Volume 1: Chapter 47: The Unsolved Mystery of the Mine

　　The outline of the infected mine is vaguely visible.

　　The tall Wendigo stopped in his tracks.

　　Then the team behind him also stopped silently without making any sound.

　　"Captain, no trace of the sentinel was found."

　　Elite scouts who once belonged to the Ursus army and are now part of the guerrillas brought back the intelligence they had discovered.

　　"It was completely silent inside the mine, there was no sound at all."

　　He reported this.

　　“…”

　　The Wendigo remained silent.

　　Are you late?

　　The mine has been abandoned, so there is no movement.

　　If that's the case -

　　We can also guess what the fate of the infected people inside will be.

　　"only--"

　　The guerrilla scout had a strange look on his face, as if he wanted to say something.

　　"Go on."

　　Bozhukas watched over his men.

　　"...I smell blood." The scout said, "It's frozen, but I can still smell it...very strong."

　　"That bunch of scum!"

　　A chill suddenly broke out all over Yelena's body.

　　It was obvious where the strong smell of blood came from.

　　Before abandoning the mine, the Ursus defenders massacred the remaining infected.

　　The strong smell of blood must come from here!

　　“…”

　　Talulah took a deep breath.

　　Her guess was similar to Yelena's.

　　Before abandoning the mine, Ursus soldiers cleared out the infected.

　　If you enter the mine at this moment, you will probably see a large number of infected corpses.

　　"…Did something happen in that mine?"

　　The white-haired ball from the peaceful world looked at Skadi with some confusion.

　　"The infected inside must have been slaughtered, and the bodies are probably piled together in the open air."

　　The Deep Sea Hunter said calmly.

　　She has seen many tragedies on earth.

　　“…”

　　Kiana Kaslana's face turned pale instantly.

　　She covered her mouth as if she was about to retch.

　　Massacre?

　　The white-haired ball felt uncomfortable.

　　"These people, how dare these people do this?"

　　Kiana looked at the infected mine in the distance.

　　I can't see the scene inside, but if what Skadi said is true...

　　The scene there was simply hell on earth.

　　"Zerg, you stay here."

　　The white-haired ball touched the little child's head.

　　The scenes there were probably too hellish and not something Zerg should have seen.

　　"Zerg wants to go in!"

　　Broken Tooth said that he had cleared out all the life forms outside the mine, and buried all the corpses rich in biomass in a mine.

　　That way, Talulah won't be able to burn his biomass!

　　"you……"

　　Kiana wanted to say something.

　　"Kiana, let Zerg go in with you."

　　The Dragon Girl turned her head and said so.

　　"It's good for him, too."

　　Talulah looked at the little child.

　　"Zerg is just a kid!"

　　Kiana looked at the Dragon Girl in disbelief.

　　"It would be good to let him...see the darkness of the world."

　　After a moment's silence, Talulah replied.

　　Kiana's world is extremely beautiful, and although no one knows which world Zerg comes from, it must be a peaceful and tranquil world.

　　Otherwise, such an innocent child would not have been born.

　　But it would be good for them to see the darkness of the world.

　　People who are too naive...will suffer losses.

　　"I don't agree!"

　　Kiana Kaslana crossed herself with her hands.

　　Such an innocent and lovely child should not have to face the hellish scene after the massacre.

　　It will definitely leave a psychological trauma on the little kids!

　　"...Let him go and see it together, Kiana."

　　The snow-white Carterus girl took a deep breath.

　　She didn't know the origins of Talulah and her group, but since Talulah and Alina were infected, the others must be as well.

　　The infected live on the tundra of Ursus——

　　You must abandon your innocence.

　　It's cruel, but it's necessary.

　　"you……"

　　When Kiana Kaslana wanted to continue to refute something.

　　"Sister, I seem to have seen a creature that shouldn't be there?"

　　A snow monster standing on a high place put down the monocular telescope in his hand with a strange look on his face.

　　He looked at the little child.

　　Then he picked up the telescope and looked again -

　　The tiny purple creature squatted on the railing of the watchtower, its black bean-sized eyes shining.

　　Looks unexpectedly cute.

　　The "W"-shaped mouth opened wide, and then seemed to make a swallowing motion.

　　However, because the distance was too far, the yeti didn't know what it swallowed.

　　"Let me see it."

　　Yelena was stunned.

　　Then the Carters girl who took the telescope also saw the small purple creature.

　　"???"

　　How did the little creature held by Zerg appear in the infected mine?

　　"Zerg."

　　Yelena looked at the little child.

　　"Broken Tooth is just ahead!"

　　Considerable biomass and many high-energy resources!

　　Through the psychic link, the Zergling reported its discovery to the Overmind.

　　Little Zerg became excited.

　　He turned and brought out another creature from behind.

　　"?"

　　Where did you get it from?

　　The Carters girl was stunned.

　　She really couldn't understand how such a small creature could be carried out from behind.

　　Could it be...

　　Yelena's face turned strange.

　　"Zerg, stop it!"

　　Kiana was stunned for a moment, and then when the little child appeared again, he was already below the high ground.

　　"It's dangerous there!"

　　The white-haired ball also ran out in panic.

　　“…”

　　Talulah looked at the two figures who had left the team, and she remained silent.

　　"...Guerrillas, march."

　　Wendigo clenched the spear and shield in his hands slightly.

　　"Yes, Captain!"

　　The guerrillas began their advance again.

　　But for some reason, the leading figure seemed to speed up his advance, as if he was an old father worried about a naughty child.

　　As we got closer to the mine, the silent atmosphere made us feel a little creepy for some reason.

　　"boom!"

　　The gate of the mine collapsed.

　　The tall Wendigo stood at the front of the team, holding his scarred shield in front of him, guarding against possible counterattacks.

　　However--

　　Nothing at all.

　　There were no sightings of corpses piled up in the camp.

　　There were only many dragging marks left on the ground.

　　The blood froze on the surface, drawing a bloody path.

　　"Shield Guard, go collect the bodies."

　　Wendigo was silent for a few seconds, then issued a new order.

　　The bodies of the slaughtered infected were dragged away to an unknown place by the Ursus soldiers.

　　But to be honest, it's a bit strange -

　　If the mine had been abandoned, the defenders would not have bothered to bury the bodies.

　　"Where's Kiana?"

　　Talulah walked into the mine.

　　Looking at the bloody road on the ground, she frowned slightly.

　　The temperature all over my body seemed to have risen slightly.

　　Taking a deep breath, the Dragon Girl decided to find Zerg and Kiana who had suddenly run away first.

　　"I'm here!"

　　The voice of the white-haired ball was heard not far away.

　　Kiana Kaslana came out from around a corner.

　　She looked a little anxious.

　　"Have you seen Zerg?"

　　Zerg disappeared after running into the mines.

　　She didn't find it.

　　"...Go and help Miss Kiana find Zerg."

　　The Carters girl came over and heard what the white-haired ball said.

　　Then, Yelena simply asked her brothers and sisters to disperse.

　　"Also be careful, those Ursus soldiers might leave some traps."

　　She instructed the snow monsters.

　　"It's okay, big sis!"

　　Pale figures scattered.

　　“…”

　　The deep-sea hunter who had been silent all this time looked somewhere.

　　Then she took a step forward.

　　After staying in that Agor city for a while...I seemed to have some strange connection with Zerg.

　　Following the vague connection, Skadi walked into a source stone mine that seemed to have been abandoned.

　　Then she saw—

　　A pile of corpses in front of the small figure.

　　Not the infected one.

　　Judging from the uniforms on the bodies, they were the bodies of the defenders of the mine.

　　Most of their bodies were incomplete, either missing an arm, a leg, or even a head.

　　"Don't eat so much biomass next time!"

　　The tiny swarm master shook the tiny springtail vigorously.

　　At least a quarter of the biomass was eaten by the broken teeth!

　　“Gah!”

　　The little Broken Tooth looked at his master with a silly and cute face.

　　"Zerg."

　　The voice behind him made the Lord turn his head.

　　"It's Skadi!"

　　The little children cheered.

　　"What are you doing?"

　　The Deep Sea Hunter looked at the corpses whose eyes had turned into "X"s with a normal expression.

　　"Zerg wants to develop a swarm!"

　　He put the broken tooth on the ground, and then the swarm leader brought out several worker bees from behind him.

　　“There are a lot of biomass and high-energy resources here!”

　　He did not bring the newly hatched springtails with him this time, so the insect nest here had to be hidden underground.

　　It just so happens that high-energy resources are basically all underground, and placing the insect nest underground also makes it convenient to collect resources.

　　The original remaining mine is a better resettlement place.

　　But the entrance has to be sealed.

　　The swarm is good at digging underground, and being blocked at the entrance does not affect them.

　　“…”

　　Skadi watched as the tiny worker bees began to dig.

　　Zerg opened his mouth and took out a crystal.

　　That was the energy crystal condensed by devouring the black snake.

　　Compared to biomass, this energy crystal contains much more energy.

　　Only a few are needed to mutate the Worker Bees into the Hatchery.

　　After returning to the original hive, you can also mutate the worker bees into more hive buildings and hatch swarms other than springtails.

　　For example, the queen is indispensable to the swarm.

　　"Gu!"

　　The little worker bee saluted and then swallowed the energy crystal bestowed by the Overlord.

　　Then it started digging.

　　The other worker bees began digging to close the mine.

　　As for these corpses——

　　It will be sent to the hatchery by the worker bees and decomposed as the first capital for starting this hive.

　　Later they will mine the high-energy resources buried underground nearby.

　　Well, there are still a lot of biomass in the other mine, but after Broken Tooth hid the killed biomass, he didn't have time to take a look at it before Kiana and the others arrived.

　　“…”

　　The deep-sea hunter watched this orderly scene.

　　It seems that the sea heirs are not as orderly as these tiny purple creatures.

　　Based on some scenes that were spied on, the Seaborn have not yet evolved this more efficient development model.

　　"Large group...evolution...incomplete..."

　　Ishamara seemed to be making excuses for something.

　　The existence of the four newborns ensured the continuation of the sea descendants, but it also prevented the evolution of the sea descendants from focusing on a certain path.

　　The sea brothers have been trying various ways of evolution to evolve into the final complete form -

　　That is the form of the Lord and his tribe.

　　But now there seems to be a shortcut.

　　All they need to do is obtain the essence of the Overlord and analyze the genes within it, so that the large group can be merged into the Overlord's clan and achieve the final evolution directly and completely.

　　The prerequisite is that Skadi has to be powerful.

　　For this reason, Ishamara has been trying to persuade the deep-sea hunters.

　　Unfortunately, Skadi didn't listen to her.

　　It is obvious that the Sea God's consciousness can sense the thoughts of the deep-sea hunter.

　　She only needs to follow her own ideas to complete the evolution of a large group.

　　Ishamara couldn't understand why Skadi didn't follow her own heart.

　　“…”

　　The Deep Sea Hunter ignored Ishamara's fanciful thoughts.

　　She's not some white-haired girl with special quirks.

　　She took the little child's hand and walked out of the mine.

　　Soon, the abandoned mine behind was sealed up by the worker bees.

　　Skadi had no intention of telling what she had seen and heard.

　　This is what her little compatriot wants to do, so she chooses to support it unconditionally.

　　“Gah!”

　　The little Broken Tooth was grabbed by the scruff of the neck by the Lord.

　　Zerg was a little angry.

　　After all, springtails eat too much biomass.

　　Fully a quarter of the biomass was eaten.

　　That quarter of the biomass is enough to hatch a swarm of insects that can initially protect the hive.

　　As a result, the springtail with broken teeth ate it all.

　　"Zerg, where have you been?"

　　After seeing the little child, the white-haired ball rushed over and hugged the little child without hesitation.

　　"Zerg went looking for biomass!"

　　The Swarm Master said so.

　　"Broken Tooth stole a lot of biomass!"

　　He shook the tiny springtail vigorously.

　　Unfortunately, the biomass that has been eaten cannot be vomited out.

　　The broken tooth has absorbed all of this biomass.

　　“Gah!”

　　The black bean-like eyes looked at the people present innocently.

　　"Okay, let Broken Tooth go."

　　Kiana smiled.

　　She picked up the tiny springtail and lifted it up.

　　“Slurp.”

　　Then the pink tongue licked her cheek.

　　"Why do you like licking my face so much?"

　　Kiana Kaslana was a little confused.

　　"Because Kiana tastes delicious!"

　　Zerg raised his hands and said so.

　　A tiny amount of energy emanated from the girl's body.

　　For the insect swarm, this energy can be directly absorbed!

　　If Kiana were thrown into a swarm of Zerglings, she would probably be licked all over.

　　"Of course, I always smell good!"

　　Kiana Kaslana said that she will always be a beautiful girl with a sweet smell!

　　There will definitely be no strange smell on your body!

　　“…”

　　The deep-sea hunter shook his head.

　　Well, Kiana is still as out of tune with this world as ever.

　　"Zerg, do you know? The infected in this mine are still alive!"

　　The white-haired ball remembered something at this time.

　　Those infected people who were treated cruelly were sealed in a mine.

　　Fortunately, they arrived in time and all the infected people were rescued.

　　Kiana Kaslana breathed a sigh of relief.

　　She didn't want to see the tragic scene of corpses everywhere.

　　And those infected people said they were all the infected people in the mine.

　　In other words—

　　The bloody road we saw before was not left by the infected people.

　　So who left it behind?

　　This is weird.

　　Unfortunately, the trajectory of the Bloody Road is irregular, and some parts are buried by the snow.

　　The white-haired ball shook his head and didn't think any further.

　　It was a good ending that the infected were not massacred.

　　"...Kiana, Skadi, and Zerg, you are all here."

　　The Dragon Girl appeared at this moment.

　　Her brows were slightly furrowed at this moment.

　　"I think you should come and take a look."

　　Talulah discovered that other forces seemed to have attacked the infected mine.

　　"Huh? Broken Tooth is here too."

　　The Dragon Girl saw the small purple creature that had squatted on the head of the white-haired ball at some point in time.

　　“Gah!”

　　The tiny springtail seemed to be smiling.

　　She walked forward and touched the dog's head a few times.

　　"When did Broken Tooth get on my head?"

　　Only then did the white-haired ball notice the "burden" on his head.

　　Broken Tooth was picked up by Talulah without any resistance.

　　"Zerg, can you communicate with Broken Tooth?"

　　Yelena said before that Broken Tooth had run into the mine before them.

　　Maybe the little purple creature saw something.

　　"Zerg can!"

　　The Swarm Master said that communicating with the Swarm is an easy task.

　　"Did it see other people entering the mine?"

　　Talulah asked.

　　"…Well, Broken Tooth said he didn't see it."

　　Zerg shook his head.

　　Until Broken Tooth hid the biomass, no other beings entered the mine.

　　“I see…”

　　That would be strange.

　　The barracks where the Ursus soldiers were staying were covered in blood.

　　There was undoubtedly a one-sided massacre taking place inside.

　　But the bodies of those Ursus soldiers all disappeared.

　　This is weird.

　　Was it made of a broken tooth?

　　She looked at the cute creature she was holding.

　　Talulah rejected the idea.

　　Broken Tooth's body was clean and there was no smell of blood.

　　and--

　　It can't possibly eat that much.

　　"Gah?"

　　The little springtail looked at the dragon girl in a daze.

　　"Talulah, my father wants you to come over."

　　The snow-white Carterus girl appeared along with the snow monsters.

　　Her expression was somewhat solemn.

　　"Guerrilla fighters...claimed to have seen black snow."

　　It was the first time that Yelena saw her father serious.

　　He even recalled all the guerrilla fighters scattered in the mines.

　　She didn't know what the black snow meant, but it didn't seem to be a good sign.

　　"Black...snow?"

　　…………