At this moment, a tremendous change took place in the sanctuary chessboard.
The boundary river, which had been flowing with white energy and fragments of rules, actually solidified.
Little Black suddenly left the Commander position and drifted toward the center of the boundary river.
Strands of black threads drifted in from unknown directions—like intertwining gene sequences—and stacked one after another around Little Black, forming layer upon layer.
Lin Xiaohe looked closely and confirmed that those threads were indeed genes in energy form! Each gene was different, yet they were all fused together by the black threads.
Before long, a small mound formed around Little Black, built from stacked biological genes from various lifeforms.
That little mound looked somewhat familiar.
Its form was like a slowly pulsing black sarcoma, or like a mountain range that had grown out of thin air. Its surface was covered with honeycomb-like holes and twisted channels.
It continued to grow until it reached half the width of the boundary river, and only then did it stop.
Only then did Lin Xiaohe recognize what this little mound was.
It was a miniature Zerg Giant Tomb!
Lin Xiaohe…
Oh boy. Now she really couldn’t explain herself, even if she jumped into the Yellow River.
It seemed she truly had some kind of significant connection with the Zerg!
The corner of Lin Xiaohe’s mouth twitched. With a single thought, she moved her entire being from the Commander position into the Giant Tomb.
The Giant Tomb looked rather creepy on the outside, but its internal structure was surprisingly simple.
In the very center floated a circular platform, and Little Black was lying on top of it.
Countless dark red, pulsing biological tendrils extended from its carapace—like blood vessels and nerves—rooting themselves into every corner of the Giant Tomb.
The breathing of the Giant Tomb and the breathing of Little Black became one.
Lin Xiaohe walked up to Little Black and stroked its back: “Does it hurt?”
“It hurts, but I have to become stronger!” After saying that, Little Black’s head drooped, and several of its legs trembled incessantly from the pain.
This suffering was something it had to endure on its path of transformation.
The Giant Tomb drained energy from it, but in return, it fed back corresponding gene fragments, helping it optimize itself, break through genetic shackles, and charge toward the pinnacle of the Zerg!
Every second—every single moment—Little Black’s body, including its spiritual power, was breaking down, restructuring, breaking down again, in an endless cycle.
Each breakdown removed fragile gene fragments. Each restructuring added new genes.
Lin Xiaohe silently patted Little Black’s little head and didn’t disturb it further.
But she didn’t leave either. She sat down cross-legged and stayed by its side.
The formation of the Giant Tomb wasn’t complete yet. It still drifted back and forth across the boundary river. The vast white energy in the river was the nourishment for its growth.
Little Black was locked in a struggle for dominance with the will of the Giant Tomb itself.
Only when Little Black awoke again would everything be finally settled.
Lin Xiaohe’s face was cold and expressionless as she thought ruthlessly: If it was the Giant Tomb’s will that woke up, she’d rather reverse the flow of the boundary river and destroy it herself!
Inside the Giant Tomb, changes continued to unfold—like a bare concrete shell being renovated and furnished piece by piece.
Two long fleshy tubes grew inside the Giant Tomb. At the bottom of the tomb, a small opening formed, just wide enough for the tubes to pass through. Beneath that opening churned the surging white energy of the boundary river.
The two fleshy tubes extended down into the river, like an elephant’s trunk, sucking in a mouthful of energy before retracting.
The inner walls of the Giant Tomb writhed continuously. The sleeping Little Black let out a low groan. At the center of the tomb, a very short conveyor belt appeared.
The two fleshy tubes each spat out a small ball of green liquid onto the conveyor belt.
Lin Xiaohe narrowed her eyes. This sticky, mucus-like liquid was exactly the same as what she had seen back during the military academy competition, when she had passed back through the wormhole!
The only difference was that in the secret realm, the conveyor belt was longer, the liquid balls were larger, and their color was more vibrant.
So… back then, I had actually run straight into the Zerg’s lair?
Little Black was the one I brought out from that secret realm.
Was that a coincidence, or was it someone else’s scheme?
Lin Xiaohe’s eyes narrowed, a cold gleam flashing through them as she looked at the sleeping Little Black with a sharp, unfriendly gaze.
She reached out and gripped Little Black’s thin neck. All she had to do was lift the scales attached to it, press down hard, and Little Black would be dead.
As if sensing the familiar warmth, the sleeping Little Black instinctively drew closer, baring its most vulnerable part openly beneath those hands. It let out a pitiful whimper, as if acting spoiled.
It really hurts.
But even though it hurt so much, it still wanted to grow stronger! Only by becoming stronger could it protect Xiaohe!
Lin Xiaohe withdrew the coldness from her eyes and gently stroked Little Black’s scales, soothing it in a soft voice: “It’s okay. I’m right here.”
When Little Black stopped whimpering, Lin Xiaohe closed her eyes and felt the heartbeat of the Giant Tomb.
Hmph. The battle with the Suixing envoy leader had left her with quite a few lingering problems.
When you know that your transmigration was arranged by someone, it’s hard not to wonder whether everything you’ve experienced and everything you will encounter in the future is also part of someone else’s plan.
Who were those people? What did they want from her? What path did they want her to walk?
Lin Xiaohe curled her lips slightly: “So this is your revenge? Making me doubt everything and trust no one?”
Once she started doubting everything—doubting the reality of the world, even doubting her own existence—this sanctuary would surely collapse.
“Too bad for you. Your plans are going to fail.”
The most important spiritual core of the more than ten years of education Lin Xiaohe received in Huaxia was—be a down-to-earth person!
The Lin family was real. Their love for her was genuine.
Heart-Treasure, Annoy, Bean, and the others were real too. They were her most trusted companions!
The Star Grain Party was also real. They had proven their loyalty to her through the sanctuary.
And most crucially, the pain she had suffered—being framed and wronged—that was real too!
“Little Black, hang in there! We’re going to fight back together. The Federation, the Empire, the Ministry of Security, and that damned Suixing civilization—they’ve all bullied us. We’re going to get our revenge!”
Second by second, the breathing of the Giant Tomb gradually steadied.
Lin Xiaohe knew that Little Black was gaining the upper hand.
Only then did she leave the fourth dimension and return to the three-dimensional world.
Xilos Star had turned an ashen gray. Its atmosphere had completely vanished, its magnetic field was in disarray, and under the bombardment of cosmic rays, it was about to crumble into dust.
This planet was thoroughly dead.
Lin Xiaohe stepped forward. She needed to reunite with the Ark.
At this moment, in the Kepler galaxy, the chaotic and turbulent gravitational fields were growing even more disorderly.
An Ark was forced to remain suspended in the void, surrounded by a ring of great-sounding whales.
And to make matters worse, a large number of Zerg were swarming in from various planets.
Leading them was an octopus. Its body was even larger than the Void Devourer’s. Its tentacles flailed wildly through the void, exuding an unmistakable air of arrogance and menace.
Behind it followed a group of octopuses, each significantly smaller, all heading straight for the Ark.
