Before opening the hatch, Lin Xi had already prepared himself mentally—he had a premonition that the cabin he had lived in before would probably be as dilapidated as the ruins he had passed through before, filled with fragments of various materials and twisted and broken metal supports, or even worse, that cabin might have been melted and destroyed in the previous explosion.
Lin Xi had many ideas, but he never expected to face such a situation.
His former living quarters were... empty.
It's the kind of "emptiness" in the literal sense.
There were no traces of life left here, no fragments of synthetic materials, no broken furniture; in fact, there was nothing at all. Lin Xi walked into the living quarters where he had spent countless days and nights in shock.
This place wasn't exactly luxurious or cozy before, but it was still his home. Lin Xi could never have imagined it would become like this. During his investigation, he discovered that even the metal plates used to conceal the pipes behind them on the walls were gone, and the synthetic materials on the floor had been completely removed and taken away for some unknown reason. Forget finding any clues about his supposed amnesia; there wasn't even any trace of human habitation left.
Lin Xi stood somewhat bewildered in her cabin, feeling as if it were an empty metal box.
He even had to go back outside the cabin door and stand on the already tilted corridor to check the door number to make sure he hadn't gone to the wrong place.
However, after checking repeatedly, Lin Xi finally had to admit that this was indeed the place where he had once lived.
It has simply become somewhat unrecognizable.
"Well, this is somewhat...surprising."
Lin Xi's heart was pounding, he murmured to himself.
In contrast, Lin Xi pulled open the doors of several cabins next to his own. Those cabins were just as desolate and messy as he had imagined. Because the door frames were deformed, Lin Xi even had to forcibly dismantle some of the cabin doors.
The cabin next to Lin Xi's looked quite like the scene Lin Xi had envisioned.
The only room that had been completely emptied was Lin Xi's own.
After a brief search lasting a few minutes, Lin Xi returned to his cabin. He looked at the now completely dismantled room with a puzzled expression before turning his head to look at the white monster peeking out from the doorway.
It seemed very interested in the house, but for some reason, it didn't dare to step inside the cabin.
"...Do you know what happened here?" Lin Xi couldn't help but ask, looking at the human-like appearance of the white monster.
"Hiss..."
However, the white monster merely shook its tentacles at him somewhat timidly, and then let out a series of short, soft mutterings.
"Okay, it seems you didn't know."
Lin Xi sighed in disappointment.
He examined the corner of the room, which had been completely dismantled, and soon discovered some sharp scratches on some metal supports. Aside from that, he found no other clues. Whoever had taken all the furniture and looted his belongings must have been extremely meticulous and careful in doing so.
However, considering her current situation and the terrified monster outside the door, Lin Xi's doubts only deepened.
After circling around without finding anything, Lin Xi could only leave the living quarters with a frown.
Lost in his own chaotic thoughts, Lin Xi didn't even realize that he was walking along a corridor toward a place that was subconsciously familiar to him.
When he came to his senses, he realized that he was standing right in front of his own greenhouse.
This area is far from the explosion's epicenter, so it doesn't appear to have been greatly affected, except for the metal nameplate welded to the wall, which has fallen down.
Lin Xi thought for a moment, then slowly pushed open the greenhouse door.
The greenhouse is also where he works; perhaps he can find some records or clues there...
The situation behind the greenhouse completely surprised Lin Xi. He had imagined that the precious plants he had brought back from Sulu would have withered long ago due to prolonged abandonment and lack of care. But now, those plants were swaying their thick leaves right in front of him, and despite the absence of human tending, they actually looked quite thriving.
This was even stranger than Lin Xi's empty living quarters. Lin Xi couldn't help but step forward to inspect it. He was quite surprised to find that these Sunu plants had been carefully tended, and even the nutrient solution dispensing was working perfectly. The only problem was probably that due to the lack of light, most of the Sunu plants, which were originally in various colors, had turned grayish-white.
In the very center of the greenhouse, surrounded by lush green plants, was a giant insect culture tank that Lin Xi was also very interested in.
A wave of familiarity washed over Lin Xi.
Lin Xi slowly walked to the petri dish and peered inside. He was terrified that he would see the dead body of a tiny butterfly.
Thank goodness, the petri dish was empty.
The inner walls of the culture dish were also wiped very clean. A fragrant wood from Sunu stood in the very center of the dish, growing exceptionally lushly.
Lin Xi vaguely remembered seeing the thing in front of her in a dream.
He walked uncontrollably into the glass culture tank, and looked up at the fragrant wood.
Something was gleaming. Lin Xi reached out and slowly pulled the object from among the lush foliage. It looked like the nest of some small bird or insect, with various buttons, metal fragments, and gears neatly piled at the bottom.
"Number One..."
Lin Xi looked at the nest in her hand, and in a daze, uttered the name.
He vaguely remembered that before he lost consciousness, he seemed to have raised a butterfly.
The sight of the butterfly fluttering in her dream always evokes a warm and nostalgic feeling in Lin Xi whenever she thinks of it.
"I'm very well-behaved..."
A hoarse, strange, low whisper seemed to be right next to Lin Xi's ear.
"..."
However, when he tried to investigate further, the voice seemed like an illusion and never appeared again.
Butterflies... large insect petri dishes...
Lin Xi slowly withdrew from the incubation tank, and turned around thoughtfully to look at the white monster guarding behind him.
Is that you?
He murmured to himself.
"...You were the one who lived here before, and your name was... Number One?"
Lin Xi asked tentatively.
With an insect-like appearance, it was affectionate towards him and reacted in a highly human way. In Lin Xi's deduction, the white monster following behind him was probably some kind of alien insect that he had previously kept...
But this time his idea seemed to be wrong again. As soon as he opened his mouth to ask the question, the white monster suddenly raised the tentacles on its head, and the whole insect trembled as if it had been greatly frightened.
"What's wrong? Did something happen?"
Lin Xi quickly asked.
However, the more he showed his concern, the more frightened the white monster seemed...
Lin Xi was unaware that at that very moment, right behind him, a dark, twisted, and evil shadow was slowly descending from the ceiling.
The shadow was so terrifying and ferocious, its raised forelimbs like blades, its mouthparts revealing sharp fangs, and its scarlet compound eyes like those of a demon. Even more terrifying was that, despite its enormous size, it moved without making a sound; it was like a shadow, a ghost, or perhaps a monster that had slowly crawled out of purgatory.
At this moment, its forelimbs were raised high, while its gaze was fixed on Lin Xi.
It looked as if it could easily cut Lin Xi in two.
“Xavier…”
On the other side, the white monster looked at Lin Xi with extreme fear, and then squeezed out a strange word from deep in its throat.
The moment Lin Xi heard that word, she felt as if she had been electrocuted, and a chill ran down her spine.
“Xavier…Xavier…”
Lin Xi kept repeating the name. Even though she had forgotten everything, the emotions in her heart surged because of this name.
His heart started racing.
"Who exactly is Xavier...?"
Why did I react so strongly after hearing this name?
Lin Xi asked herself this question in her heart.
Just then, he saw the white monster suddenly raise its forelimbs, its insect-like limbs pointing in his direction. If it were a human, Lin Xi suspected it would probably be whimpering and crying by now.
“Xavier…is related to me, isn’t he?”
Lin Xi felt increasingly uneasy. He noticed his body was trembling and his palms were burning hot. Then he guessed what was going on.
The white monster's eyes were wide open. Although its face was completely expressionless, Lin Xi had a strange feeling—he seemed to be able to sense the intense emotions surging deep within the monster's heart. At this moment, the emotion gushing from the white monster in front of him was pure fear, without a trace of impurity.
The next second, even Lin Xi realized something was wrong. He suddenly realized that the white monster didn't seem to be him, but rather...
It was the thing behind him that was the focus.
Lin Xi suddenly turned around.
"..."
The moment that hideous face came into his view, he couldn't even utter a cry for help.
He instinctively grinned at the terrifying monster and let out a sharp, threatening scream.
However, the insect, which was twice his size, did not seem afraid at all. On the contrary, it seemed to be enraged when Lin Xi made his threatening noise.
It suddenly spread its wings, its tentacles standing straight up, making it appear even larger than before.
It is also even more terrifying.
Lin Xi gasped and quickly retreated, but even with his mutated body, he couldn't dodge the monster's attack on his forelegs.
Lin Xi was immediately caught by him.
Hiss—
From behind him came the panicked screams of the white monster.
Lin Xi turned around and saw the white monster timidly rushing forward. However, compared to the newly arrived monster, its fragility and deformity became even more conspicuous.
"Don't worry about me! It's dangerous!"
Lin Xi shouted instinctively.
Before he could finish speaking, the white monster made eye contact with the newcomer. The next second, it shook its wings and its tentacles drooped down abruptly.
Under Lin Xi's watchful gaze, the white monster, with lightning speed, darted out of the greenhouse.
That's right, the little white monster ran away without hesitation.
Lin Xi: "..."
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