The Thorin Primordial Worm’s Instincts

A tremor ran through Ming Yu’s heart as she felt Vera’s movements. She swiftly freed a hand, seizing Vera’s restless claw. Two opposing forces met, locking in a tense struggle in mid-air.

After only a brief moment, Ming Yu’s composure slowly returned. Her gaze then fell upon the bone tail extending from Vera’s back.

In this strange moment, they appeared as two identical monstrous beings, bound by the same peculiar bone tail. The sole distinction lay in their positions: Ming Yu remained anchored to the ground, while Vera hovered effortlessly in the air.

“Vera.”

“Mm-hmm?~”

“Let go of me.”

“Why, though?~~”

“Don’t you want to regain your freedom? If so, then listen to me. The most pressing matter is to understand our current situation, not to waste time here.”

“Oh, but I’m truly serious about wanting to get closer to you~~,” Vera tilted her head, offering a sweet smile.

When they had first met, Ming Yu hadn’t seemed to care for Vera at all. She had ignored Vera’s pleas, refusing even a simple promise of “meeting again” and dismissing her with a mere “perhaps.” This had stirred a complex mix of emotions within Vera. The bitterness of being overlooked and the loneliness of being abandoned, mingled with frustration and anger, all surged within her, leaving her unable to find peace.

These accumulated negative emotions, after a long period of waiting and festering, now finally had an outlet. Vera’s understanding of human emotions and thoughts was derived entirely from the human souls she had consumed. While her current actions might have been driven by a desire for retribution, Vera genuinely wished for Ming Yu to trust and be closer to her, to pull her completely from the mire of solitude. Every word, every sentence exchanged with Ming Yu filled her with genuine delight.

Vera did not fully comprehend humanity, just as Ming Yu did not fully comprehend the Thorin Primordial Worms. Ming Yu, for her part, simply could not understand why Vera, who had seemed relatively normal moments ago, had suddenly become so brazen.

Nevertheless, Vera ultimately heeded her advice. The solidified humanoid form gradually melted away, and the terrifying bone tail quivered violently. It shattered the outer layer of keratin, shedding the flesh clinging to its segments before slowly retracting back into Ming Yu’s body. In a matter of seconds, the stunningly beautiful girl hovering in mid-air vanished, leaving only Ming Yu, gasping for breath as her tense body finally relaxed.

No sooner had she released the tension than Vera’s voice resonated in her mind once more.

‘Little fish, I’ll always be with you~~~’

Vera hadn’t smiled so happily in a long time.

“Enough with the chatter. What’s the situation now?” Ming Yu rolled her eyes, cutting off Vera’s playful laughter, and quickly changed the subject.

Only then did she have the presence of mind to observe her surroundings. The barren crater bore scorch marks from intense heat. The heavily armored insectoids, impaled by the bone tail, resembled desiccated wood, seemingly on the verge of being torn apart by the strong winds and reduced to dust. Looking out, the sky remained a perpetual gray. Few rays of sunlight managed to penetrate the planetary atmosphere to reach the surface, yet they were sufficient to drive the entire planet’s material and energy cycles.

“Little fish, I’m not entirely sure what’s going on,” Vera replied. “The psionic jump was still disrupted, so landing on the planet’s surface was already quite fortunate. However, I never expected to find others of my kind here.”

Ming Yu was listening intently to Vera’s explanation when her left eye suddenly became shrouded in a black mist, obscuring her vision. Only her right eye retained its sight.

“Vera, what have you done now?” she asked internally, gritting her teeth in confusion.

‘Hehehe~ I won’t tell you~~~’

Vera temporarily took over the vision of the left eye, responding to Ming Yu’s question while scanning the horizon. The countless insect corpses scattered across the ground no longer stirred any emotion within her. Since her primary purpose was to eliminate the Overlord’s influence, she refused to wait passively. To oppose the Overlord was to oppose the entire swarm.

After assessing the environment, Vera retracted her dwindling psionic energy, releasing control of Ming Yu’s left eye. She sounded a little weary.

“Little fish. On this planet where we landed, there are traces of Thorin Primordial Worms and also traces of humans, but for now, it’s relatively safe.”

Vera’s psionic energy recovered very slowly. For at least a few days, she would be unable to interfere with physical laws, barely able to maintain telepathic communication.

“From now on, I can only rely on you…” As she spoke, Vera’s voice grew softer, almost a whisper. “Take me with you.”

“No problem.”

With things as they were, Ming Yu could only nod slightly in agreement. After surveying her surroundings, she averted her gaze and focused on herself, examining her fair hands and scrutinizing this newly acquired body. It seemed no different from her previous female form.

The silk clothing Vera had woven for her appeared to be modeled after a human uniform, resembling the attire worn by those in education or scientific research. The areas previously pierced by the bone tail were now re-covered by resilient white silk, suggesting the garment possessed self-repairing capabilities. However, it felt a little too tight, and she wasn’t accustomed to wearing it. She wondered if the style could be altered.

Ming Yu moved her lower limbs. The long-awaited sensation of walking stirred her emotions, rekindling the pride that had been shattered during those two years in a wheelchair. She was no longer an invalid. With this thought, Ming Yu’s favorable impression of Vera deepened.

Returning to the matter at hand, Vera’s true body was currently imprisoned within the space station. Freeing her would require careful planning. Ming Yu had only two general approaches, but no concrete, feasible implementation plans. To acquire what was needed, one had to either outwit or overpower.

The immediate priority was to gain a foothold in this unfamiliar environment, understand the current situation, and then make further plans.

“Vera, you mentioned there were traces of humans here. In which direction?”

‘Here~~’

A bizarre arrow suddenly appeared in Ming Yu’s field of vision, conspicuous like a directional marker in a game. Soon, however, the arrow slowly faded. She stretched her body, hearing the soft clicks and pops throughout her frame, and looked in the direction the arrow had indicated. Every muscle in her body seemed to be tingling with anticipation.

The next moment, her figure vanished from its spot. Continuous bursts of sonic booms erupted, one after another, as she streaked across the void like an arrow loosed from a bowstring, leaving behind a phantom afterimage on the ground.

****

Orbital strikes from the Federation fleet rained down from the sky, dazzling and brilliant, attracting widespread attention and drawing massive swarms of insectoids. On Planet Walker, the ceaseless battle between humans and the swarm raged on.

The nearest army supply station was only a dozen kilometers from the impact point of the light spear. To cover this distance, fully armored marine soldiers would need thirty minutes on foot, whereas Zerg vanguards, specialized for speed, would take less than ten minutes.

At the supply station, in the logistics department, the quartermaster felt a headache coming on as she looked at the incoming supply lists and dispatch requests.

“That’s how it is on the rear lines,” she remarked, handing the list to her adjutant and sighing. “Frontline soldiers only need to fully commit themselves to the battlefield, follow orders, and fight bravely. But those of us in logistics have countless things to consider.”