Chapter 36: The Hive Mind Of All Believers

Chapter 36: The Hive Mind Of All Believers

Witnessing the lightning evolver and the rest of the students kneel in reverence toward him, Ainsworth knew that his plan had worked.

’The combination of God-Level Charm, God-Level Cult Leader, and Freedom of Speech is more broken than I expected. The synergy of those three could easily make those with weak Spirit attributes pledge their utmost loyalty to me.’

’Even if I dare ask the lightning evolver and the rest of these students to sacrifice their lives for my sake, they’d not hesitate to do so. And to further ensure their loyalty as well as strengthen the Church of Evolution’s first batch of believers...’

Waving his hand, purple-colored viral energy appeared on top of Ainsworth’s right palm. Countless father zombie virus manifested on his right palm.

On his left hand, he took out a wine bottle from his system inventory and held it.

Afterward, he infused the father zombie virus into the wine inside the wine bottle, contaminating it with the father zombie virus.

Moreover, Ainsworth also used his Pathogen Control (S) skill to drastically reduce the chance of a malignant mutation and drastically increase the probability of becoming an evolver to anyone drinking the wine.

With a snap of his fingers, dozens of wine glasses appeared, floating gently in front of every student.

The bottle levitated, then tilted by his will. Each glass was filled, not with wine, but with the prospect of their future.

Ainsworth’s voice rang out. His voice wasn’t loud but resonant.

"Drink, my children. This is the blood of evolution, the first sacrament of your new birth. Through this divine elixir, I offer not hope... but power."



The lightning evolver trembled as he gazed into his glass. The liquid shimmered like liquid lightning, glowing softly in the low light.

His heart pounded in a mixture of anticipation and excitement.

’Is this... really it?’ he thought. ’The thing I’ve been searching for? Not just power... but purpose?’

Others shared his awe.

A girl with cracked glasses clutched her glass with reverence, tears welling in her eyes. ’Even if this kills me, I’ll die knowing I tried to become more.’

A burly jock-type muttered under his breath, "If this guy is a god, then this is goddamn nectar. Cheers, I guess..."

Then, they drank.

One by one, the divine wine touched their lips.

And then it began.

Their eyes widened.

Bodies convulsed.

Some cried out. Others gasped. All of them felt something awaken inside them.

The lightning evolver’s veins crackled with renewed voltage, his powers doubling, refining, and surging into a new form. Lightning coiled around his fingers like obedient serpents.

The lightning evolver, Ken Rogers, became stronger than before. Previously, he was only an Ordinary Evolver and now, he had become an Elite Evolver.



For comparison, Chloe was at the peak of Ordinary Evolver when Ainsworth met her. After she had survived the ordeal of eating the zombie foie gras, she would also be at Elite Evolver.

A red-haired girl’s skin glowed as fire ignited from her fingertips, then on her back, burst forth phoenix-like wings made of flame.

A quiet boy clutched his temples as his irises turned silver. Telepathy and memory reading coursed into his mind.

One boy’s exhalation caused the air around him to become windier. With a flick of his wrist, gusts of wind traveled through where he was pointing.

"Wind power, noice."

However, not all superpowers awakened by Evolvers were flashy.

Some gained enhanced intuition, others felt their reflexes spike, and one girl blinked and found herself five meters away—short-range teleportation. Another simply felt her skin harden into armor-like iron.

And despite the chaos, not one mutation turned grotesque. No one screamed in agony. No one collapsed.

Because Ainsworth had tailored this gift and it all went according to plan. Even if it didn’t, he was prepared to let them have a do-over in their evolution.

Soon, the once ordinary students stood reborn. Their gazes no longer held confusion or fear—but worship.

Devotion.

"You have evolved," Ainsworth said gently, standing before them like a shepherd among lambs. "You are no longer merely human... but apostles of the new era."

And they believed.

Or more like, after they drank the "divine" wine infused with the father zombie virus, they were all now part of the Hive Mind.

Because of that, Ainsworth felt a one-way connection with all his first batch of believers. It was a connection where he could connect to them but they couldn’t do the same to him.



If he wanted to, he could access their memories and even forcefully take control of their bodies. He could also command them to do whatever he wanted them to do and even if he ordered them to commit suicide, they’d do so without any hesitation.

With the Hive Mind (S) skill, Ainsworth didn’t have to worry about their betrayal of the Church of Evolution.

If Ainsworth’s brainwashing caused by a synergy of God-Level Charm, God-Level Cult Leader, and Freedom of Speech (SSS) had made them devoted and fanatic believers, then the Hive Mind granted a kill switch hidden in their mind.

They wouldn’t be aware of the kill switch unless Ainsworth told them to.

Even now, when Ken and the rest of the students were marveling at their power as well their connection with each other in the Hive Mind, they all attributed it to their lord god Ainsworth’s miracle.

The thought of the Hive Mind being used to metaphorically put a slave collar on their necks never crossed their minds.

With how brainwashed they were, Ainsworth only thought of the Hive Mind being added as an insurance on his control over them. However, he never doubted their loyalty and devotion as even without the Hive Mind, they would still sacrifice their lives for his sake.

At least, one of its perks was that he could communicate in every mind of his believers and issue orders to them, further solidifying his divine status as the "Virus God of Evolution" in their minds.

After the student group evolved, there were now 1 Elite Evolver and 43 Ordinary Evolvers among them. None had remained as an ordinary human and they all became evolvers.

Pleased with their evolution, Ainsworth raised his hand, and with a gentle snap of his fingers, radiant threads of light wove together in the air, forming robes of black and violet—each bearing a symbol of the Church of Evolution.

His voice echoed not through the air, but directly into their minds—calm, powerful, and absolute.

"Wear this, my chosen. These vestments are not mere cloth, but a symbol of your rebirth—your transcendence."