By IMERPUS RELUR
--
Two days before the First Beast Tide.
The ground above Lin Shen's Hive appeared undisturbed—no banners, no structures, no walls. Just the quiet wilderness where flowers bloomed, moss shimmered, and the wind whispered peace.
But peace was a lie.
Beneath the moss and silence… the Hive listened.
---
> [Alert: Foreign Scouting Unit Detected – Lord Affiliation: Unknown]
Class: Tier 2 Night Hawk (Recon Type)
Entry Vector: Western Tree Line – Altitude 23m
A single thought pulsed through the tunnels.
The soundless doctrine activated.
Dozens of Forager Ants paused mid-carry.
A Soldier Ant near a resin wall shifted its body weight—nudging a loose dirt flap.
Silence.
And then—
> Collapse Triggered.
The hawk never made a sound. One moment it glided. The next, it plummeted through the earth like a stone dropped into water.
> [Scout Eliminated – Hive Memory Absorbed – Echo Level +1]
[Partial Wing Structure: Scaled Membrane Analyzed]
Mutation Path Unlocked: Membrane Carapace (Flight Gliders – Tier 3 Fusion Variant)
---
Far away, inside a canopy-tower fortress, a young Lord gritted his teeth.
[Lord SilverFeather]: …Lost another scout. Again.
[Lord DustHowler]: Same here. Region 7's middle ring is a damn void. Nothing returns.
[Lord ViciousBlade]: That's Lin Shen's zone. You're probing a hive that's gone quiet for two days straight.
[Lord SilentHelix]: Smartest play. He's not expanding. He's layering.
[Lord Lin Shen]: Every echo you send… becomes mine. Keep scouting. I could use more flight data.
---
Back inside the Hive, Lin Shen opened his panel.
> [Territory Update: Nest Radius Stable – Expansion Frozen]
[Hive Doctrine Count: 3 Active Patterns]
– Soundless Swarm Protocol
– Burrow and Bait Routine
– Surface Ambush Shellnet
Fusion was one path. But layered tactics… that was something only his territory could master.
The Hive wasn't growing wider anymore. It was growing deeper.
---
Ant Forge – Mutation Sequence Active
The Ant Forge burned gently with greenish-blue light as two spliced eggs rested in the chamber.
> [Tier 3 Fusion in Progress: Soldier Ant + Acid Spitter + Membrane Wing Shard]
Projected Result: Glider Acid Soldier – Tier 4
Trait Forecast: Short-Flight Burst, Dive Attack, Weak Acid Bomb
Lin Shen whispered: "I'm not preparing for defense."
"I'm preparing for counter-invasion."
---
And then… the unexpected.
> [Emergency Ping – Region 7 Channel Override]
[Message from Lord System – Verified Source]
"A Lordless Territory has collapsed in your vicinity. Coordinates broadcasted. Loot value: Medium. Scout retrieval allowed for 12 hours."
He froze.
That meant a nearby Lord… had fallen.
Not to beasts. Not to war.
To their own poor management.
---
"Send out four forager units. Passive collection. Masked pheromones."
> [Command Accepted]
---
Ten minutes later…
> [Loot Acquired: Basic Alloy Chest x2, Food Cache x3, Talent Fragment x1]
[Talent Fragment Identified: 'Keen Caste Instinct']
Trait: Boosts evolution priority toward utility-support variants.
Lin Shen's eyes narrowed.
Another piece of the puzzle.
> [Lord Trait Sync Attempt – Denied. Lord already has Swarm Instinct.]
Still, the Hive responded. The ants who handled the Talent Fragment seemed… aware.
Even without direct sync, they remembered the pattern.
Maybe the Hive didn't need to consume talents directly… maybe just witnessing was enough.
---
And somewhere in the far western zone…
A pair of silent eyes watched from the trees.
Not a scout. Not a beast.
A Lord.
Watching the void.
Waiting.