Taking turns cultivating
"You mean, Hoffman is the mastermind behind this Soul-Devouring Spider?"
"Nature."
Colonel Roland made no attempt to shirk responsibility or cover up the existence of Zerg like the Soul-Devouring Spiders in the Galactic Federation.
"In fact, the earliest generation of the Soul-Devouring Spider's mother was the one Lord Hoffman brought to me last time."
"A rare alien civilization from outside the Galactic Federation; I heard it took the adults a lot of effort to capture them."
"Furthermore, according to your research, the offspring of this Soul Spider parasitize smaller Soul Spiders when they attack."
"The parasitic soul spider can catalyze the soul of a living being, and at the same time, the soul strength of the offspring will also increase as its strength increases."
"Ultimately, upon the death of both the host and itself, the soul Energy Transfer to the mother."
"Part of it is used to evolve the species, and the other part is also one of the nutrients for the birth of offspring."
Lister did not learn from the system comparison that the parasitic soul spider could catalyze the growth of a living being's soul.
But as Roland said, the remaining part is indeed that the life form can perfectly feed back the souls of the people it killed and its own back to the mother body.
Lister now roughly understood that this so-called Soul-Devouring Spider- like Zerg civilization was essentially just a pawn in Hoffman's scheme.
As Quasi-Hegemon at the eighteenth level, it is only one final evolution away from becoming a true Hegemon.
They have real guts; they actually managed to take over the entire Zerg civilization and use it for their own purposes.
"So, it was Hoffman actually invited me to participate?"
"No, it's me."
"Lord Hoffman entrusted me with the care and nurturing of this Soul-Devouring Spider, in an attempt to harvest its Soul Crystals."
"But before he left, he mentioned you and Kavin to me, saying that if you two could reach the Quasi-Hegemon, he would invite you two to participate."
As expected, in Hoffman's eyes, the only ones who could truly be considered as combat power were the Quasi-Hegemon.
Moreover, Lister gained a clearer understanding of the Soul-Devouring Spider's true nature.
Unexpectedly, it wasn't even born from the Galactic Federation; it was actually captured and brought back from the Great Space Era.
No wonder it possesses such a unique ability to create Soul Crystals.
Lister had never seen Soul Crystals in the game in his previous life, so it seems that they mainly appeared during the Great Cosmic Era.
The more I know, the more at ease I feel, and at the same time, I can't help but try to help Kavin.
"What about Kavin? Can I tell him to come along?"
Although Soul Crystals were important to him, Lister also valued his friendship with Kavin equally.
Especially after learning that the Soul-Devouring Spider had become everyone's prey, and could be harvested indefinitely, they didn't feel any remorse and were even more eager to invite Kavin in.
"I invited him a long time ago, but he's different from you."
"Since you're already in the military region, it's easy to invite you to participate in joint extermination missions."
"And Kavin seems to be creating Mechanical Civilization... no easier than me cultivating Zerg civilization."
"After a brief chat with him, I decided not to bring him along."
This is something Lister overlooked; compared to Kavin, Hoffman naturally favored Kavin more.
Since Colonel Roland has this opportunity, he certainly won't miss it for Kavin.
However, Kavin's current actions were no less demanding than cultivating Soul-Devouring Spiders, which is why he didn't extend an invitation.
It can be said that the two things prohibited by the Galactic Federation were actually done by the same person, Kavin and Roland, who were supported by Hoffman, and neither of them took the Galactic Federation Constitution seriously.
"Since this is the first time we've cultivated it, we don't know its true growth and harvest time."
"Actually, it's too late to clear them out now, but fortunately everything is still under control."
"We will indeed need your help to deal with the Mother at that time, is that alright?"
"No problem."
"When it comes to distributing the Soul Crystals, Lord Hoffman will get 50%, I'll get 35%, and you'll get 15%. Is that alright?"
"No problem."
In both of these aspects, Lister did not deliberately try to bargain.
The Soul-Devouring Spider was brought back by Hoffman from the vast universe; whatever percentage is appropriate is fair.
As for Roland, after all, he has been cultivating Soul-Devouring Spiders for several years, so a 35% success rate is to be expected.
He only got involved because of Hoffman's connections, and he really didn't have much say.
And as for the joint cleanup missions, he got a share of the Soul Crystals and also received an A73 share of the military merits, so there's nothing more to say about it.
Seeing Lister's unwavering agreement, Roland's admiration deepened.
I couldn't help but sigh inwardly, "He is indeed someone that Hoffman, the great man, values."
With considerable strength, they act cautiously, think clearly, and make decisive decisions, making them absolutely reliable partners.
"There's one more thing I want to mention beforehand."
"I am still the leader of the Glimmer Civilization; I cannot spend my time on the Soul-Devouring Spider."
"Therefore, we will take turns nurturing them from now on, and you will be in charge of arranging the next batch of Soul-Devouring Spider Mothers."
"It would work whether it's placed in the Arcane Civilization, the Merrick Civilization, or any other Chaotic Star Region."
"The premise is that the mother organism cannot escape, and at the same time, the group can develop smoothly."
"When you're in charge of cultivating this round of Soul Crystals, I'll only get a maximum of 15% of the harvest."
"That makes perfect sense."
"Do I have the authority to bring in more people to participate?"
"Yes, but it requires my or Lord Hoffman's permission."
"And the civilization the other party belongs to must be a branch of the Leviathan Civilization."
Roland had no objection to the selection of personnel for expanding this project.
Or perhaps this was something Hoffman had already considered?
I've long considered using Soul Crystals to attract talent and establish a small, Quasi-Hegemon group within the Galactic Federation.
"No problem."
The more advanced a civilization is, the more factions it tends to have.
The three major Level 4 civilizations both cooperated and competed with each other.
Hoffman, after all, belonged to the Leviathan Civilization, just as the Glimmer Civilization and Merrick Civilizations naturally did.
Even if nothing is mentioned, the actual ownership has already been marked.
As for the Arcane Civilization, it has always hoped to be affiliated with the Witchcraft Civilization, but unfortunately it has not been accepted.
Not all Type III civilizations can rely on three Type IV civilizations.
When the two returned to the party, the entire scene was in complete chaos.
The officers deliberately didn't shake off their drunkenness, reveling in the tipsy state amidst their chaotic revelry.
The officers on Ship A73 were the same; the Prismatic Band was supposed to be there, was nowhere to be seen.
Instead, a brand new heavy metal band was playing wildly on stage, creating an exceptionally hot atmosphere.
Meanwhile, a large group of young women from various cultures had appeared at the party, dressed smartly, their intentions clear.
The officers, tired from playing, would take the women they found attractive upstairs.
"Lister? You're finally back!"
"How are you? Are you alright?"
Lister reappeared at the party.
Captain Boren glanced discreetly at Colonel Roland as he left, then immediately leaned closer and asked.
"It's nothing, we just talked about some mission-related matters."
"He simply invited me to fight alongside the final matrix."
Let me give Captain Boren a heads-up.
After all, the Soul Crystal is inside the mother body, and in the end, it will only be directly distributed between him and Roland.
For Lister, military merit was no longer the most important thing in this joint mission; on the contrary, Soul Crystals were his primary objective.
"That's good!"
Captain Boren breathed a sigh of relief when he saw that he was alright.
Gwent, who was standing nearby, also spoke up at this moment.
"Lister, what a pity!"
"The performance was absolutely 'wonderful,' you couldn't have missed it!"
As he spoke, there was a hint of sarcasm in his words, and it was easy to guess what kind of "performance" he was referring to.