360: Chapter 361 Taking Control of the Zerg

The shuttle's engine emitted a low, steady hum, like a tired yet resilient metal beast, carrying the group, covered in smoke and frost, steadily along the return route.

Outside the window was the eternal silence of deep space. The distant planet, riddled with holes from the Zerg's gnawing, was gradually shrinking into a dim speck. Inside the cabin, the lights were dimmed to a soft glow, but the air still carried an unyielding mixture of the Zerg's sickly sweet bodily fluids, the scorched smell of burned energy, and the crisp chill of frost, silently reminding them of the fierce battle that had just ended.

"Phew... finally, a moment to breathe. These bugs are evil from the inside out, disgusting to look at, and even more disgusting to fight." Feng Ling let out a long sigh, her molten-gold eyes still holding the sharp glint of battle, her brows furrowed in disgust, as if she could still smell that sickly sweet, decaying odor.

The cabin was quiet, save for the faint hum of equipment. Gui Wanwan, hidden in the shadows by the porthole, watched the fleeting stars outside with a calm gaze, seemingly lost in thought, her fingers unconsciously tapping lightly on the cold bulkhead.

Lin Muyang stood before a temporarily set up small isolation analysis station. Several specially sealed sample tubes were fixed on the table, containing small amounts of material collected from different areas within the Zerg egg sac: dark red, fleshy fragments of the egg sac's inner wall; several dull, but structurally intact, dark green Zerg eggs; a small piece of carapace, peeled from a Zerg Guardian, with energy circuits; and a few drops of concentrated, faintly energy-pulsating dark green nutrient fluid.

Soft white light shone on the samples, revealing an eerie luster. His expression was calm, his gaze as sharp as a scalpel, meticulously observing the minute structures of the samples. Occasionally, he would condense a wisp of extremely fine energy at his fingertips and probe into the sample tube, sensing the residual energy and structural stability within.

"Master," Feng Ling's gaze returned from the floating, gradually receding Zerg remains outside the window, falling upon Lin Muyang and the unsettling samples before him. She couldn't help but speak again, her tone clearly puzzled and disgusted, "Didn't we already deal with that giant fleshy tumor and the monsters inside? Why bother bringing these back? They make my skin crawl. We should just burn them clean."

Lin Muyang didn't immediately look up. He remained focused on the naturally formed, circuit-like energy patterns on a piece of carapace. Only after confirming that its structure was rapidly losing activity upon separation from the main body did he speak softly, his voice steady in the quiet cabin:

"Disgusting as they are, they are information. Don't forget our main objective here." He paused, carefully placing the sample tube back on the isolation rack, "To help Elena break through to the god level, acquire potential tears of the angel, and find a way for all of us to continue growing stronger."

"This Angel World, currently invaded by the Zerg, is a natural, massive training ground, or rather, a dangerous but potentially resource-rich mine. These seemingly endless Zerg are our shortcut to quickly gaining experience."

"What's our next step?" Shen Muyao asked the crucial question, "Do we continue to stay here and help the Angel Race clear out scattered Zerg nests? Or do we prioritize repairing the holy radiance, or seek an opportunity for Elena to break through?"

Lin Muyang's gaze fell on the silhouette of the holy radiance displayed on the shuttle's forward navigation screen. His voice was steady but held an undeniable resolve: "As long as we can find the root cause of the Zerg's proliferation in this world, or confirm that their greatest threat has been eliminated, this transaction with the Angel Race can conclude. At that point, whether they rely on the source of radiance to regroup or seek other protection, it will no longer concern us. Our core goal is always to improve ourselves."

"source of radiance..." Gui Wanwan, who had been silently listening, suddenly emerged from the shadows, her cool voice interjecting into the conversation, "The Angel Race cherishes it so much, and the Zerg attack them so frantically to seize it... The energy properties of this thing might have some unknown connection or restraint with the Zerg's existence. The Zerg's obsession with it might not just be simple energy plundering."

A flicker of thought crossed Lin Muyang's eyes: "The source of radiance is an undeniable key clue. But I don't think it alone can explain everything. The scale of the Zerg encountered this time, their troop coordination, and the existence of that hatchery all indicate a highly efficient, vast, and extremely purposeful system at work behind them."

"The source of radiance might be one of their targets, but it's more likely that the Angel World itself, or something more fundamental within this world, is what attracts them. That control center might be more... grand than we imagine."

"Are you saying there might be something akin to a Zerg Queen or a Overmind controlling all of this from a distant place?" Feng Ling reacted quickly, recalling common settings for cosmic creatures.

"Possibly, or perhaps not a specific individual," Lin Muyang said slowly, his fingers unconsciously tapping the edge of the analysis table. "But it's certain that these Zerg's actions are by no means blind consumption and expansion. Their tactical coordination, their targeting and protection of high-value objectives, and that almost instinctive collectivism all point to a highly unified will or program. Finding it, or understanding how it operates, is when we will truly touch the core of this incident."

The shuttle completed its final journey in silence, smoothly docking into the holy radiance's side berth. The airtight hatch opened, and the familiar scent of the battleship's interior wafted in. Although it also bore traces of the battle, it felt much more reassuring than the Zerg nest.

As soon as the group stepped onto the holy radiance's deck, Elena, who had already received the news, came to greet them with several angels. Her beautiful face showed unconcealed concern and relief: "Master, it's wonderful that you've returned safely! When we sensed the energy signal of that massive Zerg nest disappear, we knew you had succeeded." She bowed elegantly, and the angels behind her followed suit, their attitudes showing more genuine respect than before.

"Just a transaction, each getting what they need." Lin Muyang nodded slightly, his tone calm, "Elena, we need to quickly evaluate the results of this operation and discuss subsequent arrangements. Also, regarding the tears of the angel..."

Elena straightened up, a sincere smile gracing her face. She glanced at a more graceful and noble female angel beside her, wearing a simple golden crown and with even purer, shimmering wings behind her, and introduced, "Master, this is Princess Atheria, a royal princess of our race. She heard of your deeds and insisted on coming personally to express her gratitude."

Princess Atheria stepped forward, her voice clear and authoritative, yet with just the right amount of gentleness: "Brave travelers from another world, I, on behalf of the surviving people of the Holy Sanctuary, extend our highest gratitude to you. You have destroyed that great threat and won us precious breathing room. Elena has already informed me of your needs."

With more abundant and higher quality tears of the angel, Lin Muyang's team's path to power received a crucial accelerant. Elabess's succubus sisters, after receiving enough tears of the angel, had their bloodlines and potential significantly stimulated, their innate abilities generally improved, and their cultivation speed increased.

Meanwhile, Lin Muyang's core team members were undergoing the next stage of consolidation and accumulation.

To more efficiently and safely enhance their fundamental strength, Lin Muyang decided to utilize the time during the holy radiance's repair and the Angel Race's cleanup of surrounding Zerg to temporarily return to the relatively stable Velos Continent, where the flow of time might also be more advantageous. There, they could focus wholeheartedly on high-intensity combat training and level grinding.

Time quietly slipped away amidst intense cultivation. Everyone's strength soared at a visible rate. When Lin Muyang deemed their foundations solid enough and their teamwork and combat experience to have reached new heights, they collectively broke through the 300-level mark, completing another leap in their life essence.

With greatly increased strength, Lin Muyang's team returned to the Angel World. By this time, the holy radiance, under the Angel Race's ceaseless repairs and their peripheral protection, had recovered most of its basic functions, at least possessing the ability for inter-system navigation. And the return of Lin Muyang and his group brought overwhelming power.

Facing the Zerg, which were still rampaging across the planet and even seemed somewhat agitated by the loss of a large hatchery, Lin Muyang no longer adopted a piecemeal extermination strategy. After a preliminary analysis of the Zerg's activity patterns, energy flow, combined with some star chart data from the holy radiance's database and ancient Angel Race legends, he pinpointed his target: a moon orbiting a distant gas giant in this star system, which had always emitted abnormal energy fluctuations but was heavily protected by the Zerg.

A meticulously planned decapitation strike immediately unfolded. Lin Muyang's team, whose strength was now incomparable, cut through the Zerg's defensive network in the target moon's outer space like a red-hot knife, heading straight for its deep underground. There, they encountered a Zerg nest even larger and more heavily guarded than the previous hatchery, as well as several Zerg Generals whose strength was comparable to the previous "Guardians."

However, in front of Lin Muyang's team, whose strength had soared, whose coordination was more seamless, and who possessed richer experience in combating the Zerg, this resistance, though fierce, was ultimately crushed one by one. Finally, in the deepest part of the nest, Lin Muyang met the master of this Zerg branch, the Zerg Queen's massive, constantly squirming and thinking "biological sub-brain," which commanded all Zerg units in this star system through a complex psionic network.

After a dual confrontation of spirit and power, Lin Muyang, relying on his stronger divine will and the suppression of the Rule of Destruction, successfully broke through the Zerg Queen's heavy mental defenses, engraving a compulsory obedience mark in its core consciousness, thereby achieving indirect control over the Zerg network of this star system.

With command over this super-large Zerg experience package, Lin Muyang's team's leveling path entered an unprecedented fast lane. The Zerg's efficient biomass conversion capability and vast numbers became the highest quality nourishment. Their levels began to climb at an unprecedented speed: 400, 500, 600... unstoppable, all members successfully broke through the extreme barrier of level 999, touching a higher realm.

During this period, Lin Muyang did not forget his initial promises and the potential of his companions. He began to systematically help each member of the team return to their respective planes of origin.

Ultimately, the young ladies, under Lin Muyang's protection and the guidance of the plane core's power, completed their final transformation, successfully igniting their divine flames, condensing their divine personalities, and stepping into the true divine realm.

This god-level team eventually became a myth in various planes.