The Ark Project and the Price of Freedom

“I understand.”

Ming Yu slowly brought her scattered gaze into focus, responding softly.

Though she was now aware of Vera’s true identity and understood the formidable nature of the Thorin Primordial Worms that ravaged the star sea, they were friends, weren’t they? At the very least, Ming Yu could still perceive reason and humanity within Vera—even if, at times, Vera’s expressions leaned toward the extreme.

Ming Yu suddenly glanced down at her abdomen, lifting the white gauze garment Vera had woven for her. There, etched onto her lower belly, was the psionic mark. Both Vera’s consciousness and her psionic energy were stored within this very mark.

Consequently, whenever Vera utilized her psionic power, Ming Yu would feel it—an indescribable heat rising from her lower abdomen, surging upward, accelerating her blood, and leaving her mouth parched. The two primal instincts of the insectoids—an intensely strong desire for consumption and reproduction—raged within her heart, ceaselessly assaulting her rational mind.

Ming Yu’s consciousness seemed to be subtly reshaped by Vera, gradually imbued with the essence of the insectoids, morphing into their very form. No, perhaps she was transforming into an insectoid…

The Thorin Primordial Worm’s psionic seeds did not originate from the void, but from the Warp, stemming from the malevolent deities that resided there. Ming Yu recalled Nicolaus’s words from before; the psionic advancement method she had taught her originated from the chaotic beings of the Warp.

Legend had it that the Thorin Primordial Worms, as a branch of the primordial insectoid race, had been corrupted by more than one evil god of the Warp. This was how they acquired their unique psionic powers and potent species instincts. Vera had shared all of this information with her.

As Ming Yu’s understanding of these interconnected thoughts gradually solidified, a headache began to throb behind her eyes. She found herself deeply resistant to these ingrained instincts. For humans, to put it politely, these were desires for ‘consumption and reproduction.’ To put it more crudely, they were about ‘eating and mating.’

While the former was certainly understandable, Ming Yu found herself speechless regarding the latter. She had lived this long without ever experiencing the grand ceremony of life’s creation. It felt as though she had wasted her time on Earth.

Qing Shui Ling Yin was so beautiful. It was impossible for the former Ming Yu to have had no thoughts about her fiancée whatsoever; such a notion would be an insult to her past masculinity. It was all because of that gene serum, which had stripped her of all worldly desires. Eventually, it had even transformed her directly into a woman, confiscating her ‘tools for the job’ entirely.

Ming Yu couldn’t help but grumble inwardly.

As for the Thorin Primordial Worms, they seemingly didn’t require mating to lay eggs. Every high-ranking Insect Queen could command an army all on her own. However, Vera’s situation appeared to be somewhat unique.

Just as Ming Yu habitually let her thoughts wander to ponder the problem, Vera spoke again, her voice utterly exhausted, interrupting Ming Yu’s contemplation.

‘Ming Yu, I might need to rest for a while…’

“What’s wrong?”

‘Although you humans are physically frail,’ Vera’s tired voice held a hint of gritted teeth as she spoke viciously, ‘the weapons you created are indeed powerful. My psionic shield was almost shattered. Trash, my psionic energy is temporarily depleted. For now, you’ll have to rely on yourself to survive on this perilous planet…’

‘However, as long as you don’t directly confront human heavy weaponry, I believe the power contained within this body will surely keep you safe…’

****

Within a deep earthen pit, heavily armored Thorin Primordial Worms, having evolved subterranean structures, burst forth from the soil. They encircled the single, unusually small insectoid egg in the center, their scarlet insectoid eyes filled with confusion.

They sensed the presence of an Insect Queen. And not just any Insect Queen—a noble Star-Spanning Insect Queen.

Finally, as the white egg swelled to its absolute limit, the hard shell slowly cracked, revealing a silvery-white silhouette within. Instantly, all the surviving Thorin Primordial Worms froze. For a moment, even the sounds of battle vanished, and the atmosphere descended into an unprecedented silence.

An actual human had hatched from the egg?

Ming Yu experienced the taste of sunlight and fresh air for the first time in ages. She felt the long-forgotten sensation of clothes against her skin and breathed in the air once more. Her long-dormant spirit trembled violently.

It was all back. Everything was back.

She stared at her own hands, her skin as fair as newborn flesh. Her posture was light as a swallow, and her knuckles easily flexed with a sense of strength she hadn’t felt in a very long time.

Just as Ming Yu was lost in her thoughts, Vera’s voice echoed in her mind.

‘What a coincidence, a delicious meal delivered right to the doorstep~~~’

Before Ming Yu could react, a tearing pain erupted from her lower back. Behind her, a sudden surge of bone spines immediately covered themselves in a crimson keratin layer. Then, they split into four, resembling four fiercely burning tails, stabbing without warning toward the heavily armored insectoids in all directions.

Swoosh, swoosh, swoosh—

In a flash, the aberrant insectoids pierced by the bone tails turned into withered corpses before they could even let out a shriek. By the time Ming Yu recovered from the pain and looked around, only a field of insectoid carcasses remained. Not a single aberrant insectoid had survived.

Simultaneously, the four scarlet tails, like reapers’ scythes, converged into one, extending and expanding. Its tip wrapped around from behind Ming Yu to her front, morphing into a slender human figure suspended in mid-air.

Ming Yu’s eyes widened. Reflected in her blood-red pupils was a woman whose face was identical to her own.

It wasn’t until that flawless face drew near that Ming Yu truly understood. She understood the sheer destructive power of her own face and why people often froze when they saw it.

She, too, was stunned.

Seeing Ming Yu in this state, Vera’s avatar nodded in satisfaction, her tongue tracing her lips. Then, she leaned her face closer, pressing her lips directly against Ming Yu’s. Vera’s nimble tongue wrought havoc inside.

In that instant, Ming Yu’s eyes widened even further, her pupils dilating abruptly. Her slender eyelashes trembled violently, and her formerly regular breathing was disrupted.

In her mind, Vera’s voice carried a hint of teasing.

‘Oh my, oh my, you’re revived. Now it’s time to get down to business~~~ Trash, as far as I know, there are a few places on your human bodies that represent trust and intimacy. First are the lips…’

‘And then…’

The slender figure suspended in mid-air suddenly pressed closer, thrusting her chest forward and aiming directly at Ming Yu’s own prominent curves, a deliberate and soft collision.

The sensation of pressure on her chest instantly jolted Ming Yu awake, causing her to resist Vera’s absurd actions. She questioned in her heart, utterly astonished:

“Vera, what are you doing?!”

‘Trash, I’m trying to earn your trust, you see~~~ This is your honor, just obey quietly~~~’

“Are you kidding me?!”

Ming Yu gripped Vera’s wrist, intending to pull it away, but was surprised to find their strength equal. The harder she pulled, the stronger Vera’s resistance became.

‘Trash, have you ever seen someone win an arm-wrestle using their left hand against their right? That’s truly hilarious~~~’

As she spoke, Vera extended an unruly hand, her fingertips landing on Ming Yu’s abdomen, deliberately slowing her movements as she gradually moved lower.