Arknights, but Terra Is Kept in Captivity

"What's wrong? Are you interested in that glass marble?"

Chen Ran held Kal'tsit, who was still only the size of a figurine, in his palm.

He had originally wanted to see whether this Hakimi would, like Heart of the Corrupted Skadi, casually make herself at home here,

or whether she would be like that lucky fellow from last time, whose SAN value had crazily dropped by one until he croaked.

Yet after waiting for quite a while, Chen Ran saw Kal'tsit standing in his palm, looking left and right before finally fixing her gaze on that food planet.

Seriously?

It was one thing for those Sea Creatures to keep babbling, "Hungry, hungry, food, food," while stuffing their faces like mad, but surely Kal'tsit wasn't only thinking about eating too?

Should I get you some catnip?

But the moment Chen Ran spoke, it was like thunder exploding beside Kal'tsit's ears.

She instinctively turned her head, only to see a majestic figure whose body spanned the entire galaxy.

Kal'tsit could not think of a single existing adjective capable of describing the being before her.

She swallowed, even forgetting to breathe—

Though Kal'tsit quickly became puzzled. Why could she breathe in space?

Then she realized that compared to her flesh-and-blood body being exposed to space without incident, being able to breathe did not seem like much of an issue...

She could only roughly attribute it to divine power—

Then Chen Ran saw that Kal'tsit's attitude had finally become respectful as she clearly called out, "Lord God."

She had no choice but to be respectful.

Kal'tsit had not only discovered that the fanatical believer from before had been telling the truth, but was also glad that believer had been assimilated and taken away by the Sea Creatures.

Because this was no mere god of faith. At the very least, this being was on the level of a Creator God or maker of worlds.

A planet was nothing more than a glass marble for children to play with in this being's mouth.

Heart of the Corrupted Skadi, who had swept across the entire continent of Terra and led her entire race to ascension, a godlike existence in humanity's eyes, was obediently sitting on that being's shoulder like a domesticated pet...

Did that not make things clear enough?

Kal'tsit liked to wear a sour expression, but she truly was not stupid.

"I'm not a god." As always, Chen Ran denied the title.

But Kal'tsit lowered her head in silence upon hearing that.

Indeed, a being of such stature probably truly looked down on the likes of gods.

But He could say whatever He wanted, while she still had to call Him what she had to call Him. "Lord God, I wish to make a..."

Make a deal?

Kal'tsit suddenly found herself unable to say those words. She did not think she had the nerve.

So Kal'tsit had to choose her words carefully. "Lord God, since I was fortunate enough to draw the Holy Sword You bestowed, then... does that mean I may also be fortunate enough to receive an answer to one question?"

Holy Sword? What Holy Sword?

Chen Ran glanced at the piece of rebar Kal'tsit was gripping.

You mean this thing?

Chen Ran's expression became somewhat subtle, but he was also curious what Kal'tsit wanted to ask, so he nodded. "Ask."

"I want to know." Kal'tsit paused. "What price must we pay in exchange for even a sliver of hope for humanity's survival?"

Chen Ran: "?"

Why are you asking me?

Hope for humanity's survival? Shouldn't you be asking those remaining survivors whether they were willing to have children—and eight at a time, at that?

Once they had enough children, the cheap labo—cough, population would rise, a new civilization would emerge, and wouldn't that get things going again?

Why ask me about having children? Don't you know how? Do I have to teach you too?

Kal'tsit: Evil God! This Thing Is an Evil God!

The two saw things from completely different perspectives.

In Kal'tsit's eyes, He created things with a wave of His hand, kept Sea Creatures as livestock, and handcrafted planets...

To a being like Chen Ran, humanity was probably nothing more than a little toy to pass the time.

Whether humanity existed or not was of no interest to Him whatsoever.

But that was precisely why Kal'tsit had no choice but to seek a sliver of survival from Him.

If He was in a good mood today, they could coexist peacefully. But if He was unhappy tomorrow, a single slap could send all humanity into the second dimension with ease.

Since He was uninterested, He naturally did not care whether they lived or died.

But Chen Ran saw things entirely differently.

It was like playing a claw machine. He had first grabbed a Heart of the Corrupted Skadi, and she was now over there singing Hakimi.

Then he had grabbed a Sea Creature, only to find that it did nothing but eat.

Now he had grabbed a Kal'tsit, and the first thing she did was ask how to have children.

Seriously? Was there something wrong with the way he was operating the claw machine, or was everyone in Terra just absurdly gifted?

So Chen Ran curiously asked, "Hope for humanity's survival? Aren't you all-knowing? You don't know how to have children?"

Just make those survivors have children. Once the population rises, wouldn't the human race be revived?

Kal'tsit: "... ..."

But the moment those words left his mouth, Kal'tsit, standing in Chen Ran's palm, went from stunned to disbelieving, then to having her pupils quake.

Question: What price must I, Kal'tsit, pay for Him, Chen Ran, to spare humanity and leave them alive?

Answer: Have children.

Who was having children? Her? With whom? Him?

The cat ears atop Kal'tsit's head flattened backward. Her tail, hidden beneath her skirt, puffed up into a round fluffball. Her hand clenched the "Holy Sword" tightly as she involuntarily took a step back.

God of Faith (X)

Creator God (X)

This was fucking an Evil God (✓)

But Kal'tsit was standing in Chen Ran's palm. How far could she retreat?

After only a few steps, she reached the edge of Chen Ran's palm. One of her heels stepped into empty air, and her body instantly began to teeter, forcing Kal'tsit to stop.

Just as she finally steadied herself and looked up, Kal'tsit saw Chen Ran's other enormous hand reaching toward her.

It moved so quickly that Kal'tsit had nowhere to dodge. She could only let that giant hand seize her in one grasp. As she instinctively bit her lip and the sound of fabric rubbing followed, that hand placed her back in the very center of his palm.

"Tsk, tsk." Chen Ran smacked his lips before saying, "No wonder you're a cat. You always like playing with high-difficulty stuff, huh?"

Kal'tsit had nearly fallen from his hand just now, and it had truly given Chen Ran a fright.

He did not know whether cats could fly, but they could definitely fall to their deaths.

That was why he had hurriedly reached out to save her.

Though it seemed like he had accidentally pressed something soft just now... Hmm, he had probably pressed that little belly again.

It could not be helped. The proportions were what they were. One of Chen Ran's thumbs could perfectly cover her abdomen, so accidentally pressing it was only natural—

That excuse could fool no one but himself.

Because Kal'tsit's reaction was right there. That was definitely not the reaction of someone whose stomach had been pressed.

So Chen Ran looked at Kal'tsit's chest, then rubbed his fingertips together.

Yep. Padded.

Kal'tsit had no idea Chen Ran was slandering her. She merely stood in his palm.

Thinking back to when that giant hand had grabbed her, Chen Ran's pinky alone had been as thick as one of her thighs.

Kal'tsit then reached out and lightly pressed her own lower abdomen with her fingertips.

Kal'tsit: "... ..."

Reason told her that if sacrificing her life could win a chance of survival for the entire human race, it was absolutely worth it... No, it was more than worth it. It was an enormous profit.

But emotion told her that this Evil God was evil beyond all measure. He even wanted to use a human-shaped Fleshlight.

Then reason argued back that even if she refused, with this Evil God's methods, He might truly create human sacrifice rituals demanding pure virgins. By then, countless lives would suffer.

Then emotion told her again—

Kal'tsit seemed to have fallen into a storm of thoughts. Though her expression did not change, her brow visibly furrowed deeper and deeper.

Only after a long while did Kal'tsit seem to finally make up her mind. She took a deep breath.

"I hope that You, Lord God... will keep Your promise. Use me alone in exchange for a sliver of hope for the human race..."

After saying that, there was a clatter as Kal'tsit casually tossed the "Holy Sword" she had been gripping tightly aside.

Then Kal'tsit reached out and expressionlessly began undoing the clothes she wore.

Chen Ran: "?"

Though Heart of the Corrupted Skadi's strip show from last time had already set the bar, and Chen Ran did not have much of a reaction now that it was Kal'tsit's turn, this immediate move to start stripping still made him wonder what kind of logic Kal'tsit was operating on.

Fortunately:

"Lewd coercion! Intimidation! You're despicable!"

"Under Your demand to 'have children,' Kal'tsit, forced by Your lewd coercion, has no choice but to offer loyalty to You, the Evil God (R-rated version), in exchange for humanity's survival."

"Congratulations, you have obtained the achievement: NEKOPARA (icon)"

Chen Ran: "... ..."

Oh.

With the translucent pop-up diligently flashing its perfectly timed reminder, Chen Ran finally understood the whole story.

So they had been talking past each other the entire time?

But just like when Heart of the Corrupted Skadi had put on her strip show, Chen Ran truly could not bring himself to act like some virgin.

Instead, Chen Ran glanced aside at Heart of the Corrupted Skadi, who was sitting on his shoulder and swinging her little feet as she watched the show. "Where's my phone? Red T, where did I put my phone just now? Go find it, then record this scene."

Upon hearing that, Heart of the Corrupted Skadi floated up from Chen Ran's shoulder, drifted all the way to his pants pocket, slipped inside, and felt around left and right.

Only when Chen Ran's expression had become rather subtle did Heart of the Corrupted Skadi finally float back to his shoulder, hugging the phone.

"Can you record it?" Chen Ran asked.

Heart of the Corrupted Skadi turned on the recording function, only to find that electronic devices could not capture it at all.

So Heart of the Corrupted Skadi tilted her little head. A Seaborn mark began spreading from her small hand across the entire phone, eventually covering the camera.

At last, Kal'tsit's figure appeared on the screen.

Only then did Heart of the Corrupted Skadi nod her little head at Chen Ran and make a V-sign, copying what she had learned while surfing the internet.

"Though I guessed you were trying to make an OK gesture, Red T, I think it'd be better to record you like this right now."

Savior Cat, Dying of Social Embarrassment, Decided to meow

"Savior Kal'tsit: If this is Your wish... then I shall offer You my loyalty..."

"HAHAHAHAHAHA!"

Watching that recording on his phone, Chen Ran laughed like Tom Cat.

After the translucent pop-up had informed him that he and Kal'tsit had been talking past each other from start to finish,

Chen Ran, who could already guess what would happen next, naturally had Heart of the Corrupted Skadi record it immediately.