Douluo: Transforming Xiao Wu into a Zerg Queen Was Just the Beginning-Chapter 6: Cerebrate Consciousness – Full-Scale Swarm Expansion!

Chapter 6 - 6: Cerebrate Consciousness – Full-Scale Swarm Expansion!

Before long...

Deep within the forest, the local beasts and soul beasts had begun to encounter something truly terrifying.

Swarms of grotesque, unknown creatures had appeared out of nowhere. Operating in squads of three, they hunted tirelessly—attacking anything alive on sight.

What was even more frightening was that these creatures seemed to have no emotion—only kill, kill, kill! Even if their limbs were torn off, even if their bodies were battered and broken, they would drag what was left of themselves across the ground just to sink their teeth into their prey again. Only destruction of their heads or total annihilation would stop them.

Plant-type soul beasts who thought they were safe were quickly proven wrong—strange creatures with massive pincers emerged, yanked them out of the ground, and dragged them away for digestion.

Within a radius of 500 meters, both wild beasts and soul beasts fled the area en masse.

Those who couldn't flee—especially plant-type soul beasts—were left in helpless despair, their newly awakened minds sinking into pure panic.

Meanwhile, Lin Fan was in an excellent mood as he watched his energy points steadily rise in his mental interface.

Upgrading the Hatchery from Level 1 to Level 2 took more time than expected, but thankfully, egg production hadn't stopped during the process. The Creep continued to hatch one egg every 30 minutes.

Lin Fan pondered for a moment. With over a dozen Drones already gathering resources, that front was covered for now.

Expanding the Creep any further, however, was out of the question—it might attract the attention of high-level soul beasts. One wrong move could bring about the swarm's destruction.

This was the Douluo Continent, after all. It would never tolerate the rise of a terrifying, parasitic species like the Zerg.

So for now, the safest—and most efficient—way to gain energy was by hunting soul beasts.

After all, the soul beast forests held countless millions of them. They might grow slowly, but they reproduced fast, with immense variety. It was practically a natural pasture for the Zerg!

Having made up his mind, Lin Fan issued a simple command:

All eggs are to hatch into Zerglings.

As for Drones, they could be produced more slowly to maintain basic resource intake. For now, it was time to develop quietly and avoid attracting attention from hundred-thousand-year soul beasts or even Titled Douluo.

Lin Fan hadn't forgotten—the God Realm still existed above this world.

Even though the gods usually sat idle, doing nothing while the world below changed...

Lin Fan wasn't naive enough to believe they'd stand by if Douluo Dalu faced complete annihilation.

With his orders given, the Hatchery began mass-producing Zerglings.

The swarm intensified its hunting. Any living creature—beast, soul beast, or even a bird flying overhead—was immediately targeted and chased down.

Sunrise to sunset.

Lin Fan sat quietly, watching as Zerglings dragged one soul beast after another back to the base.

"Squelch—"

A massive spore ruptured suddenly, revealing a larger, more monstrous structure in front of Lin Fan. In the center of it was a bulging, pulsating sphere—beating like a grotesque heart.

Overjoyed, Lin Fan immediately connected his mind to the Hatchery.

The Level 2 Hatchery now possessed a game-changing addition: a Cerebrate—a sentient Zerg brain!

As soon as Lin Fan's consciousness linked with the swarm's network, the Cerebrate's voice echoed in his mind:

[Welcome, my Overmind.]

A glowing orb of light appeared in his mental space, and Lin Fan curiously studied it.

"What are you?"

[I am the Zerg's Cerebrate, my Overmind.]

"You were created when the Hatchery evolved?" Lin Fan asked, intrigued.

[In a sense. The Hatchery's upgrade triggered my activation—but I already existed within the swarm's psychic network. In other words, within your mind.]

Lin Fan immediately understood. This was essentially the swarm's intelligent AI system.

Thinking for a moment, he asked, "So what can you do?"

[I assist the Overmind in managing the swarm, offer strategic development suggestions, and can temporarily take over command of the swarm if the Overmind is disconnected from the neural network.]

"Then give me a rundown of the changes to the Hatchery after the upgrade."

[Upgrades Unlocked:]

New Zerg Building: Infestation Pit

Drone New Function: Hatch Additional Hatcheries

Energy Conversion Function: Transform Energy into Material Resources

New Hatchery Room: Overmind Enhancement Chamber

Unlocked Gene Trait: Burrowing

Unlocked Overmind Ability: Third-Person View

A detailed panel—just like one from a strategy game—appeared in Lin Fan's mind. So many new unlocks left him momentarily stunned.

So many new features unlocked?!

His eyes lit up as he quickly skimmed the options. At last, the Zerg had gained burrowing and multi-Hatchery production!

This meant he could now move the entire base underground, freeing himself from fear of surface-level threats like ten-thousand-year soul beasts.

And with multiple Hatcheries, mass-production of troops was finally possible!

Lin Fan immediately issued a command:

Relocate the current base 50 meters underground.

He chose this depth intentionally—future Hatchery upgrades would likely make the structure even larger, and he planned to build subsidiary hives nearby, connected through tunnels.

The Cerebrate responded immediately:

[Your will is absolute.]

Creep across the surface began secreting a corrosive green acid, which hissed loudly as it melted the soil into a wide pit.

The entire Hatchery began sinking slowly into the earth, while Drones gathered soil and stone with their pincers, covering the entrance and sealing it completely.

One hour later.

Silence fell across the forest.

The only trace that remained above ground was a single, inconspicuous hole. Everything else—the grotesque structure, the purple-black terrain—was gone without a trace.

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Belowground—

A massive underground cavern now housed the Hatchery, still pulsing like a living heart.

The cavern connected to six tunnels. One led to the surface. The other five connected to other vast chambers, each housing giant spawning pods radiating terrifying pressure.

Five Hatcheries and two Infestation Pits were under construction simultaneously.

Drones tirelessly dug deeper and wider into the earth, secreting more acid to shape new tunnels and expand the space.

The remaining Creep spread outward with all available energy, covering every inch of the cavern's floors and walls.

A grotesque, purplish-black underground Zerg hive was taking shape in silence.

Meanwhile, the Level 2 Hatchery continued producing Zerglings nonstop. One after another, they burst from their spores and charged through the tunnels to the surface—hunting relentlessly through the soul beast forest.

The Zerg Swarm... had begun its full-scale expansion.

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