Even though she knew perfectly well that the strange laughter was due to Liz's natural Sunu accent.
But Lin Xi still couldn't help feeling terrified—the way the bloated and deformed Sunu mixed-race woman on the ceiling laughed was like a terrifying monster from a horror novel.
In that instant, he thought that Taran... Taran might have been secretly killed by the Ando couple.
The idea might seem ridiculous, but Lin Xi simply couldn't control her chaotic thoughts.
“I went to test Captain Taran…”
Fortunately, Shizuo Ando quickly explained, dispelling the terrible speculation in Lin Xi's mind.
"His headaches are very severe, it's an old problem of his, and he's been managing it with medication. However, now that the Sun God has had an accident, his stockpile of medication has long been used up, so he's being tormented by those headaches for a long time... I mean, at least until Dr. Bryce manages to concoct an alternative medication, he probably won't have the mind to think about the Star God sculpture sealed in the warehouse."
He paused, then turned to look at Lin Xi.
Perhaps because Lin Xi's expression was a bit too obvious, he seemed to have guessed what the former was thinking and added, "The medicine that Captain Taran took was a specialty of Sunu. Before this, he came to Liz to see if she had any left. We gave him everything we could, but it seems he ran out of that herb very quickly..."
Even so…
Lin Xi wanted to say something more, but he quickly noticed that Dr. Ando gave him a look behind Liz's back.
He frowned, then, following Ando's suggestion, after a series of perfunctory remarks that he himself couldn't even remember what he said, he left the cramped, dark, and smelly cabin, pretending to be very calm.
As soon as he stepped out of the cabin, Lin Xi couldn't help but take a deep breath. He had never felt that the air inside the Sun was so fresh and pleasant, even though it was always a little murky.
Soon, Ando followed him out after turning off all the lights in the room.
In the bright light of the corridor, Ando looked even more haggard and thinner than before, as if a gust of wind would turn him to dust right before his eyes.
He stared wide-eyed at Lin Xi with a blank look that sent chills down Lin Xi's spine.
“I know what you’re going to say, Dr. Lin Xi, and I know I’ve done wrong.” He spoke before Lin Xi could, “But I have no other choice… Dr. Lin Xi, you’re a good person. You saw what Liz looked like with your own eyes. Without that statue, she might not have survived even a day. She would have died, and the children would have died too.”
“I don’t believe a sculpture could have such magical effects. Yes, I admit the sculpture looked a bit strange, though I’d prefer to describe it as eerie. But based on what I just witnessed, I think Liz needs Bryce’s healing device, not a sculpture, especially one that has been taken without permission. Professor Ando, you should remember that once all the Sunu supplies are loaded onto the Sun God, they become the property of the United Government. And your actions—”
"You don't understand..."
Dr. Ando stared blankly at Lin Xi, his lips trembling, his voice sounding so tragic and desperate.
“I don’t understand? No, I think you’re the one who doesn’t understand reality. I think you should talk to Alyssa. Taran may be a jerk, but Alyssa is different. She will help you.”
“You don’t understand… Dr. Lin Xi, and I hope you never will…”
Ando kept repeating this sentence.
With each word he spoke, he seemed more and more desperate.
Despair, or panic.
Lin Xi felt that Ando was completely desperate.
“That’s no ordinary statue, it’s a statue of the Star God. It’s different for the Sunu people… Please, Dr. Lin Xi, don’t tell anyone, don’t take this statue away… You see, I could have refused you entry into the cabin, I could have kept it all a secret. But Liz made the decision. She knows you’re a truly good person, someone acknowledged by the Star God, so we have nothing to hide from you. Believe me, once Liz and the children are safe, I will return the statue quickly, and no one will know.”
It was a long, rambling plea filled with despair and pain.
Looking back, Lin Xi felt that he must have been infected by Ando Shizuo's madness, or perhaps he simply wanted to escape from the strange Ando and had no time to care about anything else.
Otherwise, he wouldn't have nodded inexplicably and agreed to Ando Shizuo's request—he would have pretended not to know anything and allowed the Ando couple to keep the Sunu fossil sculpture in their cabin until Liz gave birth to her child.
This was a foolish decision.
But Lin Xi couldn't refuse Ando Shizuo; he was never good at dealing with people like that.
Add to that Liz's condition, oh my god, just think of that woman stuck to the ceiling by her own slime.
Who could possibly shake their head at the pleas of such a pitiful couple?
Lin Xi desperately tried to convince herself.
“It’s octuplets…I will have eight lively and lovely children…You will love them, Dr. Lin Xi.”
Lost in thought, Lin Xi walked absentmindedly toward the medical room when he suddenly remembered the words that the ecstatic Ando Shizuo had whispered in his ear when they parted.
For no apparent reason, Lin Xi shivered.
Perhaps he made a mistake.
Lin Xi thought to herself with self-doubt.
Perhaps he shouldn't have kept the matter of the Star God sculpture a secret from them, as Ando had pleaded with him.
According to Elisa's usual way of putting it—he had a bad feeling.
"call……"
Lin Xi let out a long sigh.
Fear, shock, pity, sympathy, disgust, regret...
Even now, he still experiences complex emotions.
So Lin Xi decided to go and talk to Bryce.
Although Lin Xi was always afraid of that man's nagging, when faced with this kind of situation, Lin Xi knew that Bryce was the man who could make the right choice.
Just as Lin Xi was slightly relieved, he suddenly stopped in his tracks.
"..."
Lin Xi turned her head and stared intently at what was behind her.
Something was staring at him—eagerly, intently, passionately.
The gaze seemed to slice his body open and suck his entire being, including his internal organs and soul, clean.
In reality, however, the corridor behind Lin Xi was empty and deserted, with only the various pipelines of the spaceship buried behind the metal walls, emitting a faint, almost inaudible humming sound when they were in operation.
Who is it?
Lin Xi spoke up.
He really hoped his voice wouldn't sound too trembling.
I see you.
After a few seconds of pause, he said.
But in reality, he didn't see anything.
Several minutes passed (though it could have been only a few seconds), and the corridor behind him remained completely silent.
However, the air filter seemed to have encountered a minor problem; the fan got stuck in the duct and made a small knocking sound.
Lin Xi trembled slightly in fright.
Then, when he came to his senses, he found that everything had returned to normal.
The corridor was still empty and the machines were still buzzing, but the chilling feeling of being spied on had vanished.
Lin Xi was panting, staring blankly at everything around her.
He felt confused and exhausted, as if he had just woken up from a dark nightmare.
Only the cold sweat on his palms and his still-pounding heart reminded him that he had indeed been frightened by some invisible terror.
Of course, it's more likely that he might be suffering from some kind of panic disorder.
During space travel, people often develop strange illnesses, just like Taran, who, even such a scoundrel, was too preoccupied with a severe headache to cause any trouble.
However, now Lin Xi has even more reason to go to the medical room to talk to Bryce.
Lin Xi composed herself, her mind racing, and quickened her pace toward the medical room.
He had no idea that at the same moment, on the other side of the spaceship, in the cabin of the Ando couple he had just left, a conversation was unfolding around him.
"I like him."
The speaker was Liz. After Lin Xi left, she no longer needed to hide herself, and because of this, her voice sounded even stranger—like the hissing sound of some kind of insect rubbing its wings.
Shizuo Ando curled up in a corner away from Liz, wrapped his arms around his knees, and buried his head deep in his arms.
He shuddered violently upon hearing Liz's whisper.
"Dr. Lin Xi is a good person."
Ando said stiffly.
"Yes, he really is a good person... He has a very nice scent, he must be blessed by the star god... That scent makes me feel very comfortable and content..."
“I didn’t smell anything. Liz, he really is a good person.”
Ando opened his eyes wide in anguish in the darkness, muttering to himself.
But from the other side came a wet, sticky friction sound, and Ando knew that Liz was moving.
Liz seemed to be laughing, but at the same time, she also seemed to be crying.
“I know, darling, I know everything… But I’m so hungry… The children are so hungry too… There’s no nutrition left in this fossil, it’s just its shed skin… Waaah… The children are going crazy from hunger…”
Immediately following was the sound of chewing.
Click, click, click.
Dr. Ando didn't move; he couldn't bear to imagine the scene so close to him.
Although he knew perfectly well that Liz was chewing on nothing other than the Sunu fossil sculpture.
“I need to eat something nutritious, you know… for the sake of our babies… darling… I can smell… that man is different, he smells… really delicious…”
Amidst the maddening chewing sounds, Liz's whisper reached Ando Shizuo's ears clearly.
...
In Lin Xi's room, the egg case that was leisurely floating in the nutrient solution suddenly twitched violently.
All the tentacles suddenly contracted, then furiously lashed out at the inner wall of the device.
The insect egg, hastily named "Number One," slowly stretched its body—it was almost about to burst through the eggshell encasing it, but it remained frozen in place.
Those bright red, pinhead-sized eyes blinked rapidly, encased in a translucent membrane.
"Sizzle..."
The extremely subtle sound, centered on that tiny, inconspicuous egg case, spread outwards like ripples.
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