Chapter 254 - 156: Hatching the Nest, Tier Two Zerg Eggs in the Meat Tower
Chapter 254: Chapter 156: Hatching the Nest, Tier Two Zerg Eggs in the Meat Tower
Ling Yi shrugged, unfazed.
"Of course. This is an evolutionary shortcut that doesn’t require killing High Tier life forms. Using Zerg biotechnology, the evolution from a low-level life form to Tier Two can be synthesized directly. The cost is a bit higher, but its advantage lies in standardizing the evolutionary model and shortening the time it takes to grow stronger."
By now, the two of them, along with the other team members, had located the massive Biological Nest inside the Hive.
They saw a massive biological factory resembling a mountain of flesh, its surface still writhing. A few scattered Red-Armored Beetles were nearby, injecting Nutrient Liquid from their abdomens into the structure.
A strange and unsettling feeling of horror...
...washed over them.
Before them was a giant, living life form!
Like a fungal colony or a jellyfish, it possessed no consciousness, mechanically executing certain behaviors etched into its very genes.
On Blue Star, genetics is primarily about heredity; all evolution aims to produce better offspring and ensure the continuation of the genes themselves. The Zerg Race, however, uses its advanced biotechnology to rewrite a life form’s genes as if programming code, assigning them new functions and tasks.
For example, there were biological apparatuses for purifying Nutrient Liquid to fuel evolution.
The culture medium it injected into the Tier Two Zerg Eggs provided the energy for the metamorphosis from a Tier One Black Spine Zerg.
There were also synthesis factories for the Outer Armor of the Tier Two Zerg Race. These factories collected the Shells of Tier One Late Stage Black Spine Zergs, broke them down, added other metallic minerals, and reconstituted the mixture to forge the solid Outer Armor of the Tiger Spine Zergs.
Though not as tough as the Tier Two Giant Mandible’s, this armor could withstand a direct hit from a portable missile.
Even a level 19 Shotgun, capable of destroying a building in a single blast, could only severely damage the Outer Armor of a Tier Two Tiger Spine Zerg.
As a basic combat unit and melee elite of the Tier Two Zerg Race, the Tier Two Tiger Spine Zerg’s creation no longer relied on natural growth.
Instead, through countless eons of iteration, their creation had evolved into a highly efficient, modular assembly process with a clear division of labor.
Ling Yi explained as they walked, a hint of pride in her voice. This was the strength of the Zerg Race’s civilization.
"The greatest benefit of mass production is that it guarantees a minimum performance baseline for the Tier Two Tiger Spine Zergs, ensuring they always remain above an acceptable standard."
"Furthermore, this method is extremely fast—several times faster than a Mother Empress directly synthesizing Tier Two Zerg Eggs."
"This is why the Mother Empress doesn’t produce Tier Two Zerg Eggs directly. She can only gestate about twenty or so a day, making it far more cost-effective to produce ordinary Zerg Eggs."
"As for the new types of Tier Two Zerg Race, those are created after the Mother Empress advances. In the Mental Realm, she receives more genetic legacies and additional bio-fusion techniques, allowing her to synthesize and hatch them directly."
"There’s no larval stage to speak of."
Seeing no other humans near Lin Feng, Ling Yi no longer held back, laying bare the inner workings of the Zerg Race.
And so, they finally arrived at their destination.
Not far ahead, a gargantuan, fleshy pyramid loomed before them. Its base was a full five hundred meters wide, and its entire body emanated a faint glow.
It looked strangely solemn and majestic.
If not for the brownish-red, fleshy surface that was slowly contracting and writhing, Lin Feng might have mistaken it for the ruin of some ancient civilization.
And there, embedded in the surface of this glowing mountain of flesh, were the Tier Two Zerg Eggs they had been so desperate to find!
The Zerg Eggs were half-enveloped by the fleshy mountain, with a dozen or so nutrient tubes inserted into their tops and sides. The other half of each egg was exposed to the air.
The faint glow originated from the blood vessels transporting Nutrient Liquid, which connected to the transparent biological membranes on the surface of the Tier Two Zerg Eggs.
These vessels, in turn, illuminated the eggs’ internal structures.
This made it possible to see clearly how far each Tier Two Zerg Egg had developed.
Some were still just a swirling mass of thick, organic fluid, while others had already begun to take shape, bearing the nascent form of a Tiger Zerg.
It was like candling an egg to observe the chick developing inside.
At that moment, Lin Feng counted the Tier Two Zerg Eggs embedded on the face of the fleshy mountain before him. There were two hundred and ten on his side alone. If all four faces were the same, that meant there was a total of eight hundred and forty!
The bottom row contained twenty Tier Two Zerg Eggs, with each row above it decreasing sequentially, forming an arithmetic progression.
Lin Feng calculated the sum with just a single glance.
’However, it’s impossible for a Tier Three Early Stage Mother Empress to have so many Tier Two Zerg Eggs.’
’For one, she only has tens of thousands of Low-tier Black Spine Zergs under her command. Within a given period, they could produce five hundred Tier Two Zerg Eggs at most.’
’Furthermore, she wouldn’t be able to control so many Tier Two Tiger Spine Zergs.’
This perfectly confirmed Ling Yi’s speculation...
The Hai City Mother Empress was handing over all production of Tier Two Tiger Spine Zergs to her allied Mother Empress from North of the River, while she herself focused all her energy on hatching and synthesizing a new Tier Two Zerg Race.
When the time came, the two Zerg broods would cooperate again, defeating and consuming the human defenders blocking their path in one fell swoop.
Then, they would push into Taihu Lake, completing their next stage of expansion!
Lin Feng’s Invincible Fleet was about to face its most difficult challenge yet.
Thousands of Tiger Spine Zergs in pursuit,
and a relentless bombardment from hundreds of the new Tier Two Zerg Race!
Just as everyone’s hearts were pounding at the sight of so many Tier Two Zerg Eggs...
Suddenly, Ling Yi’s expression changed. Her face grew tense as she stared intently at the area behind the Hatching Nest pyramid. She began to edge closer to Lin Feng...
...and warned aloud:
"Watch out! There are other guards!"
Just then, from the deep darkness beyond the reach of the fleshy tower’s faint glow...
...a humanoid figure emerged.