It is the "covenant".
Lin Xi thought to herself.
When the "Covenant" is activated, all living energy supplies on the ship will be cut off until this damned energy black hole reaches a stable period, after which secondary energy will be supplied again.
The life support device fixed to Lin Xi's bedside was directly connected to the energy system of the living pod.
Clearly, when Ando Shizuo entrusted the Star Butterfly egg case to Lin Xi for temporary safekeeping, he assumed he would retrieve it quickly. He did not redesign the energy circuit for the egg case's life support system to ensure that the machines directly affecting their lives could continue to operate smoothly in an emergency.
"Damn it, damn it, damn it!"
Lin Xi rushed over and restarted the life support device, but probably because of the different power of the secondary energy, the damned machine was as silent, dim, and indifferent as a corpse.
Through the transparent petri dish, Lin Xi could clearly see that the Star Butterfly's egg case was in a rather terrible state. The tentacles that had once brought him peace and interest had turned completely opaque grayish-white, and they floated strangely in the culture medium, appearing stiff and lifeless, looking almost like pieces of hard plastic.
The egg case itself wasn't in much better condition; it had become wrinkled and its color had turned cloudy.
"Oh no..."
Lin Xi stared intently at “Number One,” the most well-developed egg case—it looked almost ready to become a complete adult, but now it was frozen in that snot-like, turbid membrane.
The eyes, which were originally sparkling like rubies, dimmed and turned into two small, grayish black dots.
And its wings...
Good heavens, this was the first time Lin Xi had seen the wings of a young Star Butterfly. They were thin and transparent, as delicate as the finest silk scarf in the region, with some round spots adorning its wings.
For some reason, Lin Xi always felt that under normal conditions, those spots should shimmer with a beautiful and soft iridescent light, like the finest pearls.
But now, in this damned, completely shut-down life support system, those spots look as alarming as mold.
Lin Xi felt an indescribable heartache.
He had always thought he wouldn't invest too much emotion in an insect egg—especially one that hadn't even fully developed.
He thought that all he did was casually look at the little guy every day and then follow the instructions to give it some nutrients, and that was it.
But when he saw the egg case he had nurtured suffocate in the broken life support device, he was struck by an unprecedented feeling of heartbreak.
Just when Lin Xi thought the egg case had completely lost its activity, "Number One" trembled very slightly in his sight.
The two small black dots turned back to a dull red in a very short time.
It turned its head to the side and gently moved its body towards Lin Xi's direction.
At that moment, Lin Xi felt a sense of absurdity, yet he also felt that an insect could understand human emotions, and that it was looking at him.
However, the faint movement of "Number One" seemed to be the last gasp of this star butterfly (and, barring any unforeseen circumstances, it would be the last star butterfly in the entire universe).
It remained frozen in that position, the red in its eyes fading little by little, as if its life was slowly slipping away.
"No--"
Lin Xi subconsciously gasped, and then, as if possessed, he remembered something Taran had casually said during his reprimand: "If we hadn't discovered it in time, it would have almost suffocated in the sealing liquid."
Thinking of this, he suddenly shuddered and finally came to his senses.
"I'm a fucking idiot!"
Lin Xi angrily cursed herself.
Perhaps the egg case of the star butterfly does not need air, but it certainly cannot survive in an oxygen-deficient liquid.
After the life support equipment lost power, all gas delivery stopped, and what Lin Xi saw was the egg case—and the star butterfly that was about to hatch—gradually suffocating.
Lin Xi jumped up and frantically began to operate the device, intending to remove the egg case directly from the life support system.
What infuriated him was that the sudden power outage and the subsequent re-energization of the secondary power source seemed to have directly damaged the chip in the device, completely locking it up and making it impossible to remove the contents using normal procedures.
"Damn it, I should really curse you, Professor Ando—"
Sweat beaded on Lin Xi's forehead. He had tried several other methods, but the instrument had many components that Professor Ando himself had added. These components might be very advanced and expensive, but they also made the instrument a black box that outsiders could not crack.
"Fuck it!"
Seeing the egg case growing increasingly lifeless during the process, Lin Xi's veins bulged, and he completely lost his patience.
He turned around abruptly, dragged out his toolbox, and then took out the impact hammer that was only used for alien sampling, smashing it into the transparent petri dish.
Under the impact of the hammer, uniform cracks quickly appeared on the surface of the petri dish.
Lin Xi threw aside the impact hammer, tore off the explosion-proof film on the surface with his bare hands, and then took out the egg case from the composite material debris that had been broken into uniform small pieces.
In her excitement, Lin Xi didn't notice the sharp pain in her knuckles.
Similarly, he didn't notice that the tentacles of the egg case, which he thought had completely lost its vitality and become lifeless like hard plastic, regained their original softness and transparency the moment he touched them. They silently adhered to Lin Xi's wound.
The faint streaks of blood were drawn in by the tiny, invisible suckers on their surface and then transported into the egg case.
Lin Xi's attention was entirely focused on "Number One" inside the egg case, and she was completely unaware of the egg case's subtle movements.
He carefully scraped away the nutrient solution, which had begun to emit a slight putrid smell, from the surface of the egg case with his fingertips.
This exposes the original outer layer of the egg case.
When Lin Xi first saw the egg case of the Star Butterfly, he couldn't help but take two steps back. Moreover, at the time, he always thought that the egg case of an insect sounded disgusting.
But at this point, he no longer cared at all.
"Hey, little guy, you can do it, right? I know... you can..."
Lin Xi whispered to "Number One".
The star butterfly's egg case lay quietly in his hand. Its surface was moist, but it wasn't the slippery, jellyfish-like feel that Lin Xi had imagined.
On the contrary, it feels very hard to the touch, and even a little rough.
Moreover, it is warm.
It didn't feel like an insect, but rather...like some kind of small animal, warm and with a very faint pulsation.
However, the two tiny pupils of "Number One" were still black.
It got stuck there and didn't move.
"Hey, little guy, don't do that. It wasn't easy for me to get you out of here."
Lin Xi frowned.
His tone, however, carried a hint of frustration.
He tentatively reached out, then took a deep breath—he tore open the egg case near "Number One," and slowly peered out "Number One's" motionless body from inside the egg case.
When Lin Xi was a mischievous child, he did similar things quite often.
However, he never imagined that one day he would be on a spaceship that had been stranded on an alien planet, doing the same thing to another alien species that was about to become extinct.
A few seconds... or longer...
A slight commotion came from Lin Xi's palm.
Lin Xi suddenly opened his eyes wide. He held his breath and carefully examined the "Number One" in his hand.
To his delight, he saw that "Number One's" eyes gradually returned to red, and its body, which Lin Xi had just taken out of the egg case, gradually unfolded.
Lin Xi then realized that, as a newly hatched insect, "Number One" was quite large.
When it first emerged from the egg case, its body was wrinkled, but once it unfolded, its body became almost as long as Lin Xi's forearm.
Its wings trailed long behind it, just as Lin Xi had imagined, and the round spots were covered with beautiful colors that resembled miniature versions of the entire rainbow.
Moreover, it has two very long tentacles, just like a butterfly, with slightly curled tips. They appear transparent at first glance, but under changes in light, the two tentacles shimmer with tiny lights, like some kind of gemstone.
"I find you quite pretty."
Lin Xi gazed at "Number One," who had finally come back to life, and couldn't help but murmur softly.
He collapsed onto his bed and finally let out a long sigh of relief.
As if it could understand what he was saying, the star butterfly tilted its head and gently fluttered its wings—and suddenly the brightly colored spots became even more numerous.
"Wow--"
Lin Xi was almost startled, but then he couldn't help but laugh.
He had never felt so close to the insects as he did now.
He didn't dislike this feeling.
Regardless, at least "Number One" was still alive within the only remaining egg case of the Star Butterfly. Having confirmed this, Lin Xi became much calmer than before.
He first set up the star butterfly in the container he had placed in the cabin.
This semi-open incubator can control the activity range of the star butterflies on the one hand, and ensure air circulation on the other. Although Lin Xi himself doesn't know why the Sunu star butterflies need oxygen.
As for the remaining egg case, Lin Xi originally thought it was completely dead, but unexpectedly, he made an extra pleasant surprise on that egg case.
The remaining eggs are still alive.
This was incredible, but Lin Xi was certain that it wasn't a dream.
After settling "Number One", Lin Xi returned to the egg case. He found that the egg case's previously cloudy shell had now returned to its semi-transparent state. Most of the tentacles, which looked like hard plastic, had fallen off, but a small number of tentacles remained, maintaining their original appearance.
At this moment, Lin Xi had no idea that those were the same few sticks that had secretly sucked his blood before.
Most importantly, Lin Xi observed the remaining row of slender oval eggs.
Previously silent, they are now making a move; under the lens of the instrument, they are wriggling rhythmically inside.
The row of small red dots around their eyes proves that they are also developing slowly.
"Wow...it looks like today is your lucky day."
It was nothing short of a miracle. If this were in a laboratory, Lin Xi was certain that her supervisor would think she was faking the experiment—but in any case, after the serious malfunction of the life support equipment, all the eggs were still alive, and "Number One" had even successfully hatched.
Thinking of this, Lin Xi couldn't help but smile.
For him, this was the only thing that brought him some comfort in this messed-up day.
After observing it for a long time, Lin Xi placed the egg case in another plant culture dish and found that the egg case did not seem to have any bad reaction in the dry environment.
"Promise me you'll live until I find Professor Ando."
Knowing that neither the egg case nor "Number One" could understand, Lin Xi still knocked on the glass and gave them instructions before leaving the cabin to find Professor Ando.
The egg case did not react at all, but "Number One" shook its wings in the culture tank.
Then it floated up a few centimeters and its six feet gently landed on the surface of the glass.
The red eyes stared intently at Lin Xi.
Lin Xi couldn't resist and knocked on the glass again.
"Number One's" tentacles twitched.
...It really seems like it can understand human speech.
Lin Xi thought to herself with admiration.
But after that feeling of affection, a sense of sadness washed over Lin Xi.
After learning that the Star Butterflies had successfully hatched, Shizuo Ando would definitely take "Number One" and the remaining developing eggs back no matter what—in fact, if he still couldn't take care of these Star Butterflies, the captain would probably assign a more professional assistant to take care of these newborn little lives.
After all, a star butterfly egg case that doesn't know whether it's dead or alive is one thing, but a star butterfly that has already hatched and is worth a fortune is another.
...
However, reality told Lin Xi that sometimes things don't go as planned.
Based on previous experience, Lin Xi didn't go to Ando's laboratory at all, but went directly to his cabin. However, there were quite a few people waiting outside that metal door.
Moreover, the appearance of two of them surprised Lin Xi even more—after all, judging from the current situation, these two people should be extremely busy right now.
"Elisa? Bryce? What happened?"
Lin Xi stepped forward, looked at her brother and Elisa in shock, and then asked.
"Lin Xi?"
"What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be lying in your hospital bed receiving your treatment?"
Elisa and Bryce spoke at the same time.
Lin Xi smiled and nimbly dodged Bryce's question, looking directly at Elisa.
"I really need Dr. Ando's help right now... regarding some academic matters. But what's going on here?"
Lin Xi looked around, feeling a little uneasy.
Besides Elisa and Bryce, he also spotted Solian, the ship's military representative, along with several members of the Order Department. Lin Xi glanced at their waists and noticed with growing unease that they were all armed.
This was no small force inside the Apollo spacecraft.
"Well, something happened..."
Just as Bryce was about to answer Lin Xi's question, Solian gave him a cold look. This bearded man had exceptionally sharp eyes, and with just one glance, Bryce abruptly stopped talking.
Lin Xi also felt that Solian had carefully examined her from head to toe.
"Something I shouldn't know?"
Lin Xi paused, and images of Liz, who had become unusually strange, and Ando Shizuo, who looked incredibly haggard, flashed through his mind, as well as... and the statue that the Ando couple had secretly taken and placed inside their cabin.
He felt things were really getting very bad.
"Yes."
Solian spoke coldly.
“It’s alright.” Just then, Elisa spoke up, “Dr. Lin Xi is also an assistant sent by the Earth-Moon United University. I think he might be able to help us.”
"If you put it that way, I think I should still—"
I don't need to know.
Before Lin Xi could finish speaking, Elisa looked directly at him and said crisply, "Liz is dead."
"What?!"
Lin Xi never expected this answer.
He stared at Elisa in shock, almost thinking it was a joke.
But Elisa never jokes about business matters.
Moreover, Lin Xi quickly figured out why there were heavily armed mercenaries and members of the Order Department outside the Ando couple's cabin.
Liz's death was just too...horrible.
Under Solian's guidance, Lin Xi glanced inside the cabin and was immediately stunned by what he saw.
The Ando couple's room was no longer dimly lit; all the lights were turned on, and because of this, everything was illuminated in great detail.
Liz was still stuck to the ceiling by her own secretions, just like the last time Lin Xi saw her.
However, her abdomen, which had swollen as if it were about to explode, had now shriveled up.
A huge, bloody hole appeared in her abdomen, and the baby that should have been growing in its mother's arms had fallen out of the hole and was now lying motionless on the ground.
"vomit--"
An investigator who was taking notes suddenly let out a violent retching sound. She abruptly dropped the recorder in her hand and rushed past Lin Xi to the door.
Lin Xi looked in the direction she had run away.
His face turned deathly pale instantly.
He could almost hear Ando Shizuo's unusually joyful voice when they parted not long ago.
“It’s octuplets…I will have eight lively and lovely children…You will love them, Dr. Lin Xi.”
Shizuo Ando was not wrong; they were indeed octuplets.
However, did Shizuo Ando know that his wife wasn't carrying eight babies, but... eight monsters?
Lin Xi thought to herself.
That's a creature that only appears in the most terrifying dreams.
For most of their bodies, they look just like human infants—red, wrinkled, and even with baby hair. But in other areas, they look unmistakably…insects. Their chitinous carapaces gleam faintly, their segments clearly visible, the arthropods growing from those segments, and their long, stalked eyes protruding from their sockets, topped with cloudy, indistinct eyeballs.
They were like clay hastily sculpted by God, with human parts mixed with insect bodies, so terrifying that no words could describe them.
Perhaps the only saving grace is that, at least by the time Lin Xi saw them, they were already dead.
However, the way they lay on their backs with their limbs outstretched towards the sky was truly disgusting.
Lin Xi covered her mouth, using all her willpower to prevent herself from vomiting.
Solian reached out and gently patted his shoulder.
"ah--"
Lin Xi screamed in fright.
“Actually, you’ve come at the right time. I checked the visitor records, and you’re probably the last person to have seen the couple.”
Sorian seemed completely oblivious to Lin Xi's lapse in composure. He stared at Lin Xi coldly and then spoke lazily.
Lin Xi trembled slightly.
"When I saw them before...they were all still alive..."
The monster inside Liz's belly is still alive!
While you are talking, they may be curled up in a ball, listening to your conversation through their thin skin.
Lin Xizhen wished he could control his mind, but that maddening voice kept chattering incessantly in his head.
Perhaps because his face looked too pale, Bryce noticed that something was wrong with him and dragged Lin Xi out of the room where the crime scene was located, then blocked his way.
"The computer records also show that the Ando couple were still alive after Lin Xi left the cabin. Lin Xi had just fainted not long ago, and his health was not good. Before investigating him, shouldn't you have questioned Ando Shizuo first? He was in the same room as Liz when she died, so he definitely knows more than my brother."
"Professor Ando is still alive?!"
"That guy has gone mad."
Lin Xi and Solian's voices overlapped.
After seeing Liz's miserable state, Lin Xi was surprised to find that Professor Ando was still alive. However, Solian's reply made his heart tighten again.
"Professor Ando... has he gone mad? What's going on?"
Lin Xi asked in a murmur.
“That’s exactly what I wanted to know.”
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