Monster Paradise

The scene before Lin Huang changed dramatically as soon as the voice came from the sky. The ruins beneath his feet disappeared completely, and so did the Virtual Eyes and hives above his head.

They were replaced by vast starry space.

Lin Huang was hovering in the air without having anything to hold onto. To his utmost relief, the seven God Figurine’s Combat Souls were still there with him.

He was amazed to be in space for the first time.

He had never left Earth before he traveled there. Apart from seeing how outer space looked like in films, he had never had any outer space experience at all. In reality, apart from professional astronauts, nobody else on Earth had the qualifications to explore space.

After a fleeting moment of amazement, Lin Huang soon snapped back to his senses and recalled that he was still in a trial.

“So, what’s this additional trial going to be?” Lin Huang looked around skeptically.

Apart from a few planets of various sizes not far away and some stars that had different levels of brightness in the distance, there was nothing else around. The entire space was quiet and peaceful.

Although that was the case, Lin Huang knew something was up.

Just when he was going to ask the voice a question, a nearby¹ planet was orbiting slowly towards his direction.

Since there were no stars around and the distance of the planet was not that far away, all Lin Huang could see was a giant silhouette ball coming his way.

When the gigantic planet got closer, Lin Huang saw what it really looked like. He was in shock at that very moment.

He could not estimate the size of the ‘planet’ since there was no standard reference around. However, he felt it was definitely bigger than Earth.

However, the ‘planet’ was actually a gigantic hive.

Lin Huang could even see the dense holes which looked like brood boxes that filled the entire surface of the hive clearly. It was a little hard for him to imagine exactly how many bug monsters could such an enormous hive contain.

There were two smaller hives like satellites that hovered on both sides of the giant hives. Lin Huang estimated they were similar to the size of the moon.

“I’ve never thought that I’ll see a galactic hive in such a trial.” The stone tablet’s voice came gently.

“A galactic hive?” It was Lin Huang’s first time hearing that name.

“A galactic hive is a giant hive that travels in the galaxy,” the stone tablet explained, “Just like the one right in front of you.

“Apart from its gigantic size and the ability to travel in a galaxy, how is it different from an ordinary hive?” Lin Huang asked.

“Most ordinary hives are built by bugs that have been given birth to and are led by a queen. Therefore, each hive is made of one type of bug monster. Even though they have different responsibilities in the hive whereby they even have different physical structures, they’re the same type of monster by nature.

“However, it’s a different case for galactic hives. The galactic hive is made of at least five types of bug monsters to carry out a detailed streamline to form a complete ecological system. This is also why the galactic hive can travel in space for thousands or even up to 10,000 years without any supplies.

“Each galactic hive is a mobile gigantic battle fortress. They even have military divisions specializing in setting battle strategies. They also have Bug Tribe generals who are experts in leadership, whereby even fighters of different tribes will work together instead of killing each other.”

“Different tribes living in the same hive? Won’t they fight?” Lin Huang asked, feeling puzzled. “Moreover, the tribe leaders such as the mothers and queens are usually extremely territorial. How could they allow leaders of other tribes to stay in the same hive?”

“Fights are inevitable. It’s allowed as long as they don’t cross the line. After all, most Bug Tribe members are rough, and they need to vent when there’re no battles for them to fight.”

“As for the territorial nature you mentioned, all tribe leaders definitely have that, but these Bug Tribe leaders are smarter than you think. Not only is their intelligence higher than an ordinary person’s, but it’s even slightly higher. They know very well that working together brings great benefits. They also know the importance of collaboration, so naturally, they put their territorial nature aside. Moreover, the galactic hive is massive. Compared to before, their territory didn’t shrink. Instead, it’s bigger now. It’s just that other tribes are closer to them. That’s all.”

“What about the smaller hives on both sides? Are those galactic hives too?” Lin Huang had his eyes trained on the size of the mini hive of the moon now.

“Those are the affiliate hives. Galactic hives grow from going into battles of all kinds, and they fight each other sometimes. The tribes whose abilities are recognized can join the main hive and own a place there. Those that aren’t recognized will be enslaved. The tribes that are enslaved can’t be added to the main hive. They can only stay in the affiliate hives.

“In every battle, the tribes in the affiliate hives will be the leading soldiers sent to test their opponents’ abilities. In other words, they are cannon fodders.”

“They have social classes too?!” Lin Huang could not believe it.

“Of course, the Bug Tribe has very clear ranks and each rank is extremely solid. Their identities are made permanent almost as soon as they were born. Some are born mothers, some are born queens, some are fighters while some are born to be merely handymen.”

“They’re even crueler than humans!” Lin Huang could not help but exclaim, “At least, humans can learn from reading and personal development to remedy the deficiencies they are born with in order to improve their personal situations and destinies. However, the physical structures and intelligence of different social classes that the Bug Tribe monsters are born with are hard to change from their hard work that comes later.”

The stone tablet smiled and stopped dwelling on the topic of social class with Lin Huang. He proceeded to speak, “The galactic hive is the ultimate mode of a hive. For such a hive, even the lowest level has at least virtual god-level powerhouses guarding it. Moreover, under normal circumstances, the bigger its size, the more tribes there are. The more affiliate hives they own, the more powerful the hive’s overall ability is.”

“Judging by the size of the galactic hive before you, it’s just a mediocre level-one. The most powerful bug monster that’s guarding it inside shouldn’t exceed Virtual God rank-9.”

Lin Huang and the stone tablet’s consciousness seemed like they were discussing many things, but in reality, the conversation only took a second or two.

Just when he was done talking with the stone tablet, the giant hive before Lin Huang stopped near him. The two moon-sized affiliate hives moved forward slowly, blocking the space between Lin Huang and the giant hive.

As Lin Huang watched them calmly, a sea of monster armies rushed out of the two affiliate hives at an alarming speed.

¹Author’s Note: The distance here is calculated by the relative distance between each planet in space. For instance, the distance between the Earth and the moon is 384,400 kilometers on average.