Juggernaut: Rise of the Zerg

Chapter 233 Ruhr and channel experiment
Everything is difficult at the beginning. Over the years, the Zerg have tried to develop super-light technology but have not been able to obtain it. This has allowed the entire occupied galaxy to develop independently, unable to achieve effective material communication and connect all star systems together.

Now it is finally fulfilled, although there are still some problems, such as the total amount of energy crystals driving the superluminal engine, or the further improvement of engine efficiency, etc.

But now that the first step has been taken, there will always be a way later.

Based on the thousands of years of glory of the Velvet civilization, the Zerg have easily pushed their technological level to a level that is almost the same as theirs, at least in the necessary fields. As for those useless technologies, Zero is not very rare. , naturally there is no need to spend energy on sorting it out.

It has to be said that it is difficult for the Zerg to complete the super-large experimental instruments of the Velvets that exist on the planet or even in the deep space of the universe. This is a common feature of their intelligent civilization that focuses on brain development during the evolution process. Advantage.

For the Zerg, these scientific research tools are not a matter of size. The complexity and precision of such a huge structure cannot be described in words, and this is precisely the weakness of the Zerg in terms of mechanical structure.

For a scientific research conclusion, the Velvet people did not hesitate to build a ring-shaped magnetosphere in the orbit of a satellite. In order to observe the universe farther away, they used hundreds of asteroids as base stations to connect them into a huge observation network!

Through learning, brain worms can understand the principles of this, and also understand the effect that can be achieved by doing so.But it would be no easy task for the Zerg to generate such a large and fine structure.

For example, Zero noticed that the Velvet people's construction technology included technology similar to 3D printing, which was one of their weapons that allowed them to quickly complete large-scale construction projects.

In theory, under the control of brain worms such as Sass, the Zerg can also use gene editing to make the born Zerg unit eventually grow into a corresponding appearance to achieve a similar effect.

But there is a problem here. Its workload is too huge. It is so huge that a brainworm like Sass can transform the Zerg unit like kneading plasticine, which requires a huge time cost.

It’s not that it’s impossible to do it at all. The Zerg unit can grow into such a shape under precise gene editing. In fact, today’s large Zerg space units basically follow this process, but compared to the complex and sophisticated machinery Structurally speaking, the requirements for space units are much lower.

To reach the level of technological crystallization of the Velvet people, the amount of energy required is simply exaggerated.The Velvetites have the help of mechanical equipment and can draw conclusions more easily, but the Hive Mind cannot help much in terms of innovation.

It is also for this reason that the high-end technologies obtained from these intelligent civilizations are often not directly usable, and require a lengthy Zerg transformation to complete the application of the opponent's technology under the premise of the same principles.

After the super-light speed technology was lit, Zero had the capital to execute the previous channel detection plan.These two experimental units came from afar, in order to send the sixth brain worm of the Zerg to Krichtel, let it enter the mine channel in person, so as to provide a more practical conclusion for Zero.

After all, brain worms are not like those unintelligent worms. They can describe what they see and hear, and even if they are not good enough, they can express their feelings when they enter it.

It's just that it needs to take a certain risk. It may die after walking out of the passage, or it may not appear in the real universe again for tens or hundreds of years.

After all, many of the insect swarms that entered the passage before have never shown up.

Of course, Zero has already made up his mind, so this matter is the cause that the Zerg must complete, and will not be abandoned because of anything.

Zerg In 1248, when the autumn wind rolled up the fallen leaves of the plants that had been revived for hundreds of years in the northern hemisphere of Ori, two brand new Zerg space units once again launched a super-light voyage towards Krichtel.

It will take them seven years to re-travel the distance of fifty light years, return to the vicinity of Krichtel's mine channel, and use the opportunity of the next channel opening to send the sixth brain worm Ruhr into it to complete this. The first step of the experiment.

Ruhr is not the name Zero gave it, but after strengthening its self-awareness and completely becoming a mature brain worm, it named itself for itself.Adhering to the long-standing naming habits of the Zerg units, Ruhr, in the ancient language of the lizard people, means to study, which is somewhat related to Viser (wisdom).

Zerg In 1255, the development of the Zerg in the Velvet star field was in full swing. Cerebral worms such as Sass controlled the Zerg swarm, targeting the opponent's senior officials and members of key positions, and even the military fleet for continuous infiltration.

Although controlling more Velvets will increase the burden on the Hive Mind and prevent Sars from developing the Zerg lurkers at will, so far, at least on the Federation home planet, including the main members of the parliament, the speaker and a deputy speaker, and Many of the heads or adjutants of the powerful subordinate departments have become "non-staff members" of the Zerg.

Through these high-ranking Velvets, the entire civilization has gradually opened its arms to the Zerg.Zero has no ability to replace all key positions with Zerg lurkers, but has put nails in nearly every department that can affect Zerg activities.

Of course, this has indeed increased the burden on the Hive Will. Dozens or hundreds of Velvets are nothing to it. The number of macroscopic units of the Zerg now distributed in various star systems is more than hundreds of millions?Every moment makes it stronger.

However, when this number rises to thousands or even tens of thousands, it becomes somewhat difficult. You must know that in addition to helping Todd control the Velvet people, the Hive Mind also assists the Cerebrates in undertaking heavy scientific research tasks. .

The control of the brain domain thinking, those "seeds" of the lurkers only serve as a medium. Only this huge collective consciousness can really play a role in controlling every Velvet person affected.

Because of this, Sass’ erosion plan had to slow down and further reduce the number of personnel. At the same time, with the cooperation of Visser, using the super-light engine as a guide, the pace of expansion to the surrounding star fields was accelerated to meet the needs of the will of the hive. .

It was against this background that the first major test of the vein channel was quietly launched in Crichtel.

The brain worm Ruhr was placed at the entrance of the passage, accompanied by a group of scientific research worms.

They stayed here quietly, waiting for the scene when the passage opened.

Zerg 1257, accompanied by the familiar soft light, the brain worm Ruhr disappeared into the real universe.At the same time, it also broke the close connection with Zero since its birth, just like the normal Zerg unit that entered it at the beginning.

Zero originally thought that it would take a long time for Ruhr to reappear in an unknown star field, but only three years later, in 1260 of the Zerg, it appeared in a place that Zero had never thought of before!

The SH-009 galaxy, here is the ninth star system occupied by the Zerg in the eighth round of expansion starting from the Sommer galaxy, and it is also the location of the second energy mine within the main sphere of influence of the Zerg.

Because of this, after the occupation, this place has also become one of the key areas of the Zerg.

However, in 1260, the mine channel located in the orbit of the third planet in the SH-009 galaxy was opened again, bringing along an unexpected existence besides the energy crystal—the brain worm Ruhr.

In 1257, it entered from the TD-004 galaxy, that is, the ore channel in Crichtel, but in 1260, it appeared in the SH-009 galaxy along with the energy crystal in Zerg [-]!

At this moment, Zero immediately realized that he had re-established contact with the cerebrate Ruhr who had not heard from him for three years!
The shortest distance between TD-004 and SH-009 is about 170 light-years. It took three years to cross this distance through the vein channel. It’s not worth zero. It’s just why Ruhr didn’t appear in Velvet The human galaxy did not appear in the extragalactic galaxy, but it happened to appear at the exit of a mineral vein closest to Krichtel?
This surprised Zero.

In fact, in Ruhr's perception, it has never experienced such a long time of three years. Maybe the time measurement will have a large error due to changes in the external environment, but Ruhr still relies on the changes in his own body and thinking. A rough judgment has been made on the operation of the system.

Only about 009 Oridays have passed since it entered the tunnel entrance and "falled out" from the SH-0.9 galaxy!

This is undoubtedly a major discovery. The time in the channel is more than a thousand times different from the outside world. It is not impossible to cause this phenomenon in the real universe, but there is no doubt that it is not a form of expression like energy ore veins .

Of course, it is also possible that other unknown existences interfered with Luhr's judgment. After all, according to previous guesses, observations from low-dimensional to high-dimensional often only see the tip of the iceberg. It is difficult to draw conclusions about how it is based on the Zerg's current capabilities. , and it doesn't make much sense to think about these questions for which there is no direct evidence.

Of course, the information Ruhr brought was far more than this. In fact, from the beginning of entering the "channel", it immediately noticed that the connection between itself and Zero was almost completely disconnected, which made it panic for a moment.However, this situation was already anticipated in the previous plan, so it quickly recovered.

Completely different from previous guesses, this place is not as dark as the outer universe, and there are not many unimaginable peculiarities. On the contrary, it is empty and quiet, like another piece of land that does not exist in the real universe. The space is average.

And around the Ruhr, there is a gorgeous and colorful aurora!

Although there is no embellishment of stars, it seems that there is not much difference between this place and the outside world. This is Ruhr's first impression.

If you have to say something strange here, it is here that it obviously has not touched any entity, but it is strangely not in a state of weightlessness, as if it is on the surface of a planet, but there is no resistance.

Although due to its size and structure, it is quite difficult for the Ruhr to move independently in the outside world, and generally requires the help of other insect species, but it can feel that its activities are not restricted here!
This piece of "space" does not exist up and down, and it seems to have no boundaries. It is allowed to roam in it. It leads a group of Zerg scientific research units to explore it to its fullest.

However, this state did not last long. Everything here seemed to be the same. Although the aurora was gorgeous, there seemed to be no difference. Maybe this place was endless, but Ruhr quickly lost interest.

With a fellow Zerg unit as a reference, it can confirm that it is indeed moving, but such aimless exploration does not make any sense.

Until one moment, the colorful light nearby became less stable in an instant, and its light became extremely gorgeous and real. And in the next second, Ruhl and the insect swarm it led appeared in the real universe. middle.

At that moment, it seemed to vaguely feel that in the extremely brilliant light, something "falls" down together with it.

Undoubtedly, apart from the Zerg unit that appeared with Ruhr in the real universe, the only energy crystal left!
This is the first time that Zero has come into contact with the specific information of the "inside of the channel". However, no matter how bizarre the "inside" of such a cosmic phenomenon is, it does not seem unacceptable. At least the phenomenon revealed in it is not completely unimaginable. Regardless of whether what you saw was real or not, it showed this appearance in front of three-dimensional creatures like the Zerg.

Maybe Ruhr got a glimpse of the leopard, maybe this is what it is, which is important but not important.What Zero is concerned about now is still that problem.

Why didn't Ruhr appear in the Velvets or even in the extragalactic galaxies, but why did he appear at the exit of the second mineral vein channel within the Zerg's sphere of influence?

Coincidence?
It was also possible, but intuitively, Zero didn't think so.

The Zerg units that entered the passage before did not have intelligence. Once they lost contact, they would only act according to their instincts.

There have been as many as four batches of Zerg scientific research units that have appeared in the real universe over the years, and among them the closest to the Zerg is also with the Velvet, tens of thousands of light-years away from the main body of the Zerg, but this time Such a coincidence can be said to be under the nose of the Zerg!

This can't help making Zero care, but the information he got is still too little, and he needs more information, and it is inevitable to enter it again to explore.

Of course, this task can only be performed by Ruhr, and only it is the most convenient.

The Velvet people have research results on energy veins, mainly focusing on the factors that generate them. Although the results are very small, it has to be said that if they can finally achieve results, they may be able to understand the root causes of the vein channels. Formation principle.

The Zerg, on the other hand, found another way, using their own uniqueness, to directly enter the "inside" of the passage for observation.

Has the Velvet ever done this in history?Of course it has!
During the initial discovery of energy mines and the following hundreds of years, everyone from ordinary living animals to ethnic minorities who have signed special agreements, and even scientific researchers who have the courage to dedicate themselves to science, have all entered it.

However, in the data records of the Velvet people, Zero has never found any situation about them appearing from other exits!
If Ruhr could do it, there's no reason the multitude of Velvets who went into it couldn't.

This is another question.

Today, the Zergs are quite powerful among the Velvets. Perhaps through macro guidance, the Velvets can shift their research focus to this area, and use their scientific research strength to facilitate this project.

Whether it is in terms of energy or its function, this kind of energy vein that takes into account the ability of the channel will inevitably have a more profound impact on the incubating Zerg in the future. From now on, concentrate the scientific research strength of the two civilizations to figure out this kind of universe. The origin of the spectacle is undoubtedly a forward-looking decision.

Zero was sure of this.

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

Zerg 1264, two things worth recording happened.

One is that the brain worm Ruhr once again entered the "channel" in the SH-009 galaxy and disappeared.

Compared with the former, another thing made Zero care more.

That was before, the Zerg units that entered the passage from Krichtel in two batches actually appeared at the same place at the same time!
This means that either they have come together "inside the tunnel", or they have arrived at the same place at the same time by different routes.

Zero doesn't think there will be such a coincidence. In comparison, the possibility of the latter is not high.

Zerg units gathered inside the tunnel, which had never happened before. The interval between each batch of bugs entering the tunnel ranged from three to four years to decades!

And they are now appearing at the same time, which is another achievement worth recording.

It's a pity that although they gathered together, they couldn't avoid the fate of death.

I don't know which star field this is, but the familiar scene in front of him still makes Zero feel very helpless.When the stars "take off their coats", these bugs died silently as usual.

Zero is basically sure that this should be a unique creature, and its malice towards the Zerg has never been concealed. Once the Zerg unit appears in the galaxy it occupies, it will be wiped out immediately.

So far, there have been five batches of insect swarms that appeared in the real universe through the mine vein channel. If this time is added, there are already three batches of insect race teams that died in the hands of this kind of creature inexplicably!

Such a high ratio cannot but attract zero attention. Although it does not threaten the survival of the Zerg, it actually affects the activities of the Zerg.

According to the available information, Zero made two conjectures about this creature.

Or, it exists widely in various galaxies in the universe, so that when the Zerg crosses the galaxy through the vein channel, they can hit it most of the time.

This possibility is not high, at least in the star field where the Zerg main body is currently located, no trace of this creature has been found.

If it is really distributed so widely, it is unlikely that the two civilizations of the Zerg and the Velvet have not encountered it once during the development of the two civilizations.

Then there is another explanation. This kind of creature is likely to be closely related to energy mines, and it exists on a large scale in places where energy mines exist!

If this is the case, it can also explain why the insect swarms are encountered so frequently when they appear through the mineral vein channels, but they have never been seen in regular expansion.

Of course, there are still doubts. For example, there are no traces of the existence of such creatures in the five energy veins currently occupied by the Zerg and Velvet people.

Insufficient information is the biggest reason why it is difficult to answer these questions today, but all this cannot be rushed, and it may take a lot of time to verify and discover a little bit.

In any case, since they have taken the lead in standing on the opposite side of the Zerg, they are indisputable enemies. Even if they have not had contact with the main body of the Zerg now, they will definitely be a great enemy in the future.

So colliding with it at this stage may not necessarily be a bad thing.

Zero originally thought so, until the group of Zerg units that had quietly developed in the outer galaxy were shrouded in an invisible shadow...

(End of this chapter)