Chapter 168 - 168: This Is the Granary, You Should Be the One to Scram (2)
“…We might…have found an inexhaustible supply of… food source….”
The intermittent lifeform signal of Queen ‘Presolin’ was transmitted to Li Wenyuan. That sentence was specifically for him to hear.
Due to the uniqueness of his identity, he was also invited to visit the ceremony of ‘Presolin.’
That wasn’t a difficult task for Li Wenyuan. He just warped a research spaceship to that place and placed a part of his consciousness there before continuing to do his work.
He wasn’t too interested in the ‘caterpillar fungus disease’ that was wreaking havoc in the Milky Way at first. He was more concerned about the ‘Observer’s’ sudden reaction to the matter.
That was because he had also studied the parasitic fungi a little and found that their level of technology was really unflattering.
The advantage of the current ‘caterpillar fungus disease’ was built on numbers. That advantage came from the accumulation of time.
Before that, the Milky Way civilization had not found any signs of ‘caterpillar fungus disease.’ They had suddenly appeared as if they had been hidden in some extremely secretive place for a long time, waiting for their power to be fully accumulated before reappearing.
However, through the study of the caterpillar fungi, not only Li Wenyuan but also other Milky Way civilizations found that those fungi did not have intelligence. Was that kind of ‘waiting for action’ that had been going on for thousands of years their instinct?
Even though the Milky Way civilizations were busy fighting against the ‘caterpillar fungus disease’ and did not have time to think about it, Li Wenyuan did an in-depth investigation and found some abnormalities.
The source of the anomaly was still the ‘mythical lifeforms’ that were parasitized by the caterpillar fungi. The last recorded sighting of the Mother Space Whale was about 20 years ago.
At that time, there was no sign of the ‘caterpillar fungus disease.’ When did it kill and control the Mother Space Whale?
It was the instinct of all living lifeforms to seek advantages and avoid disadvantages, not to mention a ‘mythical lifeform’ that had experienced countless years and fought against many civilizations.
Relying on some hard-to-notice gossip, Li Wenyuan found where the Mother Space Whale had probably died.
The giant tentacle of the Mother was still floating in the galaxy. Judging from the cut surface, it resulted from some powerful light spear.
There weren’t many civilizations in the Milky Way that possessed that kind of weapon, and the lost empire was the main user.
It was very far from where the ‘caterpillar fungus disease’ was wreaking havoc, but the body had already disappeared. It would take five to six years of hyperspace navigation, so why would the body appear in the hands of the ‘caterpillar fungus disease’?
The final clues pointed to a particular lost empire that had the greatest reaction to that matter.
Therefore, Li Wenyuan was curious about why that lost empire would put on such a self-directed drama. Was it just to gain useless fame?
He had already witnessed the downfall and rebirth of three lost empires, and the last lost empire that had existed before he came had become the object of his greatest attention.
However, the most important thing at the moment was to listen to the report of ‘Presolin.’ He had been invited so seriously, so he had to take it seriously.
“…Our latest evolution results already allow us to directly use cosmic radiation…to become nourishment for our bodies….”
“…So we can, like this-”
Following the young queen’s command, a ‘worker bee’ that had been prepared long ago cut off its tail.
The huge ‘tail meat’ was as big as a frigate. It was jumping around in the vacuum and was a very fresh piece of food.
Then, the ‘worker bee’ carried the ‘food’ and happily moved it to a temporary warehouse in the ‘Hatchery’ Galaxy.
“…Bathed in cosmic radiation, it will take less than a month…for him to grow his tail again….”
“In that case, we won’t have to worry about food…How is it? Isn’t it amazing?”
The young queen seemed to be asking for Li Wenyuan’s opinion at the end of her words. There was a human-like expectation on the ferocious and terrifying face of ‘Presolin.’
“…” Li Wenyuan didn’t know what to say. They could already convert cosmic radiation into energy for their own use but were still obsessed with ‘eating.’
It seemed that those ‘Presolin’ had an unimaginable obsession with ‘food,’ so much so that even when there were more efficient methods, they still insisted on the tradition of ‘eating.’
However, looking at the expectant expression of Queen ‘Presolin,’ Li Wenyuan did not choose to break her ideals and expressed his agreement.
Therefore, the announcement ceremony of the ‘unlimited food’ technology quickly ended, and the patrol team belonging to the ‘Granary’ galaxy set off again.
Li Wenyuan, on the other hand, was interested in the biotechnology of ‘Presolin,’ which efficiently used lifeforms to convert cosmic radiation. He stayed behind for the time being and prepared to study it.
However, before he could communicate with Queen ‘Presolin,’ the young queen had a violent lifeform signal fluctuation as if she had discovered something extraordinary.
Then, that signal fluctuation underwent several changes, from disconnected to shock, to grief, and then to anger. It was imaginable how much turmoil she had experienced in her heart.
“There’s…’rat.’ This is a harmful beast. It needs…control….”
Listening to the signal from Queen ‘Presolin,’ Li Wenyuan quickly looked away and gazed into the ‘Granary’ galaxy.
Of course, he knew about that place and the importance of that place to ‘Presolin.’
And so, he saw in the huge ‘Granary,’ several planets had already become empty, and the ‘corpses’ piled up on the planets were flying in the universe.
At first, the ‘Presolin,’ who was there, thought they were seeing things. Perhaps their obsession with food was too heavy, causing them to see the strange illusion of ‘food running away by itself.’
However, reality gave them a heavy blow because the food really ran away by itself.
The pieces of meat belonging to different lifeforms were stitched together by the caterpillar fungi. The strange biological activity made those things show signs of activity again.
One of the ‘Presolin’ warriors went to retrieve the food in disbelief, but the food smacked his mouth with its tail, causing him to freeze in space.
‘Presolin’ had always walked the path of biological evolution. Their smallest warrior was also a terrifying space behemoth.
Although their long peaceful life had worn down their sharp claws, it did not mean that those weapons that had accompanied them for a long time had lost their former luster.
Very soon, an emotion called anger filled the entire beehive mental network.
The ‘Presolin’ swarm that moved directly through the sub-space swarmed into the ‘Granary’ galaxy. For the first time, those galaxy refugees showed their scary side..