65: Chapter 65 Evolution of Crystalline Crusts and Metabolic Overload in Springtails
Su Chen's gaze lingered for a moment on the red dot specifically marked on the star map, then shifted away indifferently.
Mechanical True God.
Extermination Plan.
These terms stirred no ripples in his neural network, as if they were merely two insignificant database entries.
For the Swarm Overlord at this moment, an enemy far away at the edge of the star sector held less value than this captive before him who had just sworn allegiance and lost her soul.
What he needed was her everything.
Her very existence was the perfect stepping stone on the Zerg Swarm's path of evolution.
Su Chen turned around indifferently, no longer looking at the brilliant and complex star map constructed by divine power.
As he turned, the star map, which represented Lisa's final value and pledge of allegiance, lost the sustenance of divine power, flickered twice in the air, silently dissipated into a sky full of light spots, and finally returned to nothingness.
Just like her dignity that had just been crushed.
Lisa knelt there, her crystal-composed body trembling slightly. She could feel that cold, all-controlling will had completely locked onto her.
The next second, the Creep beneath her writhed.
A translucent tentacle covered in biological sensors and precision straws grew silently from the depths of the Creep, its tip emitting a faint green light, precisely pressing against Lisa's back.
That was the location of her core essence.
Lisa's body stiffened suddenly; a fear originating from the deepest part of her life and a sense of humiliation from being violated made her almost collapse.
She did not resist.
She could not resist.
The cold biological straw pierced her crystal shell, a feeling of stripping that could not be described in words. She felt a part of her life—the most essential, fundamental energy and soul imprints—being forcibly extracted by an irresistible force.
Her vision began to blur, and the light of her entire crystal body dimmed at a speed visible to the naked eye, like a star about to burn out.
A tube of liquid shining with diamond-like brilliance was rapidly transported along the translucent tentacle to the feet of the overlord avatar, then submerged into the depths of the Creep, flowing along the complex biological pipeline network of the Hive toward the core area of the entire base—the Evolution Chamber and the Biochemical Pool.
Su Chen's will, like a silent thunderclap, exploded throughout the entire Zerg Swarm network.
"Overmind."
"Begin analysis."
The command was simple, direct, and devoid of any emotion.
The massive biochemical pool located in the deepest part of the nest began to churn violently. The tube of [Crystal Essence] that had just been extracted was injected directly into it.
"Sizzle—"
The viscous culture fluid, containing infinite gene fragments, was instantly dyed a gorgeous platinum color. Countless tiny bio-electric sparks flashed in the pool, frantically decomposing and reading this gene sample from a deity.
Su Chen's consciousness was completely synchronized with the Overmind, and massive data streams washed over his mind.
[Target gene sequence parsing...]
[Key trait discovered: Light energy refraction property...]
[Key trait discovered: High-strength crystalized structure...]
[Analysis complete.]
Su Chen's will issued another command.
"Fusion target locked: Zergling."
Zergling.
The most basic and numerous ground unit of the Zerg Swarm. They were the cornerstone of the Zerg rush tactics, the first wave to drown the enemy. They possessed sharp claws and teeth, and lightning-fast speed.
But their flaws were equally fatal.
Their fragile chitinous carapaces were as thin as paper when facing high-energy lasers and area-of-effect magical bombardments. In countless battles, swathes of Zerglings were vaporized on the path of their charge, not even managing to touch the enemy's armor.
They were consumables.
But now, Su Chen was going to apply a game-changing patch to this consumable.
"Hum—"
In the center of the biochemical pool, a Zergling embryo that had been specifically separated was being enveloped by countless tiny gene probes.
Lisa's gene sequence was forcibly shattered and reorganized into segments suitable for the Zerg, and then, like the most barbaric craftsman, these "crystal" and "light energy" fragments were violently embedded, one by one, into the Zergling's original gene chain.
Breaking.
Reorganization.
Rejection.
Forced fusion.
Tens of thousands of failures and adjustments were completed in just a few short minutes under the Overmind's massive biological computing power.
In the culture fluid of the biochemical pool, a brand-new egg rapidly took shape.
It was no longer the dull, mucus-covered fleshy egg of the past, but a translucent work of art that seemed to be carved from crystal. Through the crystalline eggshell, one could even see the life curled up inside, and streams of light slowly pulsating within its body.
"Crack."
A crisp sound.
A crack appeared on the surface of the eggshell, and blinding light burst out from the fissure.
The cracks spread rapidly and finally shattered with a bang.
A brand-new Zerg unit slowly stood up in a pool of viscous culture fluid.
Its size was slightly larger than a normal Zergling, but the most significant change was the carapace covering its body.
It was no longer a dull black cuticle.
Replacing it was a flawless layer of [Refractive Crystal Carapace] that was as transparent as a diamond. The light emitted by the biological light sources above the Creep shone on it, being refracted and scattered into countless tiny rainbows, gorgeous and deadly.
Su Chen's overlord avatar raised a finger.
At the fingertip, a point of high-intensity energy light rapidly gathered and compressed.
"Zzz!"
A beam of concentrated laser magic shot toward the newly born unit with unrivaled speed.
This was an attack capable of instantly piercing the main armor of a small starship.
However, a scene that defied conventional wisdom occurred.
The moment the laser beam touched that layer of crystal carapace, there was no explosion, no penetration, and not even any heat generated.
That deadly beam of light seemed to have shot into a prism with an incredibly precise structure; it was instantly decomposed and refracted into hundreds of tiny rays of light, scattering in all directions and branding countless shallow scorch marks on the surrounding flesh walls.
And that brand-new Zergling just swayed its body slightly on the spot, completely unharmed.
[Test complete.]
[New unit "Crystal-Armored Zergling" physical defense strength increased by 312% compared to the basic unit.]
[Energy resistance increased by 527% compared to the basic unit.]
Massive data streams flooded into Su Chen's mind, and the corners of his mouth, those corners made of cold, hard carapace, curved into a satisfied arc.
Success.
But this was not enough.
Su Chen's will extended again, probing into another biochemical laboratory in the Overmind. There, a portion of the source energy belonging to Lisa was refined into another type of high-concentration "high-energy liquid."
"New technology research directive."
"Target: Extreme biological potential catalysis."
"Name: [Metabolic Overload]."
A more insane plan took shape in his mind.
The Zerg Swarm needed not only shields that could withstand hits, but also spears that could tear everything apart in an instant.
"Inject."
As Su Chen's command was issued, an inconspicuous gland on the back of the Crystal-Armored Zergling suddenly expanded rapidly, revealing an eerie red color from beneath the translucent crystal shell.
The next moment, a large amount of red hormone was forcibly injected into its own body.
"Roar!!"
A screech that did not sound like it could be emitted by a biological creature, mixed with pain and fury, erupted from the Crystal-Armored Zergling's mouth.
Its eyes turned blood-red in an instant, burning with the madness of destroying everything.
The energy within its body was burning at an unprecedented speed. Through the crystal carapace, one could see its muscle fibers abnormally bulging, tearing, and then being forcibly regenerated under the stimulation of the hormones. Scorching steam gushed out from the gaps in its carapace.
Its speed and attack frequency, in this instant, skyrocketed by a full three times at the cost of burning its life!
Although its life signs were decaying at an alarming rate, before it completely collapsed, this killing machine in the [Metabolic Overload] state was enough to tear apart enemies ten times its own number!
"Crystal Carapace, plus Metabolic Overload."
Su Chen looked at the perfect creation before him, struggling wildly on the edge of rage and self-destruction, and smiled.
That smile was cold and cruel.
"Mechanical Legion?"
His consciousness swept over the countless brand-new crystal eggs incubating on the Creep, as if he had already seen the battlefield of the future.
"I look forward to seeing what your expressions will be when your pride-and-joy laser arrays cannot pierce my dogs."
"When you are completely drowned by an endless, violent sea of crystals."