# Chapter 6: Activated Fungal Network (Eighth Rank): Greatly increases fungal carpet strength and bio-energy conversion speed.
...
The insect nest had advanced to the eighth rank. Among the combat units, only the Demon Beasts had been upgraded. The combat effectiveness of the elite Demon Beasts would need to be tested in actual combat. Each elite Demon Beast cost 50 points of bio-energy to cultivate.
Compared to insect race troop types, the improvements to insect race buildings were more significant. Buildings that could not be constructed before could now be built. Without a doubt, the highest priority had to be the "Perception Tower" and "Research Lab." The former possessed an extremely high perception rank, while the latter was the hope for developing plasma weapons.
The "Research Lab" required no management or control—in fact, it couldn't be controlled at all. This insect building had to be placed inside the nest, with a sealed structure. Inside, the "Fusion Host Bugs" would gather all existing knowledge and genes to create new insect race buildings.
After completing her advancement, Jila lay down on a bed made of biological tissue and fell asleep, exhausted to her limits.
Su Xiao checked the Mother Nest's data and learned that it was still undergoing transformation. To obtain the most accurate information, he would need to wait one hour.
Leaving the Mother Nest, Su Xiao saw the re-expanded fungal carpet. Its area was much larger than before, reaching a diameter of three kilometers.
Don't think this was large. All of their building insect units had to be established on the fungal carpet; otherwise, they couldn't receive bio-energy supply from the Mother Nest, and those insect buildings would wither away in no time.
Using mental commands, Su Xiao summoned over a hundred Worker Scorpions. These Worker Scorpions quietly stopped around him, awaiting orders.
Once the bio-energy accumulated to 15,000 points, Su Xiao established the most practical and cheapest insect building—the Perception Tower.
Bio-energy was consumed slowly. A Worker Scorpion retrieved a base sprout from the Mother Nest, chose a suitable location, and placed the sprout. Then they absorbed bio-energy into their bodies. Before long, they spat out a gray-green living tissue from their mouths, using this as the main structure to build the Perception Tower.
A Perception Tower several dozen meters tall was constructed by the Worker Scorpions in about half an hour. A fluorescent green light glowed on the fungal carpet beneath the tower. With the conduction of bio-energy, the top of the Perception Tower lit up.
Thump~
A wave swept through. Su Xiao activated the Hunter's tracking authority. He wanted the map template. A map appeared before his eyes. Most positions on this map were black, with only the areas Beini had explored having simple markings.
As the Perception Tower's pulse swept through, a large area on the map before Su Xiao suddenly lit up. With the Mother Nest as the center, the map of the surrounding hundred kilometers all "lit up."
Su Xiao went to the base of the Perception Tower, placed one hand on it, and attempted a mental connection. The next moment, he felt his perception range suddenly expand to an exaggerated degree. This was the Perception Tower's shared perception.
Most of the scenery within a hundred kilometers was visible at a glance. However, at the far western edge, there was an area that could not be observed. That was part of the direct territory of the Insect Mother Queen, Kara. But she couldn't probe the range covered by their Perception Tower either.
Su Xiao could confirm that the Insect Mother Queen, Kara, had already sensed Jila's advancement to Mother Queen rank. Yet there was still no movement from that side. This was different from the rumored cruel queen.
Just as Su Xiao was about to disconnect from the Perception Tower, he sensed two auras from over a dozen kilometers away. He had seen both of them before. One was Shenfu, and the other was the Undead Girl.
Setting aside why these two were traveling together, their current direction was clearly toward their Mother Nest.
Su Xiao frowned. He had traded with the Undead Girl several times before. They were acquaintances who didn't interact frequently. However, after entering a world, friend or foe sometimes depended on one's position. They might have been fighting to the death in the previous world, then cooperating in the next.
Su Xiao ordered all Demon Beasts to hide. Their Mother Nest had just advanced to the eighth rank and hadn't yet formed formidable combat power. Hiding their strength now would make those two more cautious.
As Su Xiao judged, the Undead Girl and Shenfu were indeed heading toward their Mother Nest. Before long, they stopped a hundred meters in front of the nest.
The Undead Girl wore an oversized soft cloth witch hat nearly 1.2 meters in diameter, with a light black robe dress that was slightly form-fitting. Her long sleeves almost covered her fingers.
"We meet in the Primordial World."
The Undead Girl spoke. Her gaze was clear, without hostility.
"Bai Ye, as a host, won't you invite us in to sit?"
Shenfu's face still wore a kind and benevolent smile, but this old bastard went straight for the kill.
...
Su Xiao turned and walked into the Mother Nest, sending a mental command to Jila, telling her to temporarily hide in the nest's core area.
Su Xiao led the Undead Girl and Shenfu into a nest chamber. With his manipulation, a temporary window appeared. A transparent biological membrane replaced the glass, letting in sunlight that brightened the chamber.
All three sat down. After Shenfu and the Undead Girl exchanged glances, Shenfu was about to speak but was interrupted by the Undead Girl. She said:
"I've traded with Bai Ye several times. In my understanding, Bai Ye is much more trustworthy than you, so I'll speak plainly."
"Of course, that's your freedom."
Shenfu finished speaking and listened with a smile.
"It's like this, Bai Ye. Have you... seen this thing before?"
The Undead Girl took out a withered heart. This heart was black, dried up to the size of an egg, and covered with dense, fine holes. Just looking at it gave an ominous feeling.
Seeing this, Su Xiao's gaze turned serious. He had not only seen this thing—he also had one.
Where did this come from? The answer was: after using [Beginning of Nightmare], one would obtain this "Withered Heart." Su Xiao had used [Beginning of Nightmare] to enter this world. He had obtained it from the Honor Shop, spending 1 Diamond Honor Medal.
Some items in the Honor Shop were not unique. For example, [Beginning of Nightmare] was a double-edged sword. It wasn't something one would dare to use after obtaining it. Otherwise, it wouldn't have the giveaway price of 1 Diamond Honor Medal. The price represented that although this item was rare, it wasn't as precious as imagined.
Ask this: what was the greatest risk of using [Beginning of Nightmare]? Awakening the dangers within this world, causing it to reach Nightmare difficulty? No. The most dangerous thing was encountering someone who had also used [Beginning of Nightmare].
At this moment, the Undead Girl took out the "Withered Heart," indicating that she had also used [Beginning of Nightmare] to enter this world.
Previously, Shenfu had mentioned that after using [Beginning of Nightmare], one would be called a disaster star. Why was that? Because after someone used [Beginning of Nightmare], they would awaken the deep-seated dangers within the world they entered, causing the world's difficulty to super-double.
...
Su Xiao didn't speak. Since things had come to this, there was no need to hide. He also took out his "Withered Heart."
Seeing the "Withered Heart" in Su Xiao's hand, the Undead Girl, sitting diagonally across, supported her forehead with one hand. Her brain was buzzing.
If Su Xiao had super-doubled the difficulty of this world, then the Undead Girl, who had also used [Beginning of Nightmare], had made a strong assist. On top of the super-doubling, there was another super-doubling. It could be confirmed that when the dangers of this world erupted, it would definitely not be as simple as Nightmare difficulty.
Su Xiao had been wondering earlier why this world was so peaceful at the beginning, yet he had a constant uneasy feeling, as if some danger was stirring. Now it seemed that with two people using [Beginning of Nightmare] to enter this world, how could the danger not be stirring?
The reason the danger of this world hadn't erupted was clearly that it was building up a big move.
"Ahem~, you two, there's something I'm not sure if I should mention."
Shenfu spoke. Hearing this, Su Xiao and the Undead Girl both looked at him.
"Ahem~"
Shenfu coughed lightly with an awkward yet polite expression. Then he also took out a "Withered Heart" from his bosom. This meant... he had also used [Beginning of Nightmare] to enter this world. No wonder he was so familiar with the characteristics of [Beginning of Nightmare] before. Heaven knows where he, as a Violator, had obtained [Beginning of Nightmare].
Inside the nest chamber, the three each held a "Withered Heart," looked at each other, and said nothing.