novelODS Chapter 287 - 280: "Ah Jian, I’ve Come to Fulfill My Promise!
Chapter 287 - 280: "Ah Jian, I’ve Come to Fulfill My Promise!
The Nameless Cocoon struggled desperately against the entangling black threads. In a battle like a tug-of-war, it lost ground again and again.
It felt itself growing drowsy.
In seven days at most, it would fall into a deep slumber under the suppression, a state from which it could not awaken on its own.
And if the Sealed Prison’s suppression remained at its current intensity, then in as little as three to five months, or as long as a year or two, it would devolve into a low-consumption Undying Insect in its sleep. It would completely reboot its insect life, losing its current identity.
It was undying. That was an eternal law.
But after the next reboot, would it still be itself?
Suddenly, its overflowing Spiritual Power detected a familiar voice.
"Ah Jian?"
It was Shi Ming’s call.
A jolt went through it.
It was like receiving welcome rain in a drought.
...
Shi Ming, piloting the Sunshot alone, had quietly returned to the vicinity of the Black Gold.
He had tried to communicate with the Nameless Cocoon several times using his Spiritual Power but had received no response. Left with no other choice, he relied on his stealth and mimicry modes to move as close as he could toward the King-level Wandering Ship, the Black Gold. Only when he was about ten nautical miles away could his Spiritual Power barely sync up with the Nameless Cocoon’s.
Being within ten nautical miles of a King-level Wandering Ship was an extremely dangerous and easily exposed position.
The Sunshot was currently a Third-level General ship. Its stealth and mimicry modes were hardly enough to fool the detection systems of a King-level Wandering Ship. The Black Gold wasn’t some vessel the Black Society could mess with; it could easily see through the Sunshot’s mimicry and stealth modes by analyzing the swimming patterns of microorganisms in the seawater.
Although Shi Ming still had a Sailing Heart he could use to upgrade the Sunshot to the fourth level, the improvement from third to fourth wasn’t significant. Even with the upgrade, it would still struggle to evade the King-level ship’s detection. It was better to save the resource and stack it on the Grand Fortune for its fourth-to-fifth-level upgrade, giving it a chance to quickly ascend to King-level.
A King-level Wandering Ship would be a breakthrough asset for Shi Ming.
"Ah Jian?"
Finally, Shi Ming connected to the Nameless Cocoon’s channel.
From what he could sense, the sea beast’s condition was far too weak.
"Ah Jian, I have found the wonder, the Twin Mirror."
Shi Ming didn’t bother with any preamble, getting straight to the point.
A jolt went through the Nameless Cocoon, and its originally flagging Spiritual Power instantly surged.
It was like a dying man bolting upright in his sickbed!
’This human... he actually did it?’
’So quickly?’
’How did he manage it?’
The Nameless Cocoon’s exhausted mind didn’t have time to process it before it was nearly overwhelmed by the sudden joy. ’Heaven never bars all paths for an insect! This human is actually somewhat useful. And he came looking for me the moment he got the Twin Mirror!’
’Unspeakably loyal!’
’Once I’m free, I shall bestow upon him the body of the Insect Race!’
[Very... good.]
Shi Ming paused, as if he had encountered a problem.
"But how am I supposed to evade the King-level Wandering Ship’s detection and give this wonder to you?"
The Nameless Cocoon thought for a few seconds.
A treasure like the Twin Mirror wasn’t like its blood or saliva, which could be extracted in small amounts and reconstructed for telepathic transport. Besides, this human didn’t possess the ability of spiritual deconstruction and reconstruction.
’It seems I’ll have to risk it all one more time.’
’One last time.’
[I can... use all my strength... to disrupt the big ship’s detection equipment with my Spiritual Power. You take that chance to dive into the Great Rift Valley. We don’t have much time, only fifteen minutes. Can... you do it?]
In its prime, the Nameless Cocoon had done similar things plenty of times. Of course, back then, it was just for revenge.
’Fifteen minutes?’
’At the Sunshot’s speed, that’s more than enough.’
’But I shouldn’t make it look easy.’
"It’ll be tight," he said.
[Very good. Get ready. I don’t have much power left.]
"Alright!"
The Nameless Cocoon went quiet for three minutes. Then, a sharp screech suddenly erupted from within the cocoon. An immense amount of Spiritual Power converged on a single point, ignoring the blockade of the black threads. Different frequencies mixed and mingled, forming a powerful magnetic field like a solar flare, causing even the navigation system of Shi Ming’s Sunshot to go haywire.
[Quickly.]
Fortunately, Shi Ming had the Nameless Cocoon’s spiritual consciousness to guide him, so he didn’t lose his way.
He immediately activated diving mode, plunging into the sea near the Black Gold. He descended at a normal speed toward the East African Rift Valley, 2,000 meters below. After he finally spotted the Great Rift Valley stretching across the endless seabed, he once again used the Nameless Cocoon’s guidance to pinpoint its exact location at the bottom of the valley.
The East African Rift Valley was often called Earth’s scar. Now, it too was submerged beneath the sea. Its unfathomably deep floor had become a trench stretching for thousands of miles. The Sunshot mimicked the water currents as it searched for the Nameless Cocoon’s traces within the rift.
Finally, at the bottom of the dark valley, he saw a giant cocoon.
The cocoon was nearly twenty meters long, entangled in a mass of black threads. Strange chains also bound it to a high platform made of Pure Dome Crystal. In the center of the platform was an odd object—a subsidiary of the Sealed Prison. And on the surface of the sea directly above was the King-level Wandering Ship, the Black Gold.
This cocoon was the "Nameless Cocoon."
The moment he saw the Nameless Cocoon, a timely reminder from the Eye of the World appeared.
[To win the game, you must know each other’s chips! And the Eye of the World can see your opponent’s hidden cards—]
[This is one unlucky insect.]
[It was supposed to emerge from its cocoon 23 years ago, but due to the Sealed Prison’s suppression, it only barely managed to awaken two years ago. After awakening, it was unable to break free from the seal. Through two years of effort and adaptation, it could just about contend with the Sealed Prison, which had been worn down from long-term use. But damnably, the Sealed Prison was recently completely repaired, shattering that balance!]
[Its consciousness, having suffered successive defeats in the tug-of-war, can only hold on for another 6 days and 7 hours.]
[After 6 days and 7 hours, it will fall into a deep slumber.]
[Between 89 and 107 days after falling asleep, it will enter a low-consumption state, freeze its Eternal Life Law, and devolve into an Undying Insect. Only when the Sealed Prison is worn down again, and the scales tip once more, can it reboot its insect life and begin a new existence.]
[Its remaining Spiritual Power is too depleted from its recent all-or-nothing effort to cast "Eternal Life Law" even once. However, you are also unable to break the cocoon of an "Undying Insect."]
[You now know the hidden cards.]
[And now, what awaits it?]
Shi Ming blinked, and the words vanished.
’Excellent. Know yourself, know your enemy, and you will never be defeated,’ he thought.
"Ah Jian, I’ve come to fulfill my promise."
...
...
...
「Black Gold.」
The King-level Wandering Ship was experiencing a rare power failure.
Similar incidents had occurred a dozen or so times over the past two years, always being fixed within minutes, so no one found it strange. What was different this time was that many of the systems aboard the Black Gold were being affected by strong magnetic interference. Screen after screen filled with static and magnetic spots.
"Commander! That insect is resisting again!"
"A futile, last-ditch struggle. It’s just a bluff. Suppress it with maximum efficiency! Its life fluctuations have been getting weaker recently. The more it struggles, the closer we are to victory!"
’The more the enemy opposes us, the more it proves we’re doing the right thing!’
’All die-hard reactionaries are paper tigers!’
The Second Commander adjusted her glasses.
Thanks to the help from Da Yu and Shi Ming, they had made a breakthrough in sealing the Nameless Cocoon. Before long, the Black Gold would be rid of this trouble. When that happened, she could finally take a long vacation and travel to all the different places in the Endless Ocean.
To Europe, to the Dragon Country, to the Fujing Mountain ruins, to the Zero-Degree Ice Sea...
Ah, she was really looking forward to it.