The Correct Way to Use Mother-Child Green Coins! (Part 2)

After once again escaping the giant centipede's pursuit, the two breathed a sigh of relief. Ming Jing pulled Konan and ran for a while, and before they knew it, they had stumbled into a huge cave.

The cave walls were covered with holes of all sizes, some as small as a bowl, others so large a truck could almost drive through. Ming Jing stopped and carefully observed the holes for a moment before asking, "Konan, do you think these holes were dug by that centipede?"

Konan was startled. After observing for a while, she nodded and asked, "It's very possible, but why would it grow so big?"

"I'm thinking about that too." Ming Jing frowned. If this were Earth, the most likely places to find such a large centipede would be Chernobyl and Fukushima; everyone would know what caused it without guessing. But this was the Naruto World, a world without even relativity, so how could there be creatures mutated by radiation?

"I need to find the source. Otherwise, even if we eliminate the giant centipede today, tomorrow giant ants or black widow spiders might appear." Ming Jing thought for a moment and slowly said, "Before that, I'll send you out first."

"I'll find it with you!" Konan shook her head and said, "You'll leave after you finish digging the canal, but I have to live here."

Ming Jing wanted to say something else, but then he thought, it was a question whether they could even survive and get out of here alive! Why worry about so much? Thus, the young man smiled gently and said, "Then, I'll be counting on you, Konan."

"Mhm!" Konan nodded. She then asked, "What are your thoughts now?"

Ming Jing pointed to the cave opposite them that was large enough for a truck and said, "Let's follow the largest cave. We'll walk out through there, to the very source of it all."

"Then let's go!" Konan agreed with a nod. The two seemed unaware that they were still holding hands. In this harsh underground world, they somehow managed to create a warm atmosphere.

Behind them, the giant centipede that had been unconscious woke up. If anyone were there, they would have been terrified, because in the centipede's eight eyes, there appeared an expression called "contemplation." This indicated that the centipede could think like humans and some highly intelligent animals!

Perhaps it was the first time it had thought, the centipede was a little unaccustomed to it, so it took a longer time to think. After an unknown period, the centipede's eyes lit up. It began to move, not charging blindly like before, but consciously tightening its many legs. Soon, it arrived at the cave where Ming Jing and Konan had stopped, its eight eyes scanning all the holes. Then, it found the information it needed in the largest cave: a footprint.

The centipede did not pursue immediately. It moved slowly through the cave, constantly adjusting its steps. Gradually, its speed increased, while the vibrations it produced became smaller.

Ming Jing and Konan walked silently through the cave, their footsteps seeming to be amplified in the quiet. Konan suddenly stopped, tilted her head, and listened for a moment before asking, "Did you hear that?"

Ming Jing closed his eyes and listened intently, then asked with confusion, "Is that... footsteps? Could it be Qing Yan and the Captain?"

"No," Konan pressed her ear against the stone wall and listened carefully again before saying, "That's not the footsteps of one or two people."

"The big guy is catching up!" Ming Jing was stunned, then reacted. He couldn't help but say with annoyance, "It seems I underestimated the big guy's brain capacity."

"Don't you think it's strange?" Konan returned to Ming Jing's side and said, "The big guy seems a bit different than before."

Ming Jing pulled Konan forward, pondering the difference Konan had mentioned. Suddenly, a flash of inspiration struck him, and he couldn't help but laugh. He looked at Konan and said, "We're saved."

"Mhm, that's good." Konan nodded, not showing much surprise. Perhaps she hadn't taken this encounter seriously in the first place!

"Now, let's not rush. Let's walk slowly! Let's wait for that idiot behind us." Ming Jing was completely relaxed now, his confidence returning.

"Okay." Konan didn't refuse and slowed down with Ming Jing.

As expected, the giant centipede quickly caught up. Its eight eyes stared at Ming Jing and Konan, with a mixture of curiosity and greed. Ming Jing extended his middle and index fingers again, drawing a green coin in the air. Then, he pulled a memory from his mind and injected it into the coin. Seeing the familiar object, the giant centipede became exceptionally excited. Ming Jing smiled slightly and casually flicked the green coin towards the centipede.

Like a pet dog, the giant centipede opened its mouth and swallowed the green coin, then looked at Ming Jing with ferocious eyes, its entire body coiling like a spring before lunging.

Unfortunately, neither Ming Jing nor Konan panicked. Ming Jing was confident, while Konan was calm. Just as they were about to be devoured, the giant centipede suddenly stopped, as if someone had hit the pause button. Its eight eyes showed that its current state was not very good.

"What did you inject into it this time?" Konan asked curiously.

"It's simple logical thinking!" Ming Jing said with a grin.

Konan tilted her head and asked, "What is that?"

"Logical thinking, in the process of understanding things, is the rational cognitive process that actively reflects objective reality using forms of thought such as concepts, judgments, and reasoning. It is also called abstract thinking. It arises and develops from the analysis of the thinker's thought processes, their structure, and the laws governing their operation. Only through logical thinking can people's understanding of things reach an grasp of the essential properties of specific objects, and thus understand the objective world. It is the higher stage of human cognition, the so-called rational stage of cognition," Ming Jing explained to Konan, looking at the centipede with some anticipation.

"It sounds complicated," Konan said after thinking for a moment.

"Compared to moral concepts, logical thinking is indeed very complex," Ming Jing nodded. He felt the centipede was about to wake up, so he quietly pulled Konan back a considerable distance.

The first thing the centipede felt upon waking was a headache, but at the same time, it felt like its perception of the world had changed. It couldn't articulate exactly how it had changed. It looked down at the two humans not far away. One of them was the one who had given it the ability to think, but it felt no gratitude towards him.

"Human, I should truly thank you. You've allowed me to escape a life of ignorance in the underground and see things on a higher level." The centipede's eight eyes stared at Ming Jing as it spoke human words.

"Oh? You can talk now!" Ming Jing's smile widened.

"You've injected me with human world moral standards... How ridiculous!!!" The centipede lunged forward, its antennae gently brushing Ming Jing's face as it spoke in a soft voice, "I am an insect! You dare try to bind me with human morality? In the insect world, preying on each other is fundamental. At times, even one's own kind will be eaten without hesitation. Furthermore, humans and I are not even the same species; eating you is far easier than eating a centipede. Now, do you think those ridiculous human morals are suitable for me?!"

Konan's heart tightened. Was Ming Jing's plan exactly as the centipede described? Trying to restrain it with human morality? It seemed his plan had failed!

Thinking of this, Konan couldn't help but grip Ming Jing's hand tightly, as if to tell him that he wouldn't be alone even in death.

"Originally, my idea was that if you could abide by human moral standards, I would let you go. If you couldn't, I would have to personally end you, this monster I created." Ming Jing's expression remained unchanged, still smiling.

"Hahaha!!!" The centipede roared with laughter. "You couldn't do anything to me when I was in a hazy state. Now that I have acquired thought, do you think you can do anything to me?? I tell you, not only will I not abide by those ridiculous human morals, but I will leave this dark and sunless underground. I will rule the world! I will make humans grovel at my feet, and then I will tell those humans trembling in my shadow that I was created by you."

"Indeed, the ignorant are the happiest people in the world!" Ming Jing sighed, his expression calm but his tone firm, "Don't worry! You won't get out."