154: Chapter 154 Super Swarm Under Command

She didn't directly explain Olivia's origins—it involved too much classified and unverified information. Instead, she simply pulled up a recording of the base's automated defense system engaging that special Zerg Swarm three minutes ago and uploaded it to the public channel.

“Sailo, and everyone else with questions, please watch this combat footage,” she added a note below the video. “You'll understand once you've seen it.”

The recording began to play.

The footage was captured from the perspective of a high-altitude attack drone. At that time, this massive Zerg Swarm had just finished assembling and had begun moving toward the base.

Based on preset threat assessment protocols, the base AI had automatically deployed over five million drones of various models from the nearby airspace to launch a probing attack on the Zerg Swarm.

According to past experience, when faced with a blanket strike from a drone swarm of this scale, the standard Zerg reactions were usually limited to a few types: either charging through the damage, using numbers to trade for distance; dispersing to evade and reduce casualties; or sending high-speed units to counter-charge the drone swarm in an attempt to disrupt their formation.

But the reaction of the Zerg Swarm before their eyes left everyone watching the recording stunned.

They didn't charge.

They didn't disperse in a panic.

And they certainly didn't counterattack mindlessly.

They... began to coordinate.

The Zerglings and Drones in the front row suddenly moved diagonally to both sides—not to flee, but to orderly clear the frontal line of fire.

The Roaches in the middle row simultaneously lowered their bodies, their thick biological armor slanting at an angle to deflect and bounce off as many plasma shells and ion beams from the drones as possible.

The Hydralisks and Lurkers used their mobility to draw the drones' attention.

What made people's skin crawl even more was their formation changes.

When the drone swarm tried to flank them, units on the edge of the Zerg Swarm would quickly contract inward, while the central units expanded outward, forming a concave arc that drew the drones' flanking forces into a preset 'pocket'.

Then the Zerg on both sides suddenly closed in, the swarm flowing interchangeably, making it impossible for the drones to follow up with sustained firepower.

When the drone swarm pulled back to try and cover them with long-range fire, the Zerg Swarm would immediately break into hundreds of small combat groups. Each group was a mix of different unit types, maintaining a distance that was neither too close nor too far. The drone swarm's blanket strikes fell on this loose and ever-changing formation with greatly diminished effects.

And when the Zerg in a certain area were under too much pressure, units from adjacent areas would proactively move closer, using crossfire to cover the damaged units as they retreated to adjust, while new, intact units filled the gaps in the defensive line.

Throughout the entire process, the Zerg Swarm did not launch a single counterattack. They only defended, only evaded, and only maintained the integrity of their line at the minimum cost. They endured the frantic bombardment of the drone swarm without a single Zerg casualty, advancing unwaveringly toward the base.

Until they reached a position about two hundred kilometers from the base—a distance that put them within range of most of the base's heavy turrets—the Zerg Swarm stopped in unison.

Then, they didn't advance another step.

They were like a group of highly disciplined soldiers, halting outside the perimeter at their commander's order, silently watching their target ahead.

The recording ended there.

The public channel was silent for a full ten seconds.

The previous voices of doubt had all vanished.

In their place was a deeper confusion and... a faint sense of unease.

Sailo spoke again, his tone completely different this time: "...These bugs... can use tactics? And such damn fine coordination?!"

Chu Xinghe also appeared, his message carrying obvious solemnity: "More than that. Look at the three-minute and seventeen-second mark, the formation change the left flank of the swarm used to counter the drones' flanking maneuver—that's a standard 'Anti-Encirclement Pocket Formation,' a company-level infantry tactic only taught in the sophomore year of the Human Army Academy's Command Department. When... did the Zerg Swarm learn this?"

Luo Lan: "Data supplement: According to the recording statistics, the drone swarm fired approximately thirty million plasma shells and ten million ion beams in that round of attacks. The confirmed kill count for Zerg units is: Zero. The confirmed injury count is: over eight million. This is ultra-high precision damage distribution; it's terrifying."

It really was terrifying.

Because under that density of fire, the Zerg Swarm had managed... zero casualties through a series of jaw-dropping tactical maneuvers and coordination.

This wasn't achieved through thick armor or sheer numbers, but through genuine tactical proficiency that surpassed the regular armies of most races.

The atmosphere in the public channel became even more eerie.

Only then did Chen Jingyi explain in the channel: "As you can see, the performance of this Zerg Swarm is... highly unusual. After completing the probing attack, the base's main AI conducted a re-evaluation based on the real-time battlefield situation."

“The evaluation concluded that the attack efficiency against this target is too low, and the cost-effectiveness is far lower than attacking Zerg units in other directions. At the same time, this part of the Zerg is considered to have a lower threat level. Therefore, the system automatically redistributed the main firepower resources to the Spore Pod interception airspace and the blockade mission for the Queens Guard's descent path.”

This explanation was logical and reasonable.

After all, on the current battlefield, aside from this eerie Zerg Swarm posing two hundred kilometers away, the situation elsewhere was suffocatingly grim.

Spore Pods were still raining down incessantly, the Queens Guard was breaking through the drone interception net, and the Gene Primordial Bodies and Tyranid Warriors were fighting a desperate battle in the high altitude... Any rational commander would prioritize their limited firepower on areas where the threat was more direct and the results more significant.

As for this suddenly 'polite' Zerg Swarm? As long as they didn't continue to advance or take the initiative to attack, it was fine to leave them be for the time being.

Sailo seemed to accept this explanation, but he still muttered: "Then what about this little girl who looks like a human? We're just going to let her come over?"

This time, it was Li Yuan who spoke in the public channel.

He stared at the silver-haired figure getting closer and closer on the surveillance screen, the strange feeling in his heart growing stronger. But for now, there really wasn't a better way to handle it.

“Just let her come over for now,” he replied, his tone as relaxed as possible. “Let's see what she wants to do. Even if she really is Olivia—to take it a step further, she's just one person. Could she possibly break our base shield?”

This sentence was somewhat joking, but it also pointed out a fact: the strength of the base shield was enough to withstand a brief bombardment from a Leviathan's main cannon. For a single individual, even if she were a Rank 5 or even Rank 6 Queen, wanting to break the shield head-on was a pipe dream.

As the actual leader of the trial team, Chu Xinghe quickly weighed the pros and cons and stated his position in the channel: “Agreed. The highest priority is still air defense and intercepting the Queen. This unidentified individual... keep her under surveillance. As long as she doesn't attack the shield, ignore her for now.”

With the commander's word, the others naturally had no objections. In fact, most people's attention was quickly drawn to the more intense combat in other directions.

The density of Spore Pods had increased again, the Queens Guard had broken through the first layer of the drone interception net, and the high-altitude Progenitor clusters seemed to be gaining the upper hand... Who had the leisure to keep staring at a seemingly harmless young girl strolling over slowly?

After the brief commotion, the focus of discussion in the public channel shifted rapidly. Various battle reports, firepower requests, coordinate sharing, and tactical instructions began to flood the screen again, as if that earlier interlude had never happened.

Only a very few people still glanced from time to time at the surveillance window representing the 'unidentified individual'.

Li Yuan was one of them.