“Strictly speaking, Fran’s items are like a firewall. Whether to connect to the network and what kind of commands to accept is entirely up to us…”
Clara knew this very well.
Since the Moon Rabbit Mother Body was hiding in this resort, there had to be a place here where one could receive the “network signal” sent by the Hive Mind.
Though the comparison was a bit degrading, the so-called Hive Mind was a presence similar to a network, and the offspring were the computers that made up this network.
Therefore, as long as she could access the Hive Mind and become a part of it, Clara could obtain the knowledge stored within.
However, even the Moon Rabbit Mother Body could not completely master this network. After all, the Hive Mind originally had no center. The Mother Body’s authority was a command tower forcibly inserted into the Hive Mind by the Fourth Calamity — it was a backdoor loophole reserved for the direct manipulation of the offspring.
But even then, there was no absolute connection between the Hive Mind and the Moon Rabbit Mother Body.
Rashly connecting to the Hive Mind was a dangerous act, as one’s self-awareness could be washed away, causing them to become a permanent part of the network. For Clara, however, there was no need to worry.
She not only had a firewall, but she also had Nyx.
Clara, having connected to this network, saw the Hive Mind.
Though it possessed no physical form, it represented all Moon Rabbits.
Unlike a form of dominance, it was the Moon Rabbits themselves. As long as a Moon Rabbit had not yet developed self-awareness, they were a part of the Hive Mind.
One is all, and all is one.
***
The larger the population of the Moon Rabbit species grew, the more active its thinking became, and the higher its intelligence rose.
In a sense, Clara had been right not to use a virus for a large-scale extermination of the Moon Rabbits. This ensured that the Hive Mind possessed enough intelligence to communicate, allowing it to be used now to reverse-track the location of the Moon Rabbit Mother Body.
The Fourth Calamity…
The Moon Rabbit Mother Body controlled the entire Moon Rabbit race precisely by controlling the Hive Mind.
The heavy rain in the sky gradually weakened as Clara hovered in the air, sitting on her Squid broom.
“Tell me, where is the Moon Rabbit Mother Body… Pr·edator?”
She asked this with her eyes closed.
“To you, she must also be an intolerable foreign object, right?”
The formless Hive Mind naturally could not speak, nor did it have feelings, but it could answer Clara’s question through the network, flowing the answer into Clara’s mind in the form of information.
Concise and efficient.
It was more suitable for the current urgent situation than any language.
There was not much time to waste. Clara had to find Sista and the others before they were reincarnated into Moon Rabbits.
“So she’s there. Thank you.”
At the same time Clara gave her thanks, Nyx had already utilized the information obtained and manipulated the Squid broom to fly in the direction indicated by the Hive Mind.
**[This location is the employee dormitory.]**
The point indicated was the resort’s employee dormitory, which had never been searched before.
‘Could it be that everyone in the entire resort has already been reincarnated?!’
**[Impossible. Doing that would be too conspicuous.]**
Nyx, however, denied it.
**[Preying on just a few key employees is enough for the Moon Rabbit Mother Body to thrive in the resort. If everyone were converted, we would be able to tell at a glance.]**
People who were reincarnated as Moon Rabbits had rabbit ears on their heads.
Thinking of it that way, there were two inconspicuous bumps on Miss Labi’s head. Could it be…
**[I’m afraid those rabbit ears were cut off and then covered with hair.]**
Clara winced. That sounded like a quite painful answer.
Besides a reincarnated Moon Rabbit with cut-off ears, there was another possibility: she was the Mother Body they had been looking for.
If that were really the case, then the Moon Rabbit Mother Body was not as cautious as imagined. Showing up to contact them from the very beginning showed she was quite confident in her acting skills…
**[No. Without the reconnaissance of a Moon Rabbit Combat Body, you wouldn’t have suspected her until now. Actively contacting you was done precisely to dispel your doubts.]**
‘Whatever. Regardless, I’ll find a way to sneak in first.’
Through a Psycho ability, Nyx quietly hid Clara’s presence.
As Clara’s emotions surged, the performance of the NIX-Driver also rose, and the utilization of data became more flexible.
To Nyx, Clara was also a satisfying host.
Since it was just a dormitory and not some vital facility, it was very simple to invade the place without being noticed. Although there was an electronic lock, such a thing was merely a decoration in front of Nyx.
“It looks like no one is here?”
It was broad daylight, after all, so the dormitory was very quiet.
But the Hive Mind would not lie. The Moon Rabbit Mother Body, Pr·edator, was here.
**[Found her.]**
Nyx’s scan quickly yielded results.
**[And them… however…]**
For some reason, Nyx hesitated and marked a guidance sign in Clara’s vision.
The structure of the employee dormitory was not complex. The target room was located in a corner on the first floor.
“Hmph, I thought it would be another basement.”
Had Pr·edator been entrenched in this dormitory room all along, strategizing and controlling the overall situation?
**[Clara, the Moon Rabbit Mother Body is Labi.]**
‘Is it really her?’
Although she was mentally prepared, Clara still felt a sense of betrayal.
**[Besides Labi, there are also Anya’s and Sigma’s…]**
She had to get in quickly, before they were preyed upon.
But just as Clara was preparing to kick the door down, Nyx grabbed her leg with a Touch Tentacle.
**[Wait, Clara.]**
**[They are already… dead.]**
‘…Was I still too late?’
Clara’s heart felt as though it had fallen into an ice cellar.
Even Sista…
Although it was better than being a Mutant, the death of a Hero was not a rare occurrence. If it were just death, Clara would not be so nervous.
But being preyed upon by Pr·edator would intercept the Soul, making it impossible for them to return to the Divine Abyss to be reborn.
‘If only I had noticed earlier… If only I had talked to Anya sooner to understand the situation.’
**[There is no time for you to grieve now.]**
Clara grit her teeth and took a deep breath to calm herself.
**[Their Souls were extracted and turned into a liquid gel.]**
**[Do not rush in for a confrontation yet.]**
**[The reincarnation hasn’t started yet. You can’t let their Souls be left out like nutrition packs.]**
What Nyx meant was…
Let them all be reincarnated as rabbits first?
**[Prioritize ensuring the integrity of the Souls. After that, as long as we deal with Pr·edator, we can send them back to the Divine Abyss to be formatted… Wait, they’re coming out.]**
Maintaining her invisibility, Clara stepped aside. Labi and Anya walked out of the dormitory carrying the Souls of the three Heroes, then sat in a tour car parked at the door.
They were likely going to the Moon Rabbit base for the reincarnation ritual.
The dormitory could not hold those large rabbits, and the Blue Cavalier’s Soul had also been handed over to a Moon Rabbit to be taken back for reincarnation.
…
Only this time, they were not hiding it anymore. The Mother Body was even going there in person.
**[At this point, she is no longer afraid of you finding out. The balance of power between us and the enemy has completely shifted.]**
“No, we still have a trump card we haven’t used.”
Clara also left the employee dormitory, straddled the Squid broom, and flew in the sky to follow Labi’s tour car from a distance.
**[Facing this kind of desperate disadvantage, isn’t there a line the protagonist usually says?]**
**[The real battle is only just beginning!]**
“…Are you trying to cheer me up?”
Nyx’s way of encouraging and comforting was truly strange.
However, could she really turn the tide by herself?
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Lets hope so.