Chapter 277: Chapter 270: Squeezing the Nameless Cocoon

There were only two ways to merge the Contract Core into the Nameless Cocoon’s body. The first was to have it willingly accept the fusion. The second was to force it in when it was too weak to resist.

Currently, this sea beast was not yet at the end of its rope.

Shi Ming still needed to create an opportunity.

"How can I help you, Ah Jian?"

[Destroy the Sealed Prison’s core. Or find the 43rd-ranked wonder, a mirror.]

The Nameless Cocoon hadn’t been idle these past few days. While it usually avoided accessing its past-life memories, it had actively searched for a way to break the "Sealed Prison" in order to escape.

Persistence pays off, even for an insect.

And it had actually found a way.

Destroying the Sealed Prison’s core would solve the problem at its root. Once the object suppressing it was gone, it could naturally break free.

The 43rd-ranked treasure on the Endless Ocean’s list of wonders was called the "Twin Mirror." By looking into the mirror, it could replicate a "Mirror Insect" version of the Nameless Cocoon. This copy could then replace the original as the target of suppression, pulling a grand switch and allowing it to escape the Sealed Prison by exploiting a bug, so to speak.

Shi Ming didn’t want to do either of those things.

But that wouldn’t affect his upcoming performance.

He put on a troubled, anxious expression.

"Ah Jian, I am very willing to help you."

"But you’ve seen the power of that great ship for yourself. I can barely kill a single Three-Eyed Golden Crow. Obtaining the mother-body of the infinite virus was pure luck. How could I possibly board that ship and destroy the heavily guarded Sealed Prison under everyone’s watchful eyes?"

"As for the 43rd-ranked treasure, I have no idea where it is."

"Do you know where to find it?"

[I don’t know.]

"Are there any other ways, then? Simpler ones."

[No.]

"..."

The Nameless Cocoon was growing frantic.

’That damned ship! It found Purifying Marrow from somewhere, making the inefficient Sealed Prison suddenly become vigorous and fierce. If I weren’t trapped in this cocoon, I would fight it to the death and devour every last one of those ugly humans on board!’

Shi Ming’s eyes darted.

"Ah Jian, rest assured. I can’t save you right now, but I will travel to every corner of the Endless Ocean, hunt down powerful sea beasts, and increase my strength. One day, I will be able to stand against this King-level Wandering Ship, and that will be the day you are freed!"

[No.]

’By the time you’ve gotten stronger, I’ll probably have long since degenerated into a dormant cocoon!’ The Nameless Cocoon was less than two years old, but it understood this point. ’Perhaps I could offer some sponsorship to help this human grow faster?’

[In the depths of the Sea of Yellow Sand, there is an S-rank sea beast. It possesses the 82nd-ranked skill.]

’Eighty-two?’

Shi Ming shook his head.

"Ah Jian, you should know that the 82nd-ranked skill is nowhere near enough to get you out. Your Spiritual Power is immense; you understand the power of this great ship. It has at least five S-rank Awakened on board. A skill ranked 82 will only extinguish both our hopes."

"It doesn’t matter if I die, but Black Gold will surely become more vigilant, and your situation will become even more dire."

Every word Shi Ming spoke seemed to be for the Nameless Cocoon’s benefit.

And then,

the dagger was revealed.

"Do you have intel on any stronger sea beasts?"

"Top 10, maybe?"

[...]

’Detestable human!’

’You really are still after my skills! Dream on! I, the Nameless Cocoon, would rather be suppressed to death than hand over my skills to a human for the sake of freedom!’

But it couldn’t say that.

Through subtle influence, it had reluctantly learned a thing or two about social etiquette.

[My skill is called "Undying Insect." While in a cocoon state, I am immortal and indestructible. It is useless to you.]

[Besides, I’ve told you before, the source of my skills is poison to you humans! If your Spiritual Power isn’t at least 300 and your Defense Power isn’t at least 500, you will die instantly! You can hear my voice, so your Spiritual Power is quite good, but a Defense Power of 500 is extremely difficult for a human to achieve.]

[Also, I am just a newborn larva. I have never left the seabed.]

[There are no top-10 sea beasts in the surrounding waters. I don’t know about other places.]

’Still hiding things, are we?’

’I’ve known for a while that you have two skills: Undying Insect and Eternal Life Law.’

’Undying Insect is indeed useless to me, but Eternal Life Law is the third-ranked S-rank skill. It’s absurdly powerful!’

Shi Ming had deliberately brought this up, not because he actually wanted the Nameless Cocoon’s skill. Once a sea beast’s skill source was transferred to a human, the beast would lose that skill. Even if it meant being sealed forever, the Nameless Cocoon would never give Shi Ming the blood containing its skill source.

But a key negotiation tactic is to aim high to get something in the middle.

And insects, it seemed, were also fond of compromise.

For example, if you were to ask it for a large amount of its blood and flesh, it would surely feel you were blaspheming its dignity as a King Insect. But if you made the outrageous demand for its skill, it might start to think that giving up some blood was an acceptable alternative.

Shi Ming frowned and said righteously:

"Ah Jian, what kind of person do you take me for?"

"How could I possibly be a human who covets your skills?"

’I’m a human who covets your body.’

"I just want to obtain a not-so-large amount of your blood. It won’t make you lose your skill, but it will allow my physical constitution to improve dramatically, taking my strength to the next level. That way, I’ll have a much better chance of saving you from this sea of suffering."

"Once I rescue you, I will give you that infinite virus."

"It will be a testament to our friendship. Though you’ll only lose some blood, you’ll gain your freedom and the skill of the infinite mother-body. You could call it a win-win."

"Friends should always look for a win-win, shouldn’t they?"

[How much... blood... do you need?]

Shi Ming blinked.

’It’s giving in?’

’This should be easy, then.’

"Fifty kilograms?"

Fifty kilograms?!!!!!

Audacious!

This was absolute blasphemy!

In all the eons of the Nameless Cocoon’s memories, nothing like this had ever happened. This audacious human, how dare he make such a request? The Nameless Cocoon instinctively wanted to refuse, but through its subtle, ongoing interactions with the humans on the Black Gold, it had become tainted with human ways of thinking—

—but if it refused, all its previous efforts would be for naught.

This was called the sunk cost fallacy.

It would fall into a deep slumber within the seal. Even if it could reawaken after countless ages, by then this human would have died of old age, and whether it would ever encounter another being it could communicate with was a complete unknown. It could be fifty years, a hundred years... perhaps its current consciousness would even dissipate during the long sleep.

The one reborn then might be a completely different Nameless Insect.

Its juvenile mind fell into a deep conflict.

[Impossible. At most, 20 kilograms.]

’Humans are lowly creatures with lifespans of barely a hundred years. I’ll endure this humiliation for now.’

’The day I break free from this seal, I will swallow this human whole!’

Twenty kilograms of blood wouldn’t contain the skill source. An S-rank sea beast with a will to resist could actively suppress the loss of its "skill source" through its blood, but this was its absolute limit. If it lost too much blood, it would fall into a slumber on its own, without needing the Sealed Prison to suppress it.

"Twenty kilograms..."

"Alright."

"How do I get it?"

[Human, this is my final investment. If I don’t see results from the next step, you will get nothing...]

"Thank you for your contribution, my friend. I promise you, you will be rewarded handsomely. First, you will be freed from the seal. Second, you will devour the infinite virus and gain the power of the infinite mother-body."

"You should know that I’m not lying to you."

As heaven is my witness!

Every word Shi Ming said was sincere. In front of a sea beast with extraordinary Spiritual Power like the Nameless Cocoon, any attempt at lying would cause fluctuations in his spiritual energy that the insect would immediately detect.

The Nameless Cocoon hesitated for a while.

Just as Shi Ming began to wonder if his demands had been too high, perhaps causing the young insect to give up, his "brainwaves" connected to the Nameless Cocoon’s "channel." His spiritual energy, under its guidance, resonated just like last time, diving deep into the Endless Ocean, plunging into the Great Rift Valley two thousand meters below, and then sinking even further.

Within the massive cocoon, which was entwined with black threads, powerful waves of spiritual energy billowed.

Violent energy was rapidly gathering. A vast amount of Spiritual Power merged and converged, finally forming trickles of black blood that emanated a terrifying pressure.

The blood seeped out from the cocoon’s shell, floating before Shi Ming’s spiritual projection.

’Success!’

Shi Ming blinked.

[Facts have proven that a two-year-old sea beast is no match for a human! The dire situation and your PUA tactics have made it precipitate 20 kilograms of its own blood. Not a gram more, not a gram less.]

[The Nameless Cocoon has three treasures.]

[Blood, cocoon silk, and Nerve Saliva.]

[Consuming its Nerve Saliva can make your already powerful Spiritual Power’s foundation even more stable, and its strength even more profound!]

[An investment is like water in a sponge. If you squeeze, you’ll always get something. Perhaps you could squeeze a little more?]

Shi Ming: ...

’There’s something this good?’

...

The eighteen-meter-long cocoon rested in the East Africa submarine Great Rift Valley, which stretched for nearly a thousand nautical miles.

Above the Great Rift Valley, the Black Gold had stood guard over this place for thirty years, as if it were a single day.

At this moment, beside the Sealed Prison, a group of researchers and the ship’s second-in-command were recording its feedback data.

"Abdu, our hypothesis was correct! After being cleansed by the Purifying Marrow, the Sealed Prison has become much more stable. Its suppression of the Nameless Cocoon is also more effective!"

"Second-in-command, it’s true. The sea beast’s recent life frequency shows a tendency towards hibernation. Unfortunately, the amount of Purifying Marrow gifted by Da Yu wasn’t enough. There’s still a noticeable wear mark on the Sealed Prison... If we could just get a little more, just 1000 grams—no, 500 grams! We could completely repair it and unleash this wonder’s maximum effect."

The scientists’ eyes burned with fervor.

’Five hundred grams?’

"Hmm... I remember a certain young man, the one who crashed into the Pharaoh, Shi Ming. He also received a share of the Purifying Marrow," said the second-in-command, who wore glasses.

"Are you suggesting we buy it from him?"

"Yes! We need to press our advantage! Drive this insect into a corner and force it into hibernation!"