That's It? Isn't This Just the Zerg from StarCraft?

The noise in the Livestream Room surged like a tide.

The Instance's screen slowly pulls back, returning to that breathtaking space perspective, overlooking this mysterious planet named "Insect Star".

Against the backdrop of the endless Universe, this planet appeared exceptionally conspicuous, like a massive malignant tumor parasitizing the vast Sea of Stars, radiating an eerie and dangerous light.

[The spectator mode for the Heart of the Swarm Instance has ended. The Firmament has now communicated all the Instance's mechanics to the Challengers. To continue with the Firmament challenge, Challengers will now face the various techniques and weapons of the Heart of the Swarm!]

[This Instance preview has ended. All Challengers will be teleported back to their original positions within 30 seconds!]

[Countdown begins!]

[30...]

[29...]

[28...]

[...]

The 30-second countdown ended quickly, and every second was torture for the Azure Star people who were now disgusted to the point of explosion.

Everyone was eager to leave this awful place as soon as possible.

As the countdown ended, all the spectators on Azure Star were teleported back to their original positions.

Lin Ye returned to his Cliffside Villa, no longer having to listen to the incessant chatter of these Azure Star people.

After playing the Instance for so long, Lin Ye was indeed a bit tired, so he grabbed a bottle of cola and drank it to perk himself up.

At the same time, another notification came from the Firmament.

[The Firmament Instance has now been showcased. Next, Firmament will introduce the Firmament Challenge modes to you!]

[The esteemed Dungeon Designer, once the Firmament Challenge begins, will break away from the traditional Instance challenge method! Instead, a mode combining two Instance will be adopted for combat!]

At that time, your Instance will merge with the Firmament Instance, opening Dimensional Gate between the two Instances! This will enable direct combat between the two Instance worlds!

Therefore... if you want to challenge the Firmament, you no longer need to design Spawn Points or low-level metrics for your Instance; the entire Insect Star will become the enemy of your Instance! Only when the forces of one Instance completely destroy the forces of another Instance can you be considered successful!

"Instance fusion?"

"Dimensional Gate..."

Lin Ye carefully pondered the words of the Firmament.

"That's actually quite interesting."

The brief explanation did indeed contain some hidden meaning, and it basically told Lin Ye the pattern of the Firmament Man's challenge.

Lin Ye could completely understand what Firmament Instance; it wasn't anything particularly complicated.

It essentially links two Instances together, allowing NPCs within each instance to lead their respective armies into battle against each other.

The so-called Dimensional Gate is nothing more than a connecting bridge between two Instances.

The conditions for victory can also be imagined: to annihilate all life forms on the other planet.

In other words, this is a form of Interstellar War, where everything is fought between NPCs, and the competition is based on the depth of the design of each Instance.

In the Earth Online, players can launch an attack on the Zerg Insect Star of Heart of the Swarm. Conversely, the Zerg swarm on Insect Star can also Dimensional Gate to attack Earth.

The result is that there will be no Challengers. Lin Ye will not need to attack Firmament's Instance, nor will Firmament attack Lin Ye's Instance. It is simply a clash of stats between the two Instances.

This mechanism is convenient for Lin Ye, since his new Instance doesn't have any Instance quests or other minor details.

It's like simply throwing your own Earth Online from your Creation Space onto it.

[Firmament Notification: Dear Instance Challengers, you have witnessed the full extent of the Heart of the Swarm. You now have the choice to continue the Instance challenge or abandon the Firmament challenge!]

[Firmament reminds you again, if you fail, you will be instantly wiped out, and Azure Star's infrastructure will be reduced by 50%, and all Azure Star people will be reduced by half! This means Azure Star will lose half of its Instance development!]

[Honorable Dungeon Designer Lin Ye, do you really want to plunge this planet into such a dangerous situation? Your recklessness will, to some extent, completely alter the fate of this planet.]

You will have one day to cool off. I hope you can make the right choice after that day! I will ask you for your decision again after that day!

After saying that, the Firmament fell completely silent.

Lin Ye could only manage a couple of dry laughs.

That's it?

That's it!

Actually, he had seen all the comments from those Azure Star people in the Heart of the Swarm Livestream Room.

Ninety percent of them are pessimistic, and the remaining ten percent are in despair.

To be honest, it's quite laughable. These people haven't even seen their own Instance, so why are they so certain they can't win...?

These Azure Star people had never experienced deep-seated warfare, let alone understood the concept of Interstellar War. So, just seeing the bizarre appearance of that Insect Star terrified them.

Moreover, based on their own understanding, they might not even believe that their Five Permanent Members of the UN Security Council is enough to defeat these insects.

Because they are not even from the same system, it is difficult to make a direct comparison.

It's not their fault. Lin Ye recalled that when he first saw the Alien series in his previous life, he probably felt the same way as these people from Azure Star.

Upon seeing the enormous Broodmother, Lin Ye nearly vomited.

People are naturally terrified of these disgusting insects and will instinctively feel fear towards them.

But if you think about it calmly, it's really not that big of a deal. Those Alien insects in the movie, weren't they ultimately defeated by the Predator?

Roach, these humble yet tenacious creatures, have indeed secured their place in nature with their astonishing reproductive capacity. However, when it comes to combat power, this mere reproductive capacity proves woefully inadequate and unsustainable. On the brutal stage of Interstellar War, how can mere reproduction possibly shake humanity in the slightest?

Indeed, Roach are incredibly resilient and can thrive in the harshest environments, multiplying endlessly.

However, if we're talking about short-term wars, humanity would definitely have the advantage in Interstellar War.

If we had to give an evaluation, the overall strength of the Heart of the Swarm is basically equivalent to the Zerg configuration in StarCraft, a game Lin Ye played in his previous life, with some elements from the science fiction movie Alien.

This basically matches Lin Ye's preconceived notions about the Zerg.

If Lin Ye remembered correctly, the technological Level of the StarCraft world was actually not high at all, basically comparable to the strength of Earth civilization in the early to mid-21st century. Compared with later works like the Three-Body Problem and Warhammer 40,000, it was actually quite far behind.

The Zerg's advantage lies in their rapid reproduction and large numbers! However, the individual Zerg members are weak in both health and attack power, making them completely incapable of prolonged warfare.

In other words, this Insect Star civilization might be just a tiny bit more advanced than the Blue Star before Lin Ye's previous life.

So-so, that's all!

This level of technology is simply no match for Earth Online, which has now completely transcended the Interstellar Age!

It could even be said that they are very, very far apart.

Lin Ye's technological positioning of Earth Online was based on the Level of Earth's civilization in the late the Three-Body Problem story.

If Firmament were to create a proton, a Dual-Vector Foil, a Black Hole, or even a civilization of Returners at this moment, Lin Ye might actually have some trouble.

There's a high probability that the challenge will be paused again, and then the player will develop for a while before attempting it again.

However, these living insects are nothing more than ants that can be easily destroyed in the face of the current Five Permanent Members Alliance.

Whether it's Robot Legion, Savage Orc Legion, or Quantum Legion, they all completely counter these Roach.

Not to mention the interstellar fleets of Dragon Country and the Eagle Sauce, which are space warfare-level combat units.

There are even Stellar-Class Nuclear Bombs; you might as well use a cannon to kill a mosquito.

Lin Ye refused to believe that the Insect Star had been completely destroyed and the Broodmother had been blown to bits, yet it could still survive...

To be honest, after reading the introduction to the Heart of the Swarm, Lin Ye felt a weight lifted from his heart.

It turns out that Firmament's true strength is at this level. Even if Firmament held back, it's probably not much stronger than what was shown in the Instance.

If their Long Yuan were correct, then the entity controlling Earth Online in the form of Firmament was actually a group of insects.

It's both ridiculous and laughable to think about it.

Ultimately, Lin Ye had overestimated Firmament during this period.

Just then, Lin Ye's phone rang again; it was a call from Long Yuan.

"Elder Long?"

As soon as the call connected, Long Yuan got straight to the point.

"Lin Ye, don't let those people from Azure Star influence you."

"Most of them are just a rabble; it's laughable!"

"Have you forgotten how dominant you were in the previous Instance? You've forgotten the pain of past defeats, and now that you've seen the Firmament Instance, you're starting to put down one and praise another."

"We are all Azure Star people, shouldn't we be united as one?!"

"Lin Ye, we don't care about anything else. Great Xia will always stand by your side. Even if you lose, we'll accept it!"

Long Yuan on the other end of the phone seemed a bit impatient; it was rare to see this usually smiling old man lose his temper like this.

The anger stems less from the cowardice of these Azure Star people and more from their lack of understanding.

The lack of understanding from mediocre people will only discourage heroes.

Defeating the Firmament could very well change the state of the world, perhaps even freeing everyone from the daily anxiety of struggling for points.

Lin Ye was fighting for himself, but also for this Azure Star.

If it were just for his own benefit, he could easily live the high life as the Hero Ranking right now, enjoying all the luxuries.

Why can't these people even understand such a simple principle?

"Elder Long, I won't care about these people. The challenge against the Firmament will absolutely not be stopped," Lin Ye said calmly.

"And from their perspective, perhaps just living a normal life is enough. After all, my challenges will more or less change their lives and make them bear some risk as well."

To be honest, Lin Ye didn't take these people's nagging to heart at all.

Their understanding was far too limited; they felt nothing but awe towards the divine being that was the Heavenly Firmament.

The perspective changes depending on the location, and Lin Ye completely understood this about the Azure Star people.

"Alright! That's enough. Lin Ye, you tell me your chances of winning."

"Could I buy some items from the Firmament Mall to save my life? If needed, I can cover the cost for you!"

"Heh. No need, Elder Long." Lin Ye smiled.

Now that they've reached the crucial moment of challenging Firmament, and with enemies meeting each other with intense hatred, how could Firmament possibly still hand over its tools to Lin Ye...?

It's one thing to cheat or swindle a few times before, but we can't really treat Firmament like an idiot.

"In this kind of contest, Firmament will no longer allow me to use any Annihilation-Prevention Privilege Cards. Since I've challenged his authority, if I lose, I will definitely be dealt with!"

"However, you don't need to worry. If Firmament's Level is truly as Heart of the Swarm demonstrated, I can say my chances of winning are one hundred percent!"

"You don't need to worry about the consequences of failure, because it's simply impossible."

"Alright! Lin Ye, I believe in your choice! Just focus on your preparations, and leave the rest to me," Long Yuan continued. "The Great Xia Settlement will always stand with you!"

"Anyone who wants to stop your challenge will have to get past me first!"

At this moment, although Long Yuan was somewhat irritable, he was actually very excited.

Because Lin Ye has never been a boastful person.

He had previously questioned this, as Lin Ye had single-handedly challenged the alliance of South Korea, Daiwa, and the Nirmaner, and later fought against the Eight Settlements alone, which was indeed worrying.

But since the Winter Is Coming and the Great Wall Watch Instance, all doubts have vanished.

This person has created miracles more than once, and this time should be no exception.

As fellow citizens of Great Xia, trusting Lin Ye is enough.

Since Lin Ye was able to create the groundbreaking Nantianmen Project, why can't he push his own Instance forward a step further?

What makes a genius a genius is that they bring endless possibilities to the world!

If he says it's 100%, then it must be 100%.

If even a genius like this can't defeat the Firmament, then Azure Star can forget about ever conquering it again; it might as well just obediently become a slave.

The thought that the people of Azure Star might actually have a chance to break free from the shackles of the Firmament made Long Yuan's aged heart pound wildly.

Is this day finally coming?

He had been on this planet for decades, living like a puppet under the control of the Firmament for just as long. How could he not want to see the world beyond the Firmament?

Thinking of this, Ding Chang suddenly burst into laughter.

"Haha, that felt great!"

"I'm about to retire, and I'm still able to witness such a great battle and experience this historic moment!"

"It was worth it!!"