klisemfg Chapter 289 - 282: Shi Ming Gains Another Superweapon
Chapter 289 - 282: Shi Ming Gains Another Superweapon
The insect inside the cocoon was now completely transparent.
The Contract Core dissolved into an intangible power, using the insect’s Spiritual Power as a medium to merge into its body, still unhatched within the cocoon.
The integration was voluntary, so there was no violent resistance, and the process went quite smoothly. Shi Ming, for his part, actively injected his own spiritual imprint into the Contract Core. As the Core dissolved, this imprint unstoppably burrowed through the black threads binding the cocoon and entered the body of the Nameless Insect.
The Contract Core in front of the cocoon had vanished.
Shi Ming closed his eyes, sensing the process of the contract being forged with the Contract Core as its bridge.
The Contract Core was a creation of the Divine Revelation Stele, and its modification of the insect’s body was far from pleasant. The Nameless Cocoon let out a high-frequency shriek, its wings trembling desperately as it endured the Core’s invasion. This was a pain it had to bear—the final choice it had made.
’The world!’
’It will ultimately belong to those who bide their time and endure!’
The Nameless Cocoon thought.
...
HISS~
The process lasted for three minutes. The Nameless Cocoon grew quiet, and the hysterical trembling of its wings gradually subsided. It slowly opened its eyes within the cocoon. In its pitch-black pupils were exhaustion, unwavering determination, and loyalty.
[Master.]
"Ah Jian."
As the one who initiated the contract, Shi Ming nodded in satisfaction. The Contract Core’s control over a sea beast was an influence that reached the depths of its mind, turning loyalty into an instinct carved into its very genes.
A notification from the Eye of the World flashed before his eyes.
[Tsk tsk tsk.]
[Larvae are so easy to trick.]
[You have used the Contract Core to make the larva of a Legendary Fierce Beast sign an unbreakable, lifelong contract with you, successfully becoming its master. It will now obey your every command.]
[Even the truly outrageous ones.]
[But even so, this hasn’t changed its predicament of being trapped in the cocoon. Black Gold’s detection equipment will be repaired in one minute. This is hardly the time for a touching master-servant moment.]
Shi Ming took out the Twin Mirror again, aiming its surface at the Nameless Cocoon trapped in the Sealed Prison.
"I’m getting you out now."
On the silver surface of the mirror, an image of the Nameless Cocoon was reflected. A cocoon in the mirror was born within the mirror world.
Unlike the Nameless Cocoon in the real world, the mirror cocoon was surrounded by endless seawater. There were no restraints or negative statuses on its body; the tightly wound black threads and iron chains did not exist.
The Nameless Cocoon sent its remaining Spiritual Power into the Twin Mirror, activating its power.
WHOOSH~
The surface of the Twin Mirror inverted. The insect inside the Nameless Cocoon used this wondrous object to exploit a bug, swiftly teleporting into the mirror cocoon. Then, the Mirror Insect from the mirror cocoon took its place as a substitute, entering the sealed cocoon.
[Master, I have, escaped.]
"Good."
’Perfect timing!’
Shi Ming summoned the Sunpiercer and directly activated its "Super Overload" feature. Moving faster than the speed of sound, he shot through the Great Rift Valley, using the last thirty seconds to flee the scene.
The giant cocoon remained in place. Inside, the Mirror Insect that had acted as a substitute completed its mission and slowly dissipated.
Meanwhile, the cocoon inside the Twin Mirror that Shi Ming held broke open. A miniature larva, deliberately shrunk countless times, emerged from the mirror’s surface. It had twelve black wings that trembled and unfurled one after another in a graceful, staggered pattern. Its form was as perfect as the world’s most exquisite creation; every part of its body was a masterpiece of peak evolution.
It fluttered its wings and flew to Shi Ming’s cheek, nuzzling him affectionately.
It was thanking Shi Ming for helping it escape the seal.
It was still itself,
just with the addition of "loyalty."
The Nameless Insect born from the Nameless Cocoon received a new name each lifetime when it broke out of its cocoon. This was a ritual of rebirth.
"From now on, you’ll still be called Ah Jian."
’Even though Ah Jian has now become Ah Chong, I’m already used to the name!’
[A very nice, name. Thank you, Master.]
Shi Ming nodded. While piloting the Sunpiercer, he communicated with Ah Jian via Spiritual Power to learn about all the super sea beast’s abilities. In this lifetime’s restart, Ah Jian had retained two major and two minor abilities, for a total of four.
Major abilities: Eternal Life Law, Undying Insect;
Minor abilities: Spiritual Interference, Spiritual Recomposition.
Among them, [Eternal Life Law], also called Eternal Damnation Law, was a single-target control ability. However, it could also be considered a single-target offensive ability, as few humans or sea beasts in this world had Spiritual Power higher than Ah Jian’s, capable of withstanding the invasion of ten thousand lifetimes of memories. Even the Abyss Lord, despite its high status as a Holy Hall-level being, was forcefully controlled for several seconds under the influence of the Eternal Life Law!
’If I could just figure out how to kill the Abyss Lord, those few seconds might be all I need to take the Holy Hall-level Sea Beast’s head!’
And [Undying Insect] was a passive defensive ability.
Shi Ming was very familiar with these.
As for [Spiritual Interference], it could distort an opponent’s Spiritual Power, causing them to misjudge things "visually and tactilely."
For example, Ah Jian’s true form, when not deliberately shrunken, was an eighteen-meter-long, genderless Twelve-winged Black Insect. But through large-scale Spiritual Interference, it could make anyone who saw it mistake it for a normal woman, man, sea beast, drop of water, floating island, or any other conceivable object.
[Spiritual Recomposition] allowed it to deconstruct itself into ethereal Spiritual Power and then reform its body. Unfortunately, with its Origin Power suppressed and sealed, this ability couldn’t be fully utilized. That was why the Nameless Cocoon couldn’t use it to escape the Sealed Prison, and could only transfer small amounts of blood and saliva.
Now that it had escaped the Sealed Prison, Ah Jian was in extremely poor condition. Its Spiritual Power was almost completely depleted, leaving it unable to use any of the abilities mentioned.
Not unless it rested for a day or two, or devoured some restorative items.
[Master, which ability, do you like.]
[Except for, Undying Insect, I can, transfer the Origin Power, to you...]
The origin of an ability was the very core of a sea beast’s power. Once transferred, the beast itself would lose that ability.
’Ah Jianqing, truly loyal beyond words!’
"You’re still too weak. Besides, there’s no difference between you using these abilities and me using them, is there?"
’Eternal Life Law plus the Infinite Virus would be the perfect combination; there’s no need to separate Eternal Life Law for myself. Sometimes, one plus one can be greater than two, just like when Rong Bing and I worked together to slay the Moonlight Ripple Beast. A human-and-insect team can be far more unexpected. Plus, I can’t shrink myself down to a palm-sized insect, and a palm-sized insect can do things in many situations that a human can’t.’
Ah Jian would be another one of his great weapons, a trump card, a partner!
"Alright, you should rest for now."
"Once we’re somewhere safe, you can devour the Infinite Virus."
Ah Jian closed its eyes, retracted its twelve wings, and rested on Shi Ming’s shoulder.
The Sunpiercer carved an upward arc through the Great Rift Valley.
A short while later, it shot out and broke through the surface of the sea!
...
...
...
「Black Gold.」
"Second Commander, all equipment has been repaired!"
"What’s the status of the Nameless Cocoon?"
"The detection equipment is having trouble picking up its Spiritual Power fluctuations. It seems to have exhausted all its energy and has fallen into a deep sleep."
"Is that so?"
’Was that last surge really a desperate, final struggle?’
Xivier pushed up her glasses and personally began to analyze the data from the Sealed Prison. The black cocoon was still in the deep sea, showing no signs of damage. The Nameless Insect showed no signs of hatching. And the Spiritual Power fluctuations, which had previously been suppressed to a faint level, were now indeed undetectable.
"Continue monitoring. Don’t let your guard down, not even for a moment. This insect is extremely cunning."
"Yes, Commander."
After standing guard for thirty years, they were finally seeing the light of victory.
If this huge problem was truly solved, then Da Yu and Shi Ming would have done the Africa Sea Area a great service!