A Glimmer of Hope?

As long as they’re an ordinary person?

Qianwei was stunned. She stood up in surprise, only for a strange sensation in her abdomen to extinguish that flicker of hope.

The absorption of the Holy Spirit Core was irreversible. Removing it now would lead to failure and death. Awakening was inevitable…

“What’s wrong?”

Qiuyue Han, who had been about to ask for help with the seal again, tilted her head at Qianwei’s rapidly shifting expression.

“Stomach ache? I can heal you later.”

“…”

Qianwei pursed her lips, suppressing the surging despair. He cursed the wicked woman who hadn’t clarified this crucial detail. In the end, he had no choice but to assume ignorance on that front.

What’s done is done. Dwelling on it was pointless.

As for the current situation, if he could rescue Qiuyue Han first, he might seize a chance to escape the cave.

Should he gamble that the Holy Spirit Core’s fusion would take a long time, and that Qiuyue Han, once freed, wouldn’t notice the process? A wrong judgment would ruin everything.

“Qianwei? Are you alright…”

“Mm… I’m fine.”

Clutching her stomach, Qianwei forced a smile. After much thought, he decided the gamble was too unreliable; the odds were no better than his earlier bet against the giant beast.

This silver-haired big sister, Qiuyue Han, merely seemed naive. But considering how casually the wicked woman had immobilized her, and how even restrained, this silver-haired woman could instantly see he was now powerless, it was clear how terrifying the top experts of this world were. The moment she was freed, his secret would likely be exposed.

“Then I’ll be going~”

“Hey? Wait, didn’t you hear me? If you’re an ordinary person, I can protect you once you free me!”

“I need to think it over. Give me some time?”

Qianwei stood up, his mood somewhat low. After a perfunctory reply, she ignored the repeated assurances and directly left the stalactite hall.

Since the wicked woman’s spatial ring could store items at any time, she didn’t go far. She found a clean, flat spot, laid out some of the paper currency and a blanket to make a bed, and lay down her tired body.

Not very comfortable, but at least better than lying on the cold ground.

“Sigh… What kind of cursed start is this? Damn it!”

Tears slid from the corners of her eyes. He missed home.

Over the next two days, Qianwei used the pretext of getting to know each other to gain enough trust to chat with Qiuyue Han, extracting information about this world from her words. This helped verify the important details the wicked woman had given.

During this time, he confirmed that the silver-haired big sister, Qiuyue Han, was a very simple—or rather, pure—person: straightforward yet extremely serious.

There was a possibility of begging for release by building a close relationship, but that required a lot of time—or a life-or-death bond strong enough to establish deep ties.

But reality was harsh. According to her own words, Qiuyue Han would break free from the seal in just over half a month, and the food in the ring would run out sooner. As one of this world’s top experts, she was unlikely to face mortal danger right where Qianwei could rescue her.

“Sigh~”

The more Qianwei thought, the more desperate he felt. Finally, his emotions showed on her face. With a heavy sigh, he lost focus while holding a compressed biscuit and accidentally poked it into Qiuyue Han’s nose.

“Ah… Sorry~”

“You did that on purpose, didn’t you…”

“Ehehe, how could that be? I just suddenly missed home and got distracted.”

Forcing a smile and making a lame excuse, Qianwei pretended to be cute—an act he found slightly nauseating—but didn’t hold back. She shoved half the biscuit into the other’s mouth.

Seeing Qiuyue Han’s puffed cheeks and eyes that held both exasperation and anger, his mood finally lightened a bit.

“Alright, I want to sleep early today. Let’s call it here~”

“Mm… Wait… cough~”

As Qianwei turned to leave, Qiuyue Han tried to speak but choked on the biscuit. She coughed violently, spitting out crumbs.

“Cough… Don’t go yet!”

“Oh, right~ I forgot to give you some water~”

“No, haven’t you decided yet? You must realize I’m not lying, right?”

Qianwei blinked, handing water to Qiuyue Han for a sip while replying nonchalantly.

“Why the rush? Besides, even if I don’t help, you’ll break free in half a month, won’t you? And you said you might get hurt during the unsealing~”

“I kind of regret telling you that… Don’t worry, I can heal you quickly even if you’re injured.”

“No, I’m afraid of pain~ So I need more time to think.”

With that, Qianwei got up and left, returning to her spot of the past few days. She sat on the edge of her makeshift bed, closed her eyes, and sensed carefully.

He had chosen to leave early because he felt something strange. The core he had absorbed a day ago had completely vanished, merging into his body. Yet nothing had happened overnight. He had thought the fusion had failed and he was about to die, so he had planned to confess to Qiuyue Han.

But then his abdomen grew hot, as if a stream of air was swirling inside. In a daze, fragmented information appeared in his mind. He realized the fusion had actually succeeded; it just needed time to awaken.

“Hoo… Finally, it’s almost done!”

His heart stirred with excitement. On one hand, he was curious about what power he would awaken. On the other, he hoped for a miracle, like the protagonists in countless novels he had read—a cheat ability like teleportation, super regeneration, or an indestructible body that would let him fight or flee from the giant beast blocking the entrance.

Under this wish, the stream of air in his abdomen suddenly expanded, and intense pain made his consciousness waver. His breath stopped. Qianwei didn’t even have time to scream before collapsing onto the bed.

Just before he blacked out completely, he instinctively looked at his abdomen. To his surprise, he could faintly see a glowing outline through the skin.

‘Devour’—could it reconstruct and refabricate devoured energy and objects, then expel them as new items?

In a haze, Qianwei gradually understood this power. When his consciousness returned and he slowly opened his eyes, her swollen belly had returned to normal.

“…Damn, this kind of useless skill is no help at all.”

It didn’t directly enhance his own strength. Strictly speaking, it was only a supportive ability—completely useless in combat!

“My luck is too bad! At least give me something more practical for fighting! Wuwuwu…”

Qianwei broke down crying. What made it even harder to accept was that this ability called Devour was quite bizarre: he had to eat something and then… give birth to the item.

“Wuwuwu… How is this different from experiencing childbirth?! The process is exactly like how reproduction works in this world… Huh?”

Same?

Two days ago, out of curiosity, he had asked the silver-haired big sister, who seemed to have lived a long time, how this world continued when everyone was female. Qiuyue Han, seemingly lacking experience, had stammered out a rough explanation. And that process was very similar to the information he had received during his awakening.

A desperate, though slightly embarrassing, plan suddenly struck Qianwei.

“Maybe I can use a fake pregnancy to…”