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| The Beloved Little Mother Insect (LITTLE MOTHER) |
Narga Empire, Imperial Star, Sun Palace—
The high-level intelligence “Survivor,” acting as temporary administrator of the empire, projected a holographic form.
He stood silently in the opulent yet empty Sun Palace, a light screen crowded with hundreds of messages and communications hovering beside him. Without needing to shift his gaze, the technology linked to his brain allowed him to process all the data instantly.
Every message was related to issues and reports about the Irradiated Wasteland.
The Survivor waved his hand, clearing the incessantly beeping messages. He simply stared silently at the light screen, watching the two high-ranking Narga locked in a death struggle in the desert.
They were two of the Empire's most outstanding Chiefs—Hui and Ega.
They were also warriors who adhered to the Narga Empire's doctrines, treating themselves as expendable combat weapons.
All Narga People were like this.
Data flowed autonomously through the Survivor's faded-looking eyes.
After a moment, he connected to the inquiring communicator and stated emotionlessly:
"...The radiation storm has arrived early. Radiation particles have reached 89% and show a continuing upward trend. Projected to peak at 97%..."
"Planetary radiation is too intense. The stellar-class starships in orbit cannot intervene. Deploying a galactic-class warship from the Imperial capital would not arrive within the effective timeframe. If we hope for them to regain their senses on their own, Hui and Ega's mortality rate would be one hundred..."
Before he could finish the word "percent," a crack appeared in the Survivor's wooden expression—the 100% mortality rate in his database had suddenly begun to drop.
Amid the frantic questioning over the comms, he slowly amended his statement, with a hint of divinity in his tone, "Perhaps... this time, a miracle will occur."
As the most advanced intelligence in the Narga Empire, and even throughout the entire Star Alliance, this was the first time he had seen a spark of life in data that pointed to certain death.
What would be the "miracle" that changed everything?
The Survivor tilted his head to look at the light screen.
Multiple feeds from different Observation Spheres appeared as clearly distinct to him as ABC—vast stretches of desert, active Beasts, other high-ranking Narga People alleviating their Frenzy Syndrome...
Among frame after frame of similar images, within 0.001 seconds of data processing, the Survivor identified the only difference—
In Observation Sphere 8's feed, there was a small figure curled up beneath a tree. Its biological characteristics resembled a human's, but its life signals were slightly different—a form of life information never before recorded in the Survivor's vast database.
The semi-transparent high-level intelligence tilted his head slightly, its inorganic pupils flickering with dense streams of data.
So, could he be the "miracle"?
...
"Losing control" was not a good term for high-ranking Narga People.
Once they "lost control," it meant their painfully suppressed Frenzy Syndrome could no longer be managed. The agony that scorched their mental energy would instantly intensify, pushing them into the abyss, and eroding them into monsters devoid of reason and thought.
They would become primitive creatures driven purely by violence and killing instincts.
For high-ranking Narga, cosmic evolution would reverse itself during loss of control. They would forget all their acquired knowledge and civility, transforming into the most frenzied beasts, knowing only to tear apart any moving prey.
No one wanted to become a madman.
Thus, mental self-destruction became their only choice.
Now, the radiation storm still enveloped the planet. The stellar-class starships waiting in orbit could do nothing, leading many Narga watching through the Observation Spheres to resign themselves to the inevitability of this tragedy.
The brave and skilled Narga People either died on Beast battlefields or fell to all the consequences of Frenzy Syndrome erosion.
...
Irradiated Wasteland, Northern Sector.
The commotion in the distance approached rapidly. Kilometers, hundreds of meters—these were mere strides for high-ranking Narga driven to madness.
The tranquil yellow sand was swept high into the air, swirling into a hurricane that darkened the sky.
Desert Beasts that were sensitive to danger, quickly retreated to leave his vacuum zone to the advanced Narga. Yet Pearl, trapped within the oasis, had no means of knowing the situation outside.
His blindness had brought him too many inconveniences.
Pearl nervously curled up beneath a tree while still clutching the unfinished berry in his hand. He tilted his head as the tips of his ears hidden beneath his white long hair trembling slightly as he strained to catch external sounds through the sand-laden air.
It was some distance away, but intense, like wild beasts fighting.
Though so far, Pearl felt as if he could hear something...
Vague and distant, like the hum of some colossal creature, chaotic and noisy, while also carrying indistinct murmurs that were hard to decipher.
Pearl thought he shouldn’t understand, yet his mind naturally translated the message—
【Pain.】
【So much pain, so much pain.】
【Kill... kill them all...】
【So uncomfortable.】
The chaotic hum was nothing but an outpouring of agony, making Pearl clench his palm tightly.
Beyond the pain, there was another emotion—a furious, bewildered sense of loss, as if they had lost something beloved... They seemed to be calling for someone.
This sensation was so palpable that it unsettled Pearl’s mind.
He even felt a pang of discomfort himself.
...How strange.
Yet, also so sorrowful.
A look of confusion flashed across Pearl’s face. He raised a hand and gently touched his Artificial Human chest, which housed a low-quality heart, as if something heavy were pressing down on him, making his breathing labored under the inexplicable emotion.
He wanted to see.
He had to see.
The typically timid and cowardly Artificial Human stumbled to his feet and, to the astonishment of the barrage, groped his way toward the source of the commotion.
The Mycelium left nearby by the StarCloud Hound extended fine threads before coiling tightly around Pearl’s ankles. Their presence was subtle and woven into an anklet resting against his pale skin, and was perfectly concealed.
【What’s going on? Why is the new variant heading over there?】
【Little one, shouldn’t we run first?】
Unaware of the barrage’s anxiety, Pearl pressed on toward the chaotic murmurs and staggering toward the origin of the pain.
The powerless Artificial Human was pitifully small in this desert.
His white long hair that were tied up with grass stems, fell over his shoulders. He wore a loose, tattered short robe and walked barefoot over the scorching gravel, unwavering even as the midday heat seared red marks onto his soles.
The distance between them closed, and the strange hum of pain intensified.
Guided by emotion, Pearl caught a strong scent of blood.
Finally, as he felt his way over a dune, he heard a tremendous crash.
Like some colossal beast collapsing to the ground, heavy panting and waves of blood scent surged outward.
Simultaneously, amid the chaos, the two remaining lenses—excluding Observation Sphere No. 8—detected new signs of life and swiveled in unison toward the sole variable: a beautiful youth who had appeared out of nowhere.
He even held a berry marked with half a bite in his hand, starkly out of place in the surrounding turmoil.
The lethal battlefield seemed to freeze for a moment.
Viewers before the other observation sphere screens also fell into an eerie silence.
What was happening?!
Guided by the buzzing and murmurs in his mind, Pearl nervously bit his lip and "gazed" toward the source of the bloodshed.
His frame was slender and his eyes vacant. Compared to the high-level Narga, whose original forms exceeded seven meters, he seemed as tiny as a miniature pearl, yet he carried a peculiar, gentle maternal aura.
In that moment, he softly asked the two colossal beings who were nearly killing each other, "Do you... need help?"
Instantly, the entire world seemed to fall silent.
The tense monsters stilled as their raised pincers and tail hooks frozen mid-air, allowing droplets of blood to fall.
Like male beasts driven irrational by mating season, after years of searching barren wilderness, they had finally encountered their desired "female." They became infatuated and frenzied, their uncontrollable possessiveness pouring forth and thickly converging toward the only "female" present.
They wanted him.
They wanted to offer him everything.
They willingly knelt, prostrating themselves to receive the grace and rewards bestowed from his fingertips.
Yet even their submission could not conceal their ambition to monopolize the "mother."
From their compound eyes, the towering Narga exuded a drowning, viscous light. Their scale-armored surfaces rippled and their insect-like wings trembling noisily. Their mouthparts, capable of snapping a Beast's spine, grated against each other. After a prolonged silence, they simultaneously emitted synchronized hums—
"...Mother."
It was a murmur and longing woven from dozens of ancient insectoid languages.
It meant mother, their Mother lnsect, their long-awaited, fledgling New King.
Driven by instinct, the greed-crazed male beasts sought to monopolize the beautiful, vulnerable mother.
Several observation spheres were instantly crushed by pincers, failing to record even the high-level Narga's final murmurs about the "mother."
Scattered remnants of technological constructs lay everywhere. The third-person "peeping" vanished, satisfying the male beasts' possessiveness. Had they not feared frightening their fragile "mother," they would have killed the other obtrusive rival.
But the Narga's instincts told them their current mother was too young, too weak, and not yet mature.
—Like a... juvenile?
In an instant, they decided to form a temporary alliance to provide the pitiful Little Mother lnsect with the finest care and protection.
Pearl, who had been eternally eighteen since his creation as an Artificial Human: ?
I'm really not a juvenile!
In the desert, the two massive monsters docilely lowered their over-seven-meter frames, like domesticated hounds.
They remained still, terrified that the slightest movement might startle their pearl-like, tender New King.
The chaos induced by their frenzy still churned deep within the Narga's consciousness, but facing the vulnerable Mother Insect, the two infatuated giants suppressed their tones while emitting the gentlest hisses of their lives, gradually coaxing the bewildered mother closer to them.
Amidst the less chaotic buzzing, Pearl heard the wounded's "plea for help"—
[Hurt, it hurts so much...]
[Mom, want... Mom.]
[...Here, I'm here.]
Pearl pursed his lips and cautiously moved forward.
Shadows loomed over his head, but the blind Artificial Human had no idea how massive and terrifying the creature "pleading" to him truly was...
Beneath his feet, a sharp tail hook carefully nudged aside dead branches, solely to ensure Pearl walked more steadily and smoothly.
These descendants, who had waited centuries for the Mother Insect, would forcibly pave a flat path even through thorns, all to lure their little mommy slowly into the sweet trap.
Of course, if not to avoid frightening Mother, why would they let the Little Mother Insect's feet tread upon this overly coarse desert?
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