NOVEL NEXT Chapter 12: Chapter 12
Chapter 12: Hatching the Mother Nest
July 21, 2056, 6:00 AM.
Qin Mu enjoyed a hearty breakfast at the supply base's cafeteria. The food here was indeed quite delicious.
After finishing his meal, he noticed several people looking at him strangely.
Although it was still early, there were already many people eating.
As martial artists, most of them were diligent and disciplined.
Thanks to their robust physical condition and the fact that they weren't deliberately avoiding him, Qin Mu easily overheard their conversation.
"That guy who's going to the wilderness alone, is that him? His name is Qin Mu, right?"
A fierce-looking fighter with a scar on his face curiously watched Qin Mu and chatted with his teammate.
"He's just a reckless kid who doesn't know the dangers. I bet he won't last a day outside the city before he dies."
A lean fighter with a long sword at his waist sneered disdainfully.
"I'm not so sure! Maybe he'll run back as soon as he sees a monster in the wilderness."
Someone else shook their head and said.
"I heard that the Blood Wolf team has opened a betting pool in the camp, betting that he won't come back if he dares to go out!"
Qin Mu listened to their discussion and smiled, walking up to the scar-faced fighter.
"Brother, can you help me with something?"
The scar-faced fighter looked at Qin Mu warily as he approached, his hand instinctively reaching for his waist.
Although fighting was strictly prohibited in the supply base, a greenhorn who dared to venture into the wilderness alone might not be able to control himself.
"Brother, I'm in a hurry to leave the city. Can you help me place a bet of 10,000 yuan? Just bet that I can stay in the wilderness for at least 5 days and return alive. How about it?"
Qin Mu didn't make a move; instead, he smiled and took out 10,000 yuan from his pocket, placing it on the table.
The scar-faced fighter was taken aback but then nodded in approval, raising his thumb.
"Brother, you've got guts! If you can come back alive, how about joining our Mighty Bull team? Our captain is a warlord level fighter.
"Let's talk about that when I get back! Haha"
Qin Mu turned and walked away without looking back.
Under normal circumstances, a newly minted prospective fighter rushing into the wilderness alone was no different from suicide.
"But with my Zerg clone, I'm not exactly an ordinary person, am I?"
Qin Mu smiled to himself.
At the camp entrance, Qin Mu sat in the driver's seat of the off-road pickup truck, started the engine, and the truck roared as it charged into the wilderness.
Following the highway, the pickup truck sped along.
Although it was a highway, the road was in disrepair and full of potholes, making it difficult to navigate.
On both sides of the road, there were countless broken vehicles and countless black bloodstains.
After leaving the base for about ten miles, Qin Mu sensed the soul link in his mind and commanded.
"Worker bug, hatch!"
In the back of the pickup truck, the worker bug, upon receiving the order, immediately broke out of its egg and lay prone in the cargo area.
With the assistance of a worker bug with the strength equivalent to a primary beast soldier, Qin Mu's safety was greatly enhanced.
After driving for about twenty to thirty miles, Qin Mu occasionally spotted traces of monsters, and various insect and bird noises could be heard.
Qin Mu's nerves tensed up.
Fortunately, he didn't encounter any monster attacks.
It wasn't until he had driven over fifty miles that Qin Mu, following the map's guidance, exited the highway and took a small path toward the villa area.
This stretch of road was difficult to traverse, and Qin Mu drove slowly.
The rustling sounds from the jungle on both sides of the road kept Qin Mu on high alert.
Several times, the off-road pickup truck got stuck.
Fortunately, Qin Mu had anticipated this and immediately ordered the worker bug to get out of the truck and push.
Despite its small size, the worker bug was incredibly strong, capable of easily lifting things dozens of times its own weight. Moreover, the off-road pickup truck Qin Mu had chosen wasn't too heavy, so the worker bug could lift it without difficulty.
After some effort, Qin Mu managed to reach his destination without any major incidents.
This was the planned villa area.
The villa area was vast, with over a hundred detached villas and living facilities, each occupying an area of over three hundred square meters. Unfortunately, most of these villas had collapsed and were overgrown with weeds and vines.
A mile away from the villa area, the off-road pickup truck stopped.
The worker bug got out of the truck to stand guard, and after confirming there was no danger, Qin Mu opened the door and got out.
The spot where Qin Mu stopped was well-chosen, with high ground that offered a clear view of the entire villa complex.
Taking out a pair of binoculars, Qin Mu began to observe carefully.
"There are monsters!"
Qin Mu narrowed his eyes, staring intently at the ruins of the villas.
A dog-like monster, about 1.2 meters tall at the shoulder, with spots and a streamlined body, was moving through the rubble.
"A tiger mastiff, judging by its size, it's a primary beast soldier."
"There's more than one!"
Qin Mu was alarmed by what he saw through the binoculars.
Far from being just one, within his field of vision, Qin Mu spotted seven or eight tiger mastiffs.
Besides the tiger mastiffs, Qin Mu quickly discovered more monsters. A group of pig-like monsters with bristly hair like sharp spines and a pair of huge tusks gathered together, searching for food in the ruins.
"They're iron-haired wild boars!"
After a thorough search, Qin Mu found that there were at least hundreds of monsters in this villa area, including tiger mastiffs, iron-haired wild boars, and even traces of shadow cats.
"This villa area is too dangerous; I need to change my plan."
Qin Mu calmly analyzed the situation.
Initially, Qin Mu had considered that in the open wilderness, the mother nest would be easily discovered by monsters and human satellites, so he planned to use human buildings as cover.
However, he had overlooked a serious problem: in densely built areas like this villa, there were too many monsters.
In the years of fighting with humans, monsters had gradually shifted from open, desolate areas to human residential areas with various forms of cover.
In the wilderness, it was too easy for them to be targeted and killed by human firearms from a distance.
Especially since this place was close to the military base, the monsters roaming outside had almost all been killed by the military patrol teams.
Now, with the complex environment and numerous monsters in this villa area, attempting to sneak in and hatch the mother nest there was almost impossible.
As a newcomer who had never entered the wilderness before, even if he managed to sneak in, finding a suitable place to hatch the mother nest in a completely unfamiliar environment would be too dangerous.
In the dark corners of the villa area, who knows how many monsters were hiding? Rushing in recklessly would be courting death.
Moreover, if he sneaked in alone, the various firearms in the car would be completely useless.
"Relying on just some information from the HR Alliance platform to make a plan without entering the wilderness is still too crude."
Understanding the key issues, Qin Mu decisively abandoned the idea of entering the villa area and began to search for a suitable place to build the mother nest nearby.
The villa area was located in a hilly region with a complex environment. After decades of neglect, the area was overgrown with trees and vines.
Soon, Qin Mu found a suitable location—a dense forest next to the road.
The tall trees could block the view from the sky, making it less likely to be discovered by flying monsters. As long as he did some camouflage, no one would pay attention to this place before it caused a big commotion.
Anyway, this mother nest was just a temporary measure. Once the swarm developed, it would definitely need to be relocated.
"Worker bug, lead the way! Enter the forest and hatch the mother nest!"
Qin Mu ordered decisively.
At the same time, he took out a box of landmines, preparing to set up traps in the surrounding area.
Following the order, the worker bug entered the forest, skillfully maneuvering through it, with Qin Mu, fully armed, following closely behind.
"Crack"
The worker bug in front suddenly waved its large claw, capturing a black creature.
"Hiss"
Qin Mu took a closer look and saw a venomous snake nearly a meter long, completely black with a triangular head—obviously highly toxic!
"That was close!"
A cold sweat broke out on Qin Mu's forehead. If the worker bug hadn't been leading the way, he might have stepped on it.
After venturing dozens of meters deep, the worker bug stopped and carefully searched the surroundings. After confirming there was no danger, it lay on the ground.
Then, the worker bug's body quickly transformed into a huge meat sac, pulsating like a heart.
The meat sac grew rapidly with each beat, expanding in size each time, while a purple fungal mat spread out like flowing water, dissolving any plants, small insects, and other creatures it encountered as if they had been doused in concentrated sulfuric acid.
This worker bug was transforming into a mother nest.