Chapter 1289: Heart of the Swarm (8)

――TR.82.10.12――
Heishui Outpost.
This familiar invisible way...
Renault raised his hand to stop the other Rangers from raising their guns to aim at Kerrigan.
"Do you know Nova?" He asked a question that was useless and aimed to guide the other party to reveal more information.
"Hehe, that girl directly caused the Federation to abandon the'ghost' plan. Thanks to her, I am unemployed." Kerrigan also didn't say anything useful, only revealing that she is no longer the ghost of the Federation. There is no conflict.
Regarding this point, Renault still heard about it. It is said that after the outbreak of the war, the number of "ghosts" defected soaring, causing the Tyrannian Federation to start training men-only "ghosts."
As for the reason, the public statement seems to be that women's minds are relatively delicate, and spying and infiltrating work is nothing in peaceful times. After the outbreak of civil war between humans, it is easy to be moved by some people or things of the enemy and turn back.
And another privately circulated theory is that the Federation used methods similar to the "knowledge perfusion" for clones to control the ghosts, and those "ghosts" only awakened their true self after the war broke out.
In the occasional contact, although Nova did not explicitly explain, it hinted that the truth is closer to the second kind.
As the daughter of a parliamentarian, when she became a ghost out of interest, because she was "owner", of course no one would give her that set of things. In the end, she kicked the thunder.
"Then, this ‘former ghost’ lady, why did you just say that we don’t recommend that we retreat temporarily?" Renault changed the subject.
Although it is not impossible to continue to ask when she was in the Ranger team and what her original purpose was, looking at the "mud" "worms" around, it is obviously not suitable to waste time.
"I'm here to investigate this mine. Do you know what it produces?" Kerrigan continued without waiting for Renault's response: "It's diazin, a necessary material for cultivating ghosts."
"Oh……"
After hearing the name of this rare mineral that can be used by medical soldiers in addition to "ghosts" for stimulating psionic energy, Renault instantly made a dozen possible guesses, including federal secret experiments. The underground creatures mutated and put on biological weapons, and even the nonsensical conjecture that the bugs were the legendary "ghosts" came up.
But in the end, he just said calmly, waiting for Kerrigan to continue.
"No, I don't know what those'bugs' are," Kerrigan seemed to understand Renault's voice: "I just watched your scout fighting with these things, running away, and calling for reinforcements. ."
"In other words, they will change a lot in a short time?" Renault reasoned.
"Sergeant Renault, she is as sharp as the rumors," Kerrigan exclaimed before saying: "In short, there are twice as many insects lingering in the outpost base as your scout had fled. ."
"This..." Renault tilted his head and glanced at Jimmy, and quickly made a calculation based on the previous call time: "If we withdraw, next time we come, we will face at least twenty times the number of bugs today?"
"This data is based on the premise that the speed at which they obtain'biomass' and the efficiency of collecting diazine will not change," Kerrigan shook his head slightly: "We all know that they will not maintain the status quo."
"Biomass?" Renault repeated an unfamiliar term.
"Apart from rocks and air, anything that can be called a'creature' can be considered a'biomass'," Kerrigan said: "I think you have seen the barren land left by the'silt' after it recedes. "
As if to corroborate Kerrigan's words, in the opposite direction from Renault's raid, the "silt" touched a small forest, and trees that were not vigorous instantly fell down and "melted" in the silt.
At the same time, in the "silt" below the "infected command center", three things like the "tumors" that Renault exploded before suddenly bulged up.
Renault raised the gun vigilantly, but due to the range, he couldn't hit those "tumors" even if he shot.
"Give up, this kind of'evolution pupa' is almost indestructible, you see—"
Sneer-bang!
Raising the gun, aiming, shooting, all in one go, only a faint white smoke on the muzzle of the "Widowmaker" in Kerrigan's hand was dissipating, and only one of the three things she called "evolution pupa" in the distance shook suddenly. Akira, there was no sign of collapse and explosion. The insects passing by around screamed at it for unknown reasons, and resumed the mode of running around.
"They will devour any biomass they encounter and transform it into a part of their own race, and those diazines should have played a key role, but I can't guess how it is." Kerrigan was swimming in a group. The cavalry regained the gun in his watchful eyes.
"I think... Mar Sara is an agricultural planet?" Scout Jimmy seems to have discovered the key: "Those vegetables, food and livestock..."
"The trouble is big," Renault frowned. "Even if we evacuated the inhabitants of the planet urgently, we will never have time to transport those things that can be used as'biomass', and with their'reproduction' speed, once we retreat temporarily, Next time it comes back, it will have to occupy more than half of Marsala, and, judging by the new species over there, there may be types that can fly or even enter the universe..."
As if to support Renault’s statement, the previous three "evolutionary pupae" suddenly burst, and five insects jumped out of them. Except for the big seahorse-like insect which cut a pupae individually, the remaining two pupae were unexpectedly Two bugs of the kind that had previously besieged the scout jumped out of each.
This incubation speed makes Renault's rangers look bad.
"Hahaha! Then there is only one answer, isn't it?" Tykes slapped his blaster gun twice: "We'll rush up now and blow up these bugs!"
Renault was silent for a moment, and realized that there really were no additional options, unless he gave up the foothold of the Sara galaxy and became a wandering mercenary group again.
"I think..." He looked at Kerrigan: "You made a special appearance and pointed out this fact. You must be ready to assist us?"
"Happy to help," Kerrigan seemed to smile, and pulled the mask with goggles to cover his face again. He disappeared quickly into the air, only the voice still echoing: "[Commander.]"