The air was thick with tension.
The swarm of insects and the group of mechanical warriors produced by Del Corporation appeared to be locked in a stalemate.
The mechanical warriors' metal tentacles looked sharp and powerful, but against the freely swarming and dispersing insects, this method of attack was somewhat inefficient.
However, Lin Xike was not so optimistic. Thanks to his unusually keen senses, he could clearly see that the swarm of insects gathered near those metal tentacles was gradually thinning again.
When Lin Xi and his group first arrived at the observation window, the swarm of insects appeared almost completely black. But now they could clearly see how the tough, powerful, and exceptionally sharp metal tentacles were connected to the semi-circular mechanical head—even the Del Corporation logo and the huge "as" next to it were very conspicuous.
A faint blue light adorned the discs of metal, flashing rhythmically incessantly.
They slowly waved their tentacles, each wave causing the death of tens of thousands of tiny flying insects.
Lin Xi pursed his lips tightly. Even from a distance, the sight of the mechanical warriors coming back to life sent shivers down his spine.
It was an almost instinctive vigilance—
It was as if his genes themselves were reminding him that those blue-glowing things were tricky and would cause a lot of trouble.
He even felt a sense of madness because of this. He believed that his mind must have affected Xavier as well. Its gaze was fixed on the mechanical warriors surrounded by the swarm of insects. Its eyes turned bright red without its knowledge. Sharp fangs slowly emerged from its mouth. Of course, the most striking feature was Xavier's wings. Lin Xi glanced at Xavier's wings, and the wing that was missing a small piece was now an unprecedented scarlet red.
"It's ghosts!" Sith exclaimed first upon seeing the metal monsters. "Oh my god, that guy wasn't lying to me. They really came to life. They'll kill all the aliens and monsters on command..."
Sith's voice abruptly stopped mid-sentence. He suddenly realized that he was being held in the hand of a monster...
He flinched, then looked nervously at Lin Xi. Sure enough, Lin Xi's expression was cold and stern, as if shrouded in a thick layer of ice.
"Let's go."
Lin Xi turned her gaze away from the window and then continued to lead Xavier briskly toward the lifeboat.
"sorry……"
"That's what Sis said in a dry, stilted voice."
"Del Corporation's technology is very advanced; perhaps those 'ghosts' can identify monsters that are friendly to humans..."
Lin Xi gave him a cold look.
Sith immediately shut his mouth.
But at this moment, not everyone can remain calm.
"Wait, you mean those machine monsters were all after the monsters on the ship?!"
Bryce raised his voice and asked in alarm.
"Is that why you're in such a hurry?" He didn't wait for anyone else to answer before urgently pressing for answers. "Damn it, what's going on? Why are those 300-year-old relics still moving, and why are they attacking people indiscriminately?"
"No, they will only exterminate the alien species."
Lin Xi shrugged at Bryce and said calmly, still not stopping even at this moment.
"It's nothing serious. Those mechanical warriors were programmed three hundred years ago with the command to exterminate all alien species..."
Lin Xi hastily relayed the connection between those mechanical warriors and the motherboard to Bryce and Elisa.
As he spoke, Sith gave him several strange looks, as if he was very surprised that he knew so much detail.
But Lin Xiwan had no mind to explain anything. He was somewhat upset, partly because of the mechanical soldiers, and partly because of Bryce and Elisa.
The two men's expressions were exceptionally grave. Lin Xi didn't even need to hear them speak to know what they were worried about—
After all, Lin Xi can now be considered one of the monsters to some extent.
Having witnessed his interactions with Xavier and how he subjugated those terrifying monsters, no one can deny this.
"Damn it, can't we use the motherboard to regain control of those mechanical warriors?"
Bryce asked somewhat flusteredly, and Lin Xi could hear the panic and anxiety in his voice.
"No, that won't work. That's a very high-priority command. We can only succeed if we completely destroy the console and shut down all command sources—"
Siss answered Bryce's question hesitantly.
"That means we have to completely destroy the Apollo."
If that were the case, the lifeboat would be completely unusable, and their hopes of returning to Earth would be shattered in an instant.
Sith didn't say the last sentence aloud, but everyone present knew what destroying the control panel meant.
The scene suddenly became quiet and oppressive, with only the light footsteps of Lin Xi and the scraping sound of Xavier's insect limbs on the metal floor.
"but--"
Bryce was still somewhat unwilling to give up.
“Bryce…”
The person who interrupted Bryce was Elisa, whose expression was very tense.
Then she pointed to the corridor not far in front of her.
"I remember you said that Shizuo Ando had become a vegetable—"
She said.
“Yes, that’s right, he is now…” Bryce’s voice lowered, and he looked at himself with suspicion, “…still in solitary confinement.”
He barely managed to finish his sentence thanks to inertia.
However, now, that withered and terrifying figure stood straight in front of them.
The man looked terrifying. As the medical officer, Bryce thought he had seen enough horrific scenes, but facing Ando Shizuo now, he still felt a chill run down his spine. He had never seen anyone who could still move freely after suffering such horrific injuries. There wasn't a single patch of intact skin on the man's body; numerous pustules and black and red wounds covered his body, and dark black blood flowed continuously from the corners of his eyes and nose with the man's weak breathing.
Even without getting close, people could still clearly smell the stench emanating from Shizuo Ando—the smell of burnt protein. Bryce didn't even want to think about where that burnt smell came from.
"hiss……"
Xavier let out a low, insect-like chirp when he saw the corpse-like man.
Without Lin Xi's command, the terrifying and ferocious-looking familiars suddenly emerged from the shadows with a soft hum. They swarmed towards the former Ando Shizuo with lightning speed, but for some reason, the insects stopped abruptly after getting close to him.
They writhed around Ando Shizuo, somewhat bewildered, but not a single insect bared its fangs at him. Lin Xi could sense the confusion emanating from the monsters; they didn't seem to consider the man their enemy. On the contrary, they seemed to regard this "person" as one of their own.
This discovery made Lin Xi involuntarily frown. A thought flashed through her mind, but it disappeared too quickly for Lin Xi to process.
"What should I call you? Professor Ando, or Captain Scripps?"
Lin Xi stared at Ando Shizuo's blood-stained face, then said in a low voice.
Scripps grinned at Lin Xi.
“I am Shizuo Ando, and of course, I am also Scripps… You can call me whatever you like, Dr. Lin Xi.”
Scripps replied, his voice sounding strange, probably because blood was constantly gushing from his throat as he spoke.
"What do you want to do?" Lin Xi asked, "...You're about to die."
Lin Xi was telling the truth. Scripps' "possession" was an enormous burden for the living, not to mention that Ando Shizuo's body had already suffered severe trauma—and now, standing before Lin Xi and her group, Ando Shizuo's body, under Scripps' control, would disintegrate even if he took just one more step forward.
With a body like that, Scripps could never achieve whatever he wanted.
“I’m still here to persuade you, Dr. Lin Xi.”
Scripps said.
"...You should choose death, otherwise you will bring disaster to all living things in this universe."
"Bullshit!"
Before Lin Xi could even speak, Bryce had already let out an angry voice.
He drew a gun directly from his waist and fired at Scripps' feet. The bullet left a dark scorch mark on the metal floor near Scripps' feet, but Scripps remained unmoved.
“I understand how you feel, Medical Officer Bryce. I have faced difficult choices just like you, but sometimes, some people are destined to sacrifice themselves for the benefit of humanity…”
Scripps' voice grew increasingly low as he finished speaking. Just then, Scripps moved, spreading his arms and lunging towards Bryce. Lin Xi almost instinctively lunged at him, his black fingernails shooting out. Everything seemed so natural; efficient killing was simply his instinct. However, when Lin Xi's arm pierced directly into Ando Shizuo's mangled body, he suddenly realized something was amiss.
Scripps was clearly doing it on purpose; he deliberately provoked Bryce in front of Lin Xi and launched an attack on Bryce right in front of him.
Everything he did was for this moment, to guide Lin Xi to insert her hands into his body.
The instant Lin Xi touched Scripps, a surge of electricity shot into his body along the point of contact between their bodies.
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