Being forcibly woken from a deep sleep is a very painful experience.
Lin Xi barely opened his eyes as Jerry shoved him. He was exhausted and his mind was a mess.
Even though Jerry's bearded face was right in front of him, his lips moving and shouting loudly, in those short ten minutes, what Lin Xi's mind still lingered were the images from his dream—a translucent amniotic sac slowly solidifying in the boundless darkness, filled with countless insect eggs; bizarre monsters multiplying and spreading across planet after planet; giant insects landing in front of him; countless humanoid or non-human creatures gradually turning into a translucent slurry, then being sucked up by deformed and terrifying insects, and the last image that remained in his mind was the most horrifying.
He dreamt of an incredibly terrifying giant insect, whose hard shell was covered by pale human skin. The insect kept poking his shoulder with its forelegs, its huge, terrifying compound eyes flashing, and pitifully asking, "Am I... ugly?"
"Dr. Lin Xi—Dr. Lin Xi—wake up! Something happened last night!"
Just like a broken television set finally working again, his mind slowly became clear.
Finally, Lin Xi vaguely realized what Jerry was talking about.
"what happened?"
He rubbed his throbbing temples and murmured repeatedly.
"Something's happened..."
When was the last time you saw Francis? What were the circumstances?
Jerry asked urgently.
Lin Xi looked at him blankly, and he rubbed his forehead and answered absentmindedly:
"The last time I saw him? Of course, it was last night... I was too tired and didn't notice his movements. I hadn't even finished taking off my exploration suit before I fell asleep. What happened to him?"
"He's dead."
Jerry explained to Lin Xi simply and clearly.
Through the helmet of his exploration suit, his expression behind the visor looked both distressed and comical.
"Francis...what? Francis is dead?!"
"That's right, Francis is dead, and Stephen is dead too."
Lin Xi finally came to her full senses.
He looked around in disbelief, as if he could see Francis again at any moment.
The tent was dimly lit, just as it had been before he fell asleep. Everything was in its original place, just as Lin Xi had seen before he fell asleep from exhaustion. There was no sign that anyone else had used the tent.
"Oh my god, what's going on?" Lin Xi hurriedly put on her exploration suit and then rushed out of the spherical tent with Jerry.
According to the time recorded on their personal terminals, it should already be dawn outside, but the temporary campsite deep in the cave remained as dark, cold, and quiet as if in eternal night. Only in the open spaces between the dome tents did human-placed cold lights emit a faint blue glow. The remaining exploration team members had already woken up and were lingering anxiously somewhere not far from the dome tents. The scene was somewhat noisy, and even if their expressions couldn't be seen, one could feel the restless and fearful atmosphere surrounding them. When they saw Lin Xi walking towards them closely behind Jerry, all the whispers stopped for a moment. Some hesitated to speak, while others stared at Lin Xi warily. The atmosphere instantly became tense, but Lin Xi didn't seem to care about any of this at the moment.
He had seen them as soon as he got close to the group—the orange of the exploration suits peeked out from the gaps in the crowd under the cold light. Lin Xi walked over without hesitation, and then he saw the two corpses right in the middle of the crowd.
May God bless them and grant them peace.
Lin Xi heard Jerry speak softly behind him. Although he had just seen the scene, Jerry still looked pale as he stood before the two corpses again.
What a horrific death it was.
Francis's skull was so badly disfigured that it was unrecognizable, while Stephen looked as if he had been thrown into a giant meat grinder, roughly churned up, and then dragged out. Lin Xi first examined Stephen's body; from the chest down, all the internal organs and muscles looked as if they had been turned inside out. Blood soaked into the rocks beneath the bodies, now a thick, black liquid.
Scattered on the ground were fragments of the corpse: black were internal organs, red were muscles, and pink were blood-soaked bone fragments and teeth.
However, compared to Francis, Stephen's body did not seem to be in such bad condition.
Lin Xi took a deep breath to calm himself down, but he forgot that the air filtration components in his exploration suit were nearing the end of their lifespan. He could faintly smell a nauseating stench, which made his body shudder.
Lin Xi's face was grim. He had to force himself to calm down and face the corpse. But the feeling was terrible. The person who had been silently staring at Lin Xi with burning eyes just yesterday was now a rotting, unrecognizable mass of flesh.
No, perhaps describing its corpse as rotten flesh isn't quite accurate.
To be precise, Francis's body was nearly half-melted.
Lin Xi gently poked at the part of Francis's body exposed outside his severely damaged exploration suit with a metal rod, and then discovered that Francis's muscles and bones were in a strange state - they were soft and sticky, almost like several pieces of failed dark red meat jelly, barely maintaining their shape with the outermost layer of skin.
Lin Xi only touched the corpse slightly, and blackish-red blood mixed with this "meat paste" gushed out from the broken wound.
Several tiny alien insects were greedily clinging to Francis's blood, sucking it incessantly. However, upon sensing Lin Xi's approach, they swiftly turned away and scurried into a crevice in the rocks in the darkness.
It wasn't until this moment that Lin Xi finally realized what was wrong with him that had been bothering him since he woke up.
It's an insect.
He suddenly looked up at the rock wall of the cave.
The rocks, which should have been teeming with terrifying swarms of insects, were now bare. The rough rocks, containing a few quartz particles, reflected a faint shimmer under the spotlight, and in the areas where the light couldn't reach, the occasional sound of a few small insects crawling could be heard.
"Those insects—"
“When we woke up, the bugs were gone,” Jerry whispered to Lin Xi. “I think the storm outside should have stopped.”
After the insects were mentioned, some hesitant voices came through the communication channel.
"...Poor Francis...poor Stephen...the bugs attacked them, didn't they?"
Among the survivors, a young girl murmured cautiously.
"Besides insects, what else is there? Is this something humans could do?" A voice interrupted before Lin Xi could answer.
Lin Xi turned around and looked at that person.
"Walker, you better shut the fuck up."
Jerry spoke first, before Lin Xi: "We have nothing right now—"
"Aren't there any warning cameras or surveillance cameras?"
Lin Xi couldn't help but ask.
“Our equipment is missing,” someone answered weakly. “But to be on the safe side, we set up surveillance cameras outside the tent yesterday, but those cameras haven’t shown any signs of being triggered at all…”
"Those monstrous insects only need to wriggle their bodies into the tent, then drag the humans out and feast on them. They won't even touch the security facilities."
Walker interrupted, then made a crude gesture toward Lin Xi.
"Walker!"
Jerry issued another warning.
However, perhaps it was the deaths of his companions one after another that made Walker's mental state worse, or perhaps it was because Jerry's respect for Lin Xi was perceived as favoritism since the start of the exploration mission that Walker became increasingly dissatisfied.
Walker ignored Jerry.
He continued to press Lin Xi relentlessly with his questions.
“Dr. Lin Xi, it was your idea to set up camp in this damned place. Didn’t you say before that these insects sheltering from the storm in the cave wouldn’t attack humans? But now, look at the grotesque state Francis and Stephen are in. Damn it, they might as well have died in that storm—”
"No……"
Lin Xi interrupted him.
"It's not a bug."
He shook his head.
“If they were insects, they would never have let me off the hook after I took off my exploration suit and dragged Francis away. At least before I accidentally fell asleep, Francis hadn’t had time to take off his equipment.”
As Lin Xi finished speaking, he turned around and frowned as he looked at Francis's corpse.
The dead man was indeed still wearing his exploration suit—although the helmet had long since cracked, and several pieces lay scattered not far from the body.
"But……"
Walker pursed his lips, and the "but" was followed by nothing for a long while.
At this moment, Lin Xi pointed to the bloodstains around Stephen's mouth and nose. Under the spotlight, the dried bloodstains appeared purplish-black.
"As for Stephen, perhaps he left the tent voluntarily...maybe."
As Lin Xi spoke, he gently pried aside the blood clots on Steve's face with a metal rod. His movements were gentle, but even so, as the clots were removed, a large chunk of loose flesh fell off. A huge, bluish-gray and purplish-red hole appeared in the center of Stephen's face.
"His entire respiratory system is corroded. Only violent breathing would cause this—"
Jerry stepped forward, looked in the direction Lin Xi was pointing, and then murmured something.
"Whatever happened, he was still alive when he left the tent."
That's why the toxic atmosphere in the cave so severely corroded Stephen's respiratory system.
"His body has the same problem."
Lin Xi then pointed to Stephen's eyes, which were also corroded.
"Wait, you mean Stephen left the tent conscious? He was still breathing and his eyes were open—he did it willingly?"
Someone couldn't help but ask, their voice filled with confusion.
The others also forced themselves to come closer, though they were somewhat skeptical. However, after observing Stephen's gruesome corpse, they had to agree with Jerry and Lin Xi's analysis.
But if the killers of Francis and Stephen weren't those horrific insects, then what were they? The thought sent chills down the spines of every surviving member of the exploration team.
The deaths of those two men remain a horrific mystery.
Perhaps if they continue to investigate, they will get a satisfactory answer, but even an idiot can foresee that the investigation itself is enough to make the already anxious exploration team even more fearful.
"Whatever killed them, we have to get out of here as soon as possible."
Jerry stood up from beside the body, his voice suddenly turning cold.
"Our supplies are running low, especially oxygen and fresh water. I feel sorry for Stephen and Francis, but the most important thing is to survive ourselves—and we also need to contact the Helios as soon as possible. I think the people on the ship must be frantic. As for other things... we can talk about them after we get out of danger."
Jerry deliberately glosses over the deaths of Francis and Stephen.
Under Jerry's orders, the remaining exploration team members began packing their supplies in a state of bewilderment and uncertainty, preparing to leave.
No one wanted to stay here any longer... In the absolute darkness, perhaps the monster that had already devoured two lives was still lurking in some corner, silently watching them?
Almost everyone has the same fear in their mind.
Lin Xi was no exception, but when he was packing up Francis's things, he couldn't help but feel a little short of breath. And Lin Xi was certain that this shortness of breath was not due to the malfunction of that damned respiratory filtration system.
His chest felt unusually heavy, and he began to hear incessant echoes of the clues from the previous night.
He was sleeping soundly... Oh, of course...
During this process, Francis seemed to have tried to wake him up?
Was it a dream, or did it actually happen?
If that's true... was Francis pleading for his help at that time...?
"Hey, Dr. Lin Xi."
Jerry suddenly walked up to him and patted him on the shoulder.
"Don't overthink it." He looked at Lin Xi, a somewhat ambiguous look in his eyes. "...I don't think Francis would want to see you so upset either."
Lin Xi choked up immediately. He instantly understood what Jerry meant.
“No, you’ve all misunderstood. I’m just… a little disappointed. You know, Francis is a good man.”
Jerry smiled.
"...No matter who they are, they will die for you in the end."
His voice suddenly became a little hoarse, and then he said.
"What?"
Lin Xi's eyes widened suddenly, and he looked at Jerry in disbelief.
But Jerry showed no signs of anything amiss.
“Francis is a good man.” He repeated his previous statement verbatim, seemingly unaware that just seconds before he had uttered that strange and ominous remark to Lin Xi.
Lin Xi looked at Jerry with suspicion, whose expression gradually became somewhat confused. After that sentence, the latter did not show any unusual behavior.
Soon, someone called Jerry away from Lin Xi.
Lin Xi turned back to continue organizing the exploration equipment, but her heart was still pounding.
For a few fleeting moments, Lin Xi even wondered if it was his own problem, if he was hallucinating under pressure. Or perhaps, Jerry was just joking—
Lin Xi's mind became chaotic, and his oxygen circulation system continued to sound alarms in his ears from time to time, making him feel increasingly agitated.
Before setting off, he found Jerry and asked if anyone had brought extra oxygen recirculation components, and then he got what he needed.
However, in a sense, that oxygen circulation component was Francis's relic...
“His exploration suit was still intact, so we took everything that was usable off. I don’t think you’ll mind, right?”
The exploration team member who handed the component to Lin Xi said softly.
"No, of course not, thank you."
After a slight pause, Lin Xi removed her damaged component and replaced it with the one left behind by Francis.
However, after replacing the components, Lin Xi stared at the values on his personal terminal for a while.
If Lin Xi hadn't repeatedly confirmed that the components were installed correctly, she would have thought there was something wrong with her terminal.
After starting the exploration from the patrol point, and enduring the arduous climb and numerous subsequent troubles, Lin Xi's oxygen reserves were already half depleted. Lin Xi was certain that the surviving members of the exploration team were consuming roughly the same amount of oxygen as him; however, the equipment left behind by Francis... had all its oxygen reserves at full capacity.
Lin Xi's brows furrowed more and more. Seeing that Jerry had already started forming a team, he couldn't help but leave the group and come to the two abandoned corpses. He squatted down next to Francis's body and then placed his hand on the device button on the other's neck.
Lin Xi quickly discovered that the oxygen valve on Francis's exploration suit... was not open.
"What the hell is going on?"
Lin Xi murmured to herself.
Lin Xi could hardly believe his discovery. Everything seemed to have become even more perplexing, and he had no way of understanding why.
How exactly did Francis manage to do that?
Having followed them here without breathing oxygen, he inexplicably collapsed in the cave with another man, turning into a pitiful corpse.
"Dr. Lin Xi, we have to go—"
Jerry called out to Lin Xi from behind.
Lin Xi took a deep breath, released Francis, and quickly caught up with the others.
“I’m sorry. I…” Lin Xi said to Jerry. He was about to tell him what he had discovered earlier, but just as he opened his mouth, he inexplicably remembered the sentence that Jerry had inexplicably said to him before.
"I just wanted to say goodbye to him one last time."
Lin Xi casually changed her words.
Then he turned around and followed the others step by step toward the cave entrance.
They made relatively smooth progress at the beginning.
The only problem might be that the road underfoot is a bit too slippery.
Yesterday's spectacular swarm of insects revealed that some of them had a penchant for secreting mucus, which caused considerable trouble for the unfortunate members of the exploration team.
But then, trouble began to arise... The number of insects lingering in the cave was not small at all.
These pale-shelled, eyeless insects are probably the native inhabitants of this area. The exploration team didn't see them yesterday, but now that we're out of that special period, their presence is hardly friendly to humans.
Several people were nearly bitten, and small holes appeared in their exploration suits, which were eventually covered with tape.
But compared to the troubles that followed, neither the wet, slippery stone path nor the white blind insects that kept falling from the rock walls or ceiling seemed like a big deal.
Because their next problem is—
get lost.
Nobody knows how this happened.
As they entered this intricate cavern, they dropped marker spheres. These spheres continuously emitted electronic waves in place, which were recorded by the exploration team leader's electronic terminal and eventually converted into a detailed route map, which was then sent to the exploration team leader, now known as Jerry.
Despite the tense situation yesterday, they walked less than five kilometers into the cave before reaching the campsite.
But now, after a whole night's rest, they walked for a long time, completely exhausted...
The cave entrance that should have appeared never did.
The path beneath the exploration team's feet became increasingly treacherous. This gloomy and winding passage seemed to have no end, and eventually, even the small white insects gradually disappeared.
Finally, the gap that was originally big enough for two people to pass through gradually became very narrow, and in some places it became so narrow that it was impossible for one person to pass through at all.
Moreover, it's extremely dark here.
This darkness seemed to possess a power; the searchlights worn by the exploration team appeared to be being swallowed up bit by bit by the gaps in the narrow passage, gradually dimming.
Moreover, even before the fact that she was lost was confirmed, Lin Xi had already begun to sense that something was wrong.
"Jerry, are you sure this is the right road?"
Lin Xi became increasingly puzzled as he walked, and he couldn't help but ask Jerry.
"That's right, we're almost there if we follow the marker balls—"
Jerry spoke into the comms channel to his companion, who was already showing signs of unease.
"But did we really walk for that long yesterday?"
Someone asked, puzzled.
“Yesterday we had the help of adrenaline, which is why we felt like we were getting there quickly. But now there are no bugs with us, and in the darkness and quiet, people's judgment of time and space will be flawed—and anxiety will exacerbate this error. Promise me you won't make that mistake, okay?” Jerry's voice held a peculiar calmness.
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