Chapter 253 - 156: Hatching the Nest, Tier Two Zerg Eggs in the Meat Tower
Chapter 253: Chapter 156: Hatching the Nest, Tier Two Zerg Eggs in the Meat Tower
Ling Yi coughed lightly and explained in detail:
"It’s not that useful. The conditions for using it are too strict."
"Right now, I can only control seven Tier Two Tiger Spine Zergs at most. The distance can’t be too great, it only lasts for half an hour, and the cooldown is also half an hour. It’s no match for your direct combat power."
"Plus, I have to use it far away from the Mother Empress. Otherwise, not only will I lose control of them, but she’ll also sense me with her spirit, and I’ll be completely exposed."
Lin Feng revealed a slight smile and pointed to the Hive entrance:
"No problem."
"Let’s hurry up and get started."
"Half an hour is more than enough time for us to work!"
Ling Yi nodded. Under the protection of Lin Feng and the others, she slowly walked toward the Hive entrance. A golden light flashed in her eyes as her Spiritual Power, aided by her Mental Realm, rippled outward.
Although she was only Lv. 20, her Spiritual Attribute had already broken its limit, reaching 390—the maximum for the Tier Two Early Stage. This was far beyond what ordinary Awakeners and Level 2 Zerg Race could compare to.
After Ling Yi activated her Spirit Manipulation, a flash of bright yellow flickered in the eyes of the Tier Two Tiger Spine Zergs guarding both sides of the entrance, and they all moved aside.
The Mother Empress’s Spiritual Control was like an invisible net cast over the entire Swarm, but it clearly couldn’t pay attention to every single Zerg individually.
Although the Mother Empress’s Spiritual Attribute Value was in the thousands, when spread out across all the Tier Two Zerg Race, it was no match for Ling Yi’s focused control.
Plus, as a Mother Empress Avatar, she was already an old hand at manipulating Tier Two Tiger Spine Zergs.
In just over ten seconds, Ling Yi seized control from the local Mother Empress and successfully took command of the five Tiger Spine Zergs before her.
Then, led by Ling Yi, the Tier Two Corps team cautiously stepped into the Hive.
Inside, they saw Tiger Spine Zergs standing motionlessly on either side of the entrance, like lifeless statues.
However, the ferocity they radiated still made the team members raise their Shotguns and take aim.
Ling Yi turned around and said calmly:
"Relax, they’re no longer a threat."
As she spoke, she issued a command to the Tiger Spine Zerg Swarm:
"Go, block the entrance for me!"
The Hive’s entrance was only about fifteen meters wide, so a single Tiger Spine Zerg could block it completely. As long as the entrance was sealed, they would have plenty of time to gather resources.
The moment she finished speaking, the controlled Tiger Spine Zergs sprang into action. One by one, they curled up their bodies and squeezed into the relatively narrow entrance.
Seeing the obedient Tiger Spine Zergs, the team members no longer had any doubts, and looks of admiration appeared on their faces.
Killing Tiger Spine Zergs wasn’t difficult for them, but inside the Underground Zerg Nest, a control-type Spiritual Superpower was clearly more effective than simple brute force.
For example, they now had plenty of time and energy to scout the entire Hive.
Ling Yi took the lead and entered the interior.
Lin Feng signaled to Shen Jie, instructing him to have the seven team members split into pairs to scout the area.
Although there was also that green slime inside the Hive, emitting a faint glow, the cavern was so vast that—just like below the first line of defense—the scattered, weak light sources only allowed them to see things within ten meters.
And in Lin Feng’s Mind Sensing, there was only a large patch of light in the darkness ahead.
He couldn’t pinpoint the location of the Tier Two Zerg Eggs.
So they needed to split up for now to expand their search area and speed up the process.
The seven members plus Captain Shen Jie formed exactly four teams. Lin Feng, naturally, had to stick close to Ling Yi, forming a fifth team to prevent her from hogging all the loot.
Ling Yi glanced over, seeing right through Lin Feng’s little scheme. She just smiled faintly and began to explain as they walked:
"This Second-Level Hive serves as a Hatching Nest, about four to five square kilometers in size. Most of it is made up of mountain-of-flesh-like Biological Nests used to refine nutrients and inject them into the Tier Two Zerg Eggs. There are also piles of Tier Two Giant Mandibles, which help the Tiger Spine Zergs reach their final form."
"The area where the Tier Two Zerg Eggs are actually kept is in a hidden corner at the very back."
"Over there, there are also some small Wormholes that only the Black Spine Zergs know about. When they advance to Tier One Late Stage Perfection, they pass through these small holes to reach the hatching chamber, where they shed their shells one last time, cast off their armor to form cocoons, and gestate into new life."
Lin Feng’s brow furrowed. ’If that’s the case, doesn’t it mean a Lv. 19 Black Spine Zerg can become a Lv. 20 Tiger Spine Zerg without needing the energy for a Tier Jumping Upgrade?’
Ling Yi continued walking through the muddy Hive in a fixed direction. Noticing Lin Feng’s confusion, she explained:
"Don’t overthink it. It’s impossible for every Tier One Late Stage Perfection Black Spine Zerg to become a Tier Two Tiger Spine Zerg. First, it takes ten cocooned Black Spine Zergs to merge into a single Tier Two Zerg Egg. Second, less than half of those Tier Two Zerg Eggs successfully metamorphose into Tiger Spine Zergs."
"Assuming that out of ten thousand Black Spine Zergs, one thousand reach Tier One Peak, you’d end up with about fifty Tier Two Tiger Spine Zergs."
"A Tier Three Early-stage Mother Empress has only about two or three hundred Tier Two Tiger Spine Zergs, one thousand at the absolute most."
"At the same time, they’re also limited by the synthesis of Tier Two Giant Mandibles."
"With limited resources, the construction of Biological Nests and their production schedule are also limited. Everything needs to be allocated rationally."
"They’ll only go into full-scale production if they enter an environment like Taihu Lake, where they have access to abundant biomass resources."
Hearing this, Lin Feng suddenly realized something:
"Wait, if the Zerg Egg’s tissues liquefy..."
"When a Tier One Black Spine Zerg advances to a Tier Two Tiger Spine Zerg, is everything from its past forgotten? Is the Tiger Spine Zerg that hatches from the egg a newborn zerg?"