While the Devourer raised his hand, his breastplate suddenly cracked open, revealing a ten-centimeter square window. A matchbox-sized metal block rose from within, covered in dozens of tiny round holes.

The Devourer brought his hand close to the metal block. The hair-like tentacles from the crack in his palm wriggled and burrowed into the holes. Then, the metal block clicked softly and began to flash red.

Seeing this, the Devourer turned to Li Chenzhou and laughed maniacally. At the same time, the large door slammed shut, the lights in the laboratory began to flicker, and a rapid alarm sounded.

"Crap!"

Li Chenzhou was shocked. He realized the Devourer must have activated a self-destruct program, which was why he said he wouldn't see the humans conquered.

Li Chenzhou had avoided entering the lab, fearing a trap. But when the Devourer revealed the beam gun and attacked, he used Fatal Raid. Although he successfully wounded the Devourer, he was pulled into the lab and now trapped.

Looking at the door, Li Chenzhou fired a hand cannon. As expected, the door was undamaged, with only a black mark from the blast.

"Hahahaha! Stupid human, don't bother hoping. Die with me! An ant like you is honored to be buried with a high-level being like me! In five minutes, you'll be reduced to ashes with me! Enjoy the fear before death!"

Seeing Li Chenzhou's actions, the Devourer on the ground laughed hysterically, shouting, "Or come here and let me devour you. I might consider extending the time a little longer! But you will experience even greater pain, hahaha, human, choose for yourself. Savor your last five minutes or use your pain to add a few more minutes to your life?"

"Five minutes?"

Li Chenzhou's heart stirred, and he felt much more confident.

He had used Fatal Raid, so the skill was on cooldown. But the back-and-forth with the Devourer had taken over five minutes, and Fatal Raid would be ready in just over four.

If he could use Fatal Raid, the door couldn't stop him. After all, it was a space-based skill that could transport him outside!

Of course, Li Chenzhou didn't know the power of the self-destruct. Even if the skill cooled down, he'd have only a few seconds to escape. Whether he could escape the blast radius was unknown, but at least there was hope.

"Devour? How does that work?"

Li Chenzhou calmed down and asked the Devourer, feigning curiosity.

"You don't know?"

Li Chenzhou's question seemed to surprise the Devourer. His manic face stiffened, and he stared at Li Chenzhou. "You don't know how we devour, but you know our name?"

Li Chenzhou frowned at the Devourer's expression. Was the Devourer's devouring method famous? Did everyone who knew them know about devouring?

Of course, Li Chenzhou wouldn't answer. He glared at the Devourer and turned to the lab equipment.

He'd never seen any of it before. Some had screens with strange patterns and writing he didn't recognize – the Devourer language.

"Their writing?"

Li Chenzhou's body shook.

If the Devourers had their own language, why could this one speak human languages?

He communicated with the Devourer in Mandarin. But according to the Devourer, humans were just food. Would any creature learn the language of its food? What was the point?

Li Chenzhou had eaten so much pork but never cared about the meaning of a pig's squeals!

"Don't bother looking. After the self-destruct, everything here will turn to ashes, including you!" the Devourer sneered. "Our things aren't for you low-level creatures to understand or obtain. Even if they're in front of you, you wouldn't know how to use them, hahaha! Poor guy, you'll never know how big the difference is between us."

"But...at least not everything! Right?"

Hearing the Devourer, Li Chenzhou didn't get angry. He came to the Devourer, squatted down, and looked at him.

"Hahahaha! Figured it out? Ready to use pain to extend your life?"

Li Chenzhou's actions seemed to be misunderstood. The Devourer laughed. "Okay, I won't refuse a delicious taste before death! Come on!"

The Devourer raised his other hand, also with a tentacle-filled crack in the palm, and pressed it toward Li Chenzhou's arm.

Li Chenzhou grabbed the other beam gun near the Devourer, dodged his hand, and said, "You misunderstand. I just want to tell you that we humans can use your things too."

Li Chenzhou quickly patted the Devourer down, finding nothing. He stood up, looked at the two beam guns, and flicked something on one.

"Zzz!"

The sound of electricity crackled again, and Li Chenzhou smiled. He pointed the gun at the Devourer. "See? Doesn't seem too hard! Right? Thanks for the gun!"

"Human! Kill me! You're going to be buried with me anyway!"

The Devourer stared at Li Chenzhou, his dark gold pupils full of violence and venom, but no fear.

Li Chenzhou's heart sank. The Devourer showed no fear, even in this situation. This was a crazy race that disregarded not only the lives of other creatures, but even their own!

Such enemies were crazy and cruel, and no one wanted to face them. But they were humanity's destined enemy.

"I won't kill you. And soon, I'll send you a big gift. I hope you don't get mad enough to die..."

After aiming at the Devourer for a few seconds, Li Chenzhou suddenly put away the beam gun, looked at the Devourer, and smiled mockingly...