Many years later, when recalling what happened in the corridor, all Lin Xi could think of were countless crackling sparks and the smell of burning things.
What was charred could be the metal components of the "ghost" mechanical warriors, or it could be Xavier and the flesh and blood that were sliced off his body.
It's unlikely that any language could truly capture the battle that took place between them and those metal monsters that day.
Everything was chaotic, bloody, and desperate.
A dark shadow slipped out from the edge of the corridor, and Lin Xi's claws suddenly reached out and forcefully pulled the thing out of the corner.
Previously, he had to use firearms to create small cracks in the helmets of the mechanical warriors to create openings for attacking their core. After experiencing such a series of battles, Lin Xi is now able to, like Xavier, directly pierce the shells of those mechanical warriors with his dark, hard claws.
Their core chips were melted with acid.
They used their claws to tear their bodies to pieces.
Even so, these metal monsters remained incredibly tenacious.
As long as they are not completely destroyed, they will relentlessly continue to attack Linxi and Xavier with all the parts of their bodies that are still mobile.
Lin Xi had no idea how many "ghosts" he had processed. Compared to the monstrous creatures that had once terrified him, they seemed almost cute and refreshing. Red light flickered constantly inside the "ghosts'" masks. For a fleeting second, Lin Xi stared at them and almost had a hallucination. He felt as if he could see a hint of ferocity and hatred in the synthetic materials and metals that made them.
At first, Lin Xi was able to maintain some rationality, but soon, his rationality was melted away by the intense pain and hatred, leaving only the most basic instincts in his body.
Of course, in a sense, that might be why he was able to survive in the end...
As a human, Lin Xi could not possibly have escaped alive from such an attack. However, as the king and mother of all alien species... as a "monster" driven entirely by instinct, "He" ultimately managed to break free from the encirclement of those mechanical warriors.
And it was only at this point that they had reached the end of the corridor...
It's at least a kilometer and three decks higher than where Alyssa and Bryce are.
Lin Xi was panting. He subconsciously began to use the perspective of other monsters, but his thoughts had just entered the mind of that monster when he opened his eyes and the first thing he saw was the mechanical display holding up its metal tentacles and suddenly plunging them down at "him".
Lin Xi's vision suddenly went dark.
The monster is dead...
At the same moment, Lin Xi's thoughts instantly shifted to the body of another familiar. At this moment, he could even see the corpse of the monster he had previously infiltrated—a ghost mechanical warrior was slowly pulling its tentacles out of the monster's dark, hard head.
A mixture of purplish-black mucus and pale green brain matter slowly slid out from the hole poked out by the metal tentacles.
"..."
At that very moment, Lin Xi suddenly felt a sharp pain in "his" body.
Hiss—hiss—
He instinctively let out a wail.
But in reality, all that could be heard in the air was a muffled hiss.
As his vision blurred, Lin Xi saw the mechanical warriors gathering together, each gripping a part of "his" body with a hook-like component at the tip of its tentacles.
Lin Xi lowered his head with difficulty and discovered that "he" had been cut into many uniform small pieces by the particle beams fired by the mechanical warrior without his knowledge.
"hiss--"
Another death.
Lin Xi then faced countless more deaths—within the bodies of his kin.
This was not because he was unlucky, but because those mechanical warriors were carrying out a massacre.
All Lin Xi could do in the final moments before death was to try to observe his surroundings... He needed to get accurate information about where these mechanical warriors had advanced to.
For this information, Lin Xi had to endure dozens of deaths in just a few seconds.
This caused him to sway violently and almost fall over upon returning to reality.
"Huff... huff..."
Amidst uncontrollable, violent breathing, His consciousness as "He" is growing stronger little by little.
Lin Xi knelt on the ground, struggling to get up, but his body seemed utterly unresponsive. He gritted his teeth to control himself. As a monster, he would likely become even stronger than before, but his purely animalistic nature only cared about territory and reproduction. Lin Xi dared not gamble on whether he could wake up again if he allowed the beast within him to take control—Bryce and Elisa were still waiting for him.
Lin Xi kept telling himself this in his heart, and just then, a shadow swept towards Lin Xi almost imperceptibly.
It was a mechanical warrior that had been lurking in the corner for who knows how long.
It was slightly larger than some other mechanical warriors, and its dark surface reflected no light. At the same time, it lacked any of the stiffness typical of command robots.
It appeared cunning, evil, and ghostly, more like some kind of living evil creature.
At Lin Xi's most vulnerable moment, it silently wriggled its eight metal tentacles and slowly approached Lin Xi from above.
It had been lurking there for some time, watching Lin Xi destroy dozens of mechanical warriors. The moment Lin Xi was momentarily weakened by the mental shock, it didn't hesitate and launched itself directly towards Lin Xi. Beneath its massive, hemispherical head, several long, sharp metal tentacles were aimed directly at Lin Xi's head.
In just a moment, the death that Lin Xi had experienced many times before would befall him. His brains and internal organs would be ripped out of his body by the mechanical warrior's metal tentacles, just like what the other members of the clan on the decks had experienced.
However, at that very moment, a strong and flashy figure suddenly rushed over, slamming the mechanical warrior directly into the wall. The mechanical warrior's body even sparked a series of sparks as it scraped against the metal wall.
The one who saved Lin Xi in the critical moment was naturally Xavier. This alien monster now looked quite disheveled, with wounds, mucus secreted to heal the wounds, acid dripping and splashing everywhere, and wounds cut by particle beams... These wounds overlapped, making Xavier's already unattractive body look even uglier and more terrifying.
Perhaps due to the severity of his injuries, or more likely due to excessive emotional distress, Xavier's human-like features completely disappeared. What was now revealed to Lin Xi was a hideous and terrifying alien face, with madness and savagery flashing in his huge red compound eyes.
It gripped the mechanical warrior tightly and slammed it against the wall. At the same time, it raised its other insect limb high, aiming directly at the junction of the mechanical warrior's head and metal tentacles—a rare weak point for these killing machines. If the annoying metal tentacles could be separated, the mechanical warrior's lethality would be greatly reduced.
It was at this moment that the mechanical warrior held down by Xavier revealed its unique characteristics compared to other machines. When attacked, its kind usually only had a few very rigid counterattack modes, which were the resistance modes set in the default program before these mechanical warriors left the factory.
But now, this metal warrior is displaying a completely different, unusually agile way of struggling and attacking.
Just as Xavier pressed it down, the tentacles that had been stuck by Xavier suddenly broke off, and a brand new tentacle suddenly emerged from the inside of the semi-circular black head. Before Xavier could dodge, the metal tentacles had already coiled around Xavier's strong arm like pythons on Earth.
The tips of the metal tentacles that were originally used as claws to grab suddenly spread out in mid-air into a triangular shape. Three dark blue tungsten steel alloy blades popped out from the edges of the claws, and then the three claws with the blades spun rapidly. They were like small cutting machines, cutting directly down on Xavier's body.
Xavier's human body was instantly torn open by the blade, blood splattering out, while the parts of his body covered by the thick, grotesque chitinous shell were also cut with deep gashes in an instant. Crimson liquid slowly seeped from those long, thin wounds.
It let out a painful howl, its sharp fangs snapped open, and it bit down hard on the mechanical warrior.
A deep crack suddenly appeared on the mechanical warrior's shell, but that didn't stop it.
The mechanical warrior's true intention was clearly not just to make some small cuts on Xavier's body—after wrapping two metal tentacles around Xavier's arm, its remaining metal tentacles suddenly tightened and then forcefully slashed down towards the back of Xavier's neck.
"Damn it..."
Lin Xi jumped up immediately upon seeing the scene before him, rushing forward before the metal tentacles could sever Xavier's head from his neck.
Without a second to think, Lin Xi grabbed the metal tentacles with his hands. This brief moment turned the tide. The next second, Xavier's arm also bent in a strange way. Its scythe-like, sharp and strong forelimbs suddenly opened, and the metal tentacles that were originally wrapped around his arm immediately broke off section by section.
In that brief instant, the tentacles that were originally on Xavier's neck turned directly towards Lin Xi.
"Sizzle—"
A screeching sound came from Lin Xi's body. Looking down, Lin Xi realized that the metal tentacles on the mechanical warrior had silently but swiftly reached towards his abdomen without him noticing.
The sound that had just come from was from the ion generator that Lin Xi had tightly strapped to his chest. Lin Xi had used the energy collection shield he had cut off earlier to cover the expensive device. It was just a subconscious action, but it played a crucial role at this moment.
The tentacle's cutting disc landed on the surface of the energy shield, producing a sharp scraping sound.
The mere sight of a metal tentacle aimed at his ion generator was enough to enrage Lin Xi. He ripped off several metal tentacles, forcefully inserting his fingernails into the joints between the metal segments, and then sliced the tentacles into several pieces.
Led by the wildly spinning blades, the metal tentacles writhed on the ground for a while before slowly losing their movement.
Almost simultaneously, Xavier's claws firmly gripped the mechanical warrior's head. He squeezed the semi-circular component forcefully, and a series of sparks flew as the mechanical warrior's head was repeatedly slammed against the metal wall, which rumbled and boomed.
The strange mechanical warrior's head finally lost power at this moment, the display screen on the mask turned completely black, and then it silently embedded itself in the metal wall.
Only at this moment did Xavier suddenly release his grip.
The helmet, which had already dimmed, fell to the ground with a "bang" and rolled several times.
Lin Xi didn't pay much attention to it; he nervously checked the ion generator on his chest.
Thank goodness, it only got some of the Metal Warrior's lubricant and his own blood on it, and he wasn't fatally injured.
Lin Xi swayed, almost collapsing from exhaustion due to excessive tension.
"Lin Xi..."
Xavier rushed over and hugged Lin Xi tightly.
"You're... injured again..."
Because of his current unusual form, Xavier's whispers sounded increasingly strange and indistinct.
Lin Xi could feel that Xavier's arms seemed to be trembling slightly.
Lin Xi looked up at its incredibly ferocious, monstrous face.
He blinked, but showed no sign of anything unusual. Lin Xi even tried to smile at Xavier.
"I'm fine, let's go."
He said.
Only Lin Xi himself knew that just now, the mechanical warrior's metal tentacles had dug a deep hole in his abdomen.
The intense pain was almost driving Lin Xi to the brink of madness. Now, Lin Xi could even feel something inside her body falling out of the bloody hole as she walked.
If he were still a human being now... he would probably be dead?
Lin Xi thought to herself with a self-deprecating smile.
However, as a mutant, he was still able to maintain his current state, and he could even walk freely.
Although every minute and every second, Lin Xi could feel life slipping away from her body.
He needs to recuperate and also needs plenty of nourishment.
But now is definitely not the time to rest or eat...
Lin Xi subtly moved the ion generator's cover down, just enough to cover the hole in her lower abdomen.
"There's another group of mechanical warriors heading towards Elisa and Bryce, we need to speed things up."
After saying that, Lin Xi started walking forward, but after a few steps, he realized that Xavier had not followed.
When he turned around, he saw Xavier's wooden and sorrowful face.
“I…I can actually carry you.” Xavier carefully curled up his forelimbs.
It looked at Lin Xi with great concern.
Although Lin Xi tried her best to conceal her wounds, the blood covering her body and the strong smell of blood still gave her away.
Lin Xi's gaze fell on Xavier's battered body, and his eyes flickered.
Just when Xavier thought Lin Xi would refuse this time, Lin Xi nodded to Xavier and then opened her arms.
"...You have to hurry."
Lin Xi spoke softly to Xavier, her voice even carrying a hint of doting affection.
Xavier was flattered and hugged Lin Xi to his chest.
Upon hearing Lin Xi's whisper, it couldn't help but flutter its wings. It should have been happy, but the moment Lin Xi landed in its arms, the human's light and airy body filled Xavier with a strange sense of panic.
Then it picked up Lin Xi and ran quickly.
Xavier's enormous, insect-like body was indeed more convenient for traveling than Lin Xi's.
When encountering a few scattered mechanical warriors, they don't need to linger in battle; instead, they can simply fly past them and head towards the warehouse.
This made their journey a little smoother for the rest of the time. They soon left the engine area and entered the middle section of the ship, where the important living and storage areas were located.
After the ion generator was removed, the mechanical operation and lighting inside the spaceship were completely converted to secondary energy, which made the light inside the entire spaceship increasingly dim, and the air became so turbid that it was suffocating.
It was very quiet around.
After the machinery that was working on the equipment floor stopped, even the slightest buzzing sound disappeared. Combined with the murky, foul-smelling, and warm air, Lin Xi had the illusion that he had fallen into some kind of gel—he and Xavier were like little insects that had fallen into pine resin, struggling at first, but in the end, everything surrounding them would solidify.
They will die in agony, then solidify in a translucent solid, where they will endure an immeasurably long time...
Lin Xi suddenly came to his senses and noticed that his emotions were uncontrollably becoming depressed and desperate.
This could be due to physical injuries or immense mental stress. Lin Xi bit his tongue hard, but he didn't even feel any pain.
However, at that moment he suddenly heard Xavier's abrupt question.
"What is Earth like?"
Xavier deftly navigated through the flickering emergency lights, across corridors littered with corpses, and down staircases long unused.
It asked the question with a deliberate nonchalance.
But it must be said that it was this very question that stirred up Lin Xi's strong will to survive.
What kind of place is Earth?
It was a small blue planet, where things were often terrible, and in terms of sheer resource abundance, it wasn't even one of the most powerful planets in the universe...
But that was Lin Xi's home.
It is the place where he was born, grew up, and wants to go back to no matter what.
"...I don't know how to say it, you should go and see for yourself."
Lin Xi answered softly.
He gave Xavier a nonsensical reply, but he felt much better now.
They continued moving in that alert and quiet manner for a short while.
Before long, Lin Xi realized that her surroundings looked somewhat familiar...
The last time they passed through this place, the environment was merely mediocre and old-fashioned—just a section of a passageway in an ordinary old-fashioned spaceship, nothing more. But now, it was a scene of carnage, with countless corpses piled up on the ground, and the air thick with a stench so intense it seemed almost tangible. The lighting at the top of the corridor had been completely destroyed, leaving the place so dark that only a faint glimmer of light could be seen. If Lin Xi hadn't begun to transform into another kind of being, he probably wouldn't have been able to see anything at all.
Among the corpses lying on the ground were not only the bodies of monsters, but also the remains of those mechanical warriors. As Lin Xi and his group walked past them, they would occasionally twitch slightly, each time sending up a series of sparks.
They were about to reach the warehouse where the lifeboats were located. Realizing this, Lin Xi subconsciously raised his hand and pressed the ion generator on his chest.
"Something's not quite right."
Lin Xi murmured.
His face was deathly pale, and his body was trembling uncontrollably.
"Where did those mechanical warriors go?"
Not long ago, he used his special ability to check the situation here, although he almost fainted from the investigation... but he was certain that there should be at least a hundred mechanical warriors gathered in this corridor.
But now there are only the corpses of the aliens and the destroyed mechanical warriors, the latter far fewer in number than the monsters he had seen before.
Could it be that those mechanical warriors have already crossed the corridor and headed to the warehouse ahead of time?
The thought of this possibility made Lin Xi feel as if her soul was about to freeze.
At that moment, she felt fear like never before, and she even hesitated to take another step forward...
Of course, this fear only lasted for a very short moment. Immediately afterwards, Lin Xi struggled to jump down from Xavier's arms and staggered toward the warehouse.
Just then, a crisp metallic scraping sound came from a corner of the corridor.
Then, one by one, small red light bulbs lit up.
Lin Xi suddenly stopped in his tracks, raising his head to stare blankly ahead.
Okay, now he knows where those mechanical warriors went; they're all hiding in the shadows, waiting for Lin Xi and Saville to arrive.
At that moment, Lin Xi realized that one of her previous guesses was correct.
The mechanical warriors confronting him were no ordinary robots.
They are not clumsy, stupid command robots at all; they possess intelligence.
In fact, Lin Xi instantly doubted whether they knew that in the warehouse at the bottom beneath their feet, there were three ordinary humans who were desperately trying to return to Earth...
Perhaps they know it, but with a cat-and-mouse-like wickedness, they deliberately torment them, giving them hope only to bring them despair.
Lin Xi shivered, a chill slowly spreading down his spine and throughout his body.
The reason these mechanical warriors were divided into two groups was likely for this very moment. The first group of metal warriors used all their abilities to exhaust Lin Xi and Xavier's physical strength and combat power. When they were completely exhausted, the remaining large group of mechanical warriors quietly waited here, waiting for the moment to reap the lives of Lin Xi and Xavier.
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