The Core Species prioritized his tasks according to their urgency.
He placed contacting the Great Sacrificial Ground of Angon and meeting with the Armed Species at the top of the list, followed by processing the messages from the black market traders.
But before any of that, they arranged a small funeral for Kata.
During the era of the King Zerg, the Zerg would collect the heads of the deceased and bring them back to the heart of the nest. The Hive Mother, who sustained the entire mental link, would gather those shattered consciousnesses and allow them to return to the swarm. Now, however, there were no more King Zerg and no shared consciousness; death had been stripped of its sacred halo, revealing its original, icy nature.
Sarkdi could only follow human customs. Near Angon, close to the old administrator’s former nest, he prepared a very small grave.
Few Zerg ever did such a thing. They usually followed primal instincts, devouring the remains or simply abandoning the useless corpse.
It was an excellent location, offering a view of the Great Sacrificial Ground and the distant mountains, with few Zerg passing by. It was quiet, with a broad horizon.
Having finished everything, the Core Species stood there with the white male and the group of short-winged Zerg.
Gela pressed silently against him, his tail repeatedly entwining with the other’s whip-like tail. A moment later, the Zerg rubbed his head.
"No one will bully him anymore," Sarkdi said. His eyes looked toward the far distance as he let out a calm sigh.
The last thing the administrator had said to him was a warning not to mess with Gela. At the time, he had wanted to annoy the elderly Zerg, deliberately using his black scaled tail to coil around the male’s small tail and wag it back and forth.
*Otherwise, you can crawl back up and twist my head off.*
"And no Zerg will bully males in Angon or Ja ever again," the Core Species added. "I’ve picked a seat with a good view for you. Just watch. They... they will all live on. There will be no more sacrificial matches and no more slaughtered, defeated tribes."
The short-winged Zerg huddled together, looking much as they did when they first arrived on the ship. Yet, they were also different.
They often found it impossible to understand the black Core Species. His thoughts were eccentric, and his ceremonies were strange; he didn't seem like any member of the Core Species the short-winged Zerg knew.
Zerg tribes were divided by bloodline and genes. Losers who lost their tribe, if they lacked exceptional ability, would often find it difficult to gain a high social standing even if accepted by a new power; they were usually relegated to the role of consumables.
Yet now, they had a new, patchwork family: a Core Species of unknown origin, a male with genetic defects, a slick-tongued black market worker who shirked his duties, a bunch of short-winged Zerg with pathetic combat strength, and an elderly middle-tier Zerg who had saved their companion and then departed forever.
This structure, where no one was related by blood, made the small group look ridiculous and absurd. Within the Zerg race, where subordinate relationships were as tightly knit as a honeycomb, such a thing was inconceivable.
But they loved this new tribe, and they loved their tribal leader. So, they crowded around him and Gela, emitting soft, buzzing hums.
Afterward, the black high-tier Zerg moved with lightning speed to interview all the administrators of Angon.
the day-long vacuum had left the surviving Zerg at a loss, living in trepidation like headless flies. Sarkdi’s arrival made them breathe a faint sigh of relief, yet they were also terrified. It was common for a new ruler to replace all original Zerg with members of their own tribe. If the Core Species disliked these subordinates who had served Katra, they would be exiled.
Some "colleagues" who had once basked in the sun with him now only dared to offer a gesture of submission from a distance upon seeing the black Zerg.
The reality, however, was that Sarkdi was short on manpower. He had already worked the short-winged squad until they were spinning like tops; even if he wanted to make changes, he couldn't gather enough workers in a short time. He couldn't replace them even if he wanted to. The prerequisite for installing cronies was having enough cronies to begin with.
The Great Sacrificial Ground had once been under Katra’s jurisdiction, and bloodshed and savagery were practically synonymous with the complex. The red beast had taken a hands-off approach toward other Zerg; as long as they didn't interfere with its fun or its profits, it ignored the lower administrators entirely.
This had resulted in Angon’s internal accounts being a total mess. Whenever the quota for energy stones was allocated, Katra would embezzle the lion's share, leaving the remaining scraps for the administrators to fight over, skim, and distribute as they saw fit—a chaotic existence lived in ignorance.
Long before taking over Angon, Sarkdi’s urge to audit the books had been itching for release. He was in a hurry. Auditing was the first step to making money, and the instinct to acquire wealth was etched into his soul. Even after changing bodies and his entire genetic makeup, he couldn't escape this instinct.
The short-winged Zerg he dragged into the mess quickly plummeted from happiness into despair. Their love for their tribal leader dissolved as fast as the Little Mermaid’s sea foam because the Core Species Zerg had piled a mountain of work on top of their existing duties.
The only consolation in their misery was that the administrators who had once watched them being driven into Angon were now just as desperate as they were. Except for Selin, who received a temporary exemption to care for Xiao, even the "Chosen Worker-Bug" Kai was summoned to join the labor force.
Faced with a sea of bad debts and a complete overhaul of functional responsibilities from top to bottom, every Zerg wore a mask of agony.
The Core Species viewed Angon as his private property. Once it was in his mouth, no one should expect him to spit it out. No one was allowed to touch his assets—not the mine owners of the energy planets, nor the high-tier Zerg. Not only would he not let them touch it, but he was also preparing to fleece them to subsidize himself.
Only an empty promise can defeat an empty promise; magic would ultimately be bested by magic.
It was amidst this chaotic atmosphere of "rectification" that the Great Sacrificial Ground welcomed its new guests.
The Armed Species units landed on the surface again in response to Sarkdi’s reply. As soon as they touched down, they surrounded the building complex, their formation so grand it felt like they were there to demand an accounting.
Large warships docked at the starport, while several small craft hovered directly above Angon in an exceptionally stable anti-gravity stance, ignoring all residential streets to take the most direct path. A massive shadow pressed down on the heads of all the Zerg.
The scale of the scene was perhaps too large.
Sarkdi frowned. According to his plan, the first contact shouldn't have caused such a stir. The Armed Species were still waiting for an answer; they wouldn't overstep the true master's orders to impose sanctions on the new victor of Angon.
Most of Ja’s residents were frightened and quickly retreated into their nests, clearing the area instantly.
The Core Genetic Tribes had always held themselves in high regard. They considered themselves the remnants of the King Zerg; in the era when the Hive Mother still existed, they were the "growth stocks" with the most potential to compete to become the new King Zerg. Even if every "delisted junk stock" suffered from the same delusion.
It was a familiar display of dominance, a style of looking down one's nose at others that felt like déjà vu. If the entirety of Ja weren't disconnected from the network and lacking an access point to the River of Time, Sarkdi had no doubt these arrogant high-tier Zerg would have opened a door directly into his bedroom and hauled him out of his nest.
As the leading Armed Species squad approached, he anticipated an unfriendly opening, arbitrary pressure, and a tug-of-war negotiation.
However, in the next second, the Armed Species stepped aside, clearing a path in the middle. At the end of the corridor, a Zerg looked over from a distance.
It was a Core Genetic Species in its mature prime. It possessed perfect mimicry; when its eyes were lowered, it appeared elegant.
Unlike Katra’s overt ferocity, this Zerg possessed the composure of a high-ranking ruler, concealing all its sharp edges beneath a calm exterior. Its wings and whip-tail had a metallic, light-grey sheen, hanging behind it in a relaxed posture.
As it approached step by step, its footfalls struck a slow, rhythmic cadence.
Composure was a luxury for any creature in this universe. Herbivores were forever alert to every rustle in the grass; low-level predators exhausted themselves just to survive. Only a small fraction of creatures at the top of the food chain had the capacity to enjoy such ease, for they were powerful enough to no longer fear the dangers surrounding them.
To humans, power was a complex concept, acquired in myriad ways. Heirs of old-money aristocrats reached the heavens the moment they were born, while others rolled through a thousand hardships to climb to the top. Because of this, a large portion of high-ranking humans might be physically frail, bloated, or lacking in combat ability—some might even seem shallow in knowledge and skill.
But the Zerg were different. The fundamental prerequisite for being a Core Genetic Species was being powerful enough.
Even Gela, who belonged to a high-tier tribe, had faced the fate of abandonment after being judged defective. To ensure that the genes of the direct line continued with a pattern of becoming more perfect with each generation, the Core Tribes practiced self-screening, retaining only the best descendants to continue the status of the Sub-King Zerg lineage.
When that silver-grey Zerg looked toward the black Core Species and the white male beside him—who had entered a tense posture—Gela’s entire body froze.
Just as he had felt before Katra, this stranger of the Core Species terrified him. Instinct told him to flee, to run far enough away that he might find safety. The white male silently grabbed his prospective partner’s arm, pressing close to him without moving.
This prompted Sarkdi to reach out and rub that fluffy head. Gela’s change amused him; compared to their first meeting when the male had been scared into erratic behavior, and the long period of cowering that followed, the male was now trying to look danger in the eye.
Then, he turned his gaze back to the high-tier Zerg who had descended upon Ja.
Sarkdi understood why the Armed Species had made such a fuss. Originally, this was supposed to be a minor inspection of a subsidiary by the parent company, perhaps to see if they could scout some talent for headquarters. Who would have thought the big boss would visit in person and bring an entire delegation along? It was only reasonable for the security measures to be tight.
When the silver-grey Zerg finally stood before them, its pale grey eyes looked at the strange pair.
This was the best mimicry Sarkdi had seen since opening his eyes. Human-like, yet not human.
"The newly ascended victor of Angon, Sa, and his little partner."
The other finally spoke. His calm tone and elegant Zerg Common phrasing betrayed no emotion, lacking even the slightest vibration or hum of Zerg instinct. The word "partner" was not the usual pronunciation, but an older, more archaic intonation.
Just as churches in the Old Lands would claim profound interpretive rights over scriptures, the Core Tribes possessed certain more obscure modes of expression.
"It is a pleasure to meet you," it said. "I am Clark."
***
| Chinese | English | Notes/Explanation |
| :--- | :--- | :--- |
| 克拉克 | Clark | A high-ranking Core Genetic Species Zerg. |
| 余裕 | Composure / Leisurely Ease | A state of being unbothered due to absolute power. |
| 亚王虫 | Sub-King Zerg | High-tier Zerg with bloodlines close to the King Zerg. |
| 查账欲 | Urge to audit | Sarkdi's professional instinct to check financial records. |
| 天选打工虫 | Chosen Worker-Bug | A humorous term for Kai, implying he is destined for labor. |
| 拟态 | Mimicry | The human-like form assumed by high-level Zerg. |
