Having escaped the giant centipede's pursuit once again, the two of them breathed a sigh of relief. Ming Jing dragged Konan along in a frantic run, only to unknowingly end up inside an enormous cave.
The cave walls were covered in holes of all sizes. Some were only as wide as bowls, while others were large enough for a truck to drive through. Ming Jing stopped and studied the holes for a while before asking, "Konan, do you think those holes were dug by that centipede?"
Konan was startled. After observing them for a while herself, she nodded and asked, "That's very possible, but why did it grow so large?"
"I've been wondering that too." Ming Jing frowned. On Blue Star, the places most likely to produce a giant centipede like that would be Chernobyl and Fukushima. Everyone knew what had caused it. But this was the Naruto World. How could a world that did not even have relativity have creatures mutated by radiation?
"I need to find the source. Otherwise, even if we eliminate the giant centipede today, giant ants or black widow spiders might emerge tomorrow." After thinking for a moment, Ming Jing slowly said, "But before that, I'll get you out of here first."
"I'll look with you!" Konan shook her head. "You left after digging the canal, but I've lived here all this time."
Ming Jing wanted to say something else, but then he reconsidered. Whether the two of them could even make it out alive was still uncertain. Why worry about so much? So the boy gave her a gentle smile. "Then please take care of me, Konan."
"Mm!" Konan nodded, then asked, "So what do you have in mind now?"
Ming Jing pointed to the truck-sized tunnel across from them. "We follow that biggest tunnel. We follow it out, all the way to the source of everything."
"Let's go, then!" Konan nodded in agreement. Neither of them seemed to realize they were still holding hands. In this dreadful underground world, they somehow created a warm, peaceful atmosphere.
Behind them, the unconscious giant centipede woke up. Anyone who saw it would have been terrified, because its eight eyes held an expression called "thoughtfulness." That meant this centipede could think like humans and certain highly intelligent animals!
Perhaps because it was thinking for the first time, the giant centipede was somewhat unaccustomed to it, so it spent a little longer thinking. No one knew how much time passed before its gaze gradually cleared. It began moving, no longer charging recklessly as before. Instead, it deliberately drew in its many legs. Soon, it reached the cave where Ming Jing and Konan had stopped. Its eight eyes swept across every hole, and then it found the information it needed in the largest tunnel: a shoeprint.
The giant centipede did not immediately give chase. It slowly advanced through the tunnel, constantly adjusting its stride. Gradually, it moved faster and faster, while the vibrations it produced grew weaker and weaker.
Ming Jing and Konan walked silently through the tunnel. Under these circumstances, even their footsteps seemed greatly amplified. Konan suddenly stopped, listened carefully for a moment, and asked, "Did you hear that?"
Ming Jing closed his eyes and listened intently before asking in confusion, "Those are... footsteps? Could Qing Yan and the captain be here?"
"No." Konan pressed her ear against the stone wall and listened again before saying, "Those aren't the footsteps of one or two people."
"That big thing caught up!" Ming Jing froze before realizing what was happening. He could not help saying in frustration, "Looks like I underestimated that big guy's brain capacity."
"Don't you find it strange?" Konan returned to Ming Jing's side. "That big guy seems a little different from before."
Ming Jing took Konan's hand and continued forward, pondering the difference she had mentioned. Suddenly, inspiration struck him, and he began to laugh. Looking at Konan, he said, "We're saved."
"Mm, that's good." Konan nodded without showing much excitement. Perhaps she had never taken this encounter too seriously.
"Now, let's not rush to run. We'll walk slowly and wait for that idiot behind us." Ming Jing finally relaxed completely, and that confidence returned to him.
"Okay." Konan did not refuse and slowed down together with Ming Jing.
Sure enough, the giant centipede quickly caught up. Its eight eyes fixed on Ming Jing and Konan, both curious and greedy. Ming Jing once again extended his middle and index fingers and drew a green copper coin in the air. Then he pulled a segment of memory from his mind and flicked it into the coin. The giant centipede became exceptionally excited upon seeing that familiar thing. Ming Jing smiled faintly, casually slapped the coin, and tossed it toward the giant centipede.
Like a pet dog, the giant centipede opened its mouth and swallowed the green copper coin. Then it turned a vicious gaze on Ming Jing, its entire body springing forward like a coiled spring.
Unfortunately, neither Ming Jing nor Konan panicked. Ming Jing was confident, while Konan remained calm. Just as the two of them were about to be buried in the insect's jaws, the giant centipede suddenly stopped, as if someone had pressed a pause button. Its eight eyes showed that it was not in a particularly good state.
"What did you inject into it this time?" Konan asked curiously.
"Simple logical thinking," Ming Jing said with a smile.
Konan tilted her head. "What's that?"
"So-called logical thinking is the rational cognitive process through which people actively reflect objective reality during the process of understanding things, using forms of thought such as concepts, judgment, and reasoning. It is also called abstract thinking. It arose and developed through the analysis of a cognizer's thinking, its structure, and the laws by which it functions. Only through logical thinking can people grasp the essential characteristics of specific objects and thereby understand the objective world. It is the advanced stage of human cognition, the so-called stage of rational understanding." Ming Jing watched the giant centipede expectantly as he continued explaining to Konan.
"That sounds complicated," Konan said after thinking about it.
"Compared to moral concepts, logical thinking is indeed far more complicated." Ming Jing nodded. He sensed that the giant centipede was about to wake up, so he quietly pulled Konan back a considerable distance.
When the giant centipede woke up, its first sensation was a headache. Yet at the same time, it felt that the way it viewed the world had changed somewhat. It could not say exactly how. It lowered its head to look at the two humans nearby. One of them was the person who had given it the ability to think, but it had no intention of thanking him.
"Human, I really should thank you. You freed me from living muddleheaded beneath the earth and allowed me to see things on a higher level." The giant centipede stared at Ming Jing with eight eyes—and actually spoke human language.
"Oh? You can talk now!" Ming Jing smiled even more happily.
"You injected the moral standards of the human world into me... How laughable!!!" The giant centipede suddenly moved closer, its antennae lightly brushing across Ming Jing's face as it spoke softly. "I'm an insect! You actually wanted to use human morality to bind me. In the insect world, devouring one another is fundamental. Sometimes, even members of the same species will eat each other without hesitation. Besides, humans and I are not even the same race. Eating you is much easier than eating centipedes. Now tell me, do you still think those ridiculous human morals are suitable for me?!"
Konan's heart tightened. Was Ming Jing's plan really what the centipede had said? Had he intended to restrain it with human morality? It seemed his plan had failed!
Thinking of that, Konan could not help gripping Ming Jing's hand tightly, as if she wanted to tell him that even in death, he would not be alone.
"Originally, my plan was to let you go if you could follow human moral standards. If you couldn't, then I would have to personally end the monster I created with my own hands." Ming Jing showed no nervousness at all and continued speaking with a smile.
"Hahahaha!!!" The giant centipede laughed madly. "When I was still in a hazy state, you could do nothing to me. Now that I can think, what do you think you can do to me?? I'm telling you, not only will I refuse to follow those ridiculous human morals, I'll leave this sunless underground world and rule the world! I'll make humanity crawl beneath my feet! Then I'll tell those humans trembling beneath my shadow that I was created by you."
"Sure enough, the ignorant are the happiest people in the world!" Ming Jing sighed. His expression remained calm, but his tone was certain. "Don't worry. You won't get out."
Before you continue