Douluo: Transforming Xiao Wu into a Zerg Queen Was Just the Beginning-Chapter 10: Upgrading to Tier-3 Hatchery – First Encounter with Xiao Wu?

Time flew by.

In the blink of an eye, a whole week had passed.

Lin Fan slowly rose from the Creep, opening his eyes.

The vicious wounds that had once covered his body had completely healed. His once fair skin was now bronzed from exposure, and the boyish features on his face had hardened, showing clear signs of resolve and bloodlust.

Days of brutal combat alongside the Zerg, along with his own constant battles against soul beasts, had made him exude a palpable killing aura. The stench of blood followed him like a second skin, detectable from far away.

Ordinary hundred-year soul beasts now bolted the moment they caught a whiff of his scent.

Lin Fan's daily practice now involved fighting against thousand-year or stronger soul beasts. Severe injuries were routine. After each battle, he would be carried back by Zerglings and laid down on the Creep to recover.

And strangely enough...

Lin Fan had come to enjoy the healing process. That cold, tingling sensation that wrapped his entire body made every cell feel like it was dancing. It was refreshingly soothing—blissful, even.

Letting out a long breath, Lin Fan assessed the current situation.

The Zerg's main base had now completely relocated to the outer region of the forest, where lower-tier soul beasts roamed.

The deeper part of the forest had been left with just a dozen or so Hatcheries, still mass-producing units and hoping to get lucky—perhaps stumble upon an injured ten-thousand-year soul beast.

The odds were slim, sure, but not impossible. Besides, it was still a good area to hunt the occasional overlooked prey—young high-tier soul beasts or low-tier ones that had wandered in.

Even after moving to the outer region, Lin Fan hadn't seen a single human being all week.

That pretty much ruled out this being the Soul Hunting Forest, where soul masters frequently hunted.

He was likely in either Star Dou Forest or Sunset Forest.

If he wanted to confirm his location—or the timeline—he'd eventually have to head into human territory.

But Lin Fan wasn't in any rush. The Zerg were still in early development. Hiding out in an uninhabited soul beast forest was the best choice right now.

Once he was powerful enough, then he'd make his move.

Even if Tang San had already become a Title Douluo by then, Lin Fan had confidence that his Zerg swarm wouldn't lose to anyone!

Lin Fan connected to the Zerg mental network.

The first thing he saw was a number glowing on the interface:

[105,431 Energy Points]

Over one hundred thousand!

In just a week, with the Zerg continually mass-producing units and hunting soul beasts, the energy accumulation had skyrocketed.

He checked the current swarm scale:

[Level 1 Hatcheries: 25]

[Level 2 Hatcheries: 10]

[Infestation Pools: 41]

[Zerglings: 3,600]

[Drones: 700]

[Hydralisks: 1,200]

[Gene Types Extracted: 214]

Lin Fan's eyes glazed over for a moment—was this really just one week of development?

The underground empire had undergone a complete transformation.

He now stood inside a massive excavated chamber. If he didn't already know this was underground, he'd have thought he was in an entirely different world.

Three Tier-2 Hatcheries pulsed and throbbed nearby, surrounded by fields of Creep. Thanks to absorption from plant-type soul beasts, the Creep had evolved—transformed into lush grass with blooming flowers, spreading throughout the entire subterranean world.

Countless tunnels branched off from the central cavern. Every few hundred meters, another chamber like this had been carved out.

At regular intervals, newly hatched Zerglings and Hydralisks would break free from their spores and crawl up the tunnels to carry out their hunt.

Everything was flourishing.

Lin Fan's heart swelled with pride. All of this... was the result of his hard work!

"Neural Core, upgrade the Hatchery to Tier 3—now!"

[As you command, my Overmind.]

One of the Tier-2 Hatcheries suddenly rose high into the air as the Creep around it came alive, surging upward and wrapping around it.

Moments later, a massive spore stood towering in the underground domain.

The enormous structure nearly touched the ceiling—Lin Fan had made the Drones expand the height of this area to 50 meters just in case.

The grotesque spore pulsed and squirmed, with visible muscle-like tissue inside twisting, merging, and rapidly growing.

Lin Fan sucked in a cold breath. Tier-3 Hatcheries weren't just energy-intensive—their sheer scale was intimidating.

It was becoming clear: with the swarm growing this fast, the underground empire wouldn't be able to contain them for much longer.

Breaking out onto the surface and conquering the land above was inevitable.

But with energy requirements rising rapidly, there was no way he could afford to upgrade every Hatchery.

And even if they stayed at lower tiers, Zerg unit production wouldn't be affected.

What he needed now was genes that boosted reproduction rates—that was top priority!

His earlier excitement quickly faded into sobering reality.

Lin Fan gave a bitter chuckle. "Energy... everything needs energy..."

Just then—

WARNING! WARNING! WARNING!!!

[Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Beast Approaching!]

[Overmind, immediate action required!]

Three piercing alerts rang in Lin Fan's head.

He was stunned. A ten-thousand-year soul beast? And it was coming straight toward them?

What kind of joke was this? They were in the outer forest! What would such a high-level beast be doing here?

"Neural Core, casualty report—how many units have we lost?"

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[Zero.]

Lin Fan rubbed his eyes, thinking he'd misread it.

But there it was—a big, bold 0.

"Are you sure we haven't lost any Zerg units?"

[Confirmed. This ten-thousand-year soul beast appears non-aggressive.]

That only confused Lin Fan further.

Frowning, he closed his eyes and connected to the vision of a surface-level Hydralisk.

Through its eyes, he saw a young girl standing beneath a large tree.

She looked like she was only around thirteen or fourteen.

Her delicate features were flushed with a rosy tint, and her face had a youthful softness—like a ripe peach, almost tempting one to take a bite.

Though dressed simply, her clothes were clean and neat.

Her long black hair was tied into a scorpion braid that fell past her hips. Her large, glistening eyes were filled with fear as she looked around at the countless Zerg units surrounding her.

Lin Fan stared with a strange look on his face. "You're telling me... this is the ten-thousand-year soul beast?"

[Correct. She is emitting the energy signature of a ten-thousand-year soul beast.]

Wait a second...

Scorpion braid. Long hair. A young girl. Ten-thousand-year soul beast...

Why did this seem so familiar?

Suddenly, it hit him like lightning!

No way... isn't this Xiao Wu?!

Eyes wide, Lin Fan examined her again closely.

There was no doubt.

This girl—was definitely Xiao Wu!

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