Chapter 230: Reproduction

Nono?!

Anno saw Lokin turn around and stand still.

At that moment, she suddenly didn't know how to speak, and just looked at Luo Jin, her nose feeling a little sore.

The image of Lokin before her eyes overlapped with that of her past wolf mother, as if they had traveled through time, causing her to feel a moment of disorientation.

She never imagined that she would see her wolf mother again, and that they would have such a bond.

Fate is truly wondrous.

But all of this was done for her by her mother.

The mother took the wolf mother's blood, stored the wolf mother's consciousness in a Wang Shi (a type of ancient Chinese stone), placed her in a petri dish in the Beihe Galaxy (a galaxy), and used the Beihe Galaxy's genetic technology to bring the wolf mother back to life.

Now, the wolf mother is Locke.

This was the first time Lokin had seen what Anno looked like as an adult, but she recognized her at a glance. She didn't look much different from when she was three years old; she was just enlarged proportionally.

Lokin strode toward Anno and pulled her into his arms.

"Baby, Mommy misses you so much."

Upon hearing these words, Anuo's eyes instantly welled up with tears.

She hugged Luo Jin tightly, "Mom, I miss you too."

For the first two or three years after she was stranded on Earth, she was raised by a wolf mother.

The mother wolf hunted for her, searched for supplies, warmed her in the cold snow, and protected her safety.

Without her mother wolf, she might not have survived.

She was the first person to give her warmth and love since she hatched.

The wolf mother truly raised her as her wolf cub.

Luo Jin stroked Anuo's long hair and said softly, "Nuo Nuo has grown up. That's wonderful. From now on, you can live happily with your family."

Anno said softly, "Mom, you are my family too."

Upon hearing this, Luo Jin was deeply moved. She had considered that Nuonuo might not want to see them, and even if Nuonuo hated them, they could understand.

They had all prepared themselves for the possibility that they might never see Nuonuo again in their lives. Hearing her words, her heart ached and tears welled up in her eyes.

Hicks also came over and gently patted Anno's head.

"Big brother."

Anno let go of Lokin and hugged him back.

Hicks smiled and hugged her. "I didn't expect our little Seven to grow up so fast. I was hoping to raise you for a few more years."

Anno smiled and said seriously, "I am a King Insect. When my body's energy is insufficient, I shrink."

Upon hearing this, Hicks immediately became serious: "Then it's better to grow up, to always maintain that grown-up appearance."

He remembered Nono on Kappa, so fragile that she seemed like she could break at the slightest touch. He hoped he would never have to see Nono weak again and that she would always be healthy and safe.

Anno looked up at Hicks. "I'm actually almost seventeen, so I'm not the youngest in the family anymore."

According to the order of birth, she should be the fourth child in the Lockin family; Otto is even younger than her.

Hicks laughed and said, "But you're still Little Seven."

Anuo didn't care about the nickname, since Tao Tao and the others would have to call her "older sister" from now on anyway.

"Woof!!!"

With a loud bark, Tao Tao Le finished a bowl of food and rushed to An Nuo, rubbing her head against her and licking her with her tongue.

Hicks held Anno in his arms, turned his back to Tao Tao Le, and Tao Tao Le's saliva was all over him.

Luo Jin smacked Tao Tao Le on the head hard. "Tao Tao Le! Sit down!"

Peach excitedly wagged its tail and stuck out its tongue, but still obediently sat still.

"Awooo"

A wolf howl sounded behind Anno. Anno turned around and saw Ota.

Ota still had half a roasted lamb leg in his mouth. He placed the lamb leg low in front of Anno, nudged her with his head, and then lay down in front of her, pushing the lamb leg towards her to eat.

Bai Zhou and Tang Ting also came over and nuzzled against her.

Anno was somewhat surprised. She had previously observed that, apart from Tao Tao Le, the other people who had become Fallen Ones were all extremely manic and not so easy to approach, even if they did not actively attack people.

But judging from Ota and the others' behavior, it's as if they remember her.

She turned to Locke and asked, "Do they still have their own consciousness?"

A sigh crossed Lokin's eyes, and he shook his head, saying, "They only recognize us and remember our scent; they no longer have the consciousness of being human."

Anno, Hicksrock, and the other two looked at each other in silence, all understanding that there was only one way to restore them to normal.

The plaza outside the frontline main base.

Anno, Karina, and Hickslokin stood together, watching Tao Tao Le and Bai Zhou Ota play together.

Tang Ting, meanwhile, lay to the side watching them.

During the month that Anno was away, their emotions gradually stabilized, and they were no longer as irritable as they had been at the beginning.

Hicks looked at them and said, "It's not just them. Other Fallen Ones will also stabilize their emotions after spending time with their relatives. They will recognize their relatives, become less irritable, and less aggressive than before."

"That's all."

Hicks turned to look at Anno beside him; now the only solution was to convert them into Zerg.

Anno noticed Hicks's gaze and then turned to look at Logan beside him.

She didn't know whether she should convert them or not. Now that Luo Jin was there, she was the head of the family and had the right to decide whether to convert Tang Ting and the others.

Luo Jin looked down at Anuo, patted her head, and asked in a questioning tone, "Is it okay, Anuo?"

Anuo was stunned for a moment, and it took her two seconds to react. "Mom, do you want me to convert Dad and the others?"

Lokin smiled and nodded. "We can't let them live as beasts forever. Fallen beings have short lifespans, at most twenty or thirty years. So, Mother, could you please help them regain their human form?"

Anno answered without hesitation: "Of course."

"But Mom, don't you mind if Dad and the others become members of the Zerg?"

Lokin was afraid that Anno would hate them because of the past, and Anno was also worried about whether Lokin and the others would mind becoming the Zerg.

The social patterns of the Zerg are quite different from those of other races.

From now on, they will have to submit to the Ohmu and be placed in a hierarchical position.

Hicks and Locke exchanged a glance. It turned out that the reason she had been looking so worried about Tangting and Ota these past two days was because of this.

The situation in the Northern River system is complex, and the problems have existed for a long time. It is impossible for them not to feel sad about the current state of their system and race.

Ultimately, however, this problem was caused by Beihe itself. Various factions and organizations were engaged in endless civil war, which had long since torn Beihe apart.

Tang Ting and the others, including all the Fallen Ones now, were all created by the Northern River System. The ability to regain human consciousness and live as a "human" is something that the Fallen Ones and their families never dared to dream of in the past.

To lighten the mood, Hicks half-jokingly said, "So from now on, will Ota and the others be Xiao Qi's family? Tao Tao Le will have to go from being a tomboy to a real boy."

Other races don't know much about the Zerg. Hicks only knows that, apart from the male Zerg King, there are at most two female Zerg Queens and their successor, the Lesser Queens.

He thought that if only the queen and the little queen beetles were female, then the others, once converted, would also become male.

Anno and Hicks explained, "The Zerg have different genders, so we can't follow your rules."

“Outsiders are different from us insectoids. During the transformation process, they can maintain their current appearance or choose to become male insectoids to change their body shape. However, only the characteristics are different; their genes are still the same.”

In other words, the transformed Fallen Species are actually male insects. Their physical characteristics remain unchanged, but their internal genes are male insect genes.

Lokin became curious after hearing this. She knew quite a bit about the Zerg, and had even learned some of their language. However, reproduction and genetics were relatively secretive matters for the Zerg, and other races didn't know much about them either.

However, Logan did know one thing: other Zerg kin could reproduce.

But if they are all males, how do they reproduce?

Anno said, “There are three genders among the insect race. My mother and I are insect queens, my father is a male insect king, and the other relatives are also male insects, but they are all considered neutral and can reproduce on their own. The insect queen is responsible for spreading the genes.”

"However, the Zerg population has reached its peak and will not reproduce in the next few years."

The nesting process is currently not providing energy to the eggs, which is a way to control the Zerg population.

The only breeding nest that also provides energy is prepared for the young male king.