"...So that giant slug I ran into last time on the edge of the Black Iron Trail was sent there by you?"
So if you worked under this Overmind and suffered brain damage that left you unfit for research, you got shipped to the front lines to serve as cannon fodder? Even capitalists would think that was extreme.
Overmind of the People? Swarm of the People? Some joke.
Shali wasn't sure which one Yu Lian meant, so she simply turned her head a little farther away and replied without answering his question. "Maybe neither psychic powers nor biological methods can unlock this. I'm debating whether to use the rebels' connections to bring in a couple of experts in electronic data. But do I really want to bring people I don't know here?"
Yu Lian smiled. "And that's fate for you—wonderfully mysterious! When it comes to electronic data, no one knows more about it than me—and my accessory."
Little Gray, who was floating around and playing the role of a female ghost, gave him a cold "heh."
Yu Lian looked the towering giant egg up and down, then suddenly said, "But have you ever considered that the biggest problem might be that it's incomplete?"
"Incomplete? You mean I have to find all the Nest Hearts?" Shali shook her head vigorously. "That's impossible. The missing Nest Hearts only mean missing skills, not missing authority. I..."
She gaped and fell silent, watching Yu Lian place his hand on the thick, purple-gold wall—the very spot where she had put hers.
This time, the light was in harmony. It was pink, blending completely with the surrounding fungal carpet.
The harmonious pink glow flowed up to the top of the giant egg, once again forming a complex geometric pattern. Only this time, the parts that lit