Chapter 172 The Insect King's Purpose

There was no time to delay the trip to Planet X-19. After the meeting, Sheng Heng and Sheng Zhuo went to the port accompanied by everyone.

"Is this the Tianhe-1 battleship?" As a star-level weapon, the Tianhe-1 battleship is not easy to see. It was also the first time that Sheng Zhuo saw the Tianhe-1 battleship.

"It's nothing special." Elder Pang went on board the battleship to explain to Sheng Zhuo, "The driving system is no different from that of an ordinary battleship. Major General Sheng should be able to drive a battleship."

"I will." Sheng Zhuo responded quickly.

"Then the only thing you have to pay attention to is the launch of the energy cannon. I have already prepared enough energy on it before you came here, so you don't have to worry about the sufficient energy when launching. The only thing you have to pay attention to is that the turret needs one minute to store energy from ignition to launch. Once the energy storage is completed, the energy cannon will be fired from the muzzle immediately. When I designed it, I was targeting the space wormhole that cannot move. In order to maximize the power of the weapon, I did not consider the issue of accuracy. This results in that when you launch it, you must aim one minute in advance." Old Pang carefully explained the shortcomings of the Tianhe-1 battleship.

Sheng Zhuo nodded to show that he understood.

Before setting off, Yu Xiuyuan reminded the two worriedly: "The purpose of this time is just to gather intelligence. If you can find out, that's the best. But if you can't, don't be too aggressive. Safety comes first."

"Don't worry, Master Yu. I know." Sheng Heng nodded.

Sheng Zhuo responded at the same time. The reason why he insisted on going to support was to ensure Sheng Heng's safety.

"Okay, let's go."

The Tianhe-1 battleship flew away from the port under everyone's attention, and in a blink of an eye it left the atmosphere and disappeared into the vast starry sky. It was not until the battleship was out of sight that everyone returned to the command room and continued to keep in touch with the two through the internal channel.

As can be seen from the naming method, X-18 and X-19 are two neighboring planets. At the sailing speed of Tianhe No. 1 battleship, it takes about six hours to enter the star field of X-18 planet.

Six hours passed in a blink of an eye, and the Tianhe-1 battleship officially entered the star field of Planet X-18. At first glance, this star field did not look like it had just experienced a war that destroyed the entire planet. It was as deep and peaceful as ever.

"From now on, you must be careful every step you take." Yu Xiuyuan reminded in the video.

"No Zerg were found ahead." Sheng Heng replied.

The battleship continued to move forward, until they were only twenty minutes away from Planet X-18, when they finally reached the Zerg.

Countless Zergs hovered outside the atmosphere of Planet X-18, like a group of black flies guarding a piece of fat meat. The spacecraft seemed to have startled them when it approached, and countless pairs of scarlet eyes stared at it, making the scalp of the people who saw it numb.

Yu Xiuyuan and his companions in the command room also saw this scene. Almost at the same time, everyone's brows knitted tightly together. With so many Zergs, how could they go in to investigate? They were afraid that the Zergs would eat them all before they even saw the Zerg King.

"Come back." With a sigh, Yu Xiuyuan gave the order decisively.

Sheng Zhuo thought so in his heart, but he still turned his head and glanced at Sheng Heng.

"I'll apply for a try." Sheng Heng still insisted on going.

"Sheng Heng?!" Yu Xiuyuan couldn't help but yelled, "Don't go and die in vain."

"Marshal, I'm not going to die in vain. My mecha is faster than the average Zerg flying speed, and my mental power can suppress most low-level Zerg. If the situation is not right, I can retreat immediately and they can't catch up with me." Sheng Heng analyzed calmly.

Yu Xiuyuan was still hesitating.

"Let him go." Admiral Sheng, who had been silent in the channel, spoke up at this moment, "Sheng Heng is not a reckless person. If he says he is sure, he should be able to do it."

Seeing that General Sheng had said so, Yu Xiuyuan reluctantly agreed: "Okay, but if anything goes wrong, retreat immediately."

"Yes." Sheng Heng responded happily, then turned and nodded to his eldest brother, and then walked out quickly.

After Sheng Heng left, Sheng Zhuo opened the hatch to the outside. Sheng Heng jumped out of the battleship in his mecha, looking fearlessly at the group of Zergs. At the same time, he spread his mental power, stimulating the mental power of the mecha and the Xuanming Gun to the maximum, and then slowly flew towards the X-18 planet.

Inside the battleship, in the command room, everyone watched this scene with bated breath.

Everyone watched the mecha driven by Sheng Heng getting closer and closer, and finally the group of Zergs that were watching Sheng Heng approaching also moved. But they did not rush over to besiege Sheng Heng, on the contrary, they retreated in a commotion, and retreated in an orderly manner.

This scene was beyond everyone's expectations. Why did the Zerg retreat? This could be explained by the Zerg being afraid of Sheng Heng. They knew that Sheng Heng's mental power could shock low-level Zerg, but in the past, the low-level Zerg that were shocked either stood there in fear or fled in panic like headless flies. How could they retreat like this complicated and disciplined army?

This group of Zerg has a very high IQ.

Almost at the same time, everyone had this thought in their mind: during this period of time, from the earliest Zerg that had been hovering around the periphery of the Federation, to the Zerg brought out by the mutant Zerg, to the current batch of Zerg that appeared with the Zerg King, it seemed that each batch had a higher IQ than the last.

Seeing this scene, Sheng Heng didn't dare to move forward anymore. If it was a group of Zerg with low IQ, he was confident that he would still have a chance to escape. But if it was a group of Zerg with intelligence, Sheng Heng lost his confidence.

Just as he was hesitating whether to leave or stay, a powerful and vast mental force suddenly rushed from the direction of Planet X-18.

Insect King?!

Sheng Heng looked up suddenly and subconsciously turned around to escape.

【Don’t go.】

Sheng Heng suddenly stopped and looked up again in the direction where the Insect King was flying, with disbelief in his eyes.

Was it the Insect King who was communicating with me through his mental power just now?

[Are you the Insect King? ] Almost subconsciously, Sheng Heng replied in the same way.

【It’s me.】

At this time, the huge body of the Insect King had appeared in everyone's sight. Sheng Zhuo was horrified and shouted to Sheng Heng through the internal channel: "Sheng Heng, come back, the Insect King has appeared."

Sheng Heng seemed not to have heard it and continued standing there.

"Sheng Heng! Did you hear me? Come back here!" Sheng Zhuo shouted over and over again, wishing he could drive the mecha out. Just when he was about to fire an energy cannon at the direction where the Insect King was, Sheng Heng, who had his back to him, suddenly raised his right hand and gestured to him to wait.

Sheng Zhuo didn't understand why Sheng Heng asked him to wait, but based on his trust in Sheng Heng, he managed to calm down. He just kept staring ahead with a tense look, intending to activate the energy cannon on the Tianhe-1 battleship as soon as he spotted any danger.

Sheng Heng knew that the Insect King had strong mental power, and he also guessed that its IQ would be very high, but he never expected that the Insect King could actually speak.

[Why do you want to invade our planet? ] Sheng Heng couldn't help but ask.

[I thought you had already guessed it.] The Insect King had already flown to the front of the insect swarm, and its golden eyes looked straight at Sheng Heng. There should be some expression on its face, but the micro-expressions across species were too difficult to understand. Sheng Heng could only vaguely discern that the facial expression of the Insect King was different from that of other insects, but he had no way of judging what emotion it was expressing.

[Reproduction and evolution? ] Sheng Heng said.

[That’s right.]

[Is it possible to give up? ] Sheng Heng asked with a hopeful heart.

[In order to find your star field, I wandered in the universe for a full hundred years. During this hundred years, I ate half of my own people. In order to cultivate, I slept for three hundred years. I spent so much time and paid such a great price to reach the differentiation stage. Why should I give up?] said the Insect King.

[You are indeed very powerful, but we were able to seriously injure you three hundred years ago...]

[You were able to seriously injure me three hundred years ago because I was wandering in the universe before and consumed a lot of energy. Otherwise, with your low-level civilization, how could you survive for three hundred years in front of my people? ]

Low-level civilization? Sheng Heng's eyes flickered. Could it be that the other party came from a higher civilization?

[Yes, I come from a civilization one level higher than yours.] The Insect Emperor said.

How does he know what I am thinking? Is it because of mental communication?

[Yes, this is called mind communication. When the two people's mental powers are connected, as long as the other party does not block their thoughts, both parties can know what the other party is thinking.] The Insect King explained again.

Thought shielding? This should be a way of using mental power. If the Insect King really came from a civilization one level higher than the Federation, then that civilization must have developed mental power better than the Federation. For example, thought shielding, or even wormholes...

[You are indeed very smart, your guesses are all correct. ]

Seeing that the other party could hear whatever he was thinking, Sheng Heng simply asked directly: [What is the difference in our mental power levels? ]

[Want to assess the difference in power between us and then formulate a plan to defeat me? ]

[Yes.] Since the other party would know it even if he didn't say it, Sheng Heng simply admitted it.

[Don't waste your efforts. Your mental power development is still at the most basic level, and your mechas have only just touched the edge of biological mechas. No matter how hard you struggle, you can never be my opponent.]

[If you are really so powerful, why did you come out and talk to me so much? Can't you just launch an attack directly? ] Sheng Heng asked.

【Because I want to give you a chance.】 said the Insect Emperor.

Chance?

[Didn't you just say that you would not give up on invading the Federation? ]

【But I don’t have to kill you all. 】

【What's the meaning? 】

【I want to eat you. 】

Sheng Heng's eyes flashed with brilliance, but he was not surprised. Scientists had long discovered that the more advanced the Zerg, the more they liked to eat humans with high mental power levels. It was reasonable for the Zerg King to want to eat him.

[Is it related to the way you evolved? ] Sheng Heng asked.

[That's right. I think you have also discovered that the higher the level of things we Zerg devour, the faster we evolve. The strength of the mental power level is one of the conditions for us to classify species. You should have the highest mental power level on this planet. If I eat you, I can complete the differentiation.]

What is differentiation?

[Human, you have been trying to find out information about my race from the beginning until now. ]

Sheng Heng was not at all flustered by being exposed: [If you don't want to tell me, it's useless for me to ask.]

[Yes, it’s okay to tell you. The differentiation stage is the ultimate form of my race’s evolution. Once the differentiation is completed, the offspring I reproduce will have a high level of intelligence.] The Insect Emperor said.

Sheng Heng was stunned for a moment, then he looked at the Zergs neatly arranged behind the Zerg King in shock. If these Zergs also possessed intelligence equivalent to that of humans, then...

[Impossible!] Sheng Heng refused without even thinking.

[Why are you in such a hurry to make a decision? You are a soldier, right? As long as I attack your planet without your permission, you will definitely appear in front of me. It is only a matter of time before I eat you.]

[Then you can just eat me on the battlefield, why waste your breath. ]

"That would be a waste. If I eat you, I will immediately enter the differentiation stage, which means I will need less nutrients. If things go well, until I reproduce a certain number of offspring, there may still be a large number of you humans left. But if you die late, and I differentiate at a later stage, then the humans who died before you will only be food for these defective products, and their deaths will be worthless." said the Insect King.

Sheng Heng clenched his fists, and the Xuanming Spear in his hand trembled constantly, revealing his inner anger.

[But don't worry, you can go back and think about it slowly, but you have to remember that the longer you think, the more meaningless deaths there will be. It took me less than half an hour to invade the planet behind me. At the rate of half an hour per planet, plus the time I spent opening the wormhole, I can probably invade six planets a day.]

This is a naked threat.

[If you agree, I will allow you to designate a planet, and you can place the people you want to protect there. I promise you that I will never kill them.] The Insect King said in a benevolent manner.

[But the people I want to protect cannot fit on one planet. ]

[Then I’ll grant you two planets.] The Insect King said generously.

[I want to protect the entire federation.]

【Humans, don't push your luck. 】

[You said you came from a more advanced civilization than ours, but you are the only highly intelligent individual in the entire tribe. Is it because your civilization has been completely destroyed?] The Insect King did not answer, but Sheng Heng felt a slight mental fluctuation.

Sheng Heng knew that he had guessed correctly, and he laughed loudly: [I guessed right, you are the last bug of your civilization, and you have done so much just to restore your civilization.]

[So what? A lowly civilization like you should feel honored to be the nourishment for our revival.] The Insect King said condescendingly.

[For so many years, you have been constantly reproducing offspring in order to revive civilization. You are really a complete reproductive tool. ]

[What did you say?] The Insect King's voice suddenly rose.

[I say, you are such a pathetic creature.] Sheng Heng finished speaking, and at the same time, he controlled the mecha to flee quickly, while shouting to Sheng Zhuo, "Brother, now is the time."

Sheng Zhuo immediately understood and began to accumulate energy on the Tianhe-1 battleship, which had already been aimed at the Insect King.

The Zerg King rushed out angrily, but was forced to dodge the devastating blow from the Tianhe-1 battleship. He dodged nimbly, but the group of Zerg behind him were unable to dodge, and most of them were turned to ashes in the blow.

Sheng Heng took this opportunity to successfully return to the battleship. Without stopping for a moment, the two turned around and made a space jump, and disappeared into the star field of planet X-18 in the blink of an eye.

Behind him, the Insect King roared angrily, and his powerful mental power distorted the space. Countless tiny spatial turbulences gathered on his side, and after a moment, a large spatial wormhole was formed. The Insect King drilled into it.