Lin Xi wanted more than ever to stay beside the cocoon of "No. 1" and wait for it to pupate successfully.
He was very worried about the little bug's physical condition, and... and he was also looking forward to seeing what it would look like after it emerged from the pupae.
Perhaps just as Ernie and Bryce worried, he had unknowingly given too much emotion to this alien life that he had raised with his own hands.
Lin Xi admitted that this is not good, especially under the current circumstances.
However, when he heard the mercenary making such disgusting jokes in such a frivolous tone, he found it difficult to control his emotions.
However, if he got into a fight in the patrol car, it would probably cause a lot of trouble for Alyssa and Bryce later. While thinking this, Lin Xi's hand involuntarily reached for the weapon in his arms.
"Wow, look, Dr. Lin Xi, are you going to shoot me?" Lin Xi's actions caught the mercenary's eyes, and he shrank slightly. To be honest, he was a little scared.
Although he deliberately raised his voice, the mercenary knew that he was avoiding the man's eyes while speaking.
The young man named Lin Xi is very strange.
The mercenary's instinct reminded him that Lin Xi looked like the kind of... scientific researcher who would sit in an office and work with a pen and paper. Of course, the mercenary knew that he was not the weak type. When he was on Earth, he had been punished for fighting several times (and he was always the winner), but this level of martial arts was just a game to the mercenary.
Before actually meeting Lin Xi face to face, the mercenary did not take the latter seriously.
But now... Now he could probably understand why some people hated this man named Lin Xi.
There was something very scary in that man's eyes.
Cold, dark, merciless...
The mercenary couldn't tell what it was, but he couldn't control the fear that was gradually spreading in his heart.
"I'm sorry, but I wish you could shut up because you're being really loud..."
Lin Xi spoke to the mercenary in a calm voice.
"Ha, I thought you were going to use bugs to shut me up—"
The mercenary responded with a sneer, but before he could finish his boastful words, someone suddenly reached out and pressed his face, then slammed him heavily into the wall of the patrol car.
The man's movements were as fast as a ghost and his attacks were extremely brutal.
The mercenary with crooked features let out an ear-piercing scream in the patrol car.
"Shut up."
And the attacker seemed so indifferent in the face of such screams.
He spoke slowly to the mercenary.
"Francis?! What the fuck did you do?!"
Someone shouted in shock.
"He's really, really loud."
The man called Francis continued to respond in that rather strange and slow voice.
There is also a clear tattoo on his arm that represents his mercenary identity, and he seems to be a leader among the mercenaries.
At least, after he directly attacked the other mercenary, a simple "shut up" made everyone quiet down.
A few seconds later, Francis let go of the unlucky mercenary, who covered his head and looked at Francis tremblingly.
"Sorry, I didn't... I didn't expect that I would disturb you..."
He seemed to want to say something else, but under Francis's gaze, the sound gradually became weaker.
In that brief moment, the atmosphere in the patrol car was so stagnant that it seemed as if the air had turned solid.
No one made a sound, and no one dared to move.
The patrol car bumped across the undeveloped alien land, its engine making a rumbling sound.
Then, Francis walked directly towards Lin Xi.
He couldn't be said to be a very big man, but he was very strong, and every muscle seemed to be hammered out of the hardest rock.
His messy light blonde hair was tied back, his cheeks were slightly sunken, and there was a layer of stubble on his chin.
Lin Xi stared at the other person warily, and suddenly found that the man's face looked familiar.
"Dr. Lin Xi."
The man stared at Lin Xi.
At this moment, Lin Xi felt as if all his hairs stood up.
Lin Xi had no choice but to look into the other person's eyes... She felt that if she tried to look away, the man in front of her would rush up and slit her throat.
It was only a moment, but Lin Xi felt like a hundred years had passed.
It was at this time that he remembered that this mercenary was the one who had escorted him to Ando Shizuo's confinement room. God knows what he had experienced in just one night, or maybe it was the difference in light in the dark environment. In short, he was completely different from when he led Lin Xi. It was not a change in appearance, but a complete reversal of aura.
Francis now looks cruel and dark, and you can hardly see any emotional fluctuations that a human should have in his eyes.
In this situation, Francis nodded to Lin Xi.
"Good morning."
He said to Lin Xi.
Lin Xi: “…”
Lin Xi admitted that he didn't know how to respond to the other party.
Cold sweat gradually seeped out of his palms, and the feeling of goosebumps on his back became more and more intense.
Francis didn't seem to care about Lin Xi's silence. He just made a gesture, and the man who was sitting next to Lin Xi quickly changed his position with his equipment in his arms, terrified.
Then Francis, carrying a body full of heavy weapons and equipment, sat down close to Lin Xi.
Moreover, Lin Xi didn’t know if it was his illusion, the other person was sticking very close to him.
Lin Xi's muscles tensed up involuntarily. He frowned, and felt a strong fear of Francis in his heart.
He had no idea what the other party was planning. Although Francis didn't seem to have any ill will towards him at the moment, his subsequent actions were all so... Weird? Lin Xi didn't know if he should use this word to describe Francis.
In general, Francis' current reaction made Lin Xi more nervous than outright malice.
Lin Xi could feel that the attention in the patrol car was more focused on the two of them than before.
However, when Lin Xi glanced at those people, he found that they all carefully retracted their gazes and pretended that they saw nothing.
There was a heavy feeling of impending storm in the air, and everyone seemed to think that something was going to happen - perhaps in the next second, Francis would reach out his hand and inflict horrific violence on Lin Xi just like he had done to the mercenary before.
After all, since Francis sat down, he has been staring at Lin Xi without any concealment.
It was because Lin Xi had an extremely strong character that he kept gritting his teeth and forcing himself to appear calm. Otherwise, he would probably not be able to bear it and would point the gun at the forehead of the man next to him, and then ask him what he was going to do to get himself killed.
But in reality, until the patrol car arrived at the starting point of the walking exploration, Francis did nothing but stare at him.
"All members, please be aware that we have arrived at our intended destination. The patrol car door will open in twenty seconds, so please be ready."
A soft electronic sound rang out inside the car.
At the same time, the roar of the engine stopped and the patrol car stopped.
After a buzzer, everyone put on heavy helmets.
…Except for Francis.
He seemed to find it very funny to see Lin Xi clumsily putting on the helmet, and he kept staring at Lin Xi.
Lin Xi finally couldn't stand it anymore.
He pointed to the helmet Francis had placed on his knees.
"Are you planning on committing suicide in front of me?"
He said sarcastically.
Francis then lowered his head to look at the helmet. He curled his lips and put it on half a beat later.
Lin Xi really hated this aspect of his personality—but he admitted that he couldn't help but worry about Francis's slow movements.
Fortunately, Francis managed to install the helmet just before the patrol car opened its door.
Almost at the moment when the green light on his neck, indicating that the airtightness was complete, came on, the rear hatch at the rear of the patrol car flipped open, and the alien "sunlight" with a faint golden-red glow instantly dispelled the darkness inside the patrol car.
Lin Xi followed the others in silence, filing out of the patrol car with a bit of clumsiness.
They lined up in a row, and the leader of the exploration team stood in front of everyone. He was an older exploration team member with slightly graying temples. His name was written on the name tag on his chest, Jerry Edwin. Although Lin Xi had never seen him, this name made him relax a little.
He knew Jerry, a well-known good guy in the exploration team, and he was best known not only for his good temper but also for his professionalism.
If it weren't for his outstanding exploration experience, it would be difficult for someone of his age to stay in the exploration team.
But looking at Jerry at this time, there was no smile on his face. His gray eyebrows were locked together from beginning to end, as if he was in deep worry.
He checked everyone's nameplates before speaking weakly.
"Before we start this mission, I need to briefly explain the situation to you - two-thirds of our team are now rookies, and I have to admit that I don't like this. Rookies are prone to making mistakes, and making mistakes..."
He paused, perhaps thinking of something.
"Mistakes mean death. If you die on a mission, we won't bring your body back to the ship. If you are seriously injured, we won't return to bring you back for treatment - we have to save manpower and equipment here."
Jerry's words quickly turned the atmosphere very cold.
Lin Xi tried to observe him through the transparent cover of his helmet, and he also noticed that Jerry was observing them while he was talking.
"… But the good news is that our exploration mission this time is not heavy. With the Apollo as a circle, the area within 40 kilometers from the spacecraft is evenly divided into 26 blocks, and they are distinguished by letters from A to Z. What we need to explore this time is the Z area, which is an area that has been roughly explored."
While Jerry was explaining the mission, he also sent the map and information to everyone's personal terminals.
Lin Xi clicked on the small 3D map and could clearly see that in the fan-shaped map marked with the Z mark, there were several light spots densely gathered together.
Those spots of light represent him and his companions—of course, his companions may also become his enemies.
Lin Xi took a quick look around while reading the information. He could see that there were one or two people in the exploration team and the mercenaries who seemed to have bad intentions. While Lin Xi was observing them, they were also peeking at Lin Xi from time to time.
However, they all seemed to be very wary of the unexpected people around Lin Xi, and all their little movements were controlled in their eyes rather than actual actions, even the mercenary who had taken the initiative to provoke them was the same.
As for the person next to him...
Lin Xi glanced at Francis and racked his brain to try to analyze his intentions.
When they were in the patrol car, the narrow space could be used to explain his behavior of sticking close to her, but now that they had left the patrol car, Francis was still sticking close to Lin Xi.
Even through the thick exploration suit, Lin Xi still had an illusion that she could feel the man's body temperature.
Lin Xi's hand was therefore glued to the weapon's switch. The mission had not yet begun, but his fingers were already a little stiff.
"… The terrain here is relatively flat. According to the information we found before, there is only one dense forest that we need to pay attention to. We now know that the most common creatures in these dense forests are not alien animals but alien bugs. They are very interested in us, so we must remember to turn on the insect repellent device before entering the dense forest. Our task is simple, to record the terrain, atmosphere, soil and air composition here as detailed as possible."
Hearing Jerry's weak task instructions, Lin Xi couldn't help but raise his eyebrows.
He had good reason to believe that this mission might be a preliminary investigation for extravehicular living.
He thought of the rumors again. The people on the Apollo had lost hope of returning to Earth. The only thing they could expect now was the seemingly friendly environment of this unknown planet, and humans...the survivors on the Apollo would build a human settlement far away from Earth.
Thinking of this, Lin Xi not only did not feel the slightest bit of anticipation, but instead felt a chill all over his body.
I am the captain of the Providence...
The words that Shizuo Ando said to him with empty eyes in the confinement room before made Lin Xi feel ominous.
Three hundred years ago, the Providence disappeared silently into space with hundreds of thousands of people on board. At the very beginning, its mission purpose was to establish a new human settlement on an alien planet that was no different from the Earth.
Even the "Second Eden" mentioned in rumors on the Apollo was one of the planned mission names of the Providence.
No - he had to stop thinking about this -
Lin Xi said to himself in his heart.
At least, while he's still on this damn exploration mission, he needs to focus more on reality.
“…Does anyone have any questions?”
During this time, Jerry had finished the pre-mission introduction and asked the others.
No one said anything.
"Well, let's set off now. I'll go in the front... Albert, Dolan, Francis, you will be responsible for the guards on both sides and in the back respectively, and we will move forward in a column."
He pointed out Francis and two other experienced members of the exploration team.
The other two responded immediately, but Francis took a full half beat.
Lin Xi couldn't help but look at Francesi again.
He always felt that there was something out of harmony with the other party.
As a result, when he turned his head, his eyes met the man's - Lin Xi almost suspected that this man had been staring at him the whole time.
Otherwise, why did he make eye contact every time he looked at Frances
What was even more terrifying was that the moment their eyes met, the man actually spoke again.
"Dr. Lin Xi."
He said.
Lin Xi held his breath and waited for his next words, but apart from staring at him blankly, Francis didn't make any other sound until the team started moving forward.
At this time, the temperature outside the cabin is nearly 100 degrees Fahrenheit, and as time passes, the "sun" of the alien planet rises, and the temperature will gradually rise.
This was by no means a friendly temperature for the humans in their old exploration suits, not to mention that as the temperature rose, the milky mist slowly rose from the dark purple soil beneath their feet.
Lin Xi walked forward while observing the surrounding environment. He felt hot and tired, and his feet felt heavy as if they were filled with lead.
The natural environment outside the cabin was just like what Lin Xi had observed inside the Apollo, showing rich and gorgeous colors. There might be a unique biosphere here, Lin Xi could easily guess that there were vegetation, woods, and perhaps swamps and lakes. And there were a lot of bugs here.
Lin Xi wanted to record the natural environment here well, but he soon realized that it was not easy.
No, to describe it as “not easy” seems too mild, in fact, it is difficult, very difficult.
The land that feels like mud when you step on it is purple, while the harder areas are dark blue.
The mushroom-shaped rocks on the ground are yellow and red.
Most of the plants growing on the surface are made up of several or dozens of colors, and each color is so bright that it seems to be able to fluoresce.
They swayed rhythmically with the breeze from the alien planet, and from a distance they looked like some huge animal breathing rhythmically.
They had not yet entered the dense forest area that Jerry had mentioned, and it was said that this short section of the road would be the easiest part of the entire exploration team.
But Lin Xi still felt unbearable—
The plants and the colors of the earth made him feel dizzy and even a little nauseous.
Occasionally he even had visual confusion - he saw with his own eyes a plant similar to a shrub moving slowly in front of him, but after careful observation he found that it was not the plant itself that was moving, but the color of its body surface that kept changing with the wind.
These brilliant colors may be beautiful... but only in certain specific works of art and not throughout the universe.
At least in Lin Xi's opinion, everything here seemed so messy, scary, depressing, and almost suffocating.
He could even understand those emotionally excited and mentally unstable exploration team members - if their previous mission was to move forward in such a world.
No one can stand this.
nobody.
Including Lin Xi himself.
"Don't stare at those things. The colors on their surfaces change with the changes in air pressure. For humans, they cause visual pollution and mental burden."
Lin Xi suddenly heard the sound of someone retching from inside the communication channel.
Only then did he realize that there were many people who shared the same discomfort as him.
Soon, Jerry's voice came through the channel.
"Look at your feet and block out the changing colors as much as possible."
Lin Xi tried to do as Jerry asked, but it was not easy.
Because the soil under his feet also had various colors, and as these colors continued to change, there seemed to be many tiny sounds rustling in Lin Xi's ears.
From the chaos came the Mother of Worms and her husband...
When the noisy and chaotic voices suddenly gathered into a complete sentence, Lin Xi was startled and almost fell to the ground.
But someone pulled him back hard.
"Dr. Lin Xi."
He said.
That's Francis.
Lin Xi didn't even know when he appeared beside her.
“Thank… Thank you.”
Lin Xi said a little stiffly.
After he stood firm with the help of Francis' strong arm, he realized that it was not Francis who came to him silently, but he had fallen behind the team without realizing it and came to the end of the entire team.
"Forest… "
"I am fine."
Lin Xi said to Francis.
If he hadn't heard the other person's words with his own ears on the way to the confinement room that day, he would almost think that Francis would only say "Dr. Lin Xi" in his life.
And judging from the strength with which Francis grasped her, Lin Xi could still feel some kindness from this man.
Even now, Francis still gives Lin Xi a strange feeling.
Lin Xi glanced at his personal terminal. In this short moment, the distance between the two of them and the main force had widened a little.
Lin Xi didn’t know whether those people didn’t notice that he and Francis were lagging behind, or they were too lazy to offer help, but no matter what, being separated from the main force was definitely not a good thing.
"We have to keep up with them."
Lin Xi said.
Francis pursed his lips and silently grabbed Lin Xi's hand.
Lin Xi subconsciously tried to shake him off, but soon found that it was futile.
Francis' arms were as strong as steel, and Lin Xi had no way of getting rid of him.
"Well...thank you for your kindness but I'm much better now. I can walk on my own."
Lin Xi frowned slightly and whispered to Francis.
"Got to follow them."
Francis said, and after a pause, he suddenly muttered softly: "...Be obedient."
The author has something to say: If he had not heard the other party's words with his own ears on the way to the confinement room that day, he would almost think that Francis would only say "Dr. Lin Xi" in his life.
Number 1: qaq
(I suffered from lack of education)
(In fact, he can also say "good boy" and "obedient")