Chapter 1

Drip, drip. The water droplets from the stalactites fell into the puddles, producing a series of light sounds.

In the dark and damp cave, a beam of light shone on the rock wall, casting a bluish-green halo.

Suddenly, a shadow flashed across the light.

It was an arm, a bloodstained arm.

Tang Fang subconsciously touched the ground, which was damp and slippery, with a slight gritty feel.

"Where am I?"

His head still throbbed slightly, and his mind was filled with many disorganized fragments of memories—sometimes the hissing of bloodthirsty insect swarms, sometimes the dazzling flashes of intense gunfire, sometimes the undulating, model-like curves of a sand table, and sometimes the pickled cucumber-like old face of his company boss.

He strained to open his eyes, and all he saw was darkness. Apart from the rhythmic sound of water droplets splashing, there was only a putrid smell like that of braised pork.

He forced himself to move his limbs, and a sharp, burning pain came from below his right knee. When he touched it, it felt sticky. Gathering his remaining strength, he moved forward half a foot and examined it under the light. It was a large bloodstain.

"Hisss."

Tang Fang drew a sharp breath, unable to understand how he had gone from lying on a hospital bed, staring at the ceiling, to being here, and even more disgustingly, bringing his leg injury with him.

He straightened his body and tried to move forward another foot. He intended to grab a flashlight to look around, but when he touched it, he realized it wasn't a flashlight at all—it was a gun.

Tang Fang was genuinely startled. But when he gripped the gun and pulled it, the scene that appeared in the light made his hair stand on end.

Bodies, a ground covered with insect corpses, densely packed, numbering in the hundreds.

Yellow and green liquids were splattered everywhere, on the rocks, in the crevices, and even on the stalactites, dripping down drop by drop.

Tang Fang's hand trembled, and his grip loosened, causing the gun to tilt downward, sweeping over his body.

A foot-long, cockroach-like insect corpse lay on its back, a hole in its abdomen, dripping green bodily fluid.

His scalp tingled, and he didn't know where he got the strength to push himself backward. But when he pressed his hands on a rock covered in insect bodily fluid, they slipped, and his head tilted back, hitting the rocky ground with a thud.

Buzz, a wave of dizziness and vertigo washed over him. Fragmented memories in his mind reassembled and flashed by like a movie.

Tang Yan, the original owner of this body; age 24, occupation: soldier; rank: sergeant, squad communicator.

Mission objective: Investigate the thermal energy reaction in the underground caverns of the α-103 region and determine the mineral type.

Mission location: Planet 5, α-103 region, Salton star system.

"α-103? Salton star system?" Tang Fang was stunned for a moment, his thoughts swirling. A piece of information flashed through his mind: May 25, 2267.

"May 25, 2267?" 253 years, 253 years had passed! Traveling back in time wasn't unusual, nor was traveling to a parallel universe, but he had actually traveled forward in time, ending up 253 years in the future.

This was the Great Galactic Era. There were no guns or gunpowder for him to invent, no novels or movies to plagiarize, and he wasn't a spoiled child of a noble family. He was just an ordinary cannon fodder soldier, and any stray bullet could end his life, leaving only a photo in a coffin.

Of course, "that day" could be far away, or it could be today.

Though the surface of Planet 5 appeared barren and desolate, with no sign of life, beneath the surface, it was like a woman who used sweat as perfume—cavernous, hairy, and not short of water.

Take these insects, for example, each with sharp fangs and teeth. If they got close, it would mean a quick and brutal death. Fortunately, they had all been killed by Tang Yan.

After confirming there was no immediate danger, he gritted his teeth, took a medical gel from his supply pack, and applied it to the wound on his right knee under the light. A cool sensation penetrated his skin, easing the burning pain.

Heaving a sigh of relief, he moved his body backward and leaned against a rock, trying to make himself more comfortable. But when he slapped his hand down, it landed directly on an insect corpse.

"Bad luck." He cursed, trying to shake off the sticky bodily fluid.

Suddenly, a voice without emotion echoed in his mind: "Unknown DNA sequence detected, diagnostic program initiated..."

"Diagnosis complete, confirmed as a suitable Zerg."

"Reconstructing gene structure, gene level E, research tree unlocked, technology level 1, 'Spawning Pool' building unlocked."

"Life energy collected, quantity 250."

"..."

"Switching host operation..."

As the cursor flashed, a scene appeared before Tang Fang's eyes.

Three very clear images: on the left, a circular hatchery stood on a purple fungal mat, with six sharp claws hanging high. In the middle were five large, intestine-like channels that constantly wriggled. Next to it was a drone (worker), a larva that swam around the hatchery like a sea cucumber, and a large, ugly queen that floated around.

The middle image was gray, with a soaring eagle emblem, representing humans.

On the right was a golden, glowing flame symbol, representing the Protoss.

Tang Fang was stunned. Wasn't this the game "StarCraft II" he used to play? He had even ranked in the top ten on the "ladder" back then. How could it suddenly appear in his mind?

Thinking about the content of the unfamiliar voice and the strange phenomenon before him, he deduced that the insect corpses had activated a StarCraft system embedded in his body.

He wasn't skilled at fighting with guns, but he was very familiar with this game. With a click of the mouse and a press of a hotkey, he directed the drone to burrow into the fungal mat, and a pulsating, heart-like structure appeared near the hatchery.

"Damn hands!" He couldn't help but curse himself. At a time like this, he was still playing games.

Shifting his thoughts to the present, he put the Zerg base out of his mind and tried to stand up, pressing his hands on the ground. The medical gel was truly effective; in just a few minutes, his leg had healed enough for him to hobble along.

He lifted the gun and surveyed his surroundings. This was a low-lying area, far from the cave's ceiling. The place where he had fallen was about eight meters high, making it impossible to climb back up.

Now, he had only two options: the first was to follow a nearby bend and find a way back to the base. The second was to sit here and wait for his teammates to rescue him.

The first option was very dangerous. Who knew where that bend led? If it was the insects' nest, his life would be in grave danger. As for the second option, recalling the circumstances of his fall, he found it strange.

He remembered being pushed by a teammate and slipping into the pit. Logically, they should have stopped to rescue him, but why did they both leave without a word?