One hundred transport ships hung in the pitch-black void like a silent herd of colossal beasts. The metallic expanses of their hulls stretched out like islands, blocking out the starlight. Their blue-white exhaust trails had long since cooled, leaving only the navigation lights blinking rhythmically between the portholes, flickering on and off like a steady breath.
They waited quietly for the next command, waiting for the Ark on the other side to release the people.
“So this is the Xinghe Party’s Ark—built from the wreckage of Void Devourers! That’s so cool!”
Watching the Ark through a screen and seeing it in person were two completely different experiences. Only by witnessing it firsthand could you truly feel the overwhelming pressure it exuded. It was a shudder that struck both body and mind!
Surrounding the Ark were clusters of Stardust Giant Whales, slapping their tails impatiently and occasionally blowing out colorful bubbles, as if urging both sides to hurry things along.
Behind the Ark was the Octopus Battle Group. The massive octopus leading them was simply too intimidating to look at directly—as if one glance would flood your mind with a chaotic swirl of complex emotions.
The Ark’s hatch opened, and colorful bubbles wrapped around the survivors, tossing them toward the Federation transports. Squad after squad of mech units flew out from the transports, scrambling to catch the drifting bubbles.
Inside the Ark, Guo Hai was the last to leave. Before stepping out, he turned to look at Lin Xiaohe, whose face remained expressionless. His lips moved as if he wanted to say something, but he hesitated.
Just as he was about to step through the hatch, he finally couldn’t hold back and asked the question buried deep in his heart: “If… would you help us?”
Between humans and the Zerg—who would you choose to side with?
Everyone turned their eyes toward Lin Xiaohe.
Her stance was crystal clear: “I’m not helping either side.”
Guo Hai curled the corners of his mouth into a bitter smile, trying to comfort himself. The Federation had treated Lin Xiaohe so badly—the fact that she wasn’t kicking them while they were down was already generous enough. How could he possibly expect her to set aside past grievances and offer wholehearted support?
Better to rely on yourself than on others. Protecting the Federation is the duty of its soldiers!
With determination in his eyes, Guo Hai strode forward and left the Ark.
After watching the 100 transport ships depart, Wesley finally asked Lin Xiaohe, “Party leader, what do we do next?”
Lin Xiaohe scratched her head.
Before setting out, their goal had been simple—rescue the survivors from Wasteland Star and bring them back to Jiuzhou Star.
But then, one thing after another kept piling up. The current situation was a far cry from what they had anticipated.
Just as Lin Xiaohe was deep in thought, a chorus of growling stomachs echoed through the space.
Meeting Lin Xiaohe’s questioning gaze, Wesley lowered his head, cheeks flushing red, and spoke in a voice quieter than a mosquito’s buzz: “Sorry, we’re hungry.”
The evolutionary path of “Food is the people’s heaven” was indeed powerful, but it came with one tiny drawback—their appetites were enormous!
Almost all the nutrient fluid had been given to the survivors, and what little remained had been handed over to Guo Hai. Now, this massive Ark couldn’t find a single bottle of nutrient fluid anywhere.
Lin Xiaohe couldn’t help but laugh.
Well, this was the rhythm she was used to. More mouths to feed—by several hundred thousand this time. No pressure, right?
“Let’s move. Follow the transports to the Fifth Star Ring!”
Wesley: “Huh?! We’re attacking the Fifth Star Ring now?”
“No. We’re going to find the Zerg.”
Wesley and the others were dumbfounded.
Didn’t she just say she wasn’t helping either side? So why were they going to help the Federation now? That felt so grudging!
Xiao Shi, who had been eavesdropping with his ears perked up, immediately jumped in: “Our Lord is merciful and understands her subordinates well.”
Then, he subtly threw shade at Wesley: “Some people just don’t get our Lord’s heart. How can you call that helping the Federation? She’s clearly taking you all out for an all-you-can-eat buffet!”
Xiao Shi rolled his eyes so hard they nearly vanished. What a bunch of fools! Every time they devoured the Zerg on a planet, that planet would naturally become their Lord’s territory! Even if the Federation wanted it back, would their Lord just hand it over obediently? They could fill their stomachs and grab territory at the same time—it was a win-win!
Wesley’s pupils dilated as the realization hit him like a thunderbolt.
Yes, everyone had been focused on revenge, but the best outcome they’d imagined was just forcing the Federation to issue a public apology!
How narrow-minded!
What good was a verbal apology?
Overthrow it! Unify the Federation and the Empire! Build a new world!
That had to be their Party leader’s true goal.
Wesley’s breathing quickened, stars sparkling in his eyes. Just thinking about that goal made him want to let out a triumphant howl!
“What Xiao Shi said makes a lot of sense.”
“Who knew a bug could understand people better than we do?”
“Tsk tsk tsk. No wonder he dares to call himself the Party leader’s number one lackey. His ability to read people is incredible.”
The chatter snapped Wesley back to reality.
His eyes narrowed, and an alarm bell rang in his heart.
That little rascal Xiao Shi—with such wild ambitions, he wasn’t trying to steal his spot as the Party leader’s top confidant, was he?!
Hmph! Stardust humans never give up. The Party leader’s number one confidant could only be him!
Having made her decision, Lin Xiaohe led the Ark into the Fifth Star Ring.
The Fifth Star Ring’s defensive line crumbled before them like paper—they broke through with ease.
The Ark didn’t follow the Federation transports. Instead, they chose to head for more remote planets, prioritizing those already overrun by the Zerg.
For no other reason than that those places had plenty of bugs to fill everyone’s stomachs!
While Lin Xiaohe and her crew were busy studying various ways to cook Zerg—deep-frying, steaming, stir-frying—trying to decide which tasted best, the Federation was sinking into an unprecedented crisis.
To hold the Sacred Gate, Chu Huaizhi had brought in reinforcements, all of whom were now entrenched there.
The Second Star Ring’s Giant Tomb was firing on all cylinders. Waves upon waves of Zerg swarmed out like a tide, spreading endlessly throughout the Second Star Ring.
Especially after the Dead Hand System failed, the Giant Tomb seemed to be stimulated into accelerating its Zerg production.
Over 90% of the Second Star Ring had already fallen, and the Zerg were still expanding toward the First and Third Star Rings.
In the conference room, [Nuwa]’s calm voice sent chills down everyone’s spines.
“To summarize, the Zerg have reached the tipping point of economies of scale. Once the Second Star Ring falls completely, they will achieve a quantitative leap. At that point, the Federation will no longer be able to resist the Zerg horde.”
Kaelin Reynolds’s voice was tight: “So the Zerg didn’t choose the Second Star Ring at random?”
[Nuwa]: “No. They likely assessed the resources and military strength of each Star Ring before settling on the Second.”
This completely upended humanity’s understanding of the Zerg!
If what [Nuwa] said was true, then the Zerg’s computational capabilities far surpassed [Nuwa]’s.
The representative of the Federation’s First Parliament turned to Chu Huaizhi, hope flickering in their eyes: “Marshal, do you have a plan?”
Chu Huaizhi shook his head.
It was like a game of Gomoku—one player had already achieved a line of four. No matter which end you blocked, they would still get five in a row.
Chu Huaizhi could lead his troops to the Second Star Ring, but the Zerg could simply bypass him and push toward the Third Star Ring, or even the First.
During the time he’d spent dealing with the Sacred Gate crisis, the Zerg had built up too much of an advantage.
The conference room fell into dead silence.
Five minutes later, Kaelin Reynolds spoke slowly: “What if we contact Lin Xiaohe?”
Lin Xiaohe’s relationship with the Zerg was complicated.
If they could convince her to help humanity fight the Zerg, that would be ideal.
If not, even asking her to act as a mediator—to coordinate a ceasefire between both sides and buy humanity some breathing room—would be good enough.
As for who would be the one to ask…
All eyes turned to Chu Huaizhi.
His lips parted slightly. How could he possibly bring himself to ask?!
