Taran stared blankly at the Star God.
Xavier gave him no time to think. The blue in his eyes gradually faded, and his original red compound eyes emerged from his handsome face.
It stared intently at Taran, exerting an immense, indescribable pressure—
"Star map".
Xavier repeated the sentence.
Taran felt a surge of fear at its command; the desire to submit and unconditionally obey was purely instinctive.
Not to mention, the patterns flashing on the wings behind the Star God made Taran feel dizzy...
"I need a star map leading to Earth, and all your access to this place."
Xavier drew out his words with a slightly mysterious tone, repeating each word Lin Xi had said to him earlier.
Lin Xi was right behind it. To conceal his presence, he had to press his face against Xavier's back. Xavier's wings were tightly covering his body. Lin Xi had assumed that Xavier's wings were like those of insects on Earth, with a thin and light texture.
What he didn't expect was that the underside of Xavier's wings, near the base, was actually covered with a network of pale blue blood vessels. It felt fleshy to the touch and was still warm. When the wings covered Lin Xi's back tightly, it felt like someone was embracing him.
Xavier's aura became exceptionally pronounced at this moment, rich, thick, and intensely fragrant, almost tangible, filling Lin Xi's nostrils. This was perfectly normal, as its scent-producing organs were located directly beneath its wings, and with Lin Xi pressed against it, the two bristle-covered scent-producing organs were swaying uncontrollably beneath Lin Xi's ribs.
If Lin Xi hadn't transformed into a monster, he probably would have found such a strong body odor disgusting. However, Xavier was different; the fragrance emanating from him naturally made Lin Xi feel dizzy, relaxed, and pleasant.
Lin Xi still remembers that when she first came up with this idea, she felt particularly uncomfortable because of those two hair fragrance generators.
"...You'd better take this thing back."
Lin Xi remembered saying the same thing to Xavier, but at his request, the huge and ferocious alien monster with extremely high combat power couldn't shrink its hair fragrance device back into its body even though its face turned red.
"Yes, I'm sorry, I... I can't do it."
Xavier almost choked up.
Lin Xi eventually had to accept reality. After all, according to common sense, only in very intimate circumstances would someone like him directly reside on the back of a King Insect.
Lin Xi quietly recalled the events that had occurred between him and Xavier before he set off. In reality, Xavier's voice echoed in his ears, giving him a strange sense of disorientation.
Once she shed her docile demeanor in his presence, Xavier seemed to transform into a completely different person.
A powerful, mysterious, cold, and cruel god.
That didn't seem like a disguise; it was more like Xavier's true nature. Lin Xi found it almost impossible to reconcile this Xavier with the docile, obedient, childlike, clumsy, and innocent alien monster before her.
Just as he was thinking this, he heard Taran's voice, filled with fanatical obsession.
“Right…yes…that’s a star map leading to Earth. There are many humans on that planet; they are perfect incubators and food…I understand what you mean…is it because of me? Because that was once my homeland, and you want to use that wretched and barren blue planet as the first stop for your expansion…”
Taran murmured, the anxiety of the past few days finally dissipating in that instant. But precisely because of this, although deep down he vaguely sensed that something was amiss, he subconsciously ignored it...
He was convincing himself in a foolish way, and then finding the perfect excuse for the magnificent and beautiful "star god" before him.
Immediately afterwards, he scrambled over to Sith's side, snatched the old motherboard from Sith's blood-soaked hands, and placed it in his own palm.
Everything the Sith had desperately sought but could not obtain was accomplished so easily—
Taran pressed a few buttons on his personal terminal, then returned to the slime-covered console (which was still running), and somewhat laboriously typed a long string of commands with his mutated claws.
"Buzz..."
In the primitive human auditory system, the faint sound and slight vibration are nothing, but to them at this moment, every sound is deafening.
If we had to use an analogy, the Apollo was like a dying whale that suddenly shook its body at the last moment and then made a heavy leap on the surface of the water.
Beneath layers of metal plates, composite material panels, insulation layers, and heat insulation layers, various machines built three hundred years ago and continuously added over the long years began to operate rapidly. Commands were broken down into countless pieces of information and transmitted through a dense information network to every tiny component throughout the spaceship.
Next, the old motherboard was inserted into the console reader.
As Taran typed the order...
The bridge lights suddenly dimmed further. A giant 3D navigation chart was projected directly from the control panel's projection port.
Disturbed by the light, the swarm of insects, which had already been hiding in fear, rustled and retreated further into the shadows.
At that moment, the bridge seemed to briefly return to its original state.
Those pale blue dots and dotted lines flickered on their own above the bridge.
Among the countless stars marked as tiny dots of light, one planet was highlighted and magnified.
Without even looking at the numbers and text next to the image of the planet, everyone present (except Xavier) could tell that it was the place they had come from, their homeland, the place they thought they would never be able to return to.
That's where Earth is located.
Even Talan, who had always expressed deep hatred for humanity and the Earth, was slightly taken aback when he saw the slowly rotating three-dimensional Earth.
A trace of human emotion appeared on his face, which had completely transformed into an insect; it was hard to say whether it was melancholy or bewilderment…
But this trace of humanity in him quickly vanished. After a brief moment of stunned silence and fleeting sadness, neurotic fanaticism and madness once again filled his body.
"I give you everything."
Taran said.
Unbeknownst to everyone, the instant Taran removed the star map from the motherboard as instructed by Xavier, something trembled slightly inside the Providence spacecraft, still hidden at the bottom of a dark, gloomy cave, leaning precariously on a platform, more than ten kilometers away.
Two colossal monsters, startled by the tremor, warily raised their bodies. These were giants, resembling centipedes but thousands of times larger. Their jet-black bodies were covered in hard carapaces, and strings of tiny eyes adorned every segment of their sides. Their thousands of slender legs were covered in needle-like hairs, granting them exceptional mobility and heightened awareness of their surroundings. Even in complete darkness, they could clearly perceive their environment. Their formidable defense and mobility, defying the laws of nature, made them the apex predators inhabiting this flying machine.
They rarely encounter formidable enemies, and they were once the precursors of humankind... those ancestors who truly faced fear itself have long since turned into light, floating insect shells over the course of three hundred years.
So they didn't take any precautions against the vibrations; in fact, they were quite interested and meandered towards the source of the vibrations.
They soon arrived at a warehouse at the bottom of the spacecraft. If they could read, they would have seen the words "Interstellar Agricultural Machinery Storage Warehouse No. 14" on the warehouse door.
Right next to the doorplate is a sign indicating "Level A Alert Level".
This indicates that the security level of this warehouse even exceeds that of the armory and medicine warehouse.
Anyone with even a slight understanding of how a spaceship works would realize that something is wrong with this warehouse, but these monsters are clearly not that kind of creature, so they simply and casually tore open the fragile metal door with their overly sharp claws.
Here they saw many layers of black machinery stacked together. Three hundred years ago, the warehouse receipts for these machines were labeled "agricultural machinery." However, it was clear that their semi-circular metal heads and seemingly soft, thin metal tentacles hanging down like seaweed indicated that they were not suitable for use as agricultural machinery.
Of course, this statement isn't entirely accurate, since these machines do appear quite agile, and their incredibly sharp metal tentacles, equipped with ion cutters, are perfectly suited for cutting crops... or other things.
And now these strange-looking black metals are emitting a faint blue glow.
"Snap—"
"Snap—"
Accompanied by countless crisp sounds, the machines gently swayed their seemingly soft metal tentacles, while the restraints that were firmly bound to their bodies were easily cut into pieces and fell crisply to the ground.
One point, two points, three points...
Inside the spacious and towering giant machinery storage warehouse, blue lights gradually illuminated above the stacked shelves.
"Hiss..."
An instinctive premonition of danger caused the larger of the alien species to hiss defiantly at the black metal monsters. For 300 years, every alien species on the ship had understood the danger hidden behind that hiss.
At the same time, its innate cunning made this alien species subconsciously retreat slowly back the way it came, while simultaneously displaying its power.
Its movements were so light and agile that it was hard to imagine that such a massive monster could do them.
However, survival strategies that had worked in the past were completely useless against these metallic monsters that gleamed with an eerie blue light.
"Da da..."
The metal monster closest to the alien species landed lightly on the ground with a barely audible thud. Its movements were incredibly nimble…
It looks like a jellyfish slowly moving in the cold sea water.
But all the elegance and slowness is just "appearances".
These machines are anything but slow, and their killing of other creatures is anything but elegant.
Before the alien could even react to what was happening, he heard his companion let out a scream of extreme pain.
It suddenly raised its elytra, which had already been extended, towards the monsters, and then revealed its terrifying insect limbs and eyes. Those black metal monsters... or more accurately, the Ghost model mechanical warriors produced by Del Corporation, easily sliced the monsters with their hard shells into equal pieces with just a wave of their metal tentacles. Because of the ion blades attached to the metal tentacles, the cuts were so smooth that not even a drop of blood had time to seep out.
The alien species' overly tenacious vitality forced it to remain conscious. Faced with the cutting of its body, it couldn't help but scream in agony. Upon hearing the scream, its companions almost without hesitation rushed out of the warehouse.
This mutant's movements could be described as lightning fast, but no matter how fast it was, it was never faster than the Ghost Mechanical Warrior.
The mutant could feel its head swiftly disappear into the corridor, but only its head. The pain came in the next second, and it was then that the mutant realized it had been sliced open just like its companion.
The same scene seemed to be repeated: the severed head rolled several times on the metal floor, and dark blood dripped onto the metal floor, making a sizzling sound as it corroded the metal.
The alien creature emitted a continuous hissing sound from its throat, an instinctive warning to the rest of its kind that a danger it could not face had appeared.
Run!
Run!
The ancient warning traveled on along with its screech.
But soon the alien could also sense a familiar sound coming from another layer of the metal deck beneath its head.
The metallic dripping sound and the wet, dripping sounds of a body being cut open were accompanied by the screams of another species, also from the extreme pain of a near-death experience.
Countless mechanical monsters were nimbly gliding over the alien's body and heading in a certain direction.
How elegant and slow their movements were, as light as smoke, jellyfish, or... ghosts.
Every eye on the alien creature could clearly see them, densely packed, crawling out of the warehouse one by one in an orderly fashion. The strange creatures were everywhere—on the floor, the walls, and the ceiling—and the specks of blue light permeated the entire world.
Without any hesitation, they were climbing out of the aircraft.
As they passed the wreckage, several mechanical warriors suddenly noticed the alien creature on the ground.
A mechanical warrior stopped beside the alien's corpse, even somewhat comically bending down to look at it. Its disc-shaped metal head clicked twice in front of the alien, allowing the alien to clearly see the display screen inside.
It can't understand it, but...
There was actually only one line of simple text there...
(Target detected) -
(Target infection level 100%)
(Strategy adopted: physical elimination)
Immediately afterwards, the soft tentacles suddenly shot out.
The alien's head split open... At that moment, his consciousness finally vanished.
Inside the bridge of the Helios, Taran experienced the most beautiful ecstasy of his life, but also faced the end of his life.
But there were no warnings before that moment arrived.
Taran removed his personal terminal, erased all his biometric information, and then handed the terminal that granted him full control over the ship directly to Xavier.
"very good."
Taran was so excited that he heard the Star God's approving voice, which gave him great confidence and courage, and he grabbed the Star God's drooping wings.
He buried his head deeply and then kissed the sacred wings of the Star God.
The next second—
He felt a sharp pain in his throat, and then his head flew high into the air.
He witnessed with his own eyes how his beloved Star God slowly retracted its sharp forepaws back to its chest, the claws still bearing traces of crimson blood.
It wasn't until this point that he realized his body had been cut into pieces.
"Why……"
Taran stared at the god who had killed him with his own hands... and asked incredulously.
And these were his last words in this world. After all, he didn't possess the terrifying vitality of the mutants, capable of retaining such a strong consciousness even after his head was shattered. Similarly, neither Xavier nor Lin Xi had the inclination to pay him any attention.
Lin Xi jumped down from Xavier's back, skimming over Taran's corpse before running swiftly towards Sith in the distance. Sith was pale and weak, seemingly only seconds away from joining Taran in death.
"Damn it... don't do this..."
Lin Xi knelt beside Sith, checked Sith's condition, and his expression immediately turned extremely ugly.
"Someone help me! This guy's dying!"
Lin Xi turned around and shouted towards the outside of the bridge.
When he turned around, he couldn't help himself, grabbed Sith by the collar and slapped him hard across the face.
"You better fucking hold on!"
Lin Xi coldly roared at Sith.
He quickly checked behind Sith's ear, and upon seeing the external chip that aided in computation, a look of understanding appeared in Lin Xi's eyes.
"You can't fucking die before we get our trip back to Earth sorted out... Hey, listen, even if it turns you into a monster, I'll bring you back to life to work for me!"
Seeing that Sith didn't react, Lin Xi couldn't help but raise his voice. Perhaps because his threat was too terrifying, as soon as he finished speaking, Sith, who was lying on the ground on the verge of death, actually struggled and moved his lips slightly.
“Back to Earth…” he murmured, repeating the phrase over and over.
A tear slowly rolled down his tightly closed eyes.
It was at this moment that Bryce rushed to Lin Xi's side and knelt down next to Sith, just like Lin Xi. Then he took out a syringe and injected it directly into Sith's chest. After that, what came out of his pocket were hemostatic foam and a very small medical device.
After a series of complex procedures, Sith's almost ashen complexion warmed up slightly, and under the influence of a large dose of adrenaline, he actually recovered from that terrible condition.
Although he was still completely unable to move, his consciousness had returned. Sith opened his eyes and stared blankly at the side beside him, hardly believing his eyes.
"Have I finally arrived in hell?" Sith cried out in anguish. "Oh, Elisa, Bryce, I thought you two would at least go to heaven... Doesn't God care about this?"
“You’ll be going to hell eventually,” Bryce muttered, his face ashen as he glared at Sith. “But now’s not the time. You’re still alive, isn’t that a shame?”
Bryce said in an exceptionally rude tone.
“I…I remember, I clearly put you in the storage room…”
But now these two people appeared before him like divine intervention, and Bryce even saved his life. Thinking about what he had done before, Sith looked like he wanted to faint again.
As for why Elisa and Bryce were able to appear here, it was of course related to Lin Xi.
It should be said that they thanked Linxi for his mutation—after realizing that Alyssa and Bryce were in danger, all the insects on the ship transformed into Linxi's eyes. He found his brother and Alyssa in the storeroom with almost no effort.
Upon hearing that Elisa and Bryce had been rescued, Sith began to weep. "I'm sorry, I'm so so sorry... I... I don't understand why I did it, maybe it was because I wanted to go home so badly..."
"Please, shut up. I had no idea you were such an annoying person."
Lin Xi felt furious as soon as he heard Sith's apology, and he couldn't help but say coldly.
What's the deal with your external chip?
Lin Xi crossed his arms and stared coldly at Sith before asking a question. In that instant, Sith felt as if he were being stared at by a venomous snake. He was so frightened that he even began to stutter.
Author's Note:
Xavier, his fur standing on end after Taran kissed his wing, was in a state of agitation.
I'm... dirty...
It said.
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