The person in her arms still had that familiar, soft touch, but Su Ling felt as if her very blood was freezing in her veins.
Miao Miao’s once fair cheek was now being covered by a layer of fine, nacreous carapace.
Several pairs of feathery antennae, as thin as cicada wings, protruded from her hair, trembling slightly with every breath she took.
What made Su Ling’s skin crawl the most was that several cracks had split open where her eyes should have been.
Inside each crack sat a compound eye with a spiral-shaped pupil.
Patterns of indigo, yellow, and purple swirled frantically within the irises like frozen whirlpools, creating an eerie yet breathtakingly beautiful sight.
“Sister…”
Miao Miao’s voice was now mixed with faint clicking sounds, like insect wings rubbing against thin paper.
Su Ling could even see several strands of shimmering silk inside the corners of her mouth as it pulled back.
Fear flooded Su Ling like a cold tide.
“AAAAAAAAHH!”
K423’s heart-wrenching scream pulled her back to reality.
Su Ling hurriedly tore off her coat and threw it over Miao Miao’s head.
She shielded the girl fiercely, as if she were protecting her entire world.
“Zerg!”
Ji Lingyuan’s terrified voice sounded like a death knell, making Su Ling’s face turn as white as paper.
Su Ling pulled K423, who was sprawled on the ground and already looking vastly different, and retreated one step at a time.
She stared intently at Ji Lingyuan.
Her eyes were brimming with tears, yet they held a flicker of stubbornness.
“Lady Su Ling…”
K423 looked at her weakly. Being forcibly pushed out of her Mimicry state had dealt her an irreparable, heavy blow.
The building was collapsing around them.
Su Ling bit her lip hard and looked at Ji Lingyuan with eyes full of plea.
‘Please…’
The moment Ji Lingyuan saw K423’s true form, soaring flames erupted from her body.
The Zerg and the Witches had been mortal enemies throughout a 1,000-year war.
“Why?”
Ji Lingyuan’s heart was breaking.
She watched Su Ling protect those two Zerg, backing away from her step by step.
“Would you rather be with the Zerg than stand by my side?”
“This is my sister…”
Su Ling hugged the person in her arms tightly.
Her entire body was shaking.
Whether it was Miao Miao’s eerie appearance just now or K423 crawling on the ground, she was terrified.
Since she was a child, her biggest fear had been Insects.
Even though she knew these creatures were no threat to her given her size, she was simply afraid.
But at this moment, these two terrifying half-human, half-insect monsters were her family.
One was her sister, and the other was someone K424 had entrusted to her care.
Su Ling recalled the “dream” from the night before — the girl who called herself K424.
She believed it was definitely more than just a dream.
“You should know that helping a Heretic is punishable by death.”
A single tear rolled down Ji Lingyuan’s cheek, but it was quickly evaporated by the flames on her body.
Her expression gradually grew cold.
Su Ling still looked like her original self, which gave her a small sense of relief.
At least it seemed Su Ling wasn’t one of the Zerg.
As for why Bai Miao and that green creature were Zerg…
Hmph.
These Insects were masters of Mimicry and manipulation.
Ji Lingyuan had already decided that Su Ling was just a poor soul bewitched by them.
“The Zerg are experts at Mimicry and deluding the heart. She might not even be your sister at all. They’ve likely tampered with your memories.”
Ji Lingyuan walked slowly toward Su Ling, her voice softening.
“Be good. Come here. They are Heretics, and you are a Witch. If you come over now, the Witch Court won’t sentence you to death afterward.”
“Ling Ling!”
In the other half of the building, across the gap, Su Yao and Wen Ruyu couldn’t see the scene clearly due to the thick smoke and dust.
They only saw Ji Lingyuan acting like she had lost her mind, covered in terrifying flames as she walked toward Su Ling.
“Ji Lingyuan, what are you doing?!”
Wen Ruyu screamed.
*Rumble!*
The sound of the building collapsing was unending.
The ground beneath Wen Ruyu’s feet suddenly caved in.
Her expression shifted drastically as she grabbed Su Yao, and the two of them disappeared into the ruins.
“See? They haven’t noticed yet. If you come over now, no one will know you were involved with the Zerg.”
There was a hint of pleading in Ji Lingyuan’s tone.
Holding Bai Miao and pulling K423, Su Ling had already retreated into a corner.
Her long, slender legs were trembling.
The pressure Ji Lingyuan exerted was simply too overwhelming.
Yet, she still looked at her stubbornly.
“I told you, they are my family.”
Zerg, Heretics — none of that mattered.
After all, she was a Transmigrator, not even a real Witch.
She had been forcibly pulled into this world by the Original Owner.
If she hadn’t had Miao Miao’s company, she probably would have gone insane long ago.
“Don’t be afraid, Miao Miao. Sister told you I would protect you,” Su Ling whispered, trying to comfort the trembling girl in her arms.
Ji Lingyuan’s expression froze.
She lowered her head, falling into an inexplicable silence.
The sound of buildings crashing down echoed all around them, but in this small, broken corner, the atmosphere was suffocating.
*Swish!*
In the next instant, Ji Lingyuan moved.
Her hands were covered in searing flames, and the intense heat was so high that it caused the falling debris to explode.
Despair flashed in Su Ling’s eyes.
She shielded Bai Miao with everything she had, hoping to use her own body to buy the girl a final moment of time.
But the scene she expected didn’t happen.
“Ugh!”
Su Ling only heard a muffled groan of pain, followed by the sensation of liquid dripping onto her face.
She slowly opened her eyes, and her pupils shrank at the sight.
“You idiot…”
Blood dripped from the corner of Ji Lingyuan’s mouth onto Su Ling’s face.
She had a helpless expression, but her hands were clamped tightly around the blade of a long sword.
“Hmm?”
A confused grunt came from above.
It was the culprit who had sliced the building in half — the leader of the Second Group, Banxia.
“DIEEE!”
G502 went berserk at the sight.
Unable to hold back any longer, she revealed her true form.
A massive insect, 4 or 5 meters in size, appeared before everyone.
Banxia yanked her blade back, twisted her body, and kicked Ji Lingyuan hard.
Ji Lingyuan’s body flew like a piece of broken trash into the rolling smoke and disappeared.
Just as Banxia turned her gaze back toward Su Ling — or rather, toward the Bai Miao hidden under the clothes — a flicker of emotion appeared in her usually calm eyes.
But G502 had already reached her.
Banxia was forced to raise her sword to block.
*Clang!*
The long sword snapped.
G502’s sharp leg impaled Banxia’s abdomen.
“Group Leader!”
“Banxia!”
The others were both shocked and enraged.
However, a smile played on Banxia’s lips.
“Heh… I finally locked onto you.”
Alarm bells rang in G502’s head.
She looked up in terror.
In outer space, thousands of Orbital Floating Cannons had simultaneously locked onto her coordinates.
“Hahaha! Fire! Fire! Fire them all!”
Meng Dalei laughed maniacally at the screen.
This was the entire Planetary Defense Engineering for the Azure Star.
By deploying them without authorization, she was completely overstepping her authority and would definitely face disciplinary action.
But as Meng Dalei stared at the screen, specifically at Bai Miao wrapped in Su Ling’s clothes, the excitement in her eyes was palpable.
To hell with disciplinary action — that was a member of the Royal Family!
If she captured a Royal, it would be a massive achievement.
She wouldn’t just be a Bureau Chief anymore; she could become a Planet Governor or even the administrator of a star system.
“But Banxia is still…”
Yun Liuxue couldn’t help but speak up.
Banxia had used herself as bait to let those thousands of Orbital Floating Cannons lock the coordinates.
“Shut the hell up! I’ll pay for a new body for her later! Just blow them all to hell!!!”
Meng Dalei roared.
Yun Liuxue fell silent for a moment and sighed.
She slowly pressed the button.
Almost simultaneously, in the pitch-black background of space, thousands of tiny points of light suddenly ignited like stars knocked over by a god.
In the next second, they turned into straight pillars of light plunging downward.
There was no warning, no thunderous prelude — only the speed of light falling faster than anyone could blink.
The silent sky suddenly split open.
It wasn’t a gap in the clouds, but thousands of piercing silver beams of light tearing through the heavens.
The pillars of light pierced the atmosphere, burning transparent holes through the heavy rain clouds.
The clouds vaporized instantly, vanishing into wisps of white smoke.
“AAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!!!!”
G502 let out a heart-wrenching scream.
The beams of light were like divine punishment, slamming into her body.
The air around her ignited with a sizzling pop.
Despite G502’s hardened carapace, the beams left no blind spots.
Every crack in her shell and every soft joint was scorched into charred holes.
Flesh peeled and rolled back as black smoke billowed out.
The world was filled only with the brilliant white of the light beams and G502’s agonized wails.
Even the wind was warped by the heat, and the air was thick with the suffocating smell of burnt flesh.
Bizarrely, even though G502 had the chance to flee, she stayed in place, enduring the damage.
Meng Dalei was ecstatic.
“Exactly! The one below is the Royal she is sworn to protect!”
Yun Liuxue stared blankly at Banxia’s form on G502.
By now, Banxia had been reduced to ash, merging completely with G502.
No trace of her former self remained.
She had mentored both Banxia and Shaohua; they were her students.
Looking at the cheering little girl before her, a trace of coldness flashed in Yun Liuxue’s eyes.
“Quickly! Go and capture that Royal for me! Now!”
Su Ling stared blankly at the scene before her.
G502’s massive body had become a heap of charcoal.
A sudden intuition hit her.
‘Were these… Zerg… protecting us?’
Tears rolled down her cheeks.
Suddenly, her ears began to ring.
In a daze, she heard chaotic voices all around her.
“The one in her arms is the Zerg! Catch her!”
“Agh, there’s another Zerg over here!”
“What are you afraid of? She can’t even crawl anymore. Ignore her! They said the one in that girl’s arms is the most important!”
“…”
K423 lay on the ground.
Though she was powerless, she still bared her teeth at the Witches surrounding them.
Su Ling’s head was spinning.
‘Someone… someone is coming…’
‘They are here to take Miao Miao!’
‘No, please no!’
‘Hand it over to me… as long as you agree…’
In her daze, she seemed to hear countless different voices whispering in her ear.
‘Who are you…’
‘Hand it over to me… and they will all become your subjects…’
Su Ling felt dizzy and disoriented.
‘I have to protect Miao Miao… Quick, whoever you are, as long as you can help me protect Miao Miao, I agree…’
Su Ling realized this sudden, mysterious voice might be her only hope.
‘As long as you return… as long as you return…’ the voice continued.
Su Ling suddenly saw the world turn into a kaleidoscope of colors.
She saw the Witches closing in around her, and inside their bodies were countless, constantly spinning double-helix structures.
They were like tiny building blocks, iterating continuously within the Witches.
‘As long as you return…’
Su Ling suddenly had an epiphany.
‘This is DNA!’
In an instant, her vision of the world completely changed.
Her perspective soared higher and higher, as if she were a god looking down coldly from the dark, quiet universe at the azure planet below.
She could see everyone on the planet.
Every living creature on this world had been transformed into countless tiny symbols in her eyes.
‘As long as you return…’
The voice continued to coax her.
At that moment, Su Ling had an intuition.
With a single thought, she could rewrite the genetic code of every living being on this planet!
‘As long as you return… they will all become your subjects…’
She saw every living thing on the planet transforming into a swarm that would blot out the sun.
They would be her most loyal subjects, and even the Azure Star itself would come to life, becoming a Planetary Titan Insect.
‘As long as you return…’
Su Ling slowly reached out her hand.
But then, she saw many familiar faces.
Ji Lingyuan, Wen Ruyu, Sister Jing, Yun Guang…
She hesitated.
In that moment of hesitation, the images shattered. She was back in reality.
“Hmph.”
A cold snort suddenly rang out.
The Witches trying to grab Bai Miao were swept aside by a blurry afterimage.
Everyone froze.
Su Ling stared blankly at the person before her.
The newcomer wore a black robe and held a shattered Black-Red Tachi.
She slowly lowered her hood, revealing her face.
She was a young girl with black hair and red eyes, looking exactly like Bai Miao.
“Get lost!”
The girl swept a cold gaze over the crowd, and a burst of violent Magic instantly flooded the area.
*Bang!*
Tens of thousands of miles away, the screen in front of Meng Dalei shattered.
Even at that distance, they felt an incredibly exaggerated pressure.
Meng Dalei and Yun Liuxue exchanged a glance, both seeing the sheer terror in the other’s eyes.
“A GREAT WITCH!!!!”