Lin Xi smelled a familiar scent—a damp smell with a faint fishy and bloody odor.
Along with the smell, an unusually viscous liquid—like the saliva of something—was also flooding into the elevator car, dripping down through the gaps in the partition above the elevator.
Lin Xi frowned and dodged the slime. Just as he expected, the slime hissed and emitted white smoke when it landed on the metal.
Just like the acidic fluid that Xavier secreted before, this viscous fluid is also highly corrosive.
"All right……"
Lin Xi muttered something to himself, then looked up at the ceiling. Above the elevator car were many electronic cables and metal plates.
Humans cannot see what's outside the elevator shaft, but the alien species are different. Their unique sensory abilities allowed Lin Xi to easily visualize the scene inside the long, dark elevator shaft.
The broken emergency device had long since collapsed, and the severely aged cable was loosely dangling some metal parts, swinging back and forth in the elevator shaft.
The elevator was held in place by several thick, white objects. They were highly elastic and appeared to be stretched to their limit, with a large amount of translucent mucus covering their surfaces.
The moment Lin Xi recognized the object, her pupils contracted slightly.
He could never forget that what had trapped Noah at the last moment were some mutated nematodes that looked like mantises, and the "spider silk" shot out from the abdomen of those nematodes was so tight that even a monster like Noah could not break free.
But now, it is the same thing that is holding them back.
Thinking of this, Lin Xi felt her heart tremble suddenly.
Noah—
He repeated this simple name in his heart.
Although he knew it was dangerous, he still couldn't help but extend his mind. Then, he tentatively touched the large lump of stuff in the elevator shaft.
In the alien's view, the thing was continuously secreting mucus and "spider silk."
However, the moment he touched that thing that resembled Noah, the mutated nematode's chaotic and dark thoughts surged towards him...
Lin Xi abruptly withdrew his mental network, and the last glimmer of hope in his eyes was instantly extinguished.
"It's that thing."
Xavier followed Lin Xi and looked up.
Just like Lin Xi, as a king insect, he easily recognized what was in the elevator shaft.
Xavier didn't even want to call out that name, because in its mind, Noah was a complete failure and didn't deserve a name at all.
Even as a failed experiment, Noah proved far more powerful than anticipated. Judging from the current situation, Noah seemed to have dealt with the mantis-like mutated nematode mimicry much faster than they had expected…
Just as Lin Xi and Xavier looked up and quietly "watched" Noah inside the elevator shaft, the elevator car, which had been stationary, began to sway and slide downwards. This wasn't because the damned mechanical device had finally restarted, but because Noah, who had pulled them along, was slowly lowering the thin, small metal box down.
"Hmm?"
Noah's action caused Lin Xi, who had been expressionless, to raise his eyebrows slightly. He let out a surprised sigh and then fell silent again.
Xavier, standing near Lin Xi, became even more tense, his gaze fixed upwards with increasing vigilance.
This is normal, because even Xavier could sense that Noah's mind and consciousness were still distorted and chaotic. However, judging from Noah's current actions, the corrupted descendant seemed to have returned to some normalcy—it possessed reason and wisdom, and could even predict Lin Xi and Xavier's thoughts. Otherwise, it wouldn't have slowly lowered the elevator.
But the combination of these two contradictory points made Noah even more fearsome than before.
Especially considering that those nematodes were biological weapons specifically bred by the Providence to target alien species, neither Lin Xi nor Xavier can be sure whether Noah's current display of rationality is a conspiracy.
Whatever it is, just kill it before it causes trouble.
Xavier raised his hand impatiently, but before it could move, Lin Xi suddenly grabbed his wrist.
"No, Xavier... I want to see more..."
Lin Xi said to Xavier in a dry, stilted voice.
"But--"
Xavier's tentacles twitched, but as Lin Xi finished speaking, it finally quieted down.
After a short, unbearable silence, the elevator arrived at the place Xavier and Lin Xi had originally intended to go.
This was already the middle deck of the Providence, and it was also an important transportation hub, at least before the ship was completely destroyed.
Lin Xi and Xavier slowly stepped out of the elevator and looked around. In the circular lobby, nearly a hundred elevators were lined up side by side, each leading to a different area.
In contrast, there were numerous elevators and enclosed passageways, with countless pipes and cables converging above the hall. Each pipe connected to an electronic screen, hanging like an upside-down Christmas tree from the ceiling to the floor, making the space appear exceptionally cluttered... But that was all in the past. At this moment, everything here was eerily quiet.
The hall also became unusually empty.
Lin Xi stood quietly in the center of the lobby, then turned around and looked back at the elevator he had come from.
The elevator doors did not close as expected; on the contrary, after Lin Xi left, a piercing metallic sound rang out.
Wrinkles appeared on the smooth, shiny metal plate, some cables were torn, and golden-red sparks flew... Then, the small metal box began to twist and deform at a speed visible to the naked eye, making a constant crackling sound. Then, it was suddenly compressed and flattened, just like a soda can that had been stepped on.
A large amount of slime gushed out, and a huge, soft mass slammed down from the elevator shaft, landing on top of the already twisted and deformed elevator car. It then squeezed out from the narrow elevator doors and gushed onto the floor.
That was Noah.
Everything seemed to be a repeat of what had happened before.
White nematodes slid out of the limp, deformed body with a crackling sound. Noah's body seemed slightly more solid than before, but only slightly. Beneath its translucent skin, one could vaguely see some grotesque insect organs, clearly mimicking those unfortunate nematodes.
It is conceivable that after eliminating those mantis nematodes, Noah gained their ability to secrete spider silk, while their flesh became nourishment for Noah himself.
It's fair to say that Noah is much more difficult to deal with than before, just by looking at his appearance.
The semi-digested nematodes that kept oozing out of his body made Xavier even more tense.
As those disgusting white things seemed to be surging toward Lin Xi, Xavier let out an unprecedented cry.
The unique frequency imbued the call with a menacing power, carrying a terror and threat that only other species could comprehend.
Of course, this threat only applies to creatures with basic intelligence and reason; nematodes, which only act on instinct, wouldn't...
The instant Lin Xi thought this, something completely unexpected happened. He stared at Noah in disbelief as the latter's deformed body trembled violently. Then, like the receding tide, Noah's semi-liquid flesh receded several steps backward.
Then a small, low hum came from the mouthparts embedded in the flesh.
That was a clear, pleading sound.
Even Xavier was taken aback by this.
It stopped in its tracks without even retracting its protruding mouthparts.
Then, something even more surprising happened: Noah's body began to change.
The crimson flesh began to coalesce and piece together, eventually forming a human body under extremely difficult circumstances.
If you ignore the constantly swarming white nematodes, it actually looks quite realistic...
Noah is using the mimicry abilities of nematodes to disguise himself as a human.
It had done something similar before, and this time it seemed even more skilled.
Even its face—
As Xavier's gaze grew increasingly sharp and malevolent, Noah carefully altered his own appearance.
A face that looked remarkably like Xavier's, yet appeared much more childlike and youthful, slowly unfolded before Lin Xi.
Lin Xi stared at Noah in shock, speechless for a long time.
In some parts, it still looks terrifying, but if you ignore those details, Promise now looks like a human child, or rather, a younger version of Savile. The only difference is that even in her youngest years, Savile didn't have such long silver hair.
Of course, that long silver hair was actually...
Lin Xi's gaze quickly swept over Noah's long hair before she looked away.
His heart was pounding because, as things stood, Noah didn't seem like the kind of monster that had completely collapsed due to degradation in any way.
In fact, it appears even smarter and more rational than before.
"Noah, is that you?"
Lin Xi couldn't help but ask tentatively.
"No...No...Noah..."
Noah pitifully repeated Lin Xi's question, his red eyes wet, as if crystal tears were about to flow from them at any moment.
Then, it slowly took a small step forward.
With a crackling sound, the undigested nematodes fell out of its body once again, but this time, Noah did not let the nematodes interfere with him.
After a moment of stunned silence, it crouched down in a panic, opened its tiny hands, and tried to stuff the nematodes into its hair.
Some mucus was secreted from the surface of the "hair," and then it quickly wrapped around the undigested little thing.
"Noah...Noah..."
As if emphasizing something, Noah quickly ate all the nematodes that had fallen out back into his mouth.
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