TCPUAAV Chapter 133

 

After receiving the lab results, Ruan Shiqing made another trip to Garland’s lab for a full set of strength tests.

 

The results showed that although his physical functions had improved significantly across the board, there was no notable increase in his raw strength. According to Garland’s hypothesis, after waking from his coma with both external appearance and internal functions having undergone marked changes, Ruan Shiqing’s strength should logically have increased as well.

 

After all, if Ruan Shiqing and Ruan Jiao were related by blood—and considering their connection to the Zerg—one would expect his physical power to be far above average. The Zerg, after all, were known for their formidable strength.

 

However, the results showed that Ruan Shiqing’s strength was still comparable to that of ancient humans. While he had previously ranked in the middle to lower tier, his improved physique now placed him in a higher bracket—but there was no fundamental change.

 

Ruan Shiqing wasn’t particularly surprised by this. What shocked him more was that he might share a blood relationship with Ruan Jiao.

 

Seeing his confused and uncertain expression, Rong Heng finally remembered he hadn’t yet shared the most important information. He hurriedly filled Ruan Shiqing in on their theories about Ruan Jiao’s identity.

 

After listening, Ruan Shiqing fell into deep thought.

 

Since waking up, he had been busy comforting Rong Heng and the cubs, and hadn’t had time to sort through many things—much less mention the dream he had while unconscious. In that dream, he had personally witnessed the Zerg queen laying two eggs—royal eggs, according to Zerg terminology.

 

According to Rong Heng, the Zerg queen had been dead for many years. The current queen and the majority of Zerg today were artificial constructs, and their genetic source came from Ruan Jiao. Ruan Jiao, meanwhile, had been held captive by the Zerg for years. This immediately reminded Ruan Shiqing of the royal egg that hadn’t been hidden in time and was taken away by the Zerg.

 

The deceased queen had been the last true Zerg queen. She had undergone a final evolution, gained a humanoid form, adopted human consciousness, and tried to end the millennia-old war—but was ultimately murdered. Before dying, she left behind two royal eggs.

 

If he and Ruan Jiao truly shared a blood connection, and if the antennae that had sprouted from his forehead in the dream were any indication, then he—or rather, the body he had crossed into—was very likely the first royal egg that the queen had hidden away.

 

But the historical records of the Zerg never mentioned queens laying male offspring.

 

The Zerg were a matriarchal species, where reproductive power was solely in the hands of the queen. Each queen’s royal eggs were always female.

 

Now, he lacked too much critical information. Everything seemed to line up in pieces, yet contradictions remained everywhere, making it impossible to arrive at a coherent conclusion.

 

And yet, everything he saw in the dream had felt so vivid and logical. From the silence of Blue Star, to the Zerg’s expansion, to their divergent evolution, to Queen Farah’s death… All of it, though seemingly fantastical, actually provided plausible explanations for many currently unexplainable phenomena.

 

When Queen Farah came to mind, Ruan Shiqing instinctively glanced at Rong Heng.

 

Whenever Rong Heng spoke of his late mother, his expression was always filled with nostalgia and sorrow—never anger or hatred. Clearly, he didn’t know the truth of her death. The Empire had officially announced that the queen died heroically during a once-in-a-century Zerg swarm on the front lines.

 

Ruan Shiqing couldn’t confirm what was true and what was false. All he could do for now was find a way to verify whether the dream was real, before deciding whether to tell Rong Heng the truth.

 

He skipped over the parts he couldn’t talk about and vaguely said, “I don’t think I lost consciousness while I was in a coma.” He described the sensation of being immersed in an endless body of water. “At the time, I had antennae growing out of my forehead—just like Ruan Jiao.”

 

Antennae were a trait unique to the Zerg.

 

Garland grew thoughtful after hearing this. After a moment, he said, “From what you’re describing, it sounds a lot like being in a state of inner vision—perceiving your own spiritual body. The Empire doesn’t have many scholars studying spiritual power, but I’ve been reading a lot of books and papers on it lately. There was once a scholar who proposed a theory that a person’s essence is their spiritual body. He compared the brain’s spiritual energy to a vast ocean, calling it the ‘spirit sea.’ The spiritual body is the manifestation of the self—the representation of the true self. When someone enters their own spirit sea, it’s like a ‘person’ immersed in a vast ocean. The ocean is boundless; the ‘person’ is tiny. But when one can move freely in that ocean, it means they’ve gained mastery over spiritual power.”

 

The theory had always been speculative. It had never been proven and was often dismissed as pseudoscience. The scholar who proposed the “spirit sea” theory never gained recognition and died impoverished, ridiculed by many.

 

Over the past half year, in his quest to uncover the reasons behind Ruan Jiao’s abnormalities and Ruan Shiqing’s coma, Garland had read many works on spiritual energy. And with a living example like Ruan Jiao right before his eyes, he had gained quite a few insights.

 

He no longer thought the “spirit sea” theory was nonsense. Ruan Shiqing’s words had only reinforced his conviction.

 

After a moment’s contemplation, he suggested, “Would you like to take a look at the captured Zerg? If our speculation is correct, they should respond to your presence.”

 

He had been stuck in a dead end before, but Ruan Shiqing’s revelations had given him a new direction. The true evolution of the Zerg might not be about physical strength—but rather, spiritual power.

 

Just like those humanoid Zerg, like Ruan Jiao.

 

The closer they were to a human form, the stronger their spiritual energy. Correspondingly, their physical strength would decline—but that didn’t mean they were weaker. In fact, humanoid Zerg held extremely high status among the Zerg, and Ruan Jiao, after proper training, could even make hostile Zerg captives submit.

 

Thinking back to the explosive growth of the Falling Star Vine at the repair shop a few days ago, Garland felt Ruan Shiqing could use the imprisoned Zerg to run some tests.

 

But before Ruan Shiqing could respond, Rong Heng tensed up. “No way!”

 

His face darkened, body taut, and he instinctively grabbed Ruan Shiqing’s arm.

 

Ruan Shiqing’s previous coma had been caused by the newborn Zerg queen’s corpse. He had only just woken up—what if the Zerg tried something again? Just imagining the possibility made Rong Heng restless and irritable.

 

Ruan Shiqing could feel the strength in Rong Heng’s grip and understood his concerns.

 

But he had too many speculations that needed to be verified. After a moment’s thought, he made up his mind.

 

He reversed his hand to gently press Rong Heng’s tense arm, his long fingers tracing the faintly flexed muscle down to the back of his hand. He wove their fingers together, locking them tightly.

 

He gave a firm squeeze, letting Rong Heng feel his resolve. “Come with me. I’ll be careful. I won’t let anything happen again.”

 

Rong Heng met his gaze, and after a moment’s struggle, reluctantly relented.

 

Still, he was clearly unhappy about it. On their way to the prison where the Zerg were held, he shot Garland a fierce glare.

 

Garland pretended not to notice.

 

The Zerg prison was built beneath the munitions factory. At first, only three humanoid Zerg had been captured. But as rescue missions increased, the number of prisoners had grown. From high-ranking humanoid Zerg to lower-level, ordinary Zerg, they were all imprisoned here, sustained only with the bare minimum for survival—for the sake of Garland’s research.

 

The lower-ranking the Zerg, the further out they were kept.

 

As the group entered, the air was filled with hissing growls and the sound of metal clanging. These low-level Zerg were not very intelligent. Without the commands of higher Zerg, they relied solely on brute force and were essentially mindless.

 

They happened to arrive just as the Zerg were regaining some strength after being fed nutrient fluid, and were beginning to bash against their cell bars again.

 

The entire underground prison echoed with the noise, chaotic and jarring.

 

Ruan Shiqing frowned instinctively.

 

But then, he saw the low-level Zerg suddenly stop their bashing and retreat in terror to the corners of their cells. Their sharp limbs tucked tightly beneath their shells, abdomens pressed to the ground, and even their antennae lay flat—they didn’t dare lift their heads.

 

Garland raised an eyebrow at the sight and looked at Ruan Shiqing. “This didn’t happen when Ruan Jiao came. What did you do?”

 

Ruan Jiao was still young. While he had been able to command the submission of these lower Zerg through training and learning, it had never been this effortless—and their submissive postures had never been this docile.

 

Ruan Shiqing shook his head, just as puzzled. “I didn’t do anything.”

 

As they spoke, the group continued forward.

 

Zerg on either side of the corridor withdrew into the corners of their cells, displaying submissive postures.

 

The deeper they went, the more intelligent and higher-ranking the imprisoned Zerg became. These didn’t kneel outright, but they all tensed up at Ruan Shiqing’s approach. Some even craned their heads to look, and pairs of red compound eyes scanned him intently before locking onto him.

 

There were no more crashes. Instead, a chorus of hissing sounds began to rise.

 

It was the Zerg’s unique vocalization—like fingernails scraping across rough paper in uneven rhythm. In the past, Ruan Shiqing couldn’t understand it and had needed Ruan Jiao to translate.

 

But this time, he could hear their conversation clearly.

 

“I smell a familiar scent.”

 

“It’s the queen.”

 

“The queen died years ago. There hasn’t been a queen for so long.”

 

“Why is it a male…”

 

“A perfect humanoid form. He’s evolved beyond the queen. Has he infiltrated the humans?”

 

The chaotic chatter flooded his ears. Ruan Shiqing kept a calm expression as his eyes swept across the cells, mentally noting each Zerg that mentioned the queen.

 

At the end of the corridor was an isolated cell.

 

“This one is No. 4—the highest-ranking Zerg we’ve ever captured,” Garland explained. “His genetics differ from the synthetic Zerg. I suspect he’s one of the rare naturally born Zerg, created by the queen herself.”

 

He had assigned numbers to each Zerg to better organize the data.

 

Ruan Shiqing peered through the bars and saw a tall, thin adult male with sickly pale skin, dressed in a buttoned shirt and slacks. At a glance, he looked completely human.

 

Noticing his confusion, Rong Heng explained, “He seems to have evolved even further than other humanoid Zerg. In Zerg form, he’s half-human, half-insect.”

 

This particular Zerg had been captured during a rescue mission.

 

Evolved humanoid Zerg were cunning. They disguised themselves as regular humans and hid among rescued survivors, issuing commands via Zerg-specific psychic signals to orchestrate battle formations.

 

That mission had been brutal, with immense casualties among both the rescue team and the rescued planet.

 

This Zerg had blended in with the survivors and knew everything about the planet’s interior. The rescue effort turned into a drawn-out siege that lasted nearly a month.

 

If Rong Heng hadn’t already encountered disguised humanoid Zerg before and instructed his men to monitor suspicious individuals closely, this one might’ve escaped.

 

Even during his transfer back to Planet B3024, a migrating Zerg swarm had launched multiple suicide attacks on their warship—presumably to rescue him.

 

From that, Rong Heng concluded this Zerg held an exceptionally high status.

 

But he was far more cunning than the others. Even under interrogation, very little useful information had been extracted.

 

Ruan Shiqing stared at the Zerg from across the door.

 

Something about him felt oddly familiar. But after carefully studying his face, he was certain they had never met. Not even in his dream had any Zerg looked like this—half-human, half-insect.

 

Frowning in thought, Ruan Shiqing wasn’t willing to overlook any clue. He asked, “Do you have any photos of him in Zerg form?”

 

Garland nodded and retrieved stored images from the central AI system.

 

Ruan Shiqing flipped through them one by one, until his gaze stopped on a particular image, his expression growing grave.

 

In the photo, the man’s lower half had fully transformed into a Zerg form. From his spine extended three pairs of jointed limbs. His bare torso was covered in strange patterns, but the most striking detail was a red, conch-shaped marking on his chest.

 

Ruan Shiqing had seen that marking before—in his dream.

 

When the Zerg Queen hatched in human form, countless Zerg prostrated themselves in reverence. The one standing closest to her—also the largest—had that same red conch-like pattern across his chest and abdomen when he straightened up.

 

But back then, he had clearly still been in full Zerg form, not yet evolved.

 

Ruan Shiqing’s gaze darkened as he suppressed all emotion, fixing his eyes on Subject No. 4. In a flat, almost casual tone, he said, “I’ve seen you before.”

 

The Zerg lifted his head and glanced at him, pupils contracting—but he said nothing.

 

Still, Ruan Shiqing could sense his hostility… and a hint of apprehension.

 

The feeling came without reason, yet it was undeniable. He glanced at Ruan Jiao and saw the cub clinging to Rong Heng’s clothes, wide-eyed and glaring warily at No. 4—clearly sensing the ill intent as well.

 

Ruan Shiqing narrowed his eyes. This time, instead of asking a question, he spoke with quiet certainty: “Looks like you recognize me too.”

 

A faint note of mockery curled at the edge of his expression.

 

The Zerg finally broke his silence, speaking fluent Interstellar Common: “She hid you well. Looks like you’ve inherited all the legacy memories.” If he hadn’t, he wouldn’t be able to recognize him.

 

From those few words, Ruan Shiqing gleaned several critical pieces of information.

 

First: this Zerg was indeed the one from the dream.

 

Second: the dream wasn’t merely a dream, but a transfer of inherited memories.

 

Quickly processing and analyzing what he had learned, Ruan Shiqing maintained his calm and continued to coax more information: “She foresaw your betrayal long ago and made preparations.”

 

No. 4’s expression turned grim—as if this confirmed what he had suspected. His eyes shifted toward Ruan Jiao, and he gritted out, “She deliberately left us a defective royal egg, while hiding you away. No wonder, after all these years and all our efforts, we still couldn’t cultivate a true queen.”

 

In the Zerg, reproductive rights rested solely with the queen. But ever since the queen evolved into human form and infiltrated the Galactic Empire several times, she had stopped mating and laying eggs for the sake of the species’ future.

 

Worse still, she began harboring wild dreams—seeking peace with humans in exchange for access to the evolution-inducing “Celestial Stones.”

 

But the Celstial Stone was vital to the Zerg’s progression. How could they entrust their species’ future to an alien race?

 

It was a foolish fantasy.

 

Rather than be controlled, better to seize the entire star sector and take their fate into their own hands. That was the plan: corner the queen, force her into a desperate state, and compel her to lay a new royal egg. Once they had that egg, they could raise the next queen—and things would return to the way they were.

 

But they hadn’t expected that the egg they brought back would be… male.

 

Without a true queen, the Zerg population dwindled as the war dragged on. They had no choice but to try artificially cultivating new queens.

 

Yet the queens produced from that egg’s genetic material were deeply flawed. Their eggs were weak, and they died after only three birthing cycles.

 

Zerg reproduction had fallen into unprecedented crisis.

 

They had suspected the egg was defective, but since a queen could only lay one royal egg at a time, there was no way to verify it.

 

Now, with Ruan Shiqing standing before him, the truth became clear.

 

She had deliberately left them a flawed egg—and hidden the one that carried the true inheritance.

 

And now, that grown royal egg… just like his mother, had aligned himself with humans.

 

No. 4 let out a furious hiss, leaping forward with a roar. Three pairs of sharp limbs shot from his back, aimed straight at Ruan Shiqing.

 

Rong Heng reacted instantly. His eyes sharpened, and he stepped forward, barehandedly catching the attacking limbs. With his other hand, shaped like a blade[mfn]I have absolutely no idea if it’s just so quick it’s like a blade or if it’s literally a blade???? last I checked Ymirs have claws???[/mfn], he struck cleanly—snapping the limbs one by one.

 

All three pairs of limbs were severed in an instant. The wounded Zerg collapsed, glaring venomously at Ruan Shiqing as his human eyes shifted into compound insect eyes.

 

Ruan Shiqing stared back for a long moment. It was clear he wouldn’t get anything else from this one today, so he turned and walked away.

 

He only left one command for Garland: “Don’t let him die easily.”

 

Once they were on the elevator and far from the Zerg, Rong Heng finally spoke for the first time, his tone sharp: “What kind of riddle were you playing with that bug?”

 

Garland and Ruan Jiao were also obviously curious. Three pairs of eyes locked onto him in unison, waiting for an explanation.

 

Ruan Shiqing let out a soft sigh. “I’ll explain everything once we’re back.”

 

With No. 4’s words as confirmation, he could now be almost certain—the fragmented scenes from his “dream” had all been real.

 

They were inherited memories, passed down from queen to queen through generations of the Zerg.

 

---

 

 

Sadge to think that the Zerg Queen and Queen Farah could’ve prevented so many deaths and casualties from both sides if those traitors let them put their plans into action instead of being selfish assholes who only thought about their own benefits…

 

(also if Ruan Ruan is a the queen… does that mean he can lay eggs I feel like a certain someone would get crazy lmao)

 

Thanks for reading!

For every three ko-fis, I will upload a bonus chapter~