“N-No! I would rather die... Ahhhhh!” Celia shrieked in agony.
A long, slender parasite slowly emerged from Elise's mouth, winding itself nimbly around Celia's limbs before swiftly sinking into her body through the gaps in her skin.
Lin Miao quietly watched all of this unfold within a few seconds.
Eventually, the horrifying screams and choking sounds inside the anthill completely faded away.
Lin Miao had long known that Elise had devoured the horsehair worm and acquired its abilities.
Yet he never imagined she would use that ability in such a manner.
He had assumed she would kill Celia on the spot, but it seemed her hatred for her self-proclaimed nemesis ran far deeper than he had imagined.
【Mutated species "Gene Stealer" has successfully parasitized the host】
[Obtained a completely new type of servant]
[Low-Tier Deity, Grade V → Mid-Tier Deity, Grade I]
[Unlocked some restricted functions]
Furthermore, that was not all.
The moment the mutated Gene Stealer successfully parasitized Celia, a prompt suddenly popped up before Lin Miao's eyes—who was still in a daze—informing him that his deity rank had increased due to achieving a new milestone.
Can something like this even be considered an achievement?
Lin Miao felt a profound sense of absurdity.
【Through the Gene Stealer parasitizing the host's body, Elise has controlled the host's mind and forcibly connected the host to herself】
Before he even had time to be surprised, Elise had already contentedly initiated her next move.
“Cough... Blegh!”
Celia coughed and retched violently.
The Gene Stealer was a medium, serving as a connector.
Celia's body continuously convulsed and retched, her eyes rolling back dangerously.
“Huh?!”
Lin Miao let out a soft cry of surprise.
Immediately afterward, a strange sensation washed over him as well.
Having maintained a constant connection with Elise, Lin Miao could clearly feel another person—namely, Celia—joining their connection.
“Outer... God...”
Celia raised her head, staring blankly into the void.
Her cloudy blue eyes seemed to be looking right at Lin Miao through the screen.
Her once beautiful, intelligent, and resolute face was now completely devoid of those qualities, leaving behind only a fragility that looked ready to shatter at any moment.
“Hey, can you hear me?”
Lin Miao's heart pounded wildly as he tentatively spoke.
Perhaps, through this forcibly established connection, Celia could hear his will, which had remained unheard by anyone until now.
“Ugh...”
Celia let out a painful groan.
Yet this brief connection was still far too heavy for Celia.
Ultimately, her eyes rolled back once more, and she lost consciousness again.
If I can maintain this connection, it might significantly speed up my communication with the ant colony.
Lin Miao pondered silently.
【Elise indicates that, in the absence of further instructions from the Great One, she will continue to use this nemesis, now turned colony slave, for research purposes】
Although their motives and emotions were completely different, at this moment, Lin Miao and Elise's thoughts happened to align perfectly.
Both of them wanted to keep Celia alive.
It seemed Elise had absolutely no intention of letting Celia off easily.
She had used the mutated Gene Stealer to turn Celia into a puppet she could manipulate at will, intending to thoroughly research and exploit her, using her as raw material for her own further growth and evolution.
Had Lin Miao expressed strong dissatisfaction or anger regarding this, she might have changed her mind.
But Lin Miao did not, so Elise proceeded exactly as she wished.
Celia, you have no choice now.
Lin Miao said to her in his heart.
At this point, she had no other path forward but to cooperate with the ant colony—which meant cooperating with Lin Miao.
“Let's give her a reward first.”
Lin Miao muttered to himself, quickly opening the lid of the terrarium.
He had to reward Elise for capturing Celia alive and turning her into a puppet.
Lin Miao wanted to let her know that her action of sparing Celia's life was correct, and that he was highly pleased with it.
【The servants reacted enthusiastically to the Great One's reward】
Thanks to Lin Miao having long since established feeding as a method of expressing satisfaction, this matter was temporarily resolved.
However, all their problems were far from over.
With mixed emotions, Lin Miao watched Celia, who had fallen into a deep sleep in a corner of the anthill.
Fate truly played cruel tricks.
...
Is this... the Outer God?
Celia had heard of Outer Gods long ago.
She had heard all about deities and their servants from the goddess Hestia.
The Outer Gods she knew of were unimaginably terrifying existences.
They used disgusting creations as tools, solely for the sake of destruction and chaos, invading and ruining one world after another.
Possessing horrific forms, they were all-transcending monsters that defied common sense.
This was the Outer God of Celia's understanding.
And the entity she had sensed within the hive mind indeed lived up to that description.
It was chaos itself, commanding this destructive legion of monsters.
“...”
Yet, when Celia was parasitized by the Gene Stealer and formed a faint connection with Lin Miao, who was linked to Elise, she sensed a completely different aura.
Within that hive mind filled with violence and chaos, the Outer God's aura alone was incredibly peaceful.
Most importantly, while she felt a profound hatred directed at her from Elise, she could not sense even a shred of hostility from that Outer God.
Something is wrong. What on earth is going on?
Instinctively, Celia began to doubt Lin Miao's true identity.
Having caught a glimpse of him, she realized this entity seemed somehow different from the Outer Gods of her knowledge.
This was not a rational judgment or logical conclusion, but pure sensory intuition.
But now, Celia realized this was her only chance.
“Please... hear my prayer. I wish to know what kind of existence you truly are.”
Within the dim anthill, the moment Celia regained consciousness, she suppressed her overwhelming nausea and intense physical pain, mimicking the posture she had learned from the priests of the Goddess of Light Association. She knelt on the ground and began to pray to Lin Miao.
【Your servant has prayed to you for the first time】
【Oracle: Deities of Mid-Tier and above can use interference force to transmit a portion of their will to their servants.】
“...Good.”
Surprisingly, her actions actually worked.
This also provided a method for Lin Miao, who had been watching her.
I've been curious for a while now. Are oracles really that omnipotent?
Lin Miao had already seen other deities using oracles to provide hints or information to their servants.
It was just that his deity rank had been too low previously, and the ant colony could not understand his words anyway, so he had never found this function particularly useful.
But now, since Elise had used the Gene Stealer to make Celia a part of the colony, Celia had effectively become Lin Miao's servant.
In other words, he could now deliver an oracle to Celia.
【There are limits to the frequency and duration of oracles each individual can receive】
It seems I can't waste any words.
Lin Miao's mind raced as he pondered what kind of will to transmit to Celia.
Both the frequency and duration were limited.
Especially since he was currently only a Mid-Tier Deity, Grade I, his opportunities to use it were extremely scarce.
If he wasted it on trivial matters, he wouldn't be able to communicate with Celia again for at least the next few months.
【Elise is highly perplexed by her slave's actions upon waking up】
Furthermore, Elise was currently staring intently at Celia.
With even the slightest misstep, Celia might be dissected on the spot by Elise before she could accomplish anything.
Thus, Lin Miao had to exert his influence over Celia as quickly as possible.
“Let's make a deal. I will tell you a portion of the truth, but I need you to accomplish something for me.”
With no time for idle chatter, Lin Miao proposed a deal directly to Celia.
Now that he had made up his mind, he would not hesitate.
Because of the ant colony, he had been dragged into this situation for several months now.
At this moment, a light gleamed in Lin Miao's eyes.
“Agh!”
Still in her praying posture, Celia's eyes suddenly flew wide open.
A powerful pressure swept over her entire body, making her tremble uncontrollably.
To Lin Miao, this was merely a casually spoken sentence.
Yet the difference in Divine Status between the two entities was like heaven and earth.
Even his slightest trace of will was an overwhelming pressure from a transcendent being to Celia.
I must endure this to hear his words.
But Celia grit her teeth and forced herself to bear it.
She had long heard from the Church's priests about the immense pain one had to endure when communicating with a deity.
【Elise is highly confused. She senses the aura of the Great One emanating from her slave】
By the time Elise sensed something was amiss and ordered the worker ants to bring Celia over, Celia had already finished receiving the oracle and collapsed limply to the ground, entirely drained of strength.
Elise could have killed Celia at any moment, but upon sensing the aura belonging to Lin Miao radiating from her body, she did not dare to touch her again.
Because the Gene Stealer parasitizing Celia was also a part of the colony's consciousness, she could feel this with absolute clarity.
“...First Generation Queen, the brain of the colony, Elise.”
Panting heavily, Celia looked directly at Elise.
Elise noticed that the way Celia looked at her had changed.
Though still filled with wariness, the fear had vanished, replaced by a reignited curiosity characteristic of a scholar.
“The Great One has bestowed a task upon me. He wishes for me to help you drive the forces of the other deities out of this land.”
Having received a portion of Lin Miao's will, Celia made her decision.
“If I succeed, that lord will... grant mercy and allow the innocent to survive.”
Stumbling forward, she voluntarily knelt before Elise.
What Lin Miao required of Celia was to help Elise and the ant colony win the war against the other deities' forces.
In exchange, Lin Miao promised her that once the colony grew powerful enough, they would halt the slaughter, leave this land, and journey to a new world.
Upon learning the truth behind the wars and power struggles among the deities, Celia was profoundly shocked.
She finally understood that even if the ant colony disappeared, the wars on this land would never truly end.
The very fact that he would make such a deal proved that Lin Miao was fundamentally different from the true Outer Gods.
This is the best choice I can make. I will not break, absolutely not...
Lowering her head, Celia submitted to Elise, her eyes deeply clouded.
Now that she knew the true power and nature of the ant colony, she no longer believed humanity stood any chance of defeating them.
Thus, she chose another path.
To save as many people as possible, she chose to cooperate with the Great Devourer.
Even if she would ultimately be branded a traitor who colluded with monsters, and nailed to the pillar of shame for all eternity as the most wicked witch in human history.
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