By IMERPUS RELUR
--
As dawn returned with a pale silver haze, Lin Shen stood within the Spore Garden, surrounded by blooming mutation pods. Ants scurried from root to root, carrying fragments of Shellback carapace and dripping samples of acid from their own bodies into the soil.
> [Mutation Progress: 32%]
Path: Acid Shell Caster
Estimated Completion: 7 Hours (Passive Accumulation)
Bonus: +10% Resistance to Physical Piercing, +20% Acid Retention Capacity
The air pulsed with quiet resolve.
A whisper echoed through the Hive.
Not words. Not emotion.
A law. A doctrine.
> The swarm does not boast.
The swarm does not panic.
The swarm… remembers.
---
Lin Shen sat cross-legged beside the Hive Core. The glowing crystal throbbed softly. As it pulsed, fragments of thoughts—battle memories from last night's clash—filtered into his mind. Each unit death. Each maneuver. Each acid splash. It wasn't gruesome. It was data. Learning.
> [Lord Trait Experience Gained – Swarm Instinct Level 1 → Level 2]
New Effect: All Hive Units gain +2% Combat Response Speed and Minor Memory Transfer on Creation
A line of code passed through his consciousness.
And something clicked.
> [Fusion Matrix Update – New Pattern Unlocked]
Swarm Line: Echo Resonant Worker
Requirement: 3 x Worker Ants + 1 Echo Crystal (Derived from Echo Chamber)
"So… they're beginning to harmonize," Lin Shen murmured. "They're no longer just merging—they're learning as they merge."
This was not a beast horde.
This was a thinking swarm.
---
Meanwhile – In Region 7 Channel:
[Lord SilentHelix]: Anyone else experiencing weird mental pressure near their core?
[Lord ViciousBlade]: It's not pressure. It's resonance. Hive-based Lords like me feel it too.
[Lord WhisperWind]: The fusions are evolving. Not just stronger—smarter.
[Lord FangBreaker]: That's only if you're specialized in swarm types. Most of us aren't.
[Lord Lin Shen]: Your troops level up. Mine evolve with memories.
[Lord ViciousBlade]: Bold talk, Ant King.
[Lord Lin Shen]: It's not bold. It's simply the doctrine of silence. Watch closely. In four days, I will be the loudest without a single word spoken.
---
Back inside his nest, Lin Shen rose.
He walked slowly toward the new structure forming at the edge of the Hive—a dome-like tunnel grown entirely from mutated resin.
> [New Construction Detected: Tactical Memory Pod – Tier 1 Structure]
Function: Stores single battle doctrine and distributes it to nearby units
Effect: Units within range gain specific pre-set behavior (Defense, Lure, Ambush, Swarm Strike)
He reached out and whispered mentally.
> Doctrine Name: Soundless Swarm Protocol
> Directive: Do not strike first. Wait. Lure. Collapse the ground. Surround in silence. Strike only when the enemy turns to flee.
> Memory Embedded.
---
> [New Hive Doctrine Imprinted: Soundless Swarm Protocol]
Activated Units: 20 Acid Spitters, 5 Ant Generals, 160 Worker Ants, 300 Foragers, 90 Soldier Ants
The tunnels darkened.
The Hive grew quiet.
It wasn't preparation anymore.
It was meditation before annihilation.
---
Lin Shen opened the regional map. Probes and scouts from multiple Lords had already vanished in his direction. He didn't bother hunting them.
Soon, they would come anyway.
Not to spy.
But to survive.
And they would enter a Hive that remembered every mistake they'd ever make.