Hatching the Hive Mother

July 21st, 2056, 6 AM.

Qin Mu ate a hearty breakfast in the mess hall of the supply base. The food at this Warrior supply base was genuinely quite good.

After finishing, he noticed many people were looking at him strangely.

Although it was still early, many people were already eating.

As Warriors, the vast majority were very diligent and disciplined.

Thanks to their strong physiques, and the fact that those people weren't deliberately avoiding him, Qin Mu easily overheard their discussions.

"He's the Pre-warrior who's going into the Wilderness Zone alone, right? I think his name is Qin Mu?"

A fierce-looking Warrior with a scar on his face looked at Qin Mu curiously, chatting with his teammate.

"Just an arrogant kid who doesn't know his limits. I bet he won't last a day outside the city before dying."

A lean Warrior with a long saber hanging from his waist sneered dismissively.

"I don't think so! Maybe he'll get scared and run back as soon as he encounters a monster in the wilderness."

Others shook their heads.

"I heard the Blood Wolf team has set up odds at the camp, betting he won't come back if he dares to go out!"

Qin Mu listened to their discussion, a smile appearing on his face. He walked up to the scarred Warrior and said:

"Brother, can you do me a favor?"

Seeing Qin Mu approach, the scarred Warrior instinctively became wary and reached for his lower back.

Although fighting was strictly prohibited at the supply base, a young hothead daring to go into the wilderness alone might not be able to control himself.

"Brother, I'm in a hurry to leave the city. Help me place this 10,000 yuan bet. Bet that I can stay in the Wilderness Zone for at least 5 days and return alive, how about it?"

Qin Mu didn't resort to violence. Instead, he smilingly took out 10,000 yuan from his pocket and placed it on the table.

The scarred Warrior was stunned. After realizing what was happening, his face showed admiration, and he gave a thumbs-up.

"Brother, you've got guts! If you make it back alive, do you want to join our Barbarian Bull team? Our captain is a General-level Warrior."

"We'll talk about that when I get back! Hahaha."

Having indulged himself, Qin Mu walked away without looking back.

Under normal circumstances, a newly qualified Pre-warrior heading into the wilderness alone was indeed no different from suicide.

"But with my Zerg clone, I shouldn't be considered an ordinary person, right?"

A smile crept onto Qin Mu's lips.

At the entrance of the camp, Qin Mu sat in the driver's seat of the off-road pickup truck. He started the engine, and the pickup truck roared to life, charging into the wilderness without hesitation.

The pickup truck sped along the highway.

Even though it was a highway, the road surface was dilapidated and full of potholes, making it difficult to drive.

On both sides of the road, broken-down vehicles were scattered everywhere, and there were even countless dark bloodstains.

About ten miles after leaving the base, Qin Mu sensed the soul link in his mind and commanded:

"Worker Bug, hatch!"

In the cargo bed of the off-road pickup truck, the Worker Bug, having received the command, immediately broke out of its egg and crawled in the cargo bed.

With a Worker Bug whose strength was equivalent to a low-level Beast Soldier providing assistance, Qin Mu's safety assurance would be greatly enhanced.

After driving for about twenty to thirty miles, Qin Mu began to see traces of monsters, and various insect and animal sounds could be heard intermittently.

Qin Mu's nerves also tensed up.

Fortunately, he didn't encounter any monster attacks.

It wasn't until he had driven more than fifty miles that Qin Mu, following the map's guidance, drove off the highway and headed towards the villa district along a small path.

This stretch of road was difficult to navigate, and Qin Mu drove very slowly.

From the jungles on both sides of the road, rustling sounds could be heard from time to time, causing Qin Mu to be highly tense.

Several times, the off-road pickup truck got stuck.

Fortunately, Qin Mu had anticipated this and directly ordered the Worker Bug to get out of the cargo bed and push the truck.

Although the Worker Bug was not large in size, its strength was immense, capable of easily lifting tens of times its own weight. Moreover, the off-road pickup truck Qin Mu chose was not heavy, so the Worker Bug could easily lift it.

After some struggle, Qin Mu finally, and without incident, approached his destination.

This was the villa district planned.

This villa district was vast, with over a hundred detached villas and supporting living facilities. Each villa covered an area of more than 300 square meters. Unfortunately, most of these villas had now collapsed and were overgrown with weeds and vines.

The off-road pickup truck stopped about a mile away from the villa district.

The Worker Bug got out of the cargo bed to stand guard. After confirming there was no danger, Qin Mu opened the car door and got out.

The spot where Qin Mu stopped was in a prime location, situated on higher ground, allowing him to easily overlook the entire villa complex.

Taking out a telescope, Qin Mu began to observe carefully.

"There's a monster!"

Qin Mu's eyes narrowed as he stared intently into the ruins of the villa.

A canine monster, about 1.2 meters at the shoulder, with spots and a streamlined body, was moving through the debris.

"Tiger Mastiff. Judging by its size, it's a junior Beast Soldier."

"There's more than one!"

Qin Mu was startled as he looked through the scope of his binoculars.

There wasn't just one; within his line of sight, Qin Mu could see seven or eight Tiger Mastiffs.

Besides the Tiger Mastiffs, Qin Mu quickly spotted more monsters. A group of porcine monsters, their fur like sharp spikes and possessing a pair of huge tusks, were gathered together, diligently searching for food in the ruins.

"It's Iron-Haired Wild Boars!"

After a thorough search, Qin Mu discovered that there were at least hundreds of monsters in this villa district. In addition to the Tiger Mastiffs and Iron-Haired Wild Boars, he also found traces of Shadow Cats.

"This villa district is too dangerous. I need to change my plan."

Qin Mu calmly analyzed the situation.

Initially, Qin Mu had considered that in the open wilderness, the Hive Mother would be easily discovered by monsters and human satellites. Therefore, he had planned to use human buildings for cover.

However, he had overlooked a serious problem: the sheer number of monsters in densely built areas like this villa district.

Through years of combat with humans, monsters had gradually shifted from open, desolate areas to human-populated zones with various forms of cover.

This was because in the wilderness, they were too easily targeted and eliminated by human thermal weapons.

Especially since this area was relatively close to a military zone, most of the fierce beasts roaming outside had already been killed by the military's patrol teams.

Given the complex environment and the abundance of monsters in this villa district, attempting to infiltrate directly and hatch the Hive Mother within the district was almost impossible.

For a newcomer like himself, who had never ventured into the wilderness before, even if he managed to infiltrate, finding a suitable location for the Hive Mother to hatch in a completely unfamiliar environment would be too dangerous.

He didn't know how many monsters were lurking in the dark corners of the villa district; rushing in blindly would truly be suicidal.

Moreover, if he infiltrated alone, the various thermal weapons in his vehicle would be completely useless.

"My plan, based solely on information from the HR Alliance platform without actually entering the wilderness, is still too crude."

Having understood the crux of the matter, Qin Mu decisively abandoned the idea of entering the villa district and began searching for a suitable location to build the Hive Mother nearby.

The villa district was located in a mountainous, hilly area with a complex environment. It had been neglected for decades, resulting in overgrown trees and rampant vines.

Soon, Qin Mu identified a spot within a dense forest next to the road.

The tall trees would block the line of sight from the sky, making it difficult for aerial fierce beasts to spot them. With a bit more camouflage, as long as no significant commotion was caused, no one would pay attention to this area.

After all, this Hive Mother was only meant to be temporary; once the Swarm developed, they would definitely relocate.

"Worker Bug, clear the path! Proceed into the jungle and hatch the Hive Mother!"

Qin Mu decisively gave the order.

At the same time, he took out a box of landmines, preparing to set up traps in the surrounding area.

Receiving the command, the Worker Bug entered the jungle, moving nimbly through it. The fully armed Qin Mu followed closely behind.

Crunch

The Worker Bug clearing the path in front suddenly swung its large pincers, catching a black creature.

Hiss

Qin Mu looked closely. It was a venomous snake nearly a meter long, entirely black, with a triangular head. It was clearly highly venomous!

"That was close!"

A drop of cold sweat appeared on Qin Mu's forehead. The venomous snake had been hidden too well. If the Worker Bug hadn't been clearing the path, he probably would have stepped on it.

After advancing dozens of meters, the Worker Bug stopped. It carefully scanned the surroundings, confirmed there was no danger, and then lay down on the ground.

The Worker Bug's body rapidly transformed into a large pulsating sac of flesh, beating like a heart.

The flesh sac grew at an incredible speed. With each beat, its size increased, and at the same time, a purple creep began to spread outwards like a liquid. The surrounding plants and small insects were dissolved as if encountering concentrated sulfuric acid.

This Worker Bug was transforming into a Hive Mother!