The Zerg expanded even faster than Fang Zheng had imagined.
Fang Zheng had chosen to summon the Zerg in the world of "Edge of Tomorrow" partly because he wanted to test the Soul Stone's function firsthand, and partly because he wanted to see how the Zerg would reproduce in a world like this. In the game, the Zerg required resources such as Crystal Minerals and High-Energy Gas to develop. But Earth in this world definitely had none of those. Could the Zerg still grow?
The facts proved that this was no problem at all.
After conducting some tests, Fang Zheng discovered in surprise that the Zerg did not need Crystal Minerals or High-Energy Gas whatsoever. Unlike in the game, the Zerg here would not stupidly sit around doing nothing until Fang Zheng found mineral deposits for them to convert and harvest. Instead, Zerg Drones actively searched for the resources they needed. Once they found something they considered useful, they reported it to Fang Zheng through telepathy. Once Fang Zheng gave the nod, they immediately began gathering it.
Out of curiosity, Fang Zheng had inspected the minerals they harvested. He found that the Zerg were not picky in the slightest. From coal, copper, and iron ore to petroleum and natural gas, they could harvest and haul away anything usable. Fang Zheng had been rather surprised when he first saw this, but Milune's explanation made him understand. What the Zerg needed was energy. Energy itself only differed in quantity; there was no particularly obvious distinction between types. The game's restriction to Crystal Minerals and High-Energy Gas was probably a design necessity, but the Zerg in reality clearly were not so fussy. As long as something could produce energy, they did not care about anything else.
At last, Fang Zheng understood why the Zerg in that world never worried about resource shortages or depletion, and simply solved everything with an F2A push. If the Zerg truly were that indiscriminate in what they consumed, then their rapid and terrifying growth made perfect sense.
The Zerg's development proceeded fairly smoothly. There were several mines in the outer forest, but perhaps because of the fighting with the aliens, they had all basically been abandoned. Fang Zheng promptly ordered the Drones to occupy the mines and begin harvesting resources. Before long, Larvae hatched from the Hive one after another, while all kinds of Zerg structures silently rose amid the forest.
Still, Fang Zheng was not entirely at ease. He remembered that the big boss in "Edge of Tomorrow" could reload the timeline. What if it reset everything? Would he have to start all over again?
Fortunately, Milune, the Zerg Queen, offered Fang Zheng a very good suggestion. She advised him to kill some Mimic Aliens. As long as the Zerg obtained the Mimic Aliens' flesh and blood, they could consume it and alter their genes to gain their unique power. The Mimic Aliens might be formidable, but surely that ability would not affect them.
Thinking it over carefully, Fang Zheng found that Milune made a lot of sense. It was true that the Alien Boss could manipulate time, but its ability indeed seemed unable to affect his soldiers. After all, aliens could not simply appear out of thin air. If the aliens had to start from scratch and produce troops every time they reloaded the timeline, their numbers could never have grown so large. Especially since the Alien Boss had already controlled most of Europe—if it had to reproduce all its soldiers after every reset, that would be incredibly troublesome.
Conversely, if alien creatures were unaffected by it, their numbers would grow greater after every reset. Considering that manipulating time was an ability alien creatures had long since abused to death, it was entirely possible that they used it as the core of a snowballing strategy.
Of course, this was all just speculation for now, but that did not matter. Fang Zheng had already received word that humanity would launch a full-scale counterattack against the aliens on the French West Coast in two days. That meant the beginning of the "Edge of Tomorrow" storyline. If he could obtain alien genes before then, then no matter how Tom Cruise reloaded the timeline, it would not affect him.
And now...
"Let the hunt begin."
Looking at the abandoned town before him, Fang Zheng muttered softly, then strode inside.
The aliens' offensive had become increasingly fierce. Fang Zheng was no longer in the small city where he had first arrived after crossing over, but in an abandoned town on the front lines. The alien creatures were brutal and cunning, but humanity's greed was no less so. At the bar, Fang Zheng had heard more than once about people sneaking into abandoned places like these to search for valuables they could take back and sell. Naturally, it was also highly dangerous. Those aliens usually burrowed underground and rarely showed themselves.
Looks like I'll need to send out a few Overseers for detection when fighting these things.
As all sorts of random thoughts ran through his mind, Fang Zheng casually walked into town. It had been completely devastated by the war, leaving nothing but vast stretches of rubble. Fang Zheng did not care, though. He now possessed the Queen of Blades' Psionic abilities and could easily sense energy fluctuations around him. Thus, he quickly discovered several lifeforms hiding within nearby ruins.
Over there?
Raising his pistol, Fang Zheng cautiously advanced toward the ruins. He had taken this pistol from those unfortunate thugs who had died miserable deaths. The dead had no use for it, so he might as well take it.
Three meters, two meters, one meter.
"Boom!!"
Just as Fang Zheng passed the rubble, the collapsed building at his side suddenly exploded apart, and a monster charged out from within.
It was an extremely strange thing, looking like a huge collection of cables twisted together into a four-legged, beastlike monster. Though massive, it moved with the speed and ferocity of a cheetah. It lunged at Fang Zheng at full speed, the cables behind it coalescing into two tentacles that stabbed toward him.
If Fang Zheng had merely been an ordinary person, that strike would have been enough to pierce his body and turn him into a corpse. But Fang Zheng, who had mastered Psionic power, was not so easily killed. Facing the alien creature rushing at him, he swept out his right hand. A Psionic Shockwave shot from his palm and struck the alien creature's huge body, blasting it away. At the same time, Fang Zheng turned and ran without hesitation.
"Roar—!! Roar—!"
Although it had taken a heavy blow, the monster was not killed. It flipped over, dragged itself upright with its mangled body, and roared as it chased after Fang Zheng. Along with its roar, two more alien monsters soon leaped out from nearby, trying to block Fang Zheng's path from the left and right.
But Fang Zheng's speed exceeded the alien monsters' expectations. Blue light flashed around him, and in the next instant, he vanished from where he stood. Then he appeared out of thin air behind the two alien monsters. Seeing this, the two creatures froze, seemingly never expecting a human to possess such bizarre power. Still, they reacted quickly, hurriedly turning around and pursuing him. At the same time, the tentacles on their backs rose again, gathering into dazzling light before firing energy shots one after another.
"Boom! Boom! Boom!!"
Energy shots as large as artillery shells exploded around Fang Zheng, but protected by his Psionic shield, he suffered no harm. As he raced onward, Fang Zheng silently assessed the alien creatures' strength.
They seemed to have only this one form, but in that form, the alien monsters were versatile. They could attack from afar or up close, engage targets in the air or on the ground. They were essentially an all-purpose unit. However, their bodies were not particularly tough. The fact that human bullets in the movie could easily tear through them showed that the alien monsters themselves were quite fragile.
But the Zerg did not seem much different.
At that thought, Fang Zheng glanced at the three figures relentlessly pursuing him from behind, and the corner of his mouth curled upward. The next moment, blue light flashed, and Fang Zheng disappeared into thin air.
"-----?"
Realizing that the prey they had been chasing had suddenly vanished, the three alien monsters stopped in surprise. They waved their tentacles and warily watched their surroundings.
Only now did the alien monsters realize that, at some point, they had entered the forest while pursuing that human.
They hesitated briefly, then turned to leave.
But Fang Zheng had clearly not brought them here to play hide-and-seek.
"Splash!"
Just as the three alien monsters turned around, the ground beneath them suddenly erupted. One Hydralisk after another burst forth and pounced upon the enemies before them.
And so, a battle between alien creatures began.
Before you continue