Zerg Invasion
The Federation's technology didn't seem to have changed much, until Lin Bai boarded the starship and traveled from the star field border to the capital star the next day. Only then did she realize that ten years had really passed.
The friends who participated in the competition that year were already waiting at the Star Port. Standing at the head was Gu Zhou, who now has the most say in the federal leadership.
Since the fierce battle in the mythological arena, Gu Zhou awakened the memory of the Earth. He inherited the sense of mystery possessed by Lin Bai and published many books about the gods of the Earth. Many people chose to awaken the Earth's mimicry.
Some people maliciously speculated that Gu Zhou had hidden Lin Bai, but now the rumors have been proven false.
On both sides of Gu Zhou were faces that looked somewhat familiar.
Lin Bai also saw a familiar ear in an instant. It was grandma's.
Unable to contain her excitement, she walked straight towards her grandmother after getting off the spaceship and hugged her. "Grandma, long time no see. I missed you so much."
The girl's trembling voice brought tears to the eyes of the mature elites in their twenties.
For the past ten years, they have never forgotten this girl from a remote planet who single-handedly saved the future of the Federation from an advanced civilization. Fortunately, the person she cared about most was fine.
Lin Bai was suppressing her trembling voice when a warm hand touched her shoulder.
"What are you going to do? Your identity is now known to the entire federation. The top leaders have decided to let you join the military. Your position will be very high." A deep male voice came. Lin Bai turned around in surprise, but it was Gu Zhou who had not changed at all.
Lin Bai already had an idea, "I want to continue studying, is that okay?"
"For me, it's only been a few months since the Myth Arena fight, and I'm still only sixteen. I hope to continue living the life that someone my age should."
Gu Zhou clenched his hands slightly and nodded, "Okay."
——
On the day Lin Bai returned to school, Ellie and the others came to see her off.
The school gate was crowded with people watching the excitement. No one was not curious about what the legendary savior who sacrificed himself and then appeared looked like.
"Lin Bai, long time no see."
A familiar voice sounded, and the girl who had just gotten off the car looked towards the source. A robot in a dark robe appeared, and it was Teacher Chen Chen.
"After all these years, you are still my most proud student. I don't know if you still recognize me as your teacher."
"Of course I recognize him." For Lin Bai, it was just a few months since they last met.
Lin Bai, who was hailed as a savior, is now enrolled in school, which is quite eye-catching.
But she didn't flinch from the stares.
Lin Bai's heart remained calm as she walked through the campus gates. She knew she had to adapt to this environment because this was the life she had chosen.
Ellie and the others stayed by her side, like a natural shield, blocking most of the inquiring gazes. Still, some students couldn't help but whisper, "Is that her? The savior who returned from the Myth Arena?"
"It looks very ordinary..."
"Are you stupid? Don't judge a book by its cover."
Lin Bai listened and just smiled.
The first class was taught by Teacher Chen Chen. The dark-robed robot walked up to the podium and, with a gentle tap of his metal hand, the projection screen opened, revealing familiar teaching materials.
"Okay, today we are talking about the history of federal strategy." Chen Chen's voice was still low and steady. He swept his eyes across the class, but stayed on Lin Bai for a moment, then continued to explain as if nothing had happened.
Lin Bai picked up the pen and took notes seriously.
Before she knew it, time had truly returned to the past. The wood grain of her desk, the rustling of chalk as it fell, the breeze blowing through the branches and leaves outside the window all gave her a sense of peace and tranquility, as if from another world.
When the bell rang, the whole class erupted in a commotion. Many people wanted to come up and talk to her, but for a moment they were afraid to approach. Finally, a timid voice broke the silence.
"Mr. Lin Bai, could you please help me solve a problem?"
Lin Bai looked up and found that it was a tall and thin boy sitting in the back row, holding an exercise book in his hand. His eyes were nervous but sincere.
She was stunned for a moment, looked at the question, which was exactly what she knew, and then smiled: "Of course."
The atmosphere suddenly relaxed, and the students around seemed to be relieved. They slowly gathered around her and chatted with her.
A warm feeling suddenly surged in Lin Bai's heart.
Perhaps, the so-called ordinary life starts from these little things.
But at this moment, the school's defense barrier flickered slightly, and almost no one noticed. Lin Bai looked up sharply, but saw only blue sky and white clouds outside the window. Everything seemed normal.
"What's wrong?" Ellie noticed her movements.
"It's nothing, maybe I'm overthinking it." Lin Bai shook his head and turned his attention back to his classmates' questions.
But on the rooftop of the teaching building not far away, a man wearing a light-colored hood was staring quietly at the window of Lin Bai's classroom. His eyes flickered with a faint green luster, and for a moment, it seemed as if thousands of eyes appeared.
"She's back." The boy whispered to himself, with a strange curve at the corner of his lips.
The wind blew through his hood, and for a brief moment, fine scales seemed to appear on his earlobes, then quickly disappeared.
But no one knows that in a piece of deep space on the border of the Federation, the Zerg mother nest is slowly expanding, and thousands of hatching eggs are drifting with the cosmic tides and heading towards the Federation's galaxy.
A storm bigger than the mythical arena is quietly approaching.
As night falls, the lights of the capital star are still bright, the streets are bustling with people, and everything seems like peacetime.
But behind this bustle, some shadows are stirring.
Lin Bai lay on her bed in the dormitory, having a rare chance to fall asleep peacefully. But her dream was not peaceful.
In her dream, she saw an endless black and purple ocean, with countless insect eggs swirling in it. The claws and fangs that broke out of their shells were all open, as if they were going to swallow up the entire starry sky.
A deep and ancient roar came from the depths of the abyss, shaking her so much that she could hardly breathe.
"Lin Bai..."
It was as if someone was calling her.
She suddenly opened her eyes, covered in cold sweat. The defense barrier outside the window was shimmering with a tiny ripple, reminiscent of the anomaly she had seen during the day.
At the same time, an alarm suddenly sounded at an observation station far away on the federal border.
"Report! A large-scale energy reaction has been detected on the outer edge of the Seventh Star Region!"
"Are you sure it's an asteroid field?"
"It's not an asteroid, ah!"
A heart-wrenching scream echoed through the communication channel, then abruptly stopped. The last frame of the surveillance footage froze on the gaping maw of a gigantic insect.
The news of the loss of contact at the border was quickly passed back to the top leaders in the capital.
Gu Zhou stood in the middle of the conference room, holding tightly in his hand a video file that had just been sent back.
In the picture, the swarm of insects swept through the entire observation station like a tide. In just a few minutes, the originally solid defensive fortress was reduced to ruins.
"Zerg." Gu Zhou's voice was so low and almost cold, "After so many years, they finally appeared again."
At this moment, Lin Bai did not know that the scene in his dream was the real tragedy on the border.
——
The atmosphere in the capital planet's highest council chamber was solemn. Dozens of high-ranking federal officials gathered around a long, round alloy table.
On the huge projection screen, the final images of the border observation station were playing in a loop. Flesh and steel were torn apart, and a black tide of insects swallowed up all light.
"This is no longer a small-scale invasion, it's a full-scale offensive." Gu Zhou said in a cold voice.
A general immediately stood up and said: "We must immediately initiate a general mobilization and recall all the troops on the border. At least three interstellar channels must be blocked, otherwise the capital planet will be destroyed."
"Shut up." A white-haired director slowly raised his hand, his eyes sinister. "Do you want to plunge the entire Federation into panic? The Zerg haven't been seen in decades. Ever since the Mythic Arena disappeared, the people have long since grown accustomed to a peaceful life. If the truth is revealed, the Federation will completely lose control."
"But the Zerg are really here!" Gu Zhou's voice rose for the first time, "We can't hide it for long."
"Alright," the chairman interrupted him. "Announce the loss of contact at the border as a 'magnetic storm surge' causing the communications blackout. As for the footage..." his eyes were icy. "Classify it all as top secret and do not disclose it."
The conference room fell into dead silence.
Gu Zhou dug his fingers into his palms so tightly that his knuckles turned white, but he could only sneer and didn't argue anymore.
——
At night, Lin Bai tossed and turned, unable to fall asleep.
The whispers of the dream still echoed in her mind, as if reminding her that the Zerg were approaching.
She simply got up, put on her coat, and walked out of the dormitory.
The night breeze on campus was cool and the starry sky was clear, but at this moment, the seemingly solid defense barrier flashed with a tiny crack that was almost imperceptible to the naked eye.
"Sure enough." She murmured softly.
At this moment, a light sound of footsteps was heard. Lin Bai turned around suddenly, only to see a figure flash by at the corner of the corridor.
That was the hooded boy who appeared on the rooftop during the day.
She chased after him, but stopped abruptly at the corner.
Outside the window at the end of the corridor, a green light flashed and the boy disappeared.
Lin Bai's heartbeat gradually quickened.
She could feel that the breath was not human.
At the same time, Gu Zhou stood alone in the military's operations hall.
On the huge holographic sand table, the border defense nodes went out one after another, and the light spots representing the star fields gradually dimmed until they were completely extinguished, like lives being snuffed out.
"Contact with the Eighth Star Region has been lost," the intelligence officer said in a dry voice. "The Ninth Defense Belt has fallen, and the border has become a vacuum zone."
The atmosphere in the hall was stagnant and suffocating, with only the constant stream of war reports pouring in. Each report seemed to announce the gradual collapse of a vast world.
Gu Zhou's eyes were cold, yet they seemed particularly lonely under the light and shadow. He knew better than anyone that he couldn't make all of this public.
Lin Bai has just returned, and bad things are happening frequently, which may not be a good thing for her. I hope I can hold the defense line so that she can adapt to her current life.
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