The Military's Attention

"Indeed, this gene evolution is not that simple!"

Qin Mu shook his head and shifted his consciousness back into his body from the hive.

After witnessing the successful evolution of the Tiger Hound, he had a sudden impulse to try and modify the Zerg genes himself. He didn't aim for the same level of power as the evolved Tiger Hound; even a slight increase would satisfy him.

As it turned out, he had overthought things. Upon seeing the vast, star-sea-like genes of the Tiger Hound, he didn't even know where to begin.

Although Qin Mu had self-studied some gene engineering books these past few days, his learning ability notwithstanding, the time was too short. At best, he was at the level of a freshman or sophomore university student in a related major.

This level was merely scratching the surface. He still wanted to modify Zerg genes?

He didn't even know where to start!

After a perfunctory attempt and forcibly altering some of the gene structures, the entire life gene structure collapsed, as expected.

"But, it's better than the beginning, right? At least I understood some of the functions of the gene structures and even tried to modify them."

Qin Mu consoled himself.

Just as Qin Mu was attempting to modify the Zerg genes, a satellite monitoring system in a military camp in Jiangnan Base City emitted an alarm.

A soldier, looking at the satellite information, frowned.

"Monster activity in County Town 0203?"

There were countless monsters on Earth nowadays, and satellite resources were extremely scarce. The main focus was on the major King-level monsters and the Lord-level monsters in major cities and the wilderness.

Small places like County Town 0203, where the strongest monsters were only at the Advanced Beast General level, were not a priority.

However, due to its proximity to the Northern Military Region of Jiangnan Base City, it was occasionally checked.

"Is it internal monster combat, giving rise to a relatively strong Advanced Beast General-level monster fighting for territory, or has a Lord-level monster appeared? It's best to let the Northern Military Region investigate, to avoid any unforeseen circumstances."

The soldier operated the computer and sent the information to the Northern Military Region of Jiangnan Base City.

The Northern Military Region was the same military camp where Qin Mu had undergone his practical combat assessment previously.

When the information reached the Northern Military Region, the relevant personnel immediately took notice and began collecting data and compiling intelligence.

"Retrieve information on military warriors near County Town 0203 and inquire if they have discovered the cause of the anomaly in County Town 0203."

A soldier responsible for intelligence immediately started the investigation.

"There are no military warrior teams on a mission in County Town 0203. Wait! We've found a military warrior who is currently in County Town 0203! It's the Mental Master, Qin Mu, who caused quite a stir some time ago!"

County Town 0203 was located in a rather remote area. Qin Mu had chosen this location precisely because it was remote and not many warriors went there.

"Qin Mu?"

Zheng Xing, upon receiving the news, felt his heart skip a beat. Qin Mu was actually in County Town 0203.

According to the satellite reports, County Town 0203 had experienced a large-scale ferocious beast riot, with tens of thousands of monsters killed.

It was highly possible that an Advanced Beast General-level monster was fighting for territory, or even that a Lord-level monster had appeared. Being in County Town 0203 at this time was extremely dangerous.

With this thought, Zheng Xing immediately dialed Qin Mu's Communication Watch.

"Hmm? Why is Zheng Xing looking for me?"

The Communication Watch on Qin Mu's wrist vibrated slightly.

Because he was near the hive, Qin Mu did not answer the call. This Communication Watch was not just for voice calls; it could also perform video calls, and he did not want to expose the hive's existence.

He quickly walked out of the underground garage, then leaped onto a nearby tall building. With several consecutive jumps, he landed on the rooftop before finally answering the call.

"Commander!"

As he had joined the military, Qin Mu no longer addressed people by their names as he had before, opting to call them "Commander." Zheng Xing was the commanding officer of the Northern Military Region camp, holding the rank of Rear Admiral, so calling him Commander was appropriate.

"Qin Mu, are you in County Town 0203 now?"

Seeing that the communication was connected, Zheng Xing breathed a sigh of relief. In the wilderness, it was common for calls to warriors to go unanswered, as they might be fighting monsters.

"That's right!"

Qin Mu replied.

"We received news that County Town 0203 experienced a ferocious beast riot, with a large number of ferocious beasts engaging in combat. It's highly possible that an Advanced Beast General-level monster, or even a Lord-level monster, has appeared. Have you observed any unusual situations on your end?" Zheng Xing's expression was serious. This was not a minor issue for him, nor for the Northern Military Region.

The Northern Military Region was not too far from County Town 0203. If it was an Advanced Beast General that had appeared there, it would be manageable, but if it was a Lord-level monster, they would need to request a War God-level expert to eliminate it.

If left unchecked, the entire county town could be controlled by a Lord-level monster, which would not be good for humanity.

It could even lead to a beast tide!

"Ferocious beast riot?"

Qin Mu blinked, feeling a bit embarrassed.

He had anticipated that the military would notice when the Swarm initiated large-scale combat, but he hadn't expected it to be so soon.

"Commander, if you're referring to the ferocious beast riot in County Town 0203, I might know the reason."

"If I'm not mistaken, it might be because I've been cultivating here recently, and I accidentally killed a bit too many monsters while hunting."

Hearing Qin Mu's words, Zheng Xing was startled. What had this guy done to cause the monsters in the entire county town to riot?

"How many monsters did you kill?"

Qin Mu smiled slightly and replied.

"I haven't counted specifically, but there are probably a few thousand at the Beast Soldier level, and over thirty at the Beast General level, right?"

Zheng Xing's expression changed, and he said in shock.

"Over thirty Beast General level monsters! My goodness, no wonder these monsters are rioting."

How many Beast General level monsters were there in the entire county town? Qin Mu alone had hunted over thirty! It was no wonder the city was in chaos!

"I understand. Take it easy, don't provoke any monsters that are too powerful. If you encounter danger, remember to call for help, or run towards the military zone."

After understanding the general situation, Zheng Xing didn't dwell on the specifics anymore and instead showed concern for Qin Mu.

As a Mental Master, as long as he didn't intentionally seek death, it was generally difficult to kill him, because Mental Masters could fly!

Just being able to fly gave Qin Mu a certain level of self-preservation ability against most monsters.

After hanging up the phone, Qin Mu frowned. He didn't expect the military to discover something so quickly. Although he had managed to brush them off for now, he was worried that the military would send people to investigate.

"County Town 0203 is still too close to the military zone. Even this scale of fighting attracted the military's attention.

It seems that the expansion here needs to be postponed. The Zerg's development focus can be shifted to City No. 0237."

Stopping development was naturally impossible. Even relocating like at the beginning was impossible.

This was because in County Town 0203, the Zerg units had already exceeded 30,000. Migrating them was not that easy.

Not to mention that evolving the Hive Mother to a Level 3 Hive Mother requires consuming 50,000 energy and also reaching 100% Gene Evolution.

This requires hunting a large number of monsters to achieve. The Swarm could not stop developing just because the military noticed them.

Of course, a temporary dormancy was still necessary. If this city was noticed by the military, then another one would do.

Qin Mu had considered this from the beginning.

After the Hive Mother evolved into a Level 2 Hive Mother, Qin Mu immediately established three branch bases. One was in the wilderness jungle, and the other two were in cities. One of the cities was City No. 0237, and the other was City 0209.

City 0209 was just a small city. It was chosen simply because it was remote enough, with hardly any Warriors going there, making it very safe.

City No. 0237, before the Great Nirvana Period, was a large city with a population of millions, adjacent to Taihu Lake, and was a very important node in Qin Mu's plan.

Moreover, City No. 0237 was very close to City 023, which was Suzhou before the Great Nirvana Period, and had great development potential.

There, there was a larger battlefield, which was more suitable for the development of the Swarm.

It could also be used as a starting point to research aquatic Zerg units and prepare for entering the ocean.

Even if the military hadn't noticed, Qin Mu was already planning to head to City No. 0237. Now, the plan was just slightly moved up.