The wreckage of the Providence is located hundreds of kilometers away from the ruins of the Helios.
The thought that the Sun God was actually only a tiny bit away from this legendary "miracle ship" made even Lin Xi feel a little emotional.
Of course, if it weren't for the traces deliberately left behind by those mechanical warriors as a guide, and the fact that it has now been transformed into a completely different species, it's likely that even if the people on the ship knew of the Providence's existence, they would have had a very difficult time finding it...
The storms that occur periodically on planet AS192 can alter the surrounding environment and landscape in a very short time.
Those fast-growing jungles will be uprooted overnight, turning into deserts; hills will become plains, and cliffs will become slopes...
Then, not long after, maybe a day, maybe two...
In the intervals between storms, countless plants and creatures with exceptional resilience will tenaciously regrow in the sand brought by the storm, until they are completely wiped out by the next storm.
This planet is like an impatient child, and storms are its erasers, always freely drawing magnificent and chaotic scenes, only to wipe them away completely in an instant.
In fact, the footprints of those mechanical warriors did disappear halfway through... They passed through a swamp, and in just a few hours, the swamp was filled with creatures that looked like tardigrades, magnified countless times, which began to multiply and grow on a large scale, completely covering up those messy traces.
However, this was not a problem for Lin Xi.
More than footprints, the bloodstains Arthur left behind on the road were the most vivid road signs.
...
After several hours of astonishingly fast flight, Arthur's breath came to a halt.
Lin Xi also saw the footprints reappear on the ground—those twisting footprints disappeared directly at the edge of a pit.
Xavier folded his wings and landed.
Lin Xi jumped down and came to the edge of the pit with Xavier.
It quietly surveyed its surroundings...
Compared to the barren desert that surrounds the area, the scenery here seems somewhat out of place.
A ring of hard, rocky hills near the sinkhole blocked most of the storms and sandstorms. Under the protection of these hills, the planet's incredibly resilient plants flourished into a rare primeval forest—if those crooked, wriggling, intertwined, and several-meter-thick layers of magnificent vegetation can be called a "forest."
Beneath the rocky hills, a deep, vertical sinkhole suddenly appeared on the originally undulating and flat land—this sinkhole reminded Lin Xi of Earth, where there are such special "sinkholes" in some areas of karst landforms.
The sinkhole has exceptionally steep walls that appear to form almost a right angle with the ground.
The light below was dim and the mist was thick, making it seem as if one were looking at a tropical rainforest.
Some wispy, viscous white mist rose slowly from the gaps in the brightly colored jungle, as if draping a thin veil over the lush vegetation below, which was particularly vibrant because it was not exposed to sunlight.
Occasionally, one can see strange creatures scrambling swiftly along the steep rock walls. Most of them look odd, and their crawling postures are quite unsettling. For example, below Lin Xi, something that looks like a slug is rapidly crawling towards the bottom of the sinkhole, sensing Lin Xi's presence.
However, before it had gone very far, a pitch-black hand suddenly emerged from a crevice in the rock wall—the thing looked exactly like a dried and carbonized human hand—and under Lin Xi's gaze, the hand grabbed the "slug" and, amidst the slippery, grayish-black soft-bodied creature's frantic struggles, forcibly dragged it into an incredibly narrow crevice.
Similarly, not far from this hunting scene, a slug-like creature raised its head high and forcibly swallowed a dark, poisonous object.
Lin Xi lowered his eyelids and stared at the scene before him: the law of the jungle, survival of the fittest. The laws of nature were vividly displayed in this area, making it almost unimaginable to Lin Xi that beneath such primitive and wild scenery lay the legendary Providence, the most advanced and technologically advanced spaceship on Earth, dating back three hundred years and continuing to this day.
"This thing...it's so strange...it's an alien species, no, it..."
Xavier, like Lin Xi, was also looking down.
Upon seeing the black "human hand," it hissed in disgust and then spoke.
"It's a man-made alien species."
Lin Xi replied.
After a pause, it added, "Well, it must have come from the Providence."
Moreover, that creature... was very likely human before.
However, Lin Xi was certain of one thing: the body hidden beneath the rock crevice of that "human hand" must have evolved into something else entirely.
Of course, Lin Xi had no interest in investigating the origin and current state of those things... In fact, as the origin and only of all alien species, this special product, which had been desecrated and distorted by humans, already made him feel very uncomfortable.
Lin Xi took a deep breath to calm the surging, violent emotions within him. Then, he squatted down, reached out, and stroked the rock wall at the edge of the sinkhole.
It used its fingertips to wipe away the thick moss covering the rock wall, feeling the smooth texture coming from below.
"This is a man-made pit—it looks like those mechanical warriors really did bring us to the Providence."
Lin Xi said softly.
It didn't take much effort; just seeing the huge crater and the unnatural rocky hills at its edge, the initial image of the Providence landing on this planet was already vaguely forming in Lin Xi's mind.
The Providence was in a much better condition than the Apollo. If he wasn't mistaken.
Although the Providence landed on planet AS192 in less than ideal conditions and was unable to contact Earth, it did not suffer a devastating blow.
Unlike the Helios, the people on board this ship likely maintained a basic level of optimism and, following a carefully researched immigration plan developed on Earth, began the initial construction. Digging such pits to bury the spaceship, while a very primitive method, was the best way to avoid the planet's terrifying storms.
"...They must have done the same for all the auxiliary spacecraft...The spacecraft we discovered was also kept deep underground, and was only sent out via an elevator when it was needed. That's an amazing amount of engineering."
And then, thinking back to the final fate of the Providence...
Lin Xi couldn't help but sigh softly.
If it weren't for the alien species, after 300 years of development, this planet would probably have become a very prosperous colony.
However, Lin Xi's fleeting emotion lasted only a very short moment.
The closer they got to the Providence, the stronger Arthur's aura became.
But at this moment, Lin Xi clearly felt that the originally exceptionally vigorous... spiritual power belonging to Arthur was gradually fading away.
Lin Xi's expression suddenly changed, and a hint of dark red flashed in her eyes.
Xavier shook its tentacles and turned to look at Lin Xi... Lin Xi looked as calm as before, but this superficial calm could not fool Xavier, who was an Overlord.
Xavier could clearly feel an exceptionally cold and eerie aura slowly spreading out from Lin Xi. The various creatures that had been quite active on the steep rock face suddenly cowered in fear.
Some monsters quickly hid their bodies deep in the crevices of the rocks, while some unlucky ones froze like stones and fell directly off the rock face.
...
"Lin Xi—"
Even Xavier couldn't help but shiver, and then it timidly called out in a low voice.
Upon hearing Xavier's voice, Lin Xi blinked. The aura that had instilled immense fear in all living beings vanished instantly.
"Let's go down and take a look..."
Lin Xi restrained his power, then leaned close to Xavier's ear and whispered something.
"Then we'll kill that guy, right?"
"Xavier asked."
It will never forget what it and Lin Xi suffered when the mechanical warriors attacked the Sun God... and a mutant like it is very vengeful.
Lin Xi sneered: "Of course."
Xavier couldn't help but stare at Lin Xi, feeling every nerve in his body tremble because of the cold and cruel smile on Lin Xi's lips.
—In those TV dramas that it was so obsessed with, even the most handsome villains were not as cool and dazzling as Lin Xi.
And it was precisely this kind of Lin Xi... and it...
“...Xavier”.
Lin Xi clearly felt the indescribable emotional surge that Xavier experienced.
His smile quickly froze, and he even had to issue a warning to Xavier to rein in his surging, strange thoughts. Considering Arthur's current condition, Xavier's ideas were truly inappropriate.
"Let's go save Arthur first. He's badly injured."
Lin Xi reminded him carefully, word by word.
Xavier then shook his wings, forcibly suppressing the overwhelming love surging within him.
"Okay, let's go rescue Arthur."
Xavier looked at Lin Xi with intense gaze several more times, then once again stretched out its insect limbs towards Lin Xi, intending to hug her. But this time, Lin Xi paused slightly, then avoided it with a barely perceptible stiffness.
Let's go.
Lin Xi nonchalantly took a step forward and then leaped into the pit. In mid-air, a pair of incredibly beautiful wings suddenly bloomed on his back.
He took flight with incredible lightness and ease.
His wings were breathtakingly beautiful, and Xavier was almost mesmerized by them. When he saw Lin Xi's figure gradually shrinking, he panicked and jumped down as well.
It darted toward Lin Xi with incredible speed, trying to get close behind him.
The environment at the bottom of the deep pit is hardly peaceful either.
As if sensing the arrival of outsiders, the white mist that had been shrouding the gaps and surface of the jungle like wisps of smoke suddenly rose up.
The layer of smoke formed a milky white wave, rushing directly towards Lin Xi in an almost ferocious manner.
However, when it was still dozens of meters away from Lin Xi, the layer of white mist seemed to encounter some great resistance and suddenly surged to both sides, escaping far away from Lin Xi.
Even so, it did not prevent Lin Xi and Xavier from discovering that the mist shrouding the jungle was actually a swarm of carnivorous insects.
However, because there are so many of them and they are so small, they look more like smoke from a distance.
Lin Xi hovered in mid-air for a moment.
He reached out his hand toward the "smoke," but with a thought, several tiny traitors immediately appeared among the frantically fleeing swarm of insects.
The insects wobbled back and landed in his palm.
Upon closer inspection, these little insects are not exactly beautiful. They look like white flies, but... if you turn the insects over, you can see that beneath their unnatural white bodies are extremely menacing tiny mouthparts and pincers.
Just by looking at the insects' mouthparts and pincers, one can imagine the terror of a swarm of carnivorous insects—if any human or other creature on this planet were to fall into this swarm… they might not even be left with bones.
However, just like the creatures Lin Xi had seen at the edge of the pit, these little insects also exuded a twisted aura that made Lin Xi feel uncomfortable.
Lin Xi flipped the insects over with her fingertips and then saw a line of very small characters on their abdomens.
The words “Providence Project, Experiment, A1301” are as clearly etched on the surface of a mosquito as its natural markings.
“Genetic imprinting…a product of Project Providence.”
Lin Xi couldn't help but murmur the word softly, and then said.
Just as Lin Xi thought, these insects were indeed man-made.
"These bugs... are disgusting..."
Xavier pretended to be nonchalant, acting as if he was just looking at the little bugs, then leaned close to Lin Xi's shoulder and said with dissatisfaction.
Of course, finding an opportunity to get close to Lin Xi was one thing, but finding these insects disgusting was another. Xavier wasn't lying; it genuinely felt extremely uncomfortable with the insects in Lin Xi's palm.
What disgusted Xavier was not the fly-like shape of these insects... what made him feel uneasy was the twisted aura emanating from them.
This unnatural product always made Xavier itchy all over, and sometimes he would even find it hard to control the rage welling up inside him.
Xavier also believed that Lin Xi shared the same feeling, although Lin Xi seemed much calmer than him now.
...This is the Lin Xi that Xavier likes. He's always so smart, always so calm, and knows everything perfectly. Thinking of this, a sweet ripple of emotion welled up in Xavier's heart again.
"Perhaps Earthlings have been studying things they shouldn't have been studying for a long time."
Lin Xi said.
He opened his palm, letting the tiny white insect in his hand quickly fly back into the white mist.
Immediately afterwards, Lin Xi flapped her wings and landed lightly at the bottom of the sinkhole.
He was in a bad mood.
The instant he landed on the ground, the "forest" that had been completely covering the ground within a radius of tens of meters around him began to writhe and tremble—these moving "trees" that secreted strange mucus seemed to let out a silent scream before quickly retracting all their branches and vines.
The damp, eroded rocky surface was exposed.
"Good boy/girl."
Lin Xi glanced at the "tree branch" that had tucked all its vines away, squinted, and chuckled softly.
Just then...
Some subtle noises caught Lin Xi's attention.
It was the piercing sound of metal rubbing against each other, sounding almost like the shriek of a banshee.
Lin Xi turned her head and looked in the direction from which the sound came.
A metal gate, tens of meters high, stood before him. Despite the passage of time, there wasn't even a trace of rust on its surface—its overly smooth and glossy metal surface seemed out of place in this wild, primitive, and strange world.
However, just by the particularly unpleasant sound it made when it was opened due to a lack of lubrication, one could tell that this door hadn't been opened for a very, very long time.
As the hinges and pulleys turned, Lin Xi could see countless tiny "things" falling from the complex parts along the edge of the door.
After falling to the ground, the things wriggled and quickly found several cracks in the ground to burrow into.
Those things looked more like worms broken into several pieces, with thin, finger-like things growing from the edges of each worm.
Just a little closer, and you'll see that the metal door isn't entirely flawless. Near the bottom of the door, there are some very deep scratches on the metal plate—they look almost like someone frantically scratched them with their fingernails.
【Don't come near here!】
[There's a monster inside!]
【Danger! 】
[They're all monsters! They're all monsters! Ah!]
...
Otherwise, looking at these scattered funds, it seems like a warning sign left by the survivors of the Providence for those who came after, but...
How can you make such deep marks on high-density metal with just your fingernails?
While warning others (assuming there are indeed others) that countless monsters lurk within the gate, was the person who wrote these words... truly human?
As Lin Xi was lost in thought, the two metal doors made a heavy thud and then stopped. The doors were now fully open.
"It looks like there are people here, and they seem to welcome us."
Lin Xi said softly
Behind the metal gates are metal tracks large enough for small aircraft to pass through, and an intricate supporting structure resembling the skeleton of some giant organism.
It looks like a tunnel, a cave, or a fortress...
There was no light. Relying on the faint daylight coming down from the line at the entrance of the sinkhole, one could barely make out some parts near the gate, while the deeper parts were as black as hell. A faint wind howled from the depths of the darkness, and the hollow echoes were enough to prove that behind the gate was an extremely deep and vast space.
When the Providence landed here, it did indeed carry out considerable modifications.
However, what was once a massive and astonishingly complex project, even by today's standards, has now become a desolate ruin, with rust covering the metal tracks and some unidentified concrete structures collapsed.
Lin Xi did not go inside immediately, but lingered at the door for a while.
He stared at the seemingly lifeless, pitch-black tunnel, his eyes calm and indifferent.
Sure enough, a few minutes later, faint red lights began to appear in the darkness.
"Swish-swish-swish-"
Then, some tiny sounds, like insects crawling rapidly, came out.
Lin Xi was not surprised to see the metal monster crawling rapidly in the darkness. He was already quite familiar with this kind of man-made creature with a hemispherical head and long, thin tentacles.
One, two...
Ten...
One hundred...
Under Lin Xi's gaze, the mechanical warriors crawled out from the depths of the nest like ants.
After spotting Lin Xi, their red eyes beneath their masks brightened considerably. Although these creatures were nothing more than lifeless and mindless metallic artifacts, Lin Xi could still clearly sense an evil aura emanating from these mechanical monsters.
"Hello, Hal."
Lin Xi raised his hand and calmly waved at the densely packed mechanical warriors in front of him.
The machines did not respond to him for the time being. A dozen meters away from Lin Xi, the mechanical warriors suddenly stopped all their movements.
However, all of their detectors were completely locked onto Lin Xi.
They were "looking" at Lin Xi, and Lin Xi was also looking at them.
In a daze, Lin Xi seemed to return to the time when the Sun God had not yet been completely destroyed, to that vulnerable, human self who, filled with despair, forced himself to fight against the densely packed mechanical warriors.
He was so terrified that he almost died from it.
...
How close he was to death at that time!
Lin Xi placed his hand on his abdomen. The intense pain that Hal had once caused him had long since faded during his transformation into a different species.
At this moment, the only thing Lin Xi could feel was the life inside her.
Previously, Lin Xi felt death at the wound in his abdomen, but at this moment, he felt endless power and life.
The familiar scene, coupled with a completely different mood, gave Lin Xi a subtle and indescribable sense of pleasure.
I've come to find you—
Lin Xi said.
The instant he finished speaking, all the mechanical warriors sprang up, their long, thin, and deadly metal tentacles twitching as they lunged at Lin Xi and Xavier.
Xavier immediately folded its wings, its eager eyes even gleaming in the dim light. Newly grown fleshy tentacles extended from behind it, their tips forming flower-shaped suckers that opened to reveal fine fangs inside.
Just as Xavier was about to rush over and tear the group of mechanical warriors to shreds, Lin Xi shook his head at Xavier.
"I don't want to waste any more time right now."
Lin Xi sighed, then pointed at the swarming metallic jellyfish and moved his fingers.
At this moment, Lin Xi's dark brown pupils gradually turned into a deep, chaotic, and evil red.
At the same moment, the seemingly harmless white mist that had been drifting behind him... those dense swarms of carnivorous insects, suddenly rose up and formed a vortex in mid-air like a tornado. They rushed directly toward the metal gate at an extremely fast speed, and then suddenly dispersed in the space behind the gate.
The first few mechanical warriors were instantly covered in a thin layer of "white dust".
The tiny, carnivorous insects landed on the surface of the mechanical warriors' bodies, and at first glance, the warriors seemed unaffected. However, problems soon arose. Their movements gradually slowed, and then their metal tentacles rose and waved in the air. Within seconds, invisible wisps of smoke began to rise from the connection points between their metal tentacles and their semi-circular mechanical heads, and a burnt smell slowly spread through the murky, humid air.
Then sparks began to appear, and hordes of mechanical warriors malfunctioned at a visible speed. They spun in circles, either misjudging the enemy due to positioning errors and starting to fight each other, or losing their way and constantly crashing into the solid rock wall...
With just a snap of his fingers, Lin Xi effortlessly turned the group of mechanical warriors into scrap metal.
Only after the last mechanical warrior fell to the ground did the swarm of insects, having completed their mission, slowly take flight.
They lingered around Lin Xi for a while, then slowly flew back to their original spot, dissipating into white mist as before, quietly waiting for new food to arrive.
Of course, this layer of white mist is much thinner than before, but it won't be long before it returns to its original density.
Lin Xi wouldn't question this at all—because it was something he allowed. Just now, he had permitted the existence of these artificial alien insects.
The reproductive locks that human scientists had customized for these insect swarms in the laboratory were unlocked by Lin Xi just a moment ago.
From this day forward, these white insects will completely break free of their shackles.
They will not remain at the bottom of the pit, waiting in this cramped space for uninvited guests; they will reproduce, spread, and eventually cover the entire planet.
...Of course, this change was just a piece of cake for Lin Xi. He didn't pay much attention to the white swarm of insects, just as he didn't pay much attention to the mechanical warriors that had completely fallen.
He didn't even glance at the killing machines that had turned into metal scraps, and walked straight into the dark space behind the door.
However, at that moment, Lin Xi suddenly let out a soft groan.
He stopped in his tracks and looked down at his abdomen.
"What's wrong? What happened? Did someone hurt you?"
Xavier immediately tensed up...
“…It’s nothing,” Lin Xi replied immediately.
However, Lin Xi knew very well that it wasn't "nothing at all."
Just now, it suddenly felt something throb deep inside its abdomen. The feeling was so intense, like a bolt of lightning flickering within it. The life that had been growing within it seemed to suddenly become exceptionally active and enormous; Lin Xi could even feel some worms gently wriggling.
The feeling was incredibly strange. Lin Xi even had an instinct urging him to find a suitable opening immediately for his first proper ovulation.
Well, Lin Xi had to admit that he thought he had transformed into a complete monster, but when he noticed something was wrong in his stomach, that human shyness and unease returned.
That's why when Xavier asked him about it, he almost instinctively gave a perfunctory answer.
However, what Lin Xi didn't know was that no insect queen had ever been able to produce such healthy and active offspring as quickly as he had.
In the past, even the most compatible queen and queen insects needed several dozen days to produce their first offspring.
But for Lai Linxi, this process seemed to have accelerated considerably.
This is a testament to his successful insect marriage with Xavier, and also the most significant difference between him, as the mother of the alien species, and other insect mothers...
Lin Xibi is more perfect than any other female hybrid ever.
The eggs inside its body also develop much faster than those of other insects of the same species.
However, what could only be described as perfect evolution for a species like the Xenomorph is not so wonderful for Lin Xi now...
After all, once the mother of the alien species senses that she has conceived the eggs, she would normally follow her instincts and find a safe place to give birth and raise the larvae, but the timing now is really bad.
Lin Xi bit his tongue hard, but he didn't smell any blood because he had recovered the moment he bit himself.
But the pain remained etched into his nerves, which immediately calmed him down.
"...It's nothing serious."
Lin Xi repeated himself as if talking to himself. Then he raised his head and looked into the depths of the cave.
There should be no other humans left on the Providence, and all Hal can control are mindless machines.
Things like the mechanical warriors are easy for Lin Xi to deal with. This means Lin Xi won't need much time to rescue Arthur... and then, incidentally, kill Hal and find that man to end his agonizing life...
Perhaps after finishing all these trivial matters, Lin Xi will have some time to rest. Then he can deal with his "children."
At least that's what Lin Xi planned to do.
Of course, this plan carries a slight element of escapism...
"But, Lin Xi..."
Xavier was clearly a little uneasy, but in the end he didn't ask any more questions and just followed Lin Xi forward.
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