By IMERPUS RELUR
--
The Hive pulsed with new energy.
In the deepest chamber beneath Lin Shen's territory, an unfamiliar resonance began to hum—a tone that didn't belong to soil or chitin or stone. It sounded like memory being rewritten in real time.
And it came from the newly awakened chamber:
> [Bio-Factory – Online]
Tier: Adaptive Organic Construct
Function: Constructs advanced mutant units through blueprint dreaming and genetic grafting
Power Source: Hive Core Instinct Pulse + Stored Biomass
Current Capacity: 3 Active Projects
Lin Shen stood in the center of the chamber, surrounded by living tubes of pulsing membrane. Some looked like eggs, others like fluid tanks—and all of them responded to him.
This wasn't a forge.
It was a womb.
A dreaming engine of potential.
---
He accessed the interface.
> [Bio-Factory Menu]
Select One:
• Dream Blueprint
• Upgrade Existing Unit
• Graft Foreign Trait
• Decode Organic Sample
He selected Dream Blueprint.
The chamber darkened. A vision formed before his mind: ants with wings of shadow, ants with electric pulses in their veins, ants that mirrored their prey and mimicked their attacks.
A thousand ideas swirled—and slowly, the Hive chose one.
> [New Blueprint Dreamed – Mirrorling Ant (Tier 3)]
Description: A psychic-adaptive ant that mimics enemy unit traits upon contact. Limited to 1 trait per unit.
Requirements:
– Tier 2 Chameleon Flesh Sample (1)
– Echo Chamber Combat Log (2)
– Mutation Spore x12
– Biomass: 240
Lin Shen's eyes glowed.
"So we can evolve... not by power alone, but by understanding."
---
Next, he tapped Decode Organic Sample and fed in the Nerve-Spike Pattern gathered from the fog beast earlier.
> [Analyzing…]
Source: Corrupted Larva Beast
Trait: Reactive Muscle Spasm / Detonating Nerve Clusters
Usability: 61%
Suggested Mutation Integration:
→ Venom Fang Ant → Detonation Striker Variant (Tier 3+)
Result: Explodes on death, spraying acid spikes in 3m radius
Lin Shen winced.
"Risky. But perfect for swarm attrition."
He stored the result for later and moved to Upgrade Existing Unit.
> Selected Unit: Ant General – Vek (Tier 5)
Potential Upgrade Path:
– Warlord Ant (Tier 6 – Area Commander)
– Hive Strategist (Tier 6 – Synaptic Controller)
– Burrow Tyrant (Tier 6 – Tunnel Dominion)
He hesitated.
Each path meant something.
Warlord would boost morale and brute force.
Strategist would grant him autonomous tactical layers.
Burrow Tyrant would reshape terrain with every command.
"I'll hold off," he whispered. "Let him earn his name through action."
---
Above ground, the Relay Node was expanding fast. Fog zones were steadily retreating, and the eastern tunnels revealed something new:
> [Detected: Mutagen Pool]
Type: Wild Biomass Reactor
Status: Unstable / Harvestable
Effect: High-risk mutation accelerant
The Hive didn't just survive in this world. It fed from it.
Lin Shen looked up at the dim sky, feeling the rumble of soil, the pulse of instincts, the echo of battles not yet fought.
The Beast Tide was no longer a countdown.
It was a beacon.
Calling every wild and ancient force in the plane.
And his swarm would be ready.