The insect tide is endless, the insect swarm is unmatched, and no grass grows wherever the insect man passes.
Terra Zerg.
In the galaxy they once lived in, other civilized races called them so with fear and loathing because of their terrifying appearance, but they preferred to be called Terran Buggers.
Terra, comes from the name of their home planet, and the Bugmen represent their understanding of themselves.
The collective name of Zerg is more like a sarcasm or an insult to the Terran Zerg people.
In fact, this principle is similar to how aliens see no difference between us and gorillas: one is naked, weak and powerful compared to gorillas, and the other is covered with thick hair. A reckless monkey with strong muscles and a simple brain
Anyway, in their eyes, they may not be much different from monkeys.
The advanced intelligent civilization that Terran bugs come into contact with is almost the same concept. Most humanoid races can't see any difference between bugs and bugs. In their eyes, the difference between bugs and bugs is at best that it may not necessarily be true. , because the oxygen content on some civilizations' home planets is high, the bugs are larger than ordinary bugs, can use dangerous weapons, and are much more lethal than cockroaches.
In fact, in the age of the universe, this kind of thing is quite common. After all, the universe is too big in terms of spatial scale. Even if electromagnetic waves propagating at the speed of light can bring information to the ecological planet closest to the civilization's mother star, it may take several years. Time, let alone non-light travel.
From the budding of civilization to the vigorous growth of civilization, to the stage of understanding and exploring the universe, the development process of most advanced intelligent races is often measured in units of hundreds or even thousands of years. From the moment they realize the vastness and vastness of the starry sky, most of them Most intelligent races are using their own living environment as a standard to search for planets in the universe that may contain life.
This led to the fact that when they first communicated with other alien civilizations, both parties would not be able to avoid this inertial thinking, that is, they would subconsciously use the things they were most familiar with to refer to them based on the image of the alien race.
And often only after truly coming into contact with the culture of these races, they will realize that each other is actually a completely different existence from the things they are familiar with. Only then can the two cosmic races officially open the door to communication and understanding.
The same goes for the Terran bugs.
Many people must be surprised: Aren’t the Zerg a typical Gestalt consciousness or hive mind? Not to mention the development of art, even if they have writing, there are two opinions. How can there be such a thing as culture?
As we all know, writing is a crucial part of the development of human civilization.
Most communication in nature is instantaneous, whether it is the chirping of birds, the roars of wild beasts, the pheromones released by insects, or the sign language and roars with specific pronunciations used by ancient humans in the prehistoric period. etc. Any communication is actually instantaneous.
If we are talking face to face, unless there is a recording, any language and sound can only exist at the moment when the words are spoken. After the conversation is over, the content of the conversation becomes something that can only be recalled and cannot be reproduced.
If I sound a warning in a dark forest, only other people within the range of the sound will hear the warning, and once the warning is given, the sound that delivers those words will be fleeting and cease to exist.
This is instantaneity.
It is fleeting and cannot be reproduced.
But humans invented writing, and the communication that should have disappeared after being spread can be preserved through certain media and carriers, so that it can be passed on from generation to generation. By accumulating the experience of predecessors and combining it with the wisdom of future generations, we will be down-to-earth step by step. Pushing civilization forward.
But the Terran bugs were a little different.
They also have writing, but this is not a product of their civilization development, but a product of their reaching the cosmic civilization stage and contact with other civilized races.
The reason is simple they don't need to.
Initially, the ancestors of the Terran bugs lived on the planet Terra as creatures with strong fecundity, short growth cycles, and the ability to quickly iteratively adapt to the environment. They had a small amount of extraordinary potential but were not very competitive on the planet.
things.
There are many creatures more powerful than them, and there are countless races with more developed and perfect intelligence than them. However, in terms of status and living conditions, they are almost the same as the cockroaches living on the earth. .
In the wilderness period, the ancestors of the insect people had learned how to control the pheromone-releasing organs to release specific pheromones, and then communicated and warned in conjunction with the vibration frequency of their wings. Although this was just like the simple language of ancient humans, primitive and rudimentary, it The basic conditions for further development of civilization are already in place.
As the need for language grew and the bugs actively exercised their pheromone-releasing organs, over tens of thousands of years, the bugs' pheromone language slowly developed and improved, from being able to convey only vague meanings at first to being able to convey certain phrases later. , and later can convey a relatively complex long sentence and convey complex meanings.
Originally, according to this development trend, they would eventually develop writing, leading to a development process similar to that of human beings and most civilizations, or the race would be annihilated for various reasons before the development of civilization, and then disappear in the history. In the long river.
But a bug-man was infected with a terrifying fungus, and after the fungus continued to expand in his population and surrounding races, their civilization trajectory, and even the entire world of Terra, was greatly deviated.
This terrifying fungus will parasitize in the host's body, constantly plundering the nutrients and extraordinary power in their body, and eventually gnaws the inside into an empty shell. The hyphae will continue to extend inside the empty shell, eventually turning the empty shell into A breeding ground for their growth.
For creatures with strong extraordinary potential, this fungus is even more poisonous, because the stronger the extraordinary energy in their bodies, the more nutrients the fungus devours and obtains. The more nutrients the fungus has, the more likely it is that the fungus will divide and reproduce. The faster the speed, the sooner death will come.
Large numbers of extraordinary creatures on Terra were infected and died. The more spore particles floated in the air, causing more infections. After such a vicious cycle was established, the mass extinction of extraordinary creatures began.
No extraordinary creature could survive this disaster. Even the Terran bugs, which had reproductive capabilities as powerful as cockroaches, could only survive under the infection of the fungus.
Perhaps the extraordinary potential possessed by the Terran Bugmen was too weak, or maybe the Bugmen found their own way through iteration after iteration. In the end, in order to adapt to the fungi, the Bugmen evolved in multiple iterations to specifically accommodate fungi. Organs, and after a longer period of time, the relationship between the two gradually evolved from parasitism to a deep symbiotic relationship. Through continuous iterations, the insect man gradually integrated with the fungus in biological form, becoming a special half-biological and half-fungus. Life forms, and the fused fungi have become gentler, no longer as deadly and violent as they used to be.
At that time, the extraordinary creatures on Terra were on the verge of extinction.
After the bug people adapted to the fungus that exterminated 90% of the extraordinary creatures on Terra, the effects of the fungus gradually became apparent.
Mind connection.
Using the symbiotic fungi in the body as a carrier, and feeding them with the trace amounts of extraordinary energy possessed by the bugs, the Terra bugs were surprised to find that a certain mental connection was born between them. This was the first time the bugs used anything other than pheromones. After a long period of exploration and application, a huge database connected to the minds of all insect people was built.
This huge mental database will save the individual information of all the bugs that are included in the mental connection. Every spoken language, the wisdom and experience of every Terran bug sage, and the testimony of every historical node will be saved in the database. For those who are latecomers to the Terran bugs to observe and learn from.
The Terran bugs skyrocketed from there.
There is no need for written records anymore. Any previous experience, great achievements, and past mistakes and lessons will be recorded in the database in detail, exactly the same as the past history.
The queen, the leader of the insect people, is not only the manager of the main hive mind, but also the person with the highest authority who stands at the highest point of the main hive mind, broadcasting reassuring messages to them in the main hive mind all the time.
Now, they no longer feel the connection to the mental database, nor can they hear the Queen's voice.
This is the case in Tyra
From the moment when people established their mental database and the main nest mental system was born, it has never appeared before.
The large mental database cannot respond, and the voice of the person with the highest authority cannot be heard. The only people who can make mental connections are the compatriots in the rescue ship.
The main nest's mind collapsed and the queen died in battle.
Such a conjecture appeared in the thoughts of the original bug man, and he recalled what the shipboard core that awakened him told him: the rescue ship was attacked by the human fleet and crashed from low-Earth orbit;
He wanted to make contact with these humans, but what greeted him was guns and bombs.
He turned on the force field to remove the damage from the bullets and destroyed those people's firearms, but what followed was more intense firepower until they died.
The rage of betrayal and betrayal burned within him, and spread like wildfire through the mind link with his death.
Then things got out of hand.
More and more insect-men angrily woke up from their slumber, broke the stasis field, and launched attacks on the humans in the facility with full of anger and hatred.
The Terran bugs themselves represent the embodiment of the development of biological science to its extreme and pinnacle.
With the support of unimaginably advanced technology, every larvae of the Terran Zerg has integrated information on all the genetic elements of the Zerg civilization.
Each bugman is the crystallization of peak biotechnology. Their genes integrate a variety of benign mutations, eliminate defects, and express the best. After strengthening their bodies, they can adapt to a variety of extreme environments, including space environments, and transform organisms into The biological weapons created by the peak of technology have made them an invincible army at any time and in any state.
And it would be terrible for such a legion to go crazy.
Countless humans died under the claws and guns of the bugs. In the face of the genetically modified and strengthened bodies of the bugs, human physical strength was vulnerable.
The insect-men were running in the alloy passage, their wings vibrating and making a sharp sound. This was their way of expressing their anger. This group of angry insects split into two at this moment, and one wave rushed towards the command center. , about to kill the thief who had stolen the authority of their spaceship, while another wave rushed towards the route outside the spacecraft.
Poof!
A sharp sickle arm pierced out from the back of the alloy door. With the harsh sound of metal friction, sparks flew out, and a long and narrow gap opened.
With several bang bangs, the cracks opened by the sickle arms on the door became larger and larger. The alloy door reinforced by humans on the outside of the spacecraft was smashed open, and the swarms of insects inside spread in all directions like a spreading tide. spread.
It's all over, no one can escape now.
The chairman sat on the throne with some dejection.
Just now, through the surveillance camera of the Control Throne, he saw bugs rushing out of the spacecraft.
The spread of insect pests is unavoidable.
No way to control it? The first hunter asked.
Yes, there is, but the chairman hesitated to speak, then he shook his head and said: It's just that there is not enough time to evacuate, I can only try my best to seal them here.
His many years of operation in Night City include more than just these arms and new weapons.
But at this moment, there was a harsh friction sound outside the door between the commanders.
Here they come.
The door was gradually torn open by the huge scythe arm, and one after another, the insects with blazing anger in their eyes emerged from the torn apart small gaps, letting out a loud roar.
The first hunter didn't say much, he just asked: What should I do?
Protect me before I activate the device.
how long.
Two minutes.
A proud smile appeared on the face of the first hunter: Fortunately, it is much easier than the previous combat requirements of holding down a large swarm of insects for half an hour.
Leave it to me. I won't let anyone hurt you for two minutes.
"I'm sorry," said the chairman, "I dragged you into these things in the end."
However, he didn't hear what the chairman said, because before the latter said this, the hunter had already rushed out with the weapon in his hand.
At the same time, three or four angry bug-men emerged from the cracks in the door.
Click!
The first hunter's wrist shook slightly, and the meat saw in his hand transformed into a huge meat cleaver. He raised it high and slashed at the sickle arms that turned into black shadows!
Ding ding ding ding!
The crisp and melodious sound of metal clashing echoed through the room,
As soon as they met, the first hunter fell into a disadvantage. The sickle arm cut many wounds on his body, blood spurted out, and blood mist filled the air.
Under the severe pain, the first hunter burst out with a roar, pulled out a musket from inside the windbreaker, and pointed it at the insect man closest to him with his backhand.
Just one shot!
boom!
The mercury bullet loaded with the hunter's blood was ejected from the barrel of the fire wall. However, under the influence of the deceleration field, the kinetic energy of the mercury bullet quickly dropped to the minimum. Finally, the warhead exploded into a cloud of blood mist and fell feebly. fell to the ground.
The gunfire failed, and the Terran bugs counterattacked quickly. They rushed into the blood mist, and six arcs of light flashed in succession. The Terran bugs waved the huge blade arms on their shoulders, and slashed with three knives from different angles. Towards the throat, abdomen and chest of the first hunter, while several other arcs blocked all his dodge routes.
Even though he was in a desperate situation, the first hunter was not frightened. He just took two steps back to avoid the fatal knife that hit his throat by a hair, and then lightly snapped his fingers.
Snapped!
The blood mist that dispersed in the air suddenly turned into crystal thorns. From the inside of the extremely hard carapace, these insect-men were dismembered in the blink of an eye. However, before he could take a breath, more insect-men also tore open the door. Seam rushed out from inside.
While the first hunter here was locked in a bitter battle with more bug-men, the chairman was also busy preparing to launch his preparations.
Gwen, activate the output device as planned.
received, begins to shut down the other energy output of the micro solar furnace. Gwen's voice sounded faintly.
The energy output of each unit and area is declining rapidly, the lights are turned off one by one, and the huge devices are gradually shutting down. As the energy output of the main areas of the spacecraft declines, this energy begins to be transferred to other places.
The output unit and its energy circuit are being turned on, and the startup progress is 30%, 70%, and 90%.
Ready, do you want to turn on full power output?
Ding!
A crisp sound disturbed the chairman's thoughts. A huge scythe arm fell on the throne of control on the right side of his head. A bug man bypassed the interception of the first hunter, raised his scythe arm and rushed to his side to try. He launched an attack, but the first hunter arrived at the critical moment, which prevented him from succeeding.
However, the chairman only took one more look and continued to engage in his battle.
start up.
Order received.
The surging current is like blood. They gallop through the pipes made of wires, sending energy for action to various areas of the spacecraft. Now, under Gwen's control, the paths are switched, and the facilities inside the spacecraft begin to shut down one by one. Stopped, revealing the dazzling emergency lighting, while the huge amount of electricity flowed in an unknown direction.
Soon, something unexpected happened.
Chairman, third! The road is prone to meltdown due to overload!
The output intensity of the third and third channels is weakened, and the tolerance of the material is being recalculated to adjust the output intensity according to this result.
Chairman, the twelfth node has completely melted down! Cannot be used again!
Twelve nodes are abandoned and backup node circuits are activated to share the pressure.
Activate the redundancy structure!
There is a serious logic problem in the seventh node
Chairman! After charging is complete, the device can be started at any time!
Problems were exposed one by one, correction orders were issued one after another, and the device used to seal the insect swarm was started normally and gradually got on the right track.
The chairman slowly opened his eyes, and at first glance he saw what was happening
The first hunter who fought bloody battles.
There were many insect corpses lying at his feet, and a shield made of blood condensed around him, but it was already in danger and crumbling at the moment.
He fulfilled his promise and within two minutes, he was not harmed in any way.
And the time he fought for might have saved the entire world.
The chairman's eyes flashed red: Night City's big shield is activated!
A lamp lit up on the night hemisphere.
The Evernight Wasteland is more than ten kilometers away from Night City.
The light released from the lighthouse turned into a dazzling white light that pierced the eternal darkness here. In this barren wasteland, a stream of light spurted out from the tower and passed across the space to the next tower. As each node is activated, a majestic and dazzling halo of light envelopes the Night City in the center!
