"Xavier!"
"Number One" stared at Lin Xi and said.
"name."
It used a new word.
Lin Xi didn't understand its strange mutterings, so he fell silent.
"Damn it, what... happened to me..."
He desperately wanted someone to come here and help him answer his questions.
But it's clear that he can't count on "Number One" in front of him.
"Lin...Lin Xi...?"
"Number One" stood there somewhat nervously, staring blankly at Lin Xi before muttering softly in Savile's voice.
Its wings fluttered slightly behind it, revealing its unease.
Lin Xi couldn't help but look at it.
The insect's body, covered by a thin layer of skin, was still as ferocious and terrifying as ever, but its upper body had completely transformed into the appearance of a human, while the rest of its body still looked exactly like those mutated carnivorous insects.
However, compared to Lin Xi's memory, "Number One" had many more serious wounds on his body.
Some of the wounds have healed, but many more are still fresh.
One of the scars almost ran through most of "Number One's" body. There were obvious dents on its arms and sides, as if a large piece of flesh had been forcibly removed and then healed.
These mottled wounds made "Number One" look strange and evil, and Savile's handsome, gentle, and flawless face seemed even more out of place and jarring against his scarred body.
Lin Xi felt that something must be wrong with him, otherwise... why would he be able to recall the smell of the other person's fresh flesh and blood after seeing those wounds?
Just as Lin Xi was thinking this, some blurry images suddenly flashed into his mind.
That was... that was the image of him lying directly on "Number One" and tearing at the other's body at will.
Occasionally, there seemed to be cries escaping from him amidst the extreme chaos.
I don't want this person... I don't want to...
"Hmm..."
Lin Xi lowered her head and gasped for breath again from the sudden pain.
As soon as "Number One" noticed Lin Xi's unusual behavior, it immediately moved closer to him.
It held Lin Xi in its arms, and after hesitating for a moment, it brought its arm, which was no different from a human's, to Lin Xi's lips.
Lin Xi subconsciously showed his teeth to that arm—he felt something emerging from below his gums.
The strange feeling startled him, and then the organs in his throat and below his teeth instantly retracted.
"Number One" twitched slightly beneath his lips.
"Lin Xi...you'll get better..."
It said softly.
He was still using Savile's tone.
However, his tone sounded strange.
Lin Xi was momentarily dazed, then remembered that these were the words that Saville had said to him on the holographic projector.
Lin Xi didn't know how "Number One" did it... The alien monster in front of him parroted Savile's recorded voices, but he didn't know what those subtle tones meant, so every word he said had an unprecedented subtlety and strangeness.
The headache gradually subsided.
Lin Xi remained motionless for a long time.
"Number One" looked at him somewhat helplessly.
"Lin Xi... Lin Xi?"
At first it still used Savile's voice, but soon, the unique, ambiguous tone of "Number One" emerged.
Lin Xi breathed heavily, and struggled in "Number One's" arms for a moment.
"Let me go—"
Lin Xi said.
More memories are gradually surfacing in his mind.
He finally remembered that this wasn't the first time he'd been lucid; however, in the past, the intense hunger and emptiness had almost completely overwhelmed his senses. In the brief few seconds he managed to stay conscious, he could only repeatedly warn "Number One" not to let "He" eat human corpses, not to let "He" go to Bryce and Elisa, or anyone else on the ship…
In those brief moments, all Lin Xi could recall was chaos and madness. When he was in that state of utter bestiality, "Number One" would provide him with the mutated monster and itself as a source of nourishment.
On several occasions, he almost swallowed "Number One" whole.
"Number One" appeared so docile and quiet beneath his body, except that as "He" gnawed at its limbs, it opened its human eyes and let out several comical whimpers.
It was under that gaze that Lin Xi woke up for a few seconds and then chased "Number One" away.
The second time, the man's features gradually appeared on "Number One's" face.
Perhaps it was because "Number One" had already discovered that only when Lin Xi saw that the person he was about to devour actually had Savile's face did his evil and indifferent heart feel a slight stirring.
He would "wake up" very briefly, leaving "Number One" alive.
After going through this process several times, "Number One" began to resemble Savile more and more, even imitating his behavior.
"Heavens above..."
Lin Xi held her head and muttered to herself.
He felt nauseous because of the images flashing through his mind.
"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry."
Lin Xi suddenly raised his head and murmured to "Number One".
"...I really didn't mean to, I'm just...sorry."
Lin Xi had absolutely no idea how to face this giant insect that was making his scalp tingle.
"Number One" still looks a bit dull.
It seemed to take a long time for it to realize that Lin Xi's condition had now stabilized... "He" had switched control with Lin Xi and was now in a long slumber.
"I'm so happy."
It opened its mouth in surprise, as if it was about to say something.
"I'm so happy."
"Number One" said cheerfully in Savile's tone.
Lin Xi shuddered suddenly, almost bursting into tears.
Even though she knew it was just "Number One" mimicking Savile's voice out of survival instinct, hearing the voice of someone she hadn't heard in a very long time... Now, hearing the familiar whispers repeating in her ear, Lin Xi suddenly trembled and almost shed tears.
However, the grotesque body of "Number One" kept reminding him that it was not Savile at all.
Saville is long dead.
And he himself... had actually become a monster that even needed to devour its own kind to survive.
Upon thinking of this, a strange emotion suddenly surged into Lin Xi's heart, almost driving him mad.
"Lin Xi?"
"Number One" seemed to sense something and suddenly became alert.
“It’s nothing…” Lin Xi murmured, carefully lowering his eyes to avoid looking directly at “Number One”.
Lin Xi forced himself to focus his thoughts back on what he should be paying attention to now.
For example, how long did he remain in that semi-conscious, semi-mad state, and where is he now?
Oh, right, and most importantly...
Those terrifying insects encased in sacs.
Now that things have come to this, Lin Xi has a better understanding of her current identity.
Well, what those crew members, and those around him who kept urging him to die, were actually telling the truth.
"Mother of the Different Species"
Lin Xi murmured.
He kept chewing on the name, a chill running down his spine.
Those people had said he would reproduce countless insects, and in his memories during his madness, "reproduction" was indeed a major focus in his mind.
Could these obese, wriggling giant worms be—
Lin Xi looked at the worms in horror.
Oh, no.
His vision went a little black.
These disgusting things shouldn't be...
No, no... it's not...
Lin Xi desperately tried to dig into her hazy memories.
There were a few times when "Number One" couldn't suppress his instincts and obeyed "His" call.
But in the end, for some reason that Lin Xi still cannot understand, it gritted its teeth and ran away.
The worms hanging there now are hatched from the remaining eggs in that original egg case.
As for where he is now, he had actually seen it with his own eyes before.
That remote corridor that was teeming with countless mutated monsters.
Lin Xi struggled for a moment, then staggered to his feet and walked forward.
Sure enough, further away, "Lin Xi" saw countless humans encased in gelatinous vesicles—though perhaps "human" wouldn't be the most accurate word to describe them.
Those people who were already severely mutated have now turned into all sorts of hideous insects.
"..."
Lin Xi stopped in her tracks.
He stared blankly at everything in front of him, almost unable to breathe.
His spirit still clamored and stirred within his body.
These are all its retinue.
Lin Xi couldn't help but think.
But strangely, even at this point, he still seemed unable to accept it—something must have gone wrong.
Lin Xi couldn't help but think to herself.
Suddenly, a subtle sensation came from afar, as if an invisible hand had gently touched his nerves.
Lin Xi suddenly raised her head and looked up at the top of her head.
...
Dozens of meters above Lin Xi, there was a corridor that had been stained red with blood and monster slime.
Bryce and Elisa are struggling to escape.
The rustling sound that the giant insects made as they moved seemed to be right behind their heels.
Without turning his head, Bryce raised his arm and fired the gun directly from under his arm towards the damn things behind him.
Those things hardly looked like monsters mutated from humans anymore; they looked like native creatures of planet AS192—shriveled and withered bodies with dense, black and yellow insect legs, and hard, shiny reddish-brown heads like helmets, with countless jet-black eyeballs embedded in them.
Two long tentacles lashed back and forth on either side of its cheeks like whips, welcoming the distinct scent left behind by humans.
Their bite force is enormous (Bryce witnessed it bite through the rear engine cover of a car while fleeing for his life). The tentacles that swung around their heads were on either side of their mouthparts, and their sensitivity even surpassed that of mechanical dogs—Elisa and Bryce had planned to hide, but these damned things were able to find them directly.
The only thing that made Bryce feel slightly better was that the monster's carapace wasn't very thick; even with a lower-powered pulse gun, the insects' heads could be easily shattered into pieces.
But their numbers are as numerous as cockroaches in some people's kitchens, and they are almost ubiquitous.
"Damn it..."
Bryce and Elisa had been chased by these things for a long time and were almost exhausted.
To make matters worse, the energy level of the gun in Bryce's hand had also reached the lowest level.
"Elisa!"
Bryce glanced at the gun in his hand, which had already started emitting alarms, and then decisively threw it on the road.
"Crunch, crunch—"
Almost immediately, he heard the sound of the pulse gun being chewed to pieces in the mouths of those monsters.
"I'm out of bullets too—"
Without needing to say anything more, Elisa, who was beside him, also shouted.
As Bryce ran, he glanced at the woman beside him. Alyssa's face was unusually pale. Although she could still keep up with his pace, her steps were gradually becoming unsteady.
It's been over a week since I separated from Lin Xi...
After losing their personal terminals, Bryce and Elisa hid in the spaceship, which had no day or night cycle, and their ability to estimate time became very vague.
However, Elisa's neck wound still hadn't healed.
It could be due to an infection, or it could be due to prolonged overwork and hunger.
She has been having recurring fevers and has become so thin that she is almost unrecognizable.
"This can't go on, we need to think of something!"
"Bryce struggled to speak," he said.
Just then, the metal ceiling in front of him suddenly made a crisp sound.
Another hideous monster fell directly down from the pipe above their heads.
"Hiss..."
The screams that had become tiresome over time burst forth from the monster's deformed mouth.
"Found...Alyssa...Bryce..."
Then, Elisa and Bryce heard a human voice.
They then realized that the monster in front of them still vaguely resembled a human—a swollen human face piled up like a tumor above huge fangs, and its eyeballs had now become slender eye stalks, supporting dark pupils that swayed back and forth on either side of its cheeks.
A few days ago, Elisa and Bryce might have shuddered or felt disgusted by this guy's horrifying appearance.
But now, after countless chases and evasions, seeing it only brings them a surge of joy.
"We need to find that guy's wrist—his personal terminal might still be on him!"
Elisa roused herself and shouted.
They were both very lucky this time.
The half-human, half-insect monster that appeared before them was indeed wearing a personal terminal.
What were originally human arms have now turned into several thin, fleshy, whip-like tentacles, evenly distributed on both sides of the man's body.
The personal terminal, its surface already covered in slime, was located at the base of that cluster of flagella.
Bryce took a deep breath, exchanged a glance with Elisa, and then ran off to opposite sides of the monster.
Just as they had predicted, the monster, which had become noticeably more foolish and sluggish after the mutation, froze in place, its two eyes following the footsteps of Elisa and Bryce.
That's why it didn't have time to respond to the monsters that were following closely behind the two unfortunate humans.
Those centipede-like monsters immediately began to entangle with it.
Taking advantage of the opportunity, Bryce risked his life to rush over and tear his personal terminal off the monster.
However, it seems that he used up all his luck on this one move.
The next second, God stingily withdrew his mercy on Bryce—Bryce slid on the back of the half-human, half-insect monster and fell.
Hiss—
The grotesque, tumor-like face turned 180 degrees, its lifeless eyes staring straight at Bryce.
The next second, its chin pulled down to its neck (if that part could even be called a neck), and a thin but sharp mouthguard sprang out of its mouth—
“Bryce—”
Elisa let out a scream.
Anyone would have thought that Bryce was doomed this time.
The needle in that thing could easily pierce Bryce's skull and then suck his brain clean like sucking pudding.
but……
"Snap—"
It was accompanied by a crisp sound.
The half-human, half-insect monster had its head easily bitten off by another monster.
For a brief moment, the monster seemed to look at Bryce.
"Bryce, run!"
At that moment, Elisa rushed over, grabbed Bryce, and quickly abandoned the monster that had already obtained its prey, then ran wildly towards the other end of the corridor.
However, what struck her as somewhat strange was...
The monsters should have chased after them in time, but they suddenly stopped and stood far behind them.
Then came this precious respite.
In a panic, Elisa used the unfortunate human's personal terminal to open the nearest metal hatch, then stumbled and fell inside.
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