Chapter 19

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Protagonist:

Lin En

Lena

Although anxious inside, Lin En dared not go near Lena's nest to look for her.

He could only return home, to an apartment located in the middle section of the Seventh District, much more spacious than his old doghouse, with an independent bathroom.

Lin En locked the room door from the inside and activated the simple security system.

As usual, he checked the window latches and looked for signs of damage to the vent filter.

Then he changed into home clothes, sat on the reasonably comfortable synthetic-material chair, and opened the data slate.

He began reading some unimportant tax policy updates and Nest Capital news.

He even opened a cheap entertainment program, "Terran Program Place: Grandpa Huang Smashes the Void Dragon with a Stone."

He stared at the screen, but his eyes were not focused on the image; instead, he constantly refreshed the system, observing Lena's status.

Just like that, he waited at home for Lena's message, just like you waiting for your crush to reply in front of the screen.

The neon lights outside the window gradually shifted from a sickly purple-red to a sluggish deep blue, marking the arrival of "night" in the Nest Capital.

Lin En suppressed the impulse to actively look for Lena.

He kept telling himself: "Not moving is the safest!"

He also believed Lena could understand the current danger level and would remain silent.

However, just as Lin En was preparing to wash up and sleep, something happened.

In the system, Lena's status began to decline, clearly indicating she had been attacked.

Lin En initially held out hope, thinking it might just be friction between Lena and other Bug Race members.

This had happened before; other bug swarms often invaded Lena's territory.

Attempting to clear this abnormal node for the Hive Mind.

After Lin En took office as Patrol Officer, he had basically wiped out all threatening Bug Race nests near Lena's nest.

Usually, when Lena was attacked by the Bug Race, Lin En wasn't worried at all.

But today, he always had a bad premonition.

Tossing and turning in bed, he couldn't fall asleep for a long time.

"Drip!"

At the same time, Scout Warrior A, hidden behind the skeleton of an abandoned billboard across from Lin En's apartment, received a clear alert tone from the sensor inside his helmet.

"Report, the target has a situation."

Almost at the same moment, a stream of data surged onto the screen.

The Mechanical Priest was remotely monitoring the life sign monitor inside Lin En's apartment.

The data showed that one minute after the Medusa's Sons Squad contacted the Bug Race special node.

Lin En's heart rate suddenly rose from 68 beats per minute to 119 beats per minute.

Skin resistance showed small but discernible fluctuations.

In the brainwave chart, beta wave activity representing alertness and emotional fluctuations showed a brief peak.

Although Lin En seemed to be resting normally, his most instinctive physiological reaction betrayed him.

Scout Warrior A immediately compressed and encrypted the abnormal data packet and sent it back to the outpost.

The Mechanical Priest's Contemplator Array completed the preliminary correlation analysis within seconds.

A marked briefing appeared on the data screen in front of Cassius.

Cassius looked at the text and data curves on the screen; his white helmet reflected an inorganic luster under the dim command lights.

He remained silent for a moment, then, in a voice without a ripple, issued orders to continue monitoring to the standby squad members and the Mechanical Priest.

On the other side, the three-person squad had already arrived at Lena's nest.

Lena's nest was not a main combat hive.

Her positioning leaned more toward concealment, development, and a command node, rather than a fortress for direct confrontation.

Although under 【Swallowing Enhancement】 and continuous feeding, she herself had grown to a level comparable to a Tyrant Chief Warrior Worm.

Her carapace was thicker and sturdier, four bone blades flashed with the cold light of biometal, and her reaction speed and strength far exceeded ordinary Warrior Bugs.

But because she had no production units, the number of bug swarms she could directly command was limited.

Facing the precise and fierce assault of the Medusa's Sons Squad, the limited defensive forces inside the nest were soon torn apart.

Warhammer 40000 roared in the narrow passage, smashing the surging bug swarms into flying flesh and blood fragments; the Heat Melt Gun's beam flashed, instantly vaporizing sturdy Organic Growth Structures or Bug Race units trying to block the passage.

A veteran warrior charged at the front, each swing of his Thunder Hammer bringing up large amounts of green pulp and carapace fragments.

Lena, suppressed by heavy firepower, finally managed to rush in front of the Space Marine.

But was beaten back by another warrior in Terminator Armor using a Power Fist and a heavy flamethrower.

Lena realized the extent of the danger.

She let out a sharp hiss filled with anger and reluctance, but her actions were exceptionally decisive.

She unhesitatingly sacrificed almost all Guardian Worms in the nest, ordering them to launch suicide charges against the Medusa's Sons.

Large numbers of Knife Worms and Tearing Worms surged toward the Medusa's Sons, but were no different from moths flying into a flame.

Only one Devourer Worm, this big guy with a ten-meter-long body, blocked a lot of damage for the bug swarm.

Even powerful Space Marines had to avoid the barbs spat out from this guy's mouth.

The Devourer Worm, together with over a dozen Nerve Gun Worms carrying psychic attacks, was the only Tyranid Unit capable of hindering the Sons of Medusa.

Lena, having caught her breath, hesitated not at all.

She detonated the Alchemy Explosive pre-buried within the Nest, a mixture of unstable biomass and chemical substances.

This was one of the contingency plans Lin En had guided her in preparing.

"Boom!!!"

The violent explosion was not meant to kill, but to create chaos.

Collapsing rocks, spurting acidic bodily fluids, raging air turbulence, and spreading thick smoke and dust instantly filled the Core Area.

At the moment the chaos reached its peak, Lena's massive Green Skin Body, with agility and speed unsuited to her size,

dove into a pre-prepared Emergency Escape Tunnel, extremely narrow and winding toward the deeper Geological Fault.

This tunnel had long been dug by snake-worms, barely wide enough for her to squeeze through, its inner walls coated with mucus that absorbed sound waves and weakened energy detection.

When the veteran wielding the Thunder Hammer smashed the last blocking Tyranid Unit,

and rushed into the Nest Core, now a mess and continuously collapsing,

he saw only the tunnel entrance quickly buried by falling rocks, and the strong pheromones lingering in the air, belonging to a powerful Tyranid individual.

"The target escaped." The veteran angrily punched the Wall.

But Cassius did not blame him, for the purpose of this operation had already been achieved.