New Zerg Units

A day later, after the Evolutionary Cavity consumed over a hundred energy points, a complete Life Structure Diagram appeared within the Mother Nest.

"The Tiger Hound's gene analysis is finally complete! The genetic progress toward evolving into a Level 2 Hive Mother has reached 6%."

A smile appeared on Qin Mu's face. He could now incubate Zerg Units other than Worker Bugs.

"Consume 15 energy points, and in twenty minutes, a Tiger Hound with Intermediate Beast Soldier Level combat power can be incubated."

That was right—Intermediate Beast Soldier Level!

He sensed the remaining energy in the Mother Nest. There were still 3,124 energy points.

"Keep 1,000 energy points in reserve. Use all the rest to incubate Tiger Mastiffs!"

Under Qin Mu's command, five larvae around the Mother Nest immediately began to mutate, transforming into cocoons as the genetic information within them shifted toward that of Tiger Hounds.

Twenty minutes later, five exceptionally robust Tiger Hounds broke free from their eggs.

Qin Mu stepped forward and looked at the Tiger Hounds before him, each standing nearly 1.5 meters tall at the shoulder. A satisfied smile appeared on his face.

"Go! Fight for the Swarm!"

The five Tiger Hounds immediately ran out, guided by the Mother Nest toward a battlefield.

While the Mother Nest had been analyzing the Tiger Hound genes, it had also steadily incubated dozens more Worker Bugs to tend to the Swarm's ever-expanding territory. There were now 126 Worker Bugs in total.

A small portion guarded the Mother Nest, while the majority, under its command, hunted down the straggling monsters in the Villa District and extended the Swarm's control deeper into the wilderness.

A Shadow Cat darted nimbly through the ruins, running circles around several Worker Bugs that were far less agile than it was.

Just as it was feeling pleased with itself, a powerful Tiger Mastiff came charging over. After several consecutive leaps, it easily sprang onto a wall and sank its teeth into the Shadow Cat's body.

"As expected, when it comes to fighting, Worker Bugs are still a bit lacking."

Though Qin Mu said that, the corners of his mouth curved into a smile. The Tiger Hounds' Combat Power had not disappointed him.

"It's time to consider establishing a secondary base for the Swarm. This place is too close to the military camp, and there aren't enough monsters."

In Qin Mu's original plan, incubating the Mother Nest here had merely been meant as a stepping stone. He just had not expected to awaken, causing the Swarm's development speed to increase dramatically.

Taking out a tablet, Qin Mu operated it for a moment and brought up a map, continuously locating and zooming in.

"There are three county towns relatively close to me: County Town 0201, County Town 0202, and County Town 0203."

Qin Mu's first choice was County Town 0203, because its location was relatively remote, with fewer warriors around. It was also close to City 023, formerly Suzhou.

The Swarm would use County Town 0203 as its base, then expand toward City 023 once it had grown strong enough.

There were large numbers of monsters there, more than enough for the Swarm to hunt, grow, and develop.

More importantly, there was an enormous lake there—Taihu Lake. And within Taihu Lake were countless aquatic monsters.

Taihu Lake was part of the Yangtze River water system. Its waters flowed into the Yangtze through more than seventy rivers and channels to the north and east, connecting it to the Yangtze River.

In Qin Mu's plan, once the Swarm had developed in City 023, it would begin cultivating aquatic Zerg.

Once the aquatic Zerg reached a certain level of strength, they could follow the rivers into the Yangtze River, drift downstream, and enter the ocean.

The ocean was the true paradise of monsters. Countless sea monsters awaited the Swarm there, ready to be devoured, analyzed, and evolved from!

That was the Swarm's true battlefield on Earth.

The same applied on land. Once it gained a foothold in City 023, it would advance toward City 003, formerly Shanghai. Its ultimate destination would still be the ocean.

Of the three county towns, Qin Mu had no plans to visit County Town 0201 for the time being, because it was the first county town Luo Feng visited after becoming a warrior.

Before his strength reached a certain level, Qin Mu had no intention of coming into contact with Luo Feng. Contact with a protagonist often meant trouble!

If possible, Qin Mu still wanted to develop peacefully. Ideally, the Swarm would grow strong enough to sweep aside all the monsters on the planet before he went out to have some fun.

For the Swarm to grow stronger, the core was making the Mother Nest stronger. The strongest Zerg Units the current First-level Hive could incubate were High-level Beast Soldier level.

For the Mother Nest to advance into a Level 2 Hive Mother, the most important thing was to raise the First-level Hive's genetic progress to 100%.

After analyzing an Intermediate Beast Soldier Level Tiger Mastiff, the progress had already reached 6%. At this rate, reaching 100% would take a little over half a month.

"Today is already July 23. Time is getting a little tight."

Qin Mu took a deep breath. Even rushing there, the journey from the Villa District to City 0203 would take two or three days.

At first, Qin Mu had only planned to establish the Mother Nest in the Villa District, return to the base city once he had gained a foothold, take the Warrior Practical Combat Assessment, and only consider heading toward the county towns after obtaining his official warrior title.

Because only after gaining the warrior title could he join the major powers and acquire guidance techniques, various cultivation secrets, and equipment.

For Qin Mu, who had no Zerg inheritance, that was extremely important.

But plans could not keep up with changes. Continuing to stay in the Villa District would only waste time.

"Today, I'll focus entirely on incubating Tiger Mastiffs. Once night falls, we'll march directly toward County Town 0203 and establish a Mother Nest there. With the strength of the Swarm and me, there shouldn't be much danger along the way."

Qin Mu pondered.

"Better to be cautious. Send out several Tiger Mastiff squads to scout ahead first, then have the main force depart at night! By nightfall, the number of Tiger Mastiffs should exceed 150.

"One hundred and fifty Tiger Mastiffs with Intermediate Beast Soldier strength, plus me, an Intermediate Warlord level Mental Master—that will be enough.

"By the time we reach County Town 0203, the Iron-Haired Wild Boar and Shadow Cat analyses should also be complete. At that point, we'll have three types of units available for incubation. With that kind of strength, the new Mother Nest should barely be able to establish a foothold in the county town."

Qin Mu carefully calculated the Swarm's Combat Power and the time available.

"There are still eight days until the Warrior Practical Combat Assessment. Subtracting six days for travel, I can stay in County Town 0203 for two days. That's enough time."

Once the development strategy had been decided, the Swarm immediately began to move.

A squad made up of ten Tiger Mastiffs began scouting toward City 0203.

The Tiger Mastiffs were fast. It did not take them long to leave the Villa District and enter the wilderness.

They encountered monsters from time to time along the way, but none posed much threat. They were all Primary Beast Soldiers or Intermediate Beast Soldiers.

Only after the Tiger Mastiffs had traveled dozens of li did the Wilderness Zone's monsters become more numerous, and their strength clearly rise. From time to time, they encountered High-level Beast Soldier level monsters.

Following the principle of avoiding trouble, the Tiger Mastiff squad did not fight the monsters along the way. Instead, they gave them a wide berth and recorded information on every type of monster they encountered.

Half an hour later, the second Tiger Mastiff squad set out.

After dispatching three scouting squads in succession, Qin Mu began building up his forces in preparation for relocating with the main army.

The reason for continuously sending out reconnaissance forces was simple. There were too many uncertainties in the wilderness. If they encountered a powerful monster, they could discover it in advance and avoid being wiped out in one blow.

After arranging matters for the Swarm, Qin Mu did not idle around. Instead, he took the time to train his movement technique, spear technique, and Mental Power.

Because Zerg were constantly being incubated, Qin Mu was growing stronger every moment. He needed to master his own strength as soon as possible.

Before the Mother Nest awakening, Qin Mu had gone through actual combat, and his spear technique and movement technique had improved greatly. But after awakening, his explosive increase in strength had sent his control over his body back to square one.

"Whew—"

Qin Mu raised his spear and swung it freely, his transitions between moves gradually becoming more proficient.

"After awakening, my talent and comprehension have become so much stronger. I can spot many problems at a glance that I never noticed before."

Joy filled Qin Mu's face. His spear moved like a swimming dragon, one move following another in an unending flow.

"No, this move is wrong! The spear was an inch too high!"

"No, this move was just brute force before. I should be using skillful force instead."

"..."

The more he practiced, the more Qin Mu felt that his spear technique and movement technique were far too lacking, riddled with too many flaws.

Every practice session revealed new problems.

Especially when Qin Mu linked his consciousness to the Mother Nest and used its powerful computational ability to practice his spear technique and movement technique.

The door to a new world had opened.