"The person who appeared in John Bronson's body is also him, isn't he? The reason you suspect me of being involved in all of this on the ship isn't just because of the Sunu exhibition accident on Earth, but because of the appearance of the 'Captain'. Well, that's why I came to see you. I want to meet that Captain."
"What?"
Solian's expression finally changed.
Just after Lin Xi finished speaking, Solian suddenly turned around and made a gesture to the others who remained in the hall. Soon, they all left.
"What the hell are you doing?! You knew John was dead all along, and we had no way of contacting Scripps anymore! You killed him! Because he knew your true identity all along, he knew you were involved—"
"Scripps Eden. A legend of humanity, a ghost that has haunted us for three hundred years..."
Lin Xi said softly.
"Did he refer to himself as such in front of you? Did he ever tell you that he needed to attach himself to the auxiliary devices you placed inside your brains in order to manifest?"
"What did you say?"
Solian looked incredulous.
“Even after John died, he still lingered around me. I saw him in Shizuo Ando, and I saw him in Jerry…”
Lin Xi told Solian about the information department he and Bryce had discovered.
When he suggested that he needed to use Solian's body to summon the captain's ghost once more, Solian's eyes widened in surprise.
"Wait, you're saying... it can also manifest on me?"
A hint of fear flickered across his face.
Lin Xi nodded: "That's right, if your previous medical reports were completely accurate."
He thought he would need to use more persuasion to convince Solian to become the vessel for the captain's ghost.
but……
"So, are you ready to sacrifice yourself for the benefit of humanity?"
A muffled and ethereal voice suddenly escaped from Solian's lips.
Lin Xi's eyes narrowed. He stared intently at Solian and discovered that the exhausted and wary man from a few seconds ago had vanished, replaced by a sinister "ghost."
He appeared without warning and then took over Solian's body. Just thinking about it made Lin Xi feel a chill.
"You charlatan, do you have any other good suggestions besides sending an innocent person to their death?!"
As soon as Scripps finished speaking (let's assume he didn't lie about his identity, although he seemed very strange and suspicious from any angle), Bryce couldn't help but glare at him and coldly mock him.
Elisa, who was beside him, did not speak rashly, but her probing gaze never left this "ghost" man.
Judging from her unusually wary gaze, she didn't seem to think he had any particular goodwill towards her group.
Lin Xi instinctively sensed the tension between the two people beside him and gave them a reassuring look.
Then he turned around and stared intently at "Solian" in front of him.
“Tell me, before I die, shouldn’t you tell me the whole story? Otherwise… the things you keep repeating aren’t very convincing.”
Lin Xi said.
His voice had a very brief pause, which no one else noticed.
But only he knew what was going on—a bizarre sensation came from his wrist, dripping viscous fluid seemed to appear out of thin air, and the ropes that had been tightly binding him suddenly snapped and loosened.
Lin Xi could clearly feel the ropes loosening; if he wanted, he could easily break free from the restraints that Sorian had placed on him when he was conscious.
However, on the surface, he still kept his hands behind his back, pretending that nothing had happened.
It is "Number One".
Lin Xi knew very well.
He didn't know how "Number One" understood his meaning; perhaps, as Elisa had said, this alien bug did indeed possess astonishing intelligence. He realized that Lin Xi needed to speak with Solian, so instead of suddenly appearing and tearing him to pieces like it had with Robert and Eric, it stealthily approached them using its amazing mimicry abilities and then silently untied the ropes binding his hands.
It would be even more perfect if "Number One" didn't drool so much during operations.
Meanwhile, Lin Xi's ghostly conversation with Scripps continues.
Upon hearing Lin Xi's request, the man possessing Solian's body revealed an expression that seemed to be filled with sorrow.
To be honest, it was rather creepy when Sorian made that sad and fragile expression.
“…You are the most human-like insect queen I have ever seen. Your humanity is not completely gone, which is good.” Scripps’ voice was exceptionally low and sinister.
"Yes, I should tell you everything, and then you'll understand why I let you choose to end your own life."
As he spoke, he looked up at Elisa and Bryce on either side of Lin Xi.
“You have a close relationship with him, and you will soon find out that this is the best and only choice for him.”
"Bullshit—"
Bryce didn't make a sound, but he silently mouthed a curse.
Scripps seemingly nonchalantly looked away.
"—Three hundred years ago, I led the Providence, bringing together 240,000 people hoping to reach AS192 and begin a new life, along with 30,000 staff members. Following standard procedure, two years before the spaceship's arrival at AS192, we began gradually releasing an immunomodulator into the circulating nutrient solution in the cryogenic chambers..."
"Immunotherapy?"
Lin Xi couldn't help but frown.
“We no longer use that stuff—but people three hundred years ago seemed to believe that when humans first arrived on a new planet, they were prone to developing disordered gut flora and immune systems due to exposure to completely unfamiliar environments. So they would extract extremely small amounts of native bacteria and other random things from the new colonies and gradually inject them into the human body to help the human body adapt to the alien environment.”
Bryce turned his head and whispered an explanation for Lin Xi.
Scripps nodded. "Yes, that's it. That's the normal procedure. Everything went smoothly in the early stages of Project Providence..."
Yes, everything went smoothly.
It went so smoothly that no one was aware of the approaching nightmare.
The release of the immunizing agent was a trivial matter during the long voyage, and no one would have thought that it was the culprit behind that tragedy.
First, a small group of people began to show persistently abnormal physiological data—judging from the data sheets alone, they appeared to be infected with some kind of unexplained cancer, with cell division and proliferation rates far exceeding normal levels. Numerous strange lumps appeared beneath their internal organs and skin.
Then, the lumps began to invade their internal organs and other tissues...
Scripps was awakened from hibernation by his symbiotic AI.
He examined the people and, realizing that even cryotherapy couldn't stop the strange tumors in their bodies, he had no choice but to execute them directly in the hibernation pods with tears in his eyes.
But his decision did not stop the spread of that strange illness...
Soon, more and more immigrants developed lumps in their bodies. Then, those lumps also appeared in the crew members' bodies.
"...At the same time, I noticed something unusual about an important crew member on the ship. He had a constant headache and was having nightmares. He felt that he was establishing mysterious connections with many tiny lives...When I decided to execute the crew members and immigrants whose symptoms were no longer under control, he appeared to be in great pain, as if their deaths were also severely affecting him."
After hearing Scripps' description of the important crew member, Lin Xi's face grew paler and paler.
He could sense that Scripps was gazing at him meaningfully; this ghost from three hundred years ago seemed to have known all along about the strange changes that had happened to him.
Those headaches, nightmares, and that "connection" that no language can describe.
"And then what?"
Lin Xi asked in a murmur.
"He hid many people."
Scripps' tone carried an almost painful undertone, which made him appear even stranger than before.
After all, his every move seemed exceptionally lifelike, making it almost unbelievable that he was just a ghost without any physical form.
Scripps didn't specify the important crew member's exact rank, but it was clear he wielded considerable authority. So when Scripps began mass killings of crew members and immigrants showing signs of the strange disease, he managed to erase some records. He hid those people in biological hibernation pods in the ship's hangar, replacing the Earth animals that should have been brought to the new planet to thrive with the infected human bodies.
The crew member's intentions were good; he simply couldn't bear to see so many people being killed alive... because the death of each infected person felt like a vivid replay in the depths of his own soul. Moreover, the scientists on board had exhausted almost every method, yet they still couldn't prove that the particular tumor was an infectious disease.
Moreover, the mutations in those people were not severe. Many of them, judging solely from the data, were even healthy.
He just wanted to give those people another chance, a chance to live, instead of being killed so cleanly and decisively—not to mention that even though all the initial patients had been executed, the strange disease was still spreading uncontrollably among the crew and passengers.
Before doing this, the senior crew member never imagined that it was his selfishness that would ultimately lead everyone to their demise.
"Those people turned into insects."
Lin Xi whispered about the fate of those people.
"Yes, that's right. Huge insects, half-human, half-insect monsters, crawled out one after another from the deepest warehouse of the spaceship. They acted in the dead of night, dragging the living people directly from the cabins and cryogenic chambers, killing them, and then taking them to the deepest part of the spaceship. There, they built an enormous insectoid palace. The people who were taken away were stored there. Some were transformed into the same monsters, while others were injected with a special digestive fluid and turned into clumps of minced meat. It was this fluid that they used to incubate new larvae. And that foolish senior crew member was taken to the depths of that 'palace' long before all the anomalies began."
"The last time I saw him, he had become that utterly repulsive...thing... He was entangled with those hideous insects, surrounded by the egg cases he had produced. He had become the Mother of the Alien, the breeder of those terrifying monsters, a mass of evil flesh that could only produce offspring... You know what the most terrifying thing was? The most terrifying thing was that he still retained human consciousness. He kept crying and begging me to kill him. Because if he didn't die, that massive swarm of insects would continue to multiply. And everyone who had been vaccinated would be transformed into mindless, soulless, lowly insects."
"...The problem lies with those immunizing agents. In selecting the effective ingredients, those foolish scientists used components from some of the most common insects found on AS192...that's the efficient way that horrible species produces food and resources. Once carbon-based organisms are infected with that stuff, they are marked as potential food and tools for them."
"They are called Xenomorphs... In the entire universe, there can only be one Xenomorph Queen at any given time. Before the Xenomorph Queen is born, neither they nor the marked and infected creatures will exhibit any abnormalities. However, every so often, perhaps billions of years, perhaps thousands of years, or perhaps hundreds of years... a new Xenomorph Queen will always emerge from the infected individuals. Once the Xenomorph Queen is chosen, the story that has been repeated countless times will begin again—innocent intelligent life forms are transformed into the lowly creatures they hate, subject to the control of the Xenomorph Queen and the Xenomorphs, or directly become food... The entire Xenomorph race begins to reproduce and expand continuously throughout the universe until the departure and death of the Xenomorph Queen, at which point the universe will temporarily escape their clutches."
As he spoke, Scripps turned around and gazed intently at the group of evil-looking and incredibly bizarre half-human, half-insect monsters behind him.
"This tragedy keeps repeating itself, and then it repeats itself again... Look at these people, they became like this simply because of your awakening. They also had their own families, their own lovers, their own dreams, but now, they have nothing—if you, as the Queen of Insects, don't commit suicide to end all this before things get worse, then many more people will end up like this because of you."
He said softly.
As he spoke, a line of blood slowly flowed from Solian's nostrils, followed by a thin line of blood flowing from his ear.
Although his expression remained indifferent and calm, Lin Xi could clearly see that Solian's body was trembling and convulsing uncontrollably.
He immediately thought of Jerry, who had collapsed in front of the aircraft earlier—the old man was still in a coma due to overload of the assistive neural components in his brain, and according to Bryce's diagnosis, he might never wake up.
"Damn it—"
He was suddenly startled.
"You have to leave! You're killing Solian!"
He roared at the ghost.
However, Scripps doesn't seem to care about Solian's situation.
He looked straight at Elisa.
“Not killing him before things got out of control is my biggest regret, and I still feel that way now. The mutation of these monsters is accelerating... What's more... his King Insect has already appeared. I've sensed that evil, and I've witnessed that terrifying demon with my own eyes..."
Upon hearing the word "King Worm," Bryce and Elisa simultaneously turned their heads and exchanged a glance.
A very... ugly and terrifying face appeared in their minds simultaneously.
"Oh, please."
"Elisa murmured, a chill running down her spine as the scene flashed through her mind," Elisa said.
"...That's still a bit too much of a challenge to human physiological instincts," she muttered.
Lin Xi's brows were furrowed tightly.
King Worm?
Does "Wangchong" refer to... "Number One"?
Lin Xi couldn't help but turn his head slightly; he was now able to pinpoint the location of "Number One" more and more accurately.
Or rather, he and the little monster were indeed becoming more and more in sync. For example, at this very moment, he could clearly see "Number One" slowly peeking out from the mimicry, staring at him without blinking.
However, as soon as Lin Xi made a move, "Number One" would quickly retract and continue to disguise itself as an inconspicuous lamp located at the top of the hall.
Of course, his interaction with "Number One" at that moment was very secretive and went unnoticed.
"This is fucking crazy! We need to find a way to kill that thing!"
Bryce's face looked ashen, as if he'd been slapped with the bottom of a charred pot.
He would never forget how easily the monster known as "Number One" shredded those incredibly troublesome monsters into a pile of pieces.
To be honest, at this moment Bryce was more hoping that the so-called captain of the Providence was just spouting nonsense to scare them.
But the words that came out of that ghost's mouth always carried an inexplicable sense of foreboding.
"...Now that the King Insect has appeared near the Mother of the Alien Species...soon, very soon he will become that filthy and evil thing, imprisoned forever in the palace of the insects to breed new alien species. Even for the sake of mercy, you should end his life as soon as possible...cough cough..."
As he finished speaking, Scripps' voice became increasingly slurred, and some blood mixed with saliva uncontrollably flowed from the corner of his mouth, soaking his shirt.
"...The mutated...people...unconsciously spread that fluid...they crave...infecting...normal...people...they need more...companions...to kill them...otherwise...everyone will..."
"Bang--"
Seeing that Solian's body was leaning backward, and Scripps showed no sign of leaving him, Lin Xi suddenly broke free of the ropes and then struck Solian's temple hard with his elbow.
Sorian didn't utter a sound and collapsed to the ground, unconscious.
Lin Xi then went to Bryce and Elisa and untied the ropes from their backs.
When Solian slowly awoke from his maddening headache, he saw three men who had completely broken free of their restraints and confiscated all his weapons.
"How are you feeling—do you think your IQ has dropped? Or is half of your body paralyzed?"
Bryce was closest to him, and seeing that Solian had regained consciousness, he released the ill-tempered mercenary's eyelids to check his pupils, and then he spoke.
"..."
Despite the pain, Solian gritted his teeth and slowly sat up from the ground, then assessed his physical condition.
What did you do to me?
After a long while, he asked coldly.
“Our kind-hearted captain’s ghost almost turned you into a permanent idiot,” Lin Xi replied.
“Of course, if you’re asking what we did… I stopped it.” He paused to look at Bryce before continuing to Solian, “You should be grateful my brother is the medical officer; he gave you first aid.”
"And we also wasted a precious vial of healing factor injection."
Bryce added as appropriate.
He gestured for Solian to look at the empty syringe lying on the ground.
Solian fell silent again.
He closed his eyes, trying hard to recall what had happened before he completely lost consciousness...
Some hazy, indistinct images flashed through his mind—
Insects. Monsters. Blood.
And a young man with a deformed body, half-insect and half-human.
...Kill me, please, I can't go on like this anymore...Let me die...please...let me die...
The man seemed to be saying something to him, his pale face streaked with tears.
His face looked somewhat familiar.
"Hmm..."
But when Solian tried to recall that moment, all he could feel was that maddening pain. He let out a muffled groan and almost collapsed to the ground.
That was definitely not a scene he remembered. Solian was certain of that; it was someone else's memory.
The memories of ghosts.
It was at this moment that Solian instinctively realized that perhaps, as Lin Xi had said, the captain of the Providence had just taken over his body.
And they almost killed him.
"What have you found out?"
After a long while, Solian asked.
"nothing."
Bryce answered almost instinctively.
“I don’t know what that guy said to you before, but to me everything he said was nonsense and had no credibility whatsoever. Oh, right, considering that as a ghost he still needs to use intracranial assistive devices to appear and tell stories, what he said is even less credible.”
Lin Xi heard Bryce's words clearly from the side. He subconsciously opened his mouth, but when he turned around and saw Bryce's expression, all the words instantly got stuck in his throat and he could no longer say them.
Is it really completely unbelievable?
Lin Xi did not think that what Captain Scripps said was completely nonsense.
At least, in the aircraft left behind by the Providence, many clues could be instantly corroborated by what he said.
Those mummies that were trapped alive in the cryogenic chamber and have already shown signs of insectification.
And there were all sorts of traces left behind when those people tried to escape...
However, Lin Xi still felt that something was off about the ghost's words.
"That guy is the root of all evil!"
Just as Lin Xi was lost in thought, a shrill shout suddenly came from a corner of the hall.
Harry, who should have been taken away by his companions, had somehow appeared behind the four of them, holding a high-powered ion gun with the muzzle pointed directly at Lin Xi.
"They're lying to you, boss. They're lying to you. It's not nonsense at all. My whole department heard it."
“That’s Scripps, he’s a hero of humanity, he doesn’t lie. The guy in front of you is the culprit behind all this crap on the ship! He’s the mother of monsters! As long as he’s alive, all of us who drank from the food bags will turn into monsters—we have to kill him, kill him now!”
"Harry?"
Solian stared in shock at Harry, who had suddenly jumped out.
"Hey buddy, calm down..."
Bryce's eyes were almost bloodshot as he stared intently at the ion gun aimed at Lin Xi, veins bulging on his forehead, but the words he uttered sounded relaxed and gentle.
"We still don't know the truth of the matter. That guy's story is only one side of the story, isn't it?"
Unfortunately, no matter how hard Bryce tried to comfort Harry, the man who had just killed his wife was completely absorbed in his own world.
"I heard you, I heard you, it's all your fault. If I kill you, everything will be normal, everything will be alright—"
He murmured.
My body was trembling with excitement.
"Bang--"
Then he fired.
The next second, blood splattered everywhere.
"Number One—No—"
The moment Lin Xi fired the shot, he ducked down, covered his head, and rolled away from the spot. A sharp gust of wind swept past his shoulder, and the man holding the gun was instantly thrown against the wall.
The high-powered bullets whizzed through the ceiling, accompanied by a series of cracking sounds, and the lighting fixtures were destroyed, causing the entire hall to go dark instantly.
Harry, who was thrown into the air, struggled for a long time after hitting the wall before he could barely get up. His face and nose were covered in blood, and a deep gash stretched from the corner of his eye to below his ear on the other side. His flesh was torn open, revealing the white bone. The wound looked incredibly horrific.
However… Lin Xi knew very well that if he hadn’t called out to “Number One” in time, there would be two pieces of blood-soaked corpse lying there now.
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