I can upgrade the shelter-Chapter 646 - 544: "Insect" Disaster

Through the dissection and study of the collected biological samples, Chen Xin and the biologists finally gained some understanding of these alien creatures.

This is a very peculiar organism, possessing a group structure similar to ants or bees, with clear divisions of labor among individuals and even significant differences in body size.

If not for discovering a large number of not yet fully incubated but already possessing basic forms of embryos within the nest and the broodmother's body, Chen Xin would not have believed that two such vastly different types of individuals could be the same species.

There are currently four types of individuals identified among these alien organisms. The first type is the gigantic broodmother seen by Chen Xin and his team in the cave. This monstrosity exceeds ten meters in length, and although much of its biomass was lost after being killed, it is estimated to weigh over thirty tons in a complete state.

However, despite its massive size, the broodmother has little mobility. Although it has numerous appendages for walking under its body, like a queen ant, it has essentially lost its ability to move and has become a large birthing machine.

A biologist involved in the research speculated that this broodmother might be very similar to an ant queen. Before starting to reproduce, its body might not have been so heavy and large, but upon reaching the nest, its body undergoes certain changes, such as the swelling and development of reproductive organs for breeding offspring and progeny.

Chen Xin and the other biologists, after discussion, also found this viewpoint highly plausible.

This is because over two-thirds of the broodmother's body is an exaggeratedly swollen abdomen, not only swollen to a nearly transparent extent but also filled with copious amounts of fluid and progeny embryos. More than half of the over thirty tons of weight is attributed to this enormous abdomen.

The information obtained from the dissection of the broodmother is naturally not limited to this, and what intrigued Chen Xin the most was its brain.

As known, an organism's intelligence is closely related to brain capacity. Larger brain capacity does not necessarily mean higher intelligence, but it does provide the potential for constructing more complex neural networks.

During the dissection of the broodmother, a brain weighing more than one hundred kilograms was revealed to Chen Xin and the biologists.

While such a large brain might not be surprising for a creature weighing over thirty tons, thorough analysis suggested the broodmother possesses extremely high intelligence, even capable of controlling and commanding all its progeny.

Moreover, what shocked everyone further was that the broodmother directed and controlled its progeny not through the usual pheromones of ants or bees but bioelectrical signals.

Near the broodmother's brain, Chen Xin and the team found a special organ capable of emitting electromagnetic waves using bioelectric discharge, thus transmitting radio-like signals.

This greatly shocked Chen Xin and the biologists, as well as everyone else who learned of this fact.

No species on Blue Planet seems to have evolved such an extraordinary organ as biowireless communication, nor is it necessary for animals.

After all, information transmission among animals is not overly complex. A combination of pheromones, body movements, and sounds is usually sufficient to convey everything.

But a biowireless system? How did it evolve? Why does this species need to develop such an information transmission organ? What kind of environment do they live in that necessitates this mode of communication?

However, through dissecting other progeny, Chen Xin and the team suspected that this species might be a collective with a certain level of intelligence, capable of communicating through radio waves and forming a unified entity.

This is unlike a pride of lions or a troop of monkeys but structured like an ant colony or beehive, with a more efficient communication mode and each individual possessing a certain level of intelligence...

This led Chen Xin to wonder if this species is starting to evolve into the kind of swarm depicted in science fiction.

Though there is no evidence, after dissecting all the biological specimens, Chen Xin became increasingly concerned that this fear might become reality.

Among the three other types of progeny, there is the combat progeny that Chen Xin had previously encountered. Their bodies are covered in a thick chitinous exoskeleton, providing substantial defense. Their anatomical structure is similar to feline animals, possessing remarkable agility, speed, and strength, with a significant population, akin to soldier ants in an ant colony. 𝘧𝓇𝑒𝑒𝑤ℯ𝑏𝓃𝘰𝑣ℯ𝘭.𝘤ℴ𝘮

Another type seen by Chen Xin and the team in the cave resembles worker ants or bees. They are about half the size of combat progeny and have a less dense chitinous exoskeleton, but their insect-like forelimbs are specialized for digging and can rapidly extend like a mantis shrimp, resembling a combination of a hammer and a shovel.

Upon seeing this type of progeny, Chen Xin gradually understood why there were excavation traces in the cave. Obviously, the cave was dug out by these progeny bit by bit.

As for the fourth type of progeny, Chen Xin and his team did not find any living specimens. The only individual sample was an underdeveloped embryo extracted from the broodmother's body.

The embryo is large, more than three times the size of the embryos of the other two progeny types, leading Chen Xin and the biologists at first to believe it was the broodmother's embryo.

However, further dissection and study revealed it to be an unknown fourth type of progeny.

What this progeny is meant for remains uncertain, as there is too little information available, and since the research has just begun, it is clear that more time is needed to unravel all the information.

Just as Chen Xin arranged for the Research Center to initiate a project allowing the biologists to continue researching these alien organisms, news came from Junshan Island that the military had bombed the entire island.

This startled Chen Xin.

Although air support and strategic bombing had been applied for at the time, after clearing all progeny in the cave, the group of alien creatures had been eliminated, and the airstrike was canceled. But why, after the bodies have been brought back for dissection, did the military start bombing?

As Chen Xin stood puzzled, more information came in, shocking him completely.

New caves and tunnels had appeared on Junshan Island, with large numbers of combat progeny pouring out, compelling the military to conduct large-scale bombings to eliminate the aliens breaking through the ground.

Moreover, not only on Junshan Island but throughout the Dongting Lake Area, there were similar sightings of alien organisms becoming increasingly rampant.