Facing the Beast Ancestor once again, Shen Feng suddenly realized that even though he’d already killed its counterpart in the Parallel Cosmos, he still didn’t know this one’s name.
After all, "Beast Ancestor" was just a name he and Jingwei had coined for convenience. A sentient being like this would surely have a name of its own.
Violent electromagnetic waves rippled into the depths of the Meteorite Belt ahead, probing for the Beast Ancestor’s location.
Sensing that something was amiss, the ordinary World Beasts that formed the swarm began to converge on Shen Feng and the Mechanical World Beast.
Surrounded by the bestial swarm, Shen Feng remained completely unfazed. He simply directed the Nanomechanical Cluster, now a vast dust cloud, to continue its expansion throughout the Meteorite Belt.
’This nanomechanical dust cloud is my domain.’
"Come out! Otherwise, I’ll destroy the Space Wormhole and the Wormhole Generator. You’ll never reach the distant planet of Earth!" Shen Feng broadcasted via electromagnetic signal.
This time, a stir finally came from the darkness deep within the distant Meteorite Belt.
A violent electromagnetic wave roared toward him from the depths of the Meteorite Belt, carrying a message saturated with rage:
"Who... disturbs my rest? The Devourer will destroy all who dare to provoke!"
Upon hearing this, Shen Feng and Jingwei exchanged a look, both pursing their lips.
’So this thing calls itself the Devourer. Sounds pretty uncultured and cliché.’
A colossal shadow smashed through one spinning, hurtling meteorite after another, making its way toward Shen Feng.
Judging by its Moon-sized silhouette, it was none other than the Beast Ancestor!
The Beast Ancestor tore through the dust cloud of the Nanomechanical Cluster, a vanguard of thousands of displaced meteorites preceding it, and came to a stop several dozen kilometers from Shen Feng.
It had a rugged, mottled carapace like magnified toad skin, countless giant tentacles that danced like serpents, and rows of sharp limbs capable of cleaving an asteroid. Its gaping maw was a vortex to Hell, and its eye resembled Jupiter’s Great Red Spot.
Even though he’d seen it once before, Shen Feng couldn’t help but let out an involuntary whistle upon seeing the Beast Ancestor again.
This Beast Ancestor, the self-proclaimed Devourer, looked far too much like a nightmare torn from mankind’s Cthulhu mythos.
But this was one nightmare he was about to give a rude awakening.
The Devourer Beast Ancestor fixed its massive eye on Shen Feng and Jingwei. A glint of intelligence flickered within it, a flicker of confusion mixed with anger and contempt.
It had realized that the ones who had come to provoke it were these two tiny, insignificant creatures—nothing more than specks of dust!
"The Devourer, is it?" Shen Feng’s Silicon-Based Brain broadcasted. "You may not know me, but we’re already well acquainted. I have a suggestion for you. Care to hear it?"
"Insignificant dust, the only thing you will receive is death!" The Devourer couldn’t be bothered to waste time on Shen Feng. Countless giant tentacles shot out like lightning, whipping toward him.
Thick arcs of electricity—energy drawn from Shield UY—crackled across the tentacles. Any meteorite they touched was instantly blasted to smithereens!
The surrounding tens of thousands of World Beasts also lunged at Shen Feng. To them, the Devourer’s will was their command!
Shen Feng shrugged. He’d seen this coming. In the vacuum of space, he gave a soundless snap of his fingers.
The next instant, the swarming World Beasts suddenly cried out in agony. Their bodies contorted, freezing their advance as they began to writhe and struggle in place.
Meanwhile, meteorites for hundreds of kilometers around, and even farther, began to shed clouds of rock dust. Then, as if coated in mercury, they gradually turned a silvery gray!
The Mechanical World Beast by Shen Feng’s side dissolved into a massive cloud of nanomachines, which immediately enveloped Shen Feng, forming a protective cocoon.
It then shot out countless nanomechanical tendrils, piercing the bodies of the surrounding thousands of World Beasts and accelerating their conversion!
Though it didn’t understand what was happening, the Devourer’s tentacles accelerated. In the blink of an eye, they reached Shen Feng, lashing savagely at the metallic sphere that now encased him.
The blow was immensely powerful, yet it only managed to send the Nanomechanical Cluster protecting Shen Feng hurtling away, dragging several nearby World Beasts along with it.
The Devourer Beast Ancestor paused for a moment, stunned, before lunging again. Countless tentacles wove into a massive cage, linking up above and below to completely entrap Shen Feng.
"Insignificant speck, I will cast you into the sun and reduce you to ash!" The Devourer’s malevolent thought, riding a storm of violent electromagnetism, flooded Shen Feng’s mind.
Just then, more than half of the World Beasts had been assimilated by the Nanomechanical Cluster. The surrounding meteorites had likewise mostly turned silvery gray. All of them now sprouted countless new nanomechanical tendrils, which intertwined and fused together!
This vast quantity of nanomachines fused and assimilated, swiftly coalescing into an enormous, silver-gray geometric mass that writhed in the void of space.
From the very start, this *thing* had a diameter of several hundred kilometers!
Shen Feng was now completely enveloped within the Nanomechanical Cluster. From inside, it was like piloting a tidal wave as he watched the enraged Devourer.
More and more tendrils shot out, sinking deep into nearby meteorites and World Beasts, beginning their rapid assimilation.
’Not enough. It’s still not enough. I need more!’
The Beast Ancestor now also sensed that something was terribly wrong with this strange object. It opened its spiraling, gigantic maw and spat globes of macro-electron energy at Shen Feng’s Nanomechanical Cluster!
The Nanomechanical Cluster instantly changed its form, opening gaping holes in its mass to let the macro-electrons pass through. It continued to retreat, all the while assimilating more of the surrounding meteorites.
This Meteorite Belt was a virtually inexhaustible supply of resources.
The Devourer lashed out with its tentacles, striking the Nanomechanical Cluster, but it was like plunging them into a gelatinous ooze. Once a tentacle was in, it was difficult to pull back out!
The two gigantic, living celestial bodies tangled with each other as they flew, shattering meteorites and ice crystals in their path as they hurtled straight toward Shield UY.
The Gray Tide’s volume was increasing exponentially. The longer the battle raged, the more a powerful sense of danger grew within the Devourer Beast Ancestor’s consciousness.
’I must get rid of this disgusting cosmic sludge as quickly as possible!’
A furious electromagnetic storm erupted from its body. Countless tentacles bombarded the Gray Tide, and massive macro-electrons blasted it, leaving it riddled with holes like a tattered rag.
’I’ll finish this detestable thing soon!’
The Devourer continued to thrash its tentacles wildly, propelling itself through space as it chased the silver-gray sludge. It was a chase between two giant celestial bodies.
Suddenly, the Gray Tide came to an abrupt halt. Caught completely off guard, the Devourer slammed into it, its own body visibly compressing from the impact.
It was then that it suddenly realized the surrounding meteorites were nearly all gone. The Gray Tide had grown to several times its own size!
Countless tendrils shot out from the Gray Tide, firmly binding its own tentacles and limbs. Before it knew it, it had been completely trussed up, unable to break free!
At the same time, a layer of silvery-gray matter was spreading across its body, steadily eating away at its tissue and burrowing inside!
A colossal face, hundreds of kilometers wide, materialized on the surface of the Gray Tide—it was the face of Shen Feng.
Looking at the tentacled monster now bound by its own kind, Shen Feng let out a dark chuckle and said:
"Now, about that suggestion I had. Care to listen?"
At the same time, a beautiful face emerged from the Gray Tide beside Shen Feng’s. It was Jingwei, also assimilated into the gray mass. She looked at the completely bound Devourer and said, her tone laced with boredom:
"Don’t waste your breath on this little octopus. Just get to the point and be done with it... In short, our proposal is this: we recommend you become the breeding machine for Earth Civilization. You’ll be responsible for birthing World Beasts, and we’ll set an annual quota for you. You can produce more, but never less. From now on, you are Earth Civilization’s Beast Gold Sow."