Douluo: Transforming Xiao Wu into a Zerg Queen Was Just the Beginning-Chapter 5: The Hunt Begins!

The next morning.

A dim forest greeted the first rays of light, which pierced through the dense canopy and spilled onto the earth below—suddenly illuminating a vast stretch of grotesque, purplish-black terrain.

This purple-black land was deathly silent, like a forbidden zone. The surrounding trees had all vanished, leaving behind no stones, no grass, no vegetation—not even a single leaf. The entire area was completely covered by writhing, fleshy Creep, pulsing as if alive.

Strange-looking creatures scurried across the terrain, breaking down anything they encountered and dragging it onto the Creep. The moment anything touched it, the wriggling bio-mass devoured it completely, leaving not even a trace behind.

Lin Fan slowly woke up, yawning as he glanced around.

Inside the Hatchery, he watched as a nearby spore ruptured. Another three Zerglings burst out, leaping excitedly as they ran off to carry out their orders.

Looks like everything was going smoothly.

Lin Fan stretched and rubbed his lower back. The Hatchery was soft enough to sleep in, but it was still no substitute for an actual bed. I should probably start gathering materials to build something more comfortable...

He closed his eyes and connected his mind to the Hatchery's neural net.

"Buzz—!"

A flood of data instantly poured into his brain!

His focus sharpened. A quick scan showed that most of the harvested DNA came from various animals and plants—no new soul beast genes.

Still, the Drones had clearly been busy overnight. While there weren't any powerful soul beast corpses recovered, the extraction of common biological material had been considerable.

Curious, Lin Fan checked his current energy reserves.

Energy: 14,532 points

"Holy sh*t!"

He'd already guessed they'd gathered a lot, but he hadn't expected this much! Over 14,000 energy points—even after spending a fair amount on hatching units throughout the night.

Suddenly, a thought struck him—and his face changed.

He rushed out of the Hatchery.

Outside, everything within sight had been swallowed by Creep. The surrounding trees were all gone. Not even a single blade of grass remained. Within a 20-meter radius, the area looked like a nightmare world—pulsating Creep crawling with microbes. Dozens of Zerglings crouched atop the Creep, guarding the Hatchery in silence, their expressions menacing.

Further out, around a dozen Drones worked in perfect order, dragging whatever biomass they could find—plants, bushes, trees, insects, even dirt and stone—onto the Creep to be absorbed and converted into energy.

Wherever the Creep spread, nothing was left alive. It was a dead zone.

"...This is bad."

Lin Fan muttered as he stared blankly at the scene.

In just one night, the Zerg, starting with only a single Hatchery, had developed to this point.

But this was the soul beast forest of Douluo Dalu! The Hatchery was still relatively small, and the Creep had only spread to a fraction of the terrain, like a drop in the ocean—but there was a far greater problem.

The forest contained intelligent soul beasts.

If any powerful soul beast noticed the Zerg's aggressive expansion and horrifying appearance, retaliation could come at any moment. Total annihilation might happen in an instant!

Read latest chapters at freёweɓnovel.com Only.

Lin Fan frowned deeply. As the swarm continued to grow, the Creep would spread even further. It would require more and more resources. Sooner or later, they would encounter soul beasts—and the one thing the Zerg didn't have yet was time.

Judging from the density and size of the trees, it was clear they were already deep in the forest. The chances of running into high-level soul beasts were very high. The only thing he still didn't know was which forest they were in.

Glancing at the 30+ Zerglings crouched on the Creep, Lin Fan's eyes turned sharp.

The Zerg's greatest needs right now were energy and soul beast corpses for valuable gene extraction. And soul beast bodies yielded the most energy out of anything.

So—

Lin Fan closed his eyes and connected to the Zerg neural network.

He now had over 10,000 energy points—more than enough to upgrade the Hatchery.

Command: Upgrade!

The Hatchery was instantly swallowed by the surrounding Creep and began expanding rapidly. In no time, a giant 20-meter-high spore emerged, writhing at the center of the biomass, emanating a faint but undeniable sense of dread.

Lin Fan then used the network to inject all the collected animal DNA—and the appearance of the Fire Lizard—into the minds of every Zergling.

Then he issued the command:

Begin the hunt. Sweep a radius of 500 meters around the Hatchery. Prioritize soul beasts similar to the Fire Lizard. Kill and bring back all targets.

Lin Fan opened his eyes slowly.

This world is kill or be killed. If I want to survive and let the swarm thrive, then every soul beast in this forest is nothing more than a resource waiting to be consumed.

Atop a thick tree branch, a large Fire Lizard was stalking a wild boar below. Its vertical pupils gleamed with hunger as it locked onto its prey.

"Hiss!"

The moment the boar lowered its head to graze, the Fire Lizard leapt down, pouncing with fierce momentum—

—but before it could strike, several black shadows darted in from the side!

A powerful impact slammed into the lizard's abdomen, knocking it to the ground. As it rolled over to regain its stance, it saw its prey—the wild boar—already ripped to pieces by three strange, vicious creatures. Now, those same beasts turned their attention toward it.

The Fire Lizard couldn't tell what species they were—but its instincts screamed danger.

These creatures were ruthless. Greedy. Pure killers.

"HISSSS!"

The lizard raised its head, tongue flicking, and hissed aggressively in an attempt to scare them off.

But the three Zerglings responded like emotionless killing machines. They shook the blood off their claws—then charged.

The Fire Lizard's eyes narrowed with fury. I'm a hundred-year soul beast! These creatures didn't even emit spirit power fluctuations—how dare they challenge me?

But it learned very quickly what regret meant.

The Zerglings attacked without fear, targeting its weak points with ferocity. Even when their limbs were shattered, they kept attacking with what little strength remained—biting, clawing, refusing to fall.

Within moments, the Fire Lizard was covered in wounds. With a roar of rage, it unleashed a stream of fire, burning all three Zerglings to ash.

Panting heavily, it collapsed, its strength nearly drained.

"Rustle... rustle..."

From the nearby brush came the sound of movement—

More Zerglings emerged, identical to the last...

****

If you want to support me or read advanced Chapters (4+), consider checking out my pat.

patr*on.com/Salsita2k