Maybe it will last for a few minutes... or maybe it will only last for a few tens of seconds...
Under immense pain and fear, Lin Xi's judgment of time became somewhat blurred.
But those maddening white nematodes are anything but slow.
"Sizzle..."
In the brief moment of Lin Xi's stunned silence, they had quickly finished their "food," wriggling and whimpering, before beginning to crawl toward Lin Xi's location.
Soon, the clumps of white nematodes transformed into some indescribably enormous entity—looking exactly like a wet, slimy swamp monster from a movie.
"I'd rather face the swamp monster."
After realizing Xavier's thoughts, Lin Xi forced a wry smile and said.
These nematodes do not have a ferocious appearance or sharp mouthparts; in fact, they can be described as "weak" on an individual basis.
But since becoming the insect queen, Lin Xi has never felt her hair stand on end as she does now.
He almost instinctively released his spiritual energy.
Having learned from the experience with the human-faced worm, Lin Xi was very cautious this time. He tried his best to separate his consciousness from his mind. Under such circumstances, even if something like the human-faced worm couldn't be controlled, he could still find a way to destroy its life.
Given how small and fragile these individual white nematodes are, this should have been the simplest thing to do.
However, the moment Lin Xi released her spiritual power, she regretted it...
The spirit of these nematodes was so intense and pure that it pierced Lin Xi like steel needles.
Lin Xi immediately tried to withdraw her mental energy, but... it was too late.
Countless intense consciousnesses clung tightly to his mental power, crawling towards the depths of his brain.
That was the intense attachment and fanaticism these nematodes exuded towards their alien mother.
This emotion was so pure, devoid of any malice (these nematodes' brains were so simple that they lacked the concept of "malice"), yet Lin Xi felt no joy whatsoever. He tightly covered his mouth to prevent himself from vomiting on the spot.
If we were to use a metaphor, the attachment emanating from these nematodes is like scalding, foul-smelling asphalt; once it touches someone, it can pollute a large area of their mind.
Even more terrifying, Lin Xi discovered that he was unable to resist the emotional onslaught of these nematodes—just as he was unable to control the restless kin currently stirring within his body.
This feeling is so strange and so wicked.
Those white nematodes were not his descendants, yet he had an abnormally obsessive attachment to them.
Lin Ximing was clearly not the one who created these disgusting things, but he was also unable to resist the spiritual connection and communication between them and him.
"Waaah—"
Lin Xi let out a painful groan and clutched her head tightly.
These nematodes exuded an unusually twisted aura.
Lin Xi had already sensed something similar about those disgusting and bizarre creatures when he entered the passage.
But none of the alien species had ever caused him as much pain as the swarm of nematodes in front of him.
These nematodes were only one-hundredth or one-thousandth the size of those alien species, yet their emotions were so intense, so twisted…
Even more terrifying was the sheer number of these nematodes. The instant Lin Xi inadvertently established a mental connection with them, their twisted wills began to accumulate in hundreds and thousands, surging towards Lin Xi like a tsunami.
It's my mother...
[She is our mother, our mother from another species...]
In that brief moment, Lin Xi felt as if her soul had been assimilated with these incredibly simple individuals.
He felt as if he were sinking deeper and deeper into a quagmire...
Everything that belonged to him was melting away and dissolving in that pure intention, devoid of wisdom and distractions.
With a muffled groan, Lin Xi's body suddenly went limp, and she collapsed uncontrollably.
"Lin Xi—"
At the last moment, the only thing that could save him from complete dissolution was Xavier's soft cry and his embrace.
...
If she had a choice, Lin Xi sincerely hoped that she could faint.
If that's the case, at least he can endure this unbearable time in the darkness of unconsciousness.
He was in excruciating abdominal pain—the children were almost unable to contain their nature.
They wriggled, merged, and grew inside his body almost frantically.
The originally noisy and numerous small consciousnesses are constantly dying out, but more powerful individuals are gradually taking shape.
Lin Xi even vaguely felt that something was gnawing at her internal organs.
The feeling was so chilling that his care for these descendants seemed more like an irrational illusion caused by hormones.
Well, what's worse than the thing "growing" inside him is the mental attack those nematodes are inflicting on him.
The collapse and darkness are beyond description.
Although the brief fainting spell allowed Lin Xi to escape the nematode attack, he still couldn't fully recover.
Lin Xi felt as if her soul had detached from her body.
He has no control over his body.
At this moment, part of his senses could perceive that he was crying uncontrollably, physiologically, with his eyes tightly closed.
He could even hear Xavier calling to him, as well as the frantic caresses from the giant insect and its jagged, menacing embrace.
"Sizzle... sizzle..."
Even the soft, wet sounds made by the nematodes as they tangled together were so clear.
Lin Xi knew she had to wake up immediately; now was not the time to remain unconscious.
Everything was on the verge of spiraling out of control.
If he doesn't wake up immediately, his unborn children, and even Xavier, will be in great danger—he absolutely doesn't want to see that happen.
But in that instant, Lin Xi was trapped.
He realized he was trapped in a thick, dark dream.
A certain special will is gradually permeating his spirit and conveying something to him...
There was a time when he was tormented by nightmares aboard the Apollo.
Lin Xi thought it was a nightmare, but now he clearly realizes that it wasn't a nightmare at all; it was a reminder from another individual...
Scripps—
Let me go—
Lin Xi let out a roar in his mind's eye, but in reality he only let out a low whimper.
In the chaotic darkness, Scripps' pale face emerged from the shadows.
He looked at Lin Xi with pain, and then some blurry fragments gradually flashed before Lin Xi's eyes.
It's a laboratory.
Experimental equipment gleaming with a silvery light.
Various horrific experiments.
The fear and despair can almost shatter a person from the depths of their body.
And those white insect eggs that were gradually forming in the petri dish...
That's the reason these white, unclean things were born.
They... are my children...
In a daze, Lin Xi heard Scripps' hoarse and indistinct sobs.
Lin Xi suddenly opened her eyes.
While unconscious, he felt as if he had spent his entire life in hell, but in reality, he had only lost consciousness for a few seconds.
"Lin Xi..."
Xavier was holding him tightly; the young queen beetle's wings had turned completely crimson.
Lin Xi smelled a peculiar odor emanating from Xavier, which came from the acid-secreting organs on its body.
This acid can cause more damage to nematodes than their sharp forelimbs; once splashed, corrosion and rot will spread along the tangled body of the white nematode.
Even so, the white nematodes showed no sign of retreating.
Lin hoped to reach the tightly closed control room door.
The once gleaming silver door now bears unnatural brownish-red rust, and some nematodes have melted into a viscous liquid in large puddles of acid—yet white bodies still surge toward the control room.
When Lin Xi turned his head to look at the observation window, he couldn't see anything but a dense, wriggling white mass—the bodies of those nematodes constantly twisting and turning.
The memories Scripps brought to him in his dream came flooding back into his mind.
Lin Xi couldn't help but gag.
Immediately afterwards, Lin Xi sensed that Xavier beside him was about to completely lose control because of his actions.
Lin Xi had no choice but to reach out and pat Xavier on the shoulder.
“These things were used by those humans to deal with me… or rather… to deal with Scripps…”
Lin Xi murmured.
"They are weapons."
"Humans? Weapons..."
Upon hearing Lin Xi's whisper, Xavier's red eyes flickered. He turned his head away in disgust to look at the surging nematodes.
"...But these are all insects."
Xavier muttered.
“They are the offspring of the previous Mother of the Alien... or at least, they once were.”
Lin Xi said, panting.
This was the information Lin Xi obtained from Scripps.
Three hundred years ago, during the time when Streps was about to completely transform on the Providence, humanity discovered that with their existing weapons, it would be difficult to launch an effective attack on the Mother of the Alien.
After all, whether in terms of strength or vitality, fragile humans are far from being a match for insects.
However, the scientists who were able to board the Providence were by no means ordinary people.
They quickly and creatively "created" the white nematodes that Lin Xi sees today.
Lin Xi held her breath and took a step forward.
The observation window was already on the verge of collapse due to the constant pressure from the nematodes.
Lin Xi could clearly hear the creaking and groaning of the metal parts around the window frame, which were strained by the weight.
Upon sensing Lin Xi's approach, all the nematodes immediately became even more restless.
Those vague, noisy, and fanatical mental fervors seemed to materialize into something real, and Lin Xi could even feel a faint stinging sensation on his skin as a result.
"...Those people put Scripps with the Ohmu back then, and then these little things were born. They took the undeveloped eggs from his body and genetically modified them...The exceptionally close spiritual bond between the offspring and the mother was used as a weapon by those humans..."
Lin Xi tried to explain to Xavier as calmly as possible.
Even in the short time he spent talking to Xavier, he broke out in a cold sweat.
The only good news is probably...
After realizing that all the nematodes had once been the offspring of another nematode mother, the offspring that were constantly hatching and stirring in Lin Xi's abdomen became much more docile.
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