On that day, all life on planet AS192 vaguely sensed an indescribable tremor...
Something happened; some lingering memories, rooted in their blood and genes, are awakening.
However, their thinking is chaotic and primitive; they can only look up at the brilliant crimson sky, trembling slightly with fear.
The alien creatures near the cliffs where Xavier nested felt it even more intensely.
They suddenly stopped all their movements, revealing their thorns, venom, or camouflage all at once.
These creatures simultaneously felt an immense pressure bearing down on them—a pressure they had never experienced before.
It was a kind of intuition rooted in instinct, and it was this instinctive fear that made them dare not move, and they could only humbly lie down and wait for the intense oppression to pass.
After a long while, accompanied by some strange buzzing sound... these low-level alien creatures sensed two dark figures flying past overhead.
The figure was so agile and swift, like lightning, like a storm, like a shadow in the night—
The intense sense of oppression only gradually dissipated long after the figure had left.
Then, after a while, something that looked like a dead branch suddenly moved in the red sand.
Eyes, tentacles, and mouthparts slowly emerged from the shriveled body surface; on the monster's face, the eyes took up almost 80% of the area.
It slowly raised its head, revealing its true form.
This monster is quite weak; its only advantage is probably its excellent eyesight.
Driven by some strange tremor, the monster mustered its courage and opened its eyes, gazing into the distance at the shadow that flashed past above their heads.
From a considerable distance, the giant-eyed monster saw two enormous insects flying in mid-air, one of which was holding its "prey" in its paws.
The "insect" flew exceptionally fast, while another white shadow hung far behind.
The "insect" was white, and although it flew exceptionally fast, it always seemed strangely clumsy in comparison to the other creature. Even its constantly flapping white wings seemed pitiful.
Of course, this pitiful appearance is just an illusion.
Just as the withered, branch-like monster was eyeing the two insects, the white shadow seemed to sense its gaze and suddenly turned its head away.
Despite the vast distance between them, a dark and twisted aura still accurately pierced the original alien monster.
The monster immediately crouched down, instinctively trying to squeeze into the crevice to avoid the terrifying gaze, but soon it remained in the same position, slowly becoming stiff and limp.
A few seconds later, more tiny insects emerged from the cracks. They didn't care much about where the monster's corpse came from, but instead methodically opened their tiny pincers and walked towards the monster... For these small and fragile creatures, this was just an ordinary cycle of life.
Only the thin white bone spurs on the back of that large-eyed monster indicated the peculiarity of its death.
...
Of course, Lin Xi had no way of knowing about the little incident that happened behind his back.
The shadow that the little monster had seen earlier was naturally him, Xavier and Arthur. The one flying in front and carrying the "prey" was Xavier, while the one following behind was Arthur, who had to flap his wings and try his best to keep up with Xavier.
...After escaping danger, it was immediately thrown down by Xavier on the grounds that it was "very heavy".
Of course, as a different species, Arthur can also fly.
However, its wings are completely different from Xavier's wings now.
If Xavier wanted to, he could easily carry Lin Xi and leave Arthur far behind... Thank goodness, Lin Xi wasn't a cold-hearted insect queen; he still cared for Arthur, which allowed Arthur to follow behind them.
Like all apex predators, they were unaware of the immense psychological torment their actions inflicted on the creatures of planet AS192. Nor did they seem to care about the white bone spikes Arthur carelessly sprayed behind them.
They returned to their nest peacefully and smoothly. The uneventful journey seemed like a dream compared to their near-death experience in the storm.
With the wings folded, Xavier gently landed on the edge of the cliff with Lin Xi in his arms.
Then, Xavier stared at his once warm and lovely nest, which had been completely changed—the entrance to the nest, which Xavier had carefully decorated with many flowers and brightly colored stones, had all been turned into a pile of rubble by the storm.
If it weren't for the spacious platform in front of the cave entrance, Xavier and Lin Xi wouldn't even have been able to stop directly at the entrance of the nest.
When Lin Xi jumped down from Xavier's arms, he could feel that Xavier's movements had become unusually stiff.
Yes, Xavier's wings changed color after he discovered that the holes he had decorated had been blown into this state.
It even stood somewhat blankly at the entrance of the cave, staring at the mess in front of it for a long time.
At this moment, Xavier appeared particularly dejected.
Lin Xi looked at him and felt a subtle pity.
"Maybe, maybe the head isn't in such bad shape."
He whispered to Lin Xi.
Lin Xi's words of comfort helped Xavier to cheer up a little.
It swung its exceptionally powerful forelimbs and easily pushed aside the rubble.
The loose stones tumbled down the cliff, echoing incessantly in the abyss below.
After finally clearing away the rubble at the entrance of the cave, Xavier immediately crawled inside.
The situation inside the nest was pretty much as Lin Xi had described.
The most severely damaged items were those near the entrance to the nest, especially the TV series, movies, and games that Xavier had carefully collected from the bedrooms of the Helios crew members... all of which were swept away by the gale.
Xavier almost froze.
It took a step forward in disbelief.
"Snap—"
A crisp sound rang out.
Xavier slowly raised his leg, hooked a broken metal box in front of him, and looked at it for a while.
This is exactly the player for those TV series and movies.
However, it has now been completely shattered.
...
Of course, although Xavier suffered heavy losses.
However, in Lin Xi's view, the damage inside the nest was still within an acceptable range.
He looked at the ruined nest and then at the rubble outside the cave, and sighed silently.
The entrance to the cave that Xavier used as his nest was quite fragile (especially since Xavier had deliberately chipped many holes in the rocks and secretly collected the beautiful stones he had gathered), so it collapsed not long after the storm began.
The cave entrance filled with rubble was indeed frightening, but in another sense, it was precisely because the cave collapsed early and the rubble blocked the air vents that the objects inside the cave that had not been completely blown out were preserved.
Lin Xi walked into the nest step by step, carefully picking up the small things scattered on the ground.
During this process, Lin Xi suddenly narrowed his eyes.
He spotted something familiar amidst a pile of junk that had turned into trash. Lin Xi picked it up and discovered it was a music box.
"I feel like I've seen something like this before..."
Lin Xi muttered to herself, then turned the music box over.
He found a metal plaque at the bottom of the music box, which indeed had Bryce's name on it.
Lin Xi's expression softened immediately.
Then he instinctively opened that thing.
"My dearest Elisa, you are the dearest person I have in this world..."
Suddenly, strangely familiar words came from the music box.
Well, strictly speaking, this thing isn't even a real music box. It's just disguised as an old-fashioned thing on the outside, and inside it's actually a small, portable projector.
After Lin Xi opened it, she immediately saw an extremely cheesy holographic projection.
Bryce, dressed in a fluffy mascot costume and holding flowers and balloons, delivered a long and extremely extravagant declaration of love to Elisa—
Lin Xi frowned more and more as she listened, but in the end, she couldn't help but chuckle.
This was probably a little secret that Bryce never wanted him to know. Lin Xi had no doubt that what he had found was probably a gift Bryce had prepared for Elisa.
Lin Xi didn't know if Bryce had shown this to Elisa. He truly hoped that Bryce hadn't had the chance yet, after all, only a very magnanimous person could tolerate the existence of such a gift of love.
only……
Lin Xi stared blankly at Bryce's comical appearance on the projection, her eyes welling up with tears.
Such a thing would have been laughable before.
But... after everything it has been through, its existence carries a hazy warmth.
Lin Xi knew he had lost his composure, but he still couldn't help but stare at Bryce's projection for a long time.
He recalled once again the way Bryce and Elisa looked when they left.
Bryce must be furious.
Have they returned to Earth yet?
Are they... still alive?
Lin Xi couldn't help but think about these questions.
After a long while, he slowly closed the package, and then placed Bryce's failed gift beside him.
A burning gaze came from above.
Lin Xi turned around and immediately saw that Xavier was staring intently at the thing in his hand.
After realizing that Lin Xi had noticed him, Xavier stammered as he spoke.
Do you like things like this?
Lin Xi quickly explained, "No, of course not... This is Bryce's stuff. His taste is as bad as ever."
After a pause, Lin Xi's voice softened: "It's just that this thing makes me... miss him a little."
Lin Xi said to Xavier with a smile.
"...Bryce might be back on Earth by now. He'd never expect me to find this. I can't wait. When I get back, I'll take this out in front of Bryce. He'll be furious..."
Lin Xi's voice gradually faded away.
His expression darkened.
Xavier reluctantly turned his gaze away from the music box in Lin Xi's hands.
It didn't miss Lin Xi's assessment of the music box: terrible taste...
However, Xavier absolutely loved that stuff.
It had even already thought about what it would say to Lin Xi if it were recording this projection.
However, Lin Xi's depressed state when she mentioned returning to Earth made it turn its attention away from the music box.
"Lin Xi...do you really want to go back to Earth?"
Xavier couldn't help but ask.
"Of course," Lin Xi said decisively.
“That’s Earth, and Bryce and the others went back there.”
Xavier remained silent; it dared not tell Lin Xi that, in fact…
Actually, it felt that living with Lin Xi on such a planet was quite nice.
There are no obstacles between them, only each other.
Even if those annoying mechanical warriors still exist somewhere on this planet, they are nothing more than fragile tin scarecrows in the face of their current claws.
Those monsters were no match for them long ago; they had no enemies on this planet.
But Xavier's thoughts all vanished in the face of Lin Xi's longing.
Lin Xi wanted to go back—anyone could see that, and Xavier was no exception.
Xavier shook the tentacles on his head, then glanced at Arthur behind him who was busy packing things up, and forced a smile.
It scurried away to the side and began packing its things.
However, Xavier originally thought that tidying up these odds and ends would make him feel better.
But as it actually started to take action, its heart sank little by little.
Before this, Xavier had thought that apart from the severe damage to the materials at the entrance, the things deep inside the nest might still have retained some of their original appearance.
But when they started cleaning up, they discovered that many things had been damaged by the strong winds.
Xavier pieced together a broken mirror. He quite liked the mirror, after all, it was so smooth and reflected a dazzling light.
However, the moment it let go, the mirror shattered once again.
Xavier had no choice but to secrete some sticky mucus to glue the mirror back together, and carefully placed the now crack-free mirror back onto the stone platform he had prepared.
After looking at it for a while, Xavier drooped its tentacles and began to gather up the book whose pages had long since fallen apart... This was quite a challenge for it, after all, it had a very poor grasp of human writing, and even though it had been squinting at the words for a long time, it still had a hard time determining the correct page order.
It is precisely for this reason that the process of collecting books is very slow.
However, right beside it, Arthur had already enthusiastically and quickly arranged many things neatly.
Xavier glanced coldly at Arthur, and only after witnessing Arthur simply gather the scattered papers, fold them by size, and tuck them into the book cover did Xavier slowly avert his gaze. But Arthur's clumsiness and dullness made him feel slightly relieved…
However, as he continued to clean up, Xavier's mood worsened.
Many of its favorite things were lost in the storm, and of the remaining few... the vast majority were shattered.
Considering that even the sturdy cliff caves have suffered such a devastating storm, the wreckage of the Apollo lying alone on the plains is probably in even worse condition.
Xavier had long since given up hope of getting any replacements from the wreckage of the Helios.
With this thought in mind, Xavier's movements gradually slowed down.
It raised its eyes and looked around. Lin Xi and Arthur were both packing their things carefully.
Even so, the area, though meticulously tidied up, still appeared dilapidated, a stark contrast to the warm and inviting world Xavier had carefully prepared.
This place is more like a junkyard than a nest.
Xavier's movements slowed down more and more, and finally came to a complete stop.
Its wings spread out behind it, presenting a somber gray-blue hue.
Xavier felt an immense heaviness and soreness in his chest... he was truly heartbroken.
It tried to conceal its emotions, but its emotional fluctuations at that moment were still transmitted to Lin Xi without reservation.
Lin Xi turned around and looked at the big bug behind him. He could tell at a glance that Xavier looked extremely frustrated.
Such negative emotions are quite rare. Lin Xi raised an eyebrow and quickly realized where Xavier's frustration came from.
Lin Xi immediately walked over to Xavier and put a hand on Xavier's shoulder.
"It's alright. Although... the nest is damaged, we can still rebuild it. This time, we can build a more comfortable nest. The entrance may need to be reinforced in case of even stronger storms..."
As they were talking, Lin Xi immediately noticed that Xavier's gaze had become fixed.
He looked up at the other person.
Xavier's eyes were moist, and his tentacles swayed on his head, showing a mixture of unease and delight.
"A new hive? You mean...we're going to build a new hive?"
Xavier asked incredulously.
This time, Lin Xi seemed a little stunned.
"Is there a problem with the new nest?" Lin Xi asked.
"I thought... I thought you would prefer to go back to Earth."
Xavier said dryly.
Before this, Xavier had never imagined that Lin Xi would build a nest with her. After all, Lin Xi's behavior had always been so obvious; this alien mother who had once lived in this world as a human longed to return to that beautiful and peaceful blue planet.
Given Lin Xi's previous actions, Xavier had always assumed that after quickly cleaning up the nest, Lin Xi would follow the trail of the mechanical warriors all the way to the Providence.
Just like in all the TV shows and movies Xavier has always watched, the protagonist always defeats the villains, gets the spaceship, and returns to their beloved home. Lin Xi will probably do the same thing...
But now, Lin Xi stood before it, staring at it calmly, and said that she and it had a brand new nest.
Xavier almost felt like he was dreaming...
It never imagined that Lin Xi would say such a thing to it.
The Mother of the Xenomorphs promised the Ohmu a nest, which, in the Xenomorph world, means...
mean……
Xavier's wings suddenly turned an ambiguous pink.
It was almost embarrassed by the images that were flashing through its mind.
Xavier's complex thoughts were like a blank sheet of paper in front of Lin Xi.
Lin Xi's eyes widened slightly, and then a faint smile appeared on his face.
"You guessed right, I do want to go back to Earth, and in fact, I have to go back to Earth."
Lin Xi explained to Xavier in a calm voice.
Xavier froze.
Lin Xi had to move closer to calm Xavier down.
"Whether it's you... or me, we are special beings... You should have already realized that the two of us are completely different from any of the previous Mother of the Alien or Queen Mushroom. We have our own will, we have our own emotions, we have... love."
When he said the last word, Lin Xi's cheeks flushed slightly, but he quickly composed himself and covered it up.
After a brief pause, Lin Xi stared at Xavier and reorganized his thoughts.
"...Perhaps this is the salvation of this universe. Because we possess our own will, and because we have loved ones, we do not wish for this universe, or that small blue planet, to be destroyed because of beings like us. Similarly, I need to maintain my sanity; I must remember who I am and where I came from—"
Lin Xi took a deep breath and slowly said, "I am Lin Xi. Although I now possess the body of a monster, my essence is human."
Thinking of this, Lin Xi couldn't help but take out the music box left by Bryce, gazing at the wooden artifact with a nostalgic look.
Then, he looked up at the desolate scenery beyond the cliff. After being ravaged by the storm, a large area of forest and vegetation around the cliff had been completely stripped away, leaving only a bare, colorful ground. Countless strangely shaped and brightly colored animals rustled and moved incessantly in the cracks between the rocks and the soil.
This is a completely alien world.
It is so splendid, so magnificent, yet also so savage.
Lin Xi shook his head at this beautiful world, his voice gradually fading.
"I need to return to Earth, I need to return to humanity. Only the masses can constantly remind me that I am human. Only by remembering who I am can I possibly maintain my human nature amidst endless transformations."
“I can’t stay here. There are no humans here. I’m likely to gradually lose my rationality in the process of evolution and eventually return to that chaotic existence.”
Xavier shuddered suddenly.
Even now, it can still recall the chaotic aura that belonged to "Him".
Lin Xi met its gaze, and at that moment, Lin Xi felt as if she could see directly into Xavier's soul.
"And once I turn into that horrible sight..."
Lin Xi raised his hand and gently stroked Xavier's face, feeling the hard, prickly carapace on Xavier's face with his palm.
From a human perspective, Xavier is now incredibly terrifying, but Lin Xi no longer feels that way. In fact, he thinks Xavier is more handsome than ever before.
This may be because of his lifelong bond with Xavier.
Perhaps it is because he is gradually transforming into another kind of being.
But most importantly, beneath this ferocious exterior, Xavier still retains a soft and gentle heart.
This heart is the most important thing to Lin Xi in this desolate world.
“Once I become that kind of monster, you will also be reduced to a mindless breeding species... Before long, we and our kin will gradually multiply into a huge group. We and they will eventually leave this planet and gradually take over the entire universe. That may take a long time, but that future will eventually come. When that time comes, the humans I once loved and the planet I loved will be completely destroyed by my own kin.”
Lin Xi recalled the memories he had previously devoured, those cruel and desperate scenes—a dark dream of countless civilizations gradually withering away under the influence of this monster, the alien species.
Lin Xi would never want such a thing to happen to humans or to the Earth.
"That's why I have to go back..."
Lin Xi could tell that Xavier didn't quite understand what he was saying to it, but Lin Xi didn't explain too much. He just spoke to Xavier in the same gentle tone as before.
“I will still need a nest, but this time my nest should have a complete nursery.”
As she spoke, Lin Xi pressed her hand against her abdomen.
That sense of emptiness stemming from his physical instincts had never dissipated, but now Lin Xi was able to live in harmony with his new identity, and he would no longer feel fear or retreat because of his instincts.
"You, Arthur, and I alone are not enough. The Providence is a Dyson sphere-sized mega-emission ship..."
"To bring such a behemoth back to Earth, it would require tens of thousands, or even hundreds of thousands, of individuals to operate and coordinate the various components of the spacecraft."
"Lin Xi? You mean..."
Xavier stared at Lin Xi in disbelief.
Even Arthur couldn't help but flutter his wings and tentacles, slowly moving closer to Lin Xi. The young alien stared curiously at his mother and Xavier. It could sense an unusual aura enveloping Lin Xi and Xavier, and that special emotional infection even affected it.
Arthur's wings trembled slightly.
"This will be a long process. The Providence may need repairs, or it may be experiencing an energy shortage... But in any case, I need it, and if I want to get the Providence, I will need a lot of companions. As things stand, the most reliable companions are my own offspring."
Lin Xi took a deep breath, then stared at Xavier and said the sentence word by word.
“I need offspring…I need a lot of offspring. Yes, I will multiply my own race.”
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