Interstellar Zergs are creatures that seem to appear out of thin air. There is no intelligence about them, only that they are instinctively warlike and will subconsciously devour any living beings within their perception, even to the point of cannibalizing their own kind.
If they descend upon a planet, it would be a catastrophic disaster for all life on that world.
Interstellar Zergs generally appear alongside the emergence of Cosmic Insect Nests.
As for Cosmic Insect Nests, there is currently no scientific explanation for their appearance.
They are also known as Cosmic Rifts, Interstellar Fissures, and so on.
It is as if a fissure suddenly appears in the universe, from which Interstellar Zergs pour out, launching attacks on surrounding planets.
If left unchecked, these Interstellar Zergs will devour all life on a planet, reproduce more of their kind, and then spread to surrounding planets and star systems.
The duration of Cosmic Insect Nests varies—some last longer, some shorter; some are larger, some smaller. Different scales of Cosmic Insect Nests will produce different scales of Interstellar Zergs.
In this regard, researchers of the Galactic Alliance have already established a system of classification.
They classify Cosmic Insect Nests from low to high as Level 1, Level 2, Level 3...
The classification standards are analogous to T1 technology and T2 technology.
This is because, in battles against Interstellar Zergs, it has been observed that some powerful individual Zergs possess strength comparable to that of Starships.
These Interstellar Zergs are also known as... Hive Motherships!
Hive Motherships carry large numbers of Interstellar Zergs into battle, conquering and slaughtering planet after planet.
Zhao Chen recalled the knowledge about Zergs he had learned at the North Star Starship Military Academy.
"What about the details of this mission? Is there any specific information?" Zhao Chen asked Charlotte.
Charlotte shook her head. "I've only heard general news; I don't know the specifics yet."
Zhao Chen thought for a moment, then said to Charlotte, "Go prepare immediately. Arrange for Zero Blizzard and the T2 Queen Bee-class Heavy Carrier Starship to carry full military supplies and prepare to depart at the fastest possible speed!"
"Depart? To where?" Charlotte had just asked when she realized. She looked at Zhao Chen in surprise. "Captain, you don't mean..."
"Do as I say. I'll go find a way to gather more intelligence on this matter." After giving his instructions, Zhao Chen immediately headed to the bridge of the T2 Queen Bee-class Heavy Carrier Starship.
Meanwhile, Charlotte went to Zero Blizzard to issue the orders.
During Zhao Wan'er's absence, the two of them were responsible for these two Starships respectively.
Upon arriving at the bridge, Zhao Chen immediately contacted someone.
"Hello, Mr. Zhao Chen. I am the Starport manager with code CC11. How may I assist you?" The female manager, meeting him for the third time, smiled at the man before her.
"Do you know about the Cosmic Insect Nest incident?"
The manager was taken aback, then nodded. "Are you referring to the Cosmic Insect Nest incident near asteroid P331?"
"If there aren't two Cosmic Insect Nests in this star system, then that's the one," Zhao Chen said.
"If you wish to learn more details, you can go to the headquarters where missions are issued at Arctic Fox Starport. There will be information available there," the manager replied.
"I don't have time. I need to know all the details about this mission as quickly as possible, and I also need to accept it at the fastest speed," Zhao Chen said.
"You want to take on this mission?" The female manager was startled. It had been half an hour since the bounty mission was posted, and the head of the starport had personally questioned several commanders of private fleets and adventurer fleets stationed at the starport. None were willing to accept the mission.
"Yes," Zhao Chen replied.
The female manager said, "Accepting the mission is no problem, but according to procedure, we need to register your fleet first, as well as..."
Zhao Chen interrupted, "I want it done as fast as possible! Get all this sorted within ten minutes."
"Ten minutes?" The female manager looked troubled. "These procedures are mandatory, partly for the safety of your fleet..."
Beep beep beep.
"Your account has received 1,000 Star Coins."
The female manager suddenly received a deposit notification. She glanced at it and exchanged a knowing look with Zhao Chen's holographic image.
"Due to the special nature of this mission, we can use the emergency channel. I'll try to help you make the arrangements and get back to you within ten minutes.
At the same time, I'll send you all the mission details right away." After explaining this as quickly as possible, the female manager cut off communication with Zhao Chen and proceeded through the emergency channel.
It seems money makes things easier everywhere.
Zhao Chen didn't dwell on it and began reviewing the mission details sent by the female manager.
This incident occurred three hours ago in a remote area of the Arctic Fox System, where a Level 2 Cosmic Insect Nest suddenly appeared.
Upon learning of this, the lord of the Arctic Fox System immediately ordered a fleet to be dispatched to eliminate these Interstellar Zergs.
However, a large portion of the Imperial Army originally stationed in the Arctic Fox System had been transferred not long ago.
Meanwhile, the Arctic Fox System's own lord fleet had been sent to another border battlefield to carry out a small-scale combat mission.
As a result, only a small Imperial Army fleet remained stationed in the Arctic Fox System. This small fleet had already rushed to the incident location, but the number of Interstellar Zergs was too great, and the small Imperial Army fleet alone was completely unable to suppress them.
The Arctic Fox System immediately requested assistance from neighboring star systems and the governor of the North Wind Star Domain.
The North Wind Star Domain is one of the eight major star sectors of the Stellar Glory Empire, governing sixty-three star systems, including the Fierce Dragon Star System, the North Star System, and the Arctic Fox System.
However, reinforcements would take time to reach the battlefield. The fastest reinforcements would arrive in ten hours!
According to simulations by the Arctic Fox System's high command, within these ten hours, these Interstellar Zergs would affect inhabited planets within their range, including three asteroids and one moon, with a total population of seventy million people.
The first to be attacked would be the five million residents on Asteroid p331.
Currently, there are two opinions among the Arctic Fox System's high command. One suggests abandoning Asteroid p331 and retreating to defend the other more populous planets, holding out until reinforcements arrive.
The other opinion is that Asteroid p331 can be abandoned, but all five million residents must be evacuated.
Unfortunately, the latter happened to be the opinion of the commander in charge of the last remaining small Imperial Fleet. That commander took matters into his own hands and directly ordered the fleet to head for Asteroid p331.
He also demanded that Interstellar Transport Ships be dispatched immediately to evacuate the civilians on Asteroid p331.
However, according to system calculations, relying solely on this Imperial Fleet would be completely insufficient to ensure the safe evacuation of five million people on Asteroid p331 under the assault of the Interstellar Zergs.
So, that Imperial Fleet Commander came up with an idea: since the lord fleet and the Imperial Army couldn't arrive in time, why not seek support from civilian fleets?
Thus, the current bounty mission was created.
The mission reward was a full 500,000 Star Coins, and the Fleet Commander also guaranteed that all Starship losses and consumption during the battle would be covered by the Imperial Army.
Zhao Chen rubbed his chin. Honestly, he wasn't too concerned about saving people. He wouldn't risk the lives of everyone on his two Starships just to rescue others—he didn't consider himself a savior.
But…
The corpses of Interstellar Zergs were incredibly valuable, containing multiple resources and essentially being walking treasure troves.
And as luck would have it, Zhao Chen was currently short on money.
Plus, there was the system's mission…