The Terrifying Creep

Looking at the twisted, writhing dark-brown viscous substance amid the lush green, the Overmind felt little disgust. Instead, he found it strangely refreshing.

He stepped forward and tried setting foot on the Creep.

The Creep was not as sticky and soft as the Overmind had imagined. Instead, it was dense yet elastic, like the rubber track of a sports field. It even sank slightly to conform to the sole of his foot, making him feel as though he were wearing running shoes.

Faced with such miraculous Creep, the Overmind could not help crouching down. He held his hand above it and used Psionic Energy to establish a partial connection with it.

The Creep beneath his palm began undergoing marvelous changes. One moment, it became solid and hard like rigid plastic; the next, smooth and wet like ice. Then it flowed freely, sending layer after layer of ripples across its surface. At one point, the Mycelium even rose in neat rows, making the entire patch of Creep fluffy.

Then, as the Overmind clenched his hand, waves of shock rippled across the Creep. All the Mycelium twisted and aligned themselves, drawing together like muscle fibers, swelling and generating considerable pulling force.

The Overmind could go even further, causing the Creep to fully differentiate into neural structures, muscle structures, or grow shells and keratin...

What kind of black technology was this?!

Just as the Overmind was intimately interacting with the Creep, a shrill scream suddenly came from nearby.

He raised his head.

Just two meters away, a rat-like creature suddenly darted out of an earthen burrow that had been concealed by weeds.

Several strands of Mycelium clung to its body. Those soft, gentle threads beneath the Overmind's hand pierced beneath the rat's skin like steel needles, then spread through its muscles like tree roots, creating visible bulges across its hide.

Half-mad with pain, the rat fled blindly from the burrow invaded by Mycelium, only to step into the Creep's coverage. The firm, dry Creep beneath the Overmind's feet turned into glue. As the rat ran, it dragged out long strands behind it, while the Creep seemed to come alive, layer after layer sticking to its body until it was tightly wrapped and unable to move.

Then, amid sizzling sounds, the rat's body was rapidly digested, exposing stark white bones.

Yet when the rat's chest, abdomen, and lower body, along with half its internal organs, had been completely digested, its struggles and screams suddenly ceased.

The Overmind looked at the rat. Its only remaining face had swollen grotesquely, its nose and upper lip transformed into fleshy tentacles. One eye had fallen out and was wrapped tightly by the tentacles, while the other glowed with a faint red light.

The Overmind sensed its detailed physical condition and felt as though he could control all of its vital functions.

This rat had become a Zerg unit...

"The virus has activated normally." Agatha's voice came from nearby.

The Zerg Hyper-Evolution Virus, also known as the Venom Devourer Virus, existed in widespread symbiosis with the Creep, its genetic chain practically bound to that of the Creep. It was a terrifying virus capable of forcibly inserting Zerg DNA into an infected individual's genetic sequence. With the aid of infectious units such as Venom Devourers, Infestors, Scorpion Bugs, and Queens, it could even infect high-level Psionic Energy units...

"How contagious is it?" the Overmind asked.

"Not especially," Agatha replied. "The original Hyper-Evolutionary Virus, which has not been modified by an Evolution Chamber or infectious units, is relatively fragile. It exists in deep symbiosis with the Creep and other Zerg units, making it difficult to spread under natural conditions."

However, Agatha still proactively offered a proposal. "You may order the Creep to differentiate spore-producing organs and release virus-carrying spore dust into the atmosphere to accelerate its spread."

The Overmind pondered for a moment before asking, "How long would it take to accumulate enough spores to contaminate the entire planet's atmosphere in one go?"

In his experience, disease transmission was not suited to slow, gradual progress. An explosive outbreak was the proper way. Especially since the Zerg Virus had a short incubation period and took effect quickly, stretching the battle line too far could lead to unforeseen complications.

Agatha shook her head. "It is difficult to estimate."

But one thing was certain: the nutrients and organic matter required would far exceed the consumption needed to establish a Hatchery...

If the Overmind had not personally arrived in this world, he would have gone all out to transform it and spread the Zerg Virus, truly turning this world into a Plague Inc. scenario.

But now that his true body was in this world, he could not do that. If the virus's spread provoked a worldwide coordinated counterattack, a group of Infected would not be enough to protect him.

It was more practical to first build a Hatchery and produce a group of powerful Zerg units for protection. Besides, the Zerg Virus took effect extremely quickly. Once enough pathogenic spores had been accumulated, it would not be too late to release them after he was exposed.

By then, the infected rat had vanished. Clearly, being assimilated into a Zerg unit had not stopped the Creep from corroding it...

Hm? The Overmind turned his head and saw the Creep gradually spreading over Agatha's body.

"What are you..."

"This is the Creep's recycling mechanism," Agatha said calmly. "For low-level units whose injuries can no longer heal naturally, the Creep will break them down and recycle them. For high-level units, it will provide nutrients and wait for the Swarm to retrieve them."

The more highly differentiated a unit was, the harder it was for it to recover from injuries through natural healing. While protecting the Overmind, Agatha's ovipositor and the back of her head, which generated Psionic Energy, had suffered severe damage. Those were the Queen's crucial parts. In fact, if Agatha's injuries had been reversed—if her body were gone and only the neural cord at the back of her head and her ovipositor remained—her chances of healing would have been greater than they were now.

"Overmind, please allow my nerves to grow together with the Creep. I can partially replace building units in managing the surrounding Creep," Agatha requested.

Other than a few unit types, there was basically no rejection between Swarm units. When necessary, they could even put a Hydralisk's head onto a Zergling's body to maintain combat numbers. However, in exchange, the Zerg had to develop more complex and powerful immune systems to prevent an enemy from studying one type of unit and wiping out the entire Swarm.

The Overmind nodded. "Then do it."

The Creep began proliferating in an orderly fashion. With Agatha there, he did not need to worry about managing it.

However, the Overmind still gave one instruction. "Infect as many living creatures as possible. At the very least, build up a mobile force."

With not a single soldier under his command, even little creatures like rats had their value. It would be too wasteful to simply corrode them away.

"Yes." Agatha nodded. Although undifferentiated Creep had no brain and could not understand complex commands, its various mechanisms could still be fine-tuned. Whether it consumed living creatures was merely a matter of activating a receptor protein.

The Overmind found a spot on the Creep and sat down cross-legged. He connected himself to the Swarm's DNA once more.

He began drawing information about the Swarm from the Hive Mind and searching for techniques to use Psionic Energy...