse will slow down. It’ll probably give us just under an hour."

"And that’s our window of opportunity!"

"Don’t look at me like that. It’s your own fault for being too weak, especially you, Shen Jie. Even for powerful Tier Two Peak Tiger Spine Zergs, dozens of them start the High-tier Realm Trial together. They fight each other to the death here first, and only the victor gets to challenge the King Spine Zerg. The winner of that fight, naturally, becomes the new King Zerg."

"But you’re half-man, half-zerg. While your Spiritual Power was strong enough to start a Realm Trial, you just so happened to be there during the Underground Nest’s life-or-death crisis, which is why it was accidentally, and passively, activated for you..."

"So, it’s time to make a choice..."

"You can take the conventional approach—climb the mountain, fight the monster. But your chance of success is less than thirty percent!"

"Or, you can listen to my suggestion..."

"...destroy the Mental Realm World to lower the trial’s difficulty, and then risk it all in one final gamble. That way, you have at least a seventy percent chance of victory!"

After speaking, Ling Yi and Lin Feng...

...both turned to look at Shen Jie.