reincarnation npc, but tomorrow's ark

"And right now, you happen to be at your weakest point—"

As she spoke, Goredia began to fight with White Night in the water.

This is her forte; in the water, she is faster than on land. She is a swordfish, one of the most outstanding and powerful deep-sea hunters. In the ocean, she is confident she can defeat White Night…

however--

"You're overthinking it... You're not the only one with seventeen years of combat experience, nor are you the only one who was trained from a young age."

Bai Ye's movements were equally agile. He also knew how to launch attacks in the water, how to become one with the water flow, and how to overcome the terrifying water pressure and resistance.

Just as one controls the atmosphere on land, Baiye adapts to ocean currents in the sea.

Bai Ye was already used to that feeling of not being able to stand on solid ground—as starship crew members, they were required to train to fight in a weightless environment.

Does losing accelerated thinking mean you can't fight? What if you can't use the predictive power of "first strike"? If losing these abilities makes you unable to fight, then how can Bai Ye be worthy of the title of sword master?

Although younger than Goredia, combat has also been a constant in Byakuya's life. Before learning to use his predictive abilities, Byakuya first needed to learn to control his ingrained fighting instincts. Suppression—not relying on instinct, but fighting through calculation…

Now, it's simply a matter of releasing what has been suppressed in the past.

……

Bai Ye easily defended against Goredia's attacks, while simultaneously forcing the deep-sea hunter into a corner of the cave.

Bai Ye wouldn't give Goredia a chance to create space and charge. In close combat at sea, the long spear was useless and offered no advantage. In another exchange, Bai Ye disarmed Goredia; the long spear fell from her hand and embedded itself in the ground. Bai Ye pressed forward relentlessly until, finally, Goredia had no room to maneuver. Fighting in the laboratory wasn't conducive to her speed, and Bai Ye further reduced her room to maneuver…

He slammed his fist into the rock wall, restarting the mechanism. While resisting Godia's struggles, Bai Ye waited for the seawater in the cave to be drained away again.

Finally, Bai Ye seized the opportunity, reached out his right hand and grabbed Gretia, successfully pinning her against the rock wall.

Once the seawater drained from the cave, the two were able to communicate normally again.

“...Complete defeat.” Goredia hadn’t expected that, even under these circumstances, she would still be no match for Bai Ye.

In the sea, I am still the one who is suppressed.

"The Deepsea Hunter's surgery gave you the power to fight freely in the sea... However, Isamara is also sealed within me."

“Titi and the shark were great teachers… Rather than teaching me how to fight in the sea, they taught me the instincts that Isamara had given me.”

Bai Ye and Gretia were standing very close together, and he replied with a smile.

Even now, he remains completely at ease. The mental strain has little effect on his body, for at this moment, his body is incredibly active, and in the sea, the divine revelation and gifts of Isamara are also awakening.

Goredia took a deep breath and looked at Bai Ye, saying:

"Bai Ye, this is something I have to do. Don't stop me."

“I am a hunter who is about to become a sea monster. Unlike other hunters, I am willing to die. I have always wanted to prove myself. Otherwise, I cannot bear a life of failure. This is what I should do now. You have no reason to stop a… proud Agor.”

Bai Ye shook his head:

“If I just let you go like this, Titi and Shark will not forgive me.”

"No, they will understand my choice and won't blame you either. Deep-sea hunters are all connected by blood; your worries are completely unnecessary."

"Just as birds belong to the sky. You can't expect me to stay on land and watch Agor be swallowed up by the Sea Siege."

Goredia tried her best to explain and persuade White Night to let her go.

Finally, she hardened her face and said coldly:

“I’m different from Skadi and Laurentina. I don’t have that special relationship with you. Now, you have no reason to stop me.”

"Unless, you too have been corrupted by the nascent life within you, and you are eager to plunge into the embrace of the deep sea, to merge with other colossal creatures, and together— ugh?! Ugh! Ugh—"

Chapter 163 I Will Pull You Up from the Abyss

(The Mule and Horse Holiday is almost over...)

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Just as Gladys was chattering on and on, Bai Ye finally got fed up. Because he needed to restrain the hunter with his hands, and also driven by some kind of instinct, Bai Ye simply raised his head and used his mouth to seal Gladys's lips with his own...

Goredia's pupils dilated instantly. When the two came into contact, a feeling she had never experienced before surged into her heart. The instantaneous touch even caused Goredia's mind to shut down.

This was the first time she had ever been in contact with a man at such close range.

Involuntarily, Goredia stopped struggling and stopped speaking. She closed her eyes and even forgot to breathe.

In fact, Bai Ye himself only realized what he had done after he had already committed the act.

However, there was no turning back, so Bai Ye decided to go all out and carry this action through to the end.

Unlike her usual cold demeanor, Goredia's body was burning hot at this moment, including her lips, which were radiating an astonishing heat. This was due to the intense battle just now, which had resulted in a temperature high enough to burn an ordinary person. However, Bai Ye did not care about all that.

The collision of their lips brought a blush to the cold, deep-sea hunter's face. Although she had never experienced it herself, under the influence of Skadi and Laurentina's daily "observation and exposure," Goredia clearly understood White Night's intentions.

Although she still had the strength, Goredia neither pushed Bai Ye away nor refused him.

It was very quiet here, so quiet that the two of them were holding their breath.

After a long while, Bai Ye finally released her.

Although both of them have incredibly large lung capacities, they were both panting heavily at that moment.

"Don't say I had no reason to stop you. Is this reason enough?" Bai Ye released his hand from holding down Goddess and asked softly.

"I..." Grandia looked flustered, unsure how to answer. For a moment, the captain of the deep-sea hunters was in a state of confusion.

However, at that moment, a sudden change occurred.

Goredia groaned, her body involuntarily half-kneeling on the ground. She struggled to reach out and cover her neck.

The proud consul had a long, fair neck, but ever since she came ashore, she had kept her collar turned up to cover it completely.

Because her body has begun to undergo the transformation into a sea creature, a slow process, the sea creature part of the Deepsea Hunter is gradually engulfing her body.

Bai Ye had been trying his best to control this process, since he was practically a newborn and could indeed suppress this change when he was far from the sea.

However, White Night was ultimately not the entire swarm, and even Isamara couldn't represent the whole group, let alone White Night, who was only a third of the group. After entering the deep sea, Goredia's condition began to deteriorate. However, she hid it very well, and even White Night didn't notice.

She had to fight Bai Ye just now in order to stop him from entering the deep sea and falling into a trap set by the Deep Sea Church.

Goredia herself was naturally unwilling to fight with White Night, and the part of her body that was the Sea Child was even more unwilling to fight with a large group of novice creatures, which was worse than the Deep Sea Hunters hunting ordinary Terrorfish and Sea Child.

Under various stimuli, the marine transformation of Goredia's body began to intensify. The previously unusual scales began to spread.

"what--"

Goredia struggled to suppress her reason. She felt as if she were trying to break free from something, yearning to unwind. At this moment, she truly understood how her compatriots had become so frenzied in their past battles.

Madness, like a tidal wave, constantly crashes against the dam built of reason, while simultaneously resisting the mutations originating within the body. Matter determines consciousness, and this change makes maintaining mental stability increasingly difficult.

"Uh--"

Goredia struggled to suppress the change in her mind. She struggled to get up and reached for the long spear beside her, but Bai Ye stopped her.

“Uh, let me go—” Goredia turned to look at Bai Ye, her eyes pleading for the first time. “Let me die as a human. I don’t want to become a monster.”

"Or, Bai Ye, you can kill me."

"You promised me you would keep that promise!"

Goredia didn't want to become a monster.

Then Bai Ye picked up Gretia from the ground.

Struggling to resist the onslaught of the crowd's will, and with her reason on the verge of collapse, Gladys was powerless to fight back. She watched in a panic as Bai Ye took out a soft mattress and placed her on it.

“I never agreed to that. I never made any promises.”

Bai Ye shook his head.

He paused, then continued:

"As I've said before, there are other ways... I hate tragedies where someone has to leave; I prefer endings where everyone can go back smiling."

As Bai Ye peeled off Goredia's hunting outfit, he whispered:

“You’re the Tech Administrator, so you should understand what I’m doing. The group’s communication method is still through pheromones, which is why Isamara was able to seize the opportunity for Skadi to ‘communicate’ with me and transfer from her body to mine.”

"Lauren Tina's injuries also began to gradually recover due to the continuous 'injections,' all of which were stimulated by pheromones."

To buy time, Bai Ye kept talking, but his hands moved incredibly fast. This was all thanks to the other two female deep-sea hunters. "Practice makes perfect," as the saying goes.

Looking at the person in front of her, Goredia could feel the things binding her body gradually decreasing, until finally, she was completely exposed to the air.

Just like when I was born.

"I will use my methods to pull you out of the abyss," Bai Ye's voice rang in her ears.

"If you really don't want to, you can refuse now," Bai Ye finally leaned close to her and whispered.

Greta didn't speak or make any gesture of refusal; she simply turned her head to the side, no longer looking at Bai Ye...

"Of course, it's no use refusing."

Bai Ye concluded by saying this, and then began the special treatment for Goredia.

He needs to release pheromones to soothe the Hysterian part of Goredia's body. This is very scientific and biological, I suppose.

The female deep-sea hunter captain's slender, fair body was displayed before Bai Ye. In this cave full of rocks, she was the only shining and soft presence, like a pearl in a shell.

Bai Ye bent down.

Goredia lay quietly on the ground, feeling the pressure wedged into her body and the warmth gently caressing her skin.

Another kind of madness and joy began to overwhelm her reason.

She thought of her hometown city, the first nursing robot she saw as a child, and her mother's face, which was blurry in her memory.

She felt the sound fading away from her.

Goredia could no longer resist; her body arched, and she lost consciousness...

Chapter 164 Residual Pain

(The last day...)

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After completing the treatment for Goredia, Baiye sat down beside her.

Because he was in a hurry to release pheromones to interrupt Goddess's transformation into a sea creature, Bai Ye was rushing through the process and didn't enjoy the treatment. To make matters worse, Goddess lost consciousness at the beginning due to excessive stimulation, causing Bai Ye to feel like he was treating a doll during the subsequent treatment.

Unlike treating Laurentina, the unconscious Goddess naturally wouldn't cooperate with Bai Ye, but the process was still quite exciting, after all, it was Goddess...

The deep-sea hunter captain's tricorn hat had long since fallen off, and her white hair was scattered. Her eyes were closed, and unlike her usual cold demeanor, her face was extremely gentle at this moment, making her look like a princess sleeping in the sea.

Bai Ye glanced at the time on the system panel. There was still some time before the time agreed upon with the shore before entering the sea, so he took this opportunity to start looking through the materials left in the laboratory by the deep-sea bishop Cicero, especially his research notes.

With one hand toying with Goredia's silvery-white hair, Bai Ye opened Cicero's notebook:

All things possess the instincts to grow, survive, reproduce, and migrate, and evolve to adapt to their environment. But why do some creatures pursue self-perfection with extraordinary tenacity, even transcending their basic survival instincts, as if guided by a higher purpose? Agor will not give me the answer.

I knocked on the door of the Deep Sea Church, seeking their resources and methods. But even after studying diligently, accumulating fame, and becoming a respected bishop, I only received answers such as "everything is divinely inspired," which did not bring me peace.

I resumed my identity as a biologist, attempting to visit every living creature on this continent. I wouldn't say I've covered them all, but I've certainly taken in countless beings. Yet, I still haven't found the answer. Only the creatures of the sea defy explanation by any existing theory or hypothesis.

Finally, I must admit that "God" truly exists. Not a "God" like Isamara, nor the metaphysical ruler imagined by people. There must be some sublime will that transformed them and their beings, endowing them with a noble mission, driving them to explore the possibilities of being biological beings in a far more efficient and orderly way than humans, until the endpoint marked by "God."

There's no need to unravel the true nature of "God," nor to speculate on "God's" intentions. I will find "God's" experimental equipment, steal "God's" olive branch, and bring fruit to humanity, even if it wasn't prepared for humanity. And this is my right, and that of every human researcher attempting to overcome a difficult problem.

Afterwards, Bai Ye reviewed Cicero's experimental records. As previously stated, he was researching the integration of humans and Sea Beings. For example, a disciple who had studied under him for many years consumed a limb from a Sea Being and subsequently mutated into a monster. The human rationality being overwhelmed by a multitude of consciousnesses—this was clearly a failure for Cicero.

……

Bai Ye had no interest in these barbaric, outrageous, and cruel experiments, because the woman lying next to him, Gledia, was a combination of Hai Si and a human. She had gained superhuman powers through genetic surgery.

Even he himself was actually a product of some kind of genetic surgery, known as a "fit individual," a new type of human created by the Earth Federation specifically for interstellar exploration.

Compared to these, Cicero's experiment was too crude and unprofessional. Its success on one occasion was clearly unrepeatable and had an element of luck.

Bai Ye believes it's better to leave this to the Tribunal. Those mad popes can't stand such blasphemous experiments, so they'll definitely treat this deep-sea bishop well.

However, Bai Ye did not come away empty-handed while perusing Cicero's manuscripts; he believed that some of the man's views were quite reasonable.

For example, “a noble will transformed them and them, and endowed them with a noble mission.”

This concept might be abstract and difficult for the native inhabitants of Terra to grasp, given that they do indeed coexist with "gods," or the lords of the behemoths, on the same land. Most people likely have no concept of something like "a sublime will."

However, Bai Ye believed that this will might be some kind of artificial intelligence similar to Luna, or it might simply be a direct instruction from some advanced civilization.