Sometimes being carefree and thick-skinned can be a blessing— at least in tough situations, it let him live a little happier than most. Lin Kong was a perfect example.
While Hermes was cultivating, Lin Kong could easily entertain himself to pass the time. Now and then, he would squeeze through the cracks in the stone cave, wander outside for a bit, and even pick up a few frozen birds. After a bit of simple cleaning, he’d roast them over the fire and enjoy a hearty meal.
That day, Lin Kong was spacing out by the campfire as usual. Out of habit, he glanced over at Hermes— only to see that the pale blue psychic barrier in front of him seemed to be cracking. His expression instantly changed.
During his cultivation, the energy inside Hermes’ body had remained in a constant state of agitation. The psychic barrier around him, battered by repeated impacts, was growing thinner and weaker.
When he began absorbing the blue orb refined from the kingworm, a sharp cracking sound suddenly rang out from the barrier:
“Crack—”
“Crack—”
The shattering noises came one after another, and spiderweb-like cracks spread rapidly across the surface. In the end, the barrier could no longer withstand the powerful psychic backlash— with a deafening crash, it shattered into dust.
“Boom—!”
Lin Kong couldn’t dodge in time. He was slammed hard against the stone gate by the force of the powerful psychic shockwave. With a muffled groan, he collapsed to the ground, his face deathly pale as he cried out in shock, “Hermes!”
At the sound of his name, Hermes abruptly opened his eyes. They were bloodshot, his pupils contracted into pinpricks— it was clear he had lost all rational control. His sleeves fluttered wildly despite the still air, and a chilling murderous aura instantly filled the cave.
The blue orb still carried a trace of the kingworm’s consciousness. Once Hermes absorbed it, that lingering will began to frantically battle for control over his mind. Hunger. Hunt. These two primal instincts flashed through his eyes, stripping him of all humanity and turning him into a cold, feral beast.
Hermes swept his cold, emotionless gaze around the cave— and finally locked onto Lin Kong.
He was the only living creature left inside.
Hermes stared at the black-haired, black-eyed prey before him with an unfamiliar, alien look. Slowly, he tilted his head to one side. From the stiffness of the motion, the bones in his neck let out a series of chilling, grating cracks.
Lin Kong had a bad feeling. Clutching his chest, he staggered to his feet, slowly edging backward while cautiously calling out, “Hermes? Are you awake?”
“Say something, Hermes?”
The moment Lin Kong saw those pin-sharp, vertical pupils, he knew something was very wrong. He quietly shuffled toward the crack in the stone gate, planning to slip out and hide— but just as he reached it, Hermes flicked his sleeve. With a deafening boom, the stone gate slammed shut, sealing off the exit completely.
Lin Kong: “?!!”
Shit! He hadn’t even made it out yet!
Lin Kong turned back in shock— only to see Hermes had somehow teleported right in front of him. Without any warning, Hermes seized him by the throat, and unlike the usual half-hearted threats, this time, he was using real, brutal force.
“Ngh!”
Lin Kong let out a pained grunt, a wave of choking and nausea surging up his throat. Driven by pure survival instinct, he struggled wildly— but the hand clamped around his neck was as unyielding as solid steel, completely immovable.
“He… Hermes… it’s me…Cough, cough, cough…”
“Let… let go…”
Lin Kong’s face flushed a deep red, unable to even get a full sentence out. He had long since prepared himself for the possibility of dying at Hermes’ hands— but being slowly strangled to death like this was far more painful than he had imagined.
At this point, Hermes no longer recognized Lin Kong. His gaze was cold and menacing as he stared at the prey before him, driven by instinct to drain the other’s life force. But for some reason, he couldn’t bring himself to do it— a strange, nagging sense of familiarity held him back.
The scent was familiar. The face was familiar. Even the voice was familiar…
Hermes couldn’t help but furrow his brows. He had already entered a half-zerg transformation: faint zerg-like markings appeared and disappeared along the sides of his face. Inside his mind, two surges of psychic power clashed violently— one screaming at him to kill Lin Kong, the other desperately trying to hold him back.
Hermes’ breathing was ragged. With a painful growl, he finally hurled Lin Kong aside with a violent toss.
“Cough, cough, cough!”
Lin Kong was thrown to the side, gasping for air as he clutched his throat, coughing uncontrollably. Struggling to lift his gaze, he saw Hermes’ right hand suddenly transform, the claws extending like blades, and he plunged them into his own chest with a brutal force— trying to use the pain to snap himself back to his senses.
Lin Kong cried out in alarm: “Hermes!”
Lin Kong scrambled forward, catching Hermes’ unsteady body as it threatened to collapse. But the torment Hermes was enduring showed no signs of easing. Veins bulged on his forehead, blood soaking through his black robe as he struggled violently on the ground.
[Lin Kong!]
Hermes’ voice was hoarse, his forehead drenched in sweat. He looked at Lin Kong, the black-haired, black-eyed figure before him, and with great effort, forced out a few words, his face twisting with pain and strain: [Get out!]
Hermes had clearly underestimated the power of the kingworm’s psychic energy. He could feel that strange consciousness slowly invading his brain, his every action slipping further out of his control.
With his right hand covered in sticky, fresh blood, Hermes used the last of his psychic power to pry open a small gap in the stone door outside the cave. The stone shifted with a thunderous crash, and cold wind instantly swept in, extinguishing the flames of the fire.
In the end, Hermes still couldn’t bring himself to kill the prey before him. He didn’t want to become a puppet controlled by the kingworm’s will. Blood continued to pour from his chest, soaking his robe. The wind and snow howled through the mountain forest, seeping into his bones, sending a chill through his entire body.
Lin Kong froze for a moment, then quickly rushed to hold Hermes in his arms. “I’m not leaving. Where would I even go? You were cultivating, what happened to you? Why did you suddenly become like this?!”
“Hermes, talk to me! How can I save you?”
Hermes’ bloodshot eyes opened, his pale face streaked with splattered blood. His throat heaved as he gasped for air, making a wheezing sound like a bellows. With great difficulty, he pointed weakly toward the cave entrance. [Leave…]
[Get out of here…]
Whether it was to the creek, deep into the dense forest, or even searching for those lower-level tribal zergs, Lin Kong would find a way to survive. Staying here would only lead to his own destruction, drained of life force and turned into one of those dried, grotesque corpses littering the corners of the cave.
Lin Kong felt an intense chill, though he couldn’t tell if it was from the cold outside or from the coldness settling in his heart. He had finally found a companion in Hermes, someone to rely on— and now, that same companion was teetering on the edge of life and death, ready to lose control and potentially kill him.
“I’m not leaving… I’m not leaving…”
Snowflakes gathered on Lin Kong’s head and shoulders, the cold making him shiver uncontrollably. He clung tightly to Hermes, feeling a strange tightness in his chest. His eyes inexplicably started to water, and he wiped them away harshly.
“Where would I even go if I left? Do you think everyone is like you, giving me prey to hunt every day?”
“Are you sick? Tell me— how can I save you?!”
Hermes gasped weakly, his breath ragged. His psychic power was abundant, yet there was no self-awareness, and it rampaged uncontrollably through his meridians, causing him sharp, searing pain, drenched in cold sweat. [The orb…]
Lin Kong’s heart tightened at the mention. “What orb? The blue one refined of the young kingworm?”
Hermes closed his eyes in agony. [It still holds a trace of the kingworm’s consciousness… It’s trying to take control of my body…]
[Lin Kong… leave here…]
[Otherwise, I really will kill you…]
As Hermes spoke the final words, his gaze suddenly turned cold and cruel. It was as if he no longer recognized Lin Kong, his expression filled with malice. Just like before, he viciously seized Lin Kong by the throat, his deep, dark eyes gleaming with an unmistakable murderous intent.
The grip loosened and tightened alternately, clearly showing that Hermes was on the verge of losing control. If this continued, Lin Kong might very well bleed out right there on the spot.
Lin Kong seemed to understand something in that moment— Hermes would soon be entirely taken over by that foreign consciousness, and he would no longer recognize him. He should have run. But for some reason, his legs felt as though they were filled with lead, too heavy to move, and no matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t budge.
At the brink of life and death, a person can summon an unimaginable courage, doing things they would never have dared to before. After all, if death is inevitable, why not go all in and take a chance?
But as Lin Kong looked at Hermes’ blood-soaked chest, he hesitated for a moment…
“Go ahead… kill me!”
Lin Kong chose to give up entirely! After speaking, he closed his eyes, indifferent to death, and buried his face tightly in Hermes’ chest.
Escape? Leave?
Lin Kong didn’t think he would ever meet another Hermes again, nor did he believe he had the strength to search for another “golden thigh” to lean on.
A person’s thoughts are limited, and so is the desire to survive. When Lin Kong first entered the dense forest, he had already considered the possibility of death. Compared to the scarcity of food and the dangerous environment, the most soul-crushing thing was the loneliness of not finding another soul to connect with.
He had invested countless efforts and emotions to get to this point with Hermes, and Lin Kong no longer had the strength to give the same energy to anyone else.
“Go ahead… kill me!”
“Didn’t you say you’d die with me? I agree!”
Lin Kong’s words were defiant, but in reality, his whole body trembled with fear, and he didn’t even dare to open his eyes. The only thing he could do was hold onto Hermes tightly, as if that alone might make the other person soften, just like when they first met, when Lin Kong had clung to Hermes’ leg, begging for mercy— and Hermes had actually spared him.
Hermes never expected that Lin Kong would truly dare to die with him. His bloodstained hand, which had already sunk into Lin Kong’s throat, suddenly wrenched itself free. He let out a painful, anguished scream, and then, without warning, lowered his head and viciously bit down on his own wrist, the force so strong that it reached the bone.
Lin Kong was startled when he noticed Hermes’ actions. He quickly pried open his mouth. “Why are you biting yourself?! If you want blood, bite me. After all, my life is the one you saved!”
“I don’t blame you, really, I don’t blame you!”
Lin Kong knew that Hermes was self-harming because he didn’t want to hurt him, and the tightness in his chest grew unbearable. He didn’t know what else he could do, so he hugged Hermes tightly and shoved his own hand into his mouth. “You want blood, don’t you? Drink mine.”
Lin Kong’s blood was uniquely alluring, unlike any animal in the dense forest. Hermes, already losing his mental clarity, accidentally bit into Lin Kong’s palm, and his eyes darkened. He couldn’t control himself and began to suck greedily at the sweet blood, his pupils growing ever redder.
Lin Kong’s face went pale with pain, but he forced himself not to struggle. He pressed his chin gently against Hermes’ forehead, speaking softly to him. “Shh, it’s okay, it’s okay…”
“Hermes, you’re so strong, you won’t be controlled by the kingworm. The winter isn’t over yet. We can’t die here…”
“We can’t die here…”
Lin Kong’s voice seemed to have a kind of magical power. Hermes’ previously chaotic psychic energy began to gradually calm down. He bit down hard on Lin Kong’s palm, and with the constant flow of blood, his body started undergoing changes that he wasn’t even aware of.
In the earliest records of the Zerg Race, their ancestors’ lifespans were classified by psychic power levels. Every two hundred years, they went through a molting phase, with the longest possible lifespan being six hundred years. However, back then, they lacked any reproductive capabilities and could only rely on the Zerg King to lay eggs continuously, thus expanding their race.
Later, their ancestors learned to pair off in twos and reproduce on their own, and the race developed gender distinctions: female, male, and sub-female. However, due to genetic differences, their lifespan changed as well, with the maximum lifespan being only two hundred years.
It’s hard to describe whether this was a regression or an advancement.
The Zerg Race abandoned their long, endless lifespans, exchanging them for the continuation of life, as well as emotions, language, and knowledge—things cold-blooded creatures like them had never known before.
However, these historical records were completely lost in a war, and future generations could no longer investigate them.
The snowstorm finally stopped after one night, and the forest was silent, devoid of all sound.
Lin Kong remained motionless in that position, and Hermes gradually grew quieter as well. The only source of warmth they had left was probably the gem they had extracted from the throat of the red-bellied bird. Without it, they would have long since been frozen stiff.
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