Xia Fei strode into that dark corridor. There was no need for any light, for he was able to see his surroundings very clearly even in the dark, given that his eyes had been enhanced by the Beast Spirit Codex.
Pushing open the cold metal door which led to the command deck, it was evident that the command central for this warship was bigger than that insectoid ship that he had seen before. After all, this could very well be a ship that was at a capital ship level, meaning that the command central needed to be all the more spacious, possessing even more functions.
Right at the center of the command deck was a biological fluid pool, which was at least ten meters wide. An insectoid cerebrum was suspended behind the transparent walls of the pool, where dark red fluid was slowly circulating, flowing from the upper liquid inlet to the liquid outlet below.
Xia Fei lit a cigarette and stepped forward, examining it in proximity.
The insectoid cerebrum structure was different from that of a human. It did not have a left and right hemisphere like a human brain but rather was whole, while intricate and thin red blood vessels ran across its surface. He could even see this huge cerebrum still working when he got a closer look. There was a very slight movement, undetectable if he had not been closely inspecting it.
The uncountable interconnected transmission wires were connected to the cerebral landscape through metal fixtures. These transparent wires would glow from time to time, indicating that the insectoid cerebrum was transmitting signals and messages. Unfortunately, the warship itself was damaged, so it could not move despite the cerebrum trying to transmit orders to it.
The biological fluid, which the insectoid cerebrum was soaked in, gave off an acrid smell. Xia Fei wrinkled his nose even as he took the two neural transmission wires dangling outside and placed them on his temples, in accordance with what Daimu had told him.
“Who are you? Why is your seventh brain region completely open?”
The moment the neural transmission wires touched Xia Fei’s temples, a shocked voice could be heard in Xia Fei’s consciousness, sounding very old.
Xia Fei could not help but marvel at how powerful that pricey translation chip he had embedded in his brain was. Not only was it able to translate the Tulon language successfully, it was even able to understand the neural signals being sent by the insectoid cerebrum rapidly. As for that neutral voice he was hearing, it might very well be a voice that the translation chip itself had. As it was a smart biological chip, it would definitely have this function.
Xia Fei flicked his cigarette to the ground and stomped it out. He then sat down in that comfortable captain’s chair and shut both his eyes. Composing himself, he got into a state to converse with the insectoid cerebrum.
He began. “My name’s Xia Fei, bug. Why are you so shocked that my seventh brain region is completely open?”
The cerebrum gingerly answered, “Of course, I should be shocked. There shouldn’t be any sentient creature out there that could do so. Are you perhaps a god?”
Xia Fei smiled. “There’s no god in this universe. I’m just a human who has coincidentally opened up my brain region.”
The insectoid cerebrum was puzzled, “Human? I only know that there are only insectoids, Tulons, and the god race. What is this human?”
Xia Fei mulled on this a little. “Humans are just a normal sapient race in space, living next to the insectoid territory.”
The insectoid cerebrum asked again, “Are you really not a lifeform of the god race?”
Xia Fei found it hilarious. The so-called gods were nothing but legends, so how could they exist? He had no idea why this insectoid would actually make the connection between himself and the god race.”
“No, I’m human.”
The insectoid cerebrum sighed. “Perhaps you’re speaking the truth. I’ve just finished examining your seventh brain region and realized that it’s forcibly opened through unnatural means, so I doubt you’re someone from the god race.”
Xia Fei rubbed his chin as he asked, “You seem to be very afraid of that god race. Are there really lifeforms out there that have their seventh brain region completely open?”
The insectoid cerebrum harrumphed. “You’re not of my race, so why should I tell you? Still, since your seventh brain region is already completely open, you’d better take care of yourself.”
Xia Fei laughed mirthlessly. “I don’t know what kind of insectoid you are, but now that you’re just a brain, all it will take is a simple jab from my thumb to kill you.”
The insectoid cerebrum replied with much solemnity, “It’s very easy for you to stop my brain from working, but I won’t bow to you even if you kill me, for my life belongs to the great god race.”
Xia Fei opened his eyes, and at that moment, his gaze instantly gained extreme clarity. He then unleashed the Beast Spirit Codex, flooding the insectoid brain with an overwhelming amount of information through his two eyes.
Xia Fei had once tried to do this a very long time ago, and though the Beast Spirit Codex was not enough to dominate an insectoid completely, the technique would still produce an insurmountable level of pain to the creature. Since this insectoid cerebrum did not wish to cooperate with Xia Fei, he decided to use force, see if it could survive this wave after wave of mental assault.
The insectoid cerebrum immediately started to shudder, seemingly currently being electrocuted. Ripples could be seen in that dark red liquid as if the insectoid cerebrum was undergoing an intense workout.
“Oh, god! This is simply too frightening—just what are you trying to do to me?
“Stop it! I’d rather you kill me than suffer through this agonizing torture.”
Xia Fei laughed coldly. “Kill you? No, that will be far too simple. I hope that you can enjoy what you’re feeling now, for I’m trapped on this planet with no means of escape, so I have all the time in the world to toy with you.”
The insectoid cerebrum could no longer respond to Xia Fei’s taunts. It forcibly tried to withstand that immense effect Xia Fei was exerting on its brain. Xia Fei chuckled softly as he increased the intensity of his assault. Everything must be done very carefully since the two insectoids ended up exploding the last time he experimented with this method, and that was all because they could not endure the powerful mental pressure he had exerted on them. Xia Fei did not wish for the same outcome to occur here. The secret of the insectoids, Tulons, and the god race as well as the way to return to the Alliance… He needed this insectoid cerebrum to help solve all the conundrums he was facing.
This situation continued. Using the Beast Spirit Codex would drain Xia Fei’s mental energy immensely, but he had no choice but to endure this just to get to the bottom of everything.
The insectoid cerebrum demonstrated exceptional resilience, resisting Xia Fei the entire time. Occasionally, it would even attempt to counterattack Xia Fei on the sly, hoping to trigger a mental backlash to destroy Xia Fei’s brain in one fell swoop.
Unfortunately, no matter how powerful a counterattack it attempted to trigger, it was useless against the Beast Spirit Codex. There was not only a technical gap between the two; the fact that Xia Fei possessed a second special ability in the form of psychokinesis made him all the more powerful than that insectoid cerebrum.
The only thing worth pressing was the insectoid cerebrum’s willpower. It continued to persist despite slowly facing a mental collapse, though the speed of this collapse was far slower than what Xia Fei had first imagined.
…
The most cruel method to use against a foe was not destruction but rather torture. This principle was the same no matter what race it was being applied on. That insectoid cerebrum was very unlucky, for the opponent it was facing, Xia Fei, just happened to be an expert at torturing his foes.
The insectoid cerebrum originally wanted to compete with Xia Fei’s willpower, but what it did not know was that Xia Fei had always been a madman, whose determination and willpower was as strong as steel.
After twelve hours passed in such a fashion, a sigh could be heard from the insectoid cerebrum, then a crazed roar echoed in Xia Fei’s consciousness, like a hysterical mental patient having a fit.
…
Xia Fei was secretly worried. ‘Could the powerful pressure I had exerted on this insectoid brain tortured it to insanity?’
Lighting a cigarette, Xia Fei waited as he sat on that captain’s seat. At the same time, he tried to compose himself, slowly recovering the mental energy he had greatly expended.
After a good while, a heavy sigh sounded in Xia Fei’s consciousness. “I confess; you’re very strong. I admit defeat.”
Xia Fei emotionlessly remarked, “Tell me everything that you know.”
The insectoid cerebrum started. “A very long time ago, the insectoids and the Tulons were slaves of the god race. Together, we served our masters up until the god race left, giving back the insectoids and the Tulons freedom.”
At first, the two races were able to coexist in relative peace, but the insectoids and Tulons were both too selfish; they kept fighting for their own interests, until finally this escalated into an full-blown war. The weak Tulons were of course no match for the insectoids, and since they had neither the strength nor the ability to multiply as quickly as the insectoids, one side slowly started to gain the upperhand in the war.
Back then, before the god race left, they told us to get along with each other peacefully, for a scene where the two races ended up killing each other was not to our masters’ likinh. As a result, we, my eight brothers and I, sought the Tulons’ High Priest Sik, ferrying the last of their people after great hardship to arrive here in this foreign space.”
Xia Fei asked, “Who are you people? Why do the insectoids of today no longer create semi-biological warships like what you once did?”
The insectoid cerebrum answered, “We are the creations of our masters, the god race. Once our masters left, the insectoids naturally lost such capabilities.”
Xia Fei came to a sudden realization. It was not that the insectoids did not wish to create biological warships; it was that they were no longer technologically capable of such feat. The powerful god race had piqued his interest immensely, which was why Xia Fei asked, “In your words, it sounds as if there’s some sort of link between the seventh brain region and the god race.”
The insectoid cerebrum was silent for a good while. “Normal intelligent lifeforms are unable to open their seventh brain regions completely. That’s a rule that the god race set, so the mere fact that you managed to do so is going against the precepts of the god race. If they end up discovering you, you’ll disappear from this universe forever.”
Xia Fei smiled. “Rule? Why must I observe the rules set by others?”
The insectoid cerebrum answered, “You’ll understand one day. The god race is very powerful. Only two of them were needed to subjugate both the entire insectoids and Tulons, and their super abilities alone are enough to turn countless other intelligent lifeforms into their lifelong slaves. You’re nothing compared to them at all.”
Xia Fei lit a cigarette. “I understood three things from your words: One, other intelligent lifeforms are also capable of completely opening their seventh brain region, except that it is rare and that there aren’t many. Plus, once they achieve this, they’ll end up getting themselves hunted down by the so-called god race.”
“That’s right.”
“Two, this god race is really just another intelligent lifeform, and aside from the fact that they have their seventh brain regions completely open, they’re no different from other races, or in other words, they’re not the so-called ‘gods’ that you proclaimed them to be.”
“Also correct,” replied the insectoid cerebrum.
Xia Fei was deep in thought. He could not help but link everything he had just learned with the mysterious ancient civilization that had once possessed a Titan. A powerful race that had their seventh brain region completely open… Because of their unwillingness to see the rise of other species, they massacred them; meanwhile, other races who wanted to prevent the extermination of their race kept trying to construct Titan superwarships.
Humanity’s near-extinction from before appeared to be the same, too. They collected information of the Titan from all across the universe, all in order to construct that armageddon-level killer weapon. However, what ended up wiping out humanity was not the god race but the robots that had rebelled against mankind, instead. This last point was just Xia Fei’s conjecture, however.
“Let me ask you another question: Does the god race have a gigantic warship called Titan?” Xia Fei asked, his eyebrows knitted together.
