Chapter – 05
The Binding Ring
[Shackles bind your mental strength.]
*
The sea brought back a set of equipment. Seeing Irai awake, he gestured for him to come over.
The young broodmother, who had been appearing to play while actually privately chatting in his mental domain, stopped and walked over in confusion.
The black-haired Zerg male took Irai’s wrist without hesitation and slipped a bracelet onto it. After confirming it was secure, he relaxed and said, “There. Now you can go out freely.”
Irai lifted his hand to examine the bracelet. Finding no functional interface, he asked suspiciously, “What is this?”
“A mental-energy binding ring.” Carefully reviewing the supporting documentation that came with the Fourth Army’s equipment, the sea explained unhurriedly, “As long as you don’t connect to another being’s mental energy, it won’t activate.”
The sea locked away all the other miscellaneous functions on the matching controller. Seeing Irai unhappily trying to yank the ring off, he couldn’t resist giving him a light rap on the head. Watching Irai wince and clutch his head, his green eyes gleamed with barely concealed amusement as he said, “Be grateful I didn’t activate all the binding ring’s functions!”
Irai sulked, “I can’t grow up anyway, and my mental energy won’t go out of control like last time. Why do I still have to wear this binding ring?” Even having entered adolescence, he still carried a childlike petulance.
The more the broodmother spoke, the more he felt wronged: “As a broodmother, I’ve already been very cooperative. You can’t humiliate me like this anymore! I refuse to wear this binding ring!” Clearly, he still harbored hidden resentment and anger over the sea having previously injected him with growth-suppressing factors, and even his red eyes glowed a little brighter.
The sea, as always, casually hoisted the protesting young broodmother up, spun him a full 180 degrees, and gestured for Irai to go play by himself. Then, grabbing Irai as he tried to turn back and speak, the sea’s smile faded and he said flatly, “A broodmother is subject to many restrictions. Your protests are invalid.”
More harsh words were swallowed back. The sea casually rubbed the spot he had just tapped, using his ability to erase Irai’s pain, and said, “The fact that you’re alive is already the greatest mercy the broodmother could receive.” It sounded like consolation, and also like reflection.
Ignoring the broodmother’s fussing, the black-haired Zerg packed the equipment into his spatial buckle, turned, and went back to his room to handle affairs.
Irai angrily toyed with the dinner that had been brought over, shoving food into his mouth bite by bite with a vengeance.
Seeing that the broodmother, having entered his adult phase, still ate little before putting down his utensils, Tia worried as usual.
Ah, well. The fact that the broodmother was doing fine now meant his body wasn’t in any real trouble.
Alone in his room, Irai asked in his mental domain: [What exactly did the predecessors do that was so unforgivable that the Zerg hold such malice toward the broodmother?] In the heritage, all the predecessors seemed wonderful, each with remarkable achievements—weren’t they all qualified leaders?
The consciousness Boli glanced through the broodmother’s heritage for a moment, then tactfully offered a direction for thought: [Perhaps the broodmother’s leadership is no longer suited to the ever-evolving Zerg.]
The few fragments in the heritage contained countless forms of ordinary suffering: unending wars, wave after wave of death, insatiable ambition, and tyrannical rule—far too many to list. Those in power could not see the suffering and discontent of the Zerg beneath them.
Irai immediately retorted without hesitation: [Impossible! As the brain of the Zerg, every decision the broodmother makes is absolutely correct! The Zerg have simply misunderstood the broodmother.]
[…] Boli fell silent.
Irai, however, was full of fighting spirit: [I will prove to the Zerg: the broodmother can never be wrong!]
Still no response.
Eyes that are blinded will never see the truth.
*
The binding ring wasn’t without its benefits—now Irai could move about freely like a normal young Zerg.
I’ll just lower the Zerg’s guard like this for now, the young broodmother consoled himself.
Zerg planets were heavily guarded, and their internal security was among the best in the interstellar realm. Energetic young Zerg could come and go freely without worrying about safety.
Eli methodically planned out his territory inspection, his mental energy exploring new areas with each step he took.
Only by understanding the situation of the Zerg could he avoid mistakes when leading them in the future. The young Zerg Mother was making early preparations for his eventual grasp of power.
“Today’s destination is the isolation ward!” Eli announced to the young Zerg following behind him.
The young Zerg, unaware of his identity as the Zerg Mother, felt an inexplicable fondness for Eli. Even the rowdiest among them, Logan, would wait quietly for Eli’s arrangements. But playing alongside the Zerg Mother clearly came with a price—every Zerg was assigned tasks. At the end of each day’s outing, they had to go home and write inspection reports to send to Eli, and only those who passed would earn the right to join the next expedition.
“My bug said the isolation ward is dangerous—it’s full of a bunch of madmen,” a timid Zerg spoke up hesitantly.
“They’re just suffering from mental outbursts. They’re kept under tight watch, so they won’t threaten us.” Eli had already looked into the situation. The isolation ward housed Zerg who couldn’t control their mental outbursts, kept there to prevent them from disrupting social order. Dealing with mental disturbances was effortless for a Zerg Mother.
After reporting their itinerary to the higher-ups, Eli had already obtained access clearance for the isolation ward. He would follow the treatment team to observe those Zerg’s outbursts. If necessary, under the medical Zerg’s instructions, he could step in as the Zerg Mother to soothe the agitated Zerg.
Eli was puzzled: *[Why is the Zerg’s mental outburst issue so easy to solve, yet they refuse to accept the Zerg Mother’s help? All I need to do is periodically connect to their brain domains and conduct a large-scale mental soothing. Why do they prefer this instead?]*
Boli, within the Zerg Mother’s mental domain, had already grasped the full picture of the offline situation, and after a moment of contemplation, spoke: *[The Zerg do not want the Zerg Mother to control them through mental outbursts.]*
Eli didn’t understand: *[Settling the Zerg is part of the Zerg Mother’s duty. Why are they still so fearful?]*
He concluded: *[The Zerg of today really have evolved abnormally.]*
Boli said nothing more. Although their time with Eli had been brief, He already knew this young Zerg Mother was not as naive as he appeared. It seemed all Zerg Mothers were solitary walkers, never revealing much to other intelligent species.
—
The medical team was led by Tia, who had long been informed of their arrival. She showed no surprise at Eli and his companions’ presence. She merely followed orders, coldly warning: “Do not wander outside the areas I’ve marked. If you stir up trouble, no one will have the time or means to save you. Understood?”
Eli led the young Zerg in responding: “Understood!”
With a hint of helplessness as she looked at Eli, Tia’s tone softened: “Alright, go have fun.”
Every day, reports on the Zerg Mother’s whereabouts were sent to Hai. Eli’s request to visit the isolation ward had already tipped Hai off to his intentions. Hai did not oppose the Zerg Mother learning about the Zerg’s condition. On the contrary, he looked forward to Eli discovering the negative impact the Zerg Mother had brought upon the Zerg, hoping it would stifle any rebellious thoughts about the current state of affairs.
And so, this game—disguised as learning but truly just recreation—began.
Seeing that Eli had already assigned roles to his small group and set off to explore on his own, Tia’s fingertips twitched slightly as she issued action orders.
Eli carefully extended his mental tendrils to scout ahead, his crimson eyes closely observing the layout of the isolation ward.
Those Zerg with mental outbursts were trapped in such cramped spaces like prisoners. How they must suffer.
Hearing the miserable commotion coming from the treatment room, Eli couldn’t help but follow a medical Zerg who was coming off shift. He spoke politely: “May I ask you a few questions?”
This medical Zerg was exceptionally tall, his delicate features softening his otherwise fierce aura. He looked down at Eli and, deducing his identity from the information he’d received, responded amiably: “Of course.”
The young Zerg Mother’s questions came out in rapid succession: “Have medications become ineffective against the Zerg’s mental outbursts, so they’ve resorted to mechanical restraints?”
“Why are the mental outbursts of the Zerg in the isolation ward so severe?”
“What are the chances of a Zerg in this state recovering to normal?”
The medical Zerg walked and answered in a gentle tone: “Those who have once received the Zerg Mother’s soothing will find medications ineffective afterward. The longer they go without the Zerg Mother’s soothing, the more severe their mental outbursts become. Eventually, even mechanical restraints and brute force will be unable to contain their rage. They will die in agony.”
So the Zerg Mother’s mental soothing wasn’t a good thing for the Zerg after all?
Eli wanted to ask more.
The medical Zerg had already reached the entrance of the break room and turned to signal Eli to come inside and chat.
The young Zerg Mother walked in without a second thought.
And then the door behind him slammed shut.
“You’re not a medical Zerg. You’re a patient here.” Regaining his composure, Eli declared with certainty.
The delicate-featured Zerg before him shed his disguise, slowly peeling off the bio-gloves from his hands, and replied unhurriedly: “Correct, new Zerg Mother.”
“What do you want from me?” Eli tried to stay calm as he moved to the center of the room, under the threat of the two Zerg behind him.
“Why, to kill you, of course! New Zerg Mother.” The delicate-featured Zerg’s speech was exaggerated, tinged with morbid excitement.
It had been a long time since Eli had felt such blatant murderous intent. Memories from within his eggshell surged back into his mind like a flood, and the young Zerg Mother’s body tensed.
“The legion commanders have already made it known to the Zerg that as long as I haven’t done anything outrageous, I cannot be killed. You have no authority.” His words were merely a stalling tactic. Given enough time, someone would surely notice something was wrong in the isolation ward.
Suddenly, Eli’s neck was viciously seized by a hand, and the brutal force hoisted him into the air.
He couldn’t breathe.
The Zerg Mother’s fair face slowly reddened, his feet losing their support as they dangled and flailed uselessly in the air.
Eli tried to fight back with his mental power, but the restraint ring—without authorized clearance—activated, forcibly severing his mental energy before it could even approach the surrounding Zerg.
Damn it!
Stripped of his ability to resist, the Zerg Mother was rendered pathetically weak, easily toyed with by the Zerg.
The young Zerg before him let out a delighted laugh: “The Zerg don’t welcome a Zerg Mother. You were bound to die sooner or later. Dying early means less suffering—how wonderful.” His laughter spread as he tightened his grip.
Eli felt as though the bones in his neck were shifting. The suffocation was slowly fading his consciousness.
A voice echoed from within his mental domain: *[Need help?]*
*[No!]*
—
*[But the Zerg Mother’s abilities are not limited to this.]*
