Zerg Appear!

Tom Cruise's death genuinely caught Fang Zheng off guard. To be honest, he didn't have much attachment to this world, but at least Tom Cruise had played a hero, so he'd planned to have a proper talk with him. Who would've thought that as soon as Tom Cruise heard him say the word "ability," he'd shoot himself without hesitation? He was probably afraid of being sliced open for study... Sigh, this just goes to show that being too used to certain things isn't always a good thing.

The protagonist was dead. Fang Zheng could only offer three seconds of silence. What else could he do? The guy wanted to die, and he couldn't stop him.

With Tom Cruise dead, the entire "Edge of Tomorrow" plot was obviously wrecked. But Fang Zheng didn't care—he'd never planned to follow the protagonist's path anyway. Whether Tom Cruise lived or died didn't matter much to him. In fact, it didn't matter much to humanity either, because right now... things couldn't possibly get any worse.

The beach landing force had been wiped out by the Alien Monsters again. Without the protagonist's time-loop reset, the Alien Monsters crossed the strait and destroyed all of London. Through a live stream on his phone, Fang Zheng could see the entire city engulfed in flames. Then the feed cut out. He couldn't see what happened next, but he already knew the outcome.

In the days that followed, the Mimic Aliens struck on all fronts. Europe had basically fallen completely, and humanity was retreating step by step. After wiping out Europe's organized resistance, these Alien Monsters began advancing eastward toward Fang Zheng's location.

It should be about time now.

Through the internet, Fang Zheng had gotten a pretty good picture of the situation on Earth. Europe had fallen, and fires of war burned everywhere else. The White Eagle was too busy dealing with its own problems, and the Eurasian continent was barely holding on. Humanity was clearly at a critical juncture of life and death. So, following the formula, this was when the savior should appear.

Except, this savior didn't look much like one at all.

"Master."

Just as Fang Zheng was staring at his phone, half-watching the battle and half-daydreaming, Milune came to his side.

"The enemy is about to reach the front lines. They're currently engaging the humans."

"How's it going?"

Fang Zheng wasn't surprised by Milune's report. He'd known for days that a joint force from the Bear and the Rabbit had arrived here and set up a defensive line against the approaching Mimic army. He'd noticed them but hadn't made contact. He'd even ordered the Zerg covering the mountains and fields to burrow underground and hide, to avoid scaring the pants off those people if they discovered such a massive Zerg army lurking right beside them.

"The humans are retreating step by step. It's only a matter of time before they're completely annihilated."

"Good."

Hearing Milune's answer, Fang Zheng nodded in satisfaction. He turned off his phone and stood up.

"Milune, do you know why humans like superheroes?"

"Superheroes? Are those the beings from the stories you told before, Master? I think it's because of their immense power. Humans must crave that power."

Good, very Zerg-like... But that's also how a lot of humans think. Maybe the similarities between Zerg and humans are greater than he imagined?

"That's part of it. But the most important thing is that superheroes always show up when people are at their most desperate and helpless, giving them something more precious than life itself—hope."

"Begging for help from a powerful individual is a sign of weakness, Master."

Milune clearly wasn't impressed. Her appearance might be similar to a Young Girl's, but at heart, she was still Zerg.

"The weak only need to obey. They have no right to beg."

"That's the difference between Zerg and humans."

Fang Zheng didn't bother trying to convince Milune. To the Zerg, the only value of a powerful being was to kill it, devour its genetic sequence, and fuse its strength into their own bodies to become stronger. That was the Zerg's civilization. Trying to change that mindset was like trying to convince a tiger to become a vegetarian, so Fang Zheng didn't dwell on her answer.

"But regardless, fewer problems are always better. It's time for us to make our entrance. Milune, prepare to attack!"

"As you wish, Master."

At the front line, the situation was already complete chaos.

"Team Wang!"

A soldier in a mechanical exoskeleton stomped over a sand dune, came before an officer, and wiped the blood off his face.

"What are the command center's orders?!"

"The command center ordered us to hold at all costs! This defensive line is the most important gateway to the east. We absolutely cannot lose it!"

The officer called Team Wang raised his right arm, aimed at the dust in front of him, and pulled the trigger. A burst of bullets shot from the machine gun mounted on his arm, shredding a Mimic monster that had burst out of the sand.

"We don't have enough men. We can't hold this. How's Monkalevsky doing?"

"They're still holding on!!"

"Boom!!"

Before Team Wang could finish speaking, a violent explosion erupted. The two of them quickly turned to look at the blast site. A fireball rose from the ground and shot into the sky.

"Damn it, that's Position 215. They must have fallen!!"

Seeing this, Team Wang's face turned ashen. He immediately opened his communicator and shouted.

"This is Position 128. Is anyone there? Please respond? Damn it..."

Hearing no reply, Team Wang angrily ripped off his helmet and threw it aside. He raised his weapon and stared ahead. At that moment, Mimic monsters emerged one after another from the dust. Sensing that their enemies were on their last legs, they began to screech triumphantly at the soldiers.

"You monsters! We will never give up, and we will never retreat! Everyone, one step forward!"

With Team Wang's roar, the remaining soldiers, their faces set with determination, took one step forward and raised their guns.

"If you want to get through here, you'll have to walk over our corpses, you monsters!!"

"---!"

Hearing Team Wang's furious shout, the Alien Monsters opened their mouths and roared back in anger. But then, contrary to everyone's expectations, they didn't charge forward. Instead, they began to retreat.

"Th-this is..."

"What's going on, Team Wang?"

Everyone was stunned. They had already prepared to die here. If those Mimic monsters had pounced, they would have been dead for sure. But to their surprise, not only did the monsters not attack, they actually retreated? Was their captain so powerful that a single roar could scare off eight hundred elite soldiers?

"I have no idea either."

Raising his gun barrel, Team Wang himself was completely baffled. He stared at the monsters before him, having no idea what they were up to. But as he looked closer, he was shocked to discover that these monsters seemed to be... nervous?

Nervous?

Team Wang's eyes went wide as he stared in disbelief at the monsters before him, even reaching out to rub his eyes before looking again. Sure enough, these monsters appeared extremely agitated, uneasy, and tense. They stared fixedly at him, their tentacles practically bristling. They looked as if they had encountered some terrifying enemy, but nothing had changed about him and his men. They were just ordinary grunts—when had these monsters ever been afraid of them?

"Rumble, rumble, rumble..."

It was only then that Team Wang heard a sound coming from behind him. He looked down and was astonished to find the ground itself trembling slightly. And with the appearance of that sound, the alien monsters grew even more tense, instinctively retreating and forming a defensive formation!

Defensive? He had been fighting these things his whole life and had never seen them take a defensive stance!

What the hell was behind them?

"T-Team Wang!"

Suddenly, a trembling voice rang out. Team Wang turned toward the sound and saw a young soldier not far from him, pale-faced as he looked back over his shoulder. His body shook uncontrollably, and he looked like he was about to collapse. Team Wang knew him—this was one of the bravest young men under his command, the kind who wouldn't even flinch if a gun was pressed to his head. But now, this young man was like a rookie fresh on the battlefield, so terrified that he stumbled back a few steps toward the Mimic monsters and collapsed onto the ground, his legs giving out!

"What's wrong with you? Pull yourself together! What is it?!"

Shouting loudly, Team Wang also turned to look behind him.

Then, he froze completely.

"My god..."