Chapter 270: Simulated Universe · Universal Locust Disaster (V)

""The residents here champion using the birth of life to resist the fear of loneliness and death, and that's precisely why this place has been chosen by 【Proliferation】."" Heita continued to add.

""There aren't any insects here."" Xing Huan looked around; although there were buildings and signs of habitation, he saw no one.

""Let's take a walk nearby; we might find some clues."" Heita said.

Xing walked to a nearby hospital, where she finally saw people—or rather, these humans could no longer be called human; they were like the insect swarms surrounding the Insect King, merely creatures practicing the 【Proliferation】 Path, densely exchanging pheromones.

The hospital corridors were filled with a thick, iron‑rusty sweet smell, and the floors were covered in blotchy bloodstains. In the nursery, dozens of newborns' insect chirps erupted together with a fishy odor, making Xing feel unsteady on her feet.

""Wait… insect chirps?" Xing seemed to suddenly realize, she flung open the doors of the nursery and delivery room, only to see that every cradle meant for babies was filled entirely with insects.

Meanwhile, in the adjacent corridor, a young pregnant woman was letting out a feeble wail.

Beneath her swollen abdomen rose countless writhing irregular bumps, as if millions of larvae were frenziedly gnawing inside her; her facial features were nearly twisted together from the pain, and she was barely alive, crawling toward the operating room, dragging a long trail of blood across the floor.

""What's inside her belly…"" Xing swallowed, wanting to speak but stopping herself.

""They're all insects."" Heita sighed, ""Under the influence of the 【Proliferation】 Path, any living thing will only give birth to insects, and under this Path's dominion, 【Proliferation】 is the only thing they think about."

——

Dragon Clan.

Kaisar's pupils contracted slightly; the image on the sky‑screen shifted along with Xing's perspective. In this hospital, nearly every woman capable of childbirth, young or old, had a swollen belly, and the power of 【Proliferation】 seemed to have altered their bodies to some extent.

Some gave birth directly to insects; others laid a clump of blood‑membrane‑coated insect eggs. Those translucent egg shells ruptured on contact with air, spewing out wet larvae whose fine legs still clung to human amniotic fluid.

""Disgusting."" Kaisar shook his head, his voice cold as tempered steel.

""According to data gathered worldwide by the Academy, nearly all insects on the planet have just been affected by the 【Proliferation】 Path, lasting about ten minutes."

""What does that mean?"

""That means, over those ten minutes, the world has gained who knows how many new insect species."" Chu Zihang said expressionlessly, ""The good news is that humanity remains unaffected—we still give birth to normal humans."

""Giving birth to normal humans is such an ordinary thing… yet I actually hear a hint of relief in your voice."" Kaisar said with a bitter smile.

""It's certainly worth celebrating, but this is only a product of the simulated universe; if it were a true Star God… the influence would likely extend far beyond insects. The power of 【Proliferation】 would probably completely suppress the dragon blood in our bodies, turning us into——"

""Cough… alright, I still have dinner to eat today."" Kaisar promptly interrupted him, ""Thinking back to the movie scenes I saw in *Alien*, where the footage turned out to be real events happening in the universe… I… well, I really feel like vomiting right now."

""If you truly hate insects, I could recommend a few insect‑extermination movies; they're great for stress relief and might ease your state of mind a bit."

——

Marvel Universe.

Tony's mouth twitched, then he suddenly stood up, turned, and strode toward the restroom. As the door swung shut, the sounds of dry heaving and flushing came from inside.

Strange crossed his arms, his expression grimmer than usual——according to a recent message from the Sanctum, insects worldwide have shown abnormalities——though the duration is short, the influence of the Path is evident.

When Tony returned, his face was pale, and he held a glass of whiskey—though he knew alcohol had no effect on him now.

""I've seen plenty of disgusting things."" His voice hoarse, ""but this… this really pushes the limits of what I can tolerate."

Strange did not reply immediately, his gaze fixed on the "newborns" in the hospital shown on the sky‑screen; the insects' compound eyes flickered with a metallic sheen, and from the first minute of birth they began incessantly consuming the room's food—anything edible or chewable, they left nothing untouched.

Just like a locust swarm.

——He suddenly understood why Heita had called this disaster the "Universal Locust Disaster."

""The manifestation of the 【Proliferation】 Path…… twists life into a pure breeding tool, and everything will become food for the insects."" After a long silence, Strange finally spoke, ""If this continues, the locust disaster could engulf the entire universe—how would it be stopped?"" Strange reflected, in Heita's account the locust disaster had already become a distant past, which meant the 【Proliferation】 Star God had already fallen.

Kafka said Star Gods can be killed, and indeed several have fallen in the universe…… but talk is talk, after all no one has ever witnessed it firsthand.

""It would make more sense for a Star God to kill another Star God—could it be the Destroyer Star God or the Hunt Star God?"" Tony blurted out instinctively.

""Those two Star Gods are quite young; they seem to have become Star Gods only after the locust disaster."" Strange pondered for a few seconds, ""Could it be…… the 【Joy】 Star God Ahha?"

""Uh……"" Tony forced a smile, ""If the Star Gods went to war, I'm not sure whether Ahha would be the first to charge in, but he'd definitely be the first to run."

——

""Insect swarms fed on flesh burst through the windows, flying toward the universe. Meanwhile, on the distant horizon, more dark points were rising."

From the city's ruins, from the wild swept clean, from the dry riverbeds' mud——every fissure was spewing insect swarms. They converged into tributaries, then wove together into dark currents, blanketing the whole sky like storm clouds.

""They held out for twenty‑one days."" Heita's sigh came from the ear, ""Twenty‑one days later, Delaquel Star announced global collapse and requested interstellar aid."

Xing lifted her head and saw transport ship after transport ship landing in the city; the vast majority of survivors were shouldering supplies, preparing to flee, while only a small group gathered together, trying to persuade a woman who had locked herself in her room, mad with fear, to leave.