Xia Jin wasn't sure if the Mithril was this fellow's treasure, but the moment it saw the bugs snatching it, the giant squid went absolutely berserk.
Its terrifying long arms lashed out in a frenzy.
Many Swimmers were slapped dozens of meters away before they could even get clear.
Some unlucky ones were instantly crushed into mincemeat, their blood staining the entire stretch of water red.
Xia Jin watched with her own eyes as this creature snatched the stones back and placed them back in their original positions with extreme precision.
Well... there was basically no visible deviation.
“Does this guy have OCD?”
Seeing this, Xia Jin was somewhat speechless.
“Forget it. No matter what, you're already wounded.”
She felt that killing it would be quite difficult. After all, the opponent had too many fleshy arms, and its main body was hidden far away, making it impossible to hit.
However, as long as there were enough Swimmers and they all snatched the Mithril stones recklessly without regard for their lives, the giant squid would definitely be unable to cope.
“Heh, let's see what you do now.”
Xia Jin's true body was currently hidden at the main hive, and her projection was dozens of kilometers away from the shore. Even if the opponent came onto land, it would be hard to find her.
For over half an hour, she continued this diversionary tactic. Over a thousand Swimmers were sent in to harass it, and eventually, over three hundred Mithril stones were seized and brought to Xia Jin.
The drones on the shore immediately began recycling these stones.
In truth, the main hive needed to process them.
An hour later, about 10 units of Mithril were extracted.
“It's less than I imagined, but there's still a lot in the water. I won't have to worry about snatching Mithril everywhere in the future.”
The next level of the base required a limited amount of Mithril, only 80 units.
And the reserves in Clearwillow Lake were still staggering.
“Send more Swimmers over. Harass this giant squid twenty four hours a day without stopping. I don't believe you don't need rest.”
Xia Jin planned to wear it down to death.
In the meantime, she also began mobilizing gold back from the city states.
Yes, she was preparing to upgrade the main hive to LV6.
With the new level, the Zerg's combat power was bound to become even more formidable.
This was equivalent to gradually unsealing past power and returning to the peak.
...
Six hours later, seemingly running out of stamina, the giant squid turned and fled.
Almost all of its fleshy arms were battered and cratered, and two had even been severed.
But because no vital organs were hit, its vitality remained very active.
Xia Jin had no intention of letting it rest and dispatched three hundred Swimmers to pursue and harass it.
The goal was to ensure this fellow didn't get a single moment of rest for twenty four hours.
Another day passed, and the resources required for the Zerg base were finally all gathered.
“Time to upgrade.” She breathed a sigh of relief.
The so called upgrade was actually more like a return, moving from a primitive state back toward the true Zerg of the stars.
The current Swarm was in a relatively early stage, the stage of being confined within a planet.
Early Zerg did not display overly powerful combat strength, and their evolution speed was not particularly fast.
Their initial evolutions were all centered around reducing reproduction costs.
In other words, each generation was more energy efficient than the last.
With the Zerg base reaching LV6, the energy utilization efficiency had approached 99.2 percent.
It might not look like a large gap compared to the previous ninety nine percent, but this small improvement, when placed in the universe, could surpass countless civilizations.
“Upgrade.”
Xia Jin issued the command.
At this moment, the massive main hive in the forest, which also functioned as a hatchery, began to swell.
Terrifying forms surged as countless artistic fleshy masses burst out from within, waving around like arms.
“It's actually quite cute... Uh, damn it, why do I think it's cute?”
Xia Jin shook her head vigorously, finding her current sense of aesthetics quite ridiculous.
But... there was indeed a sense of familiarity.
The main hive gave her an inexplicable sense of warmth, even though many parts of it were sanity eroding.
This upgrade was just as swift.
After the upgrade was complete, the height had actually shrunk to 10 meters, but the width had slightly increased. Other aspects remained unchanged.
The overall shape was now roughly 40 meters long, 16 meters wide, and 10 meters high.
Soon, a wave of information flowed into Xia Jin's mind.
After some organization, it was as follows:
【Zerg Hive LV6】
【Recruitable (Land and Air): Tier 3 drone, Tier 4 zergling, Tier 5 baneling, Tier 6 hydralisk, Tier 6 lurker, Tier 6 infestor, Tier 6 roach, Tier 6 swarm host, Tier 7 queen, Tier 8 primal brain bug.】
【Recruitable (Water): Tier 3 Swimmer】
【Recruitment Cost: drone 20 units/each, Swimmer 30 units/each, zergling 50 units/each, baneling 240 units/each, hydralisk 800 units/each, Floating Hive Bug 800 units/each, lurker 1200 units/each, infestor 1300 units/each, roach 1500 units/each, swarm host (Type I) 2800 units/each, queen 3000 units/each, primal brain bug 30,000 units/each】
【Extra Units: Tier 3 Swimmer, Tier 5 Floating Hive Bug】
【Zergling Evolution: Body size slightly decreased. Running speed, attack speed, jumping ability, and reaction speed have received preliminary enhancements. Chitinous shell has received a strength bonus.】
【Hydralisk Evolution: Attack changed from corrosive liquid to spine launch. The spines on the hydralisk's body have been significantly strengthened, and their toxicity will be higher than the liquid before evolution. Can store about 300 poisonous spines before battle; one will be automatically produced every 20 seconds after use. Maximum range increased, and anti air capabilities strengthened. Some spines will cause a toxic explosion upon hitting a target.】
【Creep Evolution: Even the most primitive creep can absorb energy from sunlight, performing a special kind of photosynthesis. It can also take root underground to slowly absorb nutrients from the soil and rocks.】
【Immortality: Except for consumables like locusts hatched by the swarm host, all Zerg individuals will gain self regeneration abilities. As long as they are not threatened by external forces and have a sufficient supply of ordinary energy, they will achieve immortality. Immortality is also effective for the Zerg Queen, and she will no longer age. If a Zerg individual is near death, as long as there is energy to sustain them, they will recover within a few days.】
【Restarting Process: The Zerg Queen will reserve all gene fragments of the Swarm.】
【Upgrade Cost: 60 million units of ordinary energy, 300,000 units of high energy crystals, 200,000 units of gold, 400 units of Mithril.】
【Description: The fledgling main hive of the Zerg. Although it has undergone evolution, it is still very primitive. It serves as the reproductive center of the Swarm, replacing the Zerg Queen.】
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