plumnovel Chapter 290 - 283: Infinite Insect
Chapter 290 - 283: Infinite Insect
"Ah Jian, after you escaped your seal, will Black Gold detect anything unusual about the original cocoon?"
Shi Ming had already piloted the *She Ri* back to the *Da Yun* and was now on course for the Sea of Soaring Dragons. He looked at the Twelve-winged Black Insect perched on his shoulder and asked,
"It won’t."
"The cocoon body is difficult to destroy and difficult to inspect. With the current technology on the great ship, they can only detect the fluctuations within it. The people on the ship will only think I’ve fallen into a deep slumber. They won’t realize my master has already saved me."
’That’s good.’
If Black Gold discovered that the insect in the cocoon had escaped, it would undoubtedly send massive waves across the entire Endless Ocean.
The major factions, especially Black Gold, would be plunged into a state of paranoia, constantly fearing retaliation from the escaped sea beast. Consequently, they would inevitably enter a wartime footing, meticulously investigating every suspicious detail from this period to nip any potential source of revenge in the bud.
If the investigation truly led back to Shi Ming, they might not do anything to him directly. However, as someone who possessed a super sea beast, he would become the tallest tree, drawing the fear and vigilance of all factions.
Some factions might even try every means possible to eliminate Shi Ming.
This was a fundamental aspect of human nature that hadn’t changed in thousands of years.
They couldn’t allow such a dangerous and extreme power to be controlled by someone else, especially when they themselves lacked the means to counter it.
Of course, if Shi Ming’s power far surpassed theirs—if the gap was so vast that it extinguished all hope of catching up, elevating him to a realm they could only look up to—then it would be a different story.
Unfortunately, Shi Ming didn’t possess that kind of power yet. There were still many things in the Endless Ocean he couldn’t see clearly, like the 001 King Ship, the Celestial Net, the Seven Holy Halls, and the unknowns of Mount Everest. Given all this, it was better to keep his trump card hidden.
Ah Jian vibrated its wings.
After resting for half a day, its Spiritual Power had recovered slightly. It no longer felt completely burned out like before.
"Ah Jian, how long would it take you to devour the Infinite Virus?"
For a human to acquire the "Infinite Progenitor" skill, they had to accept the virus and be infected by it, which came with significant side effects. But as a fellow sea beast, Ah Jian could easily digest this viral progenitor—which could endlessly replicate its avatars—and acquire its ability without any drawbacks.
"Devouring it will be instantaneous. Digesting it will take about a week."
"Excellent."
Shi Ming was pleasantly surprised.
This speed far exceeded his expectations.
Devouring it would be instantaneous. This meant the Celestial Net Chip inside the "Virus" would never transmit news of its death back to Lighthouse. The disappearance of this high-ranking Awakened would become a lingering cold case, a persistent unsolved mystery for them. And complete digestion would only take about a week, which meant he would soon possess a supreme combat force in the Endless Ocean! This would be a crucial trump card and a powerful asset in his scheme to acquire the Great Black Heaven Dragon’s skills!
"Next, I will give you the progenitor of the Infinite Virus."
"This is the promise and reward I mentioned before."
Although Ah Jian was puzzled by most human emotions, at this moment, it understood what "being moved" felt like.
’Loyalty that isn’t absolute is absolute disloyalty!’
It grew faintly angry at itself for its previous "scheming" and "disloyalty" toward its master. ’How could I have looked forward to regaining my freedom after his death? It’s unforgivable! A master this selfless... you couldn’t find another one like him in the entire Endless Ocean, not even among the stars!’
’I must digest this with all my might!’
WHOOSH~
The temperature dropped.
On the floor of the captain’s cabin, the body of the "Virus," encased in ice crystals, appeared.
With permission, Ah Jian took flight. It transformed into a perfect insect seven or eight meters long, its twelve wings vibrating like the sharpest hidden blades. A powerful Spiritual Power enveloped the viral progenitor like silk threads, and in an instant, it was swallowed whole!
Once it was fully digested, Ah Jian would possess the skill "Infinite Progenitor"!
Infinite Progenitor was a skill that relied on Spiritual Power. The stronger the Spiritual Power, the more avatars it could control. With its immense Spiritual Power, controlling a hundred, or even a thousand avatars at once... would be no problem at all.
It would be a true Infinite Insect!
It would be the one and only King Insect for all eternity.
And it would be able to better assist its master.
It shrank back to the size of a palm and rested on Shi Ming’s shoulder, as small as a medal or an ornament on his captain’s uniform. It lay dormant, quietly digesting, evolving...
...
...
...
「One day’s voyage later.」
Shi Ming had just returned to the Sea of Soaring Dragons. Before he could even deal with the sale of the Moon Shadow or the follow-up on the resale of the Divine Revelation Stele, Rong Bing and Li Jiuyuan rushed over after hearing the news.
"Shi Ming, it’s only been a day, but it feels like an age!"
"Grand Captain. And you, the materialist..."
The "materialist" was, of course, Li Jiuyuan.
Despite possessing the skill "Idealism," he staunchly claimed to be a materialist. This didn’t stop him from using his skill, however, since in his view, the boundary between the two was rather flexible.
"Shi Ming, your subordinates who stayed behind on the Moon Shadow said you recently took a trip to the Sea of Silence. Did you bring back any local specialties?"
’Specialties?’
’What kind of specialties could the Sea of Silence possibly have? Does mummy dust count?’
"Alright, Li Jiuyuan. When you have time, go to the Sea of Silence yourself and you’ll see. The only specialties there are high temperatures, scorching heat, barrenness, and dense swarms of sea beasts... Shi Ming, we came to find you this time because there’s a new commission, issued personally by Da Yu’s trailblazer, Elder Zhou. Want to consider it? The reward is 6,500 contribution points!"
’Hm?’
’6,500 contribution points?’
’What a coincidence.’
With these 6,500 contribution points, he would have exactly 20,000—enough to redeem that seed from Da Yu’s Treasure Vault.
Da Yu’s trailblazer, Elder Zhou, had all but laid his intentions bare!
’This is an overt plot!’
’What is he thinking?’
"What’s the commission?" Shi Ming asked.
Rong Bing pointed into the distance.
At the end of his finger, a snow-capped peak stood distantly on the sea. The sun had not yet set, so the magnificent spectacle of a golden mountain in the sunlight had not appeared, but it was still majestic and towering. Especially against the vast, open sea, it stood tall like the Sky Vault Pillar.
"Explore Mount Everest!"
"Find the... traces of a suspected fallen Holy Hall-level Sea Beast, or proof of its death."
’A fallen Holy Hall-level Sea Beast?’
’There’s supposedly a fallen Holy Hall-level Sea Beast on Mount Everest?’
Shi Ming was stunned.
’A Holy Hall-level Sea Beast falling... I can understand that. The world is full of bizarre things. But you’re just dropping this bombshell on me directly? With no preamble whatsoever? Even though we fought the Moonlight Ripple Beast together, I’m not an official member of Da Yu!’
’Was this also Elder Zhou’s idea?’
[...]
Shi Ming blinked. His Eye of the World stirred, but no information popped up.
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