"Lin Xi, hiss... Lin Xi..."
It's clear that Xavier was extremely worried about Lin Xi's stiff limbs caused by her previous daydreaming.
Lin Xi lay there in the embrace of this terrifying insect, and he could even feel Xavier's body trembling slightly. That intense anxiety washed over him like a tidal wave through the secret spiritual connection between the two.
But the moment Lin Xi opened her eyes and met Xavier's gaze... Xavier suddenly tensed up and trembled. Its antennae tightened, and its wings stood erect behind it, displaying a wary black and red color.
For a moment, Lin Xi even felt that Xavier seemed to want to push him out and escape to the other end of the corridor.
Although he was very reluctant to admit it, Lin Xi still had to say that when he saw Xavier showing him such strong vigilance and panic, he still felt a slight pain in his heart.
"Number One?"
In a daze, he couldn't help but call out the name he had given to the little bug at the beginning.
Upon hearing this call, Xavier's wings fluttered. Then his sharp demeanor gradually softened.
"Lin, Lin Xi..." it called out with a hint of surprise and uncertainty.
Xavier is now unable to accurately describe the intense panic and strangeness he felt just moments ago—
Lin Xi's aura became extremely terrifying, a chilling and cruel aura that made Xavier somewhat unable to distinguish between "He" and Lin Xi.
Especially when Lin Xi opened her eyes just now...
Those were clearly "His" eyes.
Just meeting that gaze made Xavier feel as if his healed wounds were starting to ache again.
The fear that "He" brought to him became particularly vivid.
If, before this, Xavier still harbored an instinctive attachment to "He" as a different species...
So, after enjoying Lin Xi's pampering and tenderness, his feelings for "Him" seem to be transforming into something else.
Its love is irrevocably sliding towards that fragile being named Lin Xi.
To Xavier’s great delight, the person who finally came to his senses was Lin Xi (although there was still something strange about his aura).
"We need to get out of here, I need your help."
Lin Xi didn't care about Xavier's complex psychological shift in that short moment.
After a brief moment of dizziness, he remembered what he had seen earlier. He gasped for breath and struggled to his feet from the soft, gelatinous ground.
During this process, he discovered that his fingernails had pierced deeply into the gelatinous substance... and then into the hard metal ground. All the tiny insects that were darting in and out of the gaps in the gelatinous substance suddenly retreated into the deepest part of the substance as if startled after Lin Xi moved slightly.
Lin Xi turned her head and saw a metallic sheen on her exposed arm.
The soft skin that belongs to humans is being covered by a layer of hard chitin.
"..."
Then... even more strange sensations came over me.
Lin Xi then belatedly realized that he was not only observing his surroundings with his eyes: his skin, his hair, and even his sense of smell and hearing were all unconsciously observing the slightest movement around him.
He could even clearly feel how those tiny insects, no bigger than a fingernail, burrowed into the bottom layer of the gelatinous substance and then slipped through the gaps between the metal parts.
He could also sense the mechanical workings inside the Helios spacecraft.
Air and moisture flowing through the pipes...
This way of perceiving is the same as when he was pulled into another space before. The only difference is that this time he will no longer feel that everything is disintegrating and breaking down due to the excessive amount of information.
“...Alyssa and Bryce are in danger.”
Lin Xi silently withdrew her gaze from her arm.
In the past, he would probably have felt terrified or uneasy because of the strangeness in his body, but now, this change actually made him feel a little at ease.
He could feel himself becoming stronger... stronger than a monster.
This strength becomes even more useful when one's loved ones are in danger.
“Bryce and Elisa need us, we have to go and save them.”
Lin Xi murmured.
He then urged his body to walk out of the corridor.
He felt a little awkward as he moved, because for a few seconds, his body felt as if it didn't belong to him—something very heavy had been taken away, and now his body felt light and agile.
With each step, Lin Xi could clearly feel her toenails easily sinking into the metallic ground.
He seemed to be able to vaguely sense the world Xavier was experiencing—everything around him had become soft, and even the strongest metal parts were as fragile as cheese about to melt.
Lin Xi didn't even need to turn around to sense Xavier's presence. He seemed to hesitate for a moment, but immediately, his closest familiar walked forward and followed him.
...
Meanwhile, Lin Xi, who had gradually transformed into another kind of creature, and Xavier silently slipped into the darkness.
Another man whose body has undergone abnormal changes is also facing the most severe test of his life.
Taran Ida… a small-town youth who was once bullied, later a starship captain, a rising star, now curls up his swollen body, hiding in a small world behind the metal command console, praying incessantly.
"Great Star God, I pray to you, I offer myself to you, I offer you my fresh flesh and my very soul, I only beg for your mercy and favor..."
A hoarse, distorted voice continuously emanated from the depths of his throat. He had lost count of how many times he had prayed. This act of prayer was almost instinctive, but he was no longer able to fully immerse himself in prayer as before.
Taran's mind was in turmoil.
Even though he was trying his best to hypnotize himself, that undergoing a mental test was necessary before becoming such a great god... deep down, he already vaguely sensed that things were starting to get out of control.
The incense he used to control the monsters was almost gone, but Taran still had to increase the amount he used each day. He found it increasingly difficult to control the monsters; those damned, disgusting low-level monsters were becoming more and more unruly.
This put Taran in a vicious cycle. His temper became increasingly volatile, and when he found that his supposedly obedient servants were not following his orders, he would uncontrollably beat and bite them.
This wouldn't have been a problem before, because once those incense were used, even the most terrifying monsters were just a bunch of mindless puppets. But now, once Taran uses violence against them... they actually start trying to fight back...
Recalling the events of the past two days, Taran unconsciously reached out and pressed his shoulders and abdomen. There, deep wounds, exposing bone, were oozing a viscous fluid. He applied medicine, but judging from the current situation, the human-grade drugs didn't seem to be working. The wounds were from a previous accident, when he was frantically beating one of his familiars, a monster who had long since been completely transformed. In Taran's hazy memory, this person seemed to be his lieutenant or something? Even as a human, he had always appeared foolish and obsequious, and this repulsive personality didn't seem to have disappeared after his transformation into a monster.
That's why, when Taran discovered that even this creature was ignoring his orders, he couldn't help but scratch it. But who would have thought that such a dull, clumsy, and disgusting monster would suddenly retaliate from such a minor scratch?
Those enormous, beetle-like fangs nearly severed Taran's shoulder. Taran managed to dodge them, but deep wounds were still unavoidable on his shoulder and abdomen. The intense pain tormented him for the rest of the time.
Once you receive the favor of the stars and His love, all physical and mental torment will completely disappear.
With this belief, Taran continued to plead painfully with tears in his eyes.
In such a state of anxiety, when he first heard the call coming from his personal terminal, Taran even thought it was his own hallucination.
After all, since he transformed into his current divine body, almost no one has been able to contact him using this thing.
Regardless, the person trying to contact him was incredibly patient, relentlessly persisting in their attempts. The captain's personal terminal, buried beneath layers of clutter, rang for a very long time.
Finally, Taran wriggled his body and hesitantly and slowly pulled his personal terminal out from the bottom of the sticky, blood-covered human debris.
"Sith Lem?"
He then stared at the somewhat familiar name for a moment, lost in thought.
Then he slowly opened his personal terminal.
A pale, emaciated figure emerged from the miniature projection of the metal equipment.
Long-term malnutrition and sleep deprivation, coupled with an extremely poor mental state, made Sith look like a combination of a ghost and a starving corpse. He looked utterly wretched.
But for some reason, as Taran looked at that person who now retained a human form, a surge of resentment and hatred welled up in his chest.
"I remember you."
Taran stared intently at Sith's pale shadow, then let out a strange laugh.
"Xislim, right? What do you want to report to me today?"
Taran deliberately imitated the voice and words he used when he received the crew's mission report.
He then saw Sith Lem shiver on the projection, which made Taran laugh heartily.
"Captain Taran, I... I just wanted to talk to you."
Sis stammered.
"Let's talk?"
Even Taran himself didn't understand why he felt so angry after hearing those words.
"What right do you have to talk to me, you damned little brat?"
Taran raised his voice and then screamed.
Despite being separated by a communicator, Sith's face turned pale instantly at Taran's monstrous, hoarse screech. He nearly fell to the ground and it took him a long time to get up before he cautiously pointed his personal terminal at his side.
After seeing the image displayed on his personal terminal, Taran was startled. His eyes widened instantly, and his tiny, dark pupils rolled around several times on the surface of his bulging eyeballs before finally settling on Sith's pale face.
Then, he burst into a deafening, maniacal laugh from deep within his throat.
"By the Star God, what am I seeing? Isn't this my dear vice-captain? My beloved pretty boy lover? I thought they had become snacks for my clan, but I didn't expect them to still be alive."
In stark contrast to the cheerful voice was Taran's unusually cold gaze.
He stared intently at Sith and then whispered.
"...I thought these two bastards were your friends."
Sith's body trembled violently.
For a moment, he seemed about to cry, but upon closer inspection, his face showed only an almost numb blankness.
"I just want to go home... I just... I just want to go home..."
He kept muttering to himself.
It's hard to say whether his whispers were explaining something to Taran or if he was just talking to himself.
And a few hours later...
Sith walked tremblingly into the bridge where Taran was now located.
In the past, this was where Taran led his senior crew to operate the ship on important missions. But now, it's more like the nest of low-level inhabitants—almost all the lighting facilities have been destroyed, and most of them have developed a fear of bright light after transforming into insect-like monsters.
The intense, almost suffocating aroma of incense filled the air, further reducing visibility.
Blood, the fluid from rotting corpses, and the monster's unique secretions made the once-smooth and bright metal floor and walls look wet, with some terrible rust spots caused by highly corrosive liquids on the metal plates.
The monsters that inhabit this place have mostly transformed into those deformed insects; they all look ferocious, with empty and cold eyes.
Only in very subtle places can one barely discern any traces of a person who once lived there.
The moment the Sith—this warm, living human—stepped onto the bridge, all the monsters became restless.
Their emotionless eyes all turned to Sith, the sounds of their elytra rubbing together and the chirping of insects rising and falling in unison—
Sith staggered and nearly fell to the ground.
"Quiet--"
Taran crawled precariously in front of the main control panel, letting out a long, sharp screech as the monsters were about to go out of control.
The monsters were stunned for a moment by the strong incense, and Sith was finally able to stand in front of Taran unharmed.
By this time, he was terrified.
He kept muttering "I want to go home..." as if only in this way could he avoid completely going crazy in front of Taran.
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