Up in the sky, Lin Fan's expression suddenly changed.
An intense and overwhelming aura burst forth from his body.
"Ah!"
Xiao Wu let out a startled cry. The sudden surge of Lin Fan's pressure made her body tremble mid-air, nearly causing her to fall.
She quickly channeled her soul power into her bone wings, stabilizing her flight.
"Master Dominator!"
Xiao Wu leaned close to Lin Fan's ear, speaking softly to bring him back to his senses.
Only then did Lin Fan snap out of it, withdrawing his aura and giving Xiao Wu an apologetic smile.
Then, with a dark expression, Lin Fan muttered, "I can't believe it... I was outplayed again!"
"Broodmother... You'd better pray I don't catch you!"
He never would've expected it — the Broodmother hadn't fled.
Instead, she had disguised herself right under his nose.
Lin Fan silently scolded himself. Why was I in such a rush? Why didn't I use my spiritual sense to scan the area?
Although the Broodmother could cloak herself with her psionic power, rendering her effectively invisible...
If she encountered an opponent with a strong enough mental force, they could easily see through her disguise.
Still, who would have thought she'd be so bold? To stay in place and play a psychological game with him?
As expected of the Broodmother — truly a cunning fox among the swarm!
A faint smile appeared on Lin Fan's face.
"Hmph... Now this is getting interesting. Broodmother, I wonder what kind of 'fireworks' will spark when you meet Tang San...?"
After some thought, Lin Fan turned to Xiao Wu and instructed, "We're going straight to the Star Luo Empire, Xiao Wu. No need to return to the Star Dou Great Forest."
"Yes, Master Dominator."
Carrying Lin Fan, Xiao Wu shifted direction in the air and sped off toward the distant empire.
"Huff... Huff... Huff..."
Tang San sprinted with all his might. His lungs burned as if on fire, and his mouth and nose had long since gone numb.
Air was being violently sucked into his lungs with every breath, yet he had no strength left for anything else — only the will to run.
His legs felt like they were filled with lead, impossibly heavy.
Exhausted to his very limits, Tang San was completely spent.
The Broodmother's psychic cloaking wasn't free — it consumed an enormous amount of spiritual energy.
But she was already severely weakened, with little psionic strength remaining.
As a result, she relied almost entirely on Tang San's own mental power to maintain the illusion.
Despite the fatigue, whenever Tang San thought of that terrifying figure, he gritted his teeth and forced himself to continue running.
"Broodmother... is it enough yet? I... I can't go on... huff..."
Tang San forced the last of his willpower to speak mentally.
"Hmm. It should be enough," the Broodmother replied.
But there was one thing she didn't say out loud:
If Lin Fan truly wanted to come back and hunt Tang San down, it wouldn't matter how far he ran. Tang San would never escape Lin Fan's grasp.
And yet... Lin Fan hadn't shown up.
That could only mean one thing: either he hadn't noticed... or he deliberately chose not to pursue.
But as the Dominator of the Zerg, someone capable of pushing her into such a desperate situation, how could Lin Fan possibly be a fool?
The Broodmother let out a low, annoyed growl.
To be hunted like a stray dog — such humiliation had never befallen her since the day she was born!
Even when Kerrigan led the Swarm to destroy her, she had used every ounce of her strength to battle the Queen of Blades to the bitter end.
"Hmph! Lin Fan... Lin Fan... I won't forget this! Everything I've lost—I'll take it back, sooner or later!"
Roaring inwardly, the Broodmother's consciousness slowly receded into the depths of Tang San's mind, quietly beginning to restore her spiritual energy.
At the same time, Tang San's awareness began to blur.
His eyelids grew heavy, drooping involuntarily.
Thud!
With a crash, Tang San collapsed face-first onto the ground and fell into unconsciousness.
It was unclear how much time had passed.
Tap tap tap...
The sound of light, quick footsteps gradually approached from the distance.
"Huh? Looks like there's someone here!"
"Hey, slow down, Rong'er! You'll trip if you're not careful!"
"Someone? Let me take a look."
A small figure rushed over, curiously examining the unconscious Tang San lying motionless on the ground.
She waved her hand and shouted, "Over here! Someone's passed out here!"
A tall, muscular man slowly walked over. Seeing Tang San collapsed on the ground, he raised an eyebrow and muttered, "Well, would you look at that. He's still so young... Probably passed out from exhaustion. Maybe he got attacked by a soul beast."
"Daddy, can we help him, please?"
The little girl tugged at the man's arm, pleading sweetly.
The man sighed with a wry smile and said, "Alright, alright... Daddy agrees. Let's bring him back first and get the physician to take a look."
"Yay!"
With that, the man lifted Tang San over his shoulder and left with the girl in tow.
Star Dou Great Forest — Zerg Nest
Deep underground, the Zerg hive had grown so vast it was impossible to see the bottom.
The cavernous space was enormous — even the ceiling stood over a hundred meters high.
The entire underground network was a sprawling labyrinth of interconnected tunnels.
Countless Creep-covered floors were alive with various Zerg organisms moving about freely.
Alien-like bio-structures rose and fell across the terrain, pulsing with life as fleshy tubes and tendrils twisted around them.
This domain had become an alien world — a Zerg empire in every sense.
Skritch-skritch!
Several Drones scuttled quickly through the tunnels, their scissor-like mandibles clicking sharply.
Strapped to the backs of the Drones was a frail, armless old man — unconscious, with pale skin and sunken cheeks.
It was Chrysanthemum Douluo.
If not for the faint rise and fall of his chest, one would have mistaken him for a lifeless corpse.
The Drones carried him swiftly through swarms of Zerg units toward the deepest part of the nest — to the largest, most towering and grotesque structure within the hive.
Squelch!
As they approached, a massive fleshy doorway split open at the entrance of the Hatchery.
The Drones carried Chrysanthemum Douluo's body inside and gently deposited him in a chamber covered wall to wall with pulsing Creep.
They turned and left, returning to their work.
Suddenly, countless fleshy tendrils sprouted from the walls and floor, wrapping tightly around Chrysanthemum Douluo and suspending him in midair.
Shlick!
Two thick, meaty spikes shot out, piercing through his back and exiting through his clavicles.
Chrysanthemum Douluo didn't react. His eyes remained shut, his face deathly pale.
But his brows furrowed in pain.
"Warning! Warning! System energy is depleting! Host must immediately exit danger state!"
"Warning! Warning!!"
The system's alarm echoed repeatedly in Chrysanthemum Douluo's mind, yet he gave no response.
"Warn..."
The system's voice grew faint... and eventually faded into silence.
At the same time, Chrysanthemum Douluo's body was now covered in writhing, blood-colored tendrils, which burrowed into his flesh.
They began to extract power from his body — slowly and relentlessly.
****
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