Chapter 23: Zergization
After losing nearly half of their companions, the Gray Cloud Sparrows circling in the sky finally felt fear. With a series of mournful cries, they flew away without looking back. Watching the fleeing Gray Cloud Sparrows, Qin Mu did not pursue them. As a spirit master, although Qin Mu could also control objects to fly, engaging in combat with flying monsters in the sky without a suitable spirit weapon was asking for trouble.
Ignoring the escaping Gray Cloud Sparrows, Qin Mu curiously stared at a nearby Gray Cloud Sparrow with a pierced wing, bleeding profusely. A faint soul link connected Qin Mu to it, and this link grew stronger, transforming towards other units hatched by the Nest.
"What's going on, is this soul enslavement?" Qin Mu thought subconsciously.
In the world of Swallowed Star, there was a very terrifying ability—soul enslavement. Once enslaved, one would be completely controlled, wholeheartedly serving the other as their master, unable to escape even in death.
"But I don't know any soul enslavement methods. Is this some kind of Talent ability of the Zerg race?"
In fact, up to now, Qin Mu had not discovered any Talent abilities as the master of the Zerg. Most of the abilities were those of the Nest. Like Luo Feng's Golden Horned Beast clone, it had three Talent techniques: Enhance, Clone, and Swallow. Each Talent Technique was extremely powerful, with all sorts of incredible powers.
"I used spirit power to attack several Gray Cloud Sparrows, but only this one showed such a reaction."
After studying for a while and finding nothing, Qin Mu simply ordered the worker bugs to bring the injured Gray Cloud Sparrow to the underground garage and place it on the fungus carpet around the Nest to treat its injuries.
He also ordered the swarm to capture several monsters alive for his research. After the order was given, it wasn't long before a group of injured monsters was carried over by the worker bugs. Qin Mu walked up to a Lion Mastiff. The Lion Mastiff was covered in wounds and bleeding profusely, but it still roared in defiance.
Ignoring the Lion Mastiff's resistance, Qin Mu condensed his spirit power and stabbed it into the Lion Mastiff's consciousness.
"Huh, still resisting?" Qin Mu's psychic power stabbed fiercely.
"Crack—" Qin Mu seemed to hear a sound of something breaking. The Lion Mastiff's eyes rolled back, and it foamed at the mouth, collapsing on the ground.
"Dead?" Qin Mu was speechless. It seemed he had used too much force. He ordered the worker bugs to carry the Lion Mastiff's corpse away and walked up to the next Lion Mastiff.
This time, Qin Mu carefully controlled his spirit power and probed into its consciousness. The Lion Mastiff instantly collapsed in front of Qin Mu, wailing in pain, as if enduring great suffering. Qin Mu's spirit power easily suppressed this Lion Mastiff, which was only at the mid-level soldier rank. After completely controlling the Lion Mastiff, Qin Mu's spirit power gradually invaded its soul and consciousness, like an infection. After a while, a faint soul link appeared between Qin Mu and the Lion Mastiff.
"It seems to have worked." Qin Mu's face lit up with joy. He sensed the Lion Mastiff, and although the soul link was still weak, it was continuously strengthening.
"A few more times." Qin Mu brought over several more monsters and continued his experiments.
"I think I understand. To establish a soul link with a monster, I need to first subdue it and make it lose the ability to resist. Then, my soul power will automatically invade and infect it. Once infected to a certain extent, a link can be established, completely controlling it, just like other Zerg units."
Transferring his consciousness into the body of the Lion Mastiff in front of him and manipulating its limbs, Qin Mu concluded. The Lion Mastiff in front of him could, to some extent, be considered a member of the swarm.
"Controlling mid-level and high-level soldier rank monsters is still easy, but controlling Commander rank monsters probably won't be so simple."
Continuous experiments allowed Qin Mu to grasp some of the methods.
"This doesn't seem like soul enslavement. I remember Luo Feng inherited the legacy of Hu Yan Bo, who was proficient in soul enslavement. That master had nine Undying servants under his command. But soul enslavement is different from my situation. This isn't soul enslavement; it should be called Zergization."
Qin Mu confirmed, but what was the use of this ability? Controlling Commander rank monsters or enslaving other strong individuals? Any Zerg queen was a soul master and also adept at soul enslavement. As the master of the Zerg race, being proficient in soul enslavement was normal, and if this ability was used well, it could also be very powerful.
"However, in this case, it seems I can disguise myself as a beast tamer." Qin Mu muttered to himself. Beast tamers were a very niche classification among spirit masters, and there were only a handful on Earth. Moreover, those beast tamers were different from Qin Mu, who directly controlled monsters and transformed them into the Zerg. They communicated with monsters through a form of mental exchange, becoming friends with them, which was very inefficient. Of course, this might be due to the lack of corresponding Techniques on Earth.
But that wasn't important. The sudden emergence of this idea was just a cover-up, to conceal the existence of the swarm. Because as the swarm continued to develop, it would inevitably be noticed by interested parties. Having the title of a beast tamer as a cover could extend the time before the swarm was exposed. After all, it was normal for a beast tamer to control a few monsters. Controlling a few more monsters wouldn't be strange either, given the number of geniuses in this world.
As for the day when the disguise couldn't hold anymore, the swarm would have grown up, and it wouldn't matter if it was exposed.
"There, Plan approved. This ability can be explored slowly. The current priority is still the development of the swarm."
Qin Mu did not forget the purpose of his attack on the Gray Cloud Sparrow. In fact, while Qin Mu was studying how to transform monsters into Zerg, a large number of Gray Cloud Sparrow corpses had already been dragged into the underground garage to be digested and analyzed by the Nest.
Moreover, under Qin Mu's arrangement, the analysis of the Gray Cloud Sparrow was prioritized. One of the high-level soldier rank Gray Cloud Sparrows had already begun to be analyzed, and it was prioritized over the analysis of the Two-Tailed Tiger Cat, along with the high-level soldier rank Tiger Mastiffs, Iron-Furred Wild Boars, and Shadow Cats.
The second priority was the Two-Tailed Tiger Cat and Qin Mu's own genes. Why was the Two-Tailed Tiger Cat a secondary priority? Because even if a Level 1 Nest analyzed it, it couldn't hatch a Commander rank Two-Tailed Tiger Cat. In the short term, it wasn't very meaningful, and it might not even be as cost-effective as the Shadow Cat.
As a secondary priority, Qin Mu's own genes were analyzed for two reasons. One was to better understand his own body, making it easier to train specifically. The other reason was that if Qin Mu was injured or died unexpectedly, he could use the Nest to heal and resurrect.
The third priority was monsters like the Single-Horned Wild Boar, Ironclad Bull, and Lion Mastiff.
The reason for prioritizing the analysis of high-level beast soldier-ranked Tiger Mastiffs and other first-batch bug combat units was simple.
Under the premise that the mid-level soldier rank Tiger Mastiffs had already been analyzed, analyzing the high-rank Tiger Mastiff would progress much faster compared to other high-rank soldier rank monsters. As the primary combat unit of the Zerg at this stage, analyzing the Tiger Mastiff and other beasts could rapidly enhance the overall strength of the swarm.
The swarm is Qin Mu's foundation.
In fact, the analyzing progress of the high-rank soldier rank Tiger Mastiff is nearly complete, and soon the swarm will be able to hatch them.
"I hope to be able to get Grey Cloud Sparrow units before I return, the advantage of having an aerial unit is immense. Even its wide-area reconnaissance ability is crucial."
This thought was prompted because, the transformed Grey Cloud Sparrow, having recovered from its injuries, was already demonstrating its usefulness under the control of the mother nest. As the only aerial unit of the swarm at present, the Grey Cloud Sparrow soared into the sky, observing the ground from hundreds of meters above. From the sky, most of the 0203 town was clearly visible, with countless monsters in sight. This scene was shared with the entire swarm through the soul link, transmitted back to the mother nest.