Technology from the Spider

Three days later.

Spider Forest.

Surrounded by tens of thousands of densely packed Zerglings, the Overmind sat upon its throne, idly kneading the larva in its arms, which was looking less and less worm-like by the day.

Dragon Dog lay obediently beside the throne. Strangely, as though the lighting technician had gone mad, its body kept flickering between light and dark. One moment, its body was brilliantly illuminated down to the finest detail; the next, it was black as ink, reduced to a single dark mass.

The Overmind was examining the valuable essences obtained from breaking down spider corpses.

"Semicrystalline high-fiber protein," the primary component of spider silk. The protein structure itself had little worth, but it contained a group capable of bonding with "earth elements." Besides granting extremely high viscosity, it could also be "drawn into threads."

Incidentally, rock trolls' skin also contained similar earth-affinitive groups. They could be incorporated into Creep's genetic sequence along with the spider protein to strengthen Creep's adhesion.

"Spinnerets," the organs spiders used to spray silk. The silk-producing organs of these otherworldly spiders possessed an extremely complex structure, allowing them to eject large quantities of silk fluid in a highly efficient manner. In practical terms, this meant directly "spraying" out an entire web.

Such nozzles could improve the Queen's nourishing fluid, the Overseer's contamination juice, and the Infestor's mold. Their drawback was that their structure was too delicate to withstand high pressure, leaving them with limited range.

And then there was the greatest harvest: the "shadow interlayer." A layer within the Shadow Spider's carapace, formed from specially arranged iron-bearing calcite. With psionic power or magic, it allowed one to enter and leave the Shadow Realm.

Unfortunately, the interlayer conflicted with a dragon's magic-resistant skin and produced strange reactions. The Overmind had only learned after asking Elar that dragonkin could never learn Shadow Walk.

The Overmind's dog-training plan could be said to have failed, though from another perspective, it could also be called a success.

Dragon Dog could not fully enter the Shadow Realm, but after the Overmind possessed it and subjected it to inhumane "flickering," it somehow learned the ability to "get stuck in the gap between reality and the Shadow Realm."

Phase shifting—a special ability possessed by certain dragon species. Its outward manifestation was becoming incorporeal.

Unfortunately, while it could be used frequently, each shift lasted only a short time. Moreover, becoming incorporeal came with a conspicuous outward sign—turning black—so it lost its stealth effect.

Its sneaking skill had become a dodging skill, but that was acceptable. Having mastered this godly technique, Dragon Dog was immediately tossed into the Spawning Pool by the Overmind to upload its genes. It had only returned not long ago.

Crack—

The sound of swelling and tearing came from before the Overmind.

The Overmind shifted its attention from the hive mind back to reality and looked up at a cocoon before it that was splitting apart.

The time had come.

Amid splattering fluid, a brand-new Venom Devourer had risen beside the Spider Cave.

However, unlike ordinary Venom Devourers, the spore plasma stored in this one's sacs looked as though it had been diluted with water, noticeably thinner. In exchange, its venom sacs were larger and held far greater reserves. It had clearly undergone special modifications.

The Overmind snapped its fingers.

The Venom Devourer aimed its mouth at the sky and—pfft—

Light brown fluid scattered through the air, breaking into tiny droplets that pattered down and evenly soaked the surface of every Zerg unit.

Each spray released dozens of tons of plasma. The Venom Devourer sprayed again and again, only stopping after it had spewed out nearly enough to fill two swimming pools.

Afterward, not only was it depleted, even the surrounding Creep had thinned by a layer.

Yet the Venom Devourer was still producing spore plasma at full speed, the sacs beneath its terrifying maw rapidly filling again.

The Overmind waved a hand.

Amid shrill cries, every Zergling, Dragon Dog included, charged into the cave.

Only a dozen or so enormous Long-Legged Giant Spider infected remained beside the Venom Devourer, still standing guard as though waiting for something...

According to the Overlord's vibration-based perception of the Great Labyrinth through the Creep, the entrance in Spider Forest was roughly shaped like a "7"... though a right angle would have been more accurate.

After entering the cave and traveling over a thousand meters, the passage gave way to an extremely steep descent, forming a natural vertical shaft roughly four to five hundred meters across and several thousand meters deep.

At the bottom of the shaft, the Overlord sensed a large number of life signs. That should have been the spider colony's nest.

Naturally, aside from the cave at the very top that connected to the surface, the shaft also linked to dozens of horizontal tunnels.

Using the spider nest at the bottom of the shaft as their core, these spiders radiated outward across maze-like caves stretching dozens of kilometers, using them as the spider colony's hunting grounds.

At the same time, the shaft contained many spiral staircases made of spider silk, though they were not continuous. After all, spiders could climb walls; the silk stairways were only occasionally needed to transport large prey.

Creep's expansion came to an abrupt halt upon reaching the shaft and making contact with the silken stairway webs.

Spider silk should have been a supreme delicacy to Creep. This high-quality protein was even more suitable for Creep's absorption than flesh or wood fiber.

Unfortunately, once Creep entered the shaft, its spread was stopped after extending only a few meters.

The main force responsible was none other than the numerous small spiders from the cave before.

Though none could pierce a Zergling's armor, these small spiders were actually divided into several distinct types.

Based on the Swarm's analysis of spider corpses, these small spiders could roughly be categorized into four types: soldier spiders with sharp forelegs and massive chelicerae; venom spiders with highly toxic fangs; silk-secreting spiders that produced webbing; and the rarest of all, white-striped young spiders.

When Creep corroded the silk, venom spiders would actively spit digestive fluid to break down the Creep. Even when the Creep began growing acid-resistant membranes, soldier spiders would tear it apart.

Finally, the silk-secreting spiders would repair the damaged web.

Although the small spiders had limited ability to secrete digestive fluid, there were simply too many of them. By taking turns, they had forcibly halted Creep's expansion.

Of course, this was not a long-term solution. The small spiders were merely very weak magical beasts. Their immunity was only somewhat stronger than that of ordinary creatures. They might be fine after one or two weeks of infection by the Swarm virus, but given enough time, they would still become infected.

In fact, some small spiders were already beginning to show abnormalities. Their carapaces had thickened; strange keratinous growths had appeared all over their bodies; they were no longer controlled by the Lesser Spider Matriarch's pheromones; and their appetites and aggression had greatly increased.

However, these infected small spiders were relatively few in number and had not yet drawn the spider colony's attention.

A great many spiders were still diligently clearing away the Creep.

Silently, the Creep seemed to undergo some sort of change.

As if it had suddenly gained a central mind capable of commanding troops, it no longer expanded and divided mechanically. Instead, it began differentiating armor plating and spikes tailored to the spiders' physical traits, hindering their movements.

At the same time, certain unusual structures began appearing across the Creep...