493: Chapter 493 was inspired by an old movie.

The clearing mission on Planet E-77 was ultimately completed successfully.

Despite a small mishap in the middle, General Feixiao's arrow not only broke the siege but acted like a shot of adrenaline for the entire battlefield.

Or rather, it was like a sedative for the Eastern Federation troops.

The subsequent advance was exceptionally smooth. The Cloud Knights cleared the primary resistance nodes up front, while the Eastern Federation troops were responsible for consolidating areas, clearing remnants, and using heavy firepower to deal with particularly stubborn underground structures.

They focused on a thorough sweep, ensuring not a single insect egg was left behind.

While clearing near the core area of the insect nest, a Cloud Riders squad encountered something different.

It was a massive cavity protected by layers of special armored units, located in the deepest part of the nest.

In the center of the cavity lay a bloated, peculiar creature that was almost unable to move.

It had no obvious offensive organs; most of its body was covered in an ovary-like glandular structure, connected to a dense network of pipes resembling blood vessels and nerve cords that extended throughout the nest.

This was clearly no ordinary bug.

The squad chose not to destroy it directly. Instead, they used a special containment field and sedatives, taking some effort to capture this peculiar creature alive.

After the battle ended, this special Mother Bug was urgently transported to a highly classified mobile space experimental station codenamed 'Stasis Corridor,' located on the outskirts of an unknown star System and belonging to the Interstellar Peace Corporation's Technology Research and Development Department.

The codename was chosen for no other reason than the fact that this space station possessed the latest security System, known as the Stasis Field.

Yes, that nifty thing that can manifest as the freezing of time.

The Eastern Federation also dispatched top Scholars to participate in the joint research. After all, The Swarm was a common threat to both parties, and sharing intelligence was beneficial for everyone.

However, bad news soon emerged.

The Mother Bug's body structure was highly specialized, with almost all physiological functions revolving around the two cores of reproduction and command.

It was like a combination of a super biological factory and a regional command node, capable of producing various types of Swarm units at an astonishing speed and commanding The Swarm within a certain range through a complex bio-pheromone network and weak energy fluctuations.

However, what made the researchers' skin crawl the most was a tiny organ found deep within the Mother Bug's brain.

The structure of this organ was extremely complex, containing strong quantum effect characteristics; it was essentially a quantum communication and information processing hub made of flesh and blood.

"...In short, it uses a method whose principles we cannot yet explain to conduct some form of faster-than-light communication." A senior researcher from the Corporation said helplessly, looking at the quantum state data that was constantly collapsing and reappearing on the instrument.

"Its function isn't just processing the information it receives; it's more like a sub-node, continuously sending out encoded biological status information while also receiving extremely weak instructional fluctuations from a distant direction."

"Receiving instructions?" A Scholar from the Eastern Federation frowned. "Are you saying there's an even higher level of command above this thing?"

"I'm afraid so." The Corporation researcher nodded. "Based on the analysis of signal patterns and a comparison with The Swarm collective behavior data we collected on Ash-IV and other infected planets, this Mother Bug is highly unlikely to be the supreme will of The Swarm we have detected so far."

"It's more like a queen ant that has been sent out."

He pointed to several faint signal simulation paths on the analysis chart that pointed toward different directions in deep space.

"Above these Mother Bugs, there should exist one or more higher-level Overminds, Dominators... call them what you will; in the terms of the Cloud Knights, it's called the Swarm Will."

"These Mother Bugs are its extensions, its hands and feet."

Silence filled the laboratory.

This discovery was far more terrifying than their initial expectation of simply finding a mother nest.

If a single Mother Bug could control the expansion of The Swarm on a planet or even a star System—like Ash-IV and the surrounding infected planets—then how many such Mother Bugs might there be in the vast Universe?

How many such Mother Bugs did that Dominator hidden deeper within control? And how terrifyingly vast must its sphere of influence be?

...

"I'm afraid the scale of this war is no longer at the level of a border nuisance as we initially imagined." An Eastern Federation general said with a heavy expression after receiving the report. "What we've bumped into might just be a small section of a behemoth's countless tentacles."

"It looks like we need to start preparing for certain things ahead of time."

Bad news followed one after another.

Through reverse analysis of the pheromones within the Mother Bug and in-depth investigation of the ecology of infected planets, researchers roughly estimated the potential expansion capability of a Mother Bug.

Given sufficient resources and the absence of natural enemies or strong interference, it and the sub-units it controls could theoretically devour all usable matter within a medium-sized star System within hundreds to thousands of years, using it as a springboard to continue sowing seeds outward.

Although the Mother Bugs discovered so far are still in a relatively Elementary state, this potential is already frightening enough.

The atmosphere of the Joint Command changed instantly.

The original plan was to clear The Swarm threat in the southern Star Domain of New Eden, but that goal was instantly elevated by several levels.

For the Eastern Federation, the habit of defensive counterattacks had to change.

They had to expand the scope of the cleanup at all costs, making sure to eliminate as many discovered Mother Bugs and their nests as possible before The Swarm formed an uncontrollable chain reaction, while also tracking and intercepting any Swarm units that might spread outward with full force.

Of course, for the Yaoqing Fleet and especially for General Feixiao, this was practically their comfort zone.

"Search! Send out every scout ship and probe that can move! Sift through every Star Domain within two hundred light-years! Report any abnormal biological signals immediately!"

General Feixiao's voice echoed through the fleet channel.

"All combat units, cancel regular leave and implement three-shift combat duty! Prioritize ammunition and supplies! Once a target is found and coordinates are confirmed, hit them with everything you've got! No need to ask for permission—shoot first, talk later!"

The entire yaoqing immortal vessel seemed like a war machine that had suddenly shifted into overclocked operation. Inside the massive hull, lights blazed twenty-four hours a day without interruption.

Scout ships were released like swarms of bees, and the flashes of Warp Engines appeared one after another in the starry sky. After completing supplies and maintenance, the main warships immediately rushed to the newly discovered target areas.

The light of orbital bombardments continuously lit up in multiple star Systems on the outskirts of the southern Star Domain.

The Eastern Federation also cooperated fully, with more fleets being mobilized to participate in the expanded clearing operations. Both sides shared intelligence and divided war zones, their coordination becoming increasingly proficient.

Under the joint strike of the Corporation and the Eastern Federation, the crimson and orange spots representing insect nests on the regional star map began to decrease at a visible rate.

Reports of victories kept coming in.

"GX-4396 System: Secondary nest cleared, killing of one 'Mother Bug' confirmed."

"KY-222 Moon: Deep-layer nest purification complete. No Mother Bug found; judged to be an early branch nest."

"ND-777 System: Medium-sized nest discovered, engagement in progress."

It seemed that the situation was excellent. The expansion of The Swarm appeared to be effectively contained.

However, just as the Joint Command was feeling slightly relieved, a report felt like a bucket of ice water poured over everyone's heads.

Based on environmental monitoring data from the battlefields and analysis of the Mother Bug signals, they discovered a chilling pattern.

The extermination of The Swarm itself, especially the killing of a Mother Bug, seemed to trigger a type of stress-induced reproduction.

"When a Mother Bug confirms it is in an inescapable predicament or its connection is cut, most of its body organs become activated. In a very short time, it consumes most of its own life energy and material reserves to create and eject a Spore Cloud."

A haggard-looking Eastern Federation academician explained during the video conference, his tone heavy.

The spectacular scene from Ash-IV began to repeat itself.

In the subsequent clearing operations targeting nests confirmed to have Mother Bugs, although both the Yaoqing Fleet and the Eastern Federation fleet had set up interception nets on the outskirts of the target Systems in advance, accidents still occurred.

In two instances, the interception nets successfully blocked and destroyed most of the Spore Clouds within the star Systems.

But on the third occasion, a small cluster of spores actually managed to break through the defense line under the cover of an electromagnetic storm caused by an unexpected solar flare, disappearing into the vast sea of stars, its destination unknown.

When the news arrived at the Joint Command, General Feixiao crossed her arms and looked at the several dim spots of light on the star map that were slowly moving and eventually disappearing, her face showing only Battle Intent.

"Pursue," she said, uttering only a single word.

But everyone knew the difficulty was quite high.

The Universe was too big. A few clusters of high-speed escaping Spore Clouds were like a few drops of ink in the ocean; trying to find them again would be a matter of pure luck.