104: Chapter 104 So our targets are all Zerg

Li Yuan opened his eyes, his consciousness still lingering on that ridiculous conclusion from just a moment ago.

Xel'Naga.

A high-dimensional existence that created the Protoss only to be backstabbed by Amon—of course, that’s the lore from another world. But the plot described by Customer Service Miss about "creators being devoured by their creations" was practically ripped straight from the hands of the StarCraft writers.

"However..." Li Yuan silently compared in his mind, "If it were really the Xel'Naga, that would be fine."

Even the Xel'Naga, hyped up as gods in StarCraft II, are merely a problem that hasn't even left the galaxy. With the current human military strength in this world, dispatching a Monarch-class ship would be enough to steamroll them directly.

Creatures that can be killed by mere psionic energy are not much stronger than ants in the face of the Void.

But this Customer Service Miss...

"The Zerg grew right out of me." Customer Service Miss's voice carried a tone of existential despair. "The main reason for my fall back then was that I was corrupted. Although my divine body is intact, the source of the corruption has been continuously spreading. This corrupted divine power... it spawns things."

"Spawns the Zerg? So the Zerg aren't a natural species?"

"No," Customer Service Miss said definitively. "They are the natural byproduct of my corrupted divine power."

This analogy made the corner of Li Yuan's mouth twitch.

"Then, life essence..."

"It is my pure divine power," Customer Service Miss said. "Corrupted divine power spawns the Zerg. During the Zerg's growth process, the corruption is absorbed by their bodies, and the remaining life energy is purified and converted into relatively stable life essence—which is what you see."

Li Yuan felt he had grasped the key: "So you collect life essence in order to..."

"The more severely corrupted the divine power is, the more terrifying the changes it causes to a physical body, while a body shaped by purer divine power is closer to the original divine body."

Customer Service Miss said, "Therefore, I collect life essence to reshape my divine body and regain my godhood. Once I am resurrected, I will be able to completely purify that source of corruption. At that time, the Zerg, having lost the support of the corrupted divine power, will either naturally perish or degenerate into ordinary creatures—in any case, they will no longer be the endless sea of Zerg as they are now."

She paused, then added, "Of course, before that, you need to help me kill as many of them as possible. The more you kill, the more essence is collected, and the faster I resurrect. The faster I resurrect, the faster the Zerg die—a virtuous cycle."

Li Yuan digested this information.

So, the entire Zerg disaster is essentially an injured deity's "wound festering"? And his job as the "host" is to help with "debridement"?

This setting... is certainly refreshingly unconventional.

"Are you the only deity?" he asked. "Don't you have any helpers?"

Customer Service Miss was silent for even longer.

"...I was backstabbed," her voice lowered. "The one who backstabbed me was my own creation."

Li Yuan felt a chill in his heart.

"Your creation? Not the Zerg?"

Customer Service Miss remained silent.

"Are they... strong?"

"Strong enough to modify the fundamental parameters of the universe within a certain range with their bare hands," Customer Service Miss's tone carried complex emotions. "But the problem isn't them, it's the corruption. I can't elaborate now; it's a memetic concept. Hearing its name causes corruption."

Li Yuan was dumbfounded listening to this.

Good grief, this plot—

Why does this sound so much like...

"So you are currently in a state of flight?" he asked.

"Pretty much," Customer Service Miss admitted. "I sealed off the universe and hid in the system, clinging to life. I hope the Father God can discover the abnormality in this universe in time."

Li Yuan: "..." How did this situation sound increasingly complicated?

"What about Laya?" he changed the question. "What's her deal? You said she's my guardian angel, but she's clearly not an ordinary summoned creature."

This time, Customer Service Miss answered quite bluntly: "Insufficient authority. Cannot disclose."

"?"

"Literally," Customer Service Miss said. "Regarding the truth about Laya. Your level is not high enough right now; knowing it won't do you any good. You just need to know that before you meet your father-in-law, you had better obtain god-level durability. Hehe."

"What about the double SSS class?" Li Yuan pressed. "That thing I drew from the system, what is it?"

"Insufficient authority. Cannot disclose."

"The origin of the system?"

"Insufficient authority. Cannot disclose."

"Your name?"

"Insufficient authority—even if I could say it later, I wouldn't. Nyah nyah nyah nyah~"

Li Yuan: "..." Is this customer service representative a bit asking for a beating?

"So, the only thing you can talk about is the Zerg stuff?" he complained.

"The Zerg stuff can be talked about because it is the current primary contradiction," Customer Service Miss justified herself. "As for the rest... when you become stronger, you will naturally know. Knowing too much now won't do you any good—if you get meme-contaminated, we'll both be finished."

Li Yuan sighed.

Fine, at least he had figured out the origin of the Zerg and the truth about life essence.

"So to summarize," he organized his thoughts, "you collect life essence to resurrect and purify the source of corruption, and I kill bugs to collect essence to level up and become stronger—our goals are the same, both are to kill the Zerg?"

"Insightful!" Customer Service Miss gave him a thumbs up. "host's summary ability is full marks!"

"Then what about those crystals collected by Holy Brilliance Purity..."

"Defective products with too many impurities," Customer Service Miss said disdainfully. "They can't even achieve efficient absorption; at best, they act as environmental buff items. Rest assured, host, your cheat is one of a kind."

Li Yuan felt a little more at ease.

But another question surfaced.

"You said your corrupted divine power will continuously spawn the Zerg," he frowned. "Doesn't that mean that as long as you are still alive—or rather, still exist in this state—the Zerg will be endless?"

"To be precise, as long as my corrupted divine body still exists, the Zerg will be endless," Customer Service Miss corrected. "So I must resurrect as soon as possible and completely purify that broken body. Before that... yes, the Zerg will keep multiplying."

Li Yuan gasped.

"But host, you don't need to worry too much," Customer Service Miss comforted. "The Zerg's proliferation speed is limited by the environment. They need matter, energy, and... well, my corrupted divine power as a 'seed'. If you kill them fast enough, you can keep them under control."

"And what if I don't kill them fast enough?"

"Then there will be more Hives, more Leviathans, and more weird mutants," Customer Service Miss said nonchalantly. "Until the entire universe is eaten up—or until I purify it."

Li Yuan suddenly felt the burden on his shoulders become much heavier.

So he wasn't just playing a game and grinding mobs, but preventing the universe from being eaten up by the Zerg?

"The pressure is immense..." he muttered to himself.

"Don't worry, don't worry." Customer Service Miss was actually quite optimistic. "host, you are not alone. Human civilization, the Ten Thousand Races Alliance, and me—we will work together, and the problem can always be solved!"

"...You, a disabled person hiding in the system waiting to be resurrected, are you convincing when you say that?"

"Moral support is also support!"

Li Yuan rolled his eyes.

By this point in the conversation, basically everything that should be asked had been asked, and everything that could be said had been said.

He exited the consciousness space and found Laya staring at him with those big ice-blue eyes, her expression full of "Master, are you okay?"

"I'm fine," Li Yuan smiled. "Just... figured out a few things."

"About the system?" Laya asked curiously.

He briefly summarized what he had just heard.

Laya listened, understanding only part of it, but grasped the core: "So Master killing bugs is helping Customer Service Miss resurrect?"

"...You could understand it that way."

"Then when Customer Service Miss resurrects, will there be fewer bugs?"

"Yes."

Laya became high-spirited: "Then we must kill more bugs! Help Customer Service Miss resurrect sooner! I feel like she and I are friends."

---

Meanwhile, in the distant void, the Fourth Mother Nest's Zerg Swarm was continuing to advance toward a certain coordinate.

That coordinate was...

The trial planet for this visit season of the Holy Alliance.

And deep beneath the trial planet, in the nutrient chamber holding Olivia, Olivia was muttering to herself:

"Mother's scent."