"Good! Quickly, the Twin Mirror!"
Shi Ming took out the Twin Mirror.
But he paused.
The Naless Cocoon saw the mirror and imdiately grew frantic!
’Yes, that’s it!’
’Hurry!’
’There’s not much ti left!’
Shi Ming considered for a mont, then said:
"Ah Jian, you should know that I’ve always been willing to help you. For you, I was willing to defy the entire world, to stand against a human King-level Wandering Ship. For you, I went through hell and high water on the sea these past few days, even battling the Abyss Lord in the Sea of Boiling, just to find this mirror."
"But the truth is... I’m scared..."
"What... are you scared of?"
The Naless Cocoon’s deep voice transmitted into Shi Ming’s mind via Spiritual Power. Of course, it knew what Shi Ming was afraid of.
In the Naless Cocoon’s voice, however, Shi Ming detected a mix of confusion and anxiety, along with a guilty conscience.
"Ah Jian, you must have heard the story that once circulated in these waters—*The Fisherman and the Demon*. We’re not the sa species, after all. Humans and sea beasts are natural enemies. If I save you, chances are you’ll eat on the spot, just like the demon that escaped from Solomon’s seal."
"No, I won’t!"
The Naless Cocoon was extrely anxious.
It had indeed considered doing just that, which was why it now had a guilty conscience.
But the situation was now dire!
It had already burned its bridges and couldn’t turn back; it had used the last of its reserve Spiritual Power to disrupt the Black Gold’s detection devices. The spiritual disruption would only last for fifteen minutes, and ten had already passed. If it couldn’t get the Twin Mirror before the disruption ended, the Black Gold would imdiately take drastic asures! At least three S-rank Awakened would descend upon it!
All hope of escape would be utterly lost!
"Friend!"
"I’ve given so much. Are you still unwilling to trust ?"
"All you’ve given is so information and a tiny bit of blood. You weren’t even willing to give more. Our so-called friendship was never on equal footing from the start."
"I need a guarantee."
"A guarantee?"
The Naless Cocoon had heard this word many tis aboard the great ship, Black Gold.
This human pursuit of "guarantees" seed to be an innate instinct. Because they were weak, they were naturally insecure creatures. The strong, on the other hand, never needed guarantees.
"Yes, a guarantee,"
Shi Ming said, taking out a Crystal Core,
like Jing Ke unrolling the final map of the Yan Country.
"This guarantee is not just for , but for you as well."
"I can promise that once you are free, I will give you the source of the Infinity Virus to devour, allowing you to beco the most powerful King Insect in history! That is your guarantee. In return, you need to form a contract with . That is my guarantee."
Shi Ming said, his voice calm and asured.
The mont the Naless Cocoon saw that Crystal Core, it felt its supre dignity had been utterly defiled by a tiny insect!
’Insolent! How dare he!’
Its fury erupted like lava, spewing forth all at once! An irrepressible spiritual storm followed, brewing a massive "tsunami" deep within the rift!
"Human!"
"You dare defile the one and only King Insect!"
Its Spiritual Power erupted from the cocoon, which was entangled in black threads, and swept toward Shi Ming in a wave of unstoppable fury.
’Such savage ambition!’
’A re human dares to dream of controlling with this... this Contract Core?’
’I would rather die today than sign a contract with a lowly crawler like you!’
Shi Ming stood before the cocoon.
The howling spiritual storm slamd into him, but he was completely unaffected. Since his Spiritual Power was on the sa frequency as the Naless Cocoon’s, he naturally had no reason to fear such a ntal attack. Furthermore, an attack launched in a weakened state couldn’t harm Shi Ming in the slightest.
"Don’t be hasty, Ah Jian."
"Let lay out the pros and cons for you."
"A mindless rage will only lead an insect to its doom. You are a newly-tamorphosed King Insect. You shouldn’t fall into a dormant state of transformation while suppressed, allowing other wills to occupy this undying vessel. If you just think it through, you’ll see this is an incredibly profitable deal."
"The price is rely thirty years of your ti, perhaps even less."
"Human lives are short. In the Endless Ocean, the average human lifespan is only fifty years. Your lifespan, however, can last for a millennium. I’m in my early twenties now. Based on the average human lifespan, you would only need to trade a short, thirty-year contract for a thousand years of freedom and a chance to evolve."
"I don’t believe any King Insect would refuse such an opportunity."
"Besides,"
"You certainly have the right to refuse to sign a contract with and beco partners."
"Likewise, you have the right to choose death over submission."
"I respect all of your choices."
’But if you refuse, we are no longer friends.’
’And for an enemy...’
’...that calls for a different approach.’
’Submission, or damnation?’
...
The furious spiritual storm howled. Deep within the rift, a place already defined by dead silence, no life existed other than the two of them. At this mont, man and cocoon stood in opposition. Before the nearly twenty-ter-long giant cocoon, Shi Ming’s six-foot fra did not seem small in the least.
He just stood there quietly.
Only four minutes remained.
The Naless Cocoon, realizing its attacks had no effect on Shi Ming, finally ceased its impotent rage.
’In all its endless existence, this was the first person who dared to defile it so. How could it not be enraged?’
But now, it was truly caught in a dilemma:
If it didn’t sign the contract with this audacious human, even if the savagely ambitious man just left, it would soon fall into a deep slumber from its recent, intense exertion. When it reawakened hundreds or thousands of years later, it would be another consciousness occupying this undying body.
The result: its own consciousness would dissipate, while other insect personas would reap the benefits.
’Why should I pay such a heavy price, only for other consciousnesses to benefit?’
But if it signed the contract with this human...
It would undoubtedly be a great humiliation.
On the other hand, what the human said was true. A human’s life wouldn’t exceed a hundred years at most! But its own lifespan could easily surpass a millennium!
A century of submission, and after this fellow died, it would still be a free, unfettered King Insect! It would still have nearly a thousand years of freedom. At the sa ti, that "Infinity Virus" really could allow it to evolve, to beco a King Insect that could split—sothing that had never existed before!
The result: it would endure humiliation for a greater purpose and could beco the ultimate beneficiary, a King Insect at its absolute peak.
Its insect mind churned, locked in a fierce internal struggle.
When the crux of its dilemma shifted from "submission" versus "defiance" to "let others benefit" versus "let myself benefit," the outco beca obvious.
The seconds ticked away.
The Naless Cocoon finally fell silent.
"Human!"
"Ah Jian."
"Can you guarantee that you will set free upon your death?"
"The contract is between you and . When one party ceases to exist, the contract naturally dissolves."
’Death?’
For Shi Ming, that was a distant concept.
In truth, if the Naless Cocoon had stubbornly refused to yield, maintaining the pride and obstinance of the third-ranked sea beast, he would have had no way of embedding the Contract Core into it today, given the Undying Insect cocoon’s imnse Defense Power and indestructible nature.
He would have had to find another opening.
But fortunately, at this very mont, the stars had aligned!
He held every advantage!
Above, there was the pressure from the Black Gold and the suppression of the Sealed Prison. Below, there was the crisis of falling into slumber and having its persona dissipate. And the fifteen-minute countdown was still ticking away—TICK-TOCK—never pausing for a mont, creating a sense of urgent anxiety!
There was also the Infinity Virus dangled before the insect—the carrot on the stick—and the temptation of complete freedom from its seal for a thousand years!
The Naless Cocoon said nothing.
It seed to still be thinking.
Only three minutes remained.
If it didn’t make a choice soon, it would lose the chance to choose at all.
That was an even more agonizing prospect for the insect.
It finally relented.
"Human! You must rember your promise today."
"Of course. We’re in the sa boat now."
...
Shi Ming extended his right hand. The Contract Core, capable of controlling an S-rank sea beast, spun as it floated before the giant cocoon.
The Naless Cocoon exuded a thread of Spiritual Power, which slowly enveloped it.
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