"chip?"
Sith paused for a moment, then reached up and touched behind his ear.
He vaguely remembered the searing pain he had felt not long ago, but that pain had subsided. However, he could still feel the burning heat and swelling on the skin around the chip, as if there was some inflammation.
Sith didn't understand why the topic had suddenly shifted to the chip behind his ear, but considering his previous actions, he felt extremely guilty in front of Lin Xi and the other two, so he simply answered honestly:
"...The human brain's processing power is too weak. Under normal circumstances, almost everyone in our line of work has such a device implanted in their body. Some people even have more specialized chips implanted directly in their skulls, but my mother said that putting something in one's brain is not a good idea."
"Don't even think about taking shortcuts, you little bastard. Three hundred years ago, those people did the same thing. God gave them perfect bodies, but some of them ignored God's gift and recklessly modified their bodies, turning themselves into... you know... cybernetic beings... you know what those things are. They simply installed a whole set of intelligent systems in their bodies, naively thinking that this would make them a more perfect new species. But think about what happened to them, it's terrifying... that's God's warning to those arrogant fools."
Even now, Sith remembers how his mother argued and cried, begging him to give up on the intracranial chip implantation. He eventually had to give in, even though he genuinely felt his mother had just watched too many horror movies about the Age of Exploration. Of course, the more important reason was that Sith couldn't afford the exorbitant cost of the intracranial chip implantation surgery. (Although in the end, he secretly had an external chip implanted on himself, keeping it a secret from the old woman).
"My chip is a second-hand one... so it's not always very sensitive..."
Sith said cautiously, shrinking his neck.
He was still very weak; the massive blood loss and the fear and torment he had endured made him wish he could just faint.
However, when facing Lin Xi, he didn't even dare to faint.
In fact... Sith was almost scared to death in front of Lin Xi. He didn't understand what was happening. His former friend was still in human form, but the strange aura emanating from him made Sith feel numb from head to toe.
"You should be grateful that this thing is second-hand, otherwise you would already be dead by now, and that three-hundred-year-old ghost would take advantage of the situation and turn you into a walking corpse."
Lin Xi said coldly.
He wasn't trying to comfort Sith or excuse what the man had done before.
He and Xavier had already infiltrated the bridge while Sith was talking to Taran. Naturally, he hadn't missed the vicious seductions uttered by Sith... Lin Xi was certain that those weren't words Sith would say; this man had once been his friend.
When faced with unexpected events, Sith may find it difficult to be a hero or a good person, but he is not a completely evil person either. At least in Lin Xi's opinion, if he were a normal Sith, he would never do something like betraying Elisa and Bryce to Taran.
Moreover, Lin Xi was familiar with the ancient way Sith spoke to Taran; after all, he had heard the same words in several other people's bodies. That damned Scripps was influencing Sith's mind through an external chip.
Lin Xi can be very certain of this.
And it was precisely because of this that even though Sith had already done that, he and Bryce were still willing to reach out and forcibly pull the man back from the brink of death.
"However, just in case, I still have to take some precautions for you."
Lin Xi hastily explained the connection between the chip implanted in the human body and the ghost captain Scripps from three hundred years ago, and then he spoke to Sith.
"Preventive measures refer to...?"
Sith hadn't even recovered from the explosive news he had just received when he heard this sentence. He swallowed hard and suddenly had a bad feeling.
And the next second, his premonition came true.
Lin Xi suddenly moved closer to him, and before Sith could even react, he felt Lin Xi's cold fingers forcefully gripping his chin.
Was he mistaken? Why did he see it with his own eyes? Lin Xi's fingers had grown curved nails.
In his fear and despair, Sith thought.
He then felt a sharp pain behind his ear…
The jet-black nails that grew from Lin Xi's fingertips easily scratched his skin.
Without hesitation, Lin Xi pulled out the external chip from Sith's neck. Although there were still many wires connecting Sith's nerves and blood vessels at this moment, Lin Xi didn't care about them at all.
Sith immediately screamed in pain.
A large amount of blood gushed out, and with the blood-soaked external chip on Lin Xi's fingertip, the scene looked like the filming location of some second-rate horror movie.
"Oh my God."
Ellie immediately noticed the white and red, soft things that looked like blood vessels and plastic tubing connected to the chip on Lin Xi's fingertip. She suddenly covered her mouth and let out a groan.
Even Bryce, a man who had previously hated Sith with a passion, showed a hint of pity on his face after seeing Sith writhing on the ground in pain and screaming until his throat became hoarse.
He remained silent for a moment, then rushed over and applied hemostatic foam to Sith while also giving him an injection of painkiller.
That's Bryce for you; his gentleness is always so subtle.
Lin Xi glanced at Bryce's movements out of the corner of her eye and thought calmly to herself.
This is completely different from him.
Lin Xi knew she was doing it on purpose.
If he wanted, he could remove the chip from Sith in a lighter and less painful way, but he was not keen on doing so.
Even though a part of him still cherished his past friendship with the Sith, the rest... those mutated parts, had become exceptionally cold and ruthless.
In fact, it seems that apart from Bryce Elisa, no one else can touch the human part of his emotions anymore.
Perhaps this is what it feels like to become an outsider.
Lin Xi thought to herself.
"Lin Xi..."
Someone gently touched his arm.
Lin Xi turned around and was not surprised to find that it was Xavier who was guarding her side.
The eyes that were gazing at him had changed from their original red compound eyes to a bright and gentle blue.
Lin Xi was momentarily stunned—if it were Xavier, red would seem more suitable.
The thought flashed through his mind.
Upon seeing Xavier's worried expression, Lin Xi knew that the subtle change in her mood had once again escaped the keen perception of this alien insect.
"Don't be sad."
Xavier spoke softly to Lin Xi.
However, while comforting Lin Xi and telling her not to be sad, Xavier himself also looked depressed and melancholy. More importantly, Xavier hadn't yet learned to hide his emotions, making his sadness even more obvious to Lin Xi.
Xavier was still clutching the tip of his wing with one hand. The wing was now gray, without any markings or color, and his tentacles were drooping limply behind his head.
Lin Xi couldn't help but take another look at its wings, and then she noticed a small tear there.
That was the part that Xavier hadn't realized Taran had touched before.
Because he loathed the ugly and deformed member of the clan so much, Savile nervously tore off the small piece of his wing that Taran had stuck to it while Linxi wasn't looking.
But it soon discovered that its torn wings looked even uglier than before—a devastating blow to an insect that cherished its wings so much.
In an instant, Xavier's mood plummeted to its lowest point, but even so, he still tried his best to force a smile and comfort Lin Xi.
For some reason, it was this silly Xavier that suddenly softened Lin Xi's heart.
"I'm fine."
He spoke softly to Xavier, then paused and added, "Your wings will grow back."
He ignored Xavier's eyes, which suddenly became incredibly bright in the next second, and turned to look at Bryce and Sith.
After receiving Bryce's second treatment, Sith's neck was covered in hemostatic foam, and his face was so pale that he looked like he could kick the bucket at any moment.
However, Lin Xi had no intention of showing mercy to the woman. He stepped forward, nudged Sis, and then said.
"Let's go. We need to hurry."
"Where are you going?"
Sith now experiences a conditioned reflex of neck pain whenever he sees Lin Xi. He struggled to get up and then asked tremblingly.
Lin Xi stood still, his gaze sweeping over his surroundings.
Taran's body still lay on the ground, surrounded by insects eager for fresh meat. A foul and dizzying odor lingered in the air, but it was gradually fading.
However, perhaps because of the presence of Lin Xi and Xavier, even though the alien species couldn't help but stick out their mouthparts and occasionally rub their wings to make a small chirping sound, none of them dared to make the first move.
"Go to the lifeboats."
Lin Xi withdrew his gaze from the "docile" aliens on the bridge and then spoke.
"...Don't you want to go home? Well, now's the time to go home."
He glanced at the star map that was still slowly rotating above everyone, his gaze lingering on the dazzling floating icon of "Earth," his expression strange.
"..."
Sith stared wide-eyed in disbelief, as if he had just woken up from a dream.
Seeing Sith suddenly freeze after hearing his words, Lin Xi couldn't help but frown. He felt a little anxious, and his tone became increasingly harsh.
"Don't tell me that the plan you told Rice and the others before was also fake."
Lin Xi asked with unusual coldness.
“No, of course not. I’ve gone through that plan countless times,” Sith said quickly, clutching his neck. “I just didn’t think we could really go back… Oh, right, yes, we can go back. We’ve got the star map, and Taran has unlocked all the permissions.”
Sith said in a daze, and Lin Xi rubbed her temples, then gave Bryce and Elisa a look.
"Alright, we need to get moving. Theory is one thing, but in practice, there are still a lot of difficulties getting us home. Besides, we can only rely on ourselves now; all our reliable crew members are gone..."
Elisa spoke first, and when she said the last sentence, she looked around with a hint of regret.
Her former colleagues have now turned into bizarre insect monsters, and they're drooling over her.
"Actually, the overall operation isn't very difficult—"
Upon hearing Elisa's voice, Sith immediately tensed up. He hurriedly began to explain his plan, but this time his plan was far more frank and manipulative than before.
During this time, Lin Xi had already turned around and walked towards the door. Bryce looked at Alyssa, then at Lin Xi, and finally chose to follow her... However, Lin Xi's pace was too fast, and he almost couldn't keep up with her.
"Lin Xi, is there a problem?"
Bryce ran a short distance, panting, before finally reaching Lin Xi's side. He asked in a low voice.
As Lin Xi's older brother, he certainly didn't overlook the obvious impatience in Lin Xi.
Lin Xi simply looked at Bryce and pursed her lips.
How could he tell the man in front of him about the doubts he harbored?
Just before, he was pulled into that mysterious situation by some strange force. He directly heard a "monster" make a promise to the Sith in his spiritual form: once this motherboard is turned on, it is very likely to attract those ghost killing machines, which are hunting down all alien species.
If he hadn't remembered the taste of those vaccines he swallowed as a child, he probably wouldn't be as panicked and agitated as he is now, but...
The familiar, distinctly milky taste of the oral vaccine made Lin Xiwan unable to calm down: perhaps the entire human race on Earth had been gradually infected with the thing that drove the Sulu people mad many years ago.
“I don’t know how to tell you this, I have no evidence… but, Bryce, I have a very bad feeling, my gut tells me that if we want to get out of this damn place, we have to move faster, and then faster.”
It's best to get everything sorted out before those damned Del Corporation killing machines arrive.
Lin Xi hesitated for a moment, then did not mention those terrifying robots to Bryce.
Fortunately, he and Bryce had a tacit understanding.
Although he knew that Lin Xi had many unspoken secrets, Bryce didn't ask any more questions. He quickly turned around and returned to Elisa's side.
At this moment, Elisa is trying her best to support Sith, who can't even walk.
But all three of them were actually very weak, and they moved very slowly. After taking a few steps, Lin Xi had to stop. He sighed deeply, then turned his head and looked at Xavier beside him.
“I’m sorry, but I think… I might need your help,” he said to Xavier.
"OK!"
Xavier, who had been feeling down because of the cut on his wing, instantly lost his dejected look.
Upon hearing Lin Xi's command, Xavier seemed to come back to life suddenly. Its tentacles stood up on the back of its head and swayed like a puppy.
Lin Xi unconsciously rubbed his fingertips. Just now, he suddenly had a strange urge to reach out and gently rub Xavier's head.
Fortunately, at the last moment, he quickly dismissed this strange idea from his mind.
In fact, Lin Xi's original intention was only to have Xavier help take Sith along for a while, since the guy looked like he was about to die after being injured twice in a row.
But to Lin Xi's surprise, Xavier was a little too eager when faced with his orders—before Lin Xi could even react, he saw Xavier forcefully grab Sith and Bryce by the collar, then pull them straight up from the ground and hold them in his hands.
Faced with Xavier's sudden action, Sith let out another miserable scream.
Even Bryce looked like he wanted to scream, but since Sith was already screaming so badly, Lin Xi's brother could only purse his lips tightly and force himself to remain calm.
As for Elisa...
Elisa smiled and waved at the little bug before Xavier extended his sharp, barbed limbs at her.
"Oh, thank you, but no need, I can walk by myself."
Elisa said quickly.
"Actually, I can do it myself..."
"Blaz said, his face pale."
If the situation weren't so urgent, Lin Xi would probably have let his brother choose a better mode of transportation. But now, he was becoming increasingly anxious.
Tiny, fearful, and desperate emotions, like specks of light, suddenly surged into his heart.
This feeling was actually somewhat familiar. Lin Xi had a similar feeling the last time Elisa disregarded everyone's objections and opened the Covenant Shield, causing the swarm to be instantly annihilated.
And now that feeling is back again.
"We can't afford to waste any more time, let's go."
Ignoring Bryce's grumbling, Lin Xi quickly walked to the other side of the corridor.
Xavier looked at him for a while, then fluttered its wings behind it. It was already prepared to let Lin Xi sit on its back again.
Now that Lin Xi has left, Xavier feels a sense of emptiness.
Even so, it dutifully held onto its two bundles and quickly followed Lin Xi forward.
The lifeboats were located in the lowest compartment of the Helios. Moreover, the internal structure of the Helios had been modified many times over 300 years, and there was a complicated path to take to reach the lowest compartment.
Lin Xi walked at the front of the group. He moved quickly. Although he looked exactly like a human, anyone could tell he was "inhuman" when he moved.
His steps and movements were indescribably light, as fast as a ghost.
In the end, even Elisa had to bite the bullet and accept Xavier's help. She was pulled by one of its insect limbs and had to sway unsteadily behind Lin Xi.
Without doing so, it would be virtually impossible for the three humans to keep up with Lin Xi's pace.
They hadn't gone far when they heard rustling sounds coming from behind them.
"Oh my God..."
As Sith watched the monsters gradually closing in on him, he couldn't help but scream again.
"God, Sith, please shut up and release some of your stamina, okay?"
Bryce, who was next to him, groaned in pain.
"But... didn't you see them? Those bugs, oh my god, why are they following us? Are they trying to eat us? Do we have any weapons left?"
Sith was so nervous that he started rambling on and on.
Bryce certainly saw the insects.
In fact, when Lin Xi found them with that terrifying alien monster, he too had suffered from the same sight and mental torment.
He only felt a little relieved after he saw with his own eyes how Lin Xi interacted with those insects.
"Get out of here."
Lin Xi muttered impatiently at the insects.
As soon as he finished speaking, the dense swarm of insects immediately bowed their heads and made way for each other.
They moved quickly, especially when all the insects gave way.
The only minor incident occurred when they passed a viewing window, and Lin Xi suddenly stopped and looked out the window.
"Lin Xi?"
Xavier stopped immediately afterward.
Bryce looked at Lin Xi with a strange expression, a peculiar look appearing on her usually expressionless face.
They followed Lin Xi's gaze to the window, and the next second he understood why Lin Xi was behaving so strangely.
They saw insects.
The insects swarmed together, looking more like a mass of black polymer.
At this very moment, these insects were gathered not far from the Apollo, their tiny bodies constantly surging, rolling, and entangled on the surface of something.
Between those dark, tiny bodies, soft, elastic black arcs of light would occasionally flash—those were several constantly waving metal tentacles.
Each time they wave, a gap is created in the middle of the swarm, and the small insects that have gathered together are directly decomposed into gray smoke by the ion generator on the metal tentacles.
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