After all, Lin Feng had indeed been attacking the Zerg Race. He had even risked venturing deep into the Hive, utterly destroying the Nest’s guards. There was no way he could be under Ling Yi’s Spiritual Control.

This apocalyptic world was getting crazier and crazier.

The Zerg Race that invaded Blue Star was now actually cooperating with humans, fighting side-by-side.

Shen Jie sighed. But compared to the bizarre image of humans and Zergs cooperating, this strange Spirit World before him was even further beyond human comprehension.

’What would Lin Feng do if he were here?’

’And Ling Yi? The Mother Empress is a High-Tier Commander of the Zerg Race. Where on this Zerg homeworld would she be right now?’

A host of questions plagued Shen Jie, but as a RUMBLE echoed from his stomach, all his doubts vanished into thin air.

He was hungry.

He didn’t know why hunger even existed in this dreamlike Spirit World, but the weakness spreading through his limbs felt incredibly real.

Regardless, Shen Jie had to fill his stomach first. Escaping could wait until after he had eaten.

He began crawling back the way he came.

’On a planet this primitive and harsh,’ Shen Jie thought, ’the only edible things are probably those Black Spine Zergs.’

’I’m not sure if I still have my Devouring Assimilation Superpower, but how will I know if I don’t try?’

’Worst case, it’ll cost me a life. That’s still better than starving to death.’

’If Assimilation still works, I think I know how to get out of here.’

With that in mind, he crawled out from under the Hive’s volcanic rock covering and stealthily returned to where he had first appeared.

It was just as he’d expected...

The two Black Spine Zerg Swarms from before hadn’t been targeting him.

Shen Jie had just happened to appear in the middle of a battlefield.

They were two different factions of Black Spine Zergs, with subtle differences in their body markings and the structure of their Giant Mandibles.

Shen Jie, who knew Spine Zergs like the back of his hand, could tell at a glance that these Black Spine Zergs were rather primitive. Their Giant Mandibles were only about half as long as those of the Zergs that had invaded Blue Star.

Their infighting was likely a struggle for territory and resources, like a war between primitive tribes.

There was no skill or strategy to speak of.

But for that very reason, the Black Spine Zergs’ infighting was incredibly bloody, with flesh and limbs flying everywhere.

As long as there was breath left in them, they would use whatever limbs they had left to continue their frenzied counterattacks and tear their enemies apart.

Before long, this brutal, primitive battle drew to a close.

Naturally, the side with superior numbers achieved a pyrrhic victory.

Then, dragging their broken legs and mangled limbs, their bodies covered in wounds, they began to clean up the corpses on the battlefield.

They carried everything back in their mandibles—the bodies of their fallen comrades and their enemies alike.

On a primitive planet so scarce in resources, all Biomass was incredibly precious.

Nothing could be wasted.

However, the Black Spine Zergs’ bodies were not equipped to carry away the blood and scraps of flesh left on the ground.

Shen Jie was preparing to fight to the death against the Red-Armored Beetles he expected to arrive for cleanup. But to his surprise, long after the Black Spine Zerg Swarm had disappeared with its "supplies," no lower-level Zergs appeared to scour the battlefield.

’Maybe there aren’t any other Zerg types on this barren planet besides Spine Zergs?’

The more he thought about it, the more it made sense. ’After all, if even Black Spine Zergs have to rely on cannibalism to survive, how could they possibly support other, more resource-intensive types?’

At this thought, he took a deep breath and carefully crept to the edge of the battlefield. He began to gather the bloodstains from the black rocks and the bits of flesh scattered everywhere.

By lapping up the blood and chewing the scraps, Shen Jie soon felt a searing heat in his stomach. A familiar, warm current spread through his body. Not only was his State restored, but he also felt himself growing stronger.

Shen Jie subconsciously felt the sides of his elbows...

Sure enough, two long Bone Blades, only a few millimeters wide, had appeared on the sides of his arms.

’My Devouring Assimilation Superpower is still here!’

A look of joy spread across Shen Jie’s face. He continued to "clean" the battlefield, refusing to let a single scrap go to waste.

By the time he had cleaned up most of the blood, the Bone Blades on his arms had taken considerable shape, now a meter long and four centimeters wide.

They weren’t quite like their form in the Real World, and their hardness was nowhere near as terrifying as a Giant Mandible’s. But considering the Spine Zerg Swarm here hadn’t evolved to the same level as the ones back home...

Shen Jie was content just to have obtained some useful "equipment." At least the next time he faced a Black Spine Zerg, he wouldn’t be as helpless as he was before.

’Right now, I have the strength of a Ninth-level Enhanced Person. I’ll probably have to kill a live Black Spine Zerg to advance to Tier One.’

Just as Shen Jie was feeling pleased with his small gains and planning his next move...

From among the rubble left by the Zerg Swarm’s battle, a Black Spine Zerg with a broken leg suddenly charged out.

Shen Jie hadn’t expected the surprise attack.

However, his newly assimilated form activated his danger-premonition instincts, and he immediately leaped aside to dodge.

Weak from its injuries, the Black Spine Zerg was a half-beat too slow. Its swinging Giant Mandible sliced through the air where the strange life form had just been, smashing into the black rock on the ground.

Shen Jie landed and crossed his forearms defensively. After scanning the area and confirming there were no other Black Spine Zergs, his initial impulse to flee gave way to the idea of taking a risk.

’After all, a lone Black Spine Zerg is hard to come by,’ he thought, ’especially one that’s heavily injured and weakened.’

Soon, the two charged at each other.

Though the primitive Black Spine Zerg was not large and its Giant Mandibles were narrow, it was still a genuine Tier One Life Form. In terms of Physique and Power, it far surpassed Shen Jie.