Sacre-D: Reborn as the Swarm's Apex | Chapter 88 | Echoes of the Past | Novela.app

The Great Information Nest possessed a remarkably sophisticated self-repair function. It and starships were like two diametrically opposed examples. The artificial intelligences belonging to humanity possessed complete "personalities," yet they still required external maintenance. Sakdi himself was a qualified mechanic; as long as he wasn't dealing with a catastrophe like a core power reactor meltdown, he was perfectly capable of tinkering with the circulation systems or repairing stellar energy reception plates on his own. The Great Information Nest was different. It possessed no individual consciousness in any true sense; even when on the brink of disintegration, the distress signals it emitted were merely pre-set instinctive programs. Conversely, its self-healing ability was akin to that of a living creature. There was little Gera and the other males could do in terms of actual maintenance. The synapses and pathways permeating the Nest’s body wrapped around the entire "mainframe," pulling together those torn wounds. What he needed to do now was complete the analysis of the Great Information Nest as quickly as possible, gain full administrative authority, and ensure that the data previously transferred out would flow back in once the Nest had recovered. To this end, he had moved the latest model of the connection interface nearby for constant access. One unexpected discovery was that Gera found many strange things within the Great Information Nest. Those encrypted fragments of information had been hidden in corners, virtually undiscovered by any Zerg until this disintegration event, as if the Nest itself had been concealing them. It was difficult to summarize these items in a few words; most of them belonged to humanity. They ranged from scattered poetry to religion and history—a vast, miscellaneous collection. According to the serial numbers, the earliest record dated back two Great Cycles. It was as if a sealed bucket had developed a crack, allowing impurities to seep in indiscriminately through the fissure. For instance, Gera was currently reading a historical commentary from the era of the White Emperor. Most of his knowledge of the human language came from the residual images of Camlann, so he felt out of his depth when reading obscure materials; many complex words left the male Zerg puzzled. However, he could still understand that the author of this commentary was worried about the human race at that time. Back then, humans were exhausted from the erosion of alien species, the entire population was mired in fatigue, and civilization had stagnated. "...Exploration of deep-space danger zones has been stalled for too long. For the past hundred stellar years, all pioneering projects have been temporarily shelved at the suggestion of the Mapuz Academy of Sciences. We are huddled within the safety zones, and even these zones are continuously shrinking..." "...The output of stellar core energy mines increases year by year. The number of workers killed during the extraction of stellar core energy has climbed to a terrifying figure, yet the massive flow of energy goes to unknown places... At a time when all deep-space projects are shut down, the Mapuz Academy of Sciences' demand for energy minerals seems to have reached an abnormal level..." The male Zerg quickly browsed through those fragmented materials. These were things he once could not have understood, yet some descriptions caught his attention, making his gaze linger. "...Human confidence in the future has repeatedly dwindled. The technology used in civilian medical and production equipment remains stuck in the last century, and a vast number of laborers have become consumables..." "...And we live in a prosperous bubble. The environmental disparity between high-level habitable planets and functional planets has split to an extent that can no longer be ignored—on the lowest-grade energy planets, thousands of workers still strip their bodies bare, descending deep underground every day without any protective measures to excavate endless 'black gold' for the Capital Star and its satellites. They can almost never leave the mining areas in their lifetimes, and their monthly wages are less than a hundred Lise. This means they must work for fifty consecutive years without eating or drinking—and be lucky enough not to encounter any alien contamination—just to afford a single 'dust lung delay needle' before they die." It was the same. Gera thought. This was the current reality of the Core Genetic Tribes. The male Zerg sat within the Great Information Nest, no other companions by his side. Upon discovering the anomalous data, he had arranged for Xiao to take the other males and the disabled females to the periphery for data measurements, leaving himself alone in the depths of the Nest, maintaining a shallow link through the information connector. He finally understood why his partner was in a state of constant, unconscious fury. It was because similar things happened constantly in this universe, with no way to eradicate them, regardless of the species. The ten Great Direct Genetic Tribes monopolized all high-end technological means, while the middle and lower classes devolved into mindless beasts. Males, larvae, and all females who lost their combat effectiveness were chewed up and swallowed, just as they had been over a dozen Great Cycles ago, eventually becoming the soil that nourished the King Zerg. Their oath—the oath he had once recited to Sakdi—"I will gnaw upon your remains, and together we shall become the plasma and silt at the bottom of Angon," was not just a vow of loyalty to the King, nor just a promise to a soulmate, but actual history. He and Sakdi, including Clark, Arthur, and even all the members of the Armored and Grey-winged tribes, could be considered beneficiaries sheltered under this rigid hierarchy. The male Zerg knew of the previous Human Emperor. During the ceasefire, he had still been a larva, alienated and marginalized by his own tribe, hovering on the brink of starvation and abandonment; he truly had no energy to spare for other matters. Regardless of the outcome of the war between the Zerg and humans, his own living conditions would not have improved. It was for this reason that he had previously been unable to link that terrifying figure from horror legends to the black Core Zerg who held him, laughed while kissing him, and teased him. The Sakdi he knew had suddenly appeared from a raiding ship and hauled him out of a bottomless quagmire. But it wasn't until the Red Taisui appeared that he slowly began to overlap the two figures. Gera disconnected the information connector, pausing his organizing and reading. For a long time, he had refused and feared to delve into his partner's past, because he was afraid that the past would take the other away from him. But now, he wanted to understand. Not because of the Human Emperor's special status or bloody military record, but because he needed to know what direction the Zerg's future would take, and to understand the reasons behind every decision his partner made. It was easy to close one's eyes and be led; all burdens would fall on the leader, and the follower only had to hold the other's hand tightly. He didn't want that. The black Core Zerg, currently executing a combat mission, was unaware that his partner had resolved to properly study human language and history. He was currently with the assembled Armored Zerg fleet, engaging in frantic provocations against the Broad-winged Zerg. The Armored Zerg, who had always preferred direct frontal assaults, quickly demonstrated the truth of the proverb "he who touches pitch shall be defiled." After following Sakdi through several small cycles of coordinated strikes and map-clearing, they had rapidly become "dogs"—once one discards their dignity, it is very hard to pick it back up. The dark mass of the fleet arrogantly guarded the dividing line between the third and fourth quadrants, occasionally stepping over the boundary as if they were performing a tap dance on the border, practically shouting, "Come hit me, come hit me!" Their neighbors in the fourth quadrant were fuming at the provocation, wishing they could ignore the deterrent of the Red Taisui and give them a thorough thrashing. This was the result Clark wanted to see. The newly appointed Sub-King wanted all the Core Genetic Tribes to know that even if the war of secession had reduced the Grey-winged Zerg by a third, no Zerg would be able to step over him and reach into this habitat sector. And all previous transgressions would be settled one by one. However, contrary to his decisive style of action, the silver-grey female Zerg had been in a state of low atmospheric pressure all day, without a single unnecessary word. After the portion of the fleet following Clark finished clearing their own sector, they also gathered menacingly at the boundary of the two quadrants, nearly hanging banners on their warships that read "Just waiting for an excuse to cross the line and scrap you." The Pedipalp and Broad-winged tribes didn't dare to meet them head-on; they merely crouched in the distance, ready to bolt at any moment. They had heard that the Butcher of the Northern Battlefield had suffered a great loss in the deathmatch against his superior, and they had seen the old King's Nest blown apart with their own eyes; they had thought this unlucky neighbor might be severely weakened from then on. As it turned out, the war maniac was still the same war maniac, daring to crawl back up as soon as he recovered to start knocking on doors and settling scores one by one. Not to mention that black Core Zerg who had suddenly appeared by his side. He showed no tribal characteristics and certainly wasn't a Grey-wing, yet he had somehow managed to become the second-in-command among the notoriously xenophobic Grey-winged tribe and had made them howl in pain during the previous melee. After circling the intersection of their territories like thugs for half the day, the main force of the Grey-winged tribe finally withdrew. Sakdi swiftly marked all the nearest outpost planets, going through the star charts while determining the order of the sweep in his mind. By the time they returned to the Nest area, he already had a rough plan and sent a brief report to Clark. The other replied with a curt: "Come to the Meeting Nest." This was the first time in an entire day that the silver-grey female Zerg had deigned to speak. The other Grey-winged members had already disbanded; only the Armored Zerg management and Sakdi were gathered in the Meeting Nest not far from the docking orbit, where a massive, projected star map filled the space. The Sub-King, having entered work mode, no longer showed any expression as he rapidly partitioned and marked the enemy's forces. The meeting lasted a long time. As soon as the Red Taisui left, the enemies would launch a counterattack; they needed to pack up and ship off their relieved neighbors immediately, and too many details required quick finalization. This also caused the agenda to move at lightning speed, such that even Kleiman almost couldn't keep up. "Stand a bit closer." The Core Zerg, with a half-smile, hauled the tail-flicking brother to the front row. "You'll need to lead a team alone later. Don't play dead." In the past, the style of the Grey-winged tribe was for Krisha or Clark to make the decisions, while the direct Armored Zerg acted like frenzied hounds, striking wherever they were pointed. But this approach was somewhat wasteful, and the secession war had nearly cost them dearly because of it. Sakdi wanted to elevate the leaders of the Armored Zerg so that if anything happened to either him or Clark, a third party could quickly provide support. The meeting continued until late at night. The moment it ended, the black female Zerg was anxious to go home and eat. This kind of irregular overtime seriously infringed upon his right to a regular schedule. As a result, as soon as he, Clark, and the tail-flicking brother stepped out of the Meeting Nest, they saw the Zerg... and the human... waiting nearby. Gera and Arthur had been standing there chatting quietly for who knew how long. The moment they saw them, the white male Zerg immediately ran over, his tail wagging rapidly. Catching the partner who had lunged into his arms, Sakdi instinctively glanced sideways at Clark—and, unsurprisingly, found the other's face ashen, his entire body tensed. His usually elegantly draped wings and tail-whip were nearly bristling, and he was barely suppressing the leak of his pheromones. Truly the Light of Humanity. Sakdi hadn't expected the human to leave the Red Taisui and come to the docking orbit to intercept them, let alone remain oblivious to the Sub-King's nearly overflowing rage. "Let's go, move fast." This time, without needing Gera's reminder, the Core Zerg took the initiative to hoist the male Zerg onto his shoulder and retreat. He was going to eat; slipping away now was perfectly reasonable. In passing, he also dragged away the bewildered Kleiman—saving a life, no need to thank him. Only after putting a safe distance between them did Sakdi look back from afar. As it happened, he saw the human embrace the high-rank Zerg, whispering something softly. His silver-grey "plastic boss" maintained a posture of resistance, trying to push the youth away, his wings and tail-whip almost in a startled defensive stance. The Core Zerg truly hated the excellent eyesight that came with this female Zerg body. Because in the next second, he saw the death-defying human tilt his head up and kiss the other. Sakdi nearly ran at first cosmic velocity, pretending not to hear the earth-shattering sound of whatever-the-hell-it-was exploding behind him. Anyone who cared about whether they lived or died was a fool. He carried the male Zerg all the way into the nest and slammed the door shut before finally lying flat. What a chaotic day, what an absurd development. He would never believe another word of the human youth's nonsense—what normal person's "I'll handle it" referred to *this* method? Gera let out a laugh. He had already cracked open some exotic beast claws, so he sat down beside his partner holding the container and stuffed a piece of food into the other's mouth. "Don't worry, it'll be fine," the male Zerg comforted him. "They can solve it themselves. Clark won't hit Arthur." *Clark won't hit Arthur, but he'll hit me.* The Core Zerg remained expressionless, his entire being radiating "cheerfulness." It wasn't until he had finished eating and rolled around to scrub himself clean with salt that the black female Zerg recovered from the culture shock. His partner had already curled up by the nest, patting the soft bedding, with the information connector projecting some reading material. "What are you looking at?" The Core Zerg couldn't help but ask as he approached. "I found some human books." Gera patted the nest again, signaling for the other to come closer, and turned the projection to face the black female Zerg. "There are some parts I don't quite understand. Can you teach me?" the white Zerg asked softly. Sakdi raised an eyebrow. He saw the title page of the book—a very familiar name. Most humans had heard of it, but few had ever read it seriously. It was like how everyone on the Old Earth knew of the *Universal History*, but hardly anyone had actually flipped through it. Unfortunately, he belonged to that small minority. Perhaps his early career had required him to spend more energy pondering such things. During a cynical adolescence, one inevitably reads obscure things, as if wearing out those words could summarize some laws to save the world or the decaying status quo. Then, as one grows older, one realizes that the laws of the universe do not shift according to individual will. What happened yesterday will still happen today, and will happen again tomorrow. Even having shed his human identity, he sometimes found it hard to distinguish his own loves and hates. The more one loves a thing, the more one must endure the corresponding pain it brings; this was an unchangeable truth. Scooping up the male Zerg, Sakdi sat in their little nest with the fragrant white creature and tapped the light screen projected by the information connector. "Tell me what you don't understand," he replied to his partner. The male Zerg was reading *On the History of the Demise of the Shamanu Empire and the Federation*. A history of humanity whose author had been immediately arrested and killed by the Mapuz Academy of Sciences upon the work's completion and publication. *** **Glossary** Chinese | English | Notes/Explanation --- | --- | --- 大信息巢 | Great Information Nest | A biological, self-repairing data hub used by the Zerg. 马普兹科学院 | Mapuz Academy of Sciences | A human scientific institution from the era of the White Emperor. 黑色黄金 | Black Gold | A metaphorical term for high-value energy minerals extracted from stellar cores. 里瑟 | Lise | A unit of human currency. 尘肺病延缓针 | Dust lung delay needle | A medical treatment for a respiratory disease common among miners. 沙玛努帝国 | Shamanu Empire | An ancient human empire mentioned in historical texts. 《论沙玛努帝国与联邦的消亡史》 | On the History of the Demise of the Shamanu Empire and the Federation | A controversial and banned human history book.