The mole stood there adorably, perched on its two unusually large paws, its little nose sniffing around. Its posture reminded Tasha of last year's intern, who would always freeze in place when she messed up, staring straight ahead with those wide, innocent eyes—which was actually quite endearing. But if you happened to be her supervisor, demanding she deliver an urgent report, you'd be tempted to boil her alive.
Tasha was now pondering what that mole would taste like braised in red sauce.
Her hunger only grew, and it was all that mole's fault. Whatever principle summoned it seemed to drain every last ounce of her energy. If before she could have eaten a calf, now she could devour the calf's parents too. If she still had a body, she'd be clutching her screaming stomach, drooling uncontrollably, feeling faint... That last part might happen even without a body. Tasha's vision flickered like a faulty lightbulb, pulsing in waves. She suspected that if she didn't eat something soon, she'd lose consciousness immediately.
Would she be lucky enough to wake up a second time?
Tasha fought desperately to stay conscious, refusing to die of starvation mere hours after waking. She glared at the mole, hoping that staring long enough might somehow pull it back into her body, filling the void in her stomach—wherever it might be. Before she could devolve from a Bear Grylls who could eat worms raw into a zombie obsessed with raw meat, the intense craving finally breached a threshold.
The mole emitted a peculiar glow, like an onion peeled back to reveal its tiny core within layers of soil. The moment Tasha "saw" that core, she also "linked" to it.
The sensation was bizarre. Tasha felt like a computer that had suddenly gained a satellite terminal. She sensed a faint consciousness, obediently awaiting her commands like worker ants to a queen.
"Give me food?" Tasha commanded tentatively.
The motionless mole sprang to its feet, hopping toward the collapsed passageway. It raised its upper body, its two large claws digging furiously into the earth with efficiency rivaling a chainsaw. Within seconds, a gaping hole appeared in the tunnel. It took Tasha a moment to realize where the excavated soil and rock had gone: all of it vanished into the mole's mouth.
Tasha's eyes widened as she watched the tiny mole devour an entire pitch-black tunnel. The darkness of the passage didn't trouble her; her X-ray vision could see the earth and stone being reorganized within the mole's body, making its earth-elemental form even more solid. It made no sense. How could that tiny body possibly hold so much earth? Its claws were excavators, its plump body a road roller, leaving the ground behind it impossibly smooth—a finished underground passageway.
The tunnel's original location lay outside the building's perimeter, beyond Tashan's sensory range. Yet once the mole finished constructing the passage, it was as if a lamp had been lit in the fog—the area suddenly became perceptible. She didn't know where the tunnel led; the mole seemed equipped with a navigation system, guiding it straight toward its intended destination.
With its final claw strike, it dislodged more than just earth and rock.
A blue mineral fragment, half the size of the mole's claw, tumbled from the soil. It bounced once on the ground, emitting a crisp, tinkling sound. Entirely sapphire blue, its flowing light made it appear somewhere between solid and liquid. It was stunningly beautiful, yet it suddenly ignited Tashan's hunger, as if she'd glimpsed a steaming basket of dumplings materializing in the sky. The mole, seemingly infected by its owner's emotion, its eyes brightening, swallowed the blue ore in one gulp.
Boom!
The mole flew backward.
Every corner of this subterranean structure radiated a sinister, furious aura potent enough to terrify a living mole to death on the spot. The mole-shaped earth elemental didn't suffer much mental trauma, but its body was another story. It was swept up in an indoor tornado: invisible hands yanked it up, hurled it back into the hall, tossed it onto the ceiling, then slammed it back down, cracking the floor several more times.
Well, at least I've got a new ability now. After a minute of hurling objects, Tashan calmed down, finding bitter amusement on the brink of exhaustion and unconsciousness. She realized the last time she'd acted this impulsively was in kindergarten—proof that hunger truly was reason's greatest enemy.
The mole plummeted into the dry stone pool. As if shaken by the whirlwind, it puffed out its cheeks and spat out the ore with a plop.
The blue ore sank straight to the bottom.
Though the stone pool was dry and the ore solid, its descent resembled a drop of milk falling into a lake. An azure radiance bloomed the instant it touched down, radiating outward from that tiny point to envelop the entire stone pool and the entire structure.
This saved Tashan, whose thoughts had nearly halted. The dark fog rising in her vision vanished instantly, and her intangible stomach was soothed. In the past, when busy, she'd fantasized about directly injecting nutrient solutions into her stomach. Now, this ore's effect rivaled that of a nutrient supplement—perhaps even surpassed it, as it permeated every cell of Tashan's being without needing chewing or digestion. As the hunger that had nearly clouded her reason receded, she instantly grasped the blue ore's utility and instinctively summoned the mole once more.
The blue ore could ease her hunger, but one piece was clearly insufficient.
The mole scrambled to its feet and dashed toward the freshly dug tunnel. This time, Tasha firmly controlled its mind, clearly instructing it to return the blue ore to the pool. Under the overseer's watchful eye, the mole no longer swallowed the ore. It stuffed its mouthful of mined ore and carried it back.
This creature was definitely not a mole—moles didn't possess hamster-like cheek pouches.
It dug its way forward, stuffing seven or eight pieces of ore into its pouches along the way. Its cheeks bulged like two sacks as it hauled them back in one breath. This single trip instantly replenished the energy drained by the mole's earlier rampage. Undeterred, the mole continued its relentless digging, making countless trips back and forth, gradually shifting the excavation site several halls away from the stone pool. As the cycles of digging and running grew longer, Tasha pondered briefly before attempting to channel energy toward the earth rune.
This time, she didn't need to drain the suspended red core; the energy within the blue ore took its place. Tasha felt the gravitational pull emanating from the rune, guiding her to channel the energy flowing through the structure. It was truly remarkable. Even after such a short time inhabiting this new form, she was beginning to find many aspects of her new body more functional than a human one. Humans certainly couldn't control the flow of nutrients within their bodies with their minds.
The familiar hunger pangs returned, and a second mole appeared on the rune. Tasha connected with it, issuing the command: "Dig blue ore, bring it back to the stone pool." The new mole immediately scurried off.
She had worried about whether controlling two moles would be chaotic, but once the second appeared, she realized she didn't need to micromanage every step. The more control Tasha gained over her new body (or soul—who knew what to call it now?), the easier the manipulation became. She only needed to make decisions; the moles would execute them. They weren't pets or employees, but more like auto-pilot software with a hint of instinctive interference.
It was practically a farming game: harvest crops, sell them for money, hire workers with the money, and have those workers harvest crops more efficiently. Except here, Tasha hired moles, used ore as currency, and managed the conversion market herself. She first replenished her own energy until she no longer felt hungry, then began systematically creating moles: for every mole produced, she stored an equal amount of energy, just in case this blue ore suddenly ran out.
By the time the fifth mole was created, Tasha's mining squad had formed an assembly line. Their transport and excavation coordinated seamlessly, achieving maximum efficiency—more rational than many urban road layouts. Like ants or bees born engineers, these moles seemed connected by a mental network, guiding them toward optimal decisions.
Tasha was astonished—yet not at all surprised.
As the master of these "worker ants," she instinctively understood their workings. It was as if an architect's module had been installed in her mind. As a human soul, she had fused with this knowledge; their instincts became her skills, transforming her into a master builder overnight.
Urban planners would surely covet such an encounter, Tasha thought. But for structures trapped underground, existing solely to satisfy hunger and harvest crops... well, would such skills even be useful?
Dozens of blue ore chunks were tossed into the stone pool, now tinged with a faint blue hue across the earth-toned sandy ground. Freed from the threat of starvation and with a modest food reserve secured, Tasha, gradually adapting to her new identity, began to contemplate her predicament.