bookbashuk Chapter 19 The Zerg...?!
Chapter 19 The Zerg...?!
"This photo was taken in Luofu!"
March 7th tapped her fingers on the plastic wrap of the photo album, her nails making a soft tapping sound.
"Back then, Xing almost demolished that... Jinren Alley in order to catch that Di Ting! Look, look, the stall owner in the background is all green with envy!"
The girl laughed so hard her shoulders were shaking, and her pink hair swayed with her movements.
Hoshi followed her finger and looked over.
The photo shows a bustling city scene.
Lanterns are hung high, and people come and go.
Xing was running wildly, carrying a giant mechanical dog, followed by a group of people who looked like Cloud Cavalry.
Although the image is somewhat blurry, the lively, chaotic atmosphere almost overflows from the photograph.
so good.
This kind of life is full of everyday warmth and life.
Hoshi's lips curled up slightly, as if she wanted to smile along.
however.
Just as her gaze focused on the corner of the photo—that small patch of sky that was reddened by the lanterns—she noticed something else.
That spot on the chest.
That "nothingness" mark that was slowly rotating and emanating a chill.
Suddenly, it was as if I sensed something.
hum.
It wasn't a sound.
It is a vibration that acts directly on the bones.
Mohoshi's smile froze on his face.
She watched helplessly as—
The photo that was pressed under March 7th's fingers.
That bustling Chang Le Tian.
That running star.
The stall owner with the green face.
It suddenly twisted.
It's like ink being dripped into water.
Or it could be light trapped by a black hole.
The photo was neither torn nor taken away.
On a physical level, it transformed into an extremely subtle stream of light, following some unseen gravitational current.
Huh.
It burrowed into Hoshino's chest.
The plastic sealant was still intact.
But in the area below the photo, all that's left is a pale white expanse.
March 7th was still pointing at that empty space, talking incessantly.
"...I thought I was going to have to pay a lot of money back, but it turns out the stall owner was a fan of Xing..."
She didn't see it at all.
Or.
Under the influence of "nothingness," this momentary absence is filled by a certain logical blind spot.
But the star saw it.
She not only saw it, she also felt it.
That photograph... or rather, the "possibility" it embodies.
It was exploding in her mind.
……
……
The field of vision stretched in an instant.
The cozy pink room has disappeared.
The sound of March 7th became distant and indistinct, as if separated by a thick layer of glass.
Instead, there was a deep, suffocatingly dark starry sky.
Only a dim star, emitting a dark red glow, hung in the distance.
That was a red dwarf star.
Its light couldn't even illuminate the entire galaxy; it could only barely outline the contours of a few planets.
One, two, three, four.
There are only four planets.
This is a barren, lonely, and dying galaxy.
The viewpoint is rapidly dropping.
It passed through the thin atmosphere and landed on the rocky planet closest to the red dwarf star.
There is no blue sky, no white clouds here.
The sky is forever a dark purple.
The earth is dry, cracked brown rock.
But in the crevices of those rocks live countless strange creatures.
They have grayish-white carapaces, long segmented limbs, and compound eyes.
They are the only intelligent life in this galaxy—the slug race.
Mohoshi felt as if he had become an observer, or as if he had been possessed by some unknown entity.
She could hear the "language" of those insects.
It's a high-frequency fluctuation transmitted through antenna friction and pheromones.
"The 7582nd deep space scan has been completed."
A slightly larger observer stands atop the tallest rock tower, its tentacles reaching into deep space.
"What was the result?"
"My companion asked."
"none."
The observer lowered its antennae, and a strong sense of loss emanated from its pheromones.
"Still no response. This universe... is empty."
"Just us."
His companion also let out a sigh-like scraping sound.
"We are alone."
This dialogue has been repeated countless times over thousands of orbital periods.
Looking for companions.
Seek out beings who, like ourselves, possess wisdom, emotions, and civilization.
This is an obsession etched into the genes of the arthropod race.
They are so lonely.
In this corner where even the stars are about to go out, they yearn for even a greeting from afar.
until……
That day.
The red dwarf star in the sky suddenly dimmed for a moment.
A massive, twisted spatial rift tore open above the orbit.
That's a wormhole.
However, it is not stable and emits a kind of chaotic and violent energy fluctuation.
All the insectoid race raised their heads.
Hundreds of millions of compound eyes are looking in that direction at the same time.
They are not afraid.
in contrast.
That pheromone wave that swept across the entire planet was filled with uncontrollable ecstasy.
coming!
finally come!
A response we've been waiting for for thousands of years!
Guests from deep space!
then.
The first creature emerged from the crack.
It has a golden carapace, sharp, sickle-shaped forelimbs, and a pair of compound eyes that emit a ghostly light.
True stinging insect.
"Breeding" the retinue of the star god Tayzyuros.
It is one of the most greedy and terrifying predators in the universe.
But in the eyes of the simple-minded and companion-seeking insect race.
What they saw was—
Similar shell structure.
Similar arthropods.
Similar compound eyes.
"Same race!"
"They're long-lost members of our clan!"
"They've gone home!"
Cheers erupted.
The cheering sound produced by hundreds of millions of insects simultaneously rubbing their wings shook the entire atmosphere.
The swarm of insects has no defensive measures.
They opened the entrance to the nest.
They put on the most solemn welcoming ceremony—releasing a high concentration of honeydew, a substance secreted only during the mating season, representing love and acceptance.
They open their arms, or rather their forelimbs, to welcome the "relatives" that fall from the sky.
Hoshi wanted to shout.
I wanted to tell them to run!
I want to close my eyes and not see what's coming next.
But she couldn't do it.
She could only watch helplessly.
The first real hibernating insect landed.
It was clearly taken aback for a moment.
Faced with these unsuspecting, even delicious "proteins" that were offered to it, a hint of instinctive confusion flashed in its compound eyes.
But this confusion lasted for less than a ten-thousandth of a second.
The instinct to "procreate" overwhelmed everything.
puff.
That was the sound of a sickle piercing a carapace.
Green bodily fluids splattered.
The insectoid observer, still emitting friendly pheromones, was cut in half before it could even change the frequency of its pheromones.
Followed by.
The second one.
The third one.
The 500th.
The overwhelming swarm of golden insects, like a golden tsunami, instantly engulfed the brown rocky land.
The so-called "welcome ceremony" turned into a one-sided massacre.
The so-called "recognition among kin" has become a final celebration between predators and prey.
No one could hear the screams.
Because arthropods don't scream.
Until the very last moment, they were still conveying confusion through pheromones:
Why?
Why did you hurt us?
"Aren't we...friends?"
No response.
Only the sound of chewing.
The sound of countless mouthparts tearing through the carapace and devouring flesh was deafening.
The sound grew louder and louder.
It got louder and louder.
Finally, it turned into a roar that filled my entire mind.
……
……
"Doraemon? Doraemon?"
A hand waved in front of her eyes.
The terrifying dark purple sky shattered instantly.
The red dwarf star has disappeared.
The chewing sounds of the insects abruptly ceased.
Our focus has been refocused.
What came into view was March 7th's face, which was filled with confusion.
And that photo album, still open.
"What are you spacing out for?"
March 7th tilted its head.
"Wasn't that story about Golden Man Alley funny? I saw your eyes practically popping out of your head."
Hoshi blinked.
A fine layer of cold sweat seeped from his forehead.
She subconsciously touched her chest.
It was still cold there.
The "nothingness" mark continued to rotate slowly, as if nothing had ever happened.
Only she knows.
That photo was originally a night view of Changletian.
At this moment, in her memory palace, it has been replaced by that blood-stained, lifeless red dwarf world.
"without……"
Hoshi opened his mouth, his voice a little hoarse.
"Well... I suddenly thought of something else."
"Something else?"
On March 7th, without giving it much thought, she turned a page in the photo album.
"And take a look at this! This was taken at the Black Tower Space Station..."
Hoshi looked at the oblivious girl.
She glanced again at the spot where the photo had become blank, but which still looked normal to March 7.
What is this?
This kind of memory... doesn't belong to this timeline at all.
It doesn't belong to that destroyed parallel world either.
This is... one possibility.
One of the cruelest possibilities that may arise from the fate of "breeding".
This is a technique that reverses time, forcibly imposes the "effect" onto the "cause," and erases the logic of reality through "nothingness."
Only that one person can do it.
A star god who goes against the tide of time.
"The End" - The Last King.
What is He warning us about?
Or is it... foreshadowing something?
Hoshi took a deep breath.
The fear of being dominated by the chewing sounds of the insects still lingered in her nerve endings, causing her fingers to tremble slightly.
But she quickly hid her hands under the covers.
"This one..."
Hoshi forced herself to focus on the new photo.
They took a photo pointing to the still intact Black Tower doll.
"It's a very good shot."
"Right, right!"
March 7th was filled with excitement again.
"At the time, Ms. Black Tower even said I didn't understand art and insisted on striking a strange pose..."
The room was once again filled with the cheerful voice of a young girl.
That terrifying scene about the extinction of the Zerg was like a drop of water merging into the ocean, disappearing without a trace.
Except in Hoshino's mind.
It's like a thorn.
It hurt terribly from being pricked.
…………
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