RUMBLE—!
A violent tremor shook the cavern floor in front of Lin Fan. On a stretch of open ground, a surge of creep bubbled up, rolling and twisting upon itself. Thick strands of fleshy tissue intertwined in a sticky, sinewy web.
A massive crimson archway, pulsing with raw flesh and twitching muscle, began to take shape.
More and more creep spiraled up from the base of the arch, layering and weaving together as it slowly constructed the grotesque structure.
Crack!
Two enormous, fleshy tendrils burst from the creep and stabbed into the sides of the arch.
These massive veins continuously pumped an unidentifiable, viscous fluid into the growing biomass gate.
As it absorbed the fluid, the flesh structure grew even faster. The muscle fibers expanded rapidly, solidifying into a complete biological gateway.
At the same time, a dark red radiance, laced with swirling shadows, began to shine from the gate.
This mysterious energy pulsed like a gravitational force, pulling in nearby creep and flesh, causing them to float and orbit around the gate.
They drifted in circles around it, like stars circling a moon.
The surreal sight captivated Zhu Zhuyun and Xiao Wu.
Zhu Zhuyun gasped, her cherry lips parting in awe. "Wow! It's amazing! My Lord, what is this?"
Xiao Wu, her beautiful eyes shining with wonder, couldn't help but ask, "Is this a new Zerg structure, My Lord?"
As the Zerg Blade Queen, Xiao Wu had inherited a far richer gene pool and memory database from the Zerg than Zhu Zhuyun. Naturally, her first instinct upon seeing such a grotesque and alien bioform was that it must be a new Zerg structure devised by their Master.
Lin Fan nodded... then shook his head.
He looked at the gigantic flesh arch in front of him — easily several times wider than the three of them combined, towering high above and still expanding.
A flicker of awe appeared in his eyes.
The Tunnel Worm. Its name was no exaggeration.
Even though he had mentally prepared himself, Lin Fan was still stunned by the sheer size of just the entrance — its diameter was comparable to the front end of a Brood Lord.
The Tunnel Worm was technically a Zerg structure, yet in truth, it was a full-fledged Zerg unit!
Its body was immense and indistinct, lacking a defined head or tail.
Both ends could function as entry and exit points for Zerg units, and there was no restriction on the number of units passing through. As long as you had enough forces, you could continuously stream troops through the worm to any connected location.
It enabled a true endless swarm strategy, overwhelming enemies with sheer numbers and allowing massive reinforcements to arrive instantly on any battlefield.
Inside the Tunnel Worm was a compressed spatial channel, governed by fragments of cosmic law. Any Zerg unit entering it would be instantly transported across vast distances, emerging from the other end as if teleporting.
It was the ultimate tool for long-range invasions, northern expeditions, and rapid reinforcements.
Sure, Zerg capital units like the Overlord or the future Leviathan-class supercarriers could transport armies across interstellar distances, landing them on foreign planets.
But within a single star system—or even just on the same planet—the Tunnel Worm was the most efficient and powerful transport unit the Zerg had.
Even so, Lin Fan still couldn't fully understand what the "body" of the Tunnel Worm truly was.
By definition, it was a Zerg unit, not a structure.
So logically, it should have a body.
But the Tunnel Worm only had its two biological gateway arches at each end—no visible body connecting them at all.
Could it be…?
Its body was compressed along with the spatial channel inside?
[Correct. The Tunnel Worm's internal space is formed from a fragment of cosmic law.]
The Overmind's voice echoed in Lin Fan's mind, answering his question.
Lin Fan finally understood and nodded, though a trace of regret flickered in his eyes.
What a shame!
Ever since discovering the Tunnel Worm unit, Lin Fan had fantasized about countless epic battle scenarios:
His army clashing violently with the enemy...
The ground suddenly rumbling as colossal Tunnel Worms burst from the earth, their monstrous forms blotting out the sky. Their emergence cutting off the enemy's rear lines.
And then, wave after wave of Zerg reinforcements flooding out of them, crashing into the battlefield like a tidal wave.
What kind of despair would the enemy feel?
It would be a thousand times more epic than that one scene in The Hobbit!
Alas, that fantasy had been shattered.
Lin Fan shook his head regretfully.
Then suddenly, a spark of inspiration lit up in his eyes, his expression turning excited.
"How could I forget that?!"
A flood of tactical ideas surged in Lin Fan's mind. After all, in his previous life, he had been a veteran RTS player—a true master of strategy!
When it came to tactics and battle formations, he was no less capable than the natives of this world.
Douluo Continent?
Hah.
Do they even understand the art of war?
Even near the end of the Sun Moon Empire's conquest, Tang San shamelessly broke the rules of the Divine Realm, intervening in the mortal plane as a God King just to tip the balance.
That alone proved that to the people of Douluo Continent, "war" was little more than a distant, inflexible concept.
A dangerous light flickered in Lin Fan's eyes as he looked at the rapidly forming Tunnel Worm, his mind already ten steps ahead.
It's not time yet. I still have to wait.
It's not yet the moment to launch a full-scale war. His current forces weren't enough to stand against the entire Douluo Continent.
What the Zerg lacked most was high-level combat power, and even his mid-tier units were in short supply.
As for low-tier Zerglings and basic bioforms?
Against Titled Douluo, they were cannon fodder at best—throw as many as you like, and they'd all die.
But who said war had to be won with brute force?
A sly smile curled at Lin Fan's lips. He turned and waved at Xiao Wu and Zhu Zhuyun.
"Come on. Time to get to work."
"Okay!"
Both girls responded eagerly, exchanging a glance full of curiosity and anticipation before following Lin Fan into the Tunnel Worm.
HUMMM—!
The newly completed flesh gate pulsed with a deep crimson ripple, swallowing their figures whole.
Lin Fan felt a sudden pull, as a massive gravitational force yanked his body forward. An overwhelming pressure crushed down on him as the transfer began.
He instinctively gasped—but before he could react further, the scene before him changed.
He now stood in a brightly lit space.
And in front of him, a handsome young man with blond hair and blue eyes stood at attention...
****
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