"Observation satellites in position. Commencing full-spectrum scanning," reported the Tech-Priest of Navigation.
The main screen switched to a composite image transmitted back by the three observation satellites.
The panoramic view of Mar Sara showed the virus cloud spreading outward from the deployment point, forming an ever-expanding gray-green fan-shaped area.
The satellite sensors began monitoring atmospheric composition changes, surface bio-signal intensity, and any anomalous energy fluctuations.
"The virus dispersion speed is within expectations," the Tech-Priest of Technology analyzed the data. "Current coverage area is approximately 450,000 square kilometers. It is primarily dispersing eastward along the westerlies. It is projected to cover the entire temperate zone of the Eastern Hemisphere in eleven hours."
Osiris's optical lenses stared intently at the screen. The test had begun. Next, it was time to observe and record.
For the first hour after the virus deployment, no significant changes visible to the naked eye occurred on the surface of Mar Sara.
The three observation satellites continued to transmit a steady stream of data.
Atmospheric composition analysis indicated that the concentrations of carbon dioxide, methane, and several complex hydrocarbon gases within the virus cloud zone were rising slowly, but the increase remained within the range of natural fluctuations.
The surface bio-signals—primarily originating from the Swarm's creep and units—remained active, with no large-scale attenuation appearing.
"The virus is in the initial replication and dispersion phase," the Tech-Priest of the biological research team analyzed. "The design feature of the 'Reaper-7' type is its high stealth. Initial infection symptoms are inconspicuous to avoid early detection by the host's immune system or external intervention. Only when it reaches a critical mass within the host's body will it suddenly break out, completing the decomposition process in an extremely short amount of time."
Osiris received the information calmly.
This conformed to weapon design logic: a highly efficient biological extermination is best completed via irreversible infection before the target even realizes the threat exists.
By the second hour, changes began to manifest.
The westerlies pushed the virus cloud eastward by about seven hundred kilometers.
Subtle anomalies emerged in the Swarm activity data within the covered zone.
The expansion speed of the creep's edges at several locations decreased by twelve percent, and the movement trajectories of some Drone units became irregular, leading to a decline in efficiency.
The bio-signal intensity curve showed small but continuous fluctuations.
"The virus has begun to infect the Swarm's biomass," the Tech-Priest pulled up high-resolution imagery. "Sporadic, irregular discolored spots have appeared on the surface of the creep. This is an early sign that the cellular structure is beginning to disintegrate. The metabolic rate of infected Drone units has risen abnormally, but their resource transportation efficiency has decreased, indicating that their internal biochemical processes are being disrupted."
By the third hour, the infection effect accelerated.
The coverage area of the virus cloud expanded to one million square kilometers.
Approximately one-quarter of the Swarm-controlled territory in the Eastern Hemisphere's temperate zone was now exposed to the viral environment.
Footage transmitted back by the observation satellites showed the discolored spots on the creep beginning to merge into sheets, forming patches of gray-white necrotic areas.
In some regions, slight blister-like ridges even appeared on the surface of the creep—the initial manifestation of gas generated by the decomposition of internal organic matter.
The anomalies among the Swarm units became even more pronounced.
Not just Drones, but Zerglings and Hydralisks also began to exhibit symptoms: movement speeds slowed, aggressiveness decreased, and some units wandered aimlessly or became completely stationary.
Bio-signal intensity began to drop on a regional scale.
"The transmission efficiency of the virus within the Swarm network is higher than expected," the Tech-Priest reported. "The Swarm units connect via pheromones, bio-electric signals, and a potential hive mind, which ironically accelerates the spread of the virus. The infection seems capable of secondary transmission through the Swarm's internal connection network."
Osiris recorded this observation.
The collective nature of the Swarm granted them powerful coordination capabilities, but it could also become a fatal weakness—once a certain threat could transmit through this connection, the entire network could quickly fall.
By the sixth hour, the virus had spread across the entire Eastern Hemisphere.
The infection symptoms erupted completely.
Vast areas of the creep entirely lost vitality, transforming from resilient, purple biomass into a dried, gray-white, brittle necrotic layer.
The necrotic areas expanded at a speed visible to the naked eye, like a prairie fire burning massive gray-white holes into the purple carpet.
Swarm units began to collapse on a massive scale.
The carapaces of infected Zerglings and Hydralisks lost their luster, viscous decomposition fluid oozed from their joints, and their mobility dropped sharply until they were completely paralyzed.
Many units collapsed directly onto the creep, their bodies softening and liquefying at an astonishing speed, ultimately turning into puddles of yellow-green sludge and releasing pungent gases.
The deaths of the Drones were even more productive—before dying, they would instinctively return to the nearest Hatchery or resource node, bringing the virus directly into the core of the Swarm's infrastructure.
"Massive biomass decomposition signals detected," the Tech-Priest's voice carried a hint of data-driven excitement. "Within the infected zone, the rate of organic carbon converting into low-carbon alkane gases has increased by three orders of magnitude. The concentrations of methane, ethane, and propane in the atmosphere are rising sharply. Simultaneously, a large amount of biomass sludge has accumulated on the surface, primarily composed of decomposed proteins, fat residues, and inorganic salts."
On the satellite imagery, the originally purple Swarm-controlled zones were being replaced by two new colors: vast stretches of gray-white necrotic areas, interspersed with yellow-green sludge pits.
The Swarm's activity signals dissipated rapidly like an ebbing tide.
By the twelfth hour, the virus crossed the equator and began invading the Western Hemisphere.
The Swarm in the Eastern Hemisphere had fundamentally lost all organization.
Sixty-five percent of the creep was necrotic, and seventy-eight percent of the Swarm units had lost their life signals.
The remaining Swarm units were scattered sporadically in zones that were not yet completely infected, but they seemed plunged into chaos—some attempted to attack their decomposing kin, some wandered aimlessly, and others gathered around uninfected Hatcheries as if seeking shelter.
The Swarm was not entirely without reaction.
In the uninfected regions of the Western Hemisphere, some adaptive changes were observed: the surface of the creep secreted more mucus, seemingly attempting to block the virus from adhering.
Some Swarm units began to actively avoid infected areas; a small number of Hydralisks were even observed spraying acidic spores into the air, likely a primitive and ineffective attempt at resistance.
But the transmission speed of the virus was far faster than any potential evolution or adaptation by the Swarm.
The collective will of the Swarm might be able to command billions of units to fight in concert, but when facing this microscopic biochemical threat replicating at an exponential rate, their reactions appeared sluggish and inefficient.
"The Swarm lacks an effective defense mechanism against microscopic biological threats," Osiris analyzed. "Their evolution focuses on physical confrontation and environmental adaptation, but they have no ready-made countermeasures against a virus that directly attacks their biochemical foundation. The hive mind might attempt to reallocate resources or alter physiological structures, but that requires time—and the virus grants no time."
By the eighteenth hour, large-scale infection symptoms began to emerge in the Western Hemisphere.
The dispersion of the virus cloud was slightly slower than in the Eastern Hemisphere due to atmospheric circulation patterns, but once it arrived, the effect was just as lethal.
The purple creep turned gray-white rapidly, as if splashed with a potent bleaching agent. Swarm units collapsed in droves, turning into sludge and gas.
The global atmospheric composition underwent a significant transformation.
The methane concentration had risen to 3,800 times normal levels, and heavier hydrocarbon gases like ethane and propane were also accumulating rapidly.
The satellite's atmospheric transmittance scans showed that the global atmosphere's ability to absorb specific infrared wavelengths had intensified sharply—a definitive signal of flammable gas accumulation.