Apocalypse Architect: A Tower Defense LitRPG

Chapter 172: Cooperation

The scout stared at Jax, utterly speechless.

He had dealt with stubborn warlords and desperate survivors before, but he had never encountered anyone quite like this. Jax was a tough nut to crack—a rolling stone that gathered no moss and seemingly refused to listen to reason.

The intelligence he held was top-secret, obtained at the cost of significant time and near-fatal risks. If luck hadn’t been on his side, he wouldn’t be standing here right now.

However, seeing that his boss, Zhao Chen, remained silent, the scout could only sigh and nod.

“Fine,” the scout grunted. “I’ll tell you about the Broodmother.”

“The target is currently nesting in the Skysea Tower in the central district,” the scout explained, his voice grim. “The surrounding structures have been completely overrun by its larvae. Based on my recon, they are in the final stages of incubation. We’re on a strict clock. In approximately two days, they hatch. If we don’t exterminate them by then, The Forgotten City will be swallowed by the swarm.”

Jax listened intently as the scout elaborated on the life cycle of the threat. The pieces of the puzzle clicked into place.

He had wondered why a ruin as large as The Forgotten City was devoid of the usual roaming Insect Swarms. The answer was a localized apex predator: a Tier 7 Parasitic Silkworm.

It was a biological nightmare. Massive, ancient, and evolved through multiple cycles of consumption, the Tier 7 variant didn’t just kill; it infested. Its primary method of propagation was parasitism—injecting its young into the bodies of other beasts. The larvae would devour the host from the inside out before bursting forth to repeat the cycle.

Jax felt a dull headache building. Dealing with giant bugs was one thing; dealing with a rapidly multiplying parasitic plague was another.

The most terrifying aspect was its reproductive rate. Once it reached its adult stage, the Silkworm became a factory of death. Incomplete statistics suggested it laid over a million eggs daily, a process that had been ongoing for months.

Practically every dormant insect beast in the city was likely a host, waiting to burst.

Once those eggs hatched, a tidal wave of hunger would sweep through the ruins. Zhao Chen and his scavengers were safe for the moment, but that safety had an expiration date of forty-eight hours. If the larvae were allowed to consume their hosts and evolve, the city would be flooded with millions of Tier 5 and Tier 6 monstrosities.

It would be a living hell. No one would survive.

As the gravity of the situation settled, Jax mentally pulled up his interface.

A new notification pulsed on the dashboard. Jax’s eyes widened slightly.

An A-Rank mission?

It had been ages since the System generated a high-tier quest. Opportunities like this were rare; missing it wasn’t an option.

Jax didn’t hesitate. He navigated to the shop and dropped 1,000 Tier 3 Cores to purchase the [Bounty Protocol].

[System Alert: A-Rank Bounty Protocol Activated.]

[Target: Hunt the Tier 7 Parasitic Silkworm.]

[Time Limit: 72 Hours.]

[Mission Reward: Active Skill Extraction Card x1.]

[Failure Penalty: Total Experience Wipe (Current Level Reset).]

Jax froze as he read the penalty.

Total Experience Wipe?

The stakes were incredibly high, but his eyes locked onto the reward.

An Active Skill Extraction Card? Good grief. aside from Aero-Step and the Holo-Decoys, I don’t have a single offensive active skill. Everything else is passive or utility. If I can pull a combat skill from this…

His heart burned with anticipation. But then, the reality of the difficulty setting washed over him like a bucket of ice water.

Three days to kill a Tier 7 Boss? I’m not even sure my current firepower can scratch it.

Jax fell into deep thought, his gaze drifting toward the scruffy scavenger leader beside him.

“How about we cooperate?” Jax asked suddenly.

Zhao Chen blinked. He had assumed Jax would cut his losses and run the moment he heard ‘Tier 7.’ But once again, this outsider refused to follow the script.

“Huh?” Zhao Chen frowned. “You want to help us fight that thing? Shouldn’t you be starting your engines and getting the hell out of here?”

Zhao Chen had only offered the intel to save face, expecting the terrifying reality to scare Jax off. Any sane person would flee.

“Wait,” Zhao Chen paused, processing Jax’s words. “What did you just say?”

“Was I stuttering?” Jax said calmly. “I said, let’s join forces and kill the Silkworm.”

“…”

Zhao Chen stared at him. “You realize it’s not just one bug, right? It’s hundreds of millions of eggs.”

“I think you misunderstood,” Jax corrected. “I’m talking about killing the Tier 7 Parasitic Silkworm. The Broodmother. Not the eggs.”

Zhao Chen’s eyes nearly popped out of his skull. “You… you’re insane! That’s a Tier 7 monster! Why would you provoke it? Do you have a death wish?”

Jax smiled, a cocky, dangerous glint in his eye. “I know exactly how dangerous it is. But high risk means high reward. Don’t tell me you don’t want that thing dead?”

Zhao Chen stammered, caught off guard. “Well, yes, obviously! But… what are we supposed to fight it with? We don’t have the firepower!”

He slapped his forehead, a look of sudden realization dawning on his face as he looked past Jax toward the heavy trucks of the convoy.

“Wait… don’t tell me you brought Defense Towers with you?”

Jax spread his hands in a helpless shrug. “Sorry. Didn’t bring a single one.”

“What?! No towers?” Zhao Chen’s voice cracked. “Then how do you plan to kill a Tier 7 Boss? With those rifles? You’re dreaming! Without heavy stationary defense, we won’t even get within a kilometer of Skysea Tower!”

“I don’t have them,” Jax said, cutting him off. “But you do. Stop wasting time. Are we doing this or not?”

Zhao Chen fell silent.

He wanted the Silkworm dead. He knew better than anyone that its existence was a death sentence for his people. But a Tier 7…

Even a Tier 5 beast was a struggle for his crew. The Defense Towers they possessed were garbage—decommissioned scrap salvaged from other cities, barely functioning junk that struggled against Tier 3 fodder. Asking those rusted turrets to take down a Tier 7 legend was like trying to stop a tank with a slingshot.

Zhao Chen studied Jax for a long time, searching for any sign of hesitation.

“Are you strictly serious about this?”

“Dead serious,” Jax replied.

He had no choice. The mission was accepted. If he failed, his EXP bar—which he had painstakingly filled to the brink of the Senior Builder upgrade—would be emptied. He couldn’t let that effort go to waste. He had to fight.

“Fine,” Zhao Chen sighed, defeated by Jax’s sheer confidence. “If you’re intent on suicide, I guess we’re allies. What about your men?”

Jax nodded at the standoff. ” Since we’re cooperating, let’s lower the guns.”

Zhao Chen let out a long breath. This Jax guy really didn’t give an inch.

He turned to his tense crew. “I’m going to count to three! Everyone stands down! We are now allies with… this brother! Don’t point guns at our own side!”

Zhao Chen raised his hand.

“One!”

“Two!”

“Three!”

Clatter.

The sound of weapons being lowered rippled through the street, followed by a collective exhale. Sweat dripped from foreheads on both sides; the tension had been thick enough to choke on. Fortunately, no trigger had been pulled.

Jax looked at Zhao Chen with satisfaction. “Good. Now, take me to Skysea Tower. I need to see what we’re up against.”