Entering

Cleary didn't really want to go deeper into the cave. This Insect Nest was very strange, completely different from the ones they had encountered before. If it were one of those Insect Nest, they would have been hollowed out long ago given their current frantic digging pace.

However, the sheer size of this Insect Nest and the complexity of its underground passages far exceeded everyone's expectations.

Biologist Dr. Bart speculates that this Insect Nest is an unprecedentedly large family, possibly exceeding all expectations. This means that venturing deep into the Insect Nest would be extremely dangerous.

It's worth noting that the Insect Nest next to Chloe Base suffered the loss of hundreds of thousands of Zerglings and destroyed its Granary, yet it still managed to send 200,000 troops to breach Chloe Base.

This Insect Nest is even larger, meaning it may contain millions or even more insects. If they go berserk, even with advanced weaponry and extensive experience, they will have a hard time holding them off.

Fortunately, a large number of people participated in the operation. Under the coordination of General Masai and Major Porter, the first wave of people entering the underground lair numbered over 100,000.

The 100,000-strong army was divided into thousands of teams, entering the Insect Nest through different passages and heading towards the location where the signal had been sent. The cave was complex; the main passage was wide enough for three or four people to walk side by side, while the narrowest passage was so narrow that Riken Race soldier, after removing all his equipment, could only barely crawl through.

The Riken Race dared not enter such a passage rashly; the only way to pass through was to widen it with appropriate tools. However, this was extremely inefficient, and hastily expanding the passage could cause the cave to collapse.

Therefore, for safety reasons, the soldiers usually choose to take a detour.

Whenever they encountered a fork in the road, the group would split up. Although there were many people who came in, after several rounds of splitting up, each team was left with only about a hundred people.

The Zerg seemed accustomed to their intrusion; they didn't even detect a single Zerg for an hour. But as they approached within 500 meters of the Signal Device, the attack began.

These insects are extremely well-hidden in the dark when they cling to the rock face, and because they don't exhibit any heat response, they are very difficult to detect using conventional methods.

Currently, the only early warning method used by the Riken Race is an instrument that monitors vibrations, which can detect enemy activity by the sound of insects crawling.

But if the insect doesn't move, the instrument becomes somewhat ineffective.

Although the fleet's research team is urgently developing an instrument capable of detecting the Zerg, the Riken Race have only been facing the Zerg for less than a month, which is far too little time to produce any significant results.

Some of the Riken Race had become slightly complacent due to the lack of attacks for a long time, were the first to suffer. They were a beat too slow to react to the insects' sneak attack, and that half-beat cost them their lives.

Although Raider are often used for frontal assaults, they are actually a high-burst, high-agility unit with relatively poor defense, making them more suitable for assassination-type tasks such as ambushes and sneak attacks.

Moreover, their artificial intelligence-like consciousness allows them to lie in wait more effectively, and without a corresponding command, they will not experience any negative emotions even if they lie still and starve to death.

The sounds of sharp blades piercing vital organs, the dying groans of the Riken Race soldiers, their panicked cries for help, and their astonished shouts mingled together in an instant.

The Riken Race still doesn't understand the Zerg's highly efficient coordinated attacks. They attacked all Riken Race teams simultaneously, and after a brief skirmish, the Riken Race suffered heavy losses.

In just one minute, the force of 100,000 people lost 20% of its strength, and some squads were even completely wiped out.

However, that was all the results they had achieved. The Riken Race initial shock, immediately organized a defense. Their extensive experience fighting the Zerg made their counterattacks extremely effective.

The Zerg's primitive combat methods and tactics are mostly only effective once against the high-tech, systematic Riken Race army.

Just like this sneak attack, the next one won't produce such results.

Within the narrow passage, the Zerg's physical bodies were truly helpless against a weapon as devastating as the flamethrower. Moreover, this assassin-like unit was inherently limited to a single, decisive strike.

The insects' attack was quickly repelled, leaving only their charred remains.

Despite the heavy losses, the Riken Race Captain were actually quite pleased. Having already conquered eleven Insect Nest, they knew what the situation was like.

They were getting close to the long-hidden "Granary".

The insects quickly organized another wave of attacks, but when faced with the Riken Race army, they achieved very little, and the casualty ratio was extremely high.

Gradually, the Zerg army, which had been advancing wave after wave like a tide, transformed from a "sea" into a "river," and finally into a "stream," with their reinforcements becoming increasingly scarce.

They were finally exhausted; at least a million insects had died in the suicidal charge. This was the largest Insect Nest the Riken Race had ever faced.

If it weren't for the narrow passages where complete fire coverage could be achieved, and if the Zerg weren't so unintelligent as to lack self-preservation skills, and if it were open terrain, the outcome would truly be uncertain; the entire 100,000-strong Riken Race army might have been wiped out.

But there are no "what ifs." The loser gives his life, while the winner receives everything.

Riken Race received was a super "Granary" consisting of more than a dozen compartments.

As usual, once the Zerg's final, desperate charge is wiped out, the Zerg in the "Granary" will be completely wiped out, leaving only the prey wrapped in white silk.

Out of caution, the Riken Race gathered a large number of soldiers at the entrance of the "Granary" before carefully venturing inside, thoroughly inspecting the surrounding and overhead rock walls.

Fortunately, the Zerg followed the rules very well this time, and there were no unexpected incidents.

Because the Granary was so large, and the Riken Race soldiers were exhausted both mentally and physically from the recent battle, the search was proceeding very slowly.

Five hours later, a soldier opened a private bag and looked at the scene before him. His eyes lit up, as if he could see a promotion and a raise.

This was a young and beautiful Riken Person. Her light blue skin appeared exceptionally pale due to her weakness. Her eyes were tightly closed, as if she were already dead, but her slightly opening and closing nostrils and the slight rise and fall of her chest indicated that she was still alive.

Yes, there are no dead prey in the Zerg's "Granary".

This is the experience summarized by the Riken Race after contributing eleven Insect Nest Granary.

The soldier had never met Chloe in person, but he had seen her in photographs. Although the woman in front of him looked somewhat different from the one in the photos, well, photographs are something everyone understands.

Moreover, given the mental anguish he had endured for several days, coupled with physical weakness, it was understandable that his appearance had changed somewhat.