Chapter 14#
Wormhole#
Ning Feng’s eyes sharpened. He quickly activated the stealth system of his motorcycle and crouched down to conceal himself.
Aside from a small light dagger, he carried no weapons, and his only protective gear was the tactical visor standard on the Jiaolong-II. He didn’t expect to eliminate the Zerg, but at least he could figure out their location.
Following the pain in his body as a guide, Ning Feng advanced step by step. Before long, he arrived at a deep forest.
It was pitch black inside, nearly impossible to see anything. Fortunately, the visor had night vision. He could barely make out the messy bushes nearby and a… pit?
Ning Feng hid behind a shrub and observed carefully.
The outer surface of the pit was rough and covered in ash, but the inner walls had a distinct black rock sheen. Whether it was an illusion or not, he felt a strange sour smell emanating from within, somewhat like the blood he coughed up after using an antidote…
Ning Feng’s mind buzzed.
A Zerg wormhole—there’s a Zerg wormhole hidden here!
A Zerg wormhole is a spatial tunnel linking two dimensions, much like a whirlpool in the sea. Through it, the Zerg could traverse space-time at will, launching direct strikes on targets. In the Dominion War three years ago, human forces suffered greatly from these wormholes. Later, Yin Beichen organized a team specifically to target the wormhole coordinates, and the tide gradually turned in their favor.
Typically, a single Zerg planet could connect countless wormholes. As long as the planet wasn’t destroyed, the wormholes could expand indefinitely. Fortunately, wormholes formed very slowly—usually taking three years to mature and allowing passage for a single seventh-tier Zerg. As long as they were discovered and destroyed early, there wouldn’t be major problems.
This wasn’t like the primitive planet surveyed earlier; it was a small satellite with tens of millions of inhabitants. If the Zerg were to conquer it…
Various scenarios flashed through Ning Feng’s mind. The first image was the kind-faced old master from earlier, which then switched to an infected body covered in pustules.
He felt all the blood rush to his head, and an indescribable anxiety gnawed at his heart.
No, he had to eliminate this quickly.
His eagle-like eyes darkened. Ning Feng steadied himself and observed closely.
The wormhole before him was barely wide enough for one person to pass through. It must have existed for nearly a year—long enough for smaller sub-organisms, like Zerglings, to get through. But there had never been any reports of Zerg harming people, and this satellite was close to the base. If the satellite fell, the base’s defenses would be severely compromised.
Looks like these bugs have really learned to use their brains. And their target is clear—they’re coming straight for Yin Beichen’s camp.
Who’s pulling the strings behind this?
Ning Feng narrowed his eyes.
There had to be more than one such wormhole. The most direct solution was to take out the Zerg’s lair on the other side.
He rolled his eyes and quickly formed a plan.
Holding his breath, he crept low like a black panther, approaching the wormhole. He glanced around—no signs of anything unusual. Then he looked into the hole to confirm.
The hole was pitch black, as if it wanted to suck in his soul.
Ning Feng took a deep breath, gripped his light dagger, and plunged into the darkness.
The rock layers inside the tunnel were highly crystallized, smooth as water. Surrounded by darkness, he couldn’t see his hand in front of his face. Ning Feng moved cautiously, but his foot stumbled on something, and he slid forward.
“Ugh!”
He fell into an endless darkness. As he descended, time seemed to stop. His hands and feet scraped painfully against the sharp rock walls. He couldn’t find any grip, only sliding and falling endlessly—like a long waterslide in an amusement park.
After a long time, he finally saw a glimmer of light below. Then he slid into a large earthen chamber. With a thud, he landed face-first.
“Pfft…”
The impact left Ning Feng dizzy. He rolled on the ground, back against the wall, and quickly hid in the shadows.
Looking around, he found himself in a very open, vast platform. A dark red sky weighed down above, with a scorching sun and murky air. Faint hissing sounds echoed in the distance, like some creature screeching, sending chills down the spine.
It seemed he had successfully arrived at the Zerg nest.
Ning Feng licked the corner of his mouth and cautiously peeked out.
Perhaps fearing that Zerg aura would alert the humans, there wasn’t a single Zerg near the wormhole entrance. The man slipped unimpeded to the edge of a massive crack. Below it was clearly a valley. He leaned over to look.
The next moment, Ning Feng’s eyes widened.
A thousand? Ten thousand?
No, at least a million.
Countless Zerg were moving through the nest below. He could make out some flying Zerg drifting in the air, smaller things weaving between them—possibly snake-beasts. Now it was easy to see enormous Ultralisks beneath, and around them, smaller ones should be Hydralisks and Zerglings, along with dense swarms of low-tier larvae and Zerglings.
If the situation weren’t so dire, Ning Feng would have whistled.
Tsk, how many would a single plasma cannon blast take out?
The ringing in his ears grew louder, like thousands whispering, indistinct.
Every hair on his body stood on end. His physical reaction intensified. Ning Feng suppressed the discomfort and used the visor to observe more clearly, but a direct beam of strong light hit the lens, creating a glaring spot.
Sss!!
[Intruder!!]
Suddenly, a shout echoed in his mind. Ning Feng froze.
What was that sound?
He looked up and saw a scouting Zerg in the sky shrieking. The swarm stirred, all of them turning toward his direction.
Tsk! Busted!
Ning Feng’s expression changed instantly. He leaped up and sprinted.
[Get him!!]
[Hurry!]
Sharp screeches pierced his ears, mixed with indistinct murmurs. Cold sweat broke out all over Ning Feng. He didn’t dare look back.
The snake-beasts in the sky were incredibly fast. In moments, they flapped their wings and charged, firing sharp blade-like spines from their tails. He dodged left and right, evading the deadly projectiles, while frantically swiping his optical brain to record their coordinates.
“Ugh!”
Suddenly, a piercing pain struck his calf.
Ning Feng stumbled, rolling twice on the ground. The spot where he’d been now had several spines embedded deep. He charged forward with all his might and finally saw the wormhole entrance. Taking a deep breath, he dove upward.
The long tunnel seemed endless. Behind him, the Zerg’s screeches echoed through the narrow passage. Ning Feng held his breath, climbing with all his limbs.
Fast! Faster!
Finally, he felt a breath of air. Ning Feng burst out of the wormhole and dashed straight to his vehicle. Reaching under the chassis, he grabbed a spare grenade. The rustling sound of crawling approached. Ignoring the searing pain, he bit off the safety pin and hurled the grenade fiercely at the wormhole.
Boom!!
A deafening explosion shook the entire forest. The shockwave sent Ning Feng tumbling several meters. In the distance, dogs barked and people screamed, car alarms blaring.
“Cough, cough…”
Through the rising smoke, Ning Feng struggled to sit up. He looked at the destroyed wormhole and a few Zerglings torn into pieces, still twitching. He finally let out a breath of relief.
As his body relaxed, all his senses returned.
Ning Feng felt pain all over, especially in his calves. He looked down and saw several bloody gashes on his legs, still oozing blood.
“Damn, that’s ugly.” Ning Feng couldn’t help but smirk.
Soon, the sharp wail of sirens reached his ears, approaching rapidly from afar.
Ning Feng frowned. He didn’t want to talk to Yin Beichen, but after causing such a mess, he had to at least give a heads-up. Otherwise, he’d be mistaken for a space pirate and arrested.
But it was late. That guy was probably already asleep.
He thought for a moment, then dialed the familiar number. The ringtone played twice before being hung up.
Ning Feng: ?
He redialed, but it was swiftly ended again.
What’s going on?
Frowning, Ning Feng called a third time. This time, it took a while before someone finally picked up.
“What’s up?” The voice was still cold, but there was no hint of sleepiness, with a touch of irritation.
“Why did you hang up on me?” Hearing that voice, the anger he’d held all night flared up again.
“Get to the point.”
“You hung up on me twice?”
“If there’s nothing, I’m hanging up.”
“…”
What’s he so impatient about?
He was the one who stood me up, and he has the nerve to act high and mighty?
Taking a deep breath, Ning Feng suppressed his temper and said slowly, “Sir, it’s like this: I might be in a bit of trouble right now.”
“…Where are you?”
“A small satellite near the base. I’ll send you the coordinates.”
“Small satellite? What are you doing there?”
The sirens grew closer. Ning Feng raised an eyebrow and decided to skip the pointless questions. “Maybe we should talk about the ’little trouble’ first?”
“What trouble?”
“Well—”
“Put your hands up! Don’t move!!”
At that moment, a wave of guards surrounded the bloodstained man, weapons drawn.
On the other end of the communicator, Yin Beichen was silent, only the faint sound of breathing proving the line was still active.
Ning Feng let out a soft laugh, his tone lazy.
“Just this.”