Saving the World in an Apocalypse-Style Text Game-Chapter 701 - 348 Firefly Jinmu? _2
"The Fireflies were once the sole rulers of the Hive Mind, but with the invasion of their civilization, the ’Desire Wet Nurse’ not only took over the land of the Divine Kingdom but also divided the Hive Mind.
"Today, the large white grids in the Hive Mind belong to the Wet Nurse and their Feathered creatures, leaving only a small black grid for the Fireflies.
"The first way to avoid the gaze of the Wet Nurse is to fully integrate into the black grid, under the ’protection’ of the Fireflies... But it’s more like being guided and controlled.
"Once you abandon your self-consciousness and become a ’bee’ under the ’Hive Mind’, the Wet Nurse cannot gaze or control a ’bee’ that does not belong to it.
"It knew you would never choose the first method, and this is why the Fireflies chose to grant you your unique abilities.
"And the second method is even less viable."
"The divine battle between the Wet Nurse and the Fireflies isn’t just a territorial dispute, but a battle for control of the Hive Mind.
"The intense war caused parts of the Hive Mind to break, tearing off the whole grid to exist independently.
"Those stripped off consciousnesses, no longer guided, return to the uncontrolled state of unconsciousness, turning into the mad bug-people you’ve seen..."
"As an individual with free will, you can keep acting according to your self-consciousness even after being detached from the grid and at the same time, the Wet Nurse and the Fireflies can neither observe you through the Hive Mind nor control you.
"But the fact that you are a ’Firefly Envoy’ means the Fireflies granting you the unique ability to drift along the edge of the Hive Mind is a kind of... compromise."
"To actively detach you from the Hive Mind means that you would no longer belong to either the Fireflies or the Wet Nurse
"How could they agree to a ’Firefly Envoy’ no longer belonging to the Fireflies?"
"You would never agree to the first method and the Fireflies would never agree to the second. That’s why it said neither solution is feasible."
After listening to Flandre’s explanation, Lin Xun fell silent.
As Flandre had said, indeed both solutions were impossible.
It would be impossible for him to relinquish the control over his Shell. Who knows whether such control would be temporary or permanent?
To entrust all his existence to a deity met only once, he was yet to reach that degree of foolishness.
Like Flandre herself, who after taking her vow possessed the same unique ability as him, he assumed she wouldn’t want to experience again the feeling of being manipulated by others.
The two felt a mutual understanding, hence Flandre understood he would not agree to the first method.
As for the second method, Linxun put himself in the shoes of the Fireflies.
An outsider who does not belong to this world appears all of a sudden, causing slight changes in the predestined battle situation.
After successfully wooing the outsider, they decide to go independent throwing uncertainty upon who they’ll support in the future.
If he were the Fireflies, he wouldn’t agree to the second method either.
"..."
"While you and ’Flandre’ were both in silence, it suddenly froze."
"Behind you, the elevator started again, revealing an unexpected figure."
"’Jinmu, the Mutated Missionary’ came out of the elevator and walked towards you and ’Flandre’."
"It opened its mouth slowly, and you heard the familiar voice again, the voice that gifted you your sacred mission..."
"It will detach you from the Hive Mind, not just you, but ’Flandre’ too. From now on, ’Jinmu’, the master of this body will be your contact with it."
"As ’Jinmu’ spoke, it pointed a finger towards ’Flandre’. Countless Fireflies scattered from his fingertips, gradually infusing into ’Flandre’s’ body."
"The gigantic lower half of the young girl’s malformed body contracted dramatically, and the thick pipelines detached from her body..."
"The hideous body shrunk and transformed like a queen ant, and in the blink of an eye ’Flandre’ regained her human girl form."
"’Jinmu’ continued, ’Flandre’ will help you with all her heart, and you..."
"Do not forget your original mission, exterminate the Villains, eradicate all the heretics you encounter!"
"Having finished speaking, ’Jinmu’ fell to the ground, unconscious."
"You and ’Flandre’ looked at each other, puzzled, as you stared at the unconscious ’Jinmu’ on the ground."
[It took Flandre a while to come to her senses, looking complicatedly at her own naked body, which had resumed its human form.]
[She touches her own sleek and slender thighs, unable to hold back the tears that start to stream down her face.]
[After Flandre calms her excited emotions, she opens her arms to you in a gesture of embrace and slowly expresses her gratitude to the great Firefly for its grace. She agrees with you that you should leave the hive mind, not only you, but also her, Flandre, is no longer owned by the Firefly.]
[Do you want to step forward and embrace ’Flandre’, and again experience the ’Hive Mind’?]
Lin Xun is taken aback for a moment, and then quickly reacts, not hesitating to press ’yes’.
Although he doesn’t understand why Firefly would allow him to leave, the current situation is exactly what he wants.
[You slowly step forward, and ’Flandre’ opens her arms to hold you in her arms...]
[Within Flandre’s ample, soft embrace, you once again see that vast hive mind encompassing all things in the world...]
[At the top of the grid, two types of consciousness, black and white, connect numerous living beings, assimilating various life conscious colors, engulfing and invading each other.]
[Flandre’s immense consciousness, like yours, is dissociated from the black and white. She actively orbits around you so that you immediately sense the structure of the entire consciousness web.]
[Suddenly, your consciousness grid where you and Flandre are located, disintegrates and peels away from the entire hive mind, becoming an independent entity.]
[This small piece of the hive mind is neither black nor white and presents a colorless state; only you and Flandre exist within the hive mind.]
[After you leave the hive mind, Flandre takes a deep breath and brings you back to reality...]
[She slowly speaks, stating that neither of you belong to Firefly, nor to the Wet Nurse anymore. You’re independent and free...]
[You and she are the masters of this piece of consciousness web. If you can draw ownerless consciousnesses into the hive mind, you could wield the true power of the ’Hive Mind’...]
[Before Flandre finishes speaking, she sees ’Jinmu’ behind you rubbing his eyes and getting up.]
[The ’Missionary Jinmu’ stares dazedly at you and ’Flandre’ hugging intimately, whispering in each other’s ears. He can’t believe that he must be dreaming. Yes, he must be dreaming.]
[’Jinmu’ forcefully slaps his forehead and finally realizes that he’s not dreaming. The girl he has always wanted to find is standing right before him.]
[Only the situation deviates from the scenario he had imagined. Instead of him overcoming numerous hardships to find the girl, it’s you who...]
[’Jinmu’ froze all over, covered the mask on his face, and turned around without looking back, heading for the elevator.]
[While walking, he mumbles to himself, saying he needs to go to the Holy Nest core to fight Wet Nurse, which would be better than staying here and making a fool of himself...]
Lin Xun’s mouth twitched, his face full of consternation.
He hurriedly stopped Jinmu’s suicidal action. After a lot of explaining, he finally got Jinmu to believe that he was not a fool.
The pure love warrior, Jinmu, seemed to have regained his energy.
The two characters that Lin Xun thought he would never see again finally met.
But Jinmu didn’t pour out his feelings as he had imagined. Instead, he fiddled around awkwardly on the side.
In contrast to Flandre, she had no such feelings for Jinmu. Her initial intent in rescuing Jinmu from the ancient nest was only to stop the Wet Nurse.
Now that they’ve met, she treats him just like an old friend catching up, leaving Jinmu at a loss for words.
Lin Xun shrugged. It seemed Jinmu still had a long way to go to get what he wanted.
[...]
[Jinmu scratches his head in disbelief, saying, so, you’re suggesting that the supreme Firefly consciousness just descended on him?]
[No wonder he ended up here with just a blink of his eyes... Also, his body feels a bit different.]
[You ask if Jinmu feels any discomfort, and Jinmu shakes his head. Firefly, it seems, has left something in his body. He doesn’t know exactly what it is, but he can feel that he’s stronger than before...]
Lin Xun understands that after leaving the hive mind, Firefly and Wet Nurse would no longer be able to observe him.
Jinmu is Firefly’s eye. Firefly would not let his eyes go blind easily. Perhaps it has bestowed some formidable power on Jinmu.
In contrast, Flandre, having severed her connection to the hive mind and therefore Wet Nurse’s observation, is now able to leave her prison by regaining her human form, becoming yet another ally to him.
The sudden addition of two powerful allies will undoubtedly increase the success rate of their subsequent plans.
"Our next step is to head to the gene cloning lab - Resource Bank No. 16!"
