Boom—
Twenty seconds later, a massive nydus worm head poked out from below before retracting. In terms of burrowing, nothing beat this creature.
Thousands of Zerg began their grand construction project one after another.
Roughly twenty minutes later, the ship of the Dulu Civilization descended.
Sizz—
The mechanical hatches hissed open, and a standard team of six Dulu slowly stepped onto the ground along the extended ramp.
“The environment is acceptable.”
One of the Dulu held a scanning instrument in its hand.
In truth, from a human perspective, these creatures were somewhat terrifying. Their bodies were covered in pits and hollows, completely clashing with any conventional sense of beauty. They fit the human concept of an extraterrestrial organism perfectly.
When several zerglings burrowed out from the ground and shook their heads as they approached, two of the Dulu instinctively raised their firearms.
“Put those down, quickly!” the captain immediately shouted.
The two hesitated for a moment before slowly lowering their weapons.
At that moment, the side hatch of the Small Leviathan opened.
Compared to the six hundred meter length of the ship opposite them, the Zerg vessel seemed somewhat small. However, the Dulu were well aware that size did not equate to combat effectiveness.
Stepping out was a zergling controlled by Xia Jin, flanked by two massive hydralisks.
“These creatures look truly horrifying,” several Dulu whispered through their communication channel.
“Their carapaces likely protect their bodies. I am certain now; this civilization probably doesn't possess high technology. They seem more like a civilization that relies entirely on evolution to adapt to space... truly marvelous.”
“Surely there must be a limit to how powerful a biological body can be?”
“I agree. Even if flesh and blood are strong, there is a limit. Their potential cannot compare to a technological civilization. But what puzzles me is how they mastered curvature flight. What kind of methods are they using?”
As they spoke, the zergling controlled by Xia Jin arrived in front of them. “Welcome to my home, partners of the Dulu Civilization.”
Hearing such words from an eerie zergling was quite surreal.
The Zerg had temporarily modified the creature's vocal cords and used the target's language to speak.
“Greetings,” the captain replied, though he felt something was off.
Being able to communicate the moment they met... was that really normal?
“Please follow us to the underground caves to reside. Our swarm is very hospitable,” the zergling said, revealing a demonic, hideous smile.
“This... very well.”
The captain felt they should be fine. If a fight really broke out, the electromagnetic rifles held by his soldiers were nothing to scoff at. Furthermore, the captain carried an individual micro-nuclear bomb and a force field shield generator. No matter how powerful flesh and blood were, could they truly resist such things?
Walking to the side, they indeed saw a tunnel entrance.
A staircase extended downward, flanked by unknown objects emitting a faint light.
Following the lead of the Zerg, the group descended.
After walking over a hundred meters, they discovered a vast open space.
Unlike the icy, snowy surface above, it was much warmer down here.
Many Zerg lay on the ground, seemingly idling for reasons unknown.
“Good heavens, you're telling me this is a civilization?” one of the Dulu asked, dumbfounded.
What kind of demonic creatures were these?
They could travel into space, yet they lived in such an environment. Most absurdly, there wasn't a single finished product related to technology in sight.
“Perhaps this is just the nature of the universe—full of things we don't understand,” the captain could only tell himself.
The two parties sat down in the open area.
There was no entertainment or even a proper place for exchange; the only sounds throughout the process were the hissing of the Zerg.
A few minutes later...
“Thank you very much for your invitation. We perhaps... need to return and report, to spread the word of our mutual friendship,” the captain said with a smile as he stood up.
“According to our customs, it is a sign of disrespect toward our civilization if an invited guest does not stay for a full year,” the zergling controlled by Xia Jin said bluntly.
“This...”
What kind of madness was a year?
“You mean we need to stay here for a whole year?”
“One of our years. Based on the orbital period of this planet, that is approximately 13,204 rotations before you may leave.”
“Good heavens, is this a joke?” the Dulu beside him asked in shock.
Thirteen thousand two hundred and four rotations. By their calculations, they wouldn't be able to leave this planet even if they lived a hundred lifetimes.
“While I respect your customs, we...”
“Are you looking down on our Zerg?”
Hum—
A scythe blade was already suspended in the air.
The Dulu: “...”
Everyone sat back down on the ground in dejection.
Hiss... Hiss...
The cries of the Zerg echoed everywhere.
At this moment, many of the Dulu realized something was wrong.
“It's over. How can they have such an absurd custom? Over ten thousand rotations? They must be playing with us.”
“Indeed. What do we do? Let's see if there's a way to contact the ship and have the crew members above rescue us.”
“These guys have been lying around sleeping the whole time. Is their 'year' really that long?”
What the Dulu didn't know was that several Zerg had already arrived in front of their ship.
“Staying inside the ship is too dull, everyone. Please come down and enjoy some of our delicacies.”
After those words, more Dulu were led underground.
Xia Jin had already left the area.
“Is it possible to seize the ship?”
Rate on N.U.
