Having followed Lin Xiaohe from the Rock Solid civilization to the present, Little Black had absorbed a great deal of experience and ideas.
Just as the Octopus had spent years lurking in the Federation’s star network, gradually developing a remarkably unique sense of self-awareness, Little Black had done the same.
It had “witnessed” the Rock Solid civilization’s journey of development and the preparations they made in the face of crises, and its tiny little brain suddenly sparked a new idea.
Since it had been able to leap from being a Black Armor Beetle to becoming a Giant Tomb, could it find a way to give birth to several more secondary Giant Tombs?
Sure, its own Giant Tomb was a defective product, and the Giant Tombs it spawned would most likely be the worst of the defective products, but humans had a saying: “Three humble cobblers are worth as much as one Zhuge Liang.”
The Rock Solid civilization had proven through practice that collective strength was formidable.
Little Black had once seen the Rock Solid civilization’s Star Core Resonators, and it felt that the principles behind those resonators would be a perfect fit for the Giant Tombs.
So it set to work right away.
Using its own Giant Tomb as a template, Little Black produced nine Giant Tomb bodies that lacked self-awareness.
Then, it took the Octopuses, whose self-awareness had grown excessively strong, and installed them into these Giant Tombs.
However, since the Octopuses couldn’t control the Giant Tombs the way Little Black could, the energy absorption efficiency of these tombs was painfully slow.
Little Black put its brain to work, and with a flash of inspiration, decided to connect itself with these nine Giant Tombs into a single integrated whole.
But how to connect them, and what to use for the connection—that required careful thought.
After designing version one of its ideal plan, Little Black ran simulations using its circular platform, then revised the plan over and over based on the results.
Once it finalized the definitive version, it decisively put it into action.
The entire process took less than an hour.
Hundreds of long, worm-like creatures—resembling intestinal parasites—were produced. Their interiors were nearly hollow, making them ideal for transporting energy matter.
These long worms were linked end to end, forming pipelines between the Giant Tombs.
Little Black looked upon this scene with great satisfaction.
Ten Giant Tombs going up against Giant Tomb Zhou—surely that would give it at least a fighting chance, right?
Giant Tomb Zhou had no idea about Little Black’s unconventional maneuvers. It was burning through energy to rush toward Gonggong Star.
When it finally arrived in the space territory of Gonggong Star, Lin Xiaohe was already fully armed, floating in the cosmos, calmly waiting for its arrival.
The bugs on Gonggong Star had for the most part already been cleared out by Lin Xiaohe.
The pitch-black wormhole no longer spat out any more insects.
She was clad in red battle armor, floating in the dark void of space, with two long whips coiled around her arms. Behind her stood the Federation’s space fleet, fully deployed and ready for action.
With Lin Xiaohe at the forefront, the fleet’s cold cannon barrels were aimed straight at Giant Tomb Zhou, as if the moment she gave the order, all the firepower from the space battleships would pour forth without reservation.
Giant Tomb Zhou came to a halt.
The countless holes scattered across its surface were dark and lifeless, like a multitude of eyes staring coldly at Lin Xiaohe and the human fleet arrayed behind her.
“Lin Xiaohe, this star sector has already become a battlefield of the gods. Humanity is nothing more than an appetizer in this divine war. They can’t help you.”
Giant Tomb Zhou’s words exploded clearly inside everyone’s mind.
Lin Xiaohe, using her Heart Treasure skill, responded publicly: “If by ‘divine war’ you’re referring to the Suixing civilization and the six prehistoric civilizations before them, then I can tell you very clearly—we are not the dish on the divine war’s menu. We have just as much right to sit at the table and feast!”
Giant Tomb Zhou regarded Lin Xiaohe with curiosity, as if examining some rare species. “But you can no longer be called human, can you?”
Lin Xiaohe chuckled lightly. The two whips slid down from her arms like snakes, silently slithering through the dark cosmos.
“We both know in our hearts that a battle between us was inevitable.”
Her eyes carried a trace of indifference. “The Insect Lord ordered you to kill me, didn’t it?”
Giant Tomb Zhou said with relish, “That’s right. I never understood before why the Insect Lord issued a galaxy-wide kill order on you. But now, I finally get it.”
Lin Xiaohe raised an eyebrow and asked calmly, “Why?”
Giant Tomb Zhou spoke with a mix of candor, confidence, and cruelty.
It was utterly convinced that Lin Xiaohe had no chance of surviving.
“Because you’ve touched upon the Insect Lord’s forbidden territory. The Insect Lord is a being more powerful than any god—it is one of the sovereigns of the universe. And you, you actually tried to steal its authority. That is nothing short of courting your own destruction.”
“Even if you somehow manage to defeat me, even if you manage to escape the great doomsday crisis, what awaits you won’t be a peaceful life—it will be the relentless pursuit of the universe’s high-level civilizations!”
It tempted her, saying: “So why struggle at all? Surrender your body to me. Your consciousness, your genetic matrix—they will live on with me, for eternity.”
The humans aboard the space battleships, upon hearing these words from the insectoid Giant Tomb, felt as if they had been frozen solid by thousand-year-old ice, their hearts sinking into a deep chill.
One Yanimdam had already played the entire Federation for fools.
One Giant Tomb had nearly wiped out both the Federation and the Empire.
And yet, it claimed to be nothing more than a low-level grassroots officer among the insect race. Above it, there were countless other powerful insectoids.
Was there still hope for humanity? Where could they even look for it?
Even though these soldiers possessed tremendous willpower, in the face of such a hopeless future, their convictions were like tightropes swaying over a bottomless abyss.
They gazed with despair at that fiery red figure.
They themselves didn’t even know what they were hoping for.
Lin Xiaohe split half of her consciousness into the fourth dimension.
She discovered that Little Black could move its physical body through the fourth dimension, and she could also use the fourth dimension to communicate with Little Black over ultra-long distances.
“Little Black, where are you?”
“My Lord, I’ll be there any moment!”
Lin Xiaohe felt a little more at ease and continued speaking to Giant Tomb Zhou: “The Insect Lord is out beyond the domain, isn’t it? Does it dare not come in, or can it not come in? There must be more than just one sovereign out there. I could just as easily pledge myself to another sovereign.”
“Hmm, an interesting notion. But gods never listen to the thoughts of ants. Are you so sure those sovereigns will do as you expect?”
Countless insects were converging on Gonggong Star, including those that had been stationed at the Third Star Ring and the Empire.
The command they received was: “Get here. Kill Lin Xiaohe.”
Giant Tomb Zhou was also continuously producing elite insect legions.
From its birth to the present day, the star system containing Gonggong Star had never been so teeming with life as it was right now.
The surviving Federation forces at the Fifth Star Ring detected the abnormal movements of the insect race and quickly analyzed the cause.
“Commander, what should we do?”
Flee, or fight?
The insect race was acting like it had gone berserk, piling bugs on top of bugs, desperate to kill Lin Xiaohe.
It was foreseeable that this would be an epic, peak-level showdown between Lin Xiaohe and the insect race.
The battle would surely be brutal, and its impact would be devastatingly widespread.
The Federation forces, in the face of the insect swarm, were like a single leaf adrift on the surface of the ocean.
From a rational standpoint, they should distance themselves from the heart of the battlefield, running as far away as possible.
The commander of the Fifth Star Ring Military Region exchanged a glance with the commander of the Sixth Star Ring Military Region, spat heavily, and said with gritted teeth:
“We ran away once. We absolutely will not do it a second time! Every retreat only shrinks the living space for our people. Move forward, coordinate with Lin Xiaohe, and kill every last one of them!”
By the time the insect forces near Gonggong Star had gathered to a certain critical mass, Giant Tomb Zhou smiled.
“We’re both rallying our strength, but I’m ahead. That little bug of yours is nothing but a counterfeit knockoff in the end—how could it possibly stand against me? Come on, let me see just how much damage this new body of yours can really take!”
