35: Chapter 35 The Queen and the Infected Bugs!! The Truth of Edge 7

The simulation flight training continued. After a round of internal sparring, everyone had a clear understanding of their own piloting abilities, and the subsequent phase consisted of targeted, tedious training.

Outside the window, the sky had completely darkened, and the lights of the training base shone exceptionally bright in the night.

"Finally, it's over..." Laya stretched, her long golden hair shimmering with a soft luster under the lights.

The three young people walked side by side on the way back to the dormitory, the academy appearing exceptionally tranquil in the night.

"Come to think of it," Li Yuan suddenly spoke up, "I just thought of a question. According to the academy, the main purpose of the edge outpost planets is early warning; once signs of a Zerg Swarm invasion are detected, they should arrange for the Shepherd Legion to organize an evacuation in advance."

He frowned slightly: "Why was it that during the incident at Edge No. 7, they organized C-rank and below Awakened to resist on the spot, using their lives to buy time?"

"Perhaps... it was because the situation was particularly urgent?" Elia said uncertainly.

Laya also put away her smile and gently held Li Yuan's arm: "Did you think of something?"

Li Yuan shook his head and did not continue.

The next morning, the students of the elite class walked into a brand new classroom.

Various Zerg specimens and battlefield images slowly rotated in the classroom, creating a solemn atmosphere.

"This atmosphere... is a bit oppressive," a student muttered quietly.

At the front of the classroom, a middle-aged man wearing a camouflage teaching uniform stood ramrod straight. His face was resolute, his eyes sharp, and there was a faint scar on his left cheek, the whole person exuding an imposing aura forged by the baptism of war.

"I am Instructor Zhou Cheng," his voice was loud and powerful, "I have participated in three Zerg elimination wars. From today on, I will be teaching you Zerg Biology."

His gaze swept across the room, and every student he looked at straightened their backs involuntarily.

"Before we begin, I want to ask you a question:" Instructor Zhou Cheng's voice echoed in the classroom, "What do you think is the most terrifying thing about the Zerg Swarm?"

"Numbers!" one student immediately replied.

"Combat power!" another student said.

"Evolutionary ability!"

Instructor Zhou Cheng nodded slightly, then shook his head: "What you said is all correct, but not entirely. The most terrifying thing about the Zerg Swarm is their level of organization. The Zerg Swarm is not just simple beasts; they are a civilization that integrates production, command, combat, and evolution."

He waved his hand to activate the holographic projection, and the image of a hideous Zergling appeared in the center of the classroom. Its crimson exoskeleton, sharp claws and fangs, and those emotionless compound eyes all made people shudder.

"Zergling, the most basic combat unit of the Zerg Swarm," Instructor Zhou Cheng explained, "Although they are extremely fast and have sharp claws and fangs, in reality, the threat of a single Zergling is very limited. However, when they swarm in numbers..."

In the holographic image, thousands of Zerglings surged forward like a tide, a scene that made many students gasp.

Next, Instructor Zhou Cheng showed combat units such as Hydralisks and Ultralisks. Each Zerg unit had detailed data and close-up images. Those Zerg units, from the one or two-meter-long Zerglings to the thousands-of-kilometers-long leviathan mothership, made the students deeply feel the horror of the Zerg Swarm.

"In addition to combat units, the Zerg Swarm also has a perfect production system." Instructor Zhou Cheng switched to an image of a Drone, "Drones are responsible for collecting resources and building pupal chambers; they are the foundation of Zerg Swarm expansion."

Li Yuan carefully recorded every detail, his fingers sliding quickly across his personal terminal.

"I fought against these Zerg on Edge 7. The initial Zerg Tide attack caused the resistance to be basically wiped out. However, afterwards, these insects seemed not so ferocious anymore. Why is that?" Listening to Instructor Zhou Cheng's explanation, Li Yuan had some questions.

"Very good, this student actually has combat experience." Instructor Zhou Cheng nodded approvingly: "What I am about to introduce next is the reason for this problem—the most dangerous special units within the Zerg Swarm."

Instructor Zhou Cheng's tone became exceptionally serious, "Infectors and Zerg Queens. They are no longer just insects, but intelligent life forms that share the will of the swarm."

In the holographic projection, a huge, translucent worm slowly rotated. Inside its body, some kind of liquid seemed to be flowing, looking both disgusting and terrifying.

"Infectors," Instructor Zhou Cheng's voice carried obvious disgust, "They do not participate directly in combat, but they are more dangerous than any combat unit."

He activated a combat video. In the scene, an Infector quietly approached a human outpost. When it was several kilometers away from the outpost, it released a nearly invisible cloud of psychic spores.

"Infectors can use psychic parasitism and physical modification to transform humans into mindless Zerg puppets within 72 hours," Instructor Zhou Cheng explained, "What's even more terrifying is that the transformed puppets retain their original skills and knowledge, making them extremely deceptive."

In the video, the soldiers in the outpost fell one after another, then stood up swaying. Their eyes became hollow, their movements stiff, but the weapons in their hands could still shoot accurately.

"However, fortunately, before the transformation is complete, this infection can be cured through psionic healing," Instructor Zhou Cheng added.

Li Yuan suddenly raised his hand: "Instructor Zhou Cheng, is there a distance limit to the Infector's psychic infection? What kind of infiltration methods do they usually use?"

Instructor Zhou Cheng gave Li Yuan an approving look: "A very good question. The effective range of an Infector's psychic infection is about five kilometers. They usually use underground tunnels or mix in with ordinary Zerg units to infiltrate."

He pulled up another video: "Take a recent example—the Zerg surprise attack campaign in the Prey Star Domain."

The holographic projection showed the image of Edge Star No. 7, and Li Yuan couldn't help but hold his breath.

"According to military archives, three Infectors infiltrated the early warning command center of Edge No. 7," Instructor Zhou Cheng's voice was heavy, "They successfully infected most of the personnel in the command center, causing the early warning system to almost completely fail."

In the video, one could see the infected staff still working normally, but from their occasionally stiff movements and empty eyes, one could see something obviously wrong.

"The Prey Hub Starport only noticed the anomaly three days before the Zerg invasion occurred," Instructor Zhou Cheng continued, "By the time the rescue fleet arrived, Edge No. 7 had already..."

He didn't finish his sentence, but everyone understood the ending. In the video, the tragic state of Edge No. 7 made many students lower their heads.

Elia clenched her fists tightly, and a glimmer of anger flashed in her icy blue eyes.

More questions emerged in Li Yuan's mind. If Infectors were really that powerful, why didn't they encounter them when they were on Edge 7? Or rather... did they really not encounter them?

Instructor Zhou Cheng switched the projection, and a shocking image appeared in the center of the classroom—it was an extremely beautiful female figure, with long silver hair and crimson pupils; except for the color of her eyes, she was almost indistinguishable from a human.

"Zerg Queen," Instructor Zhou Cheng's voice pulled everyone's attention back, "The core of the Zerg Swarm and the strategic commander."

A gasp of astonishment echoed in the classroom. This image formed a sharp contrast with the hideous Zerg seen before.

"The Zerg Queen possesses high-level intelligence and can control lower-level Zerg," Instructor Zhou Cheng explained, "What's more terrifying is that some Zerg Queens possess mimicry abilities, capable of perfectly replicating human appearance and aura."

The Zerg Queen in the image turned around slowly, every one of her movements full of elegance and charm, with no Zerg characteristics visible at all.

"Zerg Queens often act as infiltration vanguards, mixing into human society," Instructor Zhou Cheng continued, "They can imitate human speech and behavior, and can even use human technological products."

"Instructor!" a student raised a hand and asked, "Then how should we identify a Zerg Queen?"

Instructor Zhou Cheng shook his head: "It's difficult. Perfect mimicry requires professional detection equipment to be discovered."

Another student asked: "Does the Zerg Queen have any weaknesses?"

"None discovered yet," Instructor Zhou Cheng said firmly, "Current limited contact indicates that Zerg Queens, like ordinary intelligent beings, have talents and can cultivate and advance. Compared to mortal races like humans and elves, Zerg Queens possess more powerful physical and psychic strength, with innate combat power comparable to angels, demons, and various god races."

"Instructor," another student raised a hand, "Are there any characteristics of humans in the early stages of infection?"

Instructor Zhou Cheng pulled up a series of comparison images: "Early-stage infected individuals will exhibit symptoms such as dull eyes, stiff movements, and slow reactions. As the infection deepens, these symptoms will become more and more obvious."

He displayed images of several detection devices: "We usually use energy fluctuation detectors to identify infected individuals. Infected humans will emit special Zerg energy fluctuations."

Li Yuan recorded this information earnestly, while thinking silently to himself. With the Zerg Queen's appearance and mimicry ability, combined with the trait of retaining intelligent life's characteristics, if they were hiding in human society, then how much has human society been infiltrated by them? No one goes around holding a detection device every day; this thought made him shudder.

So he asked: "These special units' infection and mimicry abilities are so powerful; if they hide in human society, wouldn't humanity be in great danger!!"

"Indeed, in recent years, our significant losses have all been caused by these special units. Fortunately, however, even for the Zerg Swarm, these special units seem to be relatively scarce, and they basically withdraw after achieving tactical goals."

As he spoke, the video of the Edge 7 battle case continued to play, with the Infectors, having released the psychic spores, slowly withdrawing.

"Generally speaking, ordinary human society is not worth the invasion of special units, and special units usually have relatively strict detection equipment." Instructor Zhou Cheng concluded.

The class proceeded with enthusiastic interaction, with students asking various questions, all of which Instructor Zhou Cheng patiently answered one by one.

As the class neared its end, Instructor Zhou Cheng surveyed the room, his tone serious: "Theory is only an aid; facing the Zerg Swarm directly is the only way to better understand them. Tomorrow, we will conduct Zerg live-combat drills. You will face real Zerglings; although they are the lowest-tier combat units, everyone must still treat them seriously."

A murmur of excitement erupted in the classroom.

The bell rang to end class, and the students left the classroom one after another. But many were still immersed in the content of the lesson just now, discussing it in twos and threes.

Li Yuan, Laya, and Elia walked side by side in the corridor.

"Tomorrow we will face the real Zerg Swarm," Elia said excitedly, "I must let them experience the power of Moon Radiance!"

"Zerglings, what troublesome guys!" Thinking of the insects he hadn't seen for a long time since leaving Edge 7, Li Yuan was actually a little excited.

However, ordinary humans are not worth the Zerg Swarm using special units. Then, how would the Zerg Swarm treat Yanlong First Academy?