Wizards begin with Occlumency.

The rest period is over.

The miniature legion continued its journey.

Upon returning to this level 3 Zerg world, Link had only one feeling.

That means Sandra really did a lot of research; every stop was carefully planned and very targeted.

The first stop was a large, lifeless Zerg settlement, and the second stop was a small settlement with a few Zerg active there.

The third stop was soon reached: a medium-sized Zerg settlement undergoing tremendous changes.

The sampling and testing of Zerg settlements in all three states—failed evolution, successful evolution, and in the process of evolution—are taken into account, making the process more comprehensive.

The resulting task reports will naturally be more valid and reliable.

And unlike last time, when there were always unexpected events, things progressed very smoothly.

Micro-warrior legions are true invaders to medium-sized Zerg colonies.

A battle inevitably broke out.

The battle was very brief and ended quickly.

The micro-legion was utterly devastating, suppressing the resistance of the medium-sized Zerg colony in an instant.

Just like the previous stop, no one was killed; they were all knocked unconscious and captured alive.

Sandra immediately summoned the shuttle to transport all the captured Zerg to the "Cloudy Neon" and imprison them.

What awaits these insectoids are various inspections, tests, and live studies.

The various inspections, tests, and live research data of these Zerg all support and demonstrate the authenticity of the mission report.

"Check if there are any abnormalities in the insect eggs?"

After arranging the transportation, Sandra took the initiative to ask Link.

"Can."

Link didn't hesitate and agreed immediately.

The transport golem moved all the insect eggs discovered by the micro legion to Link's front.

Link carefully sensed each detail while simultaneously calling upon Flandre to communicate with the origin of the "small world".

This batch of insect eggs also exhibits subtle radiation inside, but to a higher degree than the previous batch.

Link told Sandra the truth about his discovery.

"Is that so?"

After listening to Link's explanation, Sandra pulled up a map of this level 3 Zerg world and studied it carefully for a long time.

She then made changes to the planned route.

The next two stops were cancelled, and a direct route was drawn, leading straight to the core of this world's Zerg, where the Mother Nest is located.

Members of the mini-legion, who were busy with their own tasks, simultaneously received a route update notification.

After watching it, I didn't have much of a reaction; I accepted it calmly.

Within the Rivoss Academy system, the legion commander, regardless of the legion's level or size, possesses supreme authority.

Members can speak freely when the legion commander holds meetings, and even refute the legion commander's opinions.

However, once the legion commander exercises his authority and makes a decision, even if the members have objections, they must hold back and execute the order first.

Unless the legion commander's order results in excessive losses, activating the legion's dismissal mode.

After receiving the route update notification, the four members of the research team sped up their work.

Two hours later, all sampling and testing work at this medium-sized settlement was completed.

After a short rest, the micro-corps headed toward the heart of this Zerg world—the location of the Mother Hive.

This is not a short distance.

Instead of continuing to move by hovering, the micro-legion boarded the newly acquired all-terrain vehicles.

Sandra's planned route actually traversed several Zerg settlements.

The closer to the mother nest, the larger the settlement becomes.

However, the further they went in, the fewer thriving Zerg settlements they found.

Link discovered a common thread: the larger the Zerg colony, the lower the chance of it being viable.

This phenomenon aligns with Link's deductions made during his previous mission.

The miniature legion, moving rapidly in stealth mode, took more than a day to reach the depths of the earth, to the location of the Zerg mother hive.

During this period, they encountered some resistance that was not very intense, and also discovered some useful information.

"It's all empty here."

Looking at the empty, gigantic Zerg colony, Jasmine thought to Link, "If we had arrived any later, would they have self-destructed?"

Link didn't answer, but instead carefully sensed something.

According to the Zerg social structure, there is a giant settlement in each of the four cardinal directions of the Hive.

With the east as the center of power, the giant settlement east of the Mother Hive is the ruling race of this Zerg world.

The Micro Legion is currently located in the giant settlement east of the Mother Nest.

Once inside, the "small world" became restless, emitting a series of yearning throbbing sounds.

This proves that the radiation source Link speculated was nearby.

After thinking for a moment, Link approached Sandra and said directly, "I have a feeling there's something here that could help me. Could we stay a while and look for it?"

"Can."

Sandra immediately agreed and announced to all legion members, "Aside from what is required to complete the mission, any unexpected discoveries or other requests can be obtained or fulfilled on your own without delaying the legion's mission."

The legion members were no strangers to this.

This is actually the common rule for pioneering in other worlds.

Adapting it here would be quite appropriate.

However, in this level 3 insectoid world, there aren't many things that would be beneficial to a wizard.

With permission granted, Link immediately began searching for the radiation source, following the guidance provided by the "small world".

Sandra then instructed the legion members to rest on the spot.

We are about to enter the location of the mother hive. Although the journey has been smooth and we have not encountered any resistance, we cannot guarantee that there will be no Zerg defenses at the location of the mother hive.

We still need to conserve our energy and be in a better state to enter the game.

With nothing else to do, Jasmine didn't rest like the others, but instead helped Link search.

With a clear direction and clear instructions, finding things is not difficult.

The problem was that the area where the radiation source was stored was too remote and winding, which was why it took a lot of time.

"stop."

The "small world" was becoming increasingly turbulent, and a different "field" appeared in his senses. Link called out to Jasmine, "Wait here, I'll be right back."

Even when wearing protective life-sustaining suits, it's best to avoid close contact with unknown radiation sources.

Who can guarantee that protective life-sustaining suits can completely block the effects of radiation sources?

No one can guarantee that!

Link walked a little further, and stopped once he had a clear location.

"Flandre".

Link called out softly in his heart.

"Yes, sir."

Flandre responded sweetly, transforming into a wind sprite, passing by the radiation source the size of a fingernail, and instantly returning to the "small world".

Once the radiation source entered the "small world," it was split in two.

The heavy, turbid parts remained in a crystalline state and sank underground, all the way to the Earth's core, where they added a touch of magnetism from a regularity level.

The light and pure energy transforms into vapor, piercing through the heavens and merging into the sun.

However, before the celestial sun of the "small world" could absorb this wisp of air...

Within Link's sea of ​​consciousness, the celestial structure of the "Great Cosmic Meditation Method," primarily formed by the "Sun" favored by the wizarding world, suddenly inhaled, drawing in this wisp of energy.

With a jolt, Link felt his connection with the "Solar System" of his "Greater Universe Meditation Method" becoming increasingly close to that of the "Small World" Solar System.

Moreover, there is a subtle trend that the connection hub is shifting from the two "Earths" corresponding to the "small world" entity to two "Suns".

Did the geocentric model evolve into the heliocentric model?

After muttering something unrelated, Link didn't think much of it and turned to leave.

The radiation source, about the size of a fingernail, was just a taste; it wasn't enough to fill you up.

To confirm the existence of this trend, or to bring it to full realization, a large number of sources of radiation are needed.

Knowing that this radiation source is helpful to me, I will continue to search for more.

Now we won't waste other people's time.

"Found it?"

When Jasmine saw Link return, she asked with concern, "How did you go?"

"Found it."

Link nodded. "It's a great help, but the amount is too small."

"Should we look again?"

"No, this settlement is gone. Let's see if there are any more later. If not, we'll go back to the main campus and try to find one."

"Alright."

The two chatted as they walked toward the legion's rest area.

"Set off."

Upon seeing the two return, Sandra didn't ask any questions and directly gave them instructions.

That's the rule for pioneering in another world.

You can do what you want to do, but you can't take up the team's time.

Therefore, to adjust one's own state, one must take into account both personal and team needs.

Don't let your own busyness interfere with the team's work.

Link and Molly knew this perfectly well, had no objection, and were not naive enough to think that Sandra was targeting them.

This time, the micro legion set off without stopping to rest or regroup, heading straight for the mother hive.

However, what came into view was a huge, dilapidated mother hive, and countless dried Zerg corpses lying on the ground, surrounding the mother hive.

From this scene, it is not difficult to deduce the cause of death of these Zerg.

For some unknown reason, this level 3 mother hive requires a large amount of life force, and since there is no other source, it can only be extracted from these fallen Zerg.

They literally drained at least 100,000 Zerg into dried corpses.

The Zerg social structure has a concept of supremacy and priority.

Royal family comes first, mother nest takes priority.

All Zerg races must obey orders issued by the royal family.

Whenever the mother nest has a need, the species that support the mother nest must unconditionally meet that need.

Therefore, these dried-up insectoids did not struggle or resist, and died peacefully.

Sandra wasn't surprised by this scene; it seemed she had known all along.

Come to think of it.

For Sandra, this return to this Tier 3 Zerg world was simply to complete an unfinished mission.

The three additional targets proposed last time were not mentioned again this time.

Forget about the mother hive, methods to control the Zerg, and methods to enhance the Zerg.

Jasmine, on the other hand, has a similar need.

"Let's begin."

After looking at the Mother Nest she had once coveted for a while, Sandra couldn't help but feel somewhat disheartened and wanted to end this mission as soon as possible.

Link keenly sensed Sandra's change in expression, but said nothing and went on patrol and guard duty.

On the surface, there seems to be no danger here.

The more this is the case, the more vigilant we must be.

The four-person research team quickly began their work under the cover of the reconnaissance and combat teams.

Even though I'm used to bloody scenes, the bizarre sight of 100,000 Zerg willingly sacrificing themselves was still very impactful.

It makes people subconsciously want to stay away.

Everyone was working as fast as possible while ensuring quality.

"Link, something's wrong."

Jasmine's voice echoed in Link's mind, and she then shared with Link the anomaly that the "God Eater" cub had sensed.

It was a peculiar wave, very faint and difficult to perceive.

Being within the range of this wave will subconsciously give rise to the thought of getting away from this place.

And they wouldn't think there's anything wrong with this idea.

The effect is very similar to the cognitive magic of a true spirit wizard.

"Um."

Link responded calmly.

He also sensed something amiss, but not in as much detail or as specifically as the "God-Devouring Worm" cub.

Having suffered from cognitive magic, how could Link not specifically improve his related early warning and defense capabilities?

He had just been patrolling around the ruined mother nest, trying to find the source of the anomaly.

Jasmine then added, "The source might be hidden inside the mother nest."

Upon hearing this, Link looked up at the spherical mother nest, which was about 60 meters in diameter.

Even though it's dilapidated now, it still has a considerable interior space.

Moreover, the internal structure of the Zerg hive is similar to that of a honeycomb, winding and labyrinthine.

Going inside to explore is the worst possible strategy.

After thinking it over, Link decided to pass the buck and went to find Sandra.

He started with an anti-eavesdropping rune barrier, then used the second-circle spell "Mind Message" of a True Spirit Wizard to tell Sandra, "There's a problem inside the Mother Nest. It's constantly emitting a peculiar wave, urging us to leave."

"Mind Message" is an upgraded version of the 1st-circle sorcery "Mind Message," and it can only be used for one-way communication.

After listening, Sandra nodded to indicate that she understood.

Link removed the anti-eavesdropping rune barrier that was being used as a smoke bomb.

Sandra did not act rashly, but instead contacted the "Cloudy" spacecraft, which was far away in outer space, in a special way to intensify her reconnaissance of the mother nest located deep underground.

Simultaneously, the combat system is preheated, ready to launch an attack at any time.

After doing all that, Sandra gave Gerard a hand gesture.

Gerald understood and quietly began to adjust his position and that of his other companions, preparing for the defense of the damaged mother nest.

Guided by Jasmine, the research team continued their work as usual, but they drifted further and further away from the dilapidated mother nest.

Link and Gerald led the combat team, standing on the outermost edge in a circular formation, protecting the research team and the two dedicated reconnaissance personnel behind them.

Including Sandra, everyone in the micro legion completed the emergency adjustments in a very short time.

After adjusting the legion's positions and completing all preparations, Sandra waved her hand.

The members in charge of reconnaissance immediately deployed a large number of fist-sized reconnaissance artifacts deep into the mother nest to conduct close-up reconnaissance.

The unknown entity, hidden inside the mother hive and emitting a wave of expulsion, sensed the unusual movement of the miniature legion and, knowing its existence had been exposed, ceased to hide.

The atmosphere became tense without us even realizing it.

It seems a major battle is about to break out. (End of Chapter)