A long, long time later...
When Arthur spoke of those days to the other members of his clan, he would always give a faint, bitter smile.
It was quite certain that those days were very important for Lin Xi and Xavier, but quite difficult for Arthur.
Xavier's promise to Lin Xi regarding the new hive was being built quickly—which was to be expected given Xavier's current physical condition.
Xavier easily used his modified, sharp forelimbs to dig a new nest with a complex structure inside the original cave.
Moreover, it also reinforced the entrance to the cave.
Even if another storm hits, the hole, reinforced with special secretions and gravel, will not collapse again.
As for the goods left behind by humans, they were placed in another room. After being sorted out, their quantity was only about one-third of the original. Not to mention Lin Xi, even Arthur felt very regretful.
Of course, compared to the original external cave, Xavier put the most effort into the new nest it dug.
It was a monumental engineering feat that could be described as a miracle (for which Xavier had to shed the dulled shell of his forelimbs every three or four days). Under its complex structure, the nest was both incredibly spacious and incredibly enclosed. Countless intricate ventilation openings ensured humidity and airflow, and kept the temperature of the nest at an exceptionally warm level.
The exceptionally favorable climate of planet AS192 for insect growth also did it a great favor, as it quickly built a perfect nursery.
Of course, the most comfortable area in this cave, before a certain important procedure, can also be called... the bridal chamber.
The significance of this stone chamber was so great that Xavier didn't even let Arthur touch the area; everything was dug out by him personally.
Throughout the construction of the nest, Arthur vaguely sensed that something incomprehensible was happening between Xavier and Lin Xi...
The most obvious example is that Arthur finds himself frequently kicked out of the cave by Xavier. He's asked to gather materials from the surrounding area and to collect human belongings from the ruins of the Sun God... but to Arthur, these tasks seem to be nothing more than keeping him out of the cave.
Even Lin Xi, who had always doted on it, didn't comfort it as she usually did when faced with this situation...
Of course, Arthur was unaware that Lin Xi and Xavier's current actions were purely for Arthur's safety.
At least in Lin Xi's memory, there was almost nothing more irritable and dangerous than a male alien species that was building a nest and courting.
And the special union he and Xavier are about to have will hardly tolerate the existence of another male of the opposite sex.
However, these matters are still somewhat too complicated for Arthur at the moment.
For example, on the day the nest was completed, Arthur had to face an exceptionally cruel order...
It was ordered to leave its brand-new, beautiful, cozy nest and go somewhere else for several days.
Of course, in Lin Xi's words, it's about letting it relax somewhere else.
"...You've worked hard during this time. You can freely hunt some fresh prey and explore other areas...Once everything is done, you can come back. You'll be safer and less lonely then."
Lin Xi stroked its wings with a subtle expression, as if the words of advice she had given it were still ringing in her ears...
But Arthur would never forget how Xavier, who seemed more impatient than usual, was watching Lin Xi from behind.
Xavier was terrifying, and seemed to loathe Arthur's existence more than ever before.
But even so...
After flying around outside, Arthur couldn't help but fly back.
However, when it flew back, it discovered that the entrance to the cave had been completely sealed off by a special kind of mucus and countless tiny stones.
"..."
Arthur circled the sealed cave entrance several times before slowly finding a place to lie down.
It could faintly sense the presence of Xavier and Lin Xi (their scents had become exceptionally strong, along with a faint, strange hormonal scent), clearly indicating that they were inside after the hole was sealed.
In fact, Arthur could occasionally hear some sporadic noises coming from inside.
Arthur listened quietly to the sounds inside, a strange sense of anxiety seemingly affecting him as well.
"Hiss... Lin Xi... hiss hiss hiss... Xavier..."
It hissed and called out to the other person, but neither of them responded.
So it had no choice but to squat on the rock and look through a notebook it had taken with it when it left home.
Lin Xi said that if Arthur wanted to return to Earth, he would need to learn human languages like Xavier.
Arthur was also working very hard because he thought that Lin Xi would take it back to Earth.
However, since the television and movie players were smashed in the storm, the only thing it could use to learn human writing was the various documents and notes left by the crew of the Apollo in the wreckage.
What it is holding in its hands now is a record of Sunu culture from Professor Ando.
This book is quite profound and not really suitable for learning to read, but Arthur was unaware of this.
It opened the book, stretched out its insect limbs, and began to read the words one by one.
Coincidentally, at this moment it was looking at the scene of the star butterfly-insect marriage recorded by the Sunu people.
...
According to ancient records, the mating of star butterflies involves a complex and unpredictable process.
Especially when both parties in an insect marriage are Star Butterflies, the entire insect marriage process becomes even more complicated...
[Due to the gradual extinction of the Star Butterfly in modern times, the most detailed record we can find to date comes from 400 AD. A Sunu priest with an extremely inquisitive spirit spied on the most sacred insect marriage at that time. He was subsequently executed, but left behind a detailed account before his death...]
...The union of star butterflies is filled with dances and chants, each sound possessing a spectral density beyond human description and hearing, only achievable through specific ritual objects. Sometimes, these sounds are not even mediated by air...
Instead, the medium of communication is the bedding material laid inside the bridal chamber, the secretions covering the female insect's surface, and the large amount of jewelry and metal collected by the male insect to please the female...
After the long and complex chanting is completed, the male insects will begin a series of dances, during which their wrinkled wings will be fully unfolded and display a variety of patterns and colors.
At this stage, anyone who directly sees the Star Butterfly's wings is likely to be driven mad by the shimmering patterns. Earthlings have yet to have a scientific theory to explain this madness… Of course, considering that the most recent records are 400 years old, and the subject of the narrative is a priest about to be executed, the scene it describes is highly likely just a hallucination or delusion born of fear.
After the dance and singing are completed, coral-like scent glands slowly emerge from the base of the male insect's wings, secreting a large amount of fragrance that makes the female insect feel joyful and dizzy.
Before this, the male's dance is very likely a way of releasing the fragrance from its scent-producing organs by flapping its wings, thus influencing the female. This scent is quite long-lasting, lasting for about a month, and the female of the Star Butterfly will still maintain this strong aroma. This mechanism effectively repels any potential competitors... Then, the male will slowly approach the female, hovering and dancing in front of her.
If the female insect does not refuse, the male insect will slowly descend behind her, its wings gradually folding in to completely envelop her. Simultaneously, its clasping legs will extend and slowly clamp down on the female's wings. At this point, even if the female suddenly changes her mind and tries to escape, it becomes extremely difficult…
Of course, based on our existing data, this double insurance may also be due to the unique characteristics of the star butterfly itself. The process of insect marriage is lengthy, and the male becomes exceptionally fierce and cruel. Similarly, the female, having expended a great deal of energy, also becomes extremely agitated. If the male is unable to control the female as much as possible, the latter is very likely to escape from the male's control and, due to intense hunger, devour the male as nourishment.
Similar events have occurred countless times in the records of the Sunu people, which may be the reason why the Star Butterfly species eventually became endangered.
However, a small number of female and male insects have mastered the special techniques for mating.
When the emotions and preferences of both insects are quite compatible, the male insect will control his violent tendencies while the female insect will try to restrain her appetite.
Once completely under her control, the female insect will lie down, her lower abdomen will swell, revealing the copulatory organ that was previously hidden inside her body. The male insect will also bend its abdomen and connect with the female insect's body.
Over the next 10 days, they will repeat a similar process until the female insect can clearly feel new life growing inside her abdomen...
Only at this moment will the previously completely sealed insect marriage chamber be broken open from the inside.
If the male insect in the mating is fortunate enough not to be devoured or killed by the female, it will reorganize the nest used for the mating and turn it into a new nursery.
Over the next few days, a large number of eggs will form inside the female insect's body and will not be released from the mother's body. After leaving the mother's body, they will need about 10 days to carry out their subsequent development.
During this process, the male insect will eagerly prepare abundant food for the female insect... After a successful insect marriage, the male and female insects will form a fairly stable pair, and their population will become the most dominant biological species in the entire region...
Arthur struggled to read the text, trying to decipher the words, and was somewhat distracted.
Arthur could hear sounds that bothered him from time to time... It sounded like Lin Xi crying, or like... Xavier's muffled groans?
Moreover, it sounds like Xavier is doing something bad to Lin Xi.
The sounds, and the faint vibrations emanating from the rock walls, made Arthur nervous.
Finally, after hearing Lin Xi let out another long cry, Arthur jumped up and rushed to the closed entrance of the nest.
"Lin Xi? Lin Xi... hiss..."
Just as it was trying to figure out what had happened inside the completely sealed nest, Xavier let out an extremely piercing shoo.
Even through such a thick rock wall, those sounds still pierced Arthur's heart like knives. He trembled with fear and uncontrollably spread his wings and retreated far to the side.
Arthur only stopped, still shaken, after walking quite a distance from the cave.
That's strange...
Arthur couldn't help but think that the oppressive feeling Xavier was giving him seemed even stronger than before.
If its past submission and concession to Xavier stemmed more from the latter's size and fear of larger peers, then this time, this inexplicable submission comes from its genes themselves.
Although Arthur still didn't understand what had happened, just a moment ago, he had a strong, deep-rooted intuition that Xavier and he had become completely different individuals.
even……
Xavier has complete control over everything.
If Arthur previously harbored some uncontrollable ulterior motives, intentionally or unintentionally vying for Lin Xi's favor with Xavier, those thoughts have now been completely extinguished.
That's Xavier. Unless the Queen of Insects issues a direct order, Xavier is someone you absolutely cannot disobey; he's its leader...
Thinking of this, Arthur rubbed his forelimbs and took several steps back.
Because it could sense that at this moment, Xavier only wanted it to be as far away as possible.
Arthur shook his tentacles, his wings drooped, and then slowly walked away into the distance.
It unconsciously returned to the ruins of the Apollo spacecraft.
This is where it was born, and also the place it knows best.
However, the Apollo spacecraft, which was previously completely exposed on the ground, was now covered by thick sand and dust, with about two-thirds of its volume buried due to the wind.
It is estimated that if another storm comes, it will be completely buried deep underground.
Even so, the ruins of the Sun God remained Arthur's favorite place.
Everything there was familiar to Arthur, and he could also find many things about Earth from time to time...
Arthur, however, prefers Earth.
Arthur slowly took a few steps forward, and just as it was about to enter the ruins as usual, it suddenly stopped.
"..."
Arthur opened his eyes wide and carefully observed the ruins of the Apollo. Near the tail of the ship, there were some twisted marks on the once flat sand, which looked like countless octopuses had walked on it. On the surface of the Apollo, a dark hole had appeared in the once smooth metal, completely exposing the internal components and structure.
Although the Apollo was just a spaceship, the hole it bore was like a huge wound, making Arthur feel heartbroken.
Arthur knew very well that this grotesque hole hadn't appeared before it left this place last time... Whether before or after the storm, Arthur always felt a deep affection for the place where it was born. Even when the normal entrances and exits were buried, it would try its best to choose exhaust vents or windows as passages for entering and exiting the spaceship, rather than simply and brutally tearing open the outer wall of the Apollo like it did now.
Something has appeared.
Arthur could guarantee that the thing was definitely not a creature from AS192; such creatures would have no interest in a colorless metallic object like the Sun God.
Almost the instant he saw those strange marks, Arthur immediately raised his tentacles and then abruptly turned his head.
Its innate sense of danger made it intend to escape immediately.
Even so, its movements were still a beat too slow.
Just as Arthur was about to make his escape, several crooked shadows appeared around him.
Those things were the same as before, still looking disgusting and twisted, with semi-circular black heads and slender metal tentacles swaying slightly, looking like jellyfish made of metal.
The red dots, like eyes, flickered incessantly beneath the hard mask made of organic material.
They seemed to be staring at Arthur in front of them.
Arthur shook the tentacles on his head. He couldn't organize his thoughts, but his disgust for the creatures before him was intense. This wasn't the first or second time he'd dealt with these peculiar metallic monsters. Before this, Arthur had been quite afraid of them, but his experience at Biological Testing Ground 23 had filled him with confidence.
It stood tall and raised its insect limbs toward the monsters.
The menacing thorns stood up, and the white carapace, modified by Lin Xi's blood, shimmered like a fine pearl in the brilliant alien sunlight.
Then Arthur turned his head and let out a threatening screech at the approaching machine.
Well, just like before, these mechanical warriors didn't respond to its hiss at all.
Arthur, dissatisfied, stuck out his mouthparts and, mimicking Xavier's actions from his memory, spat a mouthful of acid onto the sand.
However, if Xavier or Lin Xi were here, they would not be as relaxed as Arthur is now. They would also be able to sense that something is not quite right in the current situation.
Arthur moved very quietly, and its sense of danger was so sharp that it tried to leave the moment it sensed something was wrong. But even so, the mechanical warriors still found it—this could not be a coincidence, but rather that the mechanical warriors had been waiting there to ambush it.
This is a trap.
However, the mechanical warriors are completely command-based robots; they don't have any intelligence modules that would allow them to lie in ambush here so silently...
Now, on this planet, there is only one person who can foresee the arrival of the alien species and launch an ambush against them—Hal.
The sunlight of AS192 quietly shone on this colorful land, and a gentle breeze blew across Arthur, the mechanical warriors, and this brand-new land, stirring up a whirlwind of vibrant colors.
Arthur quickly stopped his useless screech and warily surveyed the surrounding mechanical warriors. The warriors, having surrounded him, also fell completely still; were it not for the flashing red searchlights beneath their masks, they would have appeared completely frozen.
Arthur slowly tensed his wings, and for a fleeting moment, he almost wanted to swing his claws at the mechanical warriors as recklessly as before.
Then it would unleash a brutal carnage, like in a sealed room of an underground facility, cutting through these unsettling metal monsters...
But a strong intuition was screaming within its body.
Arthur couldn't help but take a second look at them.
Then, Arthur discovered something amiss.
These surrounding mechanical warriors seemed different from the ones it had encountered before. They were larger, darker in color, and had many more mechanical tentacles than before. At the junction of the mechanical tentacles and the hemispherical head, there were some extra things that protruded, like spider legs. Now, those slender metal legs were swaying incessantly in the wind.
After an unknown amount of time, one of the tall metal monsters suddenly pounced on it.
Arthur immediately went to meet it, but the moment it made contact, it understood why it had felt such an ominous feeling earlier...
These mechanical warriors, though similar in appearance to the previous ones, were made of completely different materials. Arthur's forelimbs could easily slice the previous Ghost-type mechanical warriors in two. But this time, when his forelimbs landed on the helmets of these mechanical warriors, they only produced a trail of sparks.
A deep scratch appeared on the surface of the mechanical warriors' helmets, and the percentage of damage flashed on the screens beneath their masks.
But such damage alone was not enough to stop them. Just as Arthur was locked in combat with one of the mechanical warriors, several other individuals pounced on him, their powerful metal tentacles wrapping around his body.
An ominous red glow appeared on the surface of the spider's legs located below its head.
That's a portable, high-performance laser cutter.
Arthur forcefully tore off a metal tentacle, and just as he was about to escape, he suddenly let out a long hiss.
It turned its head 180 degrees and then saw the wound on its back: a thin, hideous black mark that lay directly on its back, and one of its wings drooped down, hanging below its shoulder blade, the connection between its back and wing already charred black.
These mechanical warriors simply used their cutters to slice Arthur's wings off his body.
Arthur was stunned. Before it could react, an even more intense pain shot through it.
It turned around and found one of the mechanical warriors tightly wrapped around its forelimbs, forcing it to stretch its joints.
And those laser cutting machines, flashing red dots, landed directly on its joints.
Arthur struggled frantically, but his struggles gradually subsided under the onslaught of countless mechanical warriors.
More than ten minutes later, the mechanical warriors slowly dispersed from the white alien. Their bodies were covered in corrosion marks to varying degrees. Two of them had already lost the ability to move…
Their losses were quite heavy, but for such monsters, the death of their companions or their own injuries seemed to be nothing to worry about. They waited in place for a long time, and several mechanical warriors even slowly spread out and patrolled the surroundings for a while.
The previous torture of Arthur, including cutting off its forelimbs and wings, was all to make Arthur scream for help.
Generally speaking, the screams of an injured individual will attract more alien species...
However, Hal, who was remotely controlling these mechanical warriors, was unaware that Xavier and Linxi were engaged in another extremely important activity, and they were unaware of Arthur's injury.
After waiting for a long time, the mechanical warriors found that no more individuals had joined this alien species. Their red electronic eyes flashed under their helmets for a while before bending their metal tentacles to hook onto the motionless Arthur and slowly walking in a certain direction.
Eventually, their figures disappeared beyond the horizon.
Meanwhile, in the cave on the cliff, Lin Xi suddenly opened its red eyes, sat up abruptly, and stretched out its hand.
It forcefully pushed aside the slime covering it and then slid out from Xavier's wing.
Xavier screeched urgently behind it, stretching out its thick, menacing claws in an attempt to drag Lin Xi back.
"hiss--"
Lin Xi turned her head and subconsciously let out a roar at Xavier.
After a long while, Linxi switched from gold to human language. It turned its head and looked far away through the thick rock wall towards the ruins of the Sun God.
“Arthur…”
It murmured softly.
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