Juggernaut: Rise of the Zerg

Chapter 153 Consumers and Producers

As Zero expected, the Zerg's original version of the "immune system" was produced by Sass only half a month later, and it was verified to be feasible in experiments.

This is undoubtedly another milestone event, which is of great significance to the Zerg.

It means that the Zerg no longer has no subjective resistance to attacks from the microscopic level, and can even launch a counterattack under certain conditions!
Of course, this is not without cost. The most obvious point is that after this, the incubation cost of the Zerg has increased significantly. After calculation, it has risen by about [-]% on average. This cost is Building an "immune system" is inevitable.

In addition, although this kind of bug is generally dormant for a long time in the body of the Zerg unit, when it is running at full capacity, the energy consumption in a short period of time is also extremely terrifying. , can not meet the demand at all.

If it is not supplemented in time, it will be the Zerg Seven Injury Fist that hurts the enemy first.

So accomplishing this is far from the end, it's just the beginning.

Not to mention the research and enhancement of this "immune system" at a more subtle level, just to meet the energy consumption of the Zerg's immune system, a standing energy storage structure is needed to meet the demand.

On the basis of this, Zero puts forward more requirements, that is, the recovery function of the organisms that remain after completing the immune activity.

These two items will inevitably increase the incubation cost of Zerg individuals again, but this is the price that must be paid for evolution and strength. Compared with it, some resources are really insignificant.

Seriously speaking, it is actually not difficult to complete these two transformations, they are just minor details based on the "immune system" of the Zerg. No matter which of the two, Sass will not be too difficult to implement.

………………

During the two years that Sass was obsessed with assimilating the knowledge from the Lizardman civilization, the Zerg's sphere of influence over the ocean had greatly expanded.

Based on the size of the explored area and the mileage traveled by the Zerg around the world, the area they occupy now is about one-seventh of the entire planet!

Of course, it is not completely occupied, at least in the deep sea area, the Zerg have not set foot yet, but it is amazing enough to reach the current level.

This is an extremely large area, roughly estimated to be about 8000 to [-] million square kilometers!
In this area, Zerg activities can be seen everywhere, not too dense, but every few hundred miles, there will be at least one Zerg camp.

This also means that, at least on the surface and shallow sea, within the observable range, there are few things that can escape Zero's gaze.

The Zerg's exploration during this period did not find anything worthy of a special note. Instead, there were some islands and lands where Lizardmen existed, but they were all in the ignorant stage of civilization and were easily wiped out by the Zerg.

But speaking of this, there are also some interesting places.

Zero has always been face-blind to lizardmen. Except for Sommer and a few lizardmen, he has not noticed any superficial differences among other lizardmen.

In fact, this should be a very common phenomenon. After all, for alien races, few people can accurately distinguish their appearance at a glance, unless they have particularly obvious characteristics.

But this time the lizardmen discovered by the swarm, even the face-blind Zero can recognize the difference between them and the lizardmen they encountered before at a glance.

Because they may not be the real lizardmen, or the kind of lizardmen that Zero knows, even if they do have a very similar appearance to lizardmen, and Zero estimates that there is no difference between the two parties. Reproductive isolation exists.

However, Zero believes that the lizardmen in the civilized system are completely similar to the existence of these tentatively called "savages", and this point has been verified by the Zerg's observation of their body structure. In addition to being more savage physically, they may be far inferior to normal lizardmen in intelligence.

I don't know what kind of creatures the ancient ancestors of the lizard people are, but these "savages" should be more like their ancestors than the lizard people, or rather than calling them lizard people, it is better to call them directly for lizards.

This is the first time Zero has encountered such a situation. The difference between the same race is so huge, but it is indeed an interesting thing on the way of the Zerg's exploration.

Of course, these mentally retarded lizards are not qualified to see Sass alive at all, and even their corpses are not necessary to be studied by Sass. Being the nourishment of the Zerg is their ultimate destination.

Even if their tribe actually occupies a large continent, this will not affect the progress of the Zerg in the slightest.

Great unified empires as strong as the Saadman Empire have all disintegrated and completely perished under the feet of the swarm, let alone their most primitive existence.

If Zero still retains a basic respect for the lizardmen civilization, treating them, the swarm is no different from killing wild beasts.

They can neither provide technological progress to the Zerg, nor show any research value, and even their own bodies are weakened versions of the Lizardmen that have been thoroughly studied by the Zerg.

Therefore, there is no need for Zero to learn the other party's confusing language. Being a nutrient in the hatchery is the greatest contribution they can make to the Zerg.

...............

In addition to actively studying parasites, or the reason why the new Zerg micro-units cannot survive in other media other than the living body, we have not been able to understand the reason for the vegetative research of the Zerg under the observation of the cell level. , Sass or the Zerg finally made progress.

It has to be said that the Lizardman still gave the Zerg a big gift.If there is no research from the micro level, I am afraid that this opportunity may really be missed!

Under this kind of subtle observation, the mysterious boundary between producers and consumers finally revealed a corner of the mystery to the Zerg, but in the end it was in a way that Zero had never thought of.

It's ridiculous to say that Zero originally thought that the Zerg's achievement of obtaining energy from the outside world by itself would fall on the plants, but he didn't expect that after Sass obtained the complete technological achievements of civilization from the lizard people, an accidental opportunity made this The mysterious domain that has always been closed to the Zerg has opened a gap to the Zerg for the first time.

Since Sass showed a powerful ability to analyze and even reproduce various creatures, the Zerg will try their best to catch or kill any creature that can be seen and captured along the way, and send it to its side for others Research.

This tradition has not changed to this day, even if they are no longer what they used to be, whether in the ocean or in the exploration of land, Zero will try his best to send a copy to Sass.

And the turning point of things comes from this tradition.

After the Zerg defeated the Lizardmen on the ocean, during the nearly two years of scientific research in Sass, the Zerg swarm responsible for exploring the ocean greatly expanded the sphere of influence of the Zerg, and encountered many strange creatures, of course That's not the point.

In the south of the sea where the lizardmen originally lived, close to the temperate zone of the southern hemisphere, near a huge coral reef, the Zerg discovered a special kind of algae.

In the ocean, it is very normal to encounter seaweed, but this kind of algae is really different.

The reason why it is different is that the color difference between the leaves and the trunk is too obvious.

Its leaves are dark green and its branches are light green.

This was nothing at all, it was nothing more than a little attention-grabbing.

However, when the insect swarm passed by, under close observation, Zero was surprised to find that the dark green leaves were not algae leaves, but living ones, and the whole body was translucent like emerald dark green Mollusks!

This kind of creature that almost deceived Zero entered Zero's field of vision. Out of the "oldest" tradition since the Zerg was born, Zero decided to send a copy of this creature to the most loyal Sass.

Even in order to ensure that it can still survive after crossing the ocean, Zero directly built a camp nearby, using the openable area on the top of the hatchery to directly pack all the materials including seaweed, seawater and this mollusk away , and then air transported by Zerg Mutalisks.

This is also the usual practice of the Zerg. For some creatures that are far away or special enough, Zero often uses this method to ensure their survival.

Sometimes even because the distance is too far, under the condition of ensuring safety, Zero will let Sass walk towards him to save time.

This was just a matter of convenience, and it didn't consume much resources.

Although this kind of mollusk is strange, in Zero's eyes, it is just a new species discovered by the swarm in nature. It is nothing more than a healthy external color and a little connotation. There is nothing to make a fuss about.

However, after many years, Zero once again made an empirical error.

In the inherent impression, there is a clear dividing line between plants and animals. From the perspective of the composition of the food chain, plants generally exist at the bottom as producers. Of course, there are also some special plants that can feed on other animals. .

But in general, plants are plants, and they can produce organic matter through photosynthesis, providing the basic energy operation of the entire biosphere.

Animals, as consumers, progress through the layers of the food web, and finally transfer energy to consumers at the top of the food chain, and finally return to nature, repeating the cycle.

But this time, Zero really opened his eyes.

In the research of Sass, it was discovered that this dark green translucent mollusc has a large number of cells in its body, which are generally only possessed by plant cells, and are called chloroplasts by Zero!

It is actually capable of photosynthesis and is truly self-sufficient!
Zero felt that he was still ignorant after all, and this time there were no strange concepts popping up in his mind to tell him what this thing was and how it was going on.

Although Zero has always maintained enough humility towards the world, thinking that what he and even the Zerg know and see is just a drop in the ocean for the whole world, but this discovery still shocked him enough.

Surprised, Zero also thought about what this discovery meant to the Zerg almost at the same time.

This is a living, fully self-sufficient biological sample!
For a long time, the solution to the energy problem, which the Zerg had dreamed of for a long time, seemed to appear in front of them without warning in this way!

Even though he was as calm as zero, thinking of this after being surprised, he couldn't help but feel extremely happy in his heart!
Even if only this sample is obtained now, it is far from being able to produce results.But this discovery alone was enough to make Zero happy.

Even if the SARS research fails in the end, the existence of this creature at least means that it is completely feasible to develop in this direction!

Sass immediately launched research, and at the same time, in order to obtain more samples needed for experiments and observations, the Zero Command swarm protected the entire sea area there.

He is afraid that this is an endangered species that is extinct, and that something unexpected will happen when the Zerg is on the verge of solving the energy problem.

The mollusk that was sent all the way to Sass soon came to an end, and Sass' research inevitably ended its life.

Unsurprisingly, even though it already had the first living sample, it still failed to incorporate it into the Zerg gene pool in one fell swoop.

The reason still lies in chlorophyll. For this structure that is unique to the producer, how does this mollusc called a sea snail be produced, even if it is dissected in detail and used its own ability to do it yourself Imitation, also can not really draw conclusions.

The mollusk it transformed is almost identical to this creature except for its color, and it does not have the ability to photosynthesize at all.

Zero observed the whole process and learned about the situation through the increasing Zerg field. He believes that the real reason may lie in their growth environment, and the algae they live in may be the key.

It's a pity that the one brought back by the Zerg died on the way, and Sass didn't find out why from it.

Although he already has a considerable understanding of the body structure of this creature, but the matter is of great importance, Zero decided to ask Sass to go to that sea area in person to observe and study the activities of this mollusc creature at close range, and at the same time be able to It is more convenient to obtain more experimental samples.

This time, of course, it is impossible for it to rush over slowly like before. The so-called long night and dreamy, this may be a unique opportunity. Grow Sweet Potatoes to keep your Clan alive!

So this time, even if it is a certain risk, He will promote and implement this matter as soon as possible.

So for the first time since his birth, Seth really enjoyed the beauty of the sky.It was carried by two flying dragons together with the sea hatchery that carried and protected it, and headed for the target sea area.

Surrounded by thousands of Zerg Wyverns covering the sky and covering the sun as guards, countless foragers flew forward under the invisible water, cleaning up all the creatures that might threaten Sass' life safety.

It is said that it is taking a certain risk, but in fact there is no great danger at all.

With this level of protection, no matter whether it is a bird of prey from the sky or a giant beast from the bottom of the sea, they will not be able to cause harm to Sass before the swarm dies, unless it falls to death by itself, which is also impossible , the height the flying dragon flies is neither high nor low, even if Sass accidentally falls into the water, he will be lifted to the surface of the water by the foragers in the next moment.

Under the almost uninterrupted rush, within a few days, Sass crossed thousands of miles of sea and arrived at the place where the strange mollusk was found.

It has become a forbidden area heavily protected by Zerg.

(End of this chapter)