Discovery

"That's right, Humins, it seems we need to find some other channels. You're over there overseeing things, and now that we have these speculations, have you found any clues?" Cecil asked, shrugging slightly.

Humins shook his head and said, "I was too late. Although the Zerg aren't particularly strong, they are a form we completely don't understand. We can't infiltrate their social, cultural, or network information systems. Plus, with their unique methods and their control of LKDW399, even if we wanted to infiltrate and investigate, it wouldn't be easy. Moreover, I don't have enough professional personnel; we can only rely on a small team to slowly search for clues. Unfortunately, we haven't found anything noteworthy so far."

"Can't we use some diplomatic means to force them?" Cecil frowned.

"The Zerg follow a different biological path than us, making it difficult to impose a scientific and technological blockade. Furthermore, they are an extremely isolated race with almost no desire for communication, and they are self-sufficient in resources, making economic sanctions impossible. Before they joined the Alliance, military pressure might have been possible, but now..."

"The rules can't be broken just because the benefits aren't great enough. If those people knew the value of the Zerg, they'd probably start a war immediately."

"That's right, but they don't know that right now, so we can't..." Humins' face showed regret, and the two fell silent.

Just when Sarah thought the call was about to end, Cecil suddenly looked up and said, "Maybe we can try other methods."

"What method?" Humins' eyes lit up, and he quickly asked.

"Humins, can you confirm that this creature also belongs to the Zerg?" Cecil asked Humins, pointing to the image of Godzilla in the second document.

Humins to think carefully, then replied, "That cannot be confirmed. This creature was merely a fleeting phenomenon. I have never seen such a creature among the Zerg combat units. If it weren't for the records of the Riken Race, I wouldn't even know it existed."

"Is there any other information? May I see the original documents?" Cecil asked.

"Of course, no problem. It's just that the Riken Race once wanted to monopolize the Life-Extending Serum, so they deliberately destroyed many records. Even though I obtained some fragmented information through various means, it's still good for you to take a look. Perhaps you can compile more information than I have." After saying that, Humins performed a series of operations, and the information reached Cecil almost instantly through the quantum communication network.

Cecil opened the documents one by one, and as expected, they were all quite scattered. However, she had expected this; apart from a few individuals, most of the New Epoch Clan were powerful researchers, and Cecil clearly favored information manipulation.

She frantically swiped her hands, seemingly using some algorithm to retrieve useful information, while Humins waited patiently.

Suddenly, Cecil's eyes lit up, and he exclaimed, "This record is interesting!"

Upon hearing Cecil's voice, Humins's slightly drowsy eyes snapped open, and he craned his already disproportionately long neck to look over. Unfortunately, due to the communication barrier, Humins couldn't see the specific display in front of Cecil.

Cecil glanced at Humins out of the corner of his eye, smiled slightly, and considerately shared the image with him. "Look here. According to this information, the Riken Race encountered an attack from a native species on that planet they call Proxima Centauri. Unfortunately, although there are some pictures of the native creatures here, the most important ones have been destroyed and cannot be restored. Otherwise, we could see if the creatures that attacked them ever existed among the Zerg."

Humins looked closely and indeed saw that it mentioned being attacked by a native gregarious species, but the specific descriptions and pictures had been destroyed. This kind of creature exists in several species on almost every Ecological Star, so based on this alone, it was indeed impossible to determine whether it was related to the Zerg.

"It actually says here that they had the upper hand in their battle against this creature. If they were Zerg, I don't think the Zerg would be so weak."

"Indeed, just as you said before, Humins, it was an enemy from another desolate planet who defeated them. Could it be that that creature had no connection to the Zerg?"

"It's also possible that the reason the Original Epoch Clan's laboratory was moved to such a distant location is either to avoid those troubles, or perhaps because they need a variety of ecological environments to help them with their experiments."

"There's some corrupted information here, I'll try to fix it." Cecil performed another series of operations, but Humins, who wasn't a professional in the field, didn't understand them at all.

A moment later, Cecil's voice, tinged with surprise, came through. "Humins, if what's said here is true, perhaps it explains why you've never seen that creature again."

Humins quickly looked over and gleaned the information. "That creature was killed by the Riken Race, and quite easily at that. But it's not surprising; this creature, though powerful, is incredibly agile. Only enemy weapons could penetrate its armor; it was just a sitting duck. This is likely why I haven't seen it among the Zerg combat units—it's been phased out."

Hearing Humins' words, Cecil was slightly taken aback, but she quickly shook her head and said, "Humins, actually, the reason I was trying to say wasn't what you said."

"Is there some other reason?"

"Didn't you ever consider that there was actually only one of these creatures, and now that it's dead, you've never seen it again...?"

"Is that so? I think it's unlikely. Although I don't have much evidence, there's one thing you must know: the Zerg's main combat unit is an octopus-shaped creature. After they grow to a certain size, they undergo thermonuclear reactions. I suspect they have something similar to this monster."

Hearing Humins' words, Cecil scratched his head and muttered to himself, "Is that so? But why would the Zerg release a discarded creature onto this planet? I've read Zerg combat data; their units can even absorb nutrients from their comrades to repair themselves. Given their style, they wouldn't release such a large creature to waste resources."

"This does make some sense. Perhaps this creature performed some great service? Or is it simply to commemorate something?"

"Meritorious service? With such a primitive thermonuclear reaction, if it really participated in some major war, then they couldn't possibly have escaped our monitoring and early warning." At this point, Cecil suddenly widened his eyes.