Chapter 27: If You Could Explore the Past, Then Call Out My Name!
This single silkworm cocoon pulsed like a beating heart, radiating a vibrant, life-affirming energy.
“Can butterflies even spin cocoons?”
“But butterflies undergo complete metamorphosis with just four life stages—how could there be a cocoon? Is there a fifth stage now?”
The professors in the laboratory all looked wide-eyed, their eyes shining red as if witnessing a miracle in biology.
Nearby, an assistant tutor anxiously whispered, “Should we report this? It’s already spinning a cocoon.”
“No need!” Li Ruxiang’s gaze burned like fire, his passionate eyes as if beholding a great beauty.
He continued to scrutinize the experimental data, his voice trembling with excitement: “It’s now in a weakened state—this is the perfect moment to continue extracting its memories! Keep downloading the data.”
The assistants dared not disobey and hastened the data download, a vast stream of information pouring in.
Time ticked by, second by second.
Inside the translucent cocoon, the butterfly’s entire body had liquefied, leaving only the brain tissue and some nerves intact.
Yet none of the professors were surprised.
After all, the butterfly’s cocooning involves liquefaction of the body—a peculiarity well known.
But what happened next stunned them beyond belief.
Within the crystal-clear cocoon, exquisite and intricate knots began to take shape.
Butterfly knots.
Chinese knots.
Pumpkin knots.
Four-leaf clover knots, dragonfly knots, auspicious cloud knots...
Even more beautiful and delicate knotting techniques appeared, ones they had never seen before.
The cocoon resembled a glass universe, its interior a swirling, magnificent nebula formed by countless intertwined knots.
Silence fell over the room.
Everyone was dumbfounded, gazing at this breathtaking spectacle.
“A nebula?”
“What could this be?”
Li Ruxiang swallowed hard, his mind trembling.
How could this be?
How could the cocooning process be so exquisitely beautiful?
His aged, weathered hand gently caressed the glass dome, as if gazing upon a masterpiece.
This was undoubtedly an ancient civilization!
An ancient and profound intelligent civilization, one that flourished in a super-psychic butterfly dynasty based on the art of knotting...
In an instant, all the researchers shared a single thought:
“After today, every one of us will be famous.”
...
The knots continued to condense in concentric circles, the cocoon becoming ever more perfect, transforming into a flawless sphere.
It seemed as if countless sacred flames were rising within.
With psychic energy surging, the cocoon slowly floated in midair, exuding an aura of mystery.
Gradually, a pair of wings broke through the cocoon, forming a sphere adorned with small wings.
Inside it hovered the insect Thirteen, silently lamenting: What a pity.
Though he had pioneered the next evolution of the angels before his end,
He could not spin two cocoons in succession.
He needed time to recover.
Besides, this was no safe place.
Now that he had power, he had to leave quickly.
“What’s happening? It hatched with just a pair of tiny wings?”
“And then? Why did the sphere only sprout wings?”
“That’s it?”
“Could it have failed?”
They murmured anxiously.
Suddenly—boom, boom, boom.
Countless instruments short-circuited, erupting with explosive noises.
The violent tremors sent the entire lab into a buzzing daze.
Then the short-circuited devices ignited.
The very next moment, the winged sphere that they assumed had failed to emerge suddenly shattered the nutrient pod.
Immediately, the laboratory’s security systems blared alarms.
Shouts and cries for help filled the air, and psychic-powered automaton soldiers rapidly activated.
Yet all this was too late to stop the winged sphere as it took flight.
Whoosh!
It transformed into a streak of pure white flame, hurtling out of the laboratory doors, soaring along the corridor, weaving through the panicked crowd, flying through various rooms, and bursting out into the world beyond.
“No, don’t go!” Li Ruxiang cried out in agony as he watched. This was a mysterious ancient creature... it was money, all my equipment, my instruments...
But insect Thirteen paid no heed.
Amid the chaos, it soared higher.
Meanwhile, the short circuit had caused a fire in the adjacent sports stadium.
Countless students soaking in the pool screamed in terror.
“Help!”
“Fire!”
“Use psychic energy! Quick!”
“It’s useless—we’re only first years, wind-level psychics. Are we supposed to blow on the fire to make it worse?”
“Where’s the teacher? He’s rain-level, psychic water controller—he should use the pool water to extinguish the fire...”
“The teacher... ran away!”
...
“How could this be?”
“This is bad. I remember the next room stored newly delivered kinetic batteries—they’re highly combustible... no wonder the teacher fled.”
Desperate voices echoed.
Third-tier experts were rare everywhere.
Their teacher and Si Anhe were only second-tier elites.
Their teacher could only save himself.
High above, insect Thirteen heard the students’ wails and despair.
His fleeing form paused slightly.
Humans were despicable, yes.
But these drenched children, too, yearned to break free before they turned thirty, to endure the pain of their transformation... just like the little insects once trapped in cocoons.
He understood this better than anyone.
If he didn’t escape now, the strong ones from Rehe City would soon arrive, and then he might not get away.
He had to remain rational; risking his life to save others was unnecessary.
But humans...
I intervene because you are children, like those little insects once trapped in cocoons. Every flower deserves protection before blooming.
I save the ugly because I am the most beautiful King of Angels.
Flames soared skyward.
A hero descended from the heavens.
Amid thunderous roars that shook the earth, a fierce wind swept through, tearing apart the place, extinguishing the blaze.
The scene was utter chaos.
Second-tier teachers fled, but a third-tier could easily snuff out the flames.
Then, the beautiful winged sphere shot skyward, leaving the school grounds behind.
In stunned silence, the students realized that this adorable round sphere with tiny wings had saved them.
Finally, a student looked up and asked, “Who... who exactly are you?”
“Who am I?” The figure vanished into the heights, carrying an infinite melancholy and loneliness that pierced the heart.
Under the students’ bewildered and horrified gazes, he revealed a trace of nostalgic sorrow.
What he said next shocked them into silence for a long while, a scene they would never forget for countless years to come:
“I am the insect that yearns to break free from the cocoon.”
“I am the butterfly that longs for beauty.”
“I am the most arrogant king of a bygone era.”
“I am the most beautiful angel beneath the two gods.”
“Countless eons before this age, if humanity could explore the past, they would call my name directly.”