At about 19 hours and 30 minutes, the mother nest started changing its forum. Under the Hope’s careful surveillance, it slowly changed to adopt the trademarked genetic code. Before its death, it put on the most grotesque freak show mankind had ever seen…

In about 10 seconds, the mother nest flattened itself to a skin-like organism. Its thickness was about 10 centimeters, and it looked ready to completely envelop a planet.

The piece of skin graft unfurled before mankind’s eyes with surprising speed. Even at the Hope’s distance, one could see it expanding. It grew larger and larger, expanding at an exponential rate.

Numerous bulbous growths emerged on the side that faced the sun. They were mini particle flux accelerators. Their purpose was obviously to slow the acceleration down.

However…

It was already too close to the sun. The most generous estimation put it at about 30,000 kilometers away from the sun. It was already within the sun’s gravitational range. The sun’s high temperature and pressure were pulling it towards its death!

"Its speed continues to drop, 400 kilometers per second…

"300 kilometers per second…

"200 kilometers per second…

"It’s burning…"

The skin organism slowly caught on fire like a piece of paper. However, it kept growing and decreasing in speed. Alas, it was too late. It fell into the sun, into a place where the Hope’s surveillance couldn’t keep up anymore, and the screen went completely white…

At the same time, in a cordoned off internet café sat Xiao Niao. He gained entry by using his trooper’s privilege. He chose his usual table and switched on the game, Star Craft 3. He stared at the familiar main menu until he eventually fell asleep. 6 hours had pa.s.sed when he woke up next.

He was feeling groggy until the ID ZERO joined his server. He sat up straight in his seat, feeling suddenly refreshed.

"Noob, you’re here?" Xiao Niao typed hurriedly.

"I’m not a noob! I’ve proven you wrong, haven’t I? I’ve presented to you the actual Zerg in s.p.a.ce! Qi Xiao Niao!"

"Yes, that is definitely a Zerg. but I’m more interested in knowing what are you, ZERO."

ZERO kept up a long silence. When Xiao Niao thought he had gone offline, the reply came.

"I am ZERO, the beginning as you humanfolk put it…"

"As we humanfolk? Does this mean you’re not one of us? Then who, or what, are you? The Hope itself, or an alien? G.o.d or demon?"

ZERO retreated into silence once more. Xiao Niao waited patiently and eventually his patience paid off. ZERO replied, "I was born on Earth, but differently… from mankind. I have no honest answer as to what I am, but I’m sure I’m not an a… Furthermore, there is no G.o.d in s.p.a.ce, but there is indeed a demon race, the kind described in your bible."

Xiao Niao looked curiously at the answers. He couldn’t understand it. He replied, "You said you were born on Earth but not a human…"

Suddenly, it hit Xiao Niao and he typed excitedly, "I know, are you from Atlantis? This means you’re a merman or a mermaid?"

ZERO’s reply came instantly this time. "No, I’m not from Atlantis, not a merfolk, I’m… a pure spiritual life force if I have to describe it, something akin to your humankind’s understanding of a plasmatic life form…"

"What the h.e.l.l is a plasmatic life form…" Xiao Niao groused. He was a thinker, but he was no scientist, so the scientific term proved to be a tumble for him.

"But speaking of pure spiritual life force, this means you’re an angel? So you were telling the truth when you said you're a girl. Wait a minute… angels can be men or even transgendered. I’ve seen plenty of angelic men in sailor outfits before in anime. Are you one of those?"

"… Do you hate men?" ZERO asked suddenly.

"Hate is too harsh a word. But my typical impression for an angel is a female, so discovering that she is actually he would come as a bit of a disappointment," Xiao Niao replied after some thought.

"Then you can just treat me as a female, but in any case, I’m not an angel… I’m leaving, seems like the Zerg crisis is over. Be thankful that I’ve kept a tab on it, greatly decreasing its cellular decoding capability to buy you extra time… So don’t call me a noob again," ZERO typed.

Xiao Niao responded immediately, "So how could I find you next? Err… for multiplayer games like Star Craft 3, Civilization 7. The more the merrier, right? Plus, as you’ve said, the Zerg crisis is over, I foresee an extended relaxation time for games…"

"…I will find you when I need to and… The peace won’t last for long because the program is still running, there will never be peace unless the civilization breaks through the level 9 limit or finds the ‘key’…"

And ZERO logged off.

Xiao Niao had gotten a lot of useful information. He had said many insignificant things, but the final purpose was to drag as much information out of ZERO as he could. A majority of the things ZERO revealed were within his expectations. Now he needed to find a secluded place, one where the possibility of eavesdropping and spying was nilch, to discuss it over with Yao Yuan, to request his aid to set a trap…

The only thing that worried him from the conversation was ZERO’s parting sentence. What did he mean by peace wouldn’t last long? What program was still running? What is the level 9 limitation? And what is the "key?"

These were beyond his comprehension.

As he walked out of the internet café, he heard cheers resounding through the crowd. People were running up and down the corridors in celebratory fas.h.i.+on. They danced, they laughed and they cheered. The reason for their celebration was…

Mankind had won! Victory was theirs!

They had a planet with a blue sky, blue sea, and lush greenery waiting for them to discover…

And to architect into mankind’s new home planet!