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The Tianmeng Ice Worm looked up at the human youth standing before it. It couldn't figure out how strong the boy really was, which made it feel very uneasy. It didn't understand how it had ended up in this situation, but it tried to act brave anyway. It stuttered as it asked who he was and why he had captured a million-year Spirit Beast.
Kong Mingan didn't answer right away. He looked back at the Ice Empress, and for a second, their eyes met. Then, he looked away and slowly raised his hand. Suddenly, a golden scroll appeared out of thin air. It was a contract with very clear rules written on it, and it floated right in front of the worm's face.
The Tianmeng Ice Worm used its mental power to read the contract quickly. It soon realized what the document was: a long-term labor contract. If it signed, it would lose most of its freedom. It would have to give up its Soul Skill Modules and help with all sorts of research projects. The only real benefit it saw was that it would be allowed to stay alive.
Kong Mingan's voice was very calm as he told the worm to sign the paper. The worm looked very conflicted and asked if there were any other choices it could make. Kong Mingan nodded and said there was another option.
Right then, the energy chains holding the worm suddenly got tighter. A sharp pain shot through the worm's soul and body, making it shake and let out a silent scream. It tried to fight back, but it was useless. After a few seconds, Kong Mingan relaxed his hand, and the pain went away as quickly as it had started.
The worm was still shaking from the pain. Kong Mingan looked at it with peaceful eyes and told it the second option was to have its mind erased so it could be used as raw research material. The giant worm shivered in fear.
Without waiting another second, it used the little bit of mental force it had left to sign the contract. It shouted out that it was reporting for duty and asked if the "Boss" had any orders. It sounded very loyal and eager to please.
Kong Mingan was actually surprised by how fast the worm gave up. He turned to the Ice Empress and asked if the worm had always been this way. The Ice Empress looked at the worm with a bored expression. She walked over and leaned against Kong Mingan, saying that nobody should expect a backbone from a piece of trash that was only famous for being old.
Kong Mingan just nodded and looked back at the worm. He gave it a kind smile and welcomed it to the team. The Tianmeng Ice Worm started crying tears of joy, thinking that staying alive was much more important than its pride.
A little later, Kong Mingan took the Soul Skill Modules from the worm and called for Elder Yi to take the creature away. Kong Mingan knew he wasn't strong enough to handle such high-level research material on his own yet.
Unlike the Snow Empress, who trusted him completely, the Tianmeng Ice Worm couldn't be trusted. It was better to let Elder Yi study it. He hoped they could learn how to make a million-year spirit ring or even a Divine Ring.
Once Elder Yi left, only Kong Mingan and the Ice Empress were left in the lab. Kong Mingan was about to say something, but the Ice Empress let go of his hand and stepped away. She turned her face away as if she didn't want to look at him. He asked what was wrong, but she just shook her head and said they should go back.
They left the lab and went back to their base in Shrek City. Kong Mingan planned to stay there for a long time. He had been watching someone named Tang San who had left for Shrek Academy three months early. Even though the poor guy was being robbed and beaten by bandits along the way, he was still heading for the school. Kong Mingan was very excited because this was a big part of his plan.
As they walked down a long hallway, the Ice Empress walked half a step behind him. She wasn't like the Snow Empress, who usually stayed hidden when she acted as a guard. The Ice Empress liked to be right there by his side all the time.
She looked at him while he played with the worm's Soul Skill Module. She hesitated for a moment and then asked if he signed contracts with everyone like he did with the worm. Without looking at her, he explained that he usually tried to be nice first and let people choose.
However, for people like Evil Soul Masters who were very valuable but refused to help, he used slave contracts because they didn't deserve to be treated like people. He said the worm was special because a million-year Spirit Beast was too valuable to let go.
The Ice Empress was quiet for a bit, twisting her skirt with her fingers. She sounded a bit nervous as she asked about herself. Kong Mingan kept walking and said that she was different from everyone else. Her heart started beating fast because she expected him to say something sweet.
But then he said it was because the Snow Empress brought her. He said if he was mean to the Ice Empress, the Snow Empress would be unhappy, and he didn't want that. The Ice Empress felt all her happy feelings disappear. She took a deep breath, but she only got angrier the more she thought about it.
Her face turned bright red from anger. she wanted to bite him because he was such a bastard. She wished he would at least lie to her and say something nice. Kong Mingan felt a sudden chill and saw her glaring at him with her golden eyes.
When he asked what was wrong, she shouted at him to go to hell and punched him in the back. It didn't really hurt because she didn't use her full strength, but she was definitely very mad. He watched her stomp away and wondered if he had annoyed her again. He couldn't figure out why she was acting like this.
He didn't think about it for too long since she had been getting angry a lot lately. Usually, she just called him names, so it didn't bother him much. He went back to his lab and put the two Soul Skill Modules on the table. He started thinking about an old idea he had for a "sub-brain". He felt like he finally had a way to make it work.