"Plop~"
"Plop~"
"Plop~"
Sensing Chu Fan's will, the three larvae accelerated their wriggling across the fungal carpet, quickly climbed up the edge of the Fission Pool, and jumped in one after another, producing a series of splashing sounds.
Inside the pool, three tentacles immediately swam over, piercing into the bodies of the three larvae one by one. They secreted strands of silk-like substances, wrapping them layer upon layer.
Two of the cocoons stopped growing once they reached several dozen centimeters in length.
The remaining one continued to expand, growing to more than two full meters before gradually stopping.
Clearly, this was the Jumping Insect Leader being cultivated.
On the other side, the three tubular reproduction chambers extending outward from the Main Nest soon expelled another three larvae.
But they did not continue climbing toward the Fission Pool.
The Fission Pool only had three tentacle chambers for incubation.
In other words, not counting the leader being cultivated, only six Jumping Insects could be split and hatched per hour.
Even running nonstop for twenty-four hours a day, that was only 144.
The speed was rather slow, completely mismatched with the defining trait of an insect swarm calamity—overwhelming numbers and scale.
But this was only the initial stage.
As the clan continued to develop and evolved enough Fission Pools, along with other insect-type reproduction chambers…
As long as there was sufficient energy supply, thousands upon thousands of insect troops could be hatched every single day—perhaps even more.
Returning to the abandoned car not far away and sitting down,
Chu Fan continued his role as a guard, patiently waiting.
An hour passed in the blink of an eye.
"Splash—"
Right on time, a sound came from the Fission Pool behind him.
Turning his head, he saw four creatures nimbly leap down from the edge of the pool.
Their overall shape resembled wolfdogs, but their bodies were covered in dark red carapace armor. Their heads looked like enlarged larvae, mouths full of jagged fangs. Their four limbs bore long, sharp claws, and their tails were slender and whip-like.
On their backs grew two additional limbs, each tipped with sharp, forward-curving bone spines—like a pair of deadly sickles.
First-generation Jumping Insects. They will evolve, grow stronger, and change form later on (image included).
Likewise, having received the inherited information and being mentally prepared, Chu Fan felt no fear at all—only a faint sense of closeness brought by that bond.
In front of the Fission Pool,
The four Jumping Insects shook off the green slime covering their bodies.
The next second, as if sensing something, they sprinted forward.
Moments later, they stopped in front of Chu Fan, who was sitting atop the car hood. In an instant, they became as obedient as well-behaved children, lowering their ferocious heads and prostrating their hideous, armored bodies on the ground.
Within the Zerg system,
The will of the Dominator stood above all else.
No matter whether the Dominator's external identity was human, insect, or any other lifeform, as long as one was the Dominator, no insect would ever disobey their will. This was instinct etched deep into their genes.
"Guard the entrance!"
With a single thought from Chu Fan,
The four Jumping Insects immediately turned and rushed toward the entrance.
According to the will they sensed, they spread out inside the entrance, spacing themselves several meters apart in a straight line to maintain vigilance and defense.
Having four Jumping Insects under his command allowed Chu Fan's tightly wound nerves to relax slightly.
But he still didn't dare let his guard down.
The early stage of the Main Nest was its most fragile period—he couldn't afford the slightest carelessness.
Time gradually passed.
Every hour, four more Jumping Insects finished hatching.
Without exception, Chu Fan sent them all to guard the entrance.
It wasn't until more than twenty hours later, when all eighty Jumping Insects had fully hatched and the energy was completely depleted, that Chu Fan finally forced himself to stand up, fighting intense drowsiness and mental exhaustion, preparing to return to the room to rest.
But as he passed by the Fission Pool, Chu Fan couldn't help stopping to glance at the massive cocoon of the Jumping Insect Leader, more than two meters long, inside the pool.
Nearly two days had passed, yet it still hadn't finished incubating.
"How much longer will it take?"
Chu Fan couldn't help feeling a little impatient.
But there was no rushing this.
Returning to the security room and seeing his sister's cold corpse, his figure stiffened once again.
What followed was an endless sense of hollowness and a violently spasming heart.
He clenched his fists tightly,
Took a deep breath,
And walked over to the body. Just as Chu Fan was about to lie down, he suddenly seemed to think of something and quickly asked, "System, do you have a way to revive this corpse?"
[The system cannot revive dead biological organisms.]
[However, based on system analysis, the host can store the organism within the Main Nest.]
"The Main Nest can revive my sister?"
[No.]
[The Main Nest can only nurture biological organisms, preventing decay and decomposition.]
[By preserving the organism, the host may be able to find a method of revival in the future.]
[But please note, host, during nurturing within the Main Nest, 10 energy points will be consumed per day.]
Hearing this, Chu Fan didn't hesitate at all. He immediately picked up his sister's corpse and carried it to the Main Nest.
Under the will he transmitted,
Two tentacles quickly extended from within the Main Nest.
They wrapped around the frail corpse in Chu Fan's arms and slowly delivered it into the open cavity at the top, lined with spiral-shaped serrated teeth.
This was the Main Nest's decomposition chamber—its mouth.
But after swallowing the corpse under Chu Fan's command, the Main Nest wriggled and transferred it into the energy storage chamber for preservation.
After arranging his sister,
The icy tightness in Chu Fan's heart finally eased somewhat.
Whether revival would be possible in the future or not, at least there was hope.
Returning to the security room and lying down, the overwhelming fatigue surged over him, and Chu Fan gradually closed his eyes.
With dozens of Jumping Insects guarding outside, safety was somewhat assured. Coupled with the hope of his sister's revival, he slept deeply and soundly.
When he awoke in a start, the surroundings and the outside were still dark.
But Chu Fan knew it should be around six in the morning—the feeding and hunting time of the Giant Armored Beetle at the northern wall. It was a biological alarm clock he had developed over the past year while digging the crack.
Getting up and stepping outside,
Chu Fan first looked toward the entrance.
Through his senses, the eighty Jumping Insects guarding inside were calm and quiet, meaning no monsters had intruded.
Next, he glanced at the three larvae wriggling atop the black fungal carpet in front of the Main Nest.
With no energy nutrients left, they could no longer reproduce or hatch.
Finally, Chu Fan turned his gaze to the Fission Pool beside them.
The giant cocoon of the Jumping Insect Leader inside still showed no signs of completion.
But Chu Fan decided not to wait any longer.
Today, he had to lead the Jumping Insect swarm out to hunt, drag back corpses for the Main Nest to absorb—this was the primary source of energy nutrients.
Only with energy could they continuously hatch more battle insects.
More importantly, his sister's corpse required energy to be nurtured.
However—
Just as he had taken a few steps forward,
A sudden splashing sound came from the Fission Pool.
The giant cocoon inside writhed violently, slowly tearing apart. A dark red figure emerged from within, standing in the pool filled with green slime.
A physique over two meters tall,
A humanoid external structure,
With a head, torso, two arms, and two legs.
But its entire body was tightly encased in thick, dark red carapace armor.
Especially its head, which looked like it was wearing a fully enclosed steel helmet, revealing only a pair of blood-red eyes.
Its hands looked as if clad in armored gauntlets, and its feet resembled armored steel boots fused seamlessly with its legs.
Stepping out of the Fission Pool,
It came before Chu Fan,
And immediately bent its majestic, heavy-armor-like body in a humble bow.
"Dominator!"
"Mm."
Chu Fan looked it over from top to bottom.
He didn't feel surprised at all.
According to the inherited Zerg information, leaders hatched would be cultivated based on the Dominator's appearance, in order to better assist the Dominator in developing the clan.
Since his own body was humanoid,
Then all intelligent leaders of the swarm would essentially be cultivated into human-like forms as well.
Including vocal chambers, which would also match the Dominator's.
"Follow me."
As Chu Fan walked toward the entrance, he casually asked, "Do you have a name?"
"No. Please grant me a name, Dominator."
"Grant a name?"
Chu Fan frowned. He didn't want to waste time on this, nor was he in the mood. He shook his head and said, "Give yourself one."
"Yes, Dominator."
The Jumping Insect Leader following behind thought for a moment. Its red eyes flickered, and it spoke:
"Walker. In the clan's memory, this was the name of one generation of Jumping Insect Leaders."
"Alright. You'll be called Walker from now on."
Chu Fan responded casually.
It was just a title—what it was called didn't really matter.
Passing by rows of abandoned cars and circling past several garage intersections,
After walking for a few minutes,
The view suddenly opened up.
On the ground of the sloped path leading to the entrance several meters ahead,
Wolfdog-like Jumping Insects, carrying out the Dominator's will, lay prostrate on the ground in unison—silent, motionless, like sculptures—executing their orders down to the marrow of their bones.
But the moment they sensed the arrival of Chu Fan, the Dominator—
"Shua! Shua! Shua!!!"
All the Jumping Insects immediately rose to their feet.
Pairs of crimson eyes swept over, waiting for commands.
Eighty units—though not many—had already begun to show the rudimentary form of an insect swarm.
Their perfectly synchronized movements made the scene incredibly magnificent, stirring deep emotions within Chu Fan.
Not long ago, he had still been a frail human barely clinging to life, desperate to escape this hell.
Now, a group of fearless, utterly loyal "monsters" stood ready to heed his will at any moment.
Suppressing his emotions,
Chu Fan turned to Walker beside him and said, "Later, I'll take half of the Jumping Insects out to hunt. You'll lead the remaining half to protect the Main Nest. While I'm gone, nothing must happen to it."
"Please rest assured, Dominator! I will defend the Main Nest with my life!"
Walker immediately lowered its head.
But then it hesitated and said, "Dominator, hunting is dangerous. Let me go instead—"
"No! You're responsible for protecting the Main Nest and guarding the entrance. I'm very familiar with the outside city and know where weaker monsters are. The clan's numbers aren't large yet—any loss we can reduce, we should reduce."
Chu Fan glanced at Walker.
There was inevitably a hint of approval in his tone.
The fact that it could proactively offer suggestions alone was enough to show that this Jumping Insect Leader possessed intelligence nearly on par with humans.
After giving a few more instructions,
Chu Fan gripped his steel rebar spear, passed through the path opened by the Jumping Insect swarm, and led the way out.
But the next instant—
He snapped back like lightning.
At the same time, he swiftly turned around, gritted his teeth, and issued a cold command:
"A squad of human soldiers is approaching outside. Their target is very likely this place."
"Walker, prepare to lead the Jumping Insect swarm in an ambush."
"Remember!"
"Try to keep them alive!"